Friday, December 19, 2014

My Latest Obsession


C + M at their piano recital (can't get over how grown up they are looking these days!)

My little helper (making our annual Carr Christmas Cookie jars)

Off to the Nutcracker 

Happy Friday! This was one of my favorite days as a kid = the last day of school before holiday break = parties in your classroom and holiday concerts! This morning I had CMC's holiday party at school and soon GMC and I are off to MMC's school for her holiday concert. Can't wait. It's been a week of cookies, parties, and concerts!

Tonight we are stuffing our holiday cards. I ordered them so early this year and they have been sitting in the box ever since. I love getting holiday cards in the mail! So fun. Tomorrow the girls are off to ski for the day and I'm hoping to use that time to organize some of their Christmas gifts. Tomorrow night PFC and I are heading to dinner w/ some dear friends we have not seen in a LONG time. I'm excited to check out Charlatan for dinner. After dinner we are heading to my sister and her husband's house for a holiday party. Festive!

I'm SUPER excited on Sunday to head to the Music Box Theatre to see It's a Wonderful Life. I imagine that we'll be making this a Christmas tradition. Our favorite lines from the movie =
Little Mary: Is this the ear you can't hear on? Little Mary: George Bailey, I'll love you til the day I die. What is your favorite holiday movie?

Last Christmas we headed to my mom's in AZ. We had such a wonderful time. This year we are staying put and my dad is coming out to visit. We are excited to hang w/ Big G!

Have a wonderful weekend! XO - d2

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Friday, December 5, 2014

My Latest Obsessions



Disneyland

Good ole Mickey ears!

Hendry's Beach - Santa Barbara

JuJu w/ her 3 pups

Fave = In N Out burger

Hanging at the beach! 

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had an awesome time at Disneyland and then Santa Barbara. Let's just say it was difficult to come back to cloudy and cold Chicago! Here's the video of us surprising the kids w/ Disneyland. They had NO idea we were making a pit stop there on our way to Santa Barbara.

On our trip I made a mental checklist of all the things I'm thankful for. And I've gotta say that I love our community (the little village/town that I moved to several years ago - to be w/ PFC and the girls). Over the years we've seen several friends go through various things (loss, sickness, etc.) and this town totally comes together in support. It is pretty amazing. Right now we are praying and sending positive thoughts to a dear friend of ours.

Cheers to the weekend ahead. XO - d2

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Friday, November 14, 2014

My Latest Obsessions














Happy Friday! One week to go before we leave for Santa Barbara! We are super excited to head out of town especially as we see the temps drop around here. We had to dig out our hats and gloves this week. Ugh! I pulled out my favorite fleece lined handwarmers. Love them! Tonight we are staying in and some of our favorite peeps are coming over for dinner and bringing their little ones. I'm picking up dough so that the kids can make their own pizzas and I'm making this spicy asian noodle dish that is always a hit with adults. And it has a little heat to it = awesome.

Saturday evening I'm heading out to dinner at Nellcote w/ some of my girlfriends. A dear college friend is in town. Looking forward to catching up w/ her. Our plan is to head to Soho House after dinner. Pumped to check it out! Have you been yet?

Have a fabulous weekend. XO - d2
Note: Above pics taken by the talented Alma Veliky. 

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Friday, November 7, 2014

My Latest Obsessions








Happy Friday and Happy November! Fall is officially in full swing. Halloween was a bit chilly this year and we even saw a few snowflakes! The kids still enjoyed themselves and came home w/ overflowing bags of candy.

Tonight we are chilling. Maybe PFC and I will catch up on a few more episodes of Showtime's, The Affair. We're on episode 2. And then tomorrow night we have PFC's grade school reunion. Fun!

And the countdown is on until we depart for CA for the week of Thanksgiving! Exciting.

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Friday, October 17, 2014

My Latest Obsessions

Yummy breakfast at Bouchon

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Took this pic for Georgie

Happy Friday! Halloween is around the corner and PFC/I need to get going on our costume! The kids officially finished picking out their costumes last evening = a witch, a zombie and a transformer. Tonight we are off to Cate's school for a family fun fest and then tomorrow night I have a dinner at Ada Street. Excited to check it out! And I'm more excited to hang w/ some people I haven't seen in awhile.

Have a fabulous weekend. XO - d2

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Friday, October 10, 2014

My Latest Obsessions



Apple Picking at Jonamac Orchard














Happy Friday! Peter and I are off to Vegas shortly (super early AM flight) for a wedding. We're pumped to get a few days away in warm weather = the perfect way to regroup. My mom and stepdad flew in to watch the kiddos. The kids are excited to hang w/ JuJu and Grandpa T. There were talks about ice cream trips to Peterson's!

Good luck to all of you who are running in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday! I know some folks running and I'm anxious to hear how they'll do. Fingers crossed for perfect running weather. Nuts to think that almost 10 years ago I ran the Chicago Marathon (and I haven't run a day since then!).

Cheers to a great long weekend ahead!

XO - d2

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Friday, September 26, 2014

My Latest Obsessions










Happy Friday! Fall is one of my favorite seasons in Chicago. Love! We had our annual fall pics of the kids taken a few weeks ago by the talented and lovely Alma Veliky. I use the pics to make photo books for all 4 sets of grandparents. It's now become a tradition. And we always get a a book for ourselves as it is so much fun to look back through the book over the years!

We're hoping to go apple picking this Sunday as a family. I made this apple pie a few years ago (after an apple picking trip) and I think we are due for another one. The caramel is what makes it super yummy!

