Wrigley Weekend

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The difference of a day at Wrigley Field.

The top photo was Saturday’s storm that had us evacuated from behind the scoreboard (tall metal object? I get it), the bottom photo was Sunday’s gorgeous 80 degree day. 2 days, 2
Cubs wins, 1 with Baltimore friends who came in to root on their Orioles, the other with Chicago friends who, like me, were shocked to see the Cubs sweep all 3 games. It also settled the disagreement over what shirt my sweet husband should have worn to the game(s). It’s safe to say his Baltimore shirts will not be leaving the closet any time soon. Thank god.

It felt like we lived at Wrigley last weekend but I must say…it’s really one of my favorite places to be. 3 hour torrential downpour or not.

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Thanksgiving 2.0

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We cooked a massive meal for our Thanksgiving of four yesterday so we invited friends over for a Thanksgiving 2.0 tonight…which turned into ordering Pequod’s…and playing Apples to Apples…and watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Thanksgiving, it was.

But we still have tons of leftovers. So if anyone wants to be a part of Tgiving 3.0, let us know…

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Music.Pizza.Beach.Love

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You know those weekends that are so simply great that Monday comes and you spend a decent part of the day questioning why the weekend is over and why can’t fun weekends like that last forever and why is it Monday already dammit? Yeah. That.

Highlights included the Sheffield Garden Walk with friends we have a blast with and do not see often enough, followed by Pequod’s and a Sunday spent at the beach. Add in a few good runs, errands and even some sleeping in and you pretty much have my best weekend ever. I’m excited about the upcoming week now but man, weekends occupied with music, pizza, beach and love are hard to leave behind.

And c’mon-Pequod’s? I love love love Pequod’s and hate hate hate that their delivery radius is like 2 square blocks. Our friend Allison is gorgeously 9 months pregnant and we sent the leftovers home with her and her cool husband…it was the right thing to do but man- Ry and I sure wished we had cold Pequod’s the following morning.

Fresh Produce and Fresh Babies

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My darling friend Kate brought a darling baby boy into the world 2 weeks ago.  I met the little guy this week and whoa, he is a cool kid.  He was all snuggly and sweet and made these little dinosaur noises to let us know that he was indeed in on the conversation as we made a Starbucks run and quick trip through the Andersonville Farmer’s Market.

Here’s the thing: Kate is my first friend to have a baby.  We work together so I saw everyday as her little man grew and got ready to make his appearance.  I saw how much Kate and her husband wanted him and loved him and how with his coming into the world, Jackson was making their family whole in a totally amazing and right way.

I’ve always been pretty indifferent on having children- we know we will but in a “How about 10 years from now?” kind of way.  And while that still won’t be happening for quite some time, Kate and her positively perfect baby boy did open my eyes to how amazing and fun that time period in our life is going to be when it is right for us.  And in the meantime, I get to watch one of my favorite people in the world absolutely glow in her new role as a mother.  Really, it’s just the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Jackson might still be sub 10lbs but he is making a BIG impact in the lives of those who have loved him since before he was even the size of a peanut (oh and he is such a little peanut!).

Oh and the Andersonville Farmer’s Market is great!  Scored some Flaming Fury peaches, omg how I die for Flaming Fury peaches.

Summering: Grilled Pizza

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Last night was a night for friendship, a night for food, a night to hang on to every last ounce of summer left- a little summer soiree, if you will.

I got the idea to do make-your-own-grilled-pizza from Hollywood Housewife and she was spot on!

I could NOT be more pleased with how well this turned out.  Everyone chose their own toppings (the spread included artichokes, sundried tomatoes, pepper, onion, chicken sausage, arugula, basil, mushrooms and mozzarella), we took the elevator down to the sundeck, threw them on the grill and drank wine until they were done.

How To: Grab a piece of naan (FYI: naan from Whole Foods is round and perfect for little pizza crusts AND comes in whole wheat and garlic flavor), brush on a coat of EVOO, top with whatever you want and put it on the grill for around 8 minutes or until everything melts.

It was great because everyone got to eat what they wanted and an interactive component to a dinner party was a fun way to mix it up/make things less formal.  Perfect for our girls night.

Oh and the Strawberry Summer Cake didn’t hurt either:

Summer…please don’t end.

(Big thanks to Shauna for turning me on to both HHW and Smitten Kitchen– you are an amazing resource for entertaining!)

“This Chicken Will Cut You”

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Remember this?  The Bloggess’ Christmas Miracle of 2010?  The blog post I was reading when Ryan came home to find me sobbing while holding the cat and blubbering on about the Christmas spirit and George Bailey and how the world might actually being a good place after all?

Well, The Bloggess has struck again, this time with a hilarious blog post about what it means to pick your battles.

2 things come up for me here.

1) 15 years into my marriage, I really, really hope I remember that the gift for 15 years is big metal chickens.

2) I am so glad I have friends who also think spending $100 on a big metal chicken would be totally worth it strictly based on how many belly laughs would result.

So, if you had a bad day, a great day or don’t even remember what today was, read this.  It will make you laugh and laughing creates endorphins and who doesn’t need more of those?

High five.

Summer Jewelry Love

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A little lunchtime jewelry shopping with a girlfriend made me wonder what one of my fav designers has been up to lately (wearing her Leigh Anne necklace as we speak type, in fact!).

It turns out, Jaclyn Anthony Designs has been up to this: the Miller and Elaine necklaces.  Mad love for this layered look.  Will most likely be treating myself to this the next time something special happens.

Does brushing Luna Bell count as special?

Holiday Cocktail Party

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Ryan and I both love entertaining, love our friends and love Christmas so it was a no-brainer to have a cocktail party to ring in the Holidays!

After a few days of cookbook scouring, grocery trips (4 in all!) and apartment cleaning, we were ready to host 15+ of our friends.  On the menu?  Caprese Crostini, Bacon-Wrapped Scallops, Arancini balls, Maryland Crab Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Turkey Meatballs in a Cranberry Sauce, Brie with Fig Jelly, Gingerbread and Oreo Balls.  And Winter Sangria.  And a Champagne Cocktail.  And beer.

Despite our initial plan of keeping it simple (a house drink, beer, and some appetizers), our menu grew and grew until we had 2 house cocktails and 10 different dishes.  We got carried away but we enjoy preparing both our home and our kitchen so much that I think it was as much a gift for us as it was for our guests, a fun little project to take on together.  After all, ’tis the season, right?

Here’s a pic I snapped right before the party wrapped up.

Merry, Merry!