Following a particularly stressful week, this weekend was very relaxing so far. I guess relaxing is necessary though when it is 50 degrees and raining all weekend. Mark was gone through late Thursday night on a business trip, and it was nice having him back. Friday was pretty relaxed after we got home from work, and we just made dinner, popped a bottle of wine, and watched No Strings Attached. I had seen it in the theatres and loved it, so naturally I forced Mark to watch it with me.
Yesterday, I got up early and decided to go to Trader Joes. Choosing to do this is very different when you live in a city. You have to: get your car, drive there, find parking, etc. Our parking garage in our building is "valet" style, which sounds great in theory, but it's not. You have to call down twenty minutes ahead of when you want to get your car, and have them bring it up. Nine times out of ten they have brought me the wrong car... even though I specifically say "the only car with Maryland plates." Apparently that's very confusing. So after waiting for the car twenty minutes in the garage, I try to drive to the store, but miss the turnoff. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Chicago, there are several one way streets, and once you get so far, it can be very hard to get back to that spot. It's pretty comical actually, when I'm rushing to get to the store and have to cross the river and re-cross the river and make all these last minute turns. I probably looked like a drunk driver.
Then later that night, we went to this restauarnt supposedly owned by Jeremy Piven called Rockit. It was really good,they decor was really pretty, and the menus were made of old vinyl records. Really cool. And since it was pouring when we got out, we hopped over to the movies and saw Bridesmaids, which was hilarious. Props Kristen Wiig and Judd Apatow! I am such a movie and tv nerd.
This morning I got up early again to go to yoga. I got an amazing Groupon for ten yoga classes for $39. Talk about a steal! I usually just do yoga in the apartment, but this was too good to pass up. I really enjoyed my first class there, as I got to learn some new poses and try "forrest" yoga. Very relaxing. The rest of the day we are just hanging out. I have a big work event tomorrow that I've been working on, and am ready to get it over with. Really wish the weekend wasn't ending though!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Getting our sun on
This weekend... the sun finally decided to make a lasting appearance! (And vacated the premises today, but let's focus on the positive).
Mark and I have been doing our own version of an eating tour across Chicago. There are SO many amazing restaurants here, we just can't get enough. Plus, I am a horrible cook, so ... bonus. Thursday night (Cinco de Mayo) we brought in Chipotle and made margaritas. We both ate too much that night. Damn Chipotle for being so filling.
Saturday, it was a little hazy out and I dragged Mark to see "Something Borrowed." Emily Giffin is one of my all-time favorite authors, and Something Borrowed and Something Blue are my two favorite books of all time (Not sure if I'm including Twilight in that...). But anyway, the movie was really good. Not as good as the book, since a few great parts were eliminated, but overall a good movie. You would probably like it more if you did not read the books. I am a huge Kate Hudson fan, and she got the role of Darcy down pat. Now, I like Ginnifer Goodwin also, but I kind of didn't like her in this role. Maybe I'm being harsh since I love the book so much, but that's my opinion on that. Later Saturday night, we tried a new Thai place near our apartment, which was delish. I get the same thing every time, but it was pretty good.
Sunday was Mother's Day, and since our mothers are not in the area, we spent it ourselves. We decided to venture to Evanston since neither of us had been there before. We got some brunch in the cute little town area (very downtown Silver Spring-esque) at "le Peep." Very yummy. Then we walked around Northwestern's campus. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the campus. I always pictured Northwestern being very cute and pretty like Indiana University. The campus was just blah to me.
Later that night, we went out to dinner with my Uncle Michael who was in town for a convention. Always nice to see family and have a good meal.
Mark left early this morning for a business trip in Vegas and Reno for four days. Wish I could have gone with him.
Mark and I have been doing our own version of an eating tour across Chicago. There are SO many amazing restaurants here, we just can't get enough. Plus, I am a horrible cook, so ... bonus. Thursday night (Cinco de Mayo) we brought in Chipotle and made margaritas. We both ate too much that night. Damn Chipotle for being so filling.
