:: ju-ju-junio ::

first of all, i cannot believe the month of june is coming to a close. CRAZY. i hate how quickly the summer is flying by and i'm trying to enjoy every minute of the good weather:) since i've been tardy to the bloggin' party, i'm going to do a mashup of the month.

:: snippets from june ::

- eric is a travelin' man:
eric has been out of town from sunday night through friday night EVERY week this month. grrr. he's teaching trainings for KPMG and loves it, but it puts him everywhere but here during the week. i miss having him around, but have kept myself busy with work, friends and travel. the only positive thing about him being gone is i get to drive the car to work vs. taking the bus. i show up less sweaty, which is great. here's a rare sighting of him at our kitchen table.


- fat fridays at work:
i work with people who appreciate fattening foods as much as I do. a blessing and a curse, i'll tell ya:) each friday we have "fat friday" where we take turns buying/making breakfast treats for the team. we recently had a donut bonanza on national donut day. it was borderline ridiculous. i was in a food coma all day.



- kc trip - bonny's baby shower:
a trip to kc was just what i needed - i definitely miss my lady friends! i flew back on friday and shopped around the plaza, had a lazy, sangria-filled lunch with sal, runge and kara and spent the evening over at the crabbs with bangkok bill {sally's dad was back from bangkok, where he now lives}. saturday runge, sal & i hosted a baby shower for bons who is *finally* back from germany! we laughed and caught up with all the girls - such fun! a few faves from the trip: fruit loop vodka, cake batter dip, celebrating baby greenlee and seeing my fab friends.
 

- adios, flip flop:
a fun work friend {ryan aka flip flop, as he only wears flip flops...even in the dead of winter} is moving out to the LA office and a proper send-off was needed. he brings a lot of life to the agency & we'll definitely miss him.



- yorktown visit:
i got to go home for FOUR DAYS and hang with the whole fam. jess/justin and boys, thom and mom/dad! plus, eric was able to fly in from dallas to meet us. it was so much fun just waking up to george's smiling face {happiest baby ever}, lounging around in my pjs, playing in the backyard, cooking out, having water balloon fights, getting around the town in NO time {it takes forever to get anywhere in Chi}. my parents have been married for 40 years - they are such an amazing example for everyone, especially eric & i. they laugh and love everyday. i.love.that. i'm missing the fam already, but will see them in fargo the first week of august! yay!

:: the month of may ::

Hallo fine folks!

I have been very lazy with my posting, so wanted to give you a quick overview of the month of May.

Highlights of May:
- Kentucky Derby/Cinco de Mayo:
Eric & I went to a charity party at a local bar to celebrate the Derby in style. We LOVE dressing up in some fun & fancy clothes. Eric looks for any excuse to wear seersucker, so it turned out to be the perfect afternoon. We drank Dark & Stormy's (rum + ginger beer) all afternoon with friends! Yum.

- Sweatpants Party:
My friend Katie had an atypical birthday party - sweatpants were required, we ordered pizza and gossiped. Oh, and drank our fair share of vino:) Such fun to be underdressed at a party - refreshing change of pace. And, I made a strawberry shortcake cake. Turned out delish:)

- Mother's Day:
No real highlights except I have the best mom, sister and grandmothers anyone could ask for. And, my BFFs are fab moms, too. All good inspiration for someday.

- NYC wedding weekend:
EJ & I headed to NYC for a wedding for his childhood best friend, Chris. I felt like gossip girl all weekend and was constantly on the hunt for celebs.

• Thursday was the joint bachelor/bachelorette party - we went out in the lower east side until too late. We partied at Essex and Beauty and noshed late night at The Meatball Shop. We slept like babies:)  
• Friday my friend Lauren and I ate at the Donut Plant and shopped LOTS in SoHo, like so much that I had total buyers remorse when I returned to Chicago. Oops. We had a welcome happy hour in Brooklyn, then went out to a big group dinner at Flatbush Farms {also in Brooklyn}. Eric's friends were a blast and we closed the night at the weirdest bar with a DJ who played only MoTown music.  
• Saturday Eric & I went to brunch {he was wearing his suit & looked totally dapper}, then I shopped more in NoLita/NoHo with Katie. Again, continued the tread of shopping/spending too much. The wedding was in the afternoon in Central Park. It was gorgeous and so "them"! After the ceremony, we stopped by a fun bar for a drink before the reception in the East Village.  
• Sunday was the first and only day Eric & I had to ourselves. We definitely took full advantage of scouring the city and seeing the sites. We went down to the World Trade Center memorial, ate lunch on the water, walked all the way up to Greenwich Village, then over to the Brooklyn Bridge. Walked across the bridge and back, then over to Chelsea Market and to High Line Park {SO COOL!!}. We wrapped up the day back on the lower east side at Gruppos pizza. Then, proceeded to walk 45 blocks up to the hotel to get our bags/head to the airport. Our fab trip got a little tarnished when our flight got canceled and we had to stay the night out by La Guardia... but we had too many great memories to let that get us down:) 

