My Latest Obsessions

GMC checking out some guitars w/ Daddy 

Our Graham Cracker House

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a great time up at the Lake. The kids loved running around w/ all of their cousins. LOTS of food. Speaking of food I'm kicking off the holiday season w/ a 2 day juice cleanse (from our local Juice Joint) starting Monday. Much needed! Maybe the cleanse will keep me away from all of the yummy sweets this month. I'm excited. I've never done one before. Have any of you? I'll let you know how it goes.

PFC and I had the best time celebrating our 3 year anniversary at El Ideas last Saturday. The 18 seat spot was very cool and you were literally in the kitchen. It was a very unique experience. The chef is super chill and you can tell he loves what he does.

My youngest sister was in town all of last week. She split her time between our house and our middle sister's place downtown. The kids LOVED having her stay w/ us! It was so great to spend some quality time with her and catch up. We both share of love of Law & Order: SVU - so we watched a few episodes during her stay! I miss Stabler, however, my sister does not!

The day after Thanksgiving we all got together to build our graham cracker house. We have been doing it for YEARS and YEARS. My Mom used to love doing this w/ us. She used to get SUPER detailed and even make window boxes for each of the windows. My sister Carrie (being the architect and all) designed the house and roof (via a carboard box) and the girls helped w/ the decorations.

Last night I attended an Advent Tea/Dinner. PFC's cousin was the inspirational/motivational speaker. Her speech was brilliant. She spoke about the little moments in life and the importance of friends/family and gratitude. The 400 women in the audience were in tears. She was so eloquent and poised (at age 20 mind you). I'm honored that she is in my life. I definitely left last evening's event with a lot to think about - especially as we move through the holiday season.

The kids have a lot going on this weekend. We have CMC's winter piano recital tonight and tomorrow C + M have their first ice skating lesson of the session. And then we are off to a swim meet in the afternoon. I'm hanging w/ the girls tomorrow and PFC is going to chill w/ Georgie for some one on one guy time! And then Sunday we will be getting out our Christmas decorations! FUN!

Some of my latest faves:

• Holiday parties are upon us. Here are some lovely dresses for the season! LOVE them all. 
• Kate Middleton's new layered haircut = LOVE! 
• I purchased GMC's holiday bow tie from Baby by Stevie. He will be channeling his daddy this Christmas season w/ his plaid shirt and bow tie! A good friend of mine passed along this site and I have been purchasing bow ties from here ever since. Speaking of bow ties - here are 4 secrets to tying a perfect bow tie. 
• I'm sure many of you have seen this photo that has gone viral = NYPD officer giving boots to a barefoot homeless man. There are good people in this world. I love this story. So heartwarming. 
• I first saw Ace + Jig's items via Anthropologie. Love the line. Here is an interview w/ the gals and best friends behind the line. I'm impressed at how they do it all and are doing what they love. 
• I've been eyeing this dress for awhile. It is now on sale. I saw it on someone last night. She accessorized with an amazing belt. She looked comfortable yet sophisticated. I LOVE the back of it. 
• Pasta w/ Butternut Sauce and Spinach = Must Try SOON! 
• Every mother will appreciate this post from Joanna of A Cup of Jo. For sure. And here is an article on What Boys Need from Moms. 
• How pretty are these gold owl napkins?! Love them! 
• Parenthood was so great this week. I cannot wait for next TUES!!!! Ray Romano was on Ellen the other day. LOVE him. Adorable and so funny. I LOVE that Adam and Kristina landed on the list of the Top 50 love stories of the past decade. I love them together. And some Parenthood fashion from this week's episode. 
• I'm OBSESSED w/ the slippers that I got all 3 kids for Christmas. And I scored on Cyber Monday w/ an additional 25% off. GMC is getting the otters, CMC the owls, and MMC the penguins. LOVE them. Wish they came in my size! 
• What a pretty dress - would be perfect for all those holiday parties! 
• These washi tape gift tags are so clever and cute. 

My Latest Obsessions

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Friday! I cannot believe that next week is Thanksgiving (and then on to Christmas)! We are heading up to the Lake for Thanksgiving this year. The kids are excited to see all of their cousins. My youngest sister is coming in from NYC for the entire week - hooray - and she arrives tomorrow! I haven't seen her in awhile so it will be nice to catch up w/ her.

We have a friend's birthday party tonight and then another one tomorrow evening. Besides the birthday celebrations we are just going to relax and lay low!

