Please check out our new website! We've been working on it for a couple weeks now, and launched it today. I love Squarespace :)
Weekend FUN
The weekend began by seeing the Nutcracker at the Auditorium Theater on Friday after work with Cerena, my mom, and our friend Katie. Upon arriving to the theater we were escorted to our seats... which were in the FRONT ROW! Not really sure how that happened, but we weren't asking questions! I have never seen a performance from the front row; it is a very different experience. Good and Bad. We were so close that sometimes we were unable to see the dancers' feet, but at the same time, we could really read they're expressions which you wouldn't be able to do from seats farther back. We concluded that really the 3rd row is the best location! Next time.
The following day, we went for a nice brunch and Longman & Eagle, before heading out for Wisconsin. We always have Christmas with my mom's side of extended family a couple weeks before Christmas, which is a nice way to spread everything out around this busy time. This year it was hosted by my cousin Jim, who lives outside Madison in Edgerton, WI.
Danny's mom, Ellen, also happened to be visiting at the same time so she was able to join us this year! We are so lucky that so many people made it, with everyone's busy schedule. Always nice to see the cousins :) OF course we played the GAME and "Left Right Center", our newest game addition. We are a game family, through and through.
After the party, finding a bar to hang out in was a little sketchy at first, but we soon found a predictable sports bar and settled in nicely for the evening. We all stayed in a hotel that night so we could enjoy ourselves without worrying about driving home that night.
The drive back was tough because we were all so tired and it was snowing! It made for some pretty pictures though:)
Sunday night we had one more party!!! We were celebrating the birthday of Tyler, a co-worker, in a two part "Tyler-Fest". It began at a private event at Paris Club held once a month, primarily for the Gay community. There were plenty of drinks and glow-sticks alike to keep us well entertained for a good 2 hours!
Following the dance party, we had dinner at RPM, a new Italian Restaurant by a client of ours. Both the atmosphere and the food was impressive. We ate and ate and ate.
Tyler received his final birthday gift from our boss/office; a Knoll Womb Chair. Very jealous. If you know what this is, you know how incredible of a gift it is. We have an extremely generous boss, but Tyler is also an incredible employee :) Happy Birthday Tyler, one more time!
What a Day, a SPA Day
Well that was amazing. My friend Laura found this Groupon MANY months ago, for a Spa Day at the Palmer House Hotel, and asked Cerena and I if we were interested in going. We both considered it for about 4 seconds, and then we purchased them.
Here are the deets:
$99 for $320 in spa services
- 50-minute customized facial (a $110 value)
- Eye-firming mask (a $20 value)
- 50-minute Swedish massage (a $90 value)
- Express mani-pedi (a $65 value)
- Day pass to the pool (a $20 value)
- Aromatherapy (a $15 value)
- Complimentary glass of champagne
Yea. I know! Although the pool was a little underwhelming (and 5 floors above the spa... ) the actual spa was very nice. The very best part was that we were escorted to the "Relaxation Room" after each treatment. We pretty much took over that room all day. Haha. Luckily we all brought snacks, and Laura packed us each a PB&J. Really, could it get much better? Cerena scheduled each treatment, with 1 hour between each one so we could fully utilize the facility. Great move.
I hope this is just the beginning of our Spa circuit around Chicago. Sounds fun!
Christmas Crafternoon 2012
9am: The young crafters arrived at my parents' house, ready to get busy. This is our third annual crafting party, however this is the first time that we've combined the "kids" craft and the "adult" craft day into ONE day! Yikes, that was ambitious.
If you know any of us, my mom, sister or myself, you know that we are planners. duh. So of course we each had assigned food to bring, and one kids and one adult craft each. Things ran surprisingly smooth, but by the end of our crafting marathon, we were exhausted.
Here we are with the kids, showing off their new snow globes!
The Young Crafters worked on:
- Santa Utensil Holders (me)
- Seed Bead Ornaments (Debbie)
- Snow Globes (Cerena)
Check out the instructions for each of them. They were all a huge success.
12noon: a few of our friends came over for an actual crafternoon. We crafted ALLL afternoon :) Following some finger sandwiches and fresh fruit, Cerena directed us in on our first craft, Mini Mix in a Jar, except we used a hot chocolate recipe instead. (I will try to get that from Cerena).
Next, it was down to the crafting room to make our Scandinavian inspired Christmas Cards with embroidered designs. It was part of a larger craft segment on Family Circle. They all look awesome, check it out!
Last up was Debbie's throw-back craft, from her 4-H years! We made pomanders. We had no idea what she was talking about when she mentioned this as her craft. Oh well! They turned out great, and mine is giving off a nice orange/clove scent as we speak!
I would say it was quite a success! Can't wait until our next crafternoon... Valentines Day?
Thanksgiving Feast
We got an early start this year with the 5K Turkey Trot in Naperville at 8am. I was the official group photographer / sweatshirt holder / water bottle filler / cheering section. It was really tough. Danny was an illegitimate-nonregistered runner, but there were SO many people that it didn't really matter. He kept Greg company, while Cerena and my mom kept a steady pace walk/running not toooo far behind. I was very proud of all of the them! It really started the day of right.
After the strenuous 5K... we made our way home to start the cooking extravaganza. We cooked and cooked and cooked; a lot of work but a LOT of fun to be together with my mom and sister. Cerena made the cutest place settings out of pinecones from the yard, and let me show off my calligraphy skills with everyone's names.
Granny was brought in it at the end to help the vegetarian carve the turkey. Cerena and Katie did a good job on the HUGE turkey. (We are still enjoying leftovers by the way! )
Of course, through all of this I notoriously forgot to take pictures of the guests! I really need to get better at this...
BLACK FRIDAY!! We let those coupons lead the way.... all the way to Oakbrook.
We shopped until we literally dropped! It was a really fun (and successful) day, hitting up two good "door busters". We ended the day in a sleigh in the middle of a department store, which seemed totally normal at the time. Haha. Danny and my dad met us for a great dinner at D.O.C. Winebar in Yorktown. I would definitely recommend it. Such a fun filled holiday!
It was nice staying put in Plainfield/Chicago for the entire holiday, but we're also really looking forward to seeing Danny's family at Christmas!