Fall Wish List!

We have had fabulous, fall-ish weather the past few days!! Love.love.love! So now, of course, I'm wanting all kinds of new fall things ;) Wanting being the key word here... let's face it.. I have a closet FULL of clothes and shoes. So I don't need anything, but it's still fun to make a list of wants, ha!
{Although... there is an awesome consignment shop around the corner from our apartment... so I figure if I sell some clothes first, and use that $$ to buy new stuff, it's an even trade, right?!}
So here are a few things on my fall wish list...
-A new statement necklace... maybe green and gold with some black mixed in? I like this one from Francescas...

 -A navy or black pencil skirt or a-line skirt... I LOVE this one from Jcrew Factory!

 -A new, lighter chambray shirt... I wear my darker chambray with EVERYTHING! So I figure it's a good investment ;) This one is from Old Navy, and I really like the way it fits!

 -A shirtdress in a lovely fall color or print... something like this one from Gap {preferably at a cheaper price though, ha!} would be lovely!

 -These actually are a winter wish list item... and might even fall under a need more than a want {well snow boots in general are a need up here... not sure if I can justify the price tag or namebrand as a need, ha!} I still have a while to save for these though! Might even go on the Christmas wish list?!

 -Plum colored skinny pants... in love with these from Gap! {Waiting for them to go on sale!!}

 -Cardigans, cardigans, cardigans! Maybe my favorite thing to wear during fall?! I really like this one from Gap... I also love a few at Loft, Old Navy, and Target!

 -So I really want some cute, camel colored booties... I like these from Francescas, but I do NOT want to pay that much $$!

 -I like the price of these better! But not too sure if I love the style? Also from Francescas...

 -These look fun!! Again, I don't want to pay this much... but the pop of gold make these extra adorable! From Francescas...

So that's a pretty good list of fall wants, don't ya think?! I just LOVE fall... the boots, sweaters, love!
...One last thing... tomorrow is my sweet hubby's birthday!!! I can't wait to celebrate my very best friend. Love him SO much! Check back for a birthday post for my favorite guy ;)

Stephanie came to visit!!

Last Wednesday, one of my besties came to Chicago for a visit! And I was super excited to see her and to explore Chi-town with her ;)
I was able to take the day off on Wednesday... so I dropped Z off at work and headed to the airport to pick her up! Yay! We took her luggage to our apartment, and then headed out for brunch. We went to Hash House a Go Go... SO yummy! I had my favorite, an egg scramble with spinach, ham, and cheddar. And Stephanie had a Snicker's pancake... delicious!! Plus, the first scramble they brought out was not the one I ordered, so we ended up with a third entree! So.much.food!!

Biggest pancake EVER!

Our LEFTOVERS! Ha!

Such a fun, yummy brunch!

After brunch, we walked down to Michigan Avenue and did a little shopping! Always a good idea ;) We then headed back to the apartment to chill for a bit, and to watch a marathon of House Hunters, ha! We picked Z up from work later that afternoon, and ran to the market for a few dinner items. Joe and Lolly came over, and we grilled out some yummy hamburgers on pretzel buns... mmm!
Thursday, both Z and I had to work. Stephanie decided to go on an architecture boat tour, one of my favorite things to do in Chicago! I got off at 2, and took a train to meet her downtown at the Sears Tower {technically now the Willis Tower}. And we headed to the Skydeck!! So much fun, and such a fabulous view!!! I wish that I had better pics... but the lighting was no good for my iphone camera :/ Stephanie got a few great ones with her actual camera though!

 We left the Skydeck and headed to Crumbs for some cupcakes! They were yummy, but I have to say that Sprinkles cupcakes are still my favorite!!We also made a trip to Target... favorite errand ever ;) That night we just stayed in, made some yummy Mexican food, and relaxed!
Z and I both had to work again Friday. The weather was ah-mazing... and it felt like FALL! I even wore a blazer to work and had a pumpkin spice latte ;) Love!! After work, I met Z and Stephanie back at the apartment. We did a little shopping near North Avenue, and then had TWO yummy snacks... We split a peanut butter and jelly doughnut from Glazed and Infused {YUM!!!} and some cheese fries from Edzo's {also yum!}! Then we took Stephanie to Wrigley Field...

Later that night, we met Joe and Lolly at Homeslice Pizza in Lincoln Park for a yummy dinner! Thankfully we had to wait forever, because we were all still a little full from our "snacks" earlier ;)

Saturday, we woke up ready to watch some football!! Z even set an alarm so he could watch Gameday ;) We walked over to Starbucks for coffee {pumpkin spice latte!!!} and to Panera for some bagels! It was super chilly, and I even wore my Alabama sweatshirt to run our errands :) Later, we got ready and headed to Joe and Lolly's to watch the big game! It was super close, and so exciting! Roll Tide!