Have a wonderful weekend! XO - d2

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Friday, September 5, 2014

My Latest Obsessions



1st day of school pics for MMC (3rd grade) and CMC (5th grade) = time flies! 

1st day of preschool pic for GMC

Kinnikinnick Farm trip

Cowgirl Cate enjoying her homemade pizza at the Farm

Miss Margaret hanging w/ the chickens!

Taking in the gorgeous scenery at the Farm

Truly relaxed. When does that happen?! 

Farmer Dave taking some of the kiddos to help w/ chores

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My pizza =
AH-MAZING (olive oil, fresh mozarella, cheery tomatoes, arugula and basil)
= ate the ENTIRE pizza (myself)!


Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend. Most kids everywhere are back in school (even though the temps here seem to appear otherwise). Somehow we had a really mild summer w/ low temps and now are getting our indian summer. Over the long weekend we headed to Caledonia, IL and stayed at Kinnikinnick Farm. We had a BLAST! This was our 3rd trip out there and it is something that we looked forward to all summer. Check out our 1st trip there and then last year's trip. Rarely do we get a chance as a family to just do nothing and be and not have a schedule. I even snuck in some reading time and started the book, The Traitor's Wife, by Allison Pataki.

This weekend we are getting back into the groove schedule wise - MMC has her first soccer game of the season and CMC has a cross country meet. Last night we booked our flights to CA for Thanksgiving - wahoo! How is Thanksgiving around the corner?! And now we need to start thinking about halloween too!

Cheers to a great weekend! XO - D2


Some of my latest faves:
  • We were spoiled this past weekend w/ fresh produce and amazing local meats on the farm. I'm still dreaming about our big breakfasts of pancakes, bacon, eggs and homemade bread (w/ yummy honey). Speaking of pancakes don't these sour cream pancakes look DIVINE?! Yum. Sour cream seems to be the key ingredient! 
  • And speaking of breakfast, I FINALLY got to the Little Goat Diner for breakfast. A dear friend was in town from London w/ her husband and we met up for a little catch up session over breakfast. The parathas burrito (indian flatbread, sunny side eggs, avocado-bean salad, chili pepper sauce, sheep's milk cheddar) was super tasty and I tried some of G's yummy pancakes. 
  • All of this food talk is making me hungry! Take a peek at this awesome Berkeley kitchen! Love it! And I was happy to discover this gal's blog, Yummy Supper. Don't these baked eggs and cherry tomatoes look awesome?! 
  • Okay, how to eat clean all day long. I've gotta say that I'm really trying to make more of an effort to eat/drink more cleanly. I WILL NOT give up my coffee but I haven't had a diet soda in months. Baby steps. And I've been doing warm water w/ lemon in the morning (not everyday but adding it into the mix). And sadly, I think I need to say goodbye to my fall treat = pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks
  • I thought this was a great and interesting read = Share This With All the Schools, Please. PFC and I were just talking about teachers (past and present) our kids have had the other day. Our kids have been blessed with some pretty amazing teachers/mentors thus far on their educational journey. I cannot say enough about them! And 40 Things I Want to Tell My Kids Before They are Too Cool to Listen = a great list. 
  • I'm a huge fan of the book, The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman. You have to get past the cover - cheesy = yes. The book though = extremely insightful and helpful with a multitude of relationships. I read the book years ago and it truly helped me understand the many layered and different relationships in my life. Cupcakes & Cashmere gal appreciates the book too. Take the test! Words of Affirmation = my primary love language. 
  • Do or did you have a "If we're not married by..." pact w/ someone? I had one w/ my good buddy from college! Here are 10 pacts that actually worked out
  • Okay, so it definitely doesn't feel like fall yet. But I would love to hang out in this blanket coat (pricey = yes) and make some amazing soup. How about this squash and bean minestrone soup, arugula salsa verde, and old school garlic bread?! 
  • PFC and I are coming up on our 5th year anniversary this fall. I LOVED Joanna Goddard's post on 8 things she has learned about marriage. All SO true. 
  • I've added 2 places to my Milwaukee trip file = the new restaurant All Purpose and Bavette La Boucherie. Fun! 
  • We're all busy, right?! And we all seem to humblebrag about it! So true. I appreciate the article's #4 on the list of simple steps of being more of an essentialist = say no to a good opportunity every week. 
  • And I'll leave you w/ this = the Friends Reunion on Jimmy Kimmel. Love that show. Next month marks the 20th anniversary of the show's premiere! 




Friday, August 22, 2014

My Latest Obsessions


MMC + CMC after their Good Knight musical performance

CMC + her adoring fan/cousin

GMC heading downtown

Right on = big ole sandwich from Perry's Deli

Gene & Jude's ROCKS!

Happy Friday! This is our LAST weekday of summer vacation before school officially starts for CMC + MMC on Monday. Bittersweet for sure. We had a really great summer but it is time for the kiddos to head back to school! I always feel torn towards the end of summer. Part of me is SO ready for them to get back to school while another part of me appreciates the flexibility that summer provides schedule wise. However, I think the kiddos need some space from one another!

We'll be in back to school mode this weekend. We might head to the Brookfield Zoo on Saturday to catch the Kratt Brothers in action. The gals and GMC love Chris and Martin Kratt's show "Wild Kratts" on PBS. And then on Sunday I have a baby shower for one of PFC's cousins. This morning we are hoping to take the train downtown to check out  Millennium Park and meet PFC for lunch. One last hurrah before Monday!

Have a fabulous weekend! XO - D2

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