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!

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! 

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 - :)

 

snow! finally...

The snow finally came to Chicago yesterday. It is so pretty! Here are a few pics from my venture home yesterday:

Church across the street from my work

Headed to the brown line

Walking home in our new hood

Home with the Cams looking at the falling snow

I love snow! Happy Friday!

hunter boots? yes, please!

So excited, so excited! I am finally getting my Hunter Boots that I have been wanting for years!!! I am going to get the original tall black ones that can go with just about anything. Plus, they are selling more varieties of the super cute fold over socks that go with them! I think the white fur socks are going to be perfect come winter! Oh, how I wish I had them right now because it has been raining for days here! 

sneak peek: our new apartment!

Here are some sneak peek photos of our new place! It has all the charm that we have been looking for and it is BIG! There are built-ins, a fireplace, wall sconces, crystal door knobs, top floor north and south views, plus FOUR closets! The kitchen isn't as nice as ours now but I know we can fix it up, anyways, black and white kitchens are my fave. Our landlord looks, talks and acts just like Oscar from The Office, he is so nice! We will be sad to be leaving our current home but I just know this is the perfect place for us to live in for the next few years!

moving small

This Saturday Sean and I are going to look at studio apartments in the Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. We have decided to downsize and move south so Sean will be closer to his job and we can start saving money, since these studios are half the price of what we pay now. 

I'm not gonna lie that I am kinda nervous about living in a studio! How are we going to fit all our stuff in it!? We will definitely be leaving behind a lot of luxuries at our current apartment....in-unit washer and dryers are few and far between in these neighborhoods, unless you want to pay like $2,000 a month on rent! But I found these faux washer and dryer hampers from CB2 that I am totally going to buy for our soon-to-be tiny home... a girl can pretend right?

 

mr. longbrake

Here are some of my favorite wedding images from a recently discovered Chicago photographer. Justin Longbrake keeps it fun, casual and personal, check out his work!

{images Justin Longbrake}

         

supermodel dog

We took Cams to a different dog beach this past Sunday because the Montrose Beach dog park is just nutso! We finally tried the Foster Beach dog park and we could tell a total difference in Cami's interactions with the other dogs. I don't think we have ever seen her have so much fun. She was running around with the other pups and got in the water pretty deep (she hates to swim)! She was being a social butterfly and ended up being pretty popular with the other dogs! Definitely taking her to this smaller beach from now on! Here is her supermodel beach photo running along the water...haha!

Happy Tuesday!

         

I love my man

Sean started his new job this week! He is just so super happy and I am so super happy for him. He is the most hard-working, kind, and selfless boss anyone could ever have! Everyone at his work is lucky to have him! We went out celebrating at our local watering hole and this is us waiting for the train home...after a few beers. We just couldn't stop laughing for some reason! :)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND!

          

march madness

March Madness is right and tonight it's Team Suck vs. Team Happy! Both of these teams have been some of the strongest ones this season. This month has flown by with a lot of crazy surprises, and Team Suck is moving up in the brackets. Here are some of the highlights...

1. Work, work, work - that is all Sean and I did this month!

Poor Baby H.

2. Some drunk slammed into our car...at least I am hoping they were drunk because who hits a parked car? Slam dunk!

3. It has been the coldest March in 28 years! That means that it hasn't been this cold in Chicago since I was born! Not that we don't enjoy cold weather but this is just ridiculous...plus I really want (need) to start running outside if I plan on keeping up with Sean at the beach this summer. 

4. Taxes...boo! I unfortunately owe taxes this year. Foul!

Timeout - Enough about the Sucks because when we take a look at the stats, Team Happy has been bringing their A-game this season, lets look at some of the top highlights...

1. My good friend Amanda had her little girl, Chloe. I cannot wait to go to Florida and see her!

2. It was Amanda's and Amber's birthdays this month - two of my BFFs, Happy Birthday! Love them!

3. One of my other best friends, Mallory, got engaged! And she asked me to be a bridesmaid, I cannot wait to spend that special day with her. Three points!

4. In relation, Mallory came to visit me for a much needed "girls weekend" and we totally shopped, ate a lot, drank a lot, saw a band and watched Say Yes to the Dress while looking at bridal magazines.

Mallory and me at Pizza Art Cafe

5. Food! Mallory and I ate at Franks 'n Dawgs for lunch and it was AMAZING. Think gourmet meets the hot dog plus BYOB. I had a fancy lamb hot dog and Mal had a good old-fashioned Chicago dog. We also ate at Pizza Art Cafe. The place is very small and romantic with only a few tables and BYOB. We all shared the bruschetta and Mallory had the antipasti with octopus. Sean and I shared a smoky beef pizza with an egg on it, so delicious! Field goal!

6. Skinny Girl Margarita! This whole bottle only has 400 calories and it taste so fresh. I've already gone through 2 bottles myself. Slam dunk!