Even our sweet friends that are from Ohio wore red to support the Tide!

Loved cheering on the Tide with you, Stephanie!

My sweet, handsome hubby!

It was a super fun day! Stephanie had to leave early Sunday morning to make it back to work Sunday night... Z and I took her to the airport at 6 am and came back home and crashed! It was such a great weekend and such a fun time visiting with my sweet friend!! Love you Stephanie!

Dear Summer, Please Never End!!!

This has been one of my favorite weekends of the summer... Okay, so I have said that same phrase the last few weekends... I think I just want summer to last forever! But really, we have had a great Labor Day weekend!
I was off Friday, so I have had an extra long holiday weekend, which has been glorious ;) Friday afternoon, I picked Z up from work, and we met some friends at the rooftop lounge at the Hotel Lincoln. So lovely! This is such a fun spot just a few blocks from our apartment. We really don't take advantage of all that Chicago has to offer nearly enough! After drinks, we had the yummiest dinner at Mercadito... so fun! Our last stop for the night was a speakeasy bar/lounge across from Mercadito called Untitled... cutest place ever... I literally felt like we stepped into the roaring twenties! Love! It was such a fun night!
Saturday we woke up and watched college football gameday.... which Z has been waiting to do all summer! It rained Saturday morning which encouraged a super lazy morning... perfect. I made a little door decoration to kick off the Alabama football season... gotta represent up here!

 I also made some yummy food to eat during the game. We finally got ready and headed to our friends' apartment to watch the first Alabama football game!! Thankfully we won, even if it wasn't the prettiest W ;) Saturday was such a perfectly relaxing day!

Roll tide from Chicago!!

Sunday... this was my favorite... we got up {later than planned} and decided to drive to Michigan. I have been wanting to do this all summer, so I was super excited! First, we made a stop at Starbucks ;) and then we hit the road.

 It was really nice to get out of the city for a while. We drove to Sawyer first, where we saw some crazy sand dunes and a super packed public beach. We ate a quick picnic and decided to continue our road trip... Our next stop was the cutest, most charming little town, St. Joseph. It reminded me a lot of Fairhope meets Seaside, lovely! There was even a little antique flea marketish festival going on... so we of course had to look around a bit ;) I'm already planning a trip back to St. Joseph when we can stay for a while!

We really wanted to drive further north, but since we got such a late start, we decided to head back to Chicago. Next time, for sure!
Today has proved to be another fabulously relaxing day that started with this...

Thanks to my sweet kiddos at school for the Starbucks gift cards ;)

Our plans for today include a walk along the lakeshore, a stop at Barnes and Noble, and possibly Oak Street Beach?! Yep, I'd be just fine if summer decided to stick around forever ;)
How did you spend your Labor Day weekend?! Hope it has been just as fabulous as ours!

Summer is the Best

Oh my... how is it already September?! Wednesday was our last day of summer camp at school, and yesterday we flipped our classroom to get ready for the fall semester {that starts Tuesday}... I feel like I was just blogging about the beginning of summer camp and now it's over?! 
As a follow up to my last post about my summer bucket list, I thought I would make a list of the fun things we have already done this summer. I do feel like it's gone by crazy fast and we haven't really taken full advantage, but we have squeezed in some summer fun ;) Here are a few things I have *loved* this summer...
-Moved to a new neighborhood, love
-Explored our new neighborhood, LOVE
-Made a few trips to the beach
-Tried a lot of new restaurants
-Grilled out with friends
-Enjoyed dinner with friends on their rooftop deck
-I joined a Bible study
-Z went on a fishing trip with the guys he works with
-Visited the farmer's market
-Checked out a street festival, and heard Sister Hazel while there
-Found the yummiest milkshakes in Chicago
-Walked all over Chicago
-Watched a bazillion movies
-Made multiple trips to the Lincoln Park Zoo
-I explored Chicago through the eyes of 20 three year olds, ha!

So it has been an amazing summer. We are seriously loving Chicago! And I'm really looking forward to fall here. Plus football games! I *love* fall and all that goes with it ;) But we have a few weeks left {I hope} of summer-ish weather, so I'm planning on taking full advantage! I really want to mark a few things off that summer bucket list! And then I'll be ready for my fall bucket list... coming soon ;)
Enjoy your weekend sweet friends!