Have a great weekend and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Some of my latest faves:

• LOVE this lace maxi skirt. And here are some ways how to wear it. 
• Channing Tatum is this year's Sexiest Man alive for People magazine. I have to say he was pretty sexy in the movie Magic Mike. For sure. Definitely. Check him out. 
• It is definitely getting colder here in Chicago. A cute fall/winter coat makes the cold feel just a bit more fun. Here are some really cute ones = Double Breasted Coat w/ Contrast Buttons, Oversized Collar Coat (love this color!), My Tweed Lady Coat and this adorable Dots Life Coat. 
• Customized Puffin Classics for kids. This would make a wonderful gift. 
• Some shopping advice from Michael Kors. He sums up dating and shopping. Love it! 
• LOVE watching Parenthood. I love all the different players in the family. Here is the story of the Cancer Sweater that they mentioned in the show. 
• Here are some fun skirts from Target = Pleated Skirt and this Peplum Skirt. 
• Give me these cozy slippers, some hot chocolate, and a great book and I'll call it a night! 
• What a fun Alice inspired spread for Vogue shot by Annie Leibovitz. 
• Jenna Lyons of J.Crew was listed in Glamour's Most Inspiring Women of the Year. J.Crew listed out 11 reasons why she was their woman of the year. Great list.  
• I'm on a hunt for some new cookies to make. In December our Book Club always has a cookie exchange. I've found a few that I may try. Don't these Chocolate Caramel Coconut Cookies look amazing?! Or what about these Vanilla Almond Orange Cloud Cookies? Or these Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter + Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie? They all look divine! Any tasty suggestions? 
• I would LOVE to throw a Vintage-Glam Winter Wonderland Dinner Party like this one. 
• I think this entire outfit is awesome. Love it. It would be perfect for Christmas Eve dinner. I don't know if it is something I could pull off. But I absolutely love the look of the dress w/ the Chelsea Boot. 
• My Mom used to always make gouda in a puff pastry as an appetizer for her parties. I remember watching her make it when I was little. I tried this Gouda in Puff Pastry recipe last Saturday and it was a hit. And I love how EASY this recipe is to make. 
• Great glitter clutch. This would add a little sparkle to any outfit. 

My Latest Obsessions

GMC waiting w/ Mommy to VOTE

Thought this was pretty funny! 

Happy Friday! What a week. The election is over (finally) and to be honest I'm thrilled. I was getting tired of all the political rants back and forth (hence the funny someecard above). Pretty funny. Everyone got a kick out of GMC as we were waiting in line to vote. They all loved his hat. He put it on that morning himself. Very cute. The election made me think of the election before last. I had just met PFC that spring. M was 2 and C was 4. Wild to think about it that way since GMC is now 2. It is crazy to me that GMC is the same age as C was when her angel mom passed and he is the same age that M was when I met her. That really puts things into perspective. Life. You never know what is going to happen.

Tonight we are heading out to dinner w/ some folks for dinner and then tomorrow PM we are having some of our city friends over for some chili. YUMMY. I love Cincinnati style chili which is a bit sweeter as it has hints of cinnamon and chocolate in it (and is served over noodles). We are serving honey cornbread muffins (best corn muffin recipe I've tried), Cincinnati Turkey Chili, and this super yummy apple pie with caramel (last time I made it there was not a crumb left!). And of course we are serving the pie with vanilla bean ice cream (from our local favorite Petersen's Ice Cream).

PFC/I are still looking for an evening to sneak away to see the movie Argo. Everyone that has seen it LOVES it. Have you seen it yet?

Some of my latest faves:

