Family Visit... part 1

Well it seems like I was just counting down the days until my family arrived, and now they're already gone :/ But we did have such an amazing time while they were here!!! Sorry for all of the photos I'm about to post... I love to look back on posts like this, so I tried to take LOTS of pictures ;)

Friday morning, I drove Z to work and then headed to the airport to pick up my dad, mom, and brother! I was SO excited to see them! I showed them around our new little neighborhood, and they got settled in our little apartment. {Yes, all five of us stayed in less than 600 square feet, ha!!} I took them to a little place around the corner for lunch.. Del Seoul. Yum! We shopped around near the apartment and then headed to Nordstrom Rack and Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue. Fun! After Z got home, we grilled burgers on pretzel buns {so yummy!!} and relaxed at the apartment... everyone was pretty tired after such an early flight and a full day of work ;) Somehow I didn't take ANY pictures Friday. I think I made up for it the rest of the weekend though, ha!

Saturday... Bryant and I drove over to Ann Sather's to pick up some of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had!! Such a delicious start to our day!! We all got showers and such and then headed to the Lincoln Park Farmer's Market. This is one of my favorite Saturday morning outings! I was super excited to have my family there with us!!!

My sweet Z ;)

Mom and Dad at the Farmer's Market

Purple Bell Peppers?!?!

Quick family photo minus Z {he insisted on being the photographer!}

After the farmer's market, we walked around the duck pond and nature trail in Lincoln Park and then headed to the Zoo.. so fun!

My three favorite guys watching the rhino

The giraffe exhibit

The whole family!

Again, Z was the photographer

Love my parents! This was at the duck pond

We went to the Conservatory next. My mom said this was her favorite ;) It is like a ginormous green house with so many beautiful and exotic plants.

A really sweet guy took our family pic in the garden. Such a lovely area of our city!

These guys are crazy together...

After the conservatory, we walked back home to rest for a while. {And to eat some snacks, ha!} I'm such a go-go-go person, but it was nice to have some down time. My mom and I also did a little more shopping at Loft and Nine West down the road, where we both found some great deals! Once we were all rested up, we changed into warmer clothes {the weather was SO strange and quite chilly!!} and took the EL to Michigan Avenue. We walked around and did some people-watching and window-shopping and then had a crazy good dinner at Giordanos... so.so yummy!! We topped the night off with a train ride and a movie back home.

Waiting for the train

Giordanos... yummy!

Walking around Michigan Avenue

Love spending some time with my parents!

Family dinners are the best!

Love these two so much!

On the train headed back home!

Such a fun day!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

I am so thankful for you, and so very glad we got to spend the day celebrating you here in Chicago!

We love you so much!

Love,

Z&B

Weekend Review & Hurry Up Friday!!

Hi friends! I don't have much to blog about, but I really want to get back to posting more regularly... so here I am ;) We had such a great weekend. So busy, but good. Friday night, Z and I had a few errands to run, and then we grabbed a quick dinner at Taco Joint close to our apartment. It was super yummy and really hit the spot... {My class is obsessed with a book called "Dragons Love Tacos". We read it a bajillion times every day! On Friday, we made paper "tacos" after reading the beloved story... hence my taco craving!!} Saturday started bright and way too early. Z went on a deep-sea-lake trip with guys from his work. He left at 5:30... and stayed out until 6 pm... you can imagine how tired and sun burned he was when he got home! Meanwhile, I met up with some teachers from ACA that were in town for a conference. It was such a fun day sightseeing and hanging out with them! Sunday ended up being catch up day since we were both so busy on Saturday. We went on a hunt for a frame from a thrift store.. no luck. We also went on a hunt for a doughnut from Glazed and Infused... again no luck. Still working on both of those missions ;) Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and went by way, way too fast!
In other news, it has been chilly here the past few days. So weird! I'm not complaining though! I hope it sticks around for a few days... especially because MY FAMILY WILL BE HERE FRIDAY!!!!!! I can't wait!!! Hurry up you guys, we can't wait to see yall!

Happy Birthdays... and so Many Other Things to Say!!

Wow, friends, I have been so terrible at keeping up this ol blog. Somehow it is already the middle of July.... this summer is going by so.so.so fast! Crazy! Since I haven't blogged in forever, I feel like I have so much to say .... so here we go.
- First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to two very special people!! Z's brother and Z's Mimi both have birthdays today! We so wish we were there to celebrate with both of you. I hope you have the happiest day ever... We love you both so much!!!!

-Second, it is HOT here. Like Alabama hot. Ugh! I {like a crazy person} decided to go for a run along the lakeshore after work this afternoon. Oh.my. I thought I was going to die. I do not miss this heat or humidity one little bit!
-Along that same topic... summer camp {aka my work right now} is outside for about 75% of each day. Usually that makes it super fun and enjoyable, but this week, um no thanks. I'm pretty much a sweaty hot mess from sun up to sun down. Oh well.
-I have been working 8:30-5:30 most days this summer. I love getting the extra hours, and I especially love having more of a lead teacher role, but it sure was nice to leave at 2 today! Also I'm going to go ahead and blame this working full time thing on why the blog has been so neglected all summer ;)
-We finally have been able to hit up the beach a few times! It's nothing like going to the coast in Alabama, but it is really pretty and quite relaxing. Love it! Now if we could just find some yummy seafood...

-We have also been exploring all around our new place. We still love to put on our sneakers and walk for hours when the weekends roll around. We walk to the beach, to Wrigley stadium, to get yummy ice cream, to bike shops {and lots of other shops too!}, so much fun!

