Make a wish!

I forgot to post this pic from my birthday dinner with Matt at our favorite steakhouse. :)

Texas!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I took a mini-vacation home to see my family! It. Was. Glorious. I hadn't been home since Christmas and the holidays always feel so rushed. My flight left Chicago at 6 am so it was a very early start to my trip, but I didn't want to waste a second! I was in Dallas by 8:30 and my aunt and grandma came with my mom to pick me up. We had a blast! Of course, I was so excited, I didn't take any pictures, but we really had a great time. We stopped in Southlake to shop and we found some great things! I came away with 2 dresses, a purse, cute pumps, and a great new pair of skinnys - which I later found a $5 bill in the back pocket! Happy Birthday to ME! :)

Friday, my mom spoiled me with a pedicure and a massage! It was a total girls day! I helped her deliver her Meals on Wheels route - it was SUPER windy...when we stopped to get gas, I gave her my scarf to protect her hair from getting crazy messy and I couldn't help but snag a picture! haha!

It was ridiculous...sadly this was the day that many of the terrible fires in Texas broke out and destroyed so many homes and property.

I also visited my cousins and saw their kiddos. There's never enough time when I'm home, but I'm always grateful even if I only get to see them for a second. The little ones, Landon, Makenna and Addy don't exactly know who I am (which makes me sad, but it's part of being away from home), but Hailey knows me and she's at such a fun age! Darling little girl! Friday night we went to my favorite burger joint on the planet! Gene's Tasty Burger - YUM! We've been going there since I was a little girl and my daddy worked there in high school. Lots of memories at that place. :)

Saturday was the day of the Wichita Falls Wine Festival and so mom and I were busy setting up her booth and getting ready. I also got to spend a little time with my best friend from high school, Tori. She lives in Austin now and even though we don't see each other often, we always pick up where we left off. Love her to pieces. We had a great time at the Wine Festival and mom did great selling her recycled wine bottles. :)

My trip was amazing and even though I'm 27, it hasn't gotten any easier to leave home and my wonderful parents. I think it only gets harder. BUT - that's what makes our time so special and I cherish every second!

Chicago Birthday!

I have a feeling 27 is going to be a GREAT year!

April has been a whirlwind month full of celebrations of one my favorite days...my birthday!!! I'll be honest, there was a part of me that wasn't as excited about my birthday since I knew I was going to be away from my most of our friends and family. BUT, I am a very blessed girl and my Chicago friends and my darling husband made my birthday pretty special. :)

I came to work on the Friday before my birthday to find 2 dozen muffins and some cookies/sweets at my desk from my co-workers! So of course, my morning was off to a great start! Then, my good friend/co-worker, Karee gave me 2 bottles of Skinnygirl margaritas and 2 boxes of Hot Tamales. YUM! I've been wanting to try the Skinnygirl margs for a LONG time now and they're delish! Thank you Bethenny Frankel. {Sidenote: I just love Bethenny - she's my reality tv celebrity crush. I think we would be great friends.}

Then, it was time for birthday lunch at one of my favorite spots, Mercadito! Karee and another co-worker pal, Erin treated me to some fabulous tacos and margaritas and then I was surprised by free birthday flan. :)

On the day of my birthday, Matt took me to get new running shoes. I'm training for a 10 mile race at the end of May, and I was in serious need of some new kicks. I call my 27th birthday the "Shoe Birthday" because he also gave me some ADORABLE sandals and some oh-so-cozy slippers. He's good to me! Of course we went out to dinner too, but the service was pretty poor so we left after the appetizers and stopped for some ice cream on the way home. Fine by me! :) Sunday night we went to one of our favorite steakhouses, Gibson's and after a huge meal of steak/lobster, they surprised me with a delicious ice cream sundae! Yeah...calories don't exist for at least a week of my birthday!

MIA

I know I've been MIA all month long - posts are coming soon! :)

Things I'm loving lately!

There are some things that just make my world go 'round!

Gummi-Vites. These things are a lifesaver for pansies like me who hate taking horse pills for vitamins! I know, this makes me like a 5 year old, but I seriously struggle with swallowing big pills. If it doesn't slide right down, I panic and then I get disgusted when I start tasting the pill dissolve in my mouth. Gross.

