Lake Geneva Getaway

This past Thanksgiving (American rather than Canadian), our little family and another little family rented a house together near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a week away. Oh, it was just what I needed. An entire week of wearing yoga pants, sleeping in, watching tv, playing board games, and little else - heaven!

The weather was so cold we went outside only a few times the entire week, which is unheard of considering dog walks at the very least are a part of our daily life. But, holy crap, winter appeared out of nowhere and even bundled in layers, we were numb within minutes! One day we bravely ventured out for a nature walk in a nearby park and enjoyed the first real snow of the season.

Duct tape is required to keep mittens on. 

Although M had to work a few hours most days, it was just so great having an extra pair of hands around to help with Little m and keep her entertained.

Trying to fix daddy's nose. Good luck! ;)

At the last minute I decided to cook Thanksgiving dinner and since I wasn't making everything from scratch like I usually do, the meal came together so quickly and easily. And it was good! Much better than the hot turkey sandwiches we were going to get an a local dive. 

Yum! 

We celebrated the other mama's birthday while we were there, which included cake at 10am, but what are vacations for if not precisely this?

Birthday celebration!

Little m had too much fun playing with her little friend and they ran around like maniacs all day long, just like kids should.

It was a wonderful week away and a nice break from reality, plus I was able to finish my Christmas shopping online and take advantage of all the Black Friday sales. Score!

Ice Cream Social

It's been a month and a half since Little m turned two but I can't not document the big day! Horror of all horrors! Last year, for her first birthday, I hosted a rainbow themed party at my parents' house back in Canada. It was so much fun, but this year I really wanted to do something in Chicago that included all of her little friends. And obviously, I know this party was more for me than for Little m, but after having a child (and with the invention of Pinterest), party planning has turned enjoyable for me.

Me and the birthday girl!

I wanted something simple, so chose an "Ice Cream Social" theme. It was not simple. Not at all. Actually, planning was simple, but the execution was not. I arrived home the day before the party after a week away in Washington D.C., and had to clean the house, shop for groceries, prepare everything, etc. all the night before and morning of. Thank goodness I had major major help from my parents, or I probably would have spontaneously combusted. My mother-in-law also assisted with some food prep, which was nice. M didn't arrive home until the day of the party, so I couldn't even load him up with jobs. Anyway, everything turned out well - if you enjoy being surrounded by screaming toddlers, that is. 

Let's get to it. 

The party was at 3:30pm, so I served finger foods that I thought both adults and kids would like: tons of veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, grapes, cherries, and heart shaped watermelon pieces, tortilla chips with chicken salsa dip from Treasure Island grocery store (to die for), and the ever favourite crowd pleaser - bacon wrapped water chestnuts. 

I spent WAY too much time and effort filling water balloons and freezing them to create ice cubes and it was an utter Pinterest fail. Water balloons are so thin that they break easily if touched by anything, including juice boxes! It wasn't a big deal since the ice was already frozen but I will not be attempting that again. 

For dessert I bought a ton of ice cream and frozen yogurt, all types of cones and waffle bowls, plus all the fixings for ice cream sundaes. I cannot find the equivalent to a Bulk Barn in Chicago, so I had my mom pick up a lot of the toppings, which included: blueberries, raspberries, mini marshmallows, gummi bears, chopped up oreos, reece's pieces, homemade brownie crumbles, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate sprinkles, and maraschino cherries to top it all off. We had lots of leftovers, which I was not too upset over ;).

Instead of a more traditional goodie bag, I sent the kids home with a rice krispie treat in the shape of a sundae, inside of a chocolate sprinkled waffle cone. It turned out less cute than the example I saw on Pinterest, but such is life. 

This little monkey pretended to be so bashful during the birthday song, but we all know she was enjoying every moment.

And now just for fun, let's compare 1st birthday to 2nd. Look at that hair growth! 

I think the ice cream was a hit! It was the only time during the party that I could hear myself think over the noise of 12 children :)

Exactly 15 minutes after dessert, the sugar high hit and Little m was spinning circles in the middle of the room. Hilarious. 

Oh, this girl. I just love her to pieces. 

Thank you to all of our friends and family from near and far who came or sent their best wishes for Little m. We had a great day. 

Cocktails and Mocktails

One thing I've wanted to do since moving to Chicago is to go up to the 96th floor of the John Hancock Centre and enjoy a cocktail at the Signature Lounge.

In fact, M and I attempted to do so once but were faced with a huge lineup of Midwestern tourists wearing cowboy hats. We decided to try again another time.

When the BFF was visiting last week, we did exactly that. We hit up the Signature Lounge early and there was no line at all, in fact it was quite empty for a weekend. We got a table next to a window and enjoyed a nice view of Lake Michigan and the north end of the city.

Michelle ordered the Windy City Martini - Bacardi Limon, Grand Marnier, fresh lime and cranberry juice. It was s t r o n g and I'm pretty sure she was feeling good by the last sip :)

I had the Easy Street Martini made with pineapple, cranberry, and orange juice. I live on the edge and clearly, I should have ironed my shirt that morning.

Other than the crappy slow service, I'd recommend going up the tower and having an overpriced cocktail as part of the Chicago experience. It beats paying the $20 admission for the Hancock observatory plus you don't have to deal with hoards of people and crying kids.

