Family Visit- Part 1

I can't believe that our visit with my family is already over! We had such an amazing time. I really enjoyed showing them around our new city... and I think they enjoyed their visit as well ;) 

This is about to be picture overload, so I'm sorry in advance!

Day 1- My family arrived at Midway and took a train to the stop closest to our apartment {I'm the terrible child that didn't pick them up... traffic on the interstate here is not for me and Z had to work... I did drive to pick them up at the train stop though, ha!} We got to sightseeing right away... no time to waste ;) We had lunch at Giordanos... Chicago style pizza, yummy!

I was so happy to see my parents!!

as well as my brother and his sweet girlfriend!

After lunch, we walked down Michigan Avenue and then hopped on a water taxi...

to Navy Pier!

family pic {minus Z}

We caught a free {thankyouverymuch} trolley back to Michigan Avenue and headed back to the apartment to rest a while. I forgot to mention that their day started at 4 am... so needless to say they were in need of a nap by now!

After Z finished up work and everyone got a power nap, we headed back out to the lounge at the Hancock Building. The view was *beautiful*... especially once the sun started setting.  Unfortunately, I didn't really capture it with my camera. But we did get a few pics...

So much fun! After drinks, we grabbed dinner at Portillos. Sorry, no pics... but the food was delicious! And that was enough for one day... after the 4 am wake up call, the sight seeing, and Z's full day of work, we called it an early night!

Day 2- We tried to get an early start... but that didn't really happen, ha! We finally were all ready and headed out by about 10. We stopped at our favorite little breakfast joint, Yolk- We had to wait quite a while for a table for six, but the it was worth the wait once we got our food!! So.good! After breakfast brunch, we took a train to Millenium Park...

Waiting for the L

 We had to show them "the bean"...

Almost the whole group!

And then we took a river boat tour! This is our favorite way to see the city ;)

Family pic with Z

Family pic with B!

This is our apartment building... so fun to see it from the river tour!

After the river boat tour, we found the cutest little outdoor cafe where we stopped for a drink. Sad I didn't get a picture there! We headed out from there to one of my favorite little places... Sprinkles Cupcakes! My dad had asked me to order some cupcakes for my mom's birthday... and of course I knew I had to order from Sprinkles... ohmiword so yum!! We went from Sprinkles to the apartment, with a few stops along the way, to grill out for a birthday dinner So.fun!

 Somehow this is the only picture I have of the birthday bash. So sad! But we did have fun celebrating my sweet mom's bday {even if it was a few days early!}
I'll have to post about the rest of their visit later... that was quite enough pictures for one post!

A Birthday Wish!!

Happy Birthday!!!

to my beautiful mom!

I am so so thankful to call you my mom and my friend!! I love you!!

...And we are so happy that we get to celebrate your special day with you!!

Hope you have a wonderful birthday and many, many more!

love,

Z&B

Woohoo!

3 Reasons we are just.so.excited at the Stokes house...

#1. My family is coming here TODAY!
#2. We get to celebrate a special someone's birthday while they're here!
#3. The Olympics start today too! {Love the Olympics!!}

That is a lot of excitement going on! And that's all I got for today because I have big plans with the fam now!!!

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Muy Bueno!

As I mentioned in this post, we have yet to find a Mexican restaurant that suits our taste. So, instead of spending way too much money trying to find a Mexican joint we like, we decided just to make Mexican at home!  And let me tell ya, it was muy bueno!!  I started by seasoning 2 chicken breasts with chili powder, salt, and some creole seasoning. Then we grilled it. While the chicken was on the grill, I heated up some frijoles {refried beans, Taco Casa style!} and cooked some white rice with ro-tel. Now comes the yummy part... after the chicken was cooked thoroughly, I shredded it with... my kitchenaid mixer! Who knew you could do that?!

 I always hated shredding chicken with a fork or my fingers, and the other day I saw on pinterest an idea to use a mixer to shred chicken, so I thought I'd try it. And it worked perfectly!! I put the chicken in the mixer while it was still hot and used the paddle attachment on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Worked like a charm! Not only was the chicken perfectly shredded, the spices and seasonings were also mixed in to give each bite just enough flavor! Anyways, moving on... we took a flour tortilla and topped it with the shredded chicken, rice, beans, and cheese, then rolled them burrito style. I think some sour cream or guacamole also would have been so yum in these! Z said these burritos beat out any that we've tried in the Windy City so far... pretty good if I do say so myself ;) Now if I could just learn how to make that delicious white queso dip!

Wordless Wednesday

 

"The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims His handiwork."

 {Psalm 19:1}

fireworks from Navy Pier

beautiful sunset from our balcony

Counting down until my family arrives! 2 more days and counting! ;)

Check Out Our New Wheels

You will never believe it but... we bought roller blades, ha! For those of you who know me, you know this was all Z's idea ;)

I am the least likely person to own roller blades as an adult. No really, I am. I was the child who did not like to skate. The one who did not like skating rinks or birthday parties at the skating rink. The one who would not skate at said parties, or if I did I would stay on the carpet, true story. So yes, it is shocking that I now own roller blades! Z on the other hand is pretty much a pro. He was the child that had roller blades, the kind without a brake. He started a roller blade hockey team in his neighborhood. He probably had skating rink birthday parties. And I'm sure he won "wipe-out" and all of the other skating rink games I refused to participate in. So yes, the roller blades were Z's idea!

