First Beach Day!

Hello and Happy Monday? Are we here again? Yes I guess we are.  How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was wonderful, full of friends, fun and relaxation.  But before we get to that… for those of you who were wondering, I got my 4.5 miles this weekend! Here is my proof!

4.57 and with ease! Mile 3 was 10:57 and I’m kind of bummed I didn’t go a little further.  My legs were feeling great and I wasn’t too tired, I could have easily done 5 🙂

Chicago had it’s first nice Saturday this year with temps in the high 80s.  So what did we do? Head to the beach with friends of course!

There was not a cloud in the sky and it was absolutely beautiful.  Warm but not uncomfortable where you are sweating your butt off.  But good thing I lathered up with sun tan lotion or it would not have been pretty come Sunday night.  But I did get a little color so I didn’t look quite so Irish-pasty anymore.

It’s kind of hard to believe that views like this are literally right in our backyard.  I always find myself catching my breath.  It really is just beautiful.

We spent the afternoon at North Ave. beach soaking up the sun and spending time with friends.  After several hours in the fresh air we just got take out and crashed pretty early.  Like before 10 on a Saturday early.  But I wasn’t complaining.  Sun, sleep, and friends…it was glorious.

And I got to spend it with my favorite person 😉 which is an added bonus!

How was your weekend? What was the highlight?

Like Father Like Daughter

Hey all… can you believe it is Monday again already? Where did the weekend go? What all did you do?

I’ll give you a recap of my weekend.  Nick decided to go down and visit his family so I was left to my own devices  for the weekend.  I haven’t seen my parents in a while so I decided to go and hang out over at their house for the weekend.

Besides all the awesome quality time one of the things I love about visiting my parents is running with my Dad.

As many of you already know, I am a pretty amateur runner while my Dad has been running my whole life.  I’ve been trying to increase my mileage and eventually would love to do a half marathon with my Dad.  I have one specifically in mind but I’ll save that for later 😉

Saturday morning we were up nice and early for a great run.  Like I have said before  my Dad pushes me which is exactly what I need sometimes.  Saturday was no different. We completed 3.62 miles! Now this might not seem that far, but for me this is the farthest I have ever run without stopping! I was so excited and so extremely proud of myself.

Since I have taken up running a little more seriously I decided I needed some new gear. My old shoes were over 3 years old!  I have been holding out on buying anything new in case this whole running thing turned out to be a fad I decided to do for 5 minutes and then change my mind.  Not that that has happened once before or anything.

So my Dad took me to his favorite running store called Runner’s High N’ Tri.  If you are from the Chicago area, I highly suggest visiting this store in Arlington Heights. They are rated one of the top 50 running stores in America and the staff is super friendly and extremely helpful.  They watch you run, walk and look at your old shoes to make sure you are fitted for the proper shoe.

I walked away with a new pair of Brooks running shoes.

The fact that they are pink doesn’t hurt either 😉

My dad was also so excited that I have taken up running (like father like daughter) he surprised me with a Garmin watch.  I have had my eye on one for about 2 months and he bought one for me.  I have the best Dad.  It is so nice when you are running outside to check your pace and distance.

Nick and I went on a nice leisurely walk last night so that I could try out all my new swag.

I said it was leisurely! 3.59 miles in a little over an hour.

I brought my camera with me and a nice couple asked if we wanted our picture taken.  Like I was going to say no?

The rest of Saturday was spent at dinner with my best friend and her parents and my parents.  We are all really close from living together for 3 years in college but haven’t all gotten together in I think a year.  Dinner was spent laughing, talking, and eating for over 3 hours! It was just what I needed on a Saturday night.  Shout out to her and her family.  Love you 🙂 (of course in bad blogger fashion I didn’t take any pictures).

So tell me about your weekend.  What was the highlight? 

Pick up any good new running or exercise gear? 

Any new restaurants? 

Fashion of the Day: Weekend Edition

Hey everyone and Happy Monday! Back to the grind and back to another week.  How was everyone’s weekend?

