Nell + Bryce’s Wedding
Hey I just realized that I didn’t post anything about Nell + Bryce’s wedding reception last weekend! How could I forget!?
The reception was held at the Swedish American Museum in Andersonville (a northern neighborhood of Chicago). There was a really cool artist showing their work coincidentally which made for a really nice artistic atmosphere – which by the way I at first thought was Nell’s new work! The food and wine and comapany was fantastic! Oh and the programs were beautiful too, Nell created a custom piece of artwork for the interior that was a timeline of she/Bryce’s life together – the places they’ve been, big moments, and people they have met along the way…it was a really really really nice gift to take home with us (along with the artichokes!) They did such an awesome job of creating books and artwork and invitations to the wedding events…it really made everything come together beautifully! Here’s a picture of Sonia, Alex, Nell, Bryce, me + Bobby in the space. :) Oh and I have more pictures up on myspace + facebook!
The nature of an obligation; compulsory
Time for my obligatory update of the week. hehe. ;)
Finally got some time with Large this week – went to Penny’s Noodles for dinner, walked around wicker park and watched movies and worked on the Greatest Expectations website for a bit (soon to come ~ a blog!) which is very exciting! …she’s just in the brainstorming process now, so I wont ruin the surprise by telling you everything about it. And P.S. congrats to Large for how far she’s come in the wedding/events industry in just about one year. It’s been a lot of work and I know she’s been trying really hard to get everything just right for her brides! I’m so proud to see my friends doing well.
Yesterday I went to Bridget’s Typography class and was very impressed with the student presentations as I tried to give some good feedback and suggestions to their work….then I headed over to Mirror Mirror to get my hair done (it was good to see Jessica H….haven’t had a proper hair cut in about 3-4 months.) She said I did a pretty good job of cutting my own bangs though. haha. :)
Then Bobby met up with me and we took the train to the Old Town Art Festival to meet up with Justin and Mandy…it was just a quick couple of hours, but with all of our busy schedules I’m just glad we got to see each other and kinda get the update on each other. Congrats to Mandy on her new job!!! There were some great artists/art pieces/photography at the Art Fair and I wish I had tons of cash to buy everything I wanted…but we just did some window shopping and ate some awesome bbq pork sandwiches! Yum! Its one of the most popular art festivals in the city though, so it was super packed. Allison Roadruck showed up right as we were leaving but it was nice to get to chat with her for a bit too!
After that we headed back over to Bridget and John’s place for a very nice and relaxing bbq on their back porch….met the neighbors and Sachin also showed up which is always a delight…it was soooo nice outside and as always the food was amazing! Bridget made a citrus and avocado salad that was really good and we had chicken and roasted veggies…and watermelon for desert!! YUM!
Today we’re just resting up because yesterday we were up so early and didn’t get to bed til real late. Plus, I love relaxing. ;)
In the next days and weeks we are REALLY looking forward to a number of things: 1. Kurt is visiting in 3 days ~ yay! 2. Orbit slumber party and Mario Cart extravaganza at Lee’s place on Tuesday (well, that is more me than “us”, but you get the idea). 3. Orbit office party at Uncommon Ground in Wrigleyville on thursday. 4. Nell and Bryce’s wedding reception next weekend!!! 5. July 4th weekend – Amy and John will be here! Yay! Can’t wait!!
The Violet Hour
Last night after seeing the Sex in the City movie (which was fabulous and unexpectedly very long) with the girls from work, Libby and I decided to check out the Violet Hour and have a cocktail or two. Neither of us had been there and I had never even heard of it. It’s right in the middle of my neighborhood but I never knew it was there because its disguised by a very abandoned-looking wood paneled exterior and a yellow light bulb, and it’s hard to find the entrance. It seriously looks like there would be nothing behind the front door, but when opened there are these beautifully luxurious curtains that you walk through to get to the host…he took our IDs and we went through another set of large draperies…it’s a sight to see once you get inside too…these very tall backed chairs, low lighting, sparkling chandeliers, candle lights and VERY pretty and delicious drinks. It looks like a cross between Alice In Wonderland and a very swanky club. We were pleasantly surprised by the story of the unicorn on the menu and the fun choice of music. It was definitely something I would recommend to people looking for a different experience. We had a great talk and laughed a lot and said goodnight. :)
Finally, the family meets!
So I know I’m about a week overdue on updating you guys about last weekend AND didn’t write anything about my birthday yesterday yet…but I’ve just been busy doing all kinds of things so I haven’t had time yet. If you didn’t know though, last weekend Bobby’s brother Lenny and mom Suzie came to visit and so did my parents! We did all kinds of stuff, went to the Shed Aquarium, the Architecture Tour, to a bunch of restaurants and bars and walked around the neighborhood and did a lot of relaxing, talking, and drinking coffee. :) I think everybody had a good time and got along great so I’m so happy about that. I’m also happy Bobby got to spend some time with his brother and mom – he’s always happy when he gets some quality time with them. Lenny left a few days before Suzie and we wish he could’ve stayed longer. My parents brought food and wine and birthday cake and it was all really great. I’m really happy with how last weekend turned out. I had lots of fun! Here are some PICTURES FROM THE WEEKEND that Lenny took!! (Check out Lenny’s other pictures too, he is an awesome photographer!)
Yesterday was my birthday and Jess took me to get a manicure at Pinky Nails early in the morning before her big wedding event (which I hope went really good!) and then Bobby and I made lunch at home and talked and actually ended up going out to the burbs to try and sell the car, but didn’t work out…then came home later on and rode our bikes all over the city and down to Navy Pier and there were some fireworks going on, so that was a nice surprise. :) Riding our bikes in the city seems to be one of our new favorite things to do…it’s always interesting and we always see new things we’ve never seen before.
