'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!!! :)