- Eric's siblings visit:
Whit, Bryce and Bryce's girlfriend Stacey visited over Memorial Day and we had a ton of fun. Shopped Michigan Ave, did a pub crawl through Lakeview - starting with dinner in Boys Town, a drink at minibar, infused whiskey at Blokes and Birds and buckets of beers on the patio at Justin's. Saturday we had brunch and shopped on Southport, then went to a BBQ with some of our Chicago friends. Sunday we went to the beach and relaxed. So fun hanging with fam:)

- Wilson's housewarming par-tay:
One of my favorite friends in the city, Erin, and her husband Eric had a party at the new-ish condo. It was the perfect summer day in Chicago - sunny & 70s. We ate, drank, laughed, sat on the patio, listened to music... and even dabbled in some Four Loko/Disarono on the rocks for more laughs. We're lucky to have such fab friends:)

- Sporty spice - softball:
I fancy myself quite the amateur athlete... always signing up to play sports with my work team. And while my skills are often lacking, my spirit makes up for it. My family will laugh at this, but I am actually *kind of* good at softball. Who knew? I love hitting, but not as keen on fielding. Oh, if only I could turn back the clock to middle school... this may have been the sport I was supposed to be great at. Oh well:)

- Corporate Challenge 5K aka the first time I've run in 1.5 years:
Remember when I ran the Chicago Marathon? Yeah, I don't really either. I've been on an exercise hiatus, until the corporate challenge run in May. I signed up for a 5k {which was actually a little longer than 5K - 3.5 miles} and set out to jog the thing. I finished and felt pretty good. Only had to walk a few times. Yay! Go, me. Let's see if I can stay on the bandwagon.


:: Derby Party ::


:: Excitement After Scoring a Run ::




:: Corporate Challenge - Team TRIS3CT ::


:: A glimpse of NYC ::


:: Johnson siblings visit ::



:: Strawberry shortcake cake ::

:: workin' for the weekend ::

friends and fam -- it was a LONG week. i swear, every monday i'm looking forward to friday. i know that's nothing out of the ordinary, but i'm going to *try* to find something to look forward to during each week. perhaps an after-work outing, walk with a friend or specially-made dinner. but, since that doesn't start until tomorrow i'll show you this weekend's happenings... nothing too crazy. fairly relaxed actually:)

friday night ::
we went to a party for a friend's 30th birthday. it was filled with great friends, good drinks and even better music. oh, and no party seems to be complete without some mustaches:)

saturday ::
lazy, lazy day. border-line obscene. we watched a million episodes of house hunters international, cooked a roast and caught up on laziness.

sunday ::
went to brunch with my lady friends for rigi's 30th birthday. hearty boys was as delicious for brunch as it was for dinner. i had a mimosa with "tang" cubes {fun and fizzy} and stuffed french toast with a chocolate-covered banana... it looked kind of dirty, but tasted delish! after brunch, i stopped by whole foods to get fresh flowers and some unfiltered apple cider vinegar... going to start drinking water with a few teaspoons twice a day. supposed to be super good for you... let's see if i can keep up with it! eric left tonight for san antonio for training this week - bachelor abbey ensues... first stop, homemade chocolate chip cookies. new recipe that has to stay in the fridge for 36 hours... my hopes are high!

