Sunday, July 15, 2012

'Merica....heck yeah!!!

I'm just going to begin this post by explaining the title. You could say I encountered a bit of "writer's block" when thinking about the title of this post and I mentioned just that to AK, who in return demanded strongly suggested the said title!! Back away now girls.....he's all mine!!HA! ;)
I did in fact leave off though right before the 4th of July, so I suppose it's kind of fitting! So without further ado....

4th of July
The 4th of July was spent staying local and enjoying what Chicago had to offer. Given the holiday was in the middle of the week and the fact that we are taking a week off in the beginning of August, we decided to lay low. The night of the 3rd we were lucky enough to get invited on our friend's boot for a little sunset cruise...a.k.a. a booze cruise!! :) It was super fun to be on the lake at night and see the city all light up and we also went on a little river tour which was just as cool. The day of the 4th we hung by the lake and tried to stay cool.....at one point we were so warm, we felt our bodies sizzle as we entered the lake. Complete craziness, but there was really no other place to be than in the water! We then proceeded on to a 4th of July BBQ and were joined by some friends who were randomly visiting Chicago for vacation....super fun. The night could not end however without fireworks.....MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE 4TH!! We fought the crowds and rode up to the Belmont Harbor (one of the harbors along the lake) with high hopes of seeing Navy Pier fireworks...which is exactly what happened....we could see them, but couldn't hear them. BUUUT, about 2 minutes after they ended the Belmont Harbor started ripping off their own fireworks and I'm willing to say they were some of THE BEST fireworks I have ever seen!!! Such a great way to end the night!

sunset cruise!

the skyline by evening!

spectacular view

ginger's unite!

the beloved Wrigley Building all light up...my favorite building


Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw
Last weekend (or the weekend following the 4th) AK conveniently had a bachelor party planned down in Kentucky for one of his friends who is getting married, so I conveniently planned a girls weekend for Chicago!! A good friend of mine from childhood came into town and we did lots of Chicago things....good dinners, yummy brunches, went to the beach and last but not least we took in the Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw concert at Solider Field. Let's just say the concert trumped all events of the weekend and we enjoyed ourselves immensely!! So fun to have a friend in town and enjoy the city together!!

ready for the show!

pretty cool with the city in the background!

slowly but surely, chicago is looking good on me! :)

beach time!



Mid Summer Break
AK and I have both felt like we have been on a dead run since summer started and hardly had a weekend to enjoy each other or the city for that matter. But this weekend has been the weekend and I labeled it our mid summer break! This was the weekend where we had no plans and rushed no where. It has been lovely. Since we had the weekend free we did plan a "hot date!" :)) Saturday we went downtown to hit up the Nordstrom anniversary sale and to eat at the Purple Pig! I'm not sure which was more exciting for me and AK for that matter. I love shopping at Nordstrom any time, but AK shops twice a year (summer & winter) and buys all the things he needs at one time. Seems crazy I know and not really a concept I can catch on to, but he did score some fancy jeans and work tops for way cheaper than they would normally be. I of course needed nothing but walked away with a new pair of Frye booties from Nordstrom.....something I was going to buy this fall, but now don't have to as I got them this summer for almost HALF PRICE!! Score! Next up was the Purple Pig....I realize once again the name sounds silly, but the food was too die for!!! This restaurant cooked something from almost every part of the pig, including bone marrow and I'm not kidding....it was delicious!!!  I highly recommend putting it on your "must eat list" if you ever visit Chi-town! Today has been pretty chill as well. We did however make it to church and hit up a new brunch spot called Nookie which came highly recommended and it did not disappoint!! I then spent a few hours by the pool while AK did some work and we wrapped off the weekend with a tasty grilled meal. Weekend was a success and we both need the "Monday diet" to start!! :)

so pretty!

the infamous....purple pig. what to order, what to order??

and the incredible bone marrow....served in a bone and everything. seriously delicious!!


Even though the last few posts had nothing to do with America.....we are still proud to be Americans and really do appreciate the fact that we live in this great free nation!! And we are are even more excited to cheer for the stars and stripes at the end of the month when the summer Olympics begin....'Merica, Heck yeah!!! :)

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Summer Lovin....

If anyone is ready to bust out into the Greece song, it's okay....me too!! But we have been lovin summer. People were not kidding when they said Chicago is a new city in the summer. I must admit, mid January, sitting in awful traffic I really wondered what was so great about this place, BUT since summer struck, I have been singing a bit of a different tune....Summer Love, Happens so fast! HA!