Mine was extremely nice, calm, and relaxing.  After a million busy weekends Nick and I decided we needed a weekend to rest.  We went out to dinner, went on long walks (total of 10 miles this weekend!), saw The Five Year Engagement, and sat around on the couch… a lot.  It was absolutely what we needed to refresh our systems.  Since we didn’t do too much I thought I’d just share my weekend via pictures.  Here is goes:

Friday night we went to a Chinese Restaurant called Koi:

Fashion of the Day: Date Night

Most of my outfits are typically work related outfits.  It what I wear five days out of the week so its super easy to share some of my favorites.  I thought I would include some of my weekend outfits too.  This weekend in Chicago was cold and rainy especially for April.  I mean it was 40 degrees and windy on Friday and Saturday boo.  So I decided to wear this to dinner with Nick on Friday:

Lace Top: Talbots

Jeans: Joe’s Jeans via Nordstrom

Shoes: Burberry via Nordstrom Rack

I absolutely ADORE lace.  It is the perfect balance of sexy, classic, timeless, and elegance.  Lace is the perfect combination for a night out on the town.  Since we were keeping it simple with dinner I paired it with skinny jeans and heels.  The other thing I love about lace? You can wear it virtually all year! Black for winter, blush pink or white for summer, or even in a fun color.

Fashion of the Day: Comfy Cozy Saturday

Saturday was another icky day in Chicago.  Cold, rain, and wind made it a perfect day to hit up the mall and an afternoon showing of The Five Year Engagement.  I wanted to be comfortable while still remaining stylish.  Although I would love to be wearing a bright printed summer shift dress, the weather wasn’t allowing it. So I opted for this look:

Sweater: J. Crew

Shirt: Talbots

Leggings: Lululemon

Boots: Ralph Lauren

Scarf: Nordstrom

I decided to pare my absolute favorite leggings with boots to make it a little dressier.  A cute striped shirt, cardigan (mostly for extra warmth) and a bright red scarf complete the look.  I love the black/red combo too!  Red is the perfect balance and pop to a mainly black outfit.  Doesn’t hurt that it kept me extra warm in the brutal Chicago wind.  I guess they don’t call it the windy city for nothing?

So what do you think of my weekend outfits? 

What do you like to wear on the weekend?

What was the highlight of your weekend?

SURPRISE!

Hey howdy hey! How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was just fabulous.  I threw a SURPRISE party for Nick on Friday night for his birthday! About 30 people gathered at Nick’s apartment for a night of good friends, drinks, and dancing.

But before I get into the details lets back up a few steps. I knew I wanted to do something big for Nick’s birthday so I started planning this a few weeks ago with Nick’s roommate and some close friends.  Before I knew it, it turned in to a big party!

I took Nick out to dinner on Friday night to Tavern on Rush in order to be his “decoy”.

Do you like my dress? It should look a little familiar to you from a fun shopping adventure. Now I must say that I was so nervous the entire dinner.  I am a terrible liar and horrible at keeping secrets so I’m shocked that I actually pulled it off and didn’t slip before the party.

Dinner was awesome! Tavern on Rush is located in the “Rush and Division” area of Chicago.  It is home to a lot of swanky restaurants and this was no different.  A full bar and a wide variety of options to choose from on the menu was the perfect setting for a Friday night birthday dinner.

I ordered the chicken caprese dinner.  It was chicken pounded down with a Parmesan crust.  Greens, beefsteak tomatoes, and creamy buffalo mozzarella complimented the chicken.  It was delicious.  Light, fresh, and perfect for a spring time meal.  Nick ordered a Kobe burger that also looked mouth-watering.

To top it all off the service was top-notch and they sat us right next to the windows overlooking Rush Street.  So if you are ever in Chicago and need a good restaurant I would definitely head to Tavern on Rush.

They even gave us a complimentary brownie a la mode for Nick’s birthday.  I will never complain about a restaurant that gives free birthday dessert.

Then it was on to the SURPRISE! 

As we were walking into his apartment 30 people greeted us with SURPRISE.  Fortunately, Nick had no idea and I could breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the rest of the night.  I have never planned a surprise party before and I didn’t know how stressful it could be.  Nick’s roommate and I snuck around all week trying to get everything ready for the big night.

It was a great night with good friends and will definitely be one for the memory books.

The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxation, errands, and just hanging out.

What was the highlight of your weekend? 

A Very Hoppy Weekend

Woah there is so much to catch up on this past weekend.  First of all, I would like to wish every one (a little late) Happy Easter, Passover, or just a great weekend.

So let’s recap shall we?

