i believe in unicorns!

I recently went to Rochester, NY for work and I think it was my favorite work event I have done so far. One of our awards is a lecture that features a famous children's author or illustrator to give a speech about their life/work, etc. I won't go into detail but you can read more about the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture here if you are ever interested. : )

We stayed just outside of Rochester in Pittsford which was very cute, small, and ritzy! They have little restuarants, (expensive) shops, a local dairy farm, and a river walk. It would be a very romantic place to go for a short weekend trip. Here are few pics from my Pittsford adventures:

main street...beautiful weather!

dairy farm...moo

river walk

This year the lecture was given by Michael Morpurgo, you've probably heard of that Steven Speilberg movie, War Horse, well that movie is based on Michael's book, War Horse. He is also the author of other amazing children's stories: An Elephant in the Garden, Kensuke's Kingdom, Private Peaceful, The Butterfly Lion....I could go on forever.

I had a chance to visit with him a few times and he told me I was the first person he has ever met from Oklahoma! Michael then went on to say how much he loved the musical Oklahoma...it was very cute. ;)

At the end of his wonderful lecture he read one of his stories to the audience but didn't tell us what he was going to read. When he started to read I knew what story it was and I was sooooooo excited, I almost jumped out of my seat!

Hearing Michael read I Believe in Unicorns out loud was such an amazing experience and I will never forget it for as long as I live. I was able to get a pic of just us after the lecture and I was so nervous and excited, haha. It's pretty blurry but so happy I have it.

sean's bday celebration

In our little family (me, Sean + Cami) we like to stretch out celebrating birthdays since we are both so busy with work and Cami is always busy being cute and lazy. Sean's bday was on May 7th and I thought it would be fun to make a Sean + Caroline's Chicago themed celebration for him.

I visited my favorite place in the world, Paper Source, and found some manly looking materials to make this banner and present. I then printed out pics of our little family and hung everything up in Sean's mini man cave area in our dinning room. He was working late that night so when he came home I was already asleep and he was so surprised! It was cute when he woke me up and was all excited. :)

As little side gifts I got him this frame because he is always saying "I love you more" to me (he's amazing right!?) and then of course got him his favorite treats from Trader Joe's. He LOVES pesto so I made him a pesto dinner for his bday, which is one of the hearts on the banner. Then our two week celebration included going to our fave restaurants, shopping, going to the dog park, watching basketball (go Bulls!) and baseball (go Sox!) games, and seeing STAR TREK (best ever)!

Cams and I love this guy so much and he works so hard, he definitely deserves it!

that's right......

.....time to get effing skinny! Florida vacay is 6 weeks away!

Happy Friday!

go white sox!

My dad and stepmom came to Chicago for a short weekend visit from OK. They rode the Amtrak train all the way here from Kansas! How fun right!? 

Saturday we took my dad to a White Sox game and I have to admit...it was a blast! I'm pretty sure we have converted to the big black and white of Chicago! The crowd was so fun and chill, a whole lot less d-baggy than that other team up north. :) The train stop goes right to the stadium and you can tailgate in the parking lots my friends! Very, very fun (& cold) night with my dad and Seaner. Go Sox! 

Bookapalooza!

Work had me MIA again the past 2 weeks because...it was Bookapalooza time! 

Every year after the book awards are announced our grant committees select 3 schools or libraries who apply to receive all the year's submissions of books, videos and audiobooks. 

This was my first year sorting and packing the books for the 3 libraries because I'm still a new-bee! buzzzzz....

Anyhoo, I packed over 80 boxes and it was exhausting! But it is gratifying to know that all these wonderful books are going to good homes! 

This is a shot from the FRONT section of the hallway. There were way more boxes further down! They ended up being 3 rows of boxes after I was done and I only got injured once! From the packing tape teeth...

 

baby shower & cupcakes

Happy weekend! I have been dying to post pictures from the baby shower I co-hosted for my sister back in February for her and Emery. We wanted something super girly and simple and I researched the web and found this cute place in OKC called Cuppies & Joe. I never set foot in the place until the day of the shower but from the website, pics and talking with the staff it seemed like the perfect place for the baby shower...and it was PERFECT!