But here's a little secret... I kinda like my roller blades! I actually kinda think roller blading might be kinda a little fun! And we really do have the best place to use our skates... so I'm kinda glad Z talked me into getting some ;)

Plus, Z said roller blading will help prepare me for ice skating {which is a much bigger deal here than back home} which I have never tried. [Again, I did not like skating as a a child. I always just felt more stable on my own two feet without any wheels or blades under them thankyouverymuch.] But Z is helping me expand my horizons... or something like that ;) So roller blading, and ice skating, I will try! And let's just say I'm a very cautious skater... like I want to hold on to the rail or go super slow, ha! But Z promises that with some practice I'll be a pro {does he know who he married?!} I think I'm more likely to think I'm a pro and end up with a broken bone or something. I told him I definitely feel like I need the knee pads... and elbow pads... and a helmet... he just laughed {I don't think he knew how serious I was}. But really I am excited to try out some roller blading, and then ice skating, with Z!!

Weekend Review and Meal Planning Monday

Well hello there! Hope your weekend was wonderful... we definitely had a great one!! I spent Friday hanging out with some of my Alabama friends! Such a fun day!! I got to play "tour guide" {although between the fact that we have only lived here less than a month and that I have a terrible sense of direction I was not the best tour guide there ever was, ha!}. We did have a blast though. We went to Navy Pier, rode the ferris wheel, we took a few water taxis, and checked out the view from the John Hancock Building just to name the highlights of our sight seeing! Funny enough, I ended up taking three different water taxis on Friday, and the same crew was on all three... they definitely gave me a "welcome aboard again" when I got on the third one! 

Here is a pic of us waiting for one of the water taxis...

It was a great day!

After touring the city with my sweet friends, I met Z at the theater to see the Dark Knight Rises... he was pretty excited! And it was a really great film. We also grabbed some dinner at Heaven on Seven, which is a cajun restaurant right off of Michigan Avenue [I had heard good things, but the food was just ok in my opinion]. A few other highlights of our weekend were the Museum of Science and Industry...

waiting for the bus at the museum

Z at the circus exhibit, haha!

Z thought it was hilarious that this tire was taller than I am lol

and our new roller blades... more on that later though ;) 

Overall, it was just a great weekend!

Anyways... moving on to menu planning Monday! It really was nice to already have our meals planned for last week. I even asked Z one night what he wanted for dinner, and he said just check the blog, ha! 

So here is the menu for this week...

Monday- I'm having dinner with my teacher friends before they leave town... 

              Z  will probably have a pb&j sandwich and Ramen noodles ;)

Tuesday- blackened chicken, yellow rice, steamed vegetables

Wednesday- Z's favorite... red beans and rice with sausage

Thursday- grilled chicken fajitas

Friday- grilled burgers with pretzel buns because my family will be here!!!!

Saturaday- brunch at Yolk! Exploring the city!!!

Sunday- breakfast pizza {original recipe from my dad, this is a lighter version!}  and blueberry crumble bars, hot dogs at the Cubs game!

Can you tell I'm a little excited to have my family in town?!?! Can.not.wait! ;)

Hope you have a great week!

Bedroom Update

Well we finally got our mattress in! And we got the bedding essentials. Much to Z's amazement I still have a list of "wants" for our bedroom, ha! Here is a picture of what we have so far...

The quilt and shams are from West Elm. The sheets and throw pillow are from Target {although I think I might exchange the pillow for something with some color and pattern!} I still want a duvet/duvet cover to put at the end of the bed. During the winter we could trade the quilt and duvet or just layer them for extra warmth! Also on the want list are bedside tables, lamps, and of course a headboard! Maybe one day it will be more of a finished product!! ;)

On another note... I'm pretty excited that it is Friday!! We are going to see the Dark Knight Rises this afternoon- Z has literally been counting the days for its debut! I am also excited because only one more week until my family gets here!!!! And another exciting thing is that a few of the teachers that I taught with back home are in town for a conference!! So I'm off to spend the day with them! Have a great weekend!

Getting Our Beauty Sleep On

When we moved to Chicago, we decided it was the perfect time to upgrade to a king size bed. Z had really been wanting a bigger, better mattress for a while. And we thought that if we waited until we got here to purchase one, it would be one less thing we would have to move ;) Plus, the bed that we bought soon after we got married had been damaged in our last move {probably not irreparable, but a good enough excuse!} So, we decided we would purchase a new mattress once we arrived in Chicago and get an air mattress to hold us over until our new mattress arrived. We got all moved in and ordered a new mattress... and waited {much longer than we anticipated}. Thank goodness I let Z pick out the air mattress... he went with top of the line {the penny-pincher in me would have bought the cheapest best deal, ha!}. It was fine for a few nights, even after a week we had no complaints... but after 2 weeks, we were ready for our real mattress to arrive! And yesterday, it finally did!! And let me tell you, we slept so good last night!!! So while sleeping on an air mattress in our new apartment might be a funny memory... we are glad that it is in fact now a memory and no longer a reality! ;) 

And now I'm off to buy some new bedding!! Here are a few sneak peeks at the bedding I'm loving...

All of the bedding above is from West Elm.

I'll be sure to post pics when I get it all put together!