Brunch + wine

Matt and I checked out a new spot for brunch today. It's not new, but it's new to us... we haven't been there before. The place is called Ina's and is on Randolph past Oprah's studio. We sat outside and the weather was just warm enough. Luckily, we missed the rain/drizzling. The food was good and we'll definitely be putting that on the list of places we frequent.

On our way home, we stopped off at Perman Wine to pick up our "6 for 60"... six bottles of wine for $60. The owner picks six different bottles each month with a good variety of reds/whites.

Here is the selection this month... can't wait to try 'em!

Legally Blonde

Friday night, Hany gave Erin and I a (very) early birthday present and we all went to see Legally Blonde The Musical. The show was definitely cheesy and girly, but it was cute. If you hadn't seen the movie, it might not be that entertaining to you. We laughed a lot! Not sure if it was because it was so funny, or that it was so over the top we just had to laugh!

Jane, Hany, Erin and I enjoying our champagne... cheers!

Trix are (not only) for kids

Today was Matt's turn to bring in breakfast for the FMBC (Friday Morning Breakfast Club... we have about 10+ of us that sit in two rows of cubicles that alternate bringing in breakfast every Friday.)

Matt brought in those little boxes of cereal and some milk. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to have... should I go healthy and eat Cheerios? Or should I go the kid cereal route and have Apple Jacks? Smacks? I finally picked Trix. I haven't had those in SUCH a long time. Now, I'm on a sugar high, combined with a caffeine high from the coffee I'm drinking, plus it's Friday and I'm ready for the weekend... i.e., i.am.bouncing.off.the.walls! : )

Happy Birthday Tony

On Wed night, a bunch of us met up at Rocco's (formerly Ranalli's) to celebrate Tony's birthday. He had been hoping for better weather, so we could sit out on their gi-normous patio... but, no such luck. This is Chicago, after all! We ate LOTS of yummy pizza and drank a few beers/wine/etc. and watched the Blackhawks game. We'll definitely have to check that place out again once the weather is warmer!

This weekend flew by...

And it's already Tuesday night. Friday night, I had sushi with Hany and then we saw Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. The sushi was good, the movie was cheesy (go figure!)

On Saturday, my folks drove up from Rochester. We had a bbq at Erin's house. Ross' parents were in town as well, so we got everyone together for tons of food and a little euchre tournament. Ross and his mom won the tourney. Keely and I came in second.

We solved the mystery of where Erin's patio umbrella went to... it disappeared from her patio during a big wind storm a few weeks ago. She went ahead and bought another one. But, while my parents were up, they found a ladder and checked out the roof. That's where it was. This is a BIG umbrella and it was not open, but it got swept up and ON TOP of the building. Crazy!

On Sunday, my mom, Erin and I went out to the 'burbs to do a little shopping. We walked though IKEA... that place is gi-normous! We went to Woodfield and my mom found a dress to wear to my wedding! Yay!

On Monday... more shopping... but this time it was me and Matt at Macy's. He needed some suits and they were having a big sale. He got quite a haul and saved more money than he spent. Always a good thing! We also found a pair of pants for Matt to wear at our wedding in the Bahamas. One more thing to cross off the list!

After shopping, Matt and I watched a few more episodes of Grey's Anatomy... we are now into 2009. Still have about 10 episodes to go before we hit the season finale. Although, I've already heard a lot about the season finale, so it may not be a big surprise when we finally get there.

Ridiculous

Blagojevich isn't allowed out of the country, so he can't be on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" which films in Costa Rica... but now, according to this, his wife is going to take his place on the show. Really???

Other contestants include: The Hills stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, world’s first supermodel Janice Dickinson, former NBA star John Salley, American Idol season six hopeful Sanjaya Malakar, wrestling champion and beauty queen Torrie Wilson and Stephen Baldwin.

This sounds like an absolute trainwreck to me.

Free stuff

It is GORGEOUS outside today! : )

I decided to skip the bus and walk to work... before I had to spend 8 hours cooped up in an office building. On the way to work, I pass the train station and there were lots of people giving away free trial size stuff along the way.

