Girls Weekend

The third annual Girls weekend starts today! We're headed to North Carolina for all the fun. Can't wait to see these ladies and laugh for days. 

First Girls Weekend: Georgia

Second Girls Weekend: Chicago

Girls Weekend

Tonight, some of my friends are coming into town and I am so excited! We are having a girls weekend in Chicago so I get to show off the city to some of the girls closest to my heart. We met each other freshman year and still managed to stay friends between boy dramas and switched majors. A lot of them ended up in the South (well there isn't much north of Chicago) but we still keep in touch. I cannot wait to see them, stuff our faces with so much good, Chicago food, and laugh so much my abs hurt.

We did this back in October. The group will be a little different than last time based on who can come but I can't wait.

Freshman year to Senior year

Abby and Kindra are coming this time

Our Weekend

Adam picked number #4. Thank you all who voted and helped us narrow the choices down.

This weekend, we spent a lot of time with friends. Hanging with people who get you is so good for the soul. We hung with our friends from the burbs on Friday, catching up between bites of pizza. Then we got to show them our place as we ate some ice cream on our cute deck. It was such a chill night.

Saturday, Adam and his dad reffed some games together in the burbs while I got to hang out with my mother-in-law and then my old boss, Mary, from Wheaton. It was so good to see Mary and catch up on life and talk about career stuff for me.

 Then we ate dinner with Adam's parents and grandparents and played some chinese checkers. It was really fun to hang out with them.

Sunday, we had some people over from church for the world cup USA game and some good food. These "family dinners" started about a month ago and the idea is that someone hosts and picks a theme. Ours was "Let's get Saucy" using the word saucy liberally for example hummus, or dressing on salad, etc. We had a total of 15 people so we really maxed out our place but had a lot of fun meeting people.

Our Weekend

Chicago is a city full of festivals so we hit up two this weekend. We hung out with Adam's cousins at the Puerto Rican Festival on Friday and then hit up the Blues Fest on Saturday. The Blues Festival was more up our alley because we got to bring a picnic and listen to some good music where as we had good company at the Puerto Rican Fest but it was more like a carnival. Fried food everywhere ;/ and no live music.

It was a little chilly at the blues fest but I wasn't above wearing the captain chair's bag and rolling up in our blanket like a taco. It certainly did the job even though I looked like a fool.

We also were in the nursery for the second Sunday in a row. It's another way for us to meet people and serve in our church. We both would prefer to greet but there is a huge need for nursery volunteers and not really any need on the greeting team. So for now this is what some of our Sunday mornings look like.

Adam is such a trooper to volunteer with me in the nursery so we are serving together and of course the kids love him

Thankful for the nice weather and Happy belated Father's day (and Mother's day for that matter since I never said anything on the blog about it).

Family Time

Still missing a few who couldn't make it but here is most of the crew

My family planned to get together last weekend for a while and I had to choose over seeing all of my family now for a short amount of time or seeing most of them plus seeing my sister's newborn baby for a longer amount of time. I didn't have any vacation time yet because of just starting a new job and so flights were expensive to just go for the weekend. A lot of money for not a lot of time. So I chose to wait for when I could go for a couple more days for less money and see my newborn nephew. But that decision ate at me and ate at me every day. My family kept sending group texts and it just made me miss them even more. I looked at flights frequently and debated about just going but the longer I waited the more expensive the flights got. Then I resorted to how doable it was to drive the 21 hours roundtrip in one weekend. It wasn't really the smart decision but the closer it got the more I just needed to see my family. The transition to Chicago has been really hard for me, partly because this is my third move in three years, but also because the environment at work has been really stressful. So when it came down to it, I decided at 9pm the night before that I was going to get up at 4:30 in the morning and drive to Pittsburgh to drive the rest of the way with Leighann and her family.

