A date with Bronwen

I took Bronwen, who is three, to Macy's Clinique counter, where I knew the women would gladly give her a little attention.

She got purple eye shadow, lip gloss and blush and was very still and serious for the nice lady.

Then we walked down to Pat's Pets and saw puppies, bunnies, snakes, birds and mice. We bought two squeak toys for Hope and her sister, Dolly.

Then we walked down to the Disney store and got a purple foldable brush on clearance...

I loved the way she was swinging her shopping bags like an old pro...

We got lunch at Chick-fil-A and played in the playground before going to Meijer to pick out some tomatoes and roses for Grandma Suzy.

I had such a special time with you, Brownie!!

My Chicago

I got to spend my first three hours in Chicago with Karla. She picked me up from the train station at Randolph and we had lunch in a mall on michigan ave. Then we walked to a little park near the water tower where Jack could play. She's such a good mama.

Karla dropped me off at a Panera on Canal and Roosevelt where I met another friend, Amy Todd. She was the manager at Seattle's Best on Michigan before Starbucks closed us down. Now she has a little girl, Leah and works as a manager for Bank of America...After lunch (again) we went to DSW Shoes and I found a killer pair of ruby red Stuart Weitzman pumps, originally over $300 on clearance for $35! What fun!!

Amy dropped me back at my old office building, where I met my former colleague, Julie, from Special Counsel, to go out for dinner across the street at the Park Grill. It was great to laugh and chat together again just like old times.

Afterwards, I took a cab back down Michigan to Trish and Ryan's new apartment, where I collapsed into their guest bed and woke up to an incredible view: My Chicago.
We went to breakfast at a great new place called Yolk. Then she took me to her new favorite local chocolatier (they just moved to Chicago from Seattle in March) and had me pick out a dozen decadent truffles! I felt like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's the way we just walked all over downtown, through the Taste of Chicago, eating our box of chocolates!
We needed a place to cool down, so went into the Water Tower and got suckered into facials at a make up booth in Macy's. It felt so good and Trish bought me some honey lip balm.
As it turned into evening we made our way back towards Trish's to take care of their adorable border collie, Frankie. Then we changed our clothes and went down to Summer Dancing in the Park, not too far from her new apartment. That night was the waltz and the Cajun two-step. She is always game for letting down her hair and having fun, even though she doesn't know what she is doing! We were even asked by some sweaty, slightly drunk, older men to two-step with them--which of course, we did!!

Finally, Ryan met up with us and we all walked down to my favorite restaurant, Grand Lux and enjoyed a delicious late night dinner together. It was hard to say goodbye in the morning, but as least I was going to the arms of one more precious friend, Paula...
We have such a special connection. We also met at Special Counsel, but now she works as an attorney for Northwestern Hospital. She is Polish and Hoosier born, so maybe that's why we're two peas in a pod! We had breakfast together and she saw me off to my train back to Indiana. It was terribly difficult to walk away from each other...Love you, Girl.

Whew! Five friends in two days. Aren't you proud of me?

(Passed my old street, Hyde Park Blvd, on the South Shore heading home. It hurt.)

Sisters

Jen and I seized some time to ourselves and went window shopping downtown Mishawaka. I got the idea after mom and I sneaked out of the house late last night to catch the new Get Smart movie with Steve Carrell. We had such a good time!


Jeny and I found a great little antique shop, which also serves lunch, but we had already eaten at Dr. Pierce's. The shop was called Les Deux Soeurs, The Two Sisters. How appropriate! She bought a red antique looking metal vase. We also found an art shop around the corner. She got a couple of frames on sale and I picked up some cds and a couple of disney movies for mom and the grandkids...

Then we headed over to Hobby Lobby, a favorite spot for both of us. Jen picked out silk flowers for her new vase and we found a wrought-iron looking clock on clearance for mom's kitchen...

As always, the time went by too quickly...Thanks for lunch and the fun afternoon, Sis! I love you...

A date with Chloe

A trip to the Potowanami Zoo, complete with:
tigers, turtles, monkeys, kangaroos, zebra, lions, alligators, buffalo, peacocks and flamingos. But best of all, a butterfly house!!

We also had icecream on a stick and took a train ride around the zoo...

Dinner was mac and cheese at her favorite restaurant, Houlihans, because of the cool fish tank--we saw baby Nemos! (I have to say, Chloe was very sensible about ordering her food. She asked me if chicken fingers were fried and when I told her yes, she opted for the healthier route of macaroni, since her french fries were also fried)

I hope you had a memorable day, Sweetie!

A date with Noah

Our date started with riding bikes together in Grandpa and Grandma's neighborhood...Noah wanted to ride to Madelyn and Chloe's house, but being that would put us on busy McKinley, we decided that might be a trip for next summer...
Then we tried to go to a bowling alley, but trying to find open lanes on a Monday around noon proved pretty difficult. After letting Noah drive around the bowling alley parking lot for a while, (he is very good--its going to be a long ten years while he waits for his driver's license!) we decided to go to miniature golf instead. Along the way, Noah spotted Dog n' Mug, so we stopped for a delicious corn dog, fries and the best root beer around!
At Putt-Putt, Noah got a hole-in-one on the thirteenth green!! (and later, again in our second round) That stinker. He wasn't even as focused as his aunt was! You should see how this kid whacks with abandon...
Thanks for our date, little buddy. I'll never forget it!!

At Last!

A fairytale beginning for one of my best friends ever!!

last minute details...

I had the privilege of hanging out with Caren almost the entire week leading up to her wedding.
I was able to help throw her bachelorette at Hacienda and a friend's house afterwards...






We worked on address/wedding bells favors, floral arrangements for the pews, the guest book, setting up the church's reception hall, programs and running last minute errands. We also got in some quality best girl time...

The whole week I was reliving my own wedding and planning. It never really leaves you...hard to believe it was four years ago...