• I saw a little girl wearing the cutest little TOMS. I thought GMC would look adorable in these little Olive Cord Tiny TOMS. Speaking of TOMS here is a great DIY to waterproof those canvas shoes of yours. 
• PFC's sister and her husband just got back from staying at my Mom/Stepdad's cabin in Montana. It made me reminisce about our amazing roadtrip out there 2 summers ago. We had a blast! Some mountain inspiration = mountain screen printed bag, mountains are calling hoop art and let's move to the mountains. 
• I've been thinking a lot about the Hurricane Sandy victims out east. If I lived in NYC I would TOTALLY participate in this awesome bake sale w/ Dwell Studio + A Cup of Jo. And I stumbled upon this BRILLIANT idea on FB (from a gal I met on our honeymoon) = volunteers turn to wedding registries to help victims. And have you seen the cover of New York Magazine? OMG, it is an amazing picture of NYC taken from the air. And what an incredible story about how the photographer went about taking the pictures. 
• I LOVE butternut squash. Doesn't this butternut squash lasagna look DIVINE?! I'm putting this one on my list to make this winter! 
• I have yet to check out Giuliana and Bill Rancic's restaurant RPM but I LOVE following them via their show. PFC laughs at me. I find them funny and great (and fun that they live part time in Chicago). Windy City Live had Giuliana's mom (Mama DePandi) along w/ Bill and Giuliana on their show and she shared an italian favorite of hers (= Bucatini Pomodoro). 
• I'm in LOVE w/ this adorable and vintage inspired coat. Love it. 
• CMC loves pears. She would eat 2 at a time if we would allow her. I came across these yummy looking roasted pear and chocolate scones. She would GOBBLE them right up! I would too! 
• Very cool rustic wood box shelf.
• Thanksgiving is coming up SOON. I'm already thinking about sides. Here are 12 delicious looking sides. And how cute are these Turkey Cookies? The kids would LOVE them. 
• Peace, Love & Cupcakes = what more could you ask for?!
• A good friend of mine sent me this amazing DIY Owl Costume. I'm bookmarking this one for next year. Maybe MMC will go for it! 
• OMG, loving the new Made In Kind items for Anthropologie. Alexandra Grecoo's stuff is gorgeous. 
• Cute heartstripe sweater. 
• And I'll end w/ this great quote on friendship. Isn't that the truth?! 

My Latest Obsessions

Our "Bat"erina and Witch

Our Dino and Cowboy Daddy 

George-asaurus Rex

Happy Friday! What a week. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those that were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Wow. Here are some amazing acts of kindness during Sandy.

My mom (JuJu) just left this morning. We are so sad. She was here over a week and we had the best time w/ her. She was supposed to fly out to NYC Wednesday evening to visit our youngest sister however, due to obvious reasons she was unable to make that trip (so she stayed w/ us a few extra days).

My mom has made a tradition of coming here for Halloween the last several years. It is crazy to think that she met PFC for the first time 4 years ago during Halloween weekend (when he asked both my stepdad and mom for their blessing). I'll always laugh remembering how he approached them - in between houses trick or treating! Cute!

We had a very fun Halloween - filled with lots of candy, costumes, trick or treating, and the parade at school. C + M were thrilled w/ their costumes this year and GMC finally got into the spirit when he saw everyone else dressed up. His favorite thing to do was to "rawr" at each door when he was Trick or Treating.

Tonight we are just relaxing. Much needed. We'll be up SUPER early to take the girls to their swim meet tomorrow. We'll be pulling out of the driveway before 6 AM (yikes = a large french vanilla coffee from Dunkin Donuts for me). And then tomorrow evening PFC/I are heading to a party at The Bedford. FUN!

Oh, and Peter/I watched Magic Mike last Friday PM. It was good - definitely not an Oscar award winner by any means but a solid flick and great eye candy for sure. Channing Tatum can MOVE IT! I mean, seriously!!!

Some of my latest faves:

• Yummy = Canyon Ranch's Pumpkin Crunch. 
• Love this clutch from Pendleton's Portland Collection! 
• These Parker House Rolls look amazing. I might try them for Thanksgiving. Don't they look awesome?!  Speaking of Thanksgiving wouldn't it be fun to make these Oreo Turkey Pops?! 
• I watch the New Girl when I get a chance to do so. I like Zooey Deschanel. She is cute, quirky and likeable. LOVED her latest love interest = hottie David Walton. Hopefully we'll see him around a few more episodes. 
• I would love to take a look at the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. Love her blog. 
• LOVE these fabric envelope letterpress wedding invitations. Gorgeous. Reminds me of our invitations! 
• When PFC/I wake up in the morning he always says, "Time to make the donuts." And honestly I have never known where he got that saying. So, the other day he showed me the old school Dunkin Donuts ad from 1983. I get it now! 
• How gorgeous are these bridal shower invitations?! So pretty. 
• These glittery pine cones are so pretty. Maybe a fun project over winter break!
• I LOVE Zingerman's Legendary Sourcream Coffeecake. It is the perfect gift to send to someone after you have spent the weekend at their home. So YUMMY! You'll be sure to be invited back! JuJu used to send this coffeecake to us when my sister and I lived together in the city. We LOVED it so much that we had to hide it. And one time we found it (weeks later) hidden in the oven. Tells you how much we cooked! 
• Check out this yummy Thanksgiving collection of ice cream from Jeni's. OMG, the pumpkin 5-spice sounds divine! 
• Cute Owl ornament. Adorable girls owl tunic sweater. 

Have a great weekend! 

