Hey all!

Sorry I havent posted anything new in a while! Chris and I have been out gallivanting across the country from wedding to wedding this summer and taking some fun little vacations in between, not to mention working (which hasnt left much time for fixing up the house, doing projects, or blogging :-(

I hope to be back with some fun new projects super soon (I have a lot of work stuff going on right now which should let up at the beginning of August) and I will be back in the swing of things.

Here's a couple quick updates for you with pictures to come!
1. I did not get the stuffed kitty (insert dramatic screaming, crying, and pouty face here).  Even though I wrote them telling them I'd take it, someone flagged the ad on craigslist as "inappropriate" and the ad was taken down (WTF!! right?!)  I dont know if my e-mail ever went through but I have yet to hear back.  I promise to keep you posted!

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty... ... Still so freakin creepy... Read all about this lil guy HERE

2. The deck/back yard is DONE!!! after 7+ hours of painting by hand in the 104-degree heat, Chris and I broke down and hired someone to paint it for us with a sprayer... Best $275 ever spent.  Final pictures to follow soon.

3. My office is looking AWESOME and so much more put together.  I really cant wait to show you all the changes how its gone from a "man cave" to my purdy lil office.  Again, pictures to come, I swear (we are having a garage sale this weekend and for the past several weeks all the boxes have lived in my office.... not exactly the most photogenic.)

4. Even though I have been swamped with work and other fun stuff, I have time to fall in love.  Yes, I figure here is as good as place as any.... Dear Chris... I am cheating on you... with these people.
If you guys aren't watching Downton Abbey, you aren't living.  I grabbed Season 1 at RedBox on a whim and became instantly obsessed.  I highly recommend watching it (I'm not condoning watching Season 2 pirated online... but I'm just saying... ... ... ...)  If anything, tell your husband/wife/significant other/roommate that you are doing it to improve your grammar.  I even got Chris into it (true story: after 3 episodes Chris turned to me and said "I feel smarter for watching this"... oh how quickly the boy learns :-)

5. Just for kicks and giggles, here are some pictures I randomly took of us while we were in Chicago last weekend.  Awesome city for all those interested.

Heading to the airport... Chris was hoping I would show a little more enthusiasm.

SOOOOO much leg room in the exit row seats.  Sure I will help you deboard the plane in case of an emergency...it seems only fair after I stretch myself out like Gumby while others of you are squished together like sausages.

First night in... Chris and our good friend Matt enjoying some brewskies...

Game time at Wrigley. My AZ Diamondbacks against the cubbies. Dont mind the creepy two-faced guy over Chris's right shoulder...

Although after 5 minutes of sitting in our seats, it started to rain... and didnt stop... for FOUR HOURS!!!

Lady Jenn, me, and Matt... soaked to the bone... Being from AZ, I was a little more shocked than everyone else...

After the 4 hour rain delay the game finally started and we actually got some great seats (bleachers are first come first serve).  We were even on TV!
3.4 seconds of fame secured! Big thanks to my dad for watching the game back in Scottsdale and giving us a shout out when we made it on TV.  I'm not sure what I was pointing at in the sky... maybe the fact that I saw more storm clouds coming? I dunno... long story short. AZ lost :-(

So we went to drown our sorrows...

Germany Cheers!!... Unfortunately, everyone did NOT know our name, but a couple beers later, it sure felt like it.

We tried to take the train everywhere we went and since Matt is Chicago-city-iterate, we felt more than safe.

I make fun of a lot of people for awkwardly posing with their "other" with the whole hand on the chest move.  It just feels so unnatural to me.  This is my attempt at making it look "loving" but I think it just looks more "get-too-close-to-me-and-I'll-push-you-on-the-train-tracks"

 Next day...

Dear Sweet God, everything was extremely bright... thank goodness my $10 H&M dress looked fab.  Oh, and Chris isnt an amputee... He hurt his leg playing competitive softball (no pity) and it was oozing after the rain at the Cubs game so he had to cover it up... again, no pity for a grown man getting injured in slow pitch softball... none.

Here I am posing with a blind man Chris in front of the Bean.  If they could scale this down just a bit, I would love to have it as a paper weight (... million dollar idea: Bean weights.  Does anyone know if they are doing this yet.  I call "dibs"...)

It started raining again so we ducked out for a while in the Chicago Civic Center where we oohed and ahhed under the World's Largest Tiffany's Glass Dome... 

Stunning, no? Just dont stare at it too long then attempt to drive...

 We had a FABULOUS dinner at this restaurant called The Purple Pig.  If you guys ever get a chance to go to Chicago, I would HIGHLY recommend this place.  Absolutely amazing.  After 5 bottles of wine and 23 small plates (there was 5 of us, don't worry), they finally kicked us out after our 3+ hour long meal.  Jenn and I saw it as an opportunity to grab a souvenir.

Its a water craft... that says The Purple Pig on it... LOVE.

 All in all, it was a nice relaxing trip with Chris, Man Sam (to differentiate between Sams, I am Lady Samm and he is Man Sam... we like to keep it simple for our friends), Jenn, and Matt.

Navy Pier!

Gino's Pizza... Chris was really impressed with the cheese.

Although I did enjoy everything getting back to normal when we got back.

Personal sleeping space? Nooo....

I promise to have some REAL projects up soon as well as some AWESOME garage sale finds I've been adding to the house.

See you guys in August!