Friday Favorites

Hi all! So many favorites this week, so let's jump back to some from a few days ago...

We had our Halloween date night on Monday night since Sammy was off. He made chicken parmesan and in an attempt to spookify it, we so grossly called it blood and guts all night ;) and I broke out the glasses I found in the Target dollar section.

We were going to introduce Henry to Disney, in the form of Toy Story, for the first time (we're nuts), but we decided on Halloweentown in order to be more festive, which is in fact, a Disney movie, so it all worked out.

I went to work as an ice cream sundae for Halloween simply because it allowed me to wear a sweatshirt to work.

My coworkers invited me out to lunch with them on Halloween as well. Forever a favorite how nice they are to always include me.

We got to leave work early so we could get home for trick-or-treaters. So I got home, changed myself and Henry into our "costumes," and started on some meals in between the trick-or-treating lull.

I made Shay's sweet corn chili, which is my new favorite chili recipe, and some cornbread.

And a full lasagna for Sammy to bake while I'm in Florida this weekend.

I've been looking forward to passing out candy in my own home since we bought the place, so needless to say, I was excited. It was actually kind of lonely (not to put a damper on things, just being real!), since Sammy had to work, but I made the best of it and loved seeing the kids in their costumes. They were SO polite, I couldn't believe it.

I hung out with this dino all night though ;) which made it less lonely. I made his costume from a Martha Stewart DIY and, although it was a little misshapen and sized, it turned out pretty cute. And I wore a Jurassic Park shirt because I wanted a reason to purchase a Jurassic Park shirt. Literally been wearing it every day since.

 Would only cooperate if given a bone.

And I ate my chili and watched Ellen while we waited for the last hour of trick-or-treating to pass.

GOTTA include my new favorite costume that one of my favorite Instagrammers posted of her husband. Prison Mike! Omg. I have to do this one year.

Woke up early on my birthday so Sammy and I could go see two venues downtown. The first was Ravenswood Event Center which we loved. The only two downfalls are it's expensive and there's no outdoor ceremony space which I knew going in, but after not loving the second venue which does have outdoor ceremony space, I'm even more bummed this place doesn't.

It has several really cool lofty looking spaces for each stage in your wedding which I like and then the area for dinner and dancing has these classic cars and old fashioned signs all over and it's such a unique vibe. AND they'll let us bring Gene & Jude's in for a late-night snack ;)

We saw Galleria Marchetti next and while I LOVE the outdoor space and pavilion, they were saying we'd have to use other spaces as well due to our size and I just didn't like those spaces at all, so that was disappointing.

After our tours, Sammy took me to my favorite restaurant of all time, Freddy's, over in Cicero.

We had an outstanding meal and I wish I could get married there.

After lunch, Sammy went home and I took the car to go vote since I'll be traveling on election day. It was incredibly satisfying to drive myself to vote. Which sounds like nothing to some people, but for someone who has struggled so much with driving... ugh it was so good haha. And then I took this INCREDIBLY CLEAR photo of my "I voted" sticker.

Sammy and I tidied the house a bit and then my grandma and favorite cousin came over to visit. She brought us our housewarming gift, engagement gift, and my birthday gift. All were impeccably wrapped, and all were incredible sweet. 

She gifted us glasses that were once gifted to her by one of my grandma's cousins for our housewarming gift along with two bottles of prosecco because she knows I love it. I feel so honored to have these glasses and am planning to use them for Friendsgiving next weekend! For our engagement gift, she got us a Waterford cake cutter and server set. It's so pretty. She got the same thing for her two daughters when they got engaged, so it was so sweet for her to get me the same thing. And for my birthday, she got me a Fleur-de-lis Waterford ornament because Paris and she knows my Christmas obsession. WHY I didn't take pictures of anything of these things is totally beyond me, but there ya go.

Always a favorite: the notes my grandma leaves on the food she brings us hahaha.

Sammy's grandma has been traveling throughout Europe (mostly Italy) for the last few months and she came home a few days ago which is definitely a favorite. Loved having her over last night for my birthday and seeing her meet Henry!

I got the lovliest gifts from my family: a KitchenAid (which I can hardly believe), jewelry, and many, many books, of course. And other things because my family spoils me when they shouldn't.

