Monday, November 30, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving (aka Texans are EVERYWHERE)

So, Thanksgiving started out great. I mean, why wouldn't it? I have so, so, so much to be thankful for.

Greg and his dad ran in the Turkey Trot around Lincoln Park, while his mom and I stayed at the hotel and watched the parade from our beds. (It might have only been a block away, but come on, it was raining and cold. Cindy - we made a very good choice...)

We had a wonderful dinner at McCormick and Schmick's around the corner.

Then it happened. A girl sat down at the next table wearing a Baylor shirt. I have no idea why she was in a t-shirt at this restaurant, but I am not here to judge. So, of course, we struck up a conversation only to find out the whole family was there from Texas and her mother used to live in Keller.

We thought this was odd, but we kept going on with our Thanksgiving day. We took the usual two hour nap after dinner (which was really lunch) and then figured we would continue our tradition of bowling on Thanksgiving.
Where we happened to watch the Dallas game. And, for the first time, and probably the last time, we cheered on the Cowboys. Greg picked them in his pool this week, so it was a must. I was more than happy to cheer against Oakland though.

We then found Mother Hubbard's (a great little place to watch sports). They put the game on a couple of TVs for us and we enjoyed the moment with some local beers and delicious nachos. It was perfect. On one screen was the Baylor game, on another the Broncos and the other screen had the Texas vs Texas A&M game. Just as we were really enjoying ourselves a man with an awful burnt orange sweatshirt sat down next to us to watch the UT game. He even had an orange shirt on underneath. Then, the table on the other side of us started cheering for the Aggies. We thought maybe they were just anti-longhorns, but they were actually A&M grads transplanted to Chicago and had friends visiting from Texas.

I swear they are everywhere. We even sat next to a couple from Mansfield at the play on Friday night. The wife was from Colorado originally and got her PhD at Baylor. I can't decide if I am more in awe of how small of a world we live in or how huge Texas is....

The most AMAZING mascara EVER


I know what you're thinking...how could mascara be that great? Well, let me tell you a story. My sister gave me the Trish McEvoy mascara in my stocking last Christmas and I fell in love with it. Then, I was thinking to myself, why am I paying so much for mascara? So I bought some at Target right before our trip. After just one day in the office, I had a black film under my eyes. I looked like a raccoon by the end of the day and makeup remover still didn't get rid of the residue. So, the moment I saw the Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue, I pulled Greg across the street and made a little purchase. Even in the misty weather, my mascara didn't budge. It was picture perfect. I was no longer a raccoon. And, at night, when I splashed water on my face, it came off cleanly. You all must buy this mascara.

(I say "you all" because I'm pretty sure the only boys that read this blog are my brother and Greg. You guys can buy it for me if you want.)

oh my goodness, how could I forget?

After our wonderful dinner and a little walk on Wednesday, we went for a little ride on a horse drawn carriage that started at the historic Water Tower. Our horse's name was Cisco if you were wondering...


Did you know that the historic Water Tower is one of the few structures to withstand the great Chicago fire? Apparently due to its construction out of Joliet limestone. Just thought you should know.

oh chicago, i love you


Just so you all know, if I could move to Chicago, I would go today. No questions asked. If you happen to have a place for us to live and jobs for us both, please do tell.

There are so many great things that I want to tell you all about. So I'll break it all up into multiple posts. Please enjoy.

On the agenda for Wednesday:
  • Lunch and meandering at Shedd Aquarium
  • Christmas Tree Lighting at Daley Plaza with choirs, potato pancakes, gingerbread and mulled wine
  • Dinner at Quartino's (so, so delicious)
  • Celebrating Christmas with Macy's (or Marshall Fields, whichever you prefer) by admiring the window decorations and Christmas tree in the Walnut Room
  • Enjoying the walk back to our hotel and the view from the room (sorry its blurry)



(You can tell I don't live in a cold place and really wanted to wear my winter white coat. I might have slightly stood out.)

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

and we're off...

Raise your hand if you honestly can't believe its already Thanksgiving...(picture me on my couch raising my hand saying "oooh, me, ooh, ooh, me")

But it's here and I am going to embrace it, because tomorrow morning Greg and I are flying to meet his parents in Chicago. The rest of my week will consist of:
  • Shopping on Michigan Avenue
  • Watching the Christmas Tree Lighting in Daley Plaza
  • Cheering on Greg and Glenn as they run the Turkey Trot
  • Eating Thanksgiving Dinner at McCormick & Schmicks (I've never had a Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, but I'm really excited about not having to clean up)
  • Standing on the Sky Deck on the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower
  • Enjoying some amazing Chicago deep dish pizza
  • Making sure we are in a place with a TV so that Greg will never miss a football or basketball game
and being thankful for all that God has blessed me with.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

i want one....

