today takes us back to august 2009.

here we are at ra sushi in yorktown. kim is pregnant with bennett! we all met together to go out to dinner because huy was in town from l.a. as usual, we ordered waaayyy too much food while we were here. i guess you can’t avoid it when there are so many people in the fam. everyone has a taste for something different, each, but we do love trying different flavors when eating out.

gosh, it makes me think about how hc and i haven’t eaten sushi since we have moved to the burbs!! i love sushi. one of my favorite foods to eat {i missed it soooooo much during the pregnancy!}. we had a favorite, favorite restaurant in the city called coast. oooohhhhh, it is the best! it is in bucktown, it was a few minutes away from where we use to live, so it was easy to go there whenever! i do miss it very much. we don’t know of any great sushi restaurants out here, so suggestions are welcomed!

i love this family pic of us, although it’s not including everyone {my parents and terry are actually there and i don’t know why they aren’t in the pic}, it is still a fun photo. i’m such a picture nut…i love to photo everything, anytime, anywhere. there is never a ‘right’ time…just snap away and capture the moment!

anyhoo, it’s pretty rare to have huy come into town, so it’s always a reason to to go out and celebrate. cheers to family!

happy friday y’all!

xoxo

today takes us back to september 2009.

hc and i {dating for almost a year in this pic} decided one day to do a totally tourista thing: go to navy pier! we actually had a grand ‘ol time! we drove down to evanston and from there, we rode our bikes from evanston to chicago. as we were cruising down the lake, we figured since navy pier was the closest attraction, why not swing by there since we had nothing better to do.

we walked the pier, enjoyed the scenery, ate food, reveled in the people watching, and took a lot of pictures {of course!}. we had a swell time walking along the pier with all the tourists and being touristas ourselves! it was a lovely day of riding and a wonderful day spent exploring around chicago {my favorite city, besides new york! that’s my other love}.

sometimes ya gotta step back, slow down, and look at the same old scenery and find something new and amazing in it. we tend to forget or take for granted all the wonderful offerings of this awesome city we live in…get out this weekend and enjoy an activity or something that is very chicago!!!

happy friday y’all!!!

xoxo

today takes us back to july 2012.

hc and i drove up north to visit grace. it was a beautiful summer night. we picked the kiddo up and went out to dinner near a downtown area somewhere, um, i don’t know the towns up there at all! after that, we knew we wanted to swing by a cruise night {we spied one on our way to dinner!}.

we walked around the beautiful area and admired all the cool classic cars. It was a pretty large showcase of vehicles that evening and hc and grace really enjoyed examining each one.

it was a lovely summer evening spent with the family, doing a fun summery type activity!

i hope you have something fun planned up your sleeve this weekend. it’s going to be a warm weekend…maybe some pool time? zoo time? or just some cool down time with popsicles!

whatever it may be, enjoy & revel in it. happy friday y’all!!!

xoxo

today take us back to 2012!

i’m reminiscent over this picture right now because i am totally missing vegas…a lot. for the past several years, matt, johann, hc, and i have traveled to vegas every summer for a mini vacay. matt and johann go every year because matt’s sister, liz, lives there with her husband josh and their daughter stella.

we go to relax, visit, and do a lot of shopping. we are not gamblers {although every time we go, hc must put some money into the wheel of fortune}, we love vegas for it’s craziness, kitschy nature, amaze people watching, luxurious hotels, fabulous pools, delicious food, 24 hour availability, and fantastic night life. we love to lounge, eat, drink, get a tan, and entertain ourselves with the crazy peeps that come to vegas. hello…the outfits people wear are the best!

matt and johann are such great travel partners. we do our own thing, we meet up when we want to, we don’t adhere to a strict schedule, we all love to shop…we are on the same page on our idea of how to vacay. it’s perfect harmony.

unfortunately, why i am a bit poo pooh about it right now is because this year it wasn’t in our cards to go. with a baby and a new house {a lot of renovating}, vegas didn’t fit into the budget. well, it could have but not the best idea when it came to our finances and being smart about it {i’ll blame hc for being responsible :)}.

so, here i am…gazing at this picture, wishing we were in vegas with them right now.

this pic was taken at the pepper mill…a cheesy 24 hour restaurant. ya gotta love the fake neon lights, plastic flowers, and the fire pit lounge/bar they have inside, where hats are not allowed {dress code}! whaaaat?! people are in flippin’ tanks tops and flip flops!

[i apologize for the fuzziness…it’s a picture of a picture :)]

anyhoo, i love vegas and i love going with these two wonderful people. it’s our tradition. here’s to next year’s trip! fer shizzle.

happy friday y’all!

xoxo

today takes us back to 2009!

here we are, andrea and me, celebrating her birthday in january!

we met through a mutual friend, darrin. i worked part time at pottery barn, ages ago. darrin was my manager at the lincoln park location. he kept saying to me, i have a girlfriend you will love! he said we were so much alike and totally thought we would click and get along. after him constantly telling me about her, we finally got together….um, he was so right!!!! i love her!

andrea and i have been friends for a very long time and it’s, honestly, one of the best relationships i have. it’s one of those friendships where you can pick up were you left off, even if it’s been awhile since we last saw one another. we have busy lives, we respect and appreciate each other’s time but every now and then, we make time for each other. it might be in quick succession or our dates might be months in-between but no matter what the case may be, we take off where we last ended. a true, solid friendship!

a great pic to reminisce on! cheers to all the wonderful lady friends out there!

happy friday y’all!

xoxo

today takes us back to…2009.

first, look at how little grace was! awwwww! so cute.

we were at chuck e. cheese for a birthday party. hc and i had only been dating for 11 months here…in less than three months from this moment, we were engaged! cray. we were fast tracked towards happiness!

it was a typical kids birthday party…lots of pizza, lots of pop, lots of screaming, and running around. we had a blast playing all sorts of games. my goal was to win as many tickets as possible so i could give them to grace so she could pick out a cool prize by the end of the party. woo hoo!

it was a great time with two very wonderful people in my life.

cheers to fond memories. happy friday y’all!

xoxo

today takes us back to…

may 2008. hilarious. this picture. it was back in the days when i actually toted around an inexpensive, little, digital camera {and it’s so blurry}!! lol. my how times have changed.

well, this pic was taken at one of my favorite brunch spots, mhenry. it’s such a yummy eatery up in andersonville. it was the first time matt actually ate a breakfast item {every time, prior, when we would meet for brunch, matt would always order a lunch entree}, this time he actually ordered the blackberry bliss pancakes {what?!}!

annddddd…this was the first time i went out with olivia! we had become pretty close from work and would walk home/towards the bus together but it was our first official make plans outside of work outing. two special firsts with two special peeps!

it was quite a fun time together. we enjoyed a delicious brunch, as usual {you can’t go wrong at this place}, and terrific conversations between the three of us. the perfect combination of life…great friends and tasty food!

cheers to life!

happy friday y’all!

xoxo