Our 10 Year Anniversary!

Somehow Rob and I have been together for a DECADE!!! How is that possible?? Yes, we broke up here and there, but for the most part we have been together since we were 18 years old! We spent our anniversary, May 19, doing fun things together and it was the best day! We made pancakes together in the morning and then we exchanged gifts. Rob got me this really awesome locket that says me & you inside. We love this song called You & Me by Penny and the Quarters and it reminded me of that. It's so cool and I love when Rob gets me jewelry. I got him a John Lucas III t-shirt that is hilarious and stamped a canvas with the reading from our wedding for our bedroom. Rob loved both! After that we were just relaxed for awhile before heading to go shop for Rob's wedding suit. We went to Zara downtown and Rob tried on about half a dozen suits and each one looked better than the last. He settled on a really nice black suit that he looks very handsome in. After that we went to Leonida's Chocolates for a chocolate tasting that came with a hot beverage. Rob got a peppermint latte and I got hot chocolate and we each got to try 6 chocolates. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day. I couldn't even finish the chocolates though because it was just so rich! Afterwards we came home and brainstormed ideas for ceremony music for the wedding before getting all spiffy for dinner at Viaggio. We wanted to eat somewhere that had really amazing Italian food. Yelp came to the rescue and we found Viaggio which is a top rated Italian restaurant near the United Center. It was really casual and not too romantic but we loved the food. Everyone on Yelp said you had to get the meatball salad so ofcourse we did and it was amazing! Who knew meatballs with marinara mixed in a salad would rule your world?! Then we shared cavatelli and a veal dish and ended with lemon sorbet. Everything was so tasty and I'm so glad we went there. After dinner Rob and I grabbed a drink at The Tasting Room. We sat upstairs and had a great seat that overlooked the skyline while we chatted about our upcoming wedding. It was the perfect day and a great celebration of us and our LOVVVEEEE! Just 135 more days until we tie the knot and start a new anniversary!

150 Days Away!

We are only 150 days away from our wedding day! Time has really been flying as of late. We are in a really good place with everything and we are just getting more excited to make it official by the minute! Last week we went to a second tasting at our caterer and tried the appetizers, cake pops, vegetarian options and kid's meal. Everything was outstanding! We decided on crisp root vegetable latkes with a red pepper relish, bbq pulled pork on a cheesy polenta square, cheddar jalapeno cornbread muffin with honey butter and my personal favorite, a fried chicken and waffle skewer with lavender gravy for our appetizers. We picked a vanilla, lemon and red velvet cake pop - all SO good - to go with our 3 bite pies for dessert and we selected the vegetable napoleon with the rice and quinoa salad for the veg option. We tried the sweet potato and russet potato tots and chicken tenders the little ones will get to enjoy and the tots will also be our late night snack. I literally left the tasting on cloud 9 - I'm so pleased with how the menu has come together and Rob and I are so thrilled with how everything tasted! We registered the other week too and even though it was crazy exhausting, we had a really fun time picking things out. People have already started buying us stuff! Seeing that items have been fulfilled on your registry is honestly a total thrill :) We already know that we'll be getting some pretty amazing stuff - we are so lucky and so grateful that we will be able to add/replace items in our home. We sent our save the dates awhile back and we'll be figuring out invites and the program soon. Rob bought a suit but then decided to return it so we're still on the hunt for him. I got my hair cut at a new salon and decided that's where I'll be getting my wedding up do done with my mom. I confirmed with my seamstress that she can do my dress. We started checking out rehearsal dinner locations and we're not having a ton of luck but we're still trying! We've bought a lot of gifts for our helpers and loved ones. But the biggest achievement lately was booking our honeymoon flights, hotels and even a tour. We're both on the Groupon emails for Savannah and Charleston so we're hoping to snag some good deals. Now it's time to get down to crafting so that we're not left with a bunch of projects at the last minute. I hope to get started on some soon! I'm seriously having way too much fun! I can't wait for the big day to arrive!

Looking forward to...

There are so many wonderful things on the calendar and countdowns are ticking away! I'm so excited for... 4/25-4/27: My visit to D.C. this week to reconnect with the Daughters of Charity and work our Alumni Reception at the Capitol! 4/27: Caitlin's 27th Birthday - Club 27 Themed and Live Band Karaoke! 4/29: Ballet with Rob & Brian Regan with Caitlin. YES! 5/1: Our 2nd Tasting with Hearty Boys! YUM. 5/6: Emi's Christening & Celebration! 5/9-5/23: Vanessa's visit - in from Germany for 2 weeks! 5/19: Our TEN YEAR Anniversary. Madness. 5/24: Snoop Dogg with Stef & Jacki. Hilarious. 5/29: Nature on Tap at the Nature Museum. Excited! 5/25-5/27: Weekend up at the Chalet. My favorite. Just a short while longer until the Liebls welcome baby #2 to the world! Only about 11 more weeks until Rob's bro ties the knot! 13 more weeks until Hunky Dory! 16 more until Camp Wandawega! Just 166 more days until Rob and I make it official! It's going by so quickly! 2012 is great.

fun weekend!

I'm still enjoying the freedom I have from being done with Grad School. This weekend I was determined to try some new things and not waste any time. On Friday, I planned a fun outing to the northside of the city to go to Big Joe's for turtle races. The MC was SO loud and annoying, but the turtles were pretty adorable just sitting there on the table not really moving. Such a funny race to watch. Caitlin's turtle came in 2nd on one of the races though! Afterwards we went to Hamburger Mary's for some awesome desserts. Cait got smores that you cook at your table and Rob and I split deep fried twinkies. Delic! On Saturday we went to the Brookfield Zoo to celebrate my Dad's birthday and the Shaklees came along. The rain held off and were were able to enjoy the day. I've never gone that late in the afternoon - we found that the animals were very different that time of day. We got to see the kangaroos having some snacks, the wild dogs running around, the okapi playing and coming really close to check us out and the grizzly bear was finally moving again. I had so much fun seeing Meg, Bella, Ryan and Emi! Always a treat! After the zoo we took my parents to The Bohemian Crystal, a Czech restaurant in Westmont. I haven't been there in about 6 years and Rob and I were both so excited for some tasty food. They give you soooo much food! We were so full afterwards! It was a great day to help my dad celebrate! On Sunday Rob and I explored our neighborhood and checked out some places we hadn't been before before I went to my service trip reunion. I had such a good time reuniting with my kids and getting back into that mindset. I was so inspired and reinvigorated by visiting with them and hearing the stories of the other groups. I'm so grateful for so much free time and I hope I can continue to plan fun outings on the weekends throughout the spring!