Today I’ve been hanging out with Bridget – we went to Feast for lunch (which by the way had a delicious spinach and pear salad – YUM), got pedicures at Pinky Nails and went shopping for plants and pots for her and John’s garden…. Tonight we are making BBQ’d salmon and corn on the cob and sitting on the porch to enjoy the fabulous weather. Yay!!! Bobby is working all day in the burbs or I’m sure he’d be with us. :( Too bad he has to work!
Anyway thanks to everybody for the birthday wishes and gifts. My nails are looking good all around! You made my day! Hope everybody had a nice weekend!
Condo Update!
We picked out our condo finishes on Monday night! yay! It was fun….much more fun than I had thought it would be. I originally thought it would be intimidating and Bobby and I would be having a hard time deciding on stuff, but it ended up that we have close to the same taste and were able to agree on everything. Unfortunately, we didn’t bring a camera so that we could take a picture of all the samples that we ended up going with….so bare with me and try to imagine. he he.
First of all, we settled on bamboo floors (similar to this link) that are a golden color with a cool linear textured look. We are doing Caesar porcelain tile in the master bathroom and in the 2nd bathroom we’re doing Colonial Caesar – a lighter/natural color…..the tile on the walls inside the shower and tub will be White Ceramic Subway tile and the countertop in the master bath will be white Carrara Marble (not the sink style but the marble style). We just stuck with the standard stainless steel appliances in the kitchen that come with the unit because if we upgrade those we’ll do it ourselves…but we did choose some Wenge Woodline cabinets (similar to this look – yet the grain is vertical in our place) and Cohiba Brown granite (though this link doesn’t do it justice – it is actually very iridescent and shimmery in the light) for the countertops and island topper.
Anyway that’s the gist of it though we did pick sinks and carpets and shower doors and other misc. stuff, but I don’t want to bore you. We are so excited and impatient right now…we still have like 8 months til the place is finally complete, but I’m sure it will all be worth it!
Last Night
Last night was fun…we went to Clybar with a bunch of people for Sachin’s 28th birthday party. We hung out there with everybody until about midnight and then went over to Mark’s house for my boss Andy’s birthday bash…people were wearing wigs and hula hooping on the roof and I believe I got a policeman’s hat and was wearing that around…can’t wait for the pictures (note the sarcasm << got that one from you – The Dawes). Anyway today Bobby and I are getting plans together for next weekend since our families will be in town. Yay! I think its gonna be great…I just have to figure out all the food, do a serious spring cleaning to the apartment, and figure out what/where everyone wants to go. We’ll have a full house…but it’ll be nice since we don’t often have lots of house guests.
Thought I’d include an updated picture of us, since I haven’t posted any lately. :) Hope everybody had/is having a great weekend! I’m going for a bike ride.
UPDATE: There are 485 photos floating around at work of my boss Andy’s birthday party…couple of embarrassing/funny ones of me too! …I’ll upload some later….but here’s one more for the road – bobby, rene, and me with a policeman’s hat on…haha. :)
Rush Hour Chicago
So this weekend, in addition to 1. going out Friday to Dylan’s to meet Bobby’s co-workers (who all – strange yet hilarious – decided to wear matching t-shirts and blazers), 2. hanging out at Bridget and John’s place Saturday with Amanda and a new friend Jen from the UK, 3. going to a kickass Cubs game in the freezing cold yesterday, and 4. having a big pasta dinner at our place with J.Win and Mandy last night…we made it a point to head over to Sandro’s Photography Studio in Ukranian Village for a 
Rush Hour Tasting on Saturday evening – we were VERY pleasantly surprised.
There was a performance with violinist Jasmine Lin and cellist Clancy Newman – such a great pair. This was one of the coolest concerts I’ve been to in a long time. I wouldn’t say I’ve ever been a huge classical music fan – but in the same right I was pretty much blown away by the talent and emotion displayed by these two human beings and their instruments. This event may have changed my mind. :)
Experiencing a concert like this in person is really intense and satisfying. It’s like the two artists were having a dramatic conversation or interaction with music. I could hear anger and excitement and love as well as soft whispers and loud shouts. It was seriously really cool.
And all the money raised on Saturday funds Rush Hour Concerts every Tuesday of the summer at St. James Cathedral in Chicago. If you have a free Tuesday, you should check it out…we’re glad we did. (Big thanks to Rebecca Levy – president of the Fanfare Committee for inviting us.)
Living the Life
So today I was typing back n forth with Kurt on IM, like we do every day (almost seems like he’s right next door or down the street ~ ahhhh the sweetness of IM)…anyway I was telling him that last night I went to Rene’s place for taco night and all the girls from work came and we drank margaritas and talked and played cards until late and tonight after work I was going to meet up with my good ol’ web editor friend Nicolette (that I worked with for two years at SAIC) at the Lovely Bake Shop. I was saying how I was gonna finish up some stuff and bike over there since it was such a nice day out, and he said “Well aren’t you just livin’ the life?” and I was like “huh?”
But then after a couple seconds I got it….and I AM living the life. I’m designing websites by day (which I must say is pretty much what I’ve wanted to do with my life), I’m going to themed dinners with co-workers (next week is Italian night at Libby’s), I’m doing yoga with Tracy Von Kaenel once a week, I’m meeting old friends for coffee and buscuits (and corn chowder), and biking to and from work….and although things are non-stop…life is good and interesting and I’m happy. This is like a 360 from last year in the burbs, working corporate, having no social life, sinking into my couch with depressed thoughts and no motivation.
My heart is happier today and that feels awesome.
And I hope you all are finding happiness too, because you deserve it.