Saturday, it was a little hazy out and I dragged Mark to see "Something Borrowed." Emily Giffin is one of my all-time favorite authors, and Something Borrowed and Something Blue are my two favorite books of all time (Not sure if I'm including Twilight in that...). But anyway, the movie was really good. Not as good as the book, since a few great parts were eliminated, but overall a good movie. You would probably like it more if you did not read the books. I am a huge Kate Hudson fan, and she got the role of Darcy down pat. Now, I like Ginnifer Goodwin also, but I kind of didn't like her in this role. Maybe I'm being harsh since I love the book so much, but that's my opinion on that. Later Saturday night, we tried a new Thai place near our apartment, which was delish. I get the same thing every time, but it was pretty good.
Sunday was Mother's Day, and since our mothers are not in the area, we spent it ourselves. We decided to venture to Evanston since neither of us had been there before. We got some brunch in the cute little town area (very downtown Silver Spring-esque) at "le Peep." Very yummy. Then we walked around Northwestern's campus. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the campus. I always pictured Northwestern being very cute and pretty like Indiana University. The campus was just blah to me.
Later that night, we went out to dinner with my Uncle Michael who was in town for a convention. Always nice to see family and have a good meal.
Mark left early this morning for a business trip in Vegas and Reno for four days. Wish I could have gone with him.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Let the sun shine
This weekend the weather finally kicked into gear for Spring. It was gorgeous starting on Friday and hasn't stopped yet! (knock on wood)
Friday after work I walked Bella to Navy Pier, which was fun as always. It's such a lovely/bizarre thing being right next to Lake Michigan. And yesterday, Mark and I spent the day at Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo was fun, and I hadn't been to one in years, but this one is definitely much smaller than the National Zoo in DC. We came home to relax for a few hours after the zoo before heading out again to Glenview. We were meeting our friends Deanna and Brett who live in the burbs, at a restaurant called YardHouse. Glenview is a Chicago suburb that is about 45 minutes north of the city. When we got off the highway for Glenview, Mark and I were both like "what the f?" because it was just flat, farm land. Thankfully, ten minutes down the road, some shopping centers appeared out of nowhere, and then pops up a cute town center that was pretty hustling for a Saturday night. If you're a MD reader, this area looked a lot like Rockville Town Center, but in the middle of Howard County.
Anyway, YardHouse was delishhhhh. I got this mac'n'cheese dish with mushrooms, chicken, and bacon. I could eat it every day. The funny thing about going to the YardHouse was that Mark and I have been saying for years how we wanted to go to one, and that we want to open one in DC. For those of you who do not know, "yards" are beer glasses that are literally a yard long. More commonly, you can find half-yards, which is still a ton of beer. Really a great idea.
We also got to go see Deanna and Brett's house after dinner, which was so cute! It's crazy how many of our friends are buying homes. And speaking of big milestones, CONGRATULATIONS Meg and Rich on your engagement- we are so happy for you guys!
We capped off the wonderful weekend today with a walk/picnic at the park at navy pier. Hopefully the nice weather will stick and we will have some fun adventures to report on next week!
Friday after work I walked Bella to Navy Pier, which was fun as always. It's such a lovely/bizarre thing being right next to Lake Michigan. And yesterday, Mark and I spent the day at Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo was fun, and I hadn't been to one in years, but this one is definitely much smaller than the National Zoo in DC. We came home to relax for a few hours after the zoo before heading out again to Glenview. We were meeting our friends Deanna and Brett who live in the burbs, at a restaurant called YardHouse. Glenview is a Chicago suburb that is about 45 minutes north of the city. When we got off the highway for Glenview, Mark and I were both like "what the f?" because it was just flat, farm land. Thankfully, ten minutes down the road, some shopping centers appeared out of nowhere, and then pops up a cute town center that was pretty hustling for a Saturday night. If you're a MD reader, this area looked a lot like Rockville Town Center, but in the middle of Howard County.
Anyway, YardHouse was delishhhhh. I got this mac'n'cheese dish with mushrooms, chicken, and bacon. I could eat it every day. The funny thing about going to the YardHouse was that Mark and I have been saying for years how we wanted to go to one, and that we want to open one in DC. For those of you who do not know, "yards" are beer glasses that are literally a yard long. More commonly, you can find half-yards, which is still a ton of beer. Really a great idea.