I got up the next morning as planned and could have left earlier but just kept thinking to myself, is this crazy that I'm about to jump in the car for 10.5 hrs to barely see my family to just jump in the car and do it all over again? I kept asking Adam the same question (this is before 5 in morning, people) but he nicely said he wasn't going to make the decision for me. He helped me carry out my stuff to the car, being the great husband that he is, and then said, "If I don't hear you come back inside in the next 5 minutes, I'll know you've made the decision to go." haha I sat in the car for a couple minutes and then decided, I'm already packed and ready to go, I might as well get on the road. Best decision ever.

Seeing my family was exactly what I needed. I needed the comfort of a familiar place and people who love and support me. People who love Jesus so much that it just pours out of them in conversation and actions. It was so refreshing not to have to small talk with people but to be able to catch up and have deep conversations as well. I also got to have some fun times with my nieces and nephews. It's hard not to be able to be with them more because I truly want to know each and every one of them ( all 14 of them going on 16 by the end of the year). And because I don't get to be with my family a ton, I wanted to document the whole weekend. So here are some of the good ones.

My baby brother is all grown up and sold his motorcycle while I was there. I was so proud of him because him and Jess didn't really want to sell it but with having a little boy already and a little girl on the way, it just made a lot of sense.

I'm glad I got to come home because I got to see Chrissy pregnant. The last time I saw her, she wasn't even showing. I'm really glad I got to see her in person before she has the baby.

Mom's yard is perfect for entertaining our big family.

We played lots of corn hole, courtesy of John who built these set of boards. Isn't Liam just the cutest thing, ever?

Lots of underpuppies (aka underdoggies for Ryan) on the tire swing, Jack plum tuckered out from playing with all the kids, and our biggest kid, Henry, letting John swing him around on the merry-go-round to see if he could hold on. He, in fact, did hold on but then felt sick for an hour after.  Things just don't get easier when you get older. haha

water slides, hoses, and water balloon fights filled the majority of the kids time and they loved it!

and we got to enjoy the weather and each other's company

are we really questioning why I had to see my family? So much fun when we get together
Left to right: Katie, Amy, me, John, Leighann, Johanna, Chrissy and mom being held by us all ;)

Seeing Johanna, aka the baby whisperer, in action

and even some toddler appreciation for his awesome parents

Neil's son even braved the chaos of all of us to spend some time with his kids at the house. His kids had a blast with all the other kids and Sean got some quality time with his dad.

I had the kids trained by the end of the weekend to let me take their pictures in between pushes on the swing, trampoline jumps, or waterside runs. Muriel said at one point that she would let me take a picture of her if I would push her on the swing haha I decided to push her on the swing without the picture haha

Me and Pipey-Pipe hanging out #sorryforherimmodesty

Even though the recovery time of traveling that much in a short amount of time was brutal, I was so glad I went. It was exactly what I needed.

Weekend of Rest

So thankful for that extra day off this weekend. It made it so we were able to do a lot and still get our rest in.

thankful for some helps from the rents ;)

We had Adam's parents over on Friday night to grill out and just chill in our neighborhood. They helped us plant some shade loving plants in the front and get our community grill ready for the summer season. It was really nice to take advantage of the warmer weather and be outside more.

we hung out on this patio quite a few times this weekend. Loving the lights and our table

Saturday, Adam and I had a chill morning, sleeping in and getting some more flowers that can handle the shade. Adam then went golfing with his dad and I got to have a "dia de Dottie" by doing whatever I wanted. We had been running around crazy the last few weeks/months so it was so nice to just chill for a couple hours. Of course, I "planned" way too many things that I was going to get done while he was gone but I did get to read while being outside, plant those flowers we had bought in the morning and got some groceries for dinner and dessert for a church picnic the next day.

Pretend I took these pictures from the same angle but this was before I cleaned out the flower bed a couple weeks ago and then know after Adam's mom planted some plants and we got some flowers. Not too shabby!

Sunday, after church there was a church picnic that we went to by the lake. It was so nice to meet more people in an informal setting and eat some good food. Then I planted some inpatients in the front to finish it up and we had Adam's cousin's girlfriend over (his cousin was out of town) and her roommate. It was so nice to use the grill once again and get to know Valerie some more.

we found cute statement necklaces that happen to match, almost like grown up friendship necklaces but not as weird.

