our growing family

Our family is growing.  Come July we will be adding a little person to our family.  We are over the moon excited.

At this same time last year I knew that this would be our last year as a family of two people and two dogs.  I didn't know when (of course) as we had a lot to figure out in regards to getting ready for beginning this journey.  (Always the planner.)  There were lots of conversations to be had on long roadtrips.

At the end of October I did a pregnancy test after work and before going to get a haircut.  And another one a few days later to double check.  But it took a while for me to be certain that this was actually going to happen.  That this baby will stick.  All of our conversations on the topic included "if this baby sticks..." Thus came my current nickname from Dan of Sticky Bake Oven. 

This baby did indeed stick and is estimated to join our family July 7th.

{and if anyone that is friends with me on facebook reads this- please don't mention it there yet!  telling the boss next week!}

Christmas 2011

Christmas was relaxing this year. 

We kept decorating our home pretty simple.  Just enough to add a touch of holiday spirit.  There was minimal treat making... I just didn't feel like making a lot of stuff this year so a few batches of salted caramel sauce and cashew brittle for gifts and one pan of bars and batch of party mix for us was it.  And honestly, it was just enough.

We spent the weekend at the Winthrop Harbor B&B with lots of catching up, hanging out on the sofas in front of the 14' tree, playing with new toys (kindle was the theme this year), walks with the pups, reading, and of course lots of good food.

(do you see Dan in this photo?)

It was a nice end to this busy year. 

Tidbits from December

December has been flying by... quite possibly the fastest ever.  But we have been having fun.  We enjoyed holiday cupcakes from Sprinkles.  The dogs have enjoyed the relatively warm weather.  Dan's company won the prize for fun parties with a holiday party at the Field Museum.  Our traditionally holiday event this year was the Second City Dysfunctional Holiday Revue.  The holiday cards just barely made it out before Christmas.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we travelled to the farm.  We usually leave on Wednesday night but this year we left on Thanksgiving morning bright and early... it was an awesome decision as there was nearly no traffic.  Just a quiet fall drive to the country.

Thanksgiving was exactly what it should be - lots of good food and hanging out with family.  Dreamy high pumpkin pie, egg nog, blackberry pie, ham and turkey, seven layer salad... and of course lots of napping.   And a french fry night- the best ever french fries.  It was such a relaxing weekend.  The weather was unseasonably warm making it fun for the dogs as they got lots of outside time.

NYC by Camera Phone

I have been having fun with a camera phone app and took a few random photos from tid bits of our weekend in NYC...

Life is good.

A Weekend in New York

At the end of the summer my employer decided that they wanted to send me and a co-worker to a media publishing conference in NYC.  My first thought was awesome my immediate next thought was we have to stay for a long weekend exploring NYC.  For a long time I have been itching to visit the city but when it comes time to plan a vacation it is usually lower on the list simply because for the money I would rather visit something completely different from where we live.  True, Chicago and NYC are not exactly the same but they are both large cities in the northern part of the US and that was enough similarity for us to push it down the list. Anyways, so I promptly emailed Dan and started dreaming about strolling about Manhattan.

As we planned our weekend, I was really curious as to how we would react to NYC.  Dan had always been indifferent to the city and I have always been a little drawn to it.  Usually I have an idea what the outcome will be going into a trip (come on, as if we wouldn't have loved France or Hawaii, etc!) but this time it was a little less clear.   We could either love it or not care for it.

My conference ended Thursday afternoon and I headed to the hotel to drop off my bags and wait for Dan to arrive.  Our hotel was at Battery Park so I walked over to watch the sunset on the Statue of Liberty and then grabbed Shake Shack for dinner.  I tried to stay awake for Dan's arrival but totally passed out after reading.  This was the first time that we met at the destination instead of traveling together... it was kind of weird. 

Friday we were up bright and early with a full day ahead of us.  We headed out for the subway to make our way to the East Village for breakfast.  Then back to the subway for a quick ride to Midtown for a walk up 5th Avenue to Central Park.  We walked through the east side of Central Park all the way up to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.  Loved Central Park.  Then we headed into the Upper East side and started meandering down... with a stop at the first Laduree shop in the US for macarons.  We thought about going to Serendipity for a bite but the line and cheesy decor in the waiting area was a turn off so we stopped at a bistro instead... As we were people watching out the window Dan got his request for seeing some "New York Crazy" filled - a man dressed in a negligee and no undies ran across the street... not a head turned but ours.  Next up was Rockefeller Center where Dan made a bee-line for the Lego store.  Then we walked to Bryant Park and finally looped up the Times Square before catching the subway back to our hotel room.  After a quick change back to the subway to head to West Village for dinner.  We decided to brave the wait for a table at the Spotted Pig... awesome dinner.  It was a tiny place and felt like a very New York dining experience.  Then subway back to hotel & collapsed on the super comfy bed.

Day 2 was just as packed.  We took the subway up to Chelsea to have NY bagels for breakfast and then walked over to the High Line park... The High Line was cool but felt almost as touristy as Times Square.  Then we walked across town to Union Square to check out the Greenmarket.  Loved it.  But it definitely had a different vibe from the markets in Chicago... much busier.  A very hot cider warmed us up as the wind was brutal this day.  Then walked down towards the Strand Books... we didn't spend much time here as we were starting to get ready for lunch.  Kept walking to Washington Square Park - loved this park and area.  Stopped in a little cafe in the West Village for lunch... ended up surrounded by college girls that barely paused talking to take a breath... oy.  Then a little bit more walking around West Village before heading down to the Soho shopping area.  Loved everything.  The buildings in Soho were beautiful.  Then we ended up on Broadway... it was the most intense shopping area I have been.  Dan's words - "It is like Michigan Avenue on crack."  Granted, it was Saturday at about 4:30.  The people watching was fantastic.  Dean and Deluca's was insane but worth it.  I tried unsuccessfully to get Dan to try on bright blue skinny pants at Topshop.  Then we took the subway back to hotel and almost took a nap.  But I was determined to get Dan over to Battery Park to watch the sunset again.  Then subway back to West Village.  Predinner drinks at a cool place then dinner at Cafe Cluny.  We had a table right by the window and such a good dinner... it again felt very New York and also quite romantic.  Subway back to hotel and collapsed.

We were admittedly a little tired on day three but loving every minute of our trip so headed out for the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  We walked to it through the downtown area and I was disappointed that the area by the NY Stock exchange building was blocked off as I wanted to take photos... but then we saw it was blocked off for filming a riot scene for the new Batman movie- cool.  Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge totally lived up to expectations- it was worth it.  We goofed around in the park on the Brooklyn side.  On my "must do" list was going to the Brooklyn Flea but the subway to that park of Brooklyn was shut down for the weekend for repair-type of work... and so it was cut.    After walking back over to Manhattan we visited Ground Zero.  And then stopped at Shake Shack for lunch which we ate at the Esplanade.  And then it was time to head to the airport. 

We loved New York. Loved it.  There was talk about maybe including NYC in the short list for our next place of residence.  Completely loved New York.

Fall Weekends

We've had a very nice fall for walking.  The weather has been mild and comfortable... it has been so nice that we are suspicious as to what winter will look like once it clicks over.

Fall weekends included trips to the Donut Vault, the farmers market, the various parks around the city...

There were lots of relaxed moments and pretty leaves and fall sunsets.  However we didn't do any hikes from the 60's hikes book so we will have to make a winter hike happen.