Once we had the location booked I wanted the invitations to have a little bit of a cupcake theme but not too much. I went to Etsy and found these super cute ones from A FINE TIME INVITATIONS where the designer customized them for me and they turned out so adorable. Everyone just loved them! You can see from the pictures below we incorporated the invitations into labels for the food, drinks and diaper raffle prizes...SO CUTE!

Everything went smoothly, our hostess at Cuppies & Joe was so amazing and I can't wait to visit again when I am back in OKC. The cupcakes and coffee were so DELISH! My sister raked in the gifts and diapers for the diaper raffle. I even made her some cute "cupcakes" made out of onesies, baby socks and cups...it was so fun! She is definitely set through the spring with cute outfits and diapers for sweet baby Emery. :)

I love my beautiful sister so much! xoxo

floods & CFs

What a wild and crazy week this has been. Sean and I returned to Chicago on Tuesday morning at 4am and immediately turned on the news. We listened to CNN almost the entire drive home from Oklahoma. So awful and sad. 

We also drove through the craziest lightening and rain storm once we hit Illinois and came home to floods and floods of rain. It has been raining nonstop since Monday night. My commute home today was just nuts! The Chicago River was flooding into our neighborhood streets and traffic was a mess! 

Here is a photo I took on the way home of the river. Usually you have to lean over the rail to see the water like this! 

I then came up to the high school and the sidewalk was completely flooded! There was no way to get through so I had to walk up the high school's lawn, crawl over the wall and climb the stairs on both sides! Luckily there were other ladies doing the same thing and we all helped each other. 

You can see the stairs on the left and a cop trying to direct traffic. It was all a major CF and I am so lucky I walk and ride the train for my commute. 

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! Xoxo

burrrr...onto OK

Blurg...I'm all for cold weather but not in APRIL! Our trip to Oklahoma to see baby Emery could not have come at a more perfect time. It has been in the 30s all week! 

Who is baby Emery you ask? She is my sister's new baby girl and she is the cutest girl in the world! I can't wait to hold her and smell her and kiss her! And she is already so stylish and into animal prints and cardigans (just like her auntie)! 

Yes, those are little bunnies on her dress for her first Easter. Aaaaaadorable! 

I will have to post pics of the baby shower I threw Elizabeth and Emery, it was so cute and girly! Happy Friday! 

 

running jams

I've been getting into running more than I ever have this year. I love it. You get such a big high of happiness right after a good run and it's the best medicine!

I'm up to running 40 minutes without stopping (haven't done that since high school!) and I've made the BEST list of jams for the ladies out there. 

All of these songs are fun, girly and will pump you up! And yes Starships is on this list twice, 1st time to get you going and the 2nd time to get you through the last leg of your run. 

There are two songs on the list from the HBO show GIRLS. You must purchase this album! Great mix of tunes and Icona Pop's I Love It and Santigold's Girls are the BEST workout songs, you'll feel badass and just want to rock it! 

Happy running! 

beach hat

I've been on the hunt for just the right beach hat...nothing too big and not a tacky fedora one! I was checking out the new City Target last week during lunch and saw this hat...cute and cheap! So excited I snatched it right up!

Even our little fashanista approved.

Bring it on summer! 

chill out

"My posts might dwindle over the next few weeks..."

I said this almost one year ago and I have been at my new job exactly one year this week.

I had NO idea what I was getting into when I applied and scored this new gig, that it was going to completely take over every inch of my life, that I think about it when I am not at work, that I actually want (and need) to stay late most days, that I would ever question authority or realize that I am a lot smarter than I thought I was, that in real life common sense is the one thing most people don't have, and that the phrase "chill out" would become my motto for LIFE. Not going to lie, it has been HARD work but also very stimulating, gratifying, amazingly exciting, nerve-wrecking (in a good way) and self-confidence boosting. Let's see what the next year will bring, shall we?

This little penguin could sum it up most days....

3 month hiatus

Wow, has it been 3 months since I last visited my blog??? How can that be!? I hopped on the new job train at the end of March and never got off! The past few months have flown by full of new people, new responsibilities, and lots of new stress!