Monday, we finished it off with some more friend time. Adam went golfing (are we seeing a theme?) with some of his close friends in the area and I hung out with one of the girlfriends of the guys. Jenny and I decided that we want the guys to golf more often. We got a pedicure, went to lunch, and walked around the mall while they had fun sweating in the sun. Here's to hoping we have more weekends like this ;)

Friend time

We had our first weekend visitors this weekend. Adam's good friend from college, Matt, and his fiancée, Meghann. Meghann's sister had previously lived in Chicago so she was a real pro but Matt had only been here once. So we did a little sight-seeing and a little chilling which made a really fun weekend.

On Saturday, the guys played a 9 hole round of golf. It only took 3 hours to play (3 hours!!!! That's bad for those of you who don't play golf, all the tee times were booked)

Meghann teaching Adam how to swing dance, we also play makeshift croquet with our golf clubs and the tee box boundaries

Lucky for us, the day was pretty nice and we played games between shots since there were so many people trying to play at this course (Busiest 9 hole course in the U.S.). 

Later we got some deep dish pizza (gf thin crust for me) and then walked around downtown to show off some of the sites. We were in Niketown when we saw this sign about some local high schools and found Adam's high school as number 30.

We had to show Matt that Portillos really does have a cake shake aka a piece of cake blended up with some ice cream. It's so good! (or so I remember…)

 We finished the weekend out with a perfect day for a cubs game. The cubbies even pulled out a win ;)

 Hope you had a good weekend!

Raising our hands for friendship

Guys, no one told me that at the hint of good weather, everyone comes out of the woodwork. (Notice, I said hint of good weather because I'm still bitter that it said it would maybe be in the 80's today and barely got out of the 50's). Between various things at work (a coworker's last day because he got a new job) and visiting friends (birthdays, Chitown visits, and Milwaukee visits), I have eaten out everyday since last Friday! This is a difficult task for someone who can't have gluten (I'm all in on cucumbers) and is making my wallet a little lighter. Nonetheless our last week has been fun.

We took all kinds of public transportation to get out to a place where Adam's dad could pick us up.  This was us waiting.

On Saturday, Adam, his dad, our friend Joe, and his dad all went golfing at Whistling Straits up in Wisconsin. It's a really nice PGA course that is usually an exorbitant amount of money but they went for a fraction of the price because it was the last weekend of winter pricing. Since the course is past Milwaukee, I caught a ride with them to see some friends. It was a relaxing day of shopping, eating, and catching up while the boys had fun on the course. It was a fun but tiring day.

The last week has been filled with so many boring meetings so I've been practicing my sketching so I can pay attention.

Our friends Jenny and Brogen invited us to the Cubs v White Sox game on Tuesday evening because they got some free tickets. Who can say no to free baseball and friendship? Not us… Also it was BOGO at Chipotle for Educators (I guess designers at an university count because I got me some chipotle and was not mad about it at all!)

never mad about free stuff

sad but we needed the blanket and it was still a little chilly

Whew, last night was someone's birthday happy hour downtown. I wanted to murder my apple map because it kept telling me I was going the opposite direction I actually going but I eventually got there and we had so much fun.  It was really great to see some friends and a new place.

Hopefully this weekend will be a little less crazy but still fun ;)

Hotel de Wards is coming together

This weekend was so productive it is almost impossible to believe how much we got done.

We went to Home Depot 3 times. (Yeah, you heard me right.) I have already painted that trunk three different colors and am even considering painting it yet another shade of mint… I can't seem to find the color that I was looking for. But on that last trip, we ended up finding those globe lights that I have been looking for for our patio. I love them. Can't wait to put them up.

the curtains still need ironed but at least it hides the mess a little

We went to Ikea and wandered around and found curtains on the cheap ($10 for the pair) to cover our messy closet without a door in our guest bedroom and found patio furniture that was super reasonable. Now, we just need to put it together.

We got a bed frame for the first time in our married life and were able to use the bed lifts that my sister, Amy, got us for our wedding. Now our bed is so high, I feel like we need a step stool to get in it…. We'll see if we keep it that high but for now, it's an extra place to store things.