The only thing I got was this Fruit2Day thing that is sort of like a chunky fruit smoothie. I would have liked it a lot more if there weren't big chunks of fruit in it... but, I think that's part of the selling point. I had a hard time drinking it.



I passed on the free cottage cheese and the cat food. I've never really been a fan of cottage cheese and I don't have a cat.

Maybe I'll walk to work more often... who knows what they'll be giving away tomorrow.

pizza! pizza! pizza!

I've always told Matt I could probably live off of pizza alone... I love the stuff! Of course, I'd have to be able to change up the toppings. Anyway, last night we went to Beer Bistro for dinner and their special was $5 pizzas and $2 PBR drafts. This marks the third day in a row that I have had pizza for dinner. Awesome! Our tab ended up being $39 of alcohol (we obviously didn't have the $2 drafts!) + $15 of food. Sounds like a good night to me! : )

Oh, on our walk home from work yesterday, Matt and I were rounding the corner at Dominicks and WHOA!!! Some homeless dude was standing there just peeing away! In the bright sunshine... on the sidewalk... in a very busy area. I was walking first and stopped dead in my tracks and back-tracked a little. Matt looked at me like "why are you stopping?" and kept walking and then caught a glimpse of what I had unfortunately just seen. Matt's face was priceless. We were kind of shocked for a second... but then made a little detour while the dude finished his business. Wow! Something you don't see every day. THANK GOODNESS!

Sunday night

Matt finally returned home around 3pm on Sunday afternoon... he managed to miss all the girl fun from the weekend... including the 2+ hour session of karaoke! I'm sure he is disappointed!!! The girls left us a nice gift of Jack Daniels (for the boy) and white wine (for me)... thanks! : )

I think Matt's trip was productive... he was able to get a few rounds of golf in, he got to visit with our bestman and his family. Actually, he got to officially ask Ryan to be the best man. Matt was waiting to do it in person and hadn't had a chance to get to Indianapolis since New Year's. But, Ryan said "yes", so we now have a best man!

After we spent a few hours veg'd out on the couch, we went over to the Reuters' to watch the Magic game and have dinner. Michelle had make-your-own-pizzas... with all the fixins. Here are the before and after pics:

Before


After


YUM!!! It was very good!

Girls weekend

My friend JJ from high school came to Chicago along with two of her friends from work (Andy and Cindy). They got into town around noon on Friday, so I took the afternoon off to start my weekend a little bit early.

Since the weather was kind of crappy on Friday afternoon, we decided to grab lunch and do some shopping on Mich Ave. We had lunch at Grand Luxe (SO much food!) and then walked to Water Tower.

We stopped off at the Signature Lounge (96th floor of the Hancock) for a drink and to see the view. We lucked out because the clouds cleared while we were there and we could get a pretty good view of the city.

On Friday night, Hany joined us and we all went on a dinner cruise from Navy Pier. We took the Mystic Blue lake breeze dinner cruise. We were a little worried since the weather was rainy and gross... we were also a little worried because when we showed up to board, there were about 20+ teenagers in prom style dresses all getting on board with us. Turns out, they were having a Sweet Sixteen party for a girl. Luckily, they were seated very far from us! But, actually, they weren't bad and were kind of fun to watch.

Hany, me, Andy, JJ and Cindy on the boat cruise


The dinner on the boat was a buffet and surprisingly really good! We had a few drinks, which helped make the cruise even more fun! : ) After eating, we walked around the boat and took some pics. It was still drizzling, so we didn't spend much time outside.

Chicago city skyline from the boat


Hany, JJ, Cindy, Andy and me on the boat deck


Andy, Cindy and JJ on the top boat deck


We got to meet the captain!


They asked if we were celebrating anything, so Hany told the waiter we were "brides". Which I think he took as we were marrying each other. But Hany quickly cleared that up and said "we're getting married... but not to EACH OTHER!" He seemed a little relieved and he said "hey, you never know!"

Our congratulatory cheesecakes


On the first level of the boat, there was a DJ and dance floor. On the second floor, there was a guitar player. We mostly stayed on the first floor and ended up dancing quite a bit. We were seated next to a table full of mostly women who were also having a great time... one of them taught Hany how to do the booty shake!

