Holy Heat Wave

This past week or so we have had a very strong heat wave. Several days were having an index of around 115 degrees. It is awful coming outside of your building and not being able to breathe because the air is so thick.

We got to do a lot of fun things this past week and weekend. Wednesday night, Mark's Aunt Sheri was in town and took us out to dinner at Hub 51. Always yummy. Then Friday we walked around Lincoln Park a few hours, and got dinner in Old Town at Wells on Wells.

Saturday was the most fun part of our weekend. During the day, it was overcast, and the weatherman was calling for on and off thunderstorms all day. Luckily he was wrong and it just drizzled. We went to the beach and since it was supposed to be crummy out, it was pretty deserted. That made it nicer. Until we found out another reason it was deserted... an outbreak of E-Coli at all the beaches. Um, EW. I just about scrubbed my skin off after I heard that. Being on the beach for a few hours let me start reading The Help finally. It is such a great book and I'm not even halfway in. Read it if you have not yet done so. Later that night we had our neighbors Matthew and Stef over for drinks and then we went with them to Francesca's. This restaurant is very authentic Italian, so pretty, and only a block from our building. Cannot wait for wintertime because that will be our go-to restaurant. After dinner we went downstairs, to meet some of their friends at the restaurant's Enoteca (wine bar) which was incredibly cool.  It has the ambiance of actual Italy and with it's stone walls and castle-like chandeliers, it's amazing. We had such a great time.

Today, in typical Sunday fashion, we vegged out and grocery shopped. I'm still exhausted from last night, but it was worth it. Hope everyone had a great weekend and no one collapsed from heat exhaustion!

(Bella is always a good way to end a post)

Days go by

This weekend went be SO fast! Why does that always happen?

Friday was fun simply because it was the start of Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale, and both Mark and I got a bunch of good, practical stuff. I got a giant North Face parka that I will apparently need, come December. Friday evening Mark and I went to this place called Epic Burger, with my co-worker Jon and his wife. Yum. It's like a little nicer version of fiveguys, with amazing smoothies. Unfortunately for Mark, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 had just come out, and he was my date. The movie was amazing- almost as good as the book (like usual). I was sad when it ended. It was sort of like an end of an era when the final movie came to an end. Bummer.

Saturday we spent kind of vegging out. We trekked out to the suburbs to get our car serviced. Apparently the Volvo dealerships in the city aren't really trustworthy. However, a salesman tried to trick us into getting all this extra service done on our car, and this was at the Northfield location. That was not really attractive. So Mark and I decided to skip out to the showroom and look at all the pretty new volvos. The new version of our car, the S60, is absolutely beautiful. And here is a picture of me and what Mark and deemed my "future mom-mobile," a Volvo SUV.  Love.

Later that night, we went to Luxbar with Deanna and Brett. Again, yum.

Today I spent being a wifey. Mark went to the Cubs game and I went to HomeGoods and got a bunch of cute stuff. Spent way too much money, but it was totally worth it. Afterward, I went with my friend Jess to see Horrible Bosses. And in typical Bonnie fashion, I smuggled in some goodies. For those that don't know- I like to push the boundaries in terms of what foods I sneak in to movie theatres. This time it was a frappuccino and sushi. Yeah, I'm weird. Anyway, it was good and the movie was so funny. Definitely go see it if you haven't yet.

I can't believe it's Sunday already. I hate that weekends go by so quickly. Mondays are no fun.

The stars and stripes

This past week, my friends Emily and Mike came to stay with us before their move to the city. We had lots of fun going to restaurants and such.

We also had dinner on Sunday night with some neighbors of ours. They went above and beyond making dinner for us, and their apartment is so nice. I was like "how are these units in the same building?" I had a bit of apartment envy.

For July 4th, Mark and I went to Oak Street Beach and the restaurant there, which was so much fun. It felt just like Ocean City, and gave me that much-needed beach feeling.

So pretty.

Then we got to watch the fireworks that night that took place over Navy Pier. It was so nice to see them over the water.

I went from loving-my-country Independence Day, to hating-our-legal-system Casey Anthony verdict day.

I got pretty invested in the Casey Anthony trial, and was soooo sure that after all the circumstantial evidence, she would be charged with murder, and at the very least manslaughter. So imagine my surprise as I'm watching the live feed on my computer, and they say not guilty for the two most important charges against her. I literally was sick to my stomach. Were these the twelve dumbest people from the state of Florida? I understand the whole concept of reasonable doubt, but I also believe that only goes to an extent. When someone (especially an innocent child) is CLEARLY murdered, it should not matter how or why. Ultimately, what should matter, is that the person committing the crime is brought to justice, and that is not what happened. If Casey Anthony did not murder Caylee, then who did? Who else had any motive? Who else was partying and got a tattoo and made up fake information to law enforcement during the time she was "missing"? It shouldn't matter that the prosecution cannot be 100% sure what the cause of Caylee's death was, because they were certain it was a homicide. Her body was dumped in a bag, with duct tape over her nose and mouth. Explain that people. Now they are going on a man hunt to find a person that does not exist: a killer that isn't Casey.

There shouldn't have been a huge celebration in the courtroom by the defense, because even if they won the case, a little girl was killed. People go to jail for DUIs and other much more minor infractions for longer than Casey Anthony will. Sorry, but there is no way in hell that she was not involved in her daughter's death.

Sorry to vent- it's just so heart-breaking. One can only hope that like OJ, karma will catch up with her.