Granite wipes. Well, all wipes in general. Pledge wipes, Swiffer floor wipes, Clorox anti-bacterial wipes...you get the idea. I'm not a fan of cleaning. I like to have a clean home, but I do not enjoy the process. I love all kinds of cleaning products in the "wipe form". I don't like the thought of our dirt/grime on old rags waiting to be washed...ick. But, I especially love the granite wipes because they don't leave streaks! :)

Uggs. I jumped on this bandwagon late {as always} and received 2 pairs for Christmas 2009. I'll admit, I didn't get much wear out of them until moving to Chicago, but they are fantastic! They may not elongate your legs or be a very flattering boot, but they sure keep my feet toasty going to and from work and running errands in the cold!

Guacamole. Oh. my. gosh. I've been on a major guac kick lately and although I'm convinced it's expanding my waistline {eating chips galore!} , I just can't stop! We have a couple of Mexican food restaurants that we really enjoy and they have some delicious guacamole. Not to mention, Whole Foods has crazy good guac but it's a pretty penny. So, I actually made some of our own a few weeks ago. Not to boast, but it was REALLY good and so so easy!
- 4 avocados
- pretty big pinch or two of salt
- fresh, chopped cilantro - I did about 8 sprigs and it was pretty potent so add some and if you feel like it needs more, you can add the rest later.
- fresh lime juice squeezed from 2-3 limes.
- a bit of chopped red onion {optional: Matt & I just love any excuse to add red onion}

What are a few of your faves that make your world go 'round!!!

Old Man Winter

He's a pretty stubborn man with a thick skull. He just doesn't get it that he's worn out his welcome with me here in Chicago. A couple of weeks ago, we had a few days of amazing weather - 50's & 60's with the sun shining down. Everyone was out running along the lake, restaurants began bringing their patio furniture out of storage. I had been warned by the locals, so I was sure it was a tease and we would likely have another cold snap. But I think everyone was secretly hoping the spring temps would last a while longer...now we're back in the 30's for the next week at least. This is not ok. My whole life, spring has been my favorite season! For the first time in 27 years {I can't believe I will be 27...}, there is a chance I might be wearing a coat on my birthday! WHAT?! This is absurd. Luckily, the week after, I'm headed to TX to see my family and I can't wait to bust out the sandals and sundresses!

So...for my birthday, I would like to bid farewell to Old Man Winter - you can come back in December.

Bulls Game!

Saturday night we went to the Bulls game. We invited my friend, Chris, who is a childhood friend of mine. We met in the 3rd grade and after high school, we went our separate ways to different colleges and now, we're both in Chicago! It really is a small world when you think about it. I was so glad Chris came because the Bulls were doing a special 20 year reunion celebration at halftime to honor the 1991 Championship team. It took me back to elementary when Chris and the other boys in my grade were obsessed with the Bulls, the Magic and just the NBA in general.

Chris & me! I love this guy. Even though we haven't really kept up over the years, he's just a genuinely good guy and I'm so glad to know him. And he's the best dance partner! Our 3rd grade teacher loved to have little dances in our classroom and we were always partners for the Mexican Hat Dance! :)

We had amazing seats. We were in the lower level on 3rd row right behind the Bulls bench. I just can't believe how big these guys are in person! I'll be honest, I don't really keep up with the NBA so I didn't really know any of the players until last night. I had a great time and it was really cool seeing players like THE Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen honored at the half. The crowd was deafening and when I looked over at the boys, they looked like little kids they were so excited!!! They all had their cameras out taking pictures of everything.

Chris, JP and Matt so excited that they just saw some NBA greats!

So cool to see these guys come back and thank the fans!


I learned that Rose is pretty darn good. The crowd was constantly chanting MVP and who knows, maybe they'll be honoring him in 20 years!

And...my mom saw us on TV! She just ate that up! She kept calling and telling us to wave or saying that she saw Matt jump up and cheer. Pretty cool!

Matt was easy to spot in his bright green! What a fun night! Love this man more every day. :)