Busting a move!


After the boat cruise, we headed to Pops for Champagne (Andy wanted to check out the place.) I hadn't been to this new location in the city, just the old one up in Lakeview. We got a bottle of rose sparkling wine, which was very tasty.

Andy, Cindy, me and Hany at the champagne bar


The girls were in the mood to dance some more and we were feeling pretty good after the bubbly, so we decided to go the Hangge Uppe. This place has so many different types of people, ages, etc. Lots of out-of-towners, business people letting loose, random drunks, bachelorette parties... you name it, you can find it there. Makes for some great people watching! We danced and danced and danced... our feet were so sore by the time we left, but we all had a great time.

Down the hatch at the Hangge Uppe!


Dancing on the stage


On Saturday, we rolled out of bed kind of late and went for brunch at Wishbone. We sat outside in the sunshine and it was awesome! Since it was really nice out, we headed up to Wrigley to see if we could get tix to the Cubs game. By the time we got up there, the tix were pretty much gone. We ended up at Vines on Clark in the beer garden. It was great to be outside in the fresh air and sun enjoying a few cold beers. By the time the game finished, the beer garden was packed! Ross and Erin met us out for a beer (they had been at the game). Lots of fun people watching there as well!

In the beer garden... we had the best spot in the house!


Me and JJ in the beer garden


At the Addison red line stop in front of Wrigley


We came back home and took a little snooze and ordered some Chicago style pizza for dinner. We hung out at the house for a bit, had a few drinks, shots, sang WAY too much karaoke (I'm sure the neighbors were glad when we finally left for the night!)

Ingredients for a very tasty shot


The perfect strawberry/amaretto/whipped cream combo!


KARAOKE!!!


We went to the Baton Lounge for the 12:30am show. The girls were interested to see this show, and the few times I have been before have been such a great time.

Cindy, Andy and JJ waiting to get into the Baton Lounge


If you haven't heard of it, it's a transvestite show where some of the guys are more beautiful than most women... kind of scary! They lip sync to songs, dance, etc. It's another big bachelorette party thing (which was why I had been once.) Anyway, it was a different style show than the last two times I went, so I was a little disappointed for the girls... but they still seemed to enjoy it. When I went, the songs were more upbeat and sing-along and it was a more entertaining show. This time, I barely knew any of the songs and most were slower ballads... kind of put me to sleep!

Afterwards, we went dancing on Rush/Division... this is the most I've danced in one weekend for a very long time! Lots of fun! I tried to get the girls to do a pole dance with the midget at the bar, but unfortunately, it didn't happen. That would have been a GREAT picture! ; )

After the girls left today, I totally crashed on the couch for a few hours! I AM WIPED OUT! Such a fun weekend! I hope they make this an annual trip!

Random stuff on a Wednesday

• Today was muffin and bagel day at the office. We have them every other Wednesday and it's always a nice surprise when you walk in on a Wed and it's bagel day and you forgot. I must have gotten here early today, because when I went down to the lunch room, there was still a good selection left. Usually, I'm stuck with a plain bagel and orange marmalade or the bottom half of a muffin.
  
  
• Matt and I booked our flights to the Bahamas! We're flying down on the Wednesday before we get married and flying to St. Lucia on the Monday following. We haven't booked the honeymoon hotel yet, but I'm working on that. I can't wait!
  
  
• What is up with all the drama surrounding Jon & Kate Plus 8??? They are in every gossip mag! Jon's having an affair... no wait, Kate is also having an affair. Geesh! And according to TLC, they are still in the middle of filming shows right now. That's got to be awkward, huh?
  
  
• I'm finding it really hard to stay focused today. I don't know why. It's just one of those days. I'm glad it's finally after 5pm... there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
  
  
• I'm looking forward to the weekend already... a friend of mine from high school and a couple of her friends are flying in from Omaha for a girls weekend. They have all kinds of fun stuff planned and I'm tagging along. They are crashing at our place this weekend, so Matt is gettin' the heck outta Dodge. Funny how that works! He's going back home to play some golf (hopefully if the weather cooperates!)
  
