Life Lately | May

I've had this in my drafts folder for weeks now because I've been wanting to do a quick update. By the time I got to it we had moved out of May and into June! Which is crazy. 

The last few weeks have been crazy at school, especially lately as I finish up my finals. And we'll be busy celebrating for the next two weekends as I'm throwing my girlfriend an engagement party tomorrow and my own graduation is the following weekend. It's been a whirlwind, but it's going to be fun and I can't wait.

Here's a photo dump of life lately:

Mother's Day weekend Sammy and I had the first bonfire of the season.

I made egg, ham, and cheese braided sandwiches for my momma's breakfast in bed. 

Someone else wanted some too.

Cheryl Strayed has been slaying my life.

In the middle of May, our company attended BEA downtown which was so awesome.

      

After the expo one day, I met Sammy's cousin for drinks at RPM Italian and then met his mom and SIL for some Mexican food and margaritas which were awesome {'cause I needed more cocktails obviously}.

      

We hosted our company cocktail party at Open Books in Chicago which is the coolest place. They provide literacy experiences for thousands of Chicagoans every year. We had passed appetizers and drinks and some of my favorite people and I had some fun with the photo booth.

      

 And I came away with a lot of ARCs (advanced reader copy) every day. 

I had the extreme pleasure of being with Chelsie when she picked her wedding dress later in May! 

It was such an honor to be there for such a special morning!

      

I jumped back on the Weight Watcher bandwagon and have been doing really well. I've been trying to do new recipes here and there so earlier this month I made a huge batch of matzo ball soup and frittata which were amazing {if I do say so myself}.

Sammy and I attended my coworker's wedding at the end of May and it was such a lovely day.

They had the prettiest details ever!

      

      

      

For our favors, we got a ticket to pick out an ice cream from the truck that came by later in the evening. It.was.awesome.

      

They had donuts for dessert that were amazing and I don't even like donuts that much. It was such a nice day, perfect weather, the nicest couple that has ever lived {aren't I so subtle?}, and so fun to spend time with coworkers outside of work.

      

 We celebrated my sister's birthday the next day with some Italian food.

      

& to close out May we relaxed Memorial Day weekend with some books and a few cookouts. I had a final to work on, so I did that, and we spent a lot of time with family which was very nice. 

      

I'm hoping to do some posts on the engagement party {definitely a recap post and an inspiration post} soon! Fingers crossed it all goes well. 

Hope everyone has had a lovely May and has a great weekend as we kick off June!

xo

Currently | May

First of all... HOW am I doing a "currently" post for May? Like how is it even May? I don't understand. It's crazy how close we are to summer and there's so much coming up! A lot of excitement in the air. 

Reading: Man, I'm reading like 8 things right now. It's so annoying. I need to go back to finishing one thing before moving on to another. I recently got Wallflower at the Orgy by my Queen Nora Ephron and I've  been reading that. I've also been reading Best American Short Stories 2015 and Best American Essays 2015. Also, been paging through Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed because she slays my life. 

Playing: Huh, great question. I should play more. I guess I played bags a few weekends ago with Sammy. And owned his life for one game. So there's the highlight of my athletic career. 

Watching: New show? I started watching The Catch because if Shonda creates it, I watch it {except Grey's because I had to like get on with my life}. Old show? The Office which I realize is a HUGE shock to everyone. 

Trying: To keep everything in life balanced. A constant battle. 

Cooking: I recently made ham, cheese, and egg braided breakfast sandwiches for my momma on mother's day from a Buzzfeed Tasty video I saw on my facebook feed. My mom loved them and the leftovers were a hit with the rest of my family. 

Eating: Trying to get back on track with this weight watchers game. I just followed like 37 instagram accounts to get motivated again. So hopefully I'll be eating better soon {as I contemplate what to get from the vending machine...}

Drinking: Just had my first sip of water for the day since I'm gross {it's 5:22 pm} but I had a rootbeer with lunch. 

Calling: Need to get better at calling people, my grandma in particular. I used to call her everyday. Ugh. 

Texting: My lovely girlfriends, Sammy, parents, cousins... the usual.

Pinning: Mostly engagement party related stuff, Disney stuff, and anything my girlfriend pins for her wedding since we're the same person and I'm clearly planning on having the same wedding as her some day. So fun for her. 

Tweeting: My last tweet was about Anne of Green Gables because I want her life. 

Going: To my coworker's wedding this weekend! 

Loving: All the plans popping up for summer already! 

Hating: Mmm, I don't know that I hate much but maybe disliking how stressful the last few weeks have been. I think I'm on the upswing after this week and I'm looking forward to simply enjoying the last few weeks of grad school. 

Discovering: How close I am to the end of my education {for now}. It's absolutely crazy. It's going to be a huge transition, that's for sure.

Thinking: About what I'm going to eat next, how slow my phone is charging, if my rent the runway dress is going to come in time for said wedding, if I'm going to fit in said dress, and again, what I'm going to eat next.

Feeling: Anxious {always do before class}, tired, hungry {but not really but also yes}. 

Hoping (for):  An easy class tonight and to not get sick {my throat is a little scratchy and everyone I know has been sick the last two weeks so I'm worried I'll be catching that}.

Listening (to): Some random shit on spotify in an attempt to know what music is popular nowadays except I end up getting annoyed in like ten minutes and ultimately go back to Frank Sinatra. #living

Celebrating: My coworker's marriage this weekend! This past weekend I celebrated my best friend saying yes to her wedding dress! Soon we'll be celebrating at their engagement party and my graduation will be the following weekend. Ah!

Smelling: Whatever the hallway smells like at DePaul 'cause that's where I'm at. 