I just got back from my first ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim as the new awards coordinator for ALSC. I was there for 6 days and I worked my ass off every one of them. I also had the best time and learned so much more about my new job. We have four big programs at the conference every year and they are all awards related. The biggest is our Newbery-Caldecott Awards Banquet where we honor the award winning authors and illustrators. Over 1,000 people attend the event, it takes months to plan and it is HUGE!

I didn't have time to take very many photos when I was there. Actually, I took just one for Sean. Disneyland palm trees!

More updates to come! Plus lots of new photos of the newish apartment! :)

big news !!!

I have been running a mile a minute the past month, sorry I have been MIA! But it has all paid off because I have some exciting news...drum roll please....

I GOT A NEW JOB! Yay me!

I got the official offer yesterday and I said, "hell yes!" - not really, but in my mind I totally did. About the job - I will still be working at the American Library Association - I like this place, great work hours, great vacation time, great downtown location! I will be moving to the Association for Library Service to Children and I will be their NEW Awards Coordinator!

I will be coordinating their 10+ awards, scholarship, and grants, and all of their events that are held at our two conferences each year. If you are familiar with children's books or read a lot as a kid (like me - major bookworm) then the names of the Newbery Award and the Caldecott Award might sound familiar. When I was growing up books like The Giver, Shiloh, and Polar Express were given these awards and I remember loving these books so much!

This is like a dream job to have at ALA and the children's division is where I dreamed of being after my grant was over in September. I don't think I could be happier right now, I have been smiling ear to ear ever since the interview last Monday. I start full-time April 2nd! I know this is going to be challenging and I will be taking on major responsibilities, but I am sooooo READY for that! I'm a working girl through and through - so my posts might dwindle over the next few weeks but I'll try to catch up on the weekends! Thank you to Erin and Sean for pushing me to apply for this amazing job!

My crazy happy face - :)

 

ikea weekend

I am tired, tired, tired from a weekend of fixing up our apartment. We went to Ikea TWICE! Nightmare, that place just makes me dizzy. It was fun to pick out stuff with Sean but why do people think they have to bring their entire families there!?? And don't shop with a cart or you will get stuck behind a herd of super slow families of 10+! Ugh...anyhoo we got new bedding, curtains and a panel system...crazy new thing, see here. Sean got his chest of drawers he desperately needed, we got a big rug for the living room and some other randoms.

example of panel system - Ikea

We had a freaktastic dinner Saturday night that made the whole weekend totally perfect. We ate at Sable Kitchen + Bar and OMG the food was so yummy - duck fat fries, espresso steak, duck leg with pork ragout! The head chef is from a season of Top Chef and we saw her as we were leaving! She thanked us for coming...haha. We had drinks and apps at Devon Seafood Grill before and I drank wine and champagne all night! Taking in the late Vday holiday was so fun. Future guests, we are so going to take you to Sable! Now back to work and finishing the apartment so I can show pics soon. The bathroom is FAR from being done but the tub is beautiful!!!

 

redoooo it | bath time

So President's weekend has finally come and this means that I am off Monday and Sean got THREE days off in a row to spend all weekend with me! And it's about time we finish our bathroom! The tub is in desperate need of a makeover and we are adding new bathroom accessories to spruce it up. I do have to say though...I've realized that I just can't win with this bathroom, no matter how much I change it. There are cracks in the tile, paint droppings on the floor, 2 big holes above the toilet that can be mistaken for bullet holes....shall I go on?

And check this bathroom out, I can't believe I found this on Apartment Therapy! To give you an idea of what we are working with - this bathroom has our EXACT tile. Yellow with a black trim. See the pedestal sink? That was like ours. You will also notice all the black fixtures...well for some reason all of ours are (very poorly) painted white! I want ours to be black and I know it is going to take a lot of elbow grease!

So can you kinda get an idea of what I am working with here? Don't you think the new shower curtain is perfect for the colors? I know I need to stay positive and think on the brighter side - we got a brand new toilet, sink and vanity and the bathroom has a window! Can't wait to show you all the before and after pics! Happy weekend loves!

 

you stress me out anthropologie!

I have a very BIG love/hate relationship with Anthropologie, as you can see from the letter I wrote them a few months ago....well of course they have made me mad again! Since I am off work Monday, Sean and I decided that this would be the weekend to finish redoing our bathroom. We are going to resurface the tub and fixtures, touch up the horrible paint job, add a shelf or two, add new bath mats and get the Anthro shower curtain that will tie it all together.