My Latest Obsessions

Hooray - it's FRIDAY! 

Happy Friday! JuJu arrived Wednesday evening and we have been having a blast w/ her. It is always fun when she comes to visit. C + M had fun putting fake cockroaches and bugs in her bed for a little Halloween surprise! And Georgie brought her to school on Thursday and introduced her to his buddies. Very cute.

Last evening we had my mom's old design partner from Cincinnati over for dinner (along w/ her daughter). The two of them are always fun to see and visit w/. Per JuJu's request I made one of my faves = green chile chicken casserole. This casserole is always a crowd pleaser (and best part is that I can make the casserole the day before and pop it in the oven the next day). We had a salad of romaine/sunflower seeds/craisins/parmesan/avocado and caesar dressing. LOVE this salad! And for dessert I made Pioneer Women's Strawberry Sparkling Cake. It was super yummy. I ended up using a store bought angel food cake but next time I want to try and make a homemade angel food cake.

Tomorrow we are hosting my sister's little guy's 1st birthday party at our house. It should be lots of fun. He is such a cutie. Tomorrow PM we are off to a costume party - FUN! And Sunday I've got a tennis match. JuJu will stay w/ my sister and her husband downtown over the weekend and she'll be back w/ us for the beginning of next week! FUN!

Some of my latest faves:

• Adorable note of the day by a little girl entitled, "If I get a Boyfriend." 
• I'm a HUGE fan of exposed brick. Lots of great walls here. My favorite is the one w/ the wall behind the oven. 
• Cute tieback booties. 
• Pretty necklace (in lovely fall colors)! 
• I'm obsessed w/ owls. What a fun owl sweater! 
• I LOVE power naps, so I loved reading this article. 
• All this rain has me wanting to curl up w/ a good book (and wear these cozy pants). 
• If anyone needs a last minute halloween costume here are some adorable ones. LOVE the Morton Salt Girl = so cute! If you have a little more time on your hands this Book Fairy Costume. 
• I'm definitely going to make this personalized memory game for GMC for Christmas. Love it! This would make a great gift too. 
• Love this reversible ikat crossbody bag. Adorable! 
• Totally digging the new Mauve Metallic Linen TOMS. 
• How cute are these chocolate chip cookie party invitations?! Love them. And how FAB a printable template! 
• PFC and I really want to see the movie Argo. It looks great and is getting such awesome reviews. I did watch Butter and really enjoyed it. Jennifer Garner is really great in it. And you gotta love Ty Burrell who plays her husband. 
• I've always been a fan of Kate Hudson. Here are some pics from her photo shoot for Anne Taylor. 
• LOVE LOVE LOVE this birthday idea = Pajama Soiree. So cute. 
• I used to LOVE chai lattes but now I usually get order a skim latte. However, this How To on chai tea inspired me to make some Chai soon! 
• And lastly, some Parenthood fashion. Ray Romano and Lauren Graham discuss Will Sarah Leave Mark for Hank?! 

Have a FABULOUS weekend! 

My Latest Obsessions

LOVE LOVE LOVE this pic = My Favorite Boys

Happy Friday! For some reason this week has felt really long. Maybe its all the rain and falling temps that are dragging this week on and on!

Last Sunday we surprised C + M and I took them to Tour of Gymnastics Champions at the United Center. They were SO excited to see the FAB FIVE and others. The gymnastics was one of their favorite sports to watch during the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, 2 of the 5 girls was not there as they were hurt but all in all it was an amazing show. Nastia Liukin (2008 Olympics) was there and she was really great to watch. The girls LOVED it.

This week I met up w/ some of my girlfriends from the city and we went to Hot Chocolate. OMG, I forgot how amazing their dessert is = YUMMY! We splurged and split the following: malted chocolate milk shake, banana ice box cake, and some yummy doughnuts. And my burger wasn't too bad either!

We've been chatting about halloween costumes all week! I saw this pinata costume on pinterest and I cannot wait to start making it. I've ordered my leotard and the crepe paper! Peter and I are heading to a big halloween bash next weekend. PFC is undecided at the moment but he may try to pull off Mitt Romney's "binders full of women" comment during the debate. We shall see. Pics to follow! C is going to be a witch (a pretty one of course) and M is going to be a "bat-rina" (a scarier ballerina). And GMC is going to be a dinosaur!

I'll be flying solo this weekend as PFC is off on a guys weekend. Wish me luck!

And lastly, we are SO excited that JuJu will be here in a few days. She will be staying w/ us for a week. Hooray!