Better Late than Never {summer} Bucket List

It is starting to sink in that summer is almost over! We have had a *very* mild summer {except for that week I complained about the heat}... like 70's most days. When my family was in town, it was even chilly. Crazy. I'm really thankful though. Especially considering that I'm outside most of each day at work. But the cooler temps combined with teaching through the summer has left me feeling like we haven't really had a summer yet. So, to remedy the fact that I feel like I haven't taken advantage of said summer, I made a summer bucket list last night. I thought about one at the beginning of the summer, but I finally wrote it down {better late than never, eh?}.
Here are a few things on my let's-make-the-most-of-the-rest-of-our-summer bucket list...
-make homemade icecream
-visit the Oak St Beach
-go to the Lincoln Hotel's rooftop deck
-go to a movie in the park
-have a picnic
-go to the Randolph Street Market
-take a *really* long walk on the Lakeshore path
-try a few more restaurants, while they still have awesome patios open!
So I figure we have a few weeks to check off as much as possible from the list. And maybe I'll even think to take pictures so I can blog about our last few summer adventures ;)
Hope you're enjoying soaking up the last bit of summer too!

Happy Birthday Bryant!!!!

Happy Birthday to the funniest, craziest, best brother! So thankful to have such an amazing brother and friend. Hope you have a fabulous, wonderful birthday! I love you!

{And Z too!}

Family Visit... part 2

Sunday morning, we woke up and headed to church. Z and I go to Park Community Church in Lincoln Park... just down the road from our apartment. I was so glad that my family got to go to with us while they were here! After church, we got brunch at our very favorite place... Jam and Honey! SO yummy!!! Everything there is amazing... the omelets, egg sandwiches, and especially the stuffed french toast!

Bryant and Dad at brunch

Me and my mom at brunch

The whole family outside of Jam and Honey

After such an amazing and filling brunch, we needed a rest, ha! We headed back to the apartment for a while. Later that afternoon, I took my parents over to the lake. The view there is so beautiful. We really enjoyed just taking it all in!

Love my daddy so much!

Such a relaxing spot by the lake

The Diversey Harbor down the street from our apartment. And such a cute pic of my parents!

Cute!

Love you, Mom!

That evening, we all piled in the car and drove around to see a few other parts of the city. I didn't take any pictures, but we went to Chinatown, the Loop, and Southloop. There are so many different neighborhoods in Chicago. It's amazing to see how different each area of the city really is!
For dinner that night {pretty late that night since we had such an amazing brunch!}, we ordered wings. When my family arrived, Bryant asked if we had ever tried Wingstop. We had not, even though it is only one block from our new apartment. So we ordered some food, and the guys walked over to pick it up. It was so yummy!!! You really can't go wrong with wings and fries ;) We ended the night with another movie {Z and I are big movie fans, ha!}. Another great day!

Monday, Z and I both had to work. It was a little sad to leave my family for the day, but I couldn't get off on Monday :/ It worked out fine though. I took the bus {as usual} and left the car for my family... and asked them to pick me up ;) So once I got off at 2  we walked around Old Town {near my school} for a while. This is one of my favorite areas of Chicago, so I was glad we got a chance to explore! We checked out the bike shop, olive oil store, spice shop, and fudge shop. We also went to the cutest little coffee shop down the street from our apartment, which was perfect since I needed a little pick-me-up after the crazy day I had! Z worked until about 6, and then we all headed to the Cubs game!!! We decided to walk. It's about a mile to Wrigley, and we knew parking wasn't an option. It was such a nice night, so it ended up being a great walk! The game was so much fun. We got hot dogs and beers/sodas for dinner, yum! The Cubs ended up losing {normal}. But it was such a fun night!

Family pic at the Cubs game. It was a perfect night for baseball!

These two are trouble when they get together, ha!

My sweet hubby!

Such a fun night!

Tuesday was my mom's birthday!!! Z had to work, but thankfully, I got the day off ;) We had a pretty lazy morning. I made bran muffins and coffee, and we watched the Today show {my favorite!} A little later on, my mom and I went to a few adorable shops in Lincoln Park, including Lush {such an amazing shop where they sell handmade beauty products} and Glazed and Infused {the yummiest doughnut shop I have ever been to!!}. It was a lot fun! We went back to the apartment, loaded up the car and picked up my dad and brother. Then we headed to REI {an outdoor store} and downtown for Garrett's Popcorn {yum!} and to pick up Z. We had a dinner reservation for my mom's bday at Topo Gigio, an Italian restaurant in Old Town. It was so delicious and such a fun birthday celebration dinner!! We even topped it off with tiramisu... YUM!!

Mom's birthday dinner at Topo Gigio

'

Happy birthday Mom! That tiramisu was so yum!

Sadly, after dinner we had to take them to the airport :/ It was hard to say goodbye, but hopefully we're headed down soon enough so it won't be too long before we see them again. I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend together exploring Chicago!!! I miss them all already :( and can't wait to see them again soooon! Thanks for the fun time together and the amazing memories!