So I go to order the shower curtain Tuesday so it will be here by Friday and to my HORROR it was not on the site anymore! They SOLD OUT! Are you effing kidding me!? Just when I have the money and it is the perfect time to buy the effing thing is GONE. I am cursing and crying to Sean, and of course he is like "it will be okay, we will find a new one, stop freaking out...."

Ugh, so I am depressed and sad and try to move on...well knowing me I obsess about it all day Wednesday and decide that I am going to find that damn shower curtain even if it kills me! The first place I check out is eBay and WHALA there it is! So of course I go nuts and buy it because the ad says it is the last one they have (supposedly) and now I am super happy! Sorry for such a long and overly dramatic story but I was really upset when I went to go buy it on Anthro's site. You stress me out Anthropologie!

happy love day!

Our new neighbor is this old man named John and he likes to decorate his door for EVERY holiday. I'm going to try and snap pics of every season and post here for you. So we will begin with Valentine's Day! Cute right?

And here is what I got my sweetie. We don't do a big Valentine's Day so we always do something small but cute. Sean got a promotion at work, he is Pub Manager now, which means he is basically in charge of all aspects of the bar and alcohol inventory. I think it's perfect for him and fun too! Well he has now been working even longer hours and I thought he could use some of his favorite granola bars from Trader Joe's. He LOVES these and I do too, but this box is only for him. I am not allowed to touch it! Ha ha...

And one of our favorite movies is I Love You, Man and if you have seen it you know why I bought this card! Plus the city looks like Chicago!

working out sucks

Today is officially my "get with it and lose some pounds" day. I took a two week break from the gym due to traveling, awesome TV, double sicknesses and being just plain tired. But now I feel better, my mood is up and I can't wait to workout again.

And it was perfect timing for me when I picked up this book, Working Out Sucks, at work last week and it has really started to motivate me. I have to say that I really like this book, it is funny and very honest and makes you go "duh, I need to get off my lazy ass!"

I'll keep posting more quotes from this book but for now I'll start with this one that made me laugh out loud:

...thanks to smartphone technology, you can now order a movie, get a large pizza with cheese-jammed crust, download a newspaper, walk your avatar dog, and talk to your friends and family without exercising anything more than your thumbs...

This made me laugh because I LOVE my Pizza Hut app on my phone...ha ha ha.

hunger games!!!

So I've always wondered what it felt like for fans of Harry Potter and the Twilight books to have to wait for the movies to come out...were they anxious, excited, full of glee!? Well now I know and yes they were! Every time I see a photo or a trailer or one of the stars from the movie I get sooooo excited! I am completely obsessed with these books and the characters and the story. I am so obsessed with them I will talk to ANYONE about how amazing the books are. For example:

I'm getting on the L and find a seat next to this girl who is probably about my age (I always try to find a seat next to a girl, safety first!). She had a punkish cool style to her, short bright red hair and cool biker boots. Anyhoo, I sit down next to her and pull out my current book (I'm reading Pet Sematary...it's creepy) and I see her pull out none other than THE HUNGER GAMES. Eyes wide and grinning I turned to her and said "Oh my god, I LOVE that book!" She kinda gave me a -I can't believe this girl is talking to me- look but then I think she realized I was a normal person....ha ha. She smiled back and said, "I actually just bought it, my roommates are obsessed with all the books." I'm thinking, tone it down Caroline, don't FREAK this girl out. I finished the small convo by saying (with a big grin on my face because that is what these books have done to me whenever I get a chance to talk about them) "They are the best books...you'll really like them." Then we both go to reading our said books and I couldn't help but feel utter jealousy that she was starting on page ONE of THE HUNGER GAMES.

See how these books have made me crazy! I feel like I need to find like a Hunger Games support group in Chicago where I can discuss the books until my head hurts. Sigh...if only a group like that really existed.

confetti system

Who needs a confetti system? I need a confetti system! I feel like I should hang these all over our house and my office. I LOVE CONFETTI...

Anyways, wouldn't these be a super fun and different addition to wedding decor - it's bright and it sparkles. So. Fun.