Chicago with Friends

We had a fantastic weekend in Chicago a couple weeks ago.  Our super friends, Nate and Cora, invited us to meet them there for Cora's 30th birthday weekend.  What an awesome invite! Nate and Eric became friends in Portland and Cora is his wonderful beautiful girlfriend!  Because Eric and I LOVE Chicago, we, of course, said "Yes!"  Nate went to college there, so he had a weekend full of activities.  It was such a great trip where we ate great food (duh!), saw sights, met new friends, and just got to visit with our friends that we miss so much!

Eric had to work Thursday and Friday, so I was off to my own devices.  Thursday was a gorgeous day so I put on some walking shoes and walked almost 4 miles! We both agree we miss living somewhere that you can walk places and just be outside.  Houston is just so spread out and so hot most of the time, no one wants to be outside!

I love the Bean! (Or more formally known as Cloud Gate)

Starbucks. Walking shoes. Great weather.  

 When Nate and Cora came in, we quickly jumped on the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Architecture Tour by boat.  I'd heard so many good things about this from several different people, so I had to do it this visit.  You can see how pretty the weather was that day!  It's a great way to see the whole city and get a lot of history, which I love.

The Willis Tower is 108 stories tall and was once the tallest building in the world.

Sweet Cora and I

On Sunday Morning we had brunch with Lindsay and her husband, who are great friends of the Black family.  Eric and she went to school together in California, but she now lives in Chicago.  It was great to finally meet her and share in their excitement- they're expecting! Congrats!

Saturday we went to the Chicago Cubs game! Unfortunately, they lost but I got to have a delicious Chicago dog and peanuts!

And finally, Sunday we went to the Chicago Bears game! It was so awesome, especially since I'd never been to a NFL game before.  Now I understand the big deal! It's so different being at the stadium- the fans, the excitement, the close proximity to the action, not to mention the amazing people watching that goes on!  Plus, the won!  I was glad because after the Cubs lost, I was worried we might be bad luck for Chicago teams.  

Such a fun weekend! Eric and I both love Chicago so much!  I just wonder if I could handle the winters...

Back to School is here!

Look at these beautiful children!  I can't believe how quickly they are growing and becoming these awesome little people.  They are so enjoyable to be around and have such good hearts.  It's so hard to be away from them and miss these milestones, but we are so fortunate we get to talk and FaceTime whenever we want.  

JJ is now in pre-K.  Gram is his teacher, so she's now taught 3 generations!

Madison is a first grader! Please check out the leopard flats! Love it!

Cheesy faces! Just want to kiss em!

Prolonged Absence

I've gotten off the blogging train the last couple months, but as you can see, we've got a new look and I'm feeling the blog again.  Although I get discouraged by my own insecurities (I don't have anything interesting to say, my photos aren't gorgeous, etc), I really want to start making this a regular thing.  I envision this as a place we can share what we've been up to with our families and friends as well as a timeline for these early days of marriage.  It'd be so fun to be able to look back at this and remember events and the goings on of our daily lives out here.  So, with all that said, I hope the makeover and the renewed energy produce some great posts and capture the story of our life right now.

Delicious Recipes

I couldn't not share these! We've been eating amazing things this week and I've been busting to share with people.

Just watched Giada make these the other day. So good and easy. I used ground turkey instead of chicken and quinoa instead of couscous.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-burgers-with-garlic-rosemary-mayonnaise-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/israeli-couscous-with-apples-cranberries-and-herbs-recipe/index.html

A fairly reasonable Paula Deen recipe! Eric has requested it 2 days in a row.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/grilled-apple-bacon-and-cheddar-sandwich-with-roasted-red-onion-mayo-recipe/index.html

Leftover cranberry sauce? Such a great use of that tub lying around.

http://familyspice.com/leftover-cranberry-sauce-scones/

Aaahhhhh... Thanks. I feel better now that I've spread the word.

The Dunne's visit Houston!

We just love visitors and the Dunne's were no exception! We had a fun weekend eating and drinking around town. Plus, Jessica and I did a little shopping!

Check out the Texas waffles I made for brunch. Waffle maker courtesy of Chad (Eric's brother) and Amy (Chad's gf). So awesome!!

Halloween!!

We bought loads of candy in case of trick or treaters and didn't get a single one!! Boo hoo!!

Eric told me I have to get rid of the candy because we are eating it all!! I think it'll have to come to work with me!

Dixie was very festive this year, though. She was a penguin!

Jenn & Chris Peters's Wedding

And we were off again... This time to the Bay Area to celebrate the wedding of a great nursing school friend. It was a beautiful wedding and another fun weekend away!!