-Last weekend we went to one of the infamous street festivals here in Chicago. Every weekend during the summer there are at least 3-4 festivals going on, so we finally made it to one! Sister Hazel {a band that we used to loooove} was playing. It was such a fun night!{After I got over the panic that set in considering the crazy amount of people piled in the street block, ha!}

-Z and I have been making little improvements around our apartment lately. Well actually just buying things that make it a little nicer ;) Thank goodness for Craigslist! I found a bookshelf for $30 a few weekends ago. I've now purchased a couch, a loveseat, a dining room table with six chairs, a kitchen cart, and a bookshelf from good ol Craigslist {over the past few years}. I'm officially obsessed...
*pictures of the bookshelf and apartment in general coming soon. I promise!
I think that's all of the randomness I have to share. My family is coming to visit next weekend and I am over the moon excited!!!! The countdown has begun!
I'll be back sooner than later for another post... for real this time ;)

We Moved... Again!

 Sorry for the break from blogging. How is June almost over already?!?! Summer camp has been so much fun, but I am exhausted at the end of every day! I'm seriously looking forward to the weekend and a few days off next week. Can't believe it's already July. Also can not believe we've lived here now almost a full year! Wow.

So Z and I moved again at the beginning of June... I say again because we have moved quite a bit since we got married. Actually I have moved quite a bit since I started college! (Katie and I lived in 3 different apartments in 3 years... And Z and I have lived in 5 different places since we got married! Can you say crazy?!) It is so much work every.single.time. But it always feels worth it once the actual move is over! When Z and I first moved to Chicago, we needed a place big enough to house his office. I also was determined to have the safest apartment out there... you know, a doorman in a big building, since I was a bit unsure of Chicago in general, ha! But we quickly realized that we could live for a good bit less and with less room, especially after Z's office moved to the Board of Trade. We also quickly found little areas that were so adorable and felt more neighborhoodish than where we were originally. So when our short term lease was about to end, we knew we wanted to move. We just couldn't find the right space for us at the time. January isn't the most popular time to move in Chicago (no thanks to moving in snow EVER again!), so there wasn't as much on the market, etc. Our sweet friends asked us if we wanted to move in with them for a few months until we found something else. It seemed a little unusual for two married couples to live together, but we are all really close and it was a great opportunity for us all to save some $$! It was such a huge blessing, and we really had fun living all together for a while. But once summer rolled around, Z and I started looking for a new place so we could all have a little more room ;) We finally found an apartment that was the right price and in the perfect location. We moved in the first weekend in June, and we are loving it! Funny enough, it is by far the tiniest apartment we have ever lived in. But we have quickly learned how to use the space we have efficiently as well as how little space we actually need. It has everything we need, it is nicely updated, and it even has a washer and dryer in unit {as well as a mini dish washer ;)}!!! Plus, we are close to the train, bus stops, THE BEACH and LOTS of shops and restaurants. Love! It's less than 600 square feet, ha! But I absolutely love our new little place ;) So of course I have a new wish list of things that would be perfect in our little space. I'm scouring Craigslist, hoping for another find like our Crate and Barrel table (that we sadly had to sell :( But I did make quite a profit!!). We did find a cute little kitchen cart/island on Craigslist that adds extra storage and drawers. (Our little kitchen didn't have any drawers! Where do you put flatware????)  But honestly, we are really thankful to be right where we are. I'll be sure to post some pictures soon of our new place!! {Confession... I want everything just right before I photograph and post pics... even though I love seeing other people's photos of progress. I'm working on it ;)}

Happy Father's Day!

When it comes to dads, I'm pretty sure I have the best! ;) My dad has always worked so hard for our family, making sure we had all we needed and more. He has always shown us what true love looks like by the way he loves us and my mom. I'm so, so thankful for my dad!! I wish I was there to celebrate you dad, but I hope you have the best father's day. You deserve it! I love you!

I am also blessed with a wonderful father-in-law that taught Z to be a patient, loving husband. Happy father's day to Z's dad too! We love you!

Summer Break

Today I am enjoying my one day of summer break, ha! {since we're a year round school and all, today is literally my one day off until the fourth of July} ... Yesterday was the last day of the regular school year. I was so.SO.sad to say goodbye to my little pumpkins! I didn't expect to feel SO attached after only a few months, but they definitely stole my heart! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing job... I'm crazy about the people I work with, the amazing teachers, families, and children! The parents showered us with so many amazing gifts to say thank you... I was shocked and feeling so extremely blessed since I have only been with their children since February. So thankful! We had a school-wide end of the year picnic in Lincoln Park to celebrate a great year, and then cleaned the entire classroom top to bottom. I was EXHAUSTED last night! But it was a great day. Monday is the first day of summer camp with our new little sweeties. I'm excited about teaching this summer, but feeling a little sad that I don't have an actual summer break! Although, summer camp consists of weekly trips to the beach and the zoo, and picnics twice a week in Lincoln Park... so at least we will be outside enjoying our beautiful city!

On another note... we had an amazing trip home a few weekends ago. I have no pictures to share and feel sad that I haven't blogged about it before now... We got to see our families and celebrate with Z's brother for his high school graduation. Wish we could have stayed longer, but we enjoyed every second while we were there! I'm REALLY hoping we can drive {or fly?!} back down soon and make a little trip to the beach! ;)

Last weekend, Memorial Day weekend, was a bit bleh around here. It was in the 50s and 60s and rainy most of the weekend :/ Not exactly great bbq-ing weather... but we did enjoy a movie date and tried a few new restaurants... It wasn't laying out on the beach, but it was a good weekend!

Well, I'm off to enjoy my summer break day off... it's only one day so I better make the most of it! ;) Have a great weekend!