Ordering: I have an outstanding grocery order on the app on my phone, need to order a baby gift, and some stuff for the engagement party soon!

Thankful for: All the celebrations coming up. It's going to be a really fun next two months. 

Considering: Getting something from the vending machine...like didn't we already go over this?

Starting: A new chapter pretty soon. 

Finishing: Grad school and it's crazy and stupid and wonderful. 

Friday Favs

This week has been kind of a lot. And I hope to get back to doing more on here than just "Friday Favs" because it's just lazy of me and I miss it over here.

I had a workshop earlier this week and then had to write two pieces (one for another workshop next week) among other homework related things before the weekend, plus various work meetings, errands for a bridal brunch we threw this morning at work, trying to fit in some Shaun T workouts since I'm a masochist, etc., which left little time for blogging unfortunately. 

Some things goin' on over here...


Got my new desk!

Obsessed with using old editions of Chicago as a computer stand 'cause I'm a nerd.

My little side wall/board. All Ephron, Dahl, and Disney wisdom. 

(and that one rando HP quote I got from a work party that I put up in an attempt to bond with all HP loving employees)

I also adorned my white board with Michael Scott genius. 

Some people in the office don't know what the quote is from so I think people think I really like Wayne Gretzky or something.

In the midst of planning my BEA schedule! I can't wait for the expo and to be with my team there next week. 

Sammy's cousin Sarah got engaged to her boyfriend Dario! & I'm obsessed with how he asked. We're in the midst of planning a cousins' weekend at the end of the summer and I'm so excited to talk all things wedding! Love those ladies. 

Also, this. K. 

We celebrated Sammy's twin cousins' 12th birthday last weekend which was so lovely. And clearly delicious. 

I became even more obsessed with Nora Ephron and bought all remaining books I don't already have on a recent Amazon splurge. 

Momma's mother's day gift came in earlier this week and I love how it came out. I made a photo book of some highlights from our Paris trip and it was so fun looking through those photos again.

      

We had some pup cuteness last week. 

I also participated in the stupidity that was a detox last week where I eliminated processed food, alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar, and white flour (so basically, my life) and eventually dairy and whole grains and I could only eat vegetables, (minimal) fruits, legumes, fish, tofu, and beans. I lost five pounds and most of my sanity since I had to go to Chipotle and order that bullshit while Sammy got to eat his towering bowl as you see pictured. He literally gets every topping on the line. Every one. 

So by the end of the detox, I had enough and under extreme desperation I downloaded the Domino's app on my phone (which is disgusting enough. No one needs that app on their phone) and ordered the trash that is breadsticks and cinnasticks and loved every.single.minute.of.it.

Miraculously, I've kept off the five pounds I lost last week. Needless to say I'm thrilled to be back on weight watchers. 

But I haven't deleted the app.

I tried to make lightsaber pretzel rods last night for a bridal brunch we threw for a coworker (since nothing says bridal quite like lightsaber ;) ) and I struggled. But she loved them so that's all that matters. 

We decorated our little library, had a lovely spread this morning for her, and all chipped in to get them a gift card to one of the stores they were registered at. I think she really enjoyed it. And I got two mimosas at work so I was real happy. And proceeded to eat two more mini bagels at my desk afterward in secrecy. 

The weight watchers is going well I'd say. 

xo

Friday Favorites | Life Lately

I was in a pretty decent blogging habit until I let it go to shit this week. All of sudden it's Friday and I realized I didn't blog at all. Ugh. But! That didn't stop me from photographing every mundane thing that has happened to me lately. I'm sure you're all thrilled.

Life looks a little bit like this lately...

Some tea and relationship advice at work

{and my last week in our old space!}

Sammy and I spent last Friday night out downtown with friends. 

Sammy was kind enough to drive us and some of our friends so I could drink one Long Island iced tea and embarrass him with my dance moves as soon as Fetty Wap came on. #lightweight 

Note: the phenomenal picture quality.  

Saturday we went and saw his cousin's varsity soccer game. 

This is also clearly a quality photo. 

A little 1st birthday party action.

Looking psyched as hell to be here. 

Sunday we chilled hard AF on the hammock until we realized the fabric was ripping. 

Nothing has made me want to start my diet more. 

But not until I ate all this potato salad!!! 

Again, noting this photo...  I clearly did not care this week how pictures turned out. It's laughable. 

But Sammy made us dinner and we ate outside which was so nice before he went back to the academy. 

      

We finally moved!! Hence the leftover confetti heading into our new space. 

And there's my new desk! I have since decorated but I want to be a nerd and do a desk reveal since I've been waiting so long for one. 

Today, my boss sent an email around telling us to let her know if anything was wrong with our individual spaces and I responded with: "No. It's perfect. I want to live here." 

Always the professional. 

Speaking of professional... 

Here I am drinking prosecco in my cubical... alone... sans makeup {it was "moving day". That was my rationale} like the biggest dork on earth. I'm pathetically in love with a cubical. 

The invitations I had made for Chelsie and Dan's engagement party were delivered this week!  

These are the recipe cards I also had made to be included in the invitation. I had a little "instruction card" made as well in the same floral design. Dan really likes to cook so I thought having everyone bring a favorite recipe with them to the party would be something nice for him and Chelsie to go home with since most of the guests have already given engagement gifts. I also grabbed a recipe card box from Crate & Barrel to put out to collect them all in. 

 I've been making headway in the planning department and I think I have most things figured out already. There isn't much more I can do until we get a little closer except solidifying a color scheme and keeping an eye out for decoration ideas. Everything else is pretty set! I want to do a post about this as well to keep me in line with planning so hopefully that's coming soon!

*

This weekend we have another family birthday party for some cute 12-year-olds Sammy and I know, some binge watching, and major relaxing. 

xo