We also got to go see Deanna and Brett's house after dinner, which was so cute! It's crazy how many of our friends are buying homes. And speaking of big milestones, CONGRATULATIONS Meg and Rich on your engagement- we are so happy for you guys!
We capped off the wonderful weekend today with a walk/picnic at the park at navy pier. Hopefully the nice weather will stick and we will have some fun adventures to report on next week!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Strike
Well Mark and I had a pretty entertaining weekend. And I still have two days left of mine (yes, I do suck).
Last night we went with my co-worker, her fiance, and their two friends to dinner and bowling. We had a great time, and got to drive through some neighborhoods we hadn't seen yet. We are now really into the neighborhood known as "Lakeview." It is kind of a mini hipster version of Lincoln Park, with a million cute hole-in-the-wall places. We ate dinner there at this place called Wishbone, which was okay. After a really fun dinner, we drove to Ravenswood, a neighborhood that is far North and really neighborhood-y (if that makes any sense).
There we went bowling. Or tried. This bowling alley was bought in the 1960s and probably hasn't been touched since 1970. We had manual written scoring and a reggae band performing. Super funny/ghetto/70s flashback. I was by far the worst bowler of the group, and maybe even the entire alley. I went between throwing the ball in the air to throwing it granny-style, and both ways did not work well for me. Mark on the other hand had good form, but would kick his leg into the ball machine every time he bowled... and that was pretty funny. Somehow I had remembered bowling as being more fun in general, but then again I haven't bowled in years.
On a different note, I have been spring shopping, and selling my stuff on ebay like crazy. Because THIS is what my closet currently looks like:
Not cool. And this is what it looks like with half of it in the laundry and/or being sold. Guess I need a bigger closet!
Oh, and today Mark and I went to this well-known brunch spot, "yolk" and then went to see Water for Elephants. Both the food and the movie were great. Mark even liked it. I loved the book, so I loved the movie even more with some R-Patz to look at. I highly recommend going to see the movie. More to come after part two of my 4 1/2 day weekend!
Last night we went with my co-worker, her fiance, and their two friends to dinner and bowling. We had a great time, and got to drive through some neighborhoods we hadn't seen yet. We are now really into the neighborhood known as "Lakeview." It is kind of a mini hipster version of Lincoln Park, with a million cute hole-in-the-wall places. We ate dinner there at this place called Wishbone, which was okay. After a really fun dinner, we drove to Ravenswood, a neighborhood that is far North and really neighborhood-y (if that makes any sense).
There we went bowling. Or tried. This bowling alley was bought in the 1960s and probably hasn't been touched since 1970. We had manual written scoring and a reggae band performing. Super funny/ghetto/70s flashback. I was by far the worst bowler of the group, and maybe even the entire alley. I went between throwing the ball in the air to throwing it granny-style, and both ways did not work well for me. Mark on the other hand had good form, but would kick his leg into the ball machine every time he bowled... and that was pretty funny. Somehow I had remembered bowling as being more fun in general, but then again I haven't bowled in years.
On a different note, I have been spring shopping, and selling my stuff on ebay like crazy. Because THIS is what my closet currently looks like:
Not cool. And this is what it looks like with half of it in the laundry and/or being sold. Guess I need a bigger closet!
Oh, and today Mark and I went to this well-known brunch spot, "yolk" and then went to see Water for Elephants. Both the food and the movie were great. Mark even liked it. I loved the book, so I loved the movie even more with some R-Patz to look at. I highly recommend going to see the movie. More to come after part two of my 4 1/2 day weekend!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Drama Queen
Okay, so my last post was super mopey and dramatic- my apologies. Passover actually went really well for Mark and I. We had our own goofy version complete with reading an online haggadah and our faux seder plate. If you are wondering, the faux seder plate had: a piece of matzo, an apple (our charoset), srirachya sauce (maror), asparagus with salt on it (like the salt water w/ parsley) , an egg, and one of bella's bones (paschal lamb bone). We actually had a blast and I spent an HOUR cooking. Yes, that was record breaking for me, and I don't think I will be doing it again for a long time. And, Mark put out a wine glass for Elijah that someone actually drank. Messiah perhaps?
