Long Drive
…just got into Findlay, O-H-I-O….that was the longest drive of my life! I think its a huge shock to drive a 5-6 hour drive by yourself when you are usually sharing it with another person. It’s seriously mind-bogglingly boring. I did have my kitties with me (Phantom + Tex) who are awesome but can’t really have a conversation….except different kinds of meows. They were funny though, all over the car investigating the dash and the rear window making visibility sporadic and/or nonexistent.
I was driving Bobby’s car (which although it’s nicer than my car and has GPS) for some reason does not come with directions. I couldn’t figure out the cruise control so my right foot and ankle are totally numb right now. My phone also weirdly went into roaming mode about two hours ago and never came back so I couldn’t call anyone when I got sleepy. BOO! I hope the drive home on Sunday is much better. Sadly tonight I’m having lonely sleepy time because Bobby is in London (he should be calling me shortly to tell me he got there ok.)
One really great thing that happened tonight though was seeing my mom waiting for me at the door like the good ol days! I miss my family soooo much. So glad to be back for a visit!
Reheated Royale: La Brochette
I must say: This is quite possibly the most beautiful + delicious re-heated food I’ve ever had…my leftovers from Casey’s birthday dinner at La Brochette! Thank you to Bobby for his arrangement on the two small salad plates. ;)
Shopping with Large
Got to hang out with Large last night and today unexpectedly….which was a nice surprise. :) Today we went shopping on Division Street and tried to find some cool deals and fun stuff. Jess found some sweet jeans on sale for half price and a very nice smelling candle…and I got these sweet handmade earrings from Renegade Handmade that look like doylies hanging from my ears! haha. But they’re actually really pretty on…the picture on the site doesn’t do them justice (plus I got the silver color, not bright blue). Jess and I also stopped into Cocoa Rouge for some hot cocoa after our shopping exhibition for some rest and warmth! What a cool place…really decorated in a unique way and we both had some delicious (not so normal) cocoas. Jessica had the GIANDUJA cocoa, which is a belgian blend of chocolate and pureed carmelized hazelnuts with house-blended milk chocolate. I had the Chile Pepper Cocoa that was hot cocoa with a blend of cayenne pepper…I know, sounds terrible but it was really good – kind of sweet yet hot on your throat. Anyway, that little stop was delicious and relaxing!
Last night Bobby + I went to Fearon’s Bar with Bridget and John for Kat’s birthday party…we had a couple beers and some chicken wings but since Bridget was feeling crappy (she’s been sick all weekend…boo!) we went home a little earlier than expected….but we had fun while it lasted and took a late night stop to the grocery store for some cold medicine and kitty treats (my kitties were all out. haha).
Hope everybody had a great weekend!
courtneyreagor.com
So last night Bobby and I went out to dinner with my friend Libby, her fiance Casey and like 18 other people I’ve never met (most of them from Toledo)…we went to La Bruchette (a Mongolian Food BYOB on Ashland/Blackhawk Ave) and it was really good food and fun times. There was like a massive amount of food and wine and everyone was so cool. One of the things I wanted to make sure to check out was CourtneyReagor.com…one of the girls brought a card for Casey (since it was his birthday) and the illustrator that made her card was this Courtney person…so I just looked her up and she has some pretty interesting and funny illustrations on her webpage. Ya’ll should check it out! :)
Home Sweet, um…Condo!
So BIG news! It’s practically official…Bobby and I are buying a condo! Yaaaay! It’s a pre-construction so the building wont fully be built until January/February 2009 but we picked a floor plan and signed the preliminary contract and it was accepted! You can see the building here: RD659. We’re gonna be on the 12th floor! Pretty cool! I’ve never lived in a big building before so I’m pretty excited – there’s a pool and an exercise facility and a doorman! It’s a corner unit too so practically two whole sides of my place is gonna be floor to ceiling windows! Woo-hoo! It’s right in the near west loop and we have a southeast view of the whole city! I have to be patient because I have a whole year to wait to move in, but I feel like it’s a really big step Bobby and I are taking and we’re both really happy!
Missed Wedding, London, & the Vera Wang Show
I just got Lance Lalanne and his girlfriend Casie’s invite to their wedding March 29th and I’m so bummed we can’t go. We never got a save the date card and it was just too late of notice to get it now. :(
Bobby has to work 2 midnight-8AM shifts that weekend for a major website release at work. If we would’ve had more notice we would’ve tried to talk to Bobby’s manager about scheduling someone else for that weekend but now it’s kind of too late to do that. We were really looking forward to going too…the wedding is near Mandaville, LA which is where Bobby’s family lives…and it’s been TOO long since we’ve been down there to visit, so it would’ve been really nice to go see the family…I guess we’ll have to pick another weekend. This month will be hectic with the London trip.
Yes, I did say London. :)
Bobby’s getting sent to London for work the first week of March so I am going to fly over there the second weekend he’s there and meet up with him. I’ve never been to London so I’m REALLY excited!! We’ve been looking online for a couple weeks trying to figure out what we can do and where we can go in the short amount of time we’re there. I’m sure it’ll be awesome! I still have to book my flight though…
Oh and I never told you guys about my weekend…which really, the only thing to tell is about Sunday night, when I went with Jess Large to the Trump Tower for the Chicago Style Wedding Expo…it was sooo much fun. There was a Vera Wang runway show, lots of champagne and all the brides to be got enormous “swag bags” that were full of goodies from all the wedding vendors. But I’ve never seen one this big. Anyway my project manager Jill and her friend Amanda were there and bumped into us so we hung out with them all night and ended up at Howl at the Moon singing and dancing. haha. I’m sure I made a fool of myself, but I had a great time and it was good to see Jess. We live 5 minutes from each other but don’t see each other enough!
I guess I ought to go to bed it’s 1AM. Night night. Sleep tight.
The big P
Pregnancy.
ha ha…fooled you all for a second…it was just a dream.
I had a dream last night that I was pregnant….like full-on-9-months-about-to-give-birth-pregnant! I was in the hospital room with the nurses and doctor and they were telling me to hold on because I should wait a couple more days to deliver and I was like ‘nope, I’m ready now, lets do it.” but basically I was just waiting and talking to all these people about it and looking down my belly was huge. It felt really real in the dream too.
So I just googled dreams and pregnancy and I found an article that said, “If you are close to delivery, this usually means that something you’ve been planning or thinking about is close to materializing in the waking world.” That’s pretty cool…maybe its just all this talking that Bobby and I have been doing about buying a condo and having a home and getting married and all this stuff. I mean we’ve been talking and talking and talking about it and I’m ready to see it happen, its just money that holds us back. I guess that’s one of the challenges of living in Chicago. I kind of have this ideal situation in my head from when I grew up that I would have a house and have a big perfect wedding and have like 2 or 3 kids, but most likely I’m going to pay way more than I ever thought I could for a small condominium (although it’ll be kickass) and I’ll probably have to wait another year or two to get married even though I want it now and I’ll probably have to wait until then to have kids because I really would like to be married first.
And you can’t have exactly what you want especially if you don’t have a plan. I think what my biggest regret (although you should never have regrets) is that I didn’t start making plans or having goals until now about my personal life. I always had career goals and I’m finally very happy with the state of my career, but now I’m like “whoops” did I forget about what I wanted personally? I put a lot of pressure on myself with my job and how well I do in design, but then what about friendships, relationships, and my future as a person? I want to really work on that this year and moving forward. I think that’s one reason I’m really looking forward to writing more about whats going on with me here. Hopefully we can all keep in touch a bit better (even with my busy work schedule.)
One of the people that comes to mind when I think of good planning is Justin Winget – ever since I’ve known him he’s had a list of goals on his desk, things he wants to do this year and things he wants to do in his lifetime. I’ve never had a list like that. Maybe we should all take a lesson from him and make our own lists. I mean look at Justin, he’s like one of the most productive people I know…in the words of Jessica Large last night, “I think he might one day become president.”
Next on my list: Make a list.
My Valentine
What did you guys do for Valentine’s Day?
Bobby and I set up a cooking class at the Chopping Block at the Merchandise Mart downtown – we had champagne, lobster and watercress salad, pistachio encrusted scallops (those were sooooo good!), beef wellington, and for dessert we had chocolate expresso mousse parfait. It was only a demonstration class (not hands on) but it was really fun…it was nice to relax after work and not worry about cooking. We shared a table with a couple that actually lives down the street from us and they turned out to be really cool. I’m so glad because I would’ve been uncomfortable if we sat with strangers that didn’t talk to us! haha!
Anyway the class was awesome and we ate some awesome food! Oh and Bobby got me roses and a teddy bear – it was so cute! I walked off the train and he was standing there hiding it from me… I think I’ve been in denial about recieving flowers for a long time (maybe because I don’t usually get any!)
So anyway, moral of the story – I like getting flowers – even if they die soon after – its totally worth it. haha!
After our class we took a cab to meet Jessica, Sang-woo, and Allison at the movie theater on Western Ave. to see “Jumper” (wouldn’t recommend it) but we did have a really fun time anyway…I was a little tipsy from the wine at class…Jess was worried I might fall asleep in the movie. haha. (Oh another movie I do not recommend if you are not in the mood for crying your eyes out – is P.S I love you – wow, that was a tear jerker! My chest and throat hurt when I left that movie from all the heartbreaking stuff I had to watch!)
I’ll write more later, I have tons to fill you all in on.
:) shell
It’s Saturday night…
…and I’m a geek.
I’m really excited about this new blog. I swear this is the last time I’m going to try and keep this up. Try not to get weak and delete it. What do you guys think? Think I can keep it up? Ok well just watch – I’ll make you proud this time.
Well, for starters, it’s going to be quite an exciting year. I’m getting in shape, I’m going to hone my skills as a hula hooper and I’m going to try really hard to visit all my friends that I so desperately need to see. (You guys are the ones that have made my life so interesting up until this point.) Thanks for always being there and listening.
Well, I’m off to work on this blog design…check you later (for a more intimate update.)
:) miss. shellie