  I guess that's about it for now... I'm starving and ready to head home!

Biggest Loser finale

I'm disappointed with the outcome of last night's finale... I really had hoped Mike would win. He looked great! Helen looked scary and Tara looked pretty similar to when she left the ranch.

I never had a big opinion either way of Helen throughout the show. But something about her attitude last night made me not like her. Like when she made that comment... the three of them were standing there and Ally said something like 'how are you feeling Helen?' and she gave the other two contestants a big up and down once-over and said she liked her chances of winning. She seemed really cocky to me and it was annoying. I'd like to see her in about 6 months and see if she is still so tiny. I really hope not! It's a good thing this season didn't go on any longer, because Helen would look sickly.

I couldn't believe how much weight Jerry had lost. That's great for him. He was a little over the top last night as well. I thought it was kind of weird how his wife Estella and he interacted... or rather, did not interact. I don't know, maybe it was just me that noticed that. Matt thought Estella looked like she had aged 10 years since being on the ranch.

Matt and I were wondering how they were going to fill the 3 hours of show, but I think it was a lot of commercials. We started watching on the DVR about an hour in and we caught up to the live version about 15 minutes before the ending.

Dinner out with the cousins

Last night, we met up with Matt's cousins Leigh Ann and Molly and a friend of Molly's. Molly was in town for a conference and Leigh Ann lives here in the 'burbs, so we all got together at Molly's hotel for a few drinks to start off.

Matt wasn't too sure he would be able to make it out because... well, he's just always busy! But, after he showed his co-workers the threatening txt messages from Leigh Ann and Molly if he didn't meet up with them, his co-workers gave him a reprieve from working for the night. There was something about death and knives... I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it was a direct result of the Cosmos they were drinking. ; )

We had fun catching up with Molly and Leigh Ann. We ended up going to a bar called J Patricks at Ogden and Erie. A friend of Leigh Ann's was there and said to come watch the Blackhawks game there. I'll have to say, I am not a fan of that bar. When we walked in, the place had an awful odor like the bathrooms had been backed up for days. I actually used the bathroom and it was worse in there. Maybe we just caught the place on an off night or something. It seemed like a nice neighborhood bar, if it didn't smell so bad.

We decided not to eat there and just had a drink and then headed to Bar Louie to grab dinner. Not that Bar Louie is that much better, considering it was once shut down by the Board of Health for having rat feces all over the food storage area... but, it's better now. It's passed inspection and we've been back there a few times without incident.

Although, I did wake up at 3am this morning in a sweat feeling like I was going to be sick. Not sure what that was from... could have been the food from Bar Louie, but who knows. I was super thirsty as well. Very strange.

Inaugural grilling out of the summer

On Sunday during the day, we celebrated Mother's Day in Rochester with my mom. Erin, Brett and Ross had also driven down for the weekend. We had a cookout - burgers and brats with all the tasty fixin's - very good! Then we went shopping (of course!) I found some cute stuff for summer and the Bahamas/St. Lucia.

On Sunday night, when I got back into Chicago, the Reuters came over and Matt dusted off the grill and made us all kebabs. Great job, Matt!

I'm so happy grilling season has started again! : )

Mother's Day

On Saturday, my mom and I drove to Quincy to hang out with my gramma for the day. We showed her some pictures and we talked about wedding stuff and had a good time!

On Saturday night, my mom and I took her out for dinner to Tower Pizza. Chuck and June met us out, too. That place has the best chicken nachos! And the margaritas were pretty good, too!

I forgot to take a pic, so here is one from last summer that I have of the three of us:



Happy Mother's Day to my mom and gramma! : )

Traffic sucks

I finally made it home to Rochester last night... after spending seemingly forever in my car. The first hour of the trip, I went about 20 miles. Yep, 1 hour = 20 miles. I hate the traffic getting out of the city. It is hardly ever moving faster than a snail's pace. Luckily, there were lots of fun songs on the radio.

