Chicago!

I got to spend a week in my old city, Chicago, helping out with my new nephew! It was wonderful being able to help care for this adorable little boy.

Isn’t he the most precious thing you’ve ever seen?

While I was there, I also got to hang out with my young, cool, urban friends, L and K. L just got back from a trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley while K had just gotten back from a fabulous trip to Paris. So we met at their new favorite spot, P Diddy’s (aka Taverna 750) for dinner, drinks, and travel stories.

The drinks at P Diddy’s come with a sidecar in a bowl of ice. Nice! L and I both got the 750 and K got a Manhattan.

It’s kind of like Italian tapas so we got to try lots of different dishes. We finished off the night with this amazing chocolate lava cake. So good!

What a wonderful week in the city. I even got to bring home a few bottles of cheap wine from Trader Joe’s.  :)

Ann's Baby Shower

My sister is having a baby (due September 1)! We are all so excited for this little bundle of joy to join us as he/she will be the first baby among my siblings. Of course we had to have a shower to celebrate. She lives in Chicago and her friend Liz had the great idea of having the shower at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Here is a picture of the invitation on my blackboard.

I thought this invitation idea was so cute, but it turned out to be a LOT of cutting. It was all worth it as I think they looked great.


The shower was on the patio of the cafe and aside from a few drops of rain before the shower started, it was a perfect day for an outdoor shower.


They are not finding out the gender (or giving any hints on names) so everything had to be gender neutral. Easy to do with a shower at the zoo.


Here are the centerpieces:

My crafty aunt made two of these adorable animal centerpieces.

My favorite part of throwing baby showers is making the diaper cake.

Shoes and onesies available at www.babiesjoy.etsy.com.


Sis and I at the shower.

Shower attendees.

Mingling.

The food included sandwiches, salads, and cookies from Panera and cupcakes from a local cupcakery. We had buckets of peanuts on the tables for people to munch on while she opened presents and gave boxes of animal crackers as favors. All in all, I would say that it was a delightful afternoon and she was adequately showered by family and friends!