7.19.09

My new kicks.

7.18.09

Saturday was the most anticipated shopping weekend of my year. Maxwell Street Days. This year Meghan and Tom joined in the fun with Jon and me. The sale officially runs from Friday-Sunday, but word on the street (Nancy) is that some stores started on Thursday. What?! We were not 1, but 2 days behind all the greatest deals. I have taken note of this for next year.

Back to Saturday.

We used my camera as a mirror most of the day since everything is on the street and mirrors were hard to come by. I believe this was right after Meghan took her pants off in the middle of State Street to try on a dress actually. Yup. That would be correct. (tee hee hee)

As for this picture...it may need some explaining, right? Meghan is making a 'b' with her hand. You know, b for Bula (the brand of these hats). I mean, Bula is quite possibly the best hat brand around - didn't you know? You best run out and get yourself one. (side note: obviously the ASL Meghan and I learned in college didn't kick in right away, because it wasn't until after we took the picture that we realized this was not the correct sign for 'B'.)

We all came away with a lot of good loot. My best buy of the day were a pair of Asics for $40. Meghan's was probably her $35 Michael Kors flats. Tom's: an Adidas track jacket for $30 (?)...and Jon would argue his were some plaid Quicksilver loafer things, but I think his was a pair of Rainbow moccasins for $30.

7.17.09

As I was driving along on Friday night, the look of the carnival rides against the dark sky caught my eye...so naturally, I had to exit the beltline to take some pics.

I think this is what they call twilight actually :)

7.16.09

oooh, artsy.

7.15.09

Barney came over for dinner last night. We had the most yummy meal. Jon picked up burgundy pepper steaks from the butcher. I got the grill going and made my new fave potatoes (recipe on the bottom) and Barney brought over some sweet corn. It was such a joint effort and I was busting at the seams afterward.

...but not before we ate dessert. I was put in charge of dessert and since today (the16th) is Barney's bday, I picked up these awesomely delicious cupcakes to celebrate. Happy Bday, Barn!


Potatoes on the Grill

1. cut potato length wise 4 times across without cutting all the way through
2. between each section put a little bit of butter and a few slices of onion (or however much fits-the more the better), salt and pepper (and lawrys or whatever seasoning you like)
3. double wrap potato in foil
4. cook for 30-40 mins., turning every 10 mins.
5. that's it. so good. thank me later.

*I have also made these by just cutting the potato up in pieces, cut up about a half an onion rustic-style and mixed it all up in a bowl with softened butter (I think I probably use a lot of butter...maybe half a stick? I use Can't Believe It's Not Butter though. Is that better? Just make sure all the pieces are covered.), add your salt, pepper and seasoning and wrap it up like a present (double wrap).

7.14.09

I'm obsessed with all the hydrangeas in bloom right now.

7.13.09

I have very few pics to choose from for this day...this is the only one that turned out half way decent.

We got together for some Monday night margaritas at Frida's...because why not, right?

7.12.09

Gina is another year older today! (as I am typing this, not on the 12th when this pic was taken) Happy Birthday, sister-friend!

7.11.09

This is Dre's street. While Jon was trying to maneauver his car out of his spot on the street, I was being really helpful by taking pictures.

7.10.09

We took in a Cubs game at the friendly confines on Friday afternoon. Say what you will about the Cubs, but Wrigley is pretty sweet. I can't say the same about the game we saw though. The Cubs lost - they had a lot of errors and the fans turned on them quick.

Also, you would think we are Cardinals fans or something though because they were the opposing team at both the Brewer and Cubs game. We are not.

7.9.09

Last Thursday, we made our way down to Chicago to hang out with Dre and to take in a Cubs game. This is Dre's living room. I am kind of obsessed with this chair.

7.8.09

Fielder. Pujols. Braun. All Stars.

7.7.09

Vaca - Day 2 (or 5)

I had plans of maybe going back to the pool today, but the weather wasn't that great for laying out...and then the Michael Jackson Memorial show was on and I ended up sitting in front of the TV for 2 hours watching it.

About an hour into it, I kept telling myself I should do something more productive...or at least go out and do something so I don't feel like I wasted my day off.