My parents and I went to dinner at Cheddar's and then watched some show about Drew Petersen. I hope he gets what he deserves... SLIMY! I slept like a rock, which is surprising because it is SO quiet here and I am used to a lot of noise. At home in Chicago, we have the fish tank which constantly makes a flowing water kind of noise. We have the city traffic noise, which never stops... sirens, drag racing... I really don't know where people are going at 3am, but whatever. Here, I can hear the leaves on the tree outside my window rustling in the wind and that's about it.

Today, we are heading over to Quincy to visit with my gramma and take her out to dinner for Mother's Day. I haven't seen her since Christmas, so I'm looking forward to it!

Finally Friday!

I'm so glad this week is wrapping up... I've been ready for a weekend since Monday! This was a busy week (crazy busy for Matt!)

On Tuesday, we met up with Matt's cousins Leigh Ann and Brian and Brian's girlfriend for dinner at PJ Clarkes. Brian and his GF were visiting from Texas. We made it home kind of late, but still watched The Biggest Loser. I voted for Mike. Matt doesn't like Mike or Ron, so he abstained from voting. I doubt he would have gone to the trouble to vote even if he did have a preference, though. I can't wait to see the finale and see how they all did at home!

My volleyball team had playoffs Wed night. We made it through the first round pretty easily, but lost in the second round. We went out for a drink afterwards to Four Shadows to celebrate the end of the season and to give Chad a proper send-off. He's getting married and moving away, so he won't be on our team anymore.

Last night, Matt and I went out to Dragonfly for dinner. I won the bowling bet this past Sunday, so this was the last of the payouts for the league. Til next year! Poor Matt has been so crazy busy with work this week... he was wiped out last night! We got home after dinner, watched Desperate Housewives on the DVR and he totally passed out snoring on the couch before 9:30. Since he was out, I went ahead and watched the Real Housewives of NYC while he continuted to snore. No way would I get to watch that normally with him in the room!!!

Today (FRIDAY!!!), I am working from home and catching up on some laundry. I'm driving home to Springfield this afternoon for the weekend to visit with my mom and gramma for Mother's Day.

Six months to go!

Six months from today, at about this time, Matt and I will be on a beach getting married! I can't wait! : )

I talked to the wedding planner, Stephanie, today. She seems very nice and more competent than the last M.I.A. wedding planner. Of course, it's still early in the process... but, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now. We talked a little bit about the wedding and decorations and the rehearsal dinner. I'm getting more excited about our upcoming nuptials!!!

Forking over some more dough

Today, another payment is due for our wedding... just makes me think of all the things that we still need to do before we get married. I haven't been paying that much attention to the little checklist that I signed up for a couple months ago, so I feel like I am really behind. I'm a little scared to see what all I am "supposed" to have done or be doing right now.

Nice weekend

This past weekend was exactly what I needed... a good mix of fun, downtime and awesome weather!

Friday night, Matt and I went to Catch 35 so he could cash in on his remaining bowling bets. I haven't been there in a long time... the food was great! Our waitress was a bit on the kooky side, though.

Saturday was a pretty relaxing day. We dropped off a load of stuff (that had been blocking our hallway for a few weeks) at the Salvation Army. Everything fit into the back of the SUV with the seats down, which was awesome. I was a little worried we'd have to make two trips. That place is a zoo! People are constantly in and out dropping stuff off.

We veg'd out by the tv for a little bit and then headed to Village Tap for a few drinks and dinner. We ended up watching the rest of the game at the Reuters.

Sunday night was the final week of the bowling league... it's always a little sad to be finishing it up because it's a lot of fun. But, with the weather getting nicer, I'd really rather be outdoors enjoying it. I bowled well and ended up winning the final bet of the league against Matt. There's always next year, babe! ; )

Good to be back

Before I left STL yesterday, I met up with my friend Crystal for a drink and a few appetizers. She just moved and is in the middle of all that fun stuff like unpacking and getting cable, internet, etc. set up. I don't envy her... moving is no fun! : (

My flight home was delayed a few minutes, but we made up time in the air and landed on time. I got home by about 8:45pm and I think I was in bed by 9pm. I totally crashed! It's so nice to sleep in my own bed!