Summer Do's

1. DO crack into good chardonnay

2. DO sit outside at a restaurant

3. DO go for a swim 

4. DO join a summer sport (no matter what your ability is)

5. DO wake up early on the weekends

6.DO let your clothes air dry

7. DO bring in some fresh flowers

8. DO visit your local farmers market

9. DO take in an outdoor concert

10.  DO go on a weekend getaway

 

 And make sure you DON'T let your summer get away from you.

Wrap up

After a great week, I am so happy that my weekend followed suit.

On Friday night, Joel and I had sushi at our favorite spot Ukai, with some our best friends Sara & Sean. It was a pre-birthday celebration for Sara and the four of us had a great time.....too good of time, because at around 11:30, I passed out on the couch midway through conversation. Whoops!

During the day on Saturday a big group of friends went to Oak Street beach for Sara's actual birthday. It was hot as could be, so I spent most of my time swimming in the lake. 

My cousin Amanda and I seriously couldn't get over the fact that we were swimming in the middle of a lake, looking up at the John Hancock, Sears Tower, and the rest of the beautiful city of Chicago.

It's the best city in the world.

Saturday night, Sara had a Mexican Fiesta complete with all of my favorite foods; guacamole, bean dip, tacos, and SkinnyGirl Margaritas.

After sleeping in as late as we could Sunday morning, Joel and I went out for some quick runs in the 90 degree heat . After our run, we convinced Joel's bff Kyle, (who happened to be 13th in State for golf way back when) to take us out to the driving range give me some tips. 

 

After 2 large buckets of balls, 1 almost-dislocated shoulder, and 3 sweaty golfers, we made a very necessary stop at Forever Yogurt.

If you live in the Chicago area, this is the best frozen yogurt spot around. They have 14 flavors of low-calorie goodness at relatively low prices.My concoction was a mix of their home flavor "original tart", coconut, and mom's homemade cake batter. Joel is still raving about his thin mint order, and Kyle was equally impressed with the red velvet.

When we got home we had some wine and some way too spicy Thai curry, caught up on blogs, and got finally got relaxation time in.

Honestly, what more could you ask for in one weekend?
 

---

This week is packed full of family dinners, softball games, and even a cubbie game! 

 I'm really going to try to focus on having fun, while still getting in some good workouts, making light, healthful meal choices, and trying not to drink too much - because to be honest, I haven't been doing very good on the diet front.

Hope you have a splendid Monday!

Happy Days

I gotta say after this and this, I was getting a little concerned that this was going to be the summer of doom.

I'm happy to say that I had a finally great week!

Monday - No work....so....umm, that was amazing.
Tuesday - Joel and I made shrimp and couscous and watched House Hunter
Wednesday - You know that softball league I joined? Well, there are 2 teams at our office, and last night, we played each other. The game got pretty competitive, and I did not perform
well *to say the least, but it was an absolute blast. I'm so glad I joined this league - it's such a fun summer activity and at the end of the day, it makes work much more fun.

Can you spot me?

Thursday - I'm not moving off of the couch, I'm going to eat a bagel, and watch my DVR'd shows all night long

I hope you too are in the midst of a fabulous week.

Of course we have another packed in weekend. Does that ever end? Friday, it's date night for us and Saturday, I'm getting a mani/pedi, going to the beach, meeting up with A Big Little Life, and celebrating my besties birthday.

Sunday, I'll be going to the driving range. Why? OHhh....because I'm dumb and got caught up in a BAD lie.

I told my boss I could play golf.

And guess what....now we're going golfing.

How quick can I learn how to swing?

Happy weekend ladies!

NYC Experts Needed

On Labor Day weekend Joel and I are taking a trip to NYC for the long weekend. During the day, we will be taking in Central Park and 2 days at the US Open. Both of us are true foodies, and we want to spend Friday and Saturday nights at some of the best restaurant that New York has to offer.

I'm not really familiar with NYC and so I figured I'd ask the experts here for some help. Do you have any good recommendations?

So far, here is our short list:

1. Brasserie, Midtown
Offering classic French cuisine with a modern twist in a futuristic, ultra-sleek cosmopolitan setting.

 

2. Per Se
Owned by Thomas Keller, owner of French Laundry in Napa Valley, deemed "Best Restaurant in the world"

3.Craft
Tom Colicchio's "simple single ingredient" dishes.

What are we missing?? Anything and everything you could tell us would be much appreciated!

What a weekend

Wow.

This weekend was absolute perfection.

While it could have been longer - the reality of it was, it was probably the best weekend I've had all summer.

On Saturday morning, a bunch of my cousins and I took my cousins kids (still with me?) to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was a really hot day, so we got to the zoo around 9 in order to beat the heat. The little one's loved it. 

 If you ever find yourself in Chicago, looking for a fun activity. Lincoln Park Zoo is where it's at - it's free!

After the zoo all of my family went to my cousins house for a night of pizza, wine, and games. 

 

On Sunday, the whole crew (there was about 25 of us cousins and aunts/uncles) headed to Crystal Lake to take in the local parade. 

 We even had a 5 year old drive us around the boat

 

We stayed on the boat for fireworks to wrap up an amazingly perfect day.

 

On Monday, we had some very exciting news to share.