:: easter in 'brasky ::

eric was swamped with work, so i went back to nebraska for easter to spend some time with mom, dad and thommy! while i was bummed he couldn't join, i absolutely LOVE being at "home".

because our kitchen in chicago is a bit on the small side, i like to bring my "recipes to-try" when i head to my parents'. this trip, i told my mom i wanted to make homemade marshmallows and in turn received a blank stare:) a friend from work made homemade marshmallows and let me try them. seriously, they are a treat. they're fairly easy to whip-up and can be flavored with any desired extract... i chose almond. yummo.

we spent friday hanging out and relaxing, saturday we went to lincoln to shop, then headed to pk's in benedict to eat and to the late showing of hunger games {i.am.obsessed}. sunday we picked up grandma joan and headed to hastings to spend time and brunch with grammy sherrill. such a whirlwind trip, but lots & lots of fun with the fam. miss them already!!

:: meat-packing neighborhood ::

i remember interviewing at trisect {current place of employment} and thinking to myself, "this is a super random area." our office is nestled in the meat-packing district - it's a mix of artsy and gritty {with a little more grit, dirt and stench than art}. but, i've come to love our location and the amazing restaurants popping up everywhere. it's obviously a big change from being right off michigan avenue... but thought i'd share some of my fave things about our hood:

1.  the fat truck {yes, a truck that comes to fetch pig fat from the meat packing plants along fulton market street}
   

2. pallet man {usually homeless men fetch leftover pallets from meat packing plants, load them onto shopping carts and push them down the middle of the street to re-sell them for some cash}

3. publican quality meats {a delicious new deli from the folks at publican - dangerously close to our office. the lamb meatball sammy is unreal.}

:: chicago restaurant week ::

so, i *may* have gone a little crazy with chicago restaurant week this year... but, seriously, there are so many amazing places to eat. and, anyone that knows me, knows that i like to rationalize about "deals" - three courses for $25? it's like they're paying me to eat there:)

before you judge me, know that i don't *normally* eat this much. this was a bit of a special occasion... now, onto the run down of where i went, what i ordered and with whom i dined:

• saturday, 2/18: dinner with miguel/lauren at cere's table in ravenswood {i had a bucatini carbonara}
• monday, 2/21: lunch with laura at blackbird in the west loop {baby octopus and pekin duck confit}
• tuesday, 2/22: lunch with work friends at grange hall burger bar in the west loop {grass-fed beef burger with bacon, mushrooms and sharp white cheddar & hand-cut fries, oh and some homemade ice cream}
• tuesday, 2/22: dinner with jenae and annie at hearty in boys town {homemade pimento cheese app, fried chicken and dumplins' and pbj wonder bread pudding... gluttonous}
• wednesday, 2/23: lunch with cass & jenae at porkchop in the west loop {pulled pork sammy!}
• wednesday, 2/23: dinner with erin and laura at perennial virant in lincoln park {pan-roasted whitefish and lots of specialty cocktails!}

was the description disgusting enough? well, here are some pics. get ready to get your mouth a-waterin'!
blackbird

grange hall burger

hearty

perennial virant

:: mile high city escape ::

after an extra busy "busy season", eric & i planned a getaway to denver to spend some time with thommy! our visit centered around eating, drinking and shopping... three of my favorite past-times:) we pondered spending a few days in the mountains, but it was eric's first real trip to denver, so we wanted to explore the city. in addition to thom coming in from alliance, we were able to hang out with some of our faves from york that now live in denver. and, one of eric's friends from summer training works for kpmg in denver, so dinner & drinks were had with her. we miss you, thom! such a fun-filled getaway!! here's a quick run-down our our time:  

thursday:
* breakfast at Lucile's {amazing creole food}
* stroll through LoDo and Larimer Square
* beer tastings early in the day with Jeff
* dinner with kylee, doug & ty for 5280 Restaurant Week
* after dinner drinks at a speak easy, vodka bar and chic "club" chloe:)  

friday:
* shopping in the highlands
* thom's old timey haircut
* lunch at cherry cricket with thom's pal
* shopping at cherry creek
* dinner/drinks with eric's kpmg friend
 * out with the landenberger's at the gigglin' grizzly {it's a nebraska bar!}  

saturday:
* breakfast at denver biscuit company {what the heck?!}
* brewery tour at new belgium in ft. collins
* pizza at beaujois's
* hiking horsetooth in ft. collins
* drop by u of colorado campus in boulder
* stoll down pearl street
* dinner at a nice little sushi joint in denver

 breakfast @ lucile's!

my boys before heading to the great divide brewery:

thom & i:

thom pre-haircut:

mid-cut:

post-cut:

thom & e:

on the hike {more difficult post brewery tour}: