Tuesday Recapping

People, I'm still of the mind there should be a "Tuesday Weekending" link up!! We need something for those of us who can't get their recapping act together on a Monday morning. Which more popular blog (that can harness far more participation than I can haha) wants to partner up?! ;)

This past weekend was a whirlwind. Dinner plans on Friday, two birthdays on Saturday, and a bridal shower on Sunday. All good stuff but I'm already looking forward to a break in these jam packed weekends.

Friday

We had plans after work to meet Sammy's coworker and his girlfriend for dinner. I had already met his coworker and loved him, so I was excited to find his girlfriend was every bit as sweet as I thought she'd be. So thrilled to have another police girlfriend friend. 

We headed over to Woodstock to go to D. C. Cobbs for dinner, but before eating, I really wanted to stop into their bookstore in town, Read Between the Lynes. I don't know why I even went in when we only had five minutes to spare because I needed at least twenty. It was SO cute. I definitely want to go back and scour the shelves. 

I got the fish fry at D. C. Cobbs and decided I should have gone with a burger which is what they're known for. Their fries were excellent though. Still thinking about them.

We came home around 8:30 and I painted my nails, put stamps on our "new address" cards, and wrapped our niece's birthday gift, while we watched The Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars has never been my thing, like I've actively avoided it, but since Solo came out, I've been intrigued primarily because I have such a thing for Harrison Ford. SO we're attempting to watch all the Star Wars movies just so I can go see Solo.

Saturday 

Theoretically, I should have been able to sleep in on Saturday but of course I woke up at 7 a.m. Ugh. I read Wild in bed while Sammy went to go workout, and then we had to get ready for our niece's first birthday.

It was "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" themed and SO cute. They had it at Maretti's in Hoffman Estates and we were all surprised by just how good the food was. 

Yep, that's a real Mercedes this kid received from Sammy's parents ;) 

Only picture I can include of the birthday girl 'cause you can't see her face haha (parents have a no social media rule in regard to posting about her)

Sammy and I split up at this point so he could stay with his family while I left early with my family to head to another party on my side. My cousin in the Navy was in town before her and her husband headed to Florida on vacation, so we stopped by my uncle's to see them and celebrate her birthday.

We hung out there until around 11 p.m., (I eventually fell asleep on the couch for a little while haha I was SO tired!) and then I went back home with my mom to sleep there because we'd both be going to my cousin's bridal shower the next morning. I've only lived in another house for a few weeks, but I love sleeping in my bed at my moms' house when I get the chance haha. Sometime at the end of July we'll be moving my bedroom furniture from her house to our new house, but I knew I'd be spending several Saturday nights there this summer just because of how my weekend plans have turned out and I'd need a place to sleep, so we've left a lot of that furniture alone for now.

Sunday

My mom, grandma, and I went to my cousin Mallary's bridal shower at Venuti's on Sunday morning and it was a gorgeous day and shower. 

There was a fruit punch and Bellini punch station, an appetizer station, and dessert station for later. 

We got the cutest favors: white ceramic berry dishes from Crate & Barrel. So gorge. 

My mom got to meet her godson's new daughter, River Rose. She's absolutely the sweetest little doll there ever was.

That face cracks me up. She's so chill.

Me and the gorgeous bride. Another bridal shower, another opportunity for the SJP floral dress ;) 

It was a really lovely day and I can't wait for the bachelorette party in a few weeks and then the big day in July!

After the shower, we dropped my grandma off and hit Old Navy because I had gotten an email about their linen pants being on sale for $10 for one day only. My mom was just talking about how she wanted another pair of linen pants, so we took the opportunity to do a little shopping. 

I realized while in the dressing room just how much of neutral gal I am ;)

We went back to my mom's house and hung out with my dad and brother who were doing some yard work outside. They helped me haul my bike and hammock into my mom's car so we could take it back to my house later that night. I placed a quick Instacart order while we sat outside talking and then my brother and mom and I headed back to CL.

We dropped off my stuff, unpacked the groceries, and then went back out to Duke's for a quick dinner.

I know I wax poetic about my family all the time, but they're seriously the greatest humans I know. After spending all day doing yard work, my brother and dad filled the tires in my bike, took my hammock apart, and loaded everything in the trunk for me without even being asked (I would have done it myself!). My mom drove me back to CL on a Sunday night (after doing a ton of driving that weekend) and paid for dinner. She and my brother unloaded the car for me and helped me put away the groceries. They're the best. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. Life certainly wouldn't be as comfortable or fun, that's for sure.

The weekend went by quickly, but I'm looking forward to a long weekend coming up. Summer hours have started at work and my first Friday off (we get every other off) is this Friday. Super excited about it because Sammy is off Friday as well, and he's off Thursday so I'm looking forward to coming home Thursday night and hanging out without any plans for Friday except (hopefully!) sleeping in :)

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week! xo

Friday Favorites

Well it wouldn't be a Friday Favorites if I didn't recap all my wedding favorites from last Friday and Saturday!

Chelsie and Dan's wedding couldn't have been more beautiful. Seriously just wouldn't have been possible. People haven't stopped telling me how gorgeous the venue's grounds were and how lovely everyone and everything looked. It's been so fun to look back on it even though it's only been a week!

How stunning was she?!

Last Friday, Chelsie and I met one of our girlfriends (another bridesmaid) to get mani/pedis in the morning which was fun girl time and much needed.

Chelsie and I ran errands throughout the day and then I surprised her with massages for the two of us which she deemed "the best thing ever" afterward ;) If you're local, I highly recommend the Wellness Center in Libertyville. Incredible service and the massages were SO good. Can't speak more highly about the women that work there. 

Afterward, we headed back to the hotel with Chinese take-out which we ate out of the cartons on the bed :)

A few months ago when Chelsie asked me if I would spend the night before her wedding with her, I was thrilled. Sleepovers have always kind of been "our thing" and I was so honored she'd want to spend the night before her wedding with me. We were super goofy and ate bad-good food together which is basically the foundation of our friendship. It has been so fun to see how our relationship has remained the same even though our lives have changed. 

The next morning we took a "classic ugly" photo (aka I took an ugly photo cause look at her...nothing ugly about that face) and I celebrated her wedding morning by posting an evolution of our friendship in ugly ass photos on Instagram (we're probably 16 in that black and white photo). 

After that, we got our robes on, packed up the room, and hit the road!

We spent the morning sipping champagne, sitting out on the balcony of the bridal suite, and getting ready together. 

Chelsie and Dan did their first look and then we all took bridal party pictures. 

Full and total photography credit to Lindsey Kay Photography. She's absolutely incredible and just as lovely as she appears to be. 

They had the loveliest ceremony during golden hour. Everyone kept complimenting their music choices. The bridal party walked down to "In My Life" by The Beatles (which I can no longer listen to without getting goosebumps), Chelsie walked down to "Can't Help Falling in Love With You," and at the end, they walked down the aisle together to "Send Me On My Way" by Rusted Root. Like come on. 

Best music ever. 

They took some golden hour pictures during cocktail hour before they lost this gorgeous light. Are we dead from these pictures? I can't even stand it. 

  

Chelsie and Dan got married the Armour House in Lake Forest and their attention to detail is pretty impeccable. They worked with each vendor perfectly, had zero issues, and everything turned out so nice.

Sammy and I snuck in a photo during cocktail hour before heading in for dinner. 

I wish I had taken more photos of the room where we ate dinner because it was absolutely stunning. The flowers and the set up was done to perfection.

Chelsie and Dan had their first dance to "Fly Me to the Moon," the Sinatra version, of course ;)

And we spent the rest of the night dancing, drinking, and eating Lou Malnati's after 11 pm. It was a fabulous celebration for two people who couldn't be more suited for one another. 

These two are currently finishing up their mini-moon in Door County, WI (where they got engaged) and are doing things like riding bikes together, taking naps, sitting on docks by the lake, and just generally being grossly cute. 

And exactly one year from today, THIS girl will be married! Can't wait to see this wedding planning process begin! Especially when it's for literally the sweetest couple I know. 

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And to continue with the wedding theme... next weekend these two gross humans get married:

(photo credit: Tim Tab Studios)

I mean, really? Yes, Eli will be in the wedding. Yes, Eli is the dog. 

Sammy and I are both standing up and I couldn't be more excited for another cousin wedding in Chicago!

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Another very important favorite... my cousin had her baby this week!

- Vincenza Rose -

  

My favorite cousins have two of the loveliest girls ever now. I'm hoping we get to meet her this weekend!