Foodie Fun

I am so glad the weather has been nice lately. It has let us be outside way more often, which is so nice. One thing that is not so nice... our smoke detectors beeping for hours even when we changed the batteries. Poor Bella was hiding in our front closet when I got home from work yesterday.

Anyway, a new thing I'm going to add to this blog is food reviews around Chicago. I just feel like Mark and I have been to so many great restaurants, they need some recognition.

Last weekend, we went to Hub 51, on the ever-popular Hubbard Street. Let me preface this review with the fact that we had to make a reservation a week and a half in advance because it is so popular. In Chicago, all the best restaurants (and some so-so ones) have very long waiting periods to get in to eat.

Anyway, we made a reservation, and it was the best meal I have had in a long time! I tried two of their signature cocktails, which were amazing. Both were very refreshing and not too watery. We also got an appetizer to start, the sweet potato sushi roll. One word: amazing. Mark doesn't even like sushi and he loved it. And our waitress was super attentive and told us after we had eaten a few pieces "something is wrong. let me bring this back." We were confused, but then she brought it back and it had this delicious barbeque glaze that was supposed to be on it originally, and that made it even better. The cool thing about Hub51, other than its posh atmosphere, is that the menu is very diverse. Mark got a burger and I got tacos, and both were very appetizing. If you live here and have not tried Hub51... you are really missing out.

I am super excited because one of my BEST friends in the world, Emily, is here with her boyfriend Mike! They are moving here in a month and I am so excited. I will write an update with pictures of wherever we end up going this weekend. Thank god for three day weekends.

Happy Fourth of July! Hope you have as great long weekend!

Bling-Bling

First thing: what I am excited about today... my amaaazingly cute flats I got at Bloomingdales for a fourth of the original price. I also got a cashmere cardigan that I had been eye-ing at J. Crew for three months for about 50% off. Winning.

Also, since my knee is still haunting me with its jankity-ness my PT suggested I get better shoes for work. IE: more arch support.  IE: FUGLY.  IE: I think I'd rather take the pain. I caved slightly and found some semi-non-ugly Cole Haan shoes that have a bit of support. I really don't want to be 87 yet.

I am starting to get sick of all those online sites that send you emails every day with clothing items on sale. Not once, EVER, have I found something off of "Shop it to me" and the like. I should probably unsubscribe.

Anyway. Last weekend was quite eventful. The weather was pretty nice and we spent a lot of time outside and going to meals. Meals are like the center of my universe. If I can get out to dinner, or even better, brunch, I am a happy camper. So Saturday night we went to dinner with our friends Deanna and Brett and then went out to celebrate Jess, a sorority sister's birthday/engagement.

Party animals.

Apparently, the bar we went to actually has a retractable roof, which will DEFINITELY come in handy during... what? November through May? Given this past year's weather, I'm gonna go with that.

I know it is only Wednesday, but it feels like Friday, so have a great weekend everyone!

Home is where the heart is

This past week, Mark and I drove down to Maryland for our first trip back home! It was truly wonderful being able to see our families and a lot of our friends. Bella was once again a trooper for the ten hour car ride, but it felt very long to me. It was very weird being back at home, and it really felt more nostalgic than anything else. It made me realize how much I love Chicago, and how hard it would be to move back to MD... at least right now. It also made both Mark and I realize how much we cannot remember about roads and things there. Navigating around was weird. And, I was also told while I was home, that my "a" in words had become like a Mid-westerner's. For example, I say "back" as "bayk"... Can you saw 'ew'? I would like to keep my original accent por favor.

Here is a picture of Bella and my family's dog Lily on their way with us to my grandma's pool (They know what "MomMom's house" means). It is just too cute for words, so I had to include it in the post.

So, it was a great couple days at home, but for now, Chicago is the place to be.  :)

Memorial Weekend madness

This past weekend had a lotttt going on.

Friday after work, Mark and I decided to use a Groupon we had for drinks/dinner at a mexican bar. It was really overpriced, and the food was just okay, so thank god we had a groupon and didn't have to spend real money there. Plus, the place was practically empty and pretty awkward because of that.

Saturday we went to brunch at an Irish place, and watched the Barcelona vs. Manchester United game. Fun times.

Sunday was quite the unique experience. We decided ahead of time to go on a food tour of Chicago. Sunday was the day that Mother Nature decided we needed yet another rainy/thunderstormy day... and this was the worst yet. We met our group and leader at a Jewish deli and then proceeded to a tea place, fudge shop, oil shop, spice shop, bakery, and pizza place, all the while trekking through the storm. Because of the weather, our three hour tour ended up being five. It was all good in the end, but we were completely exhausted afterwards.

Monday was Mark and my one year wedding anniversary! It is so hard to believe we're not Newlyweds anymore, and that it has already been a year. We woke up early to ninety degrees, and sunny weather. Woo! So we decided to take Bella down to the pier park like we usually do, and when we finally got there, I was burnt and getting attacked by flies (everyone was), and Bella was panting like crazy.  We kept giving her water and putting water on her, but after twenty minutes we'd all had enough. So we spent the afternoon relaxing and watching our wedding video for the first time. I started crying within two seconds of watching it. We capped the night off by going to dinner at Shula's steakhouse, which was pretty good. All in all, an excellent Memorial Day weekend. (And thank you to our troops!)

Three things I am excited about right now:
1. My work event I am planning is on Monday, and is almost OVER
2. I get to go home a week from today!
3. Did I mention I get to go home a week from today?