Dispite the fact that my family never looks happy in photos I candidly take of them, I'm pretty sure they are. Well, at least mildly ;) 

I asked for pasta and since everyone but me believes you can't just eat carbs for dinner, my mom insisted on making meat and a salad, both of which I did not take part of ;)

It was a delicious dinner and I was so happy to be cramped around our kitchen table with some of my favorite people.

To call out Sammy's gifts specifically, he got me the two Anne of Green Gables related books I asked for because I am a dork if you didn't already know. Pretty obvious.

And he got me a ladder shelf for our basement so I can display candy in jars next to our popcorn machine. I want to have a little "concessions" area down there. Told ya. Dork.

And since I was out of the office yesterday, I came into work this morning to this:

My coworkers have known me for exactly one month and this is how they treat me. They're seriously the sweetest people in the world. Not only did they get me a card, decorate my cube, and bring in treats... they also had a champagne toast for me in honor of my engagement. I can't even deal with it.

I feel incredibly blessed and undeserving of their sweetness.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful birthday and week. It is absolutely unbelievable to look back at my life one year ago and see how many things are different. I think I made a huge change in every aspect of my life and they've all improved my world ten fold. I know I keep saying it, but I truly can't believe how blessed I am to live the life I get to live, especially with all the people I get to do it with.

And a huge thank-you to anyone who reads this little space of mine and leaves me a comment. You have no idea how much it means to me.

So, so looking forward to what this 27th year brings. Not sure how it could top the 26th, but as I've learned, life has such a way of sneaking up on you and surprising you.

I leave today for our girls trip to Florida! I can't wait to spend some time with two of my favorites. I'm sad to be leaving my boys, but I know it'll be that much sweeter to get home to them.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

xo 

*linking up with Andrea and Kate!

Weekending...on a Wednesday

This past weekend was a good one, so I didn't want to miss documenting it! 

We're ticking off showers one-by-one, and while it feels good to have some of these "obligations" (even though they certainly don't feel like obligations since they're for some of my favorite people) checked off the list, it feels weird to take the invitations off the fridge. 

It brings a lot of excitement though! We're getting closer and closer to the "big days" and then I can replace those invitations with wedding pictures and pictures of newborns :)

Sammy worked this weekend, so I spent Friday night with myself ;) which is kind of my favorite thing. I decided to skip my workout to watch a bunch of New Girl episodes instead (and subsequently rewound the scene when Nick and Jess kiss for the first time because I'm a dork and it's amazing). I'm rewatching the series and even though I know it's hilarious, I can't believe I didn't remember just how hilarious. 

Saturday was kind of a nonstop day. I had my first therapy session in the morning which went well. I've been implementing a lot of her suggestions this week for dealing with anxiety and I've seen a noticeable difference which is awesome. 

After that, I went to lunch with my dad and was sosososo happy to find that Scuderio's has not changed in the slightest taste-wise. It's still the best food around. We got a slice of pizza to split, I got the eggplant parmesan (because that's all I order there) and my dad got the Italian sub. We're obsessed. 

If you're local, you should follow them on Facebook. They have specials every day of the week that aren't on their regular menu and they're going to start posting them on their page so people know when to stop by. 

  

We ran a few errands together after lunch and then I came home so I could wrap birthday gifts for Sammy's cousins.

I spent the night over at Sammy's aunt and uncle's for dinner and cake to celebrate these ladies turning 13. I can't believe it. To think I met them when they were 2... Absolutely nuts.

I got up early on Sunday to help Chelsie and her mom get ready for her bridal shower! It was an intimate shower (much smaller than I'm used to since our Italian families get nuts about showers), but that made for such a cozy and special environment. 

  

Chelsie's mom made really sweet flower arrangements for the tables and the one I got to take home hasn't withered at all. I can't believe it. They still look so good! 

We played a few games, wrote date night ideas for the couple, and Chelsie and Dan opened their gifts. 

Me and my soulmate. 

It was such a lovely afternoon. I can't believe the bachelorette party is the last event before the big day! The rehearsal dinner will be here before we know it. 

And how sweet are these favors her mom came up with?! "Something blue" aka blue champagne!

The weather was so gorgeous on Sunday and I didn't want to waste it, so when I got home from the shower I pulled the hammock out and read for several hours. It was so good. 

Overall it was a nice balance of weekend plans and relaxation. Just how I like it. 

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!