On another note, three things I am happy about right now:
1. Seeing Water for Elephants on Sunday
2. Emily and Mike moving to Chicago!
3. Bowling with Co-worker Emily and her fiance Scott on Saturday night
A quick snippet of my stupidity of the day... I have to take several medicines to treat my (six months late diagnosis of) sinusitis. Two of which say "take with food." None of which I saw this until my stomach was killing me and I grabbed the containers to check. Now who's winning?
On another note, three things I am happy about right now:
1. Seeing Water for Elephants on Sunday
2. Emily and Mike moving to Chicago!
3. Bowling with Co-worker Emily and her fiance Scott on Saturday night
A quick snippet of my stupidity of the day... I have to take several medicines to treat my (six months late diagnosis of) sinusitis. Two of which say "take with food." None of which I saw this until my stomach was killing me and I grabbed the containers to check. Now who's winning?
Monday, April 18, 2011
Clicking my heels
Today is just one of those days that I want to be home. Tonight is the first night of Passover, and while I am really not a religious person, I am really sad about it all of a sudden. Mark and I were invited to attend a seder with one of my co-workers, but I was afraid it would be a bit forced and uncomfortable. In the end, I am happy with that decision not to go, because I realize now that it's the family aspect I am upset about. Mark and I will be making a Passover Dinner per se, but I am no cook, and it will definitely not be the real deal. Not to mention that I did the shopping for this dinner only a few hours ago.
Additionally, I have two and a half days off work for the holiday since I work for a Jewish organization. You would think I would be thrilled about this, but I am realizing (three hours into my days off) that I am going to be so bored and lonely.
Today, I also finally went to the orthopedist about my jankity left knee. Apparently they couldn't just give me a cortisone shot to stop the pain, but I have to go to physical therapy twice a week. I've never done PT before, but fitting it into my lunch hour really wasn't ideal. I know I'm complaining a lot and people deal with much more than this all the time, but it's just one of those days that makes me miss home and my family. I'm wishing that I could click my heels as many times as it takes to there- even if it makes my knees more jankity.
Additionally, I have two and a half days off work for the holiday since I work for a Jewish organization. You would think I would be thrilled about this, but I am realizing (three hours into my days off) that I am going to be so bored and lonely.
Today, I also finally went to the orthopedist about my jankity left knee. Apparently they couldn't just give me a cortisone shot to stop the pain, but I have to go to physical therapy twice a week. I've never done PT before, but fitting it into my lunch hour really wasn't ideal. I know I'm complaining a lot and people deal with much more than this all the time, but it's just one of those days that makes me miss home and my family. I'm wishing that I could click my heels as many times as it takes to there- even if it makes my knees more jankity.
Friday, April 15, 2011
A little weather tease
Last weekend was a really great time. Mark's parents were in town to visit, and we got to do some touristy things and go to a bunch of amazing restaurants. Saturday we went to the famous Oak Park, about a half hour drive from the city, where Frank Lloyd Wright has nearly fifty of his amazing homes and buildings. We went on his personal home and studio tour, which was incredibly interesting (particularly for Mark, the architecture buff). FLW had such an interesting story behind him, and I am finally reading this book about his life that is supposed to be great: "Loving Frank."
Speaking of reading, I finally finished Water For Elephants this week, and it was really a good book-- especially because I was picturing Robert Pattinson as the lead character since the movie comes out soon. ;)
On Sunday, after we dropped Mark's parents at the airport, Mark and I walked Bella to lake front trail again since it was in the EIGHTIES. Talk about amazing weather.
So I'm not sure what happened to that groundhog this year, but his shadow or non-shadow was completely wrong. Following a week of amazing weather, today was about 45 degrees and raining/windy. Thanks a lot Mother Nature.
Speaking of reading, I finally finished Water For Elephants this week, and it was really a good book-- especially because I was picturing Robert Pattinson as the lead character since the movie comes out soon. ;)
On Sunday, after we dropped Mark's parents at the airport, Mark and I walked Bella to lake front trail again since it was in the EIGHTIES. Talk about amazing weather.
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