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And now some non-family/wedding favorites: 

Sammy and I got pre-approved for a mortgage this week and that's definitely the most adult thing I've ever done to date. 

We've been looking at houses for a while now, mostly for fun, and as it turns out, very unrealistically. So we're trying to slow it down and take a slight break from looking so often in an attempt to keep this process fun (as my father, the realtor, keeps telling us to do). Hopefully we'll have something by spring of next year!

Where do I sign up for this shit? #UltimateGoals

I've been wanting to watch Felicity ever since I finished Dawson's Creek (SO happy with the ending btw), so I started this week when I saw it was on Hulu. I'm liking it so far! Anyone who has watched, can we all agree Ben kind of sucks? #TeamNoel (so far at least) 

Another favorite: having no official plans for the weekend. 

The last few weeks have been so crazy trying to balance Sammy's work schedule with mine, family and friend obligations, wedding stuff, kickboxing, while also trying to make some time for myself. 

It hasn't been easy, but the outcome has been worth it, and the rest of the summer should flow a little slower. 

Sammy is working this weekend, so my days are completely free to do whatever. I'm hoping to get some baby snuggles in, maybe make a run to Costco, but otherwise I plan on catching up on sleep and binge watching Felicity in bed. Next week we have wedding festivities starting again, so I'm taking the slow weekends when I can get them! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!

I'm already looking forward to that Tuesday off ;)

Weekending

It was definitely hard to wake up and get ready for work this morning! This weekend was so spring-y and lovely and I didn't want it to end. 

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I had an email in my inbox on Friday morning saying that our office would be closing a few hours earlier so we could all get a jumpstart on the holiday weekend which was a nice surprise! 

On the way home, I had to stop to pick up my bridesmaid dress from the seamstress and she had such pretty potted flowers on her stoop. They smelled amazing and I had to take picture because I'm a dork.

I pulled the hammock out when I got home and enjoyed the sunshine with this guy :) I started Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. So far I like it! I'm interested to see how the conflict builds and the rest of the story develops. 

On Saturday, I did some "radical self-care," as Anne Lamott says, in the form of painting and napping. The weather was so beautiful, so I pulled all my stuff outside and painted on the deck. Then I went inside with my stack of books, opened all the windows, and took a nap. 

  

In the late afternoon, I went with Sammy's parent's to a family friend's son's 2nd birthday party. It was Mickey themed and all the little details were so cute!

  

That boy's face! He's so sweet.

  

Sammy and I got him a toddler scooter which seemed to be a big hit...until he got a basketball hoop and then it was severely overlooked haha. Can't blame him though. 

  

Later on Saturday night, I decorated eggs with my mom, siblings, grandma, and uncle. It was nice to see my grandma and uncle since I knew I wouldn't be seeing them the next day for Easter.

I woke up on the earlier side on Sunday morning, pulled out the hammock, and listened to Easter sermons on my phone. There was a slight cool breeze so I brought a blanket out with me, the birds were chirping. It was so peaceful to be out there. I really enjoyed one Easter sermon in particular and I'm making plans to visit the church in person soon.

On Easter morning, my mom had us hunt for eggs and open our baskets. Yes, we still do this. Yes, all that candy has already been eaten. 

   

Later in the afternoon, I went over to Sammy's parent's house to spend Easter with his family. I didn't take any pictures of the food because I ate too quickly since I'm a slob and all the "big cousins" got demoted to the smaller table in the other room ;) So we didn't have any food that stayed on our table. 

Sammy's mom and grandma cooked and they made lamb, ham, green bean salad, mashed potatoes, green salad, lasagna, and a whole antipasto selection (Italian lunch meats, frittata, cheese, olives, etc.)

And then I spent the rest of the afternoon doing what I love to do most: feeling for kicks :) Which felt a lot of! I'm sure my SIL loves this ;) But I can't help myself. 

I hung around to hang out with Sammy once his family had left and it was great to have a little one-on-one time together. This was his last Sunday off, so for the next month or so, he'll be working every weekend so it was good to have that time together. 

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Every year I find that I have a newfound appreciation for the holiness of the holiday. Sammy and I heard different sermons on Sunday, so I was excited to talk with him about what he liked about the service he attended. I'm hoping to keep on with this spiritual journey of mine.

 I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating Easter and/or Passover this weekend!