However, if you are reading this, and you happen to be lucky enough to personally know Corie and Andrew - please keep this on the down low so they can tell all of their friends and family in person.

And look at me announcing it to the blogland!

 Joel's brother, and his beautiful girlfriend are ENGAGED!!!!

 I love Miss Corie, and am so happy that she's going to be in the Shield's family forever. 

She even does Joel's nails.

The whole fam is REALLY happy (and no, I'm not technically part of the family but I've been around long enough that we just count it!)

On Sunday night, Joel and I both fell asleep on the couch at 8:30 during a riveting episode of House Hunters.

Thankfully it's the work week - which means I get to relax!

Holiday Shopping

I decided to go on a virtual shopping spree at 3 of my favorite stores.

4th of July is the absolute best fashion holiday, and here are the pieces I would pull together from each store for some killer outfits.

#1.

 

#2

#3.

Which look are you feeling for this holiday weekend?

I think I'll be trending closely to the J.Crew look.

WILW

1. Pandora on my TV

There is something about the fact that I can simply turn the TV on and blast out that I am seriously loving this week. 

My favorite channel right now is Eric Hutchinson. Check him out.

2. Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pretzels

Ohhhh, these are good. If you dip them in cream cheese - they're gonna blow your world up.

3. Long weekends

Well, who doesn't love long weekends, but this long weekend ahead of us I am SO ready for. I need a few days where I'm around people I love and that make me laugh. I have such a fun weekend planned, it is honestly the only thing getting me through this week. 

4. Jello Flag Cakes

My favorite 4th of July dessert! This low-cal dessert is always such a hit at parties, and couldn't be easier to make. The recipe I use is straight from Jello.com - it's another really easy "semi-homemade" recipe.

5. Softball Games

 I am so happy that I joined our work softball league this summer. It's such a fun night and I do it for no other purpose than to just have fun. Do you have anything in your life that you do ONLY for fun? 

6. Million Dollar Decorators

Have you seen this? 

Yes? 

Okay good...than I don't need to say anything else.

Except that I want to have a drink with Mary. I bet she drinks tequila on the rocks - no lime, no salt.

 Can we cross our fingers that today is better than yesterday.

Dear Diary,

Today bit me in the ass....hard

Preface:
A while back, I was promoted to a management position, and the team I'm managing began their first week on Monday. It's a training week and things are crazy. I'm getting up around 5am in order to be at work before 7 so that I can get some work done before training starts at 9.

Chapter #1

I forgot my coffee at home so I had to go buy a starbucks (Non-Fat Chai Tea Lattee 1 pump vanilla) at 8:55, right before I had to begin our first meeting of the day. I got into the elevator and thought maybe the elevator smelled bad before I quickly realized I must have grabbed the wrong drink which was a nasty concoction of coffee and dirt. (I'm a coffee drinker, but S.bux is jet fuel that I cannot handle)

Chapter #2
I all of a sudden have a horrible cold. My body is weak and tired - my head feels like a bowling ball, my throat is scratchy, and I can't breathe out of my nose. Oh, and I'm leading meetings from 9-4 sounding like the lockness monster.

Chapter #3  
I'm trying to eat well and lose some weight, and I have a bowl of candy staring at me from 9-4.

Chapter #4
My iphone is still broken. I took it into the Apple store last week and they told me that had to update the software before they could swap out my phone - which they promised would fix the issues. Well, no surprise here, it didn't and now I have to go back to the dang store and get a new phone.

Chapter #5
I'm feeling very discouraged, unappreciated, and secluded at work. I think this is just because my overall mental state is in the shitter, but I kind of feel like Eeyore.

Conclusion
Reread this and grow some kahunas.

Flauxlers

Fake Flowers.

That is the topic on hand this morning.

What is your opinion of phony flowers?

Personally I love fresh flowers - preferably hydrangeas - but really, I'm not picky.

Problem is, real flowers are expensive and hard to keep up with, so what's a girl to do?

Well, I guess like any modern 21st century girl today...when you don't have what you want....you go out and buy a fake version. 

I took inspiration from one of my favorite bloggers, Honey Were Home. I honestly had to do a double take when  I saw her fake flowers, because they look so real to me.



I headed right out to Michael's to try and recreate some of her looks.

Even though I didn't find any good, fake hydrangea's I'm pretty happy with the energy these "Flauxlers"  bring into our home.
 


I'm still on the hunt for a hydrangea for the bathroom, so let me know if you see a good faker out there!

Fashion Friday

It barely looks like I'm dressing for summer, but Chicago has been weird to us this summer. I'm hoping in the next few days I can put away my sperry's and rain trench, and pull out some skirts and flip flops!

Not too much on the agenda for the weekend.

Tonight, Joel and I are going on a much needed date night to Twist 


Saturday is supposed to finally be nice so we're hoping to get in a run along the lake and maybe even a trip to the zoo or a summerfest.

Tomorrow night we're going out with our friends Dan and Katie for a drink on the rooftop at The Wit followed by dinner at Tavern on Rush.

 


Sunday includes breakfast with my bestie Claire and a big cleaning job at home.

Hope you have a fun weekend ahead of yourself too.

Enjoy your last June weekend. 

P.S. How the hell did that happen?