7. Last but not at all least - Sean and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary! Time flies when you are crazy happy. I just love him so much! Four point play!

FINAL SCORE - Suck 4, Happy 7...Team Happy wins!

big blizzard of 1967

Today every news outlet in Chicago is calling this blizzard the worst one Chicago has seen since the Big Blizzard of 1967. To me this is really exciting because in Oklahoma if there is even an inch of snow on the ground the whole state shuts down!

It has been over 40 years since Chicago gave the city a snow day. They are calling it the Great Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011! Don't you just love that name? Chicago is expecting 20 inches of snow, with a snowfall rate of 4 inches per hour, and 60 mph winds!  Beat that Oklahoma! :)  Just kidding...

I found some old pictures of the 1967 blizzard that are so classic. I will have to take some of my own pics tomorrow and compare each blizzard!

City buses stuck on Michigan Ave.

Folks rushing to their local store

Cars stranded along Lake Shore Drive

{photos from the Chicago Tribune}

happy new yeasayer!

Sean and I got a chance to ring in the new year with one of our favorite bands, Yeasayer!!! They had a countdown and started playing right at midnight! Some of their best songs are Madder Red, Ambling Alp, 2080, O.N.E. and I Remember.

The whole concert was fun, happy, colorful, awesome, amazing, beautiful, crazy, and loud! Check out our pics and my navy sequins jacket I wore!

our christmas day

On Christmas morning Sean and I woke up to lots and lots of snow! We took Cami to the dog park by our house and she loved galloping in the deep snow.You can see us running in it together!

Cami also had a fun time opening up all of those presents under our tiny little tree in her Christmas PJs!

We missed our families this year but there is something about Chicago during the holidays that we just love. There are Christmas lights on everything - trees, street lamps, bars, apartment windows, cars and of course houses.

We have also started our own tradition of having Christmas morning mimosas together while we open presents, then we make a big breakfast of hash and eggs with cinnamon streusel coffee cake! It was all so yummy!

It was fun to go play in the snow and then cuddle up to watch season two of Parks and Recreation that Santa brought Sean and I. Santa also brought us two new board games to add to our collection - Life and Yahtzee!

power ballad of 2010!

My power ballad of 2010 has to be Strip Me by Natasha Bedingfield. This year I think I finally became an adult. Sean and I lived on our own in a big city and actually survived. We had a few struggles in the beginning that made us a very humbled couple but in the end we made it work. We were able to enjoy the city for the first year without going under. Sean and I are happier than we ever thought we would be and we are very much looking forward to our future together in Chicago! Happy New Year 2011!

And if you strip me,
Strip it all away
If you strip me,
What would you find
If you strip me,
Strip it all away 

Ill be alright...

- Natasha Bedingfield "Strip Me"

spider attack!!!

While walking down to Trader Joe's to buy orange juice and cinnamon rolls this morning I came across this scary scene! Ahhhhhh! A HUGE spider climbing up a building downtown! Everyone knows how much I HATE spiders (and sharks)! So I wasn't surprised when I got a little scared and thought "that can't be real, right!?" Of course not! Once you look a little closer at this monstrous spider you will realize that it is just girl spider, she is wearing pink and her eyes are disco balls! So in fact the big spider really isn't that scary, and I actually kind of like her.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

train bliss

One of my favorite things to do in Chicago is to ride the train. I call it the train - not the subway or the 'L' - which it should be called, but the train. I am for certain this is very wrong to say around Chicagoans, since in fact there is a rail road train (the Metra) that runs out to the suburbs. But that is what I like to call it - the train.

Now being an Oklahoma girl, I grew up driving on those long stretch of gleaming hot highways - I-35, I-40, I-44, and I do NOT miss them one bit. Let's be honest - I've never exactly been a great driver. I can be aggressive and loud when need be, but usually I drive slow and stay a car-length distance away from the person in front of me. I'm even worse when I am in the passenger seat...

But riding the 'L' is just bliss...this meaning that I feel like I have my own personal driver every morning to take me to and from work. I say "hello!" to the train conductors in the morning and sit in my usually seat by the window. I have read almost 15 books since moving here, and have listened to entire albums on my iPod, all while relaxing and staring out into the beautiful cityscape of Chicago. One of my favorite past times is people watching - I swear I have seen an exact twin of everyone from back home on the train - even you Erin!

My only scary experience on the 'L'...so far:
Recently I was trapped in one of these train entrance gates. I scanned my card to get on, pushed through the jaw-like gate and BOOM! - I was stuck like a caged animal! Not only was I unable to escape from the teeth of this giant monster, but the train I was trying to catch was still in the station, with people on it, who were staring at me...or more like laughing at me, while the train creeped slowly out of the station. What was a girl to do!? In the end a nice women freed me with her card, and we both had a good laugh together.