I am a paper snob. There, I said it. I admitted it.

I love beautiful paper. I love stationery. I love going through all of the paper sample books in our office (there are quite a few by the way). I just dream about what I could put on them. I dream of redoing my wedding invitations and going with a letterpress design. I dream of the fanciest Christmas cards ever (which by the way, we will actually be sending them out this year. I dropped the ball last year), but letterpress designs are so expensive. But, when I saw my latest e-mail from Paper-Source, I am now in love with this:

Yes! It is a DIY letterpress machine. I want it. I want it. I want it. (Greg, I hope you are reading this...)

Here's a review of it too: http://www.diybride.com/2009/08/07/diy-letterpress-machine/

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Good News....Bad News.....

Good news is always better first...

Good News:

Two great girls flew in from Minnesota and New York to meet me and another great girl in Austin for the first of many girls' weekends...trouble was definitely made...





Bad News:

A big Ford truck rear-ended me on I-35 on my down to Austin. My poor little Jetta now looks like this...

Monday, November 9, 2009

The Anthropologist


I love Anthropology. The clothes, the accessories, the furniture...I love it all. If I had my way I would only dress in their clothes and my house would look as though you had stepped into the store. And now they have launched their own site of inspiration - The Anthropologist. I haven't had time to go through the whole site yet, but it's intriguing. It's a site that makes you actually want to go through the complete site. I'll try to go through it in more detail and maybe let you know which parts are my favorite, but let me know if you find a specific part that I should look at with particular interest.

I also love Kate Spade's inspiration page: http://katespade.info/

Friday, November 6, 2009

Baylor...Again...I know...

I know I posted about Baylor Homecoming as my last post too, but my intern showed me this time lapse video of Homecoming done by the Baylor photographers. Please watch. I know I'm a bit obsessed with Baylor, but this video will not only show you how great the old BU is, but will also show you a little piece of my heart. :)


Homecoming 2009 from Baylor Photography on Vimeo.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

"lay aside for a few days the usual cares of life..."


In the fall of 1909, Baylor alumni received a surprising invitation from their alma mater. A postcard signed by three professors asked the graduates to return to campus to "renew former associations and friendships, and catch the Baylor spirit again."

So, in the fall of 2009, we all set aside our usual cares and traveled to Baylor to celebrate our alma mater. Well, most people traveled. We just walked over two blocks. I think all of you need to check out these photos on Baylor's website. It walks you through all of the traditions. My favorite traditions are the bonfire (which had fireworks this year!) and the parade which just so happens to be the oldest and longest collegiate parade. Until you see it, you just can't understand how wonderful Baylor is. Now go look at the photos....go....



{quote from here.}

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I got mooned...

when i found this waiting for us in our bag of mushrooms the other day, i laughed so hard. and then i took a picture for you. enjoy.

Monday, November 2, 2009

oh so scary...


Since life flies by so fast, we almost forgot to carve pumpkins this year...almost. This weekend we carved pumpkins with Laura and made a delicious apple crisp...


The pumpkin that Greg and I carved is on the left and Laura's little white pumpkin is on the left. Everybody was out of pumpkins, so we were left with the tilted one and the white one. We even had to carve something on the back because it would fall backwards.


And here's a photo from work on Friday. I came as a typical Baylor fan. You know, the ones who dress cute but have one little thing Baylor so that they can say they are a fan. Most fans are not hard core fans that paint themselves green and gold. Laura was a softball player, Casey was the swine flu, and Dean came as a blind ref with his seeing eye dog that he named "Tool."

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Holy Cow

No, I have not started to worship a golden calf. I know how that ended up. I am merely referring to the fact that I cannot believe it is already November. I woke up this morning to my husband wearing his Baylor Santa hat singing Christmas carols because the Sounds of the Seasons channel already has Christmas music playing. I have no clue where time goes. Life just flies by. From here until the end of the year I have:

1. Greg's mom's birthday
2. The start of Baylor basketball - We got season tickets this year since it will be the first time neither of us are students...
3. Bridal shower and wedding of a dear friend
4. Girl's weekend in Austin with some great roommates from college
5. Thanksgiving in Chicago {photo from here}
6. Christmas on 5th Street
7. Decorating/Shopping/Making Cookies for Christmas {photo from here}
8. Greg's graduation
9. Christmas in Colorado
10. New Year's Eve

On top of all of this I have a crazy schedule at work. It's going to be a busy - yet fun - two months!