Anyhow, we have been up to lots of fun "summer things" so I thought I would share about all the fun we have been having outside of the 7a-5p grind!!

We have been able to watch quite a bit of baseball, which I LOVE!!! I'm not sure if I ever had a choice of liking baseball or not as my older brothers played their whole life and I played softball as well, but I think it's a combination of them and that baseball/softball is in the summer and some of my best memories growing up involved playing softball with my friends!! So the love continues....we have been to multiple Cubs games this year and we have been able to see both my nephews play in IA....one plays on a traveling team and one just began his career and started T-ball this year. Let me just tell you....you have not lived unless you have seen a 4-6 year old T-ball game. I can honestly say AK and I had not laughed that hard in a long time!! Fun times for sure!
batter up!! how cute is he??

playing the field!

he slid into every base....including first!!! :)) too funny

the tom bomb cheering on his brother!!

how lovey is this picture?? jack with his aunt (me) and his best friend (AK)!! :))

my brothers and dad!! we have spent countless hours at ball fields.

my dad, his wife and most of us....minus jen and marcy and tommy!

momma and most of her kiddos....minus jen and marcy!!


At the end of the Spring, AK and I were asked to play on a Co-ed beach volleyball team with people AK works with. We quickly agreed as we both love these kinds of things, and we can hardly deny a little healthy competition. I would say we had no idea what we were getting into, or maybe I didn't know. Either way, the Chicago beaches are lined up and down with volleyball nets and there are quite possibly 100 games going on at a time. A few of our games have been cancelled due to weather, etc, but the experience so far has been lots of fun. Unfortunately though, I was quickly reminded that I can't jump and swing like I used to, but we have discovered we both are pretty great at post game socializing...take the good with the bad I guess?? :)
And AK is on the DL due to his stress fracture so he has been water boy and picture taker!! Hopefully 1 more week and he will be back in action!
looks like i still got it! HAHAHA! ;)

love the skyline in the background!

servin up some heat!! :)
 

We took last Saturday and played in a bags/cornhole tournament!! This tournament was set up as a charity/fundraiser event for ALS awareness and all the proceeds went to find a cure for ALS. The tournament was on a rooftop that looked out to the Chicago skyline which was beautiful. We paid an entry fee and an at the door fee and we were able to eat and drink all day while playing bags and raising money for a good cause. And we played in honor of one of my favorite teachers to date, Mrs. Portz, as she was taken way too young by the awful of disease that is ALS. I think the final tally was something like $10, 000 raised, so I would say that was a success and it was a great way to spend a Chicago afternoon!!
totally legit!!! and really fun!

jess and zach....our friends from Denver who live in CHI now and helped organize this event in honor of one of their best friends suffering from ALS....such good people!!!


Summer is BBQ season for sure and AK happens to be quite the grill master. I mean I hate to brag, but when something is good....it's good and AK's grill creations are better than good, they are mouth watering delicious!! And recently he had a chance to show off his skill as we hosted a summer BBQ. I can honestly say we both enjoy throwing a good party and entertaining and summer time makes it all the better....burgers, sangria, cold beer, yard games, jalapeno chicken poppers....It just doesn't get any better than that!!! The BBQ was fun and once again AK did not disappoint....the food was delish and the company was great!!
sidewalk chalk....DUH!!!

rainbow fruit sticks!! my favorite BBQ piece!!

the BBQ table...we did not go hungry OR thirsty!


Last but not least another great thing about living in the Midwest after having lived in Denver, is that some of our "Denver friends" come back for a little "up north/lake time!" Recently some great friends of ours made a pass through Chicago and not only did we get to see them, we got to see them right after they got ENGAGED!!!! Congrats Burnham and Grauer....also known as Brian and Laura!! :). We are definitely looking forward to seeing the other Mid-westerners as they trickle through this summer!
burnham, grauer+us!! so fun to see them and to be able to help them celebrate!


Oh and how could I forget.....our cruiser bikes. We seriously love these bikes and ride them all over the city while ringing our bike bells and everything. It's super fun to "cruise" around and so far they have proven to be a great purchase. I have no recent pics, but envision old cruiser bikes and best friends just pedaling down the road....makes me smile every time!

So in summary....baseball, co-ed volleyball, ALS event, BBQing, seeing new and old friends, crusin......sounds like a blast and a half to me!!! Besides that, I'm lucky to have AK who is willing to do all these fun things with me!!

Cheers to a great summer everyone.....and Happy 4th of July!!!