We got plywood cut down to be shelves in our bookcase and I stained them and put polyurethane on them to protect the shelves.

We got brackets and I spray painted them with leftover gold spray paint I had. Love them.

Adam got a bike and some stuff done for work that was needing to get done.

I got a zucchini plant from one neighbor and our car got a scratch from the other neighbor who backed into it. Honestly the scratch isn't too bad especially if you look at the front of our car. That's bad…

now it's my favorite wall in the house ;)

 Repainted the top of my dresser and polyurethaned that as well. Since the top isn't wood, the paint seems to chip easily when something is left on there for a while. I had to clean off the top of my dresser to paint it, so I took time to only put things back that really need to be there. It had been a drop zone for all of my things and looked pretty bad.

We even had time to hang out with some friends on Friday night and with each other the 2 other nights. Whew, just thinking about all we did makes me tired. Hopefully this week will be a little more low key.

Friends Weekend

Last week, I got glutened… I started to get my symptoms back but they were really mild. I started checking everything I was eating and couldn't figure out the culprit until I saw my vitamins.

boo! I hate when I assume something is safe to eat and just totally forget to look. Oh well! At least I caught it now.

Chris, my old coworker, and his wife Ellen hanging out with Southpaw

We went to a White Sox game on Friday with an old coworker and his wife. It was really nice night and really fun time. Also the White Sox score a lot more than I remember the Cubs ever doing haha I love the cubbies but I will admit the Sox game was little more exciting. It was also funny to compare the Cubs crowd vs the Sox crowd since we had just been to a Cubbies game. The crowds are very different but still fun.

On Saturday, we headed down to Marion, Indiana (where I used to live) to visit friends and go to gender reveal party for Abby and Aaron. It was so good to see everyone. (silly me, didn't take a single photo ;/) but I got to see so many people that I love.

The Stray Dog. We went here back in September during our Vacation

It was a short visit as we headed back on Sunday but I'm glad we went. We stopped at our favorite Michigan restaurant (a stop a little out of the way) to finish watching the Master's and get my favorite nachos. Yummy!  A fun trip out of the way ;)

Happy Wednesday! 

Mysteries of life

Are there somethings in life that you just don't get? I don't mean the deep, philosophical beliefs about life (some of those can be hard for people to understand) but more like the mundane, day-to-day stuff that we don't even think about until one day we DO. Then the more you think about said thing, the more you wonder  who thought this was a good idea?

For example.

1. Why did someone think it was good idea to put this type of cap on a BayLeaf container?
Am I going to strain out my large bay leafs through this?  Shouldn't have gone generic on this one.



2. Why is Adam's belly button not only a lint factory but why is it always gray?
We laugh about it every single day when we find lint in there and and even joke about saving it and making it into something. Then we throw up about how gross it would be if we actually did make a belly button lint sweater. Ew.

3. Speaking of making a sweater out of gross materials makes me think of this book and who thought that was a good idea. Got allergies? don't worry about it, just make a sweater out of cat hair and try not to sneeze. Gross.

Also what if you don't have enough hair from your cat? Do you shave it? Do you find other cats so you can get more hair? Someone help explain this to me. I just don't get it.

4. How I am now doing stuff that I used to make fun of my mother for doing.

 Yikes. Life is ironic sometimes. I used to make fun of my mom for leaving stuff in the microwave and finding it the next day. Then… it happened to me. I tried to make bacon for my BLTs this week at the same time I was making a time consuming, veggie chopping extensive recipe. Adam came in to help and asked what it's in the microwave as the beeper went off. I said, "Bacon" and that was the last time we thought of the bacon until the next morning. Talk about a grossfest, day old, half cooked bacon. 

5. Why the weekend is so short?
Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? I think we should have 2 day work weeks and 5 day weekends or week long holidays like in Europe... Just saying.

Anyways, Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend! We're helping some friends move, watching basketball and hopefully getting me some free wood pallets so I can work on some projects I've been itching to do.