Friday night was spent catching up with a good girlfriend over sushi.  It was a much-needed dinner that definitely put the weekend off to a good start.

Saturday morning started off with a little baking…

I made Easter cake pops to take to my parents house later that night.  Following  Bakerella’s recipe, I created some yellow Easter chicks and pink eggs.  They didn’t turn out quite as good as her’s, but I was pretty impressed with my handy work.  Plus they were a big hit with my family! I mean who can so no to say some cake mixed with frosting and dipped in chocolate?

Saturday night we went to a quaint Italian restaurant, called Galati’s, with my parents.  It was delicious! Ya know one of those little hole in the wall places that have the best food? Yup it was that kind of restaurant.

We started out with a bottle of Cabernet along with warm, doughy bread that melted butter instantly.  Our meals came with a crisp and refreshing salad with a side of  Italian dressing.

I ordered the Cavatelli pasta with marina sauce.  The pasta was a thick doughy “eight finger” pasta with perfectly seasoned sauce.  I was barely able to make a dent and most of the meal ended up being packed away for a leftover meal.  My favorite dish might have been the one my mom ordered; spinach and cheese ravioli.  Yum!

Some one has a birthday coming up this week so my parents decided that since they wouldn’t see him, we would have a little mini birthday celebration.  I LOVE birthdays (doesn’t matter whose it is)

No fiesta is complete without cake! My parents and I were also able to surprise him… he had no idea this was coming!

Now for Easter Sunday. There’s no better way to start the day then with an early morning run with my Dad! We covered 2.8 miles in just over 30 minutes.  I had a 10:47 pace and I was ecstatic! It doesn’t sound that great for most runners but for me this was a huge accomplishment. I had never broken an 11 min/mile pace and the first mile out I was running 10:23!  I think I need to go running with my Dad more often; he definitely pushed me but only in a good way.

We all headed to the car for Easter Mass.  After church, my parents, Nick, and I went to a beautiful champagne brunch at a local banquet hall.

The spread of food was unreal.  Everything from breakfast, salads, chicken, fish, shrimp, omelets, carving stations, and dessert blanketed what seemed like 20 tables.  We all made several trips and stuffed ourselves full. Also on display were intricately hand carved ice sculptures.

And no Easter is complete with out a photo with the Easter Bunny.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

Meet The Parents

Happy Monday! In case you missed some of my posts this weekend here’s a recap:

Cardi Party

Kabob-ing for Dinner

So how was your weekend? Nick and I traveled down to Indianapolis to visit with his parents! We left town late Friday afternoon for the about 4 hour drive. Here’s my car picture (notice the stripes)!

It was an ok drive until we hit this:

It rained almost the entire drive there! It took closer to 5 hours instead of 4! It took so long we even had to stop for dinner. So we grabbed some pizza (there aren’t a lot of meatless options on the road). We had it topped with red onions and green peppers.  The veggies added a nice crunch.

We were hungry!

We finally made it after 5 hours! The rest of Friday was spent watching IU lose to Kentucky :(, relaxing, and catching up with his family.  I might have brought some Crumbs cupcakes and those might have been devoured as well :). Saturday was a very busy and fun-filled day.  We weren’t in town for very long and we had so much we wanted to do.

First thing was a refreshing and cool 3 mile run in the morning.  Then off to Cafe Patachou where we had lunch with one of my close sorority sisters Maggie.  If any of you live in Indy I would highly recommend trying out this Cafe! They had great breakfast and lunch options.  Everything is really fresh and the bread was delicious too.

We visited some other friends as well and also spent time visiting with the family’s new DOG Victor! Isn’t he a cutie?

We enjoyed some wine and cheese before dinner, my favorite appetizer.  We sat down to delicious pork tenderloin, fried rice, and a salad for dinner.  The whole evening was filled with laughter, good food, and relaxation.  What a perfect Saturday night.

And since I totally couldn’t wait until next weekend we saw a late night showing of the Hunger Games :). I won’t go into to many details since I’m sure you’ve heard all the hype but I’ll just say that it was fabulous.  Didn’t stick the book 100% but I thought it was a great rendition.  I absolutely love Jennifer Lawrence.

We hit the road at a decent time so that we could get back and get our Sunday errands done.  It was sad to leave but it was such a great visit and I can’t wait to see them all again very soon!

How was your weekend? What kind of fun things did you do?