Some of my latest faves:

• Amazing fall recipes (all look AMAZING) = Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal, Pumpkin Doughnuts (yummy looking), Pumpkin Pear Crisps, Pancetta, White Bean and Chard Pot Pies, and Garlic Sweet Potato Mash.
• Clever idea for a kids halloween party = Mask Bar. 
• Folks have been a buzz about Brad Pitt's latest Chanel no. 5 ad. Here is some history about the best selling perfume. 
• LOVE this grecian-esque dress = Marchioness Dress. Gorgeous color. 
• Every Christmas PFC gets me the new Linda & Harriett Letterpress calendar. I cannot wait to see the 2013 one! WOW, her new Quilt Calendar looks pretty spectacular. Some other pretty calendars. 
• I'm loving this Lace + Leather dress from Zara. It would be perfect for all those holiday parties! Here is a cute Sequinned Heart Dress from their kids line. C + M would love it! 
• Homemade Butterfinger, Snickers + Kit Kat Bars = divine looking! 
• I LOVE fresh flowers but wouldn't it be nice to have a bouquet that you don't have to throw away = Paper Bouquet. 
• A chevron party = WHY NOT! 
• Pretty vintage inspired dress (by Princess Catherine's favorite designer). 
• Cute Peplum Pink Dress. 
• A Starbucks OOPS! 
• Great tote. Love the pink stripe! Cute cross body bag. 
• Some cute DIY matchbook notebooks. Love these. 
• I saw these awesome little apple pie-lets on the Food Network. They look so yummy (and easy)!  

My Latest Obsessions

C + M's first swim meet of Fall/Winter season

Yummy apple pie (check out the little heart)

GMC enjoying a little airplane action

Happy Friday! Fall is in full force. LOVING all the gorgeous leaves that are changing. Fall is so pretty. Our pumpkins are on our stoop outside (yet to be carved) and our mums are out too.

Busy weekend ahead. Tonight we are hosting a cocktail party for folks to meet our new neighbors. And tomorrow we have our niece's 1st birthday party in the city. I'm also playing a tennis match tomorrow afternoon (FUN)!

Our dinner party last Saturday was a HUGE success. The menu was FAB and all the dishes were SUPER tasty. I will replicate this meal again for sure. Menu = grilled Ribeye steaks (that we got down the street from Kinnikinnick Farm this summer), started w/ pistachio beets (FAB), mashed potatoes (cream cheese is the key ingredient), roasted brussels sprouts, and for dessert we had apple pie w/ Petersen's vanilla bean ice cream (so yummy).

Some of my latest faves:

• LOVE this glitter crown tutorial. FAB idea. Would be cute for a girls bday party. 
• I really want to see the movie Butter w/ Jennifer Garner. 
• I'm more of a sweets person (than salty) but when I get a craving for potato chips I want to try to make some baked kale chips. 
• Here are some pretty fall flower centerpieces for your next dinner party. 
• My sister's little guy Graham's 1st birthday is coming up. I think I'm going to get him this adorable crochet owl hat. How cute! 
• What a gorgeous dinner party. I would have loved to have been invited to this one. LOVE it. 
• I'm currently sporting Essie's midnight cami on my nails. LOVE it. Saw it first on A Cup of Jo. 
• Interesting article entitled, "The Fine Line between Marriage and Divorce." Iris Krasnow wrote the book The Secret Lives of Wives. 
• Some great quotes from John Lennon. John Lennon would have been 72 yrs old this month. 
• Pretty ombre candy corn cake. I really want to make this! 
• How COOL = magnetic wallpaper. LOVE it. The kids would love this. 
• Zara Home has come to the states. Very cute kids stuff. 
• I've been wearing an oldie but goody lately = a caftan dress from Rachel Polly (mine is in red). I got it years ago at a boutique in Bozeman, MT. 
• Parenthood was great this week. I'm so curious how the Ray Romano and Lauren Graham relationship is going to pan out. Even Pioneer Woman is wondering what is going to happen w/ the two of them! I would like to see them together. Here is some Parenthood fashion for you. 
• I definitely want to try this Chicken Pot Pie soup. Looks so yummy. 
• Last night I made baked acorn squash - reminded me of growing up as my Mom used to always make it! 
• I've been told that I MUST try the new legging cords from Gap. I'm in! A friend said that the vamp red are FAB. 
• A friend dropped off some AMAZING chocolate chip cookies. HONESTLY one of the best chocolate chip cookies I've had. I HAD to get the recipe = Perfect Chocolate Chip recipe.