But then I realized something...When I am at work, sometimes all I want to do is lay on the couch, rest and watch tv. So I settled in and forgot about making other plans. And it was awesome...and kind of emotionally taxing :-/ (the memorial)

...and that has nothing to do with this pic.

7.6.09

My week long vacation - Day 1. Well, actually it is technically day 4 since I had off Friday for the 4th.

I spent pretty much all day poolside listening to K. Chesney (obsessed) and reading New Moon. Glorious!

*and I know, this is such a typical and uncreative pic.

7.5.09

Look! A smiley face!

7.4.09

This is how we like to spend the 4th of July. By torturing adorable little babies :) Juuuust kidding.

The 4th was pretty uneventful for us. We had a lot of plans, but none of them really happened. Instead of heading out to the parade, going down to the Northpoint snack bar, and seeing Huey Lewis at Summerfest - we had an all american McDonald's lunch, put together a little impromptu bbq dinner, went to a nearby parking lot to watch the State Fair fireworks and ended the day by watching the American classic, Knocked Up.

Happy Bday, America!!!

7.3.09

That guy in the cowboy hat is Kenny Chesney. Perhaps you have heard of him?

A few years ago I saw a piece on 60 minutes on Kenny Chesney and found him so interesting!(You can check out part 1 here and part 2 here) I've been a casual fan for a while, but this year became a full on fan that NEEDED to see him in concert. When Gina asked if we wanted to join them, I did not hesitate to say yes.

We saw him at Summerfest on Friday night and seriously, it might have been the best concert I have ever seen...and y'all, I've been to A LOT of concerts. This pic was taken at the very end of the concert when I'm pretty sure he was told he HAD to stop after singing about 10 songs for his encore. There was not a lot of fanfare with him leaving the stage. Instead, the lights went up, he stayed out signing autographs for a while and then walked off stage. He was an amazing showman and entertainer. I know that hearing about concerts is about as intersting as listening to someone else's dream, but I am going to put down a few highlights and lowlights for my sake. If you would like to read on, be my guest:

-Not only was Kenny awesome, but we were all really looking forward to both opening acts: Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert. Both were great. We are all big Miranda fans, so this whole concert package was an extra easy sell for us.

-I know whenever you go to concerts, the artist is always like "you guys are the best crowd!", etc etc., but you know they say that to every crowd. Well, in this case, I honestly feel like he was half serious. Like I said, his encore lasted a really long time, included all cover songs and it was obviously unrehearsed. Random people from his crew came on stage and sang with him and as you can see in the picture, even a puppy joined in the fun. It felt like we were a part of something that not every stop on the tour is privy to see.

-the one lowlight of the experience: the dude sitting next to Jon literally chain smoked the entire concert. I'm not kidding - the guy didn't stop. Not only cigarettes either - cigars as well. It was a real treat. So much so that I am tempted to write a strongly worded letter to Summerfest/Marcus Ampitheater about it actually. Because here is the thing - I realize we were techinically outdoors, but we couldn't leave our seats. If we were at a bar, or seeing a show at one of the side stages, we could move if we didnt want to breathe in the smoke all night. At this concert, we did not have that luxury. Not to mention, my pregnant sister sitting 2 seats away from him that had to inhale that all night long? I didn't like it one bit. The guy also sat for about 60% of the concert and texted. Srsly. He was majorly annoying.

-Basically I dare anyone to see this guy in concert and not come away a fan. Dare you! He was so great.

7.2.09

Look at this precious little pup, please!

She belongs to my sister, Gina, and her family.

Please also take note that she is laying her head on a pillow like she is a human.

7.1.09

My poor little Ipod Mini went missing for about 2 months. It was a tragedy for my workouts and my drives to Milwaukee...until Thursday when I started packing for the weekend and grabbed a small purse for going to Summerfest and inside was the Ipod. Aren't the lost items always in unused purses, ladies? Why didn't I check there 2 months ago? Dang.

The only drawback to finding it is not having an excuse to buy a shiny new Ipod. I mean seriously, look at this dinosaur!

6.30.09

I was cleaning through a pile of papers that accumulated on our desk and came across this that I made for dizzy's wedding. Jon held it up to show that I am never in pictures since I am always taking them. He said he was going to bring this around to represent me, err you?

It was one of those things that was funny at the time.