Time to cross this goal off my 36 in 365 list!

The Wedding

Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, the husband and I traveled to Ottawa last weekend for a gorgeous winter wedding. These two love birds are one of my favourite couples ever. They started dating two months after M and I did and we've had tons of fun times together, including a trip to Cuba.

The bride was stunning and just look at the way she's looking at her new hubby.

Signing their lives away.

It's a done deal!

Their reception was at a sugar bush farm and the wintry decorations were very pretty with lots of icicle looking things. The set up for seating arrangements was cute and they used engagement pictures in frames to list all of the names and table numbers.

Here's M and I enjoying some cocktails and hors d'oeuvres (wow that's the hardest work to spell) before dinner started.

Such a pretty background for the head table. White lights make the world a better place.

Cupcakes!

I like this pic of M and I, even though it's a bit blurry. Here we are, digesting our dinners of tender short ribs that were to die for.

A family picture! M's dad slicked back his hair for the special occasion.

M's brother is getting ready for the garter toss, below. He's overly excited for marriage?

The best midnight snack ever and oh so Canadienne. Poutine!! Genius.

A group shot!

BFF's at the end of the night, looking a little tired!

My my, what a great wedding! I wish C&R many many years of happiness and love and babies!

Feeling Nostalgic

I spent the past weekend back in my home and native land and it was glorious. As the airplane touched down in Toronto, memories of good sushi and cheap bibimbop came flooding back to me. After 7 months of living in Chicago, I've recently begun missing a few things about Toronto. Man, flying into Billy Bishop is the best. Sit on the left side of the plane and you'll get a beautiful, up close view of downtown and the waterfront. If you're taking a connecting flight, like I did, you get to do it all over again for the second leg of your journey! The picture below was taken from the airplane window on the way back to Chicago. I miss the CN Tower!

Anyway, my trip to Ottawa was busy busy but fun fun. Although the main attraction was the wedding of M's best friend, we were able to get a few other things accomplished as well. On Thursday night, M and I met up with a couple of friends for Vietnamese food at New Pho Bo Ga La. We stayed entirely too long for a restaurant that likes quick turnover, but they didn't take our order for a good 30 minutes, so I didn't feel too badly.

On Friday morning I laced up my skates for the first time in almost a year and went for a skate on the Rideau Canal. This is the "world's largest skating rink", almost 8km long! The last time I was on the canal a couple of years ago, I didn't know how to skate and was pushed around in a sled. I'm so happy to say I didn't fall once and now I can cross this goal off my 36 in 365 list! We skated for about an hour, then met up with the groom-to-be for breakfast at the oh so delicious Cora's.

In the downtime between wedding related events, M's dad gave me tutorials on baking bread, cinnamon rolls, and oreo ice cream. I get a feeling that he wants me to start cooking better for his son!

And then on Saturday, the long awaited nuptials of C&R! Gorgeous wedding, totally gorgeous bride, good times all around.

For a few weeks I'd been asking M if he wanted to practice his best man speech in front of me, but he's the kinda guy who doesn't actually write one out, he just uses notes from his iPhone. Say what? I could never in a million years do that. I'd end up rambling on about something, forget a bunch of important stuff, and then go blank. M did a good job though and was able to relax after it was over.

After brunch with the wedding party on Sunday morning, we headed straight to the airport for our flights back to Chicago! It was really a fabulous time, my favourite weekend in ages.

And that's what I've been up to, since I know you were on the edge of your seat, wondering :)

A Look Back

Looking back at old photos kills me. It's hilarious to look at how people change over the years.

Every year (minus one or two?) since I was in Grade 10 (I think?) my group of friends have a Christmas party get-together. Back in the day we would dance around, exchange presents, and take wacky photos. Now that we're older, it's mostly about eating and catching up with each other!

Here's our group photo from 2010, including the genius cardboard cutout addition of our friend Double D in British Columbia. I can call her that because I know she doesn't read this blog.

Below, the group shot from 2008. Lookin good girls, lookin good. This was the last year before babies came into the picture.

Going back to 2002, here we are... hiding in curtains? Yeah, that's pretty normal for us.

And this is from our second annual party in 1998. Ohhh, the good ole days!

I love having these pictures to look back at and remember how weird we were and still are. Actually, I should say thanks Alison, I hope you don't mind that I stole these pictures from you :)

I'm pretty sure I got all of the dates down correctly, but I had to ask my husband what grade I was in in 1998, so I can't make any guarantees.

Baby Shower Time

This weekend we made a quick visit home for A's baby shower!

She's due in five weeks and looks great! Love that bump!

This is the coolest invention! A punch fountain!

We played games and I won a prize! Yay!

Lots of nice gifts!

My two pregnant friends!

I can't wait to meet your baby, A! You're going to be a great mom.

Newlyweds!

Happy weekiversary (almost) to the latest newlyweds, M&J! These two got hitched last Friday and I couldn't be happier for them! Don't they make a nice looking family? I wish you two a lifetime of happiness and love.

Also, you know what's weird? My BFF and I have almost the exact same engagement ring. We did not plan it or even discuss styles we liked. Granted, she did get hers before mine and she showed me pics, but I swear, I didn't remember anything. Some things are just meant to be!

CONGRATULATIONS, again!