august already?

Went to the lake yesterday for some fun with family. Jed and I took these pictures and I can't help but smile every time I look at them. I especially love this one, because it shows Jed's lovely smile.

I can't believe it's already the end of summer. We did get a chance to take a dip in the lake for the first time all summer (yes, way!) so Jed and I agreed we must try to go more often before the end of August. And now that it's the end of summer (somehow I always do my shopping at the end of the season...heh), I bought these awesome "mom" shorts at Target for under $5 bucks. I don't know what it is, but I somehow prefer the fit of these to the fit of those skimpy shorts sold in the "young adult" section of the store. Hope I get some wear out of them before summer officially ends.

Oh and yes, Jed and I are officially moving to Chicago next month! Thank you guys so much for writing to me and giving me so many wonderful suggestions! We found the perfect apartment not too far from Northwestern University. Yay! A little sad about moving, but I will rally my spirits and make the best of it. I'm determined to enjoy city life! And I'm so looking forward to decorating our cool new apartment!

P.S. I got my haircut and it turned out quite nice I think! I also made an incredibly awkward video to show how my hair looks in motion! :)

breakfast smoothie

Lately I've been making smoothies for breakfast. They are so simple! And they are good for you! I like to use strawberries, grapefruit, an orange and a banana most of the time. This smoothie pictured was made with strawberries (frozen, slightly thawed), blueberries, plain yogurt, honey and I think I added the juice of one orange. I use this hand blender (which is awesome). It was the perfect wedding gift J and I received from a dear friend. I highly recommend it! ;)

In other unrelated news, Jed and I are moving to Chicago in September and we are looking for a place to live. He's attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Il. Anyone familiar with the area and could recommend a safe place to live relatively close to the university? I'm excited to move, but also kind of sad to leave the place I've lived my whole life. I know it will be an adventure and I'm sure I will like it, but it will definitely be a change to move to a big city! We're planning to scout around sometime later this week. I'm hoping we can find a place to live without too much hassle!

my little weekend jaunt

{walking through the park in chicago.}

A few things I learned in Chicago this past weekend:

1. When people parallel park, they park really close to you. I mean really dang close. Thank goodness the moment you are about to give up trying, the car behind you drives off. {How did they do it?} I swear, parallel parking is a talent. Something I haven't quite perfected yet. {I hesitate to admit the fact that I haven't technically parallel parked since I was in driver's ed. That was um...8 years ago.} It's on my "things I'm determined to learn before I die," I mean, "before I turn thirty" list. Yeah.
2. People get pissed off by the dumbest things. We ended up going to this thing called Flugtag {never heard of it before, but apparently this thing is on TV and widely known - it's funky}. We were waiting in line for beer, it was a long line and we had been there for 45 minutes. Not to mention you had to fight crowds of people to actually get IN to the place where they were selling it. While we were in line, some more people came and discovered where the end of the line was at and began expressing their annoyance. One lady kept going up to the front of the line to see what was going on because she felt it wasn't moving fast enough. Another guy commented on how the line isn't moving because everyone is paying more attention to the show rather than the beer line. I felt like telling them to freakin' shut up. And the real kicker? Right before it was our turn to get beer, the cops came by and stopped all beer sales. The guy behind me wanted to start a riot. It was actually very amusing. But I have to admit, I sorta felt the same way.
3. Okay, I kinda feel dumb about this one. Someone said they wanted to go to the Hancock building, and the first thought I had wasn't that it was THE Hancock building, but rather Hancock Fabrics. Yeah I know, I'm that lame. However, I figured not long after, that it must have been some other building she was talking about, because I was not with people who appreciate fabric shopping. Not in the least bit. But it was cool going up 95 floors to look at the gorgeous view of the city. And I also admit, it was fun having drinks at The Signature Room, however overpriced they were. Plus my ears never popped.
4. I discovered I really love to walk around. My feet get tired like everyone else, but there is something about it that makes you feel more apart of the city, when you are walking around on your feet from place to place. We took the taxi a few times and since I rarely take a taxi, it was kinda fun. But I also felt that it seems kind of snooty to always take a taxi. And I thought, though there are a lot of people in the city who spend money left and right like it grows on trees, I mostly wonder if that is just a facade people put on to make themselves appear wealthy. Or perhaps I'm just a snob and think rich people suck. It could be that too. I'm not saying I couldn't live in a big city, I think it could be great, but I would definitely have to find a group of like-minded people otherwise I feel I would go completely out of my mind. Maybe I'm just a country gal. I appreciate those long country walks a little bit more these days.
5. This kind of goes along with number 4, but I hate, Really dislike, actually I despise designer clothing, bags, sunglasses, whatever. They make me want to puke. So bad. Yeah, that's all for #5. :)

Well I had a good time. I'm really hoping the next time I'm in the city I will get to go fabric shopping and see my friend Ashe again! This trip was too swift {we got there late Friday night and left Saturday evening}. But it was a nice little break. And I love experiencing new places. There is so much to do and see in Chicago. You can't just plan one or two trips. Well I'm exhausted. Have a good week, people.

Pictures from the trip found on my flickr.


{driving home saturday night. sunburned, except my face 'cause i remembered sunscreen just in time, but otherwise i'm a fried goose, and a tired goose.}

:::inspired by chicago in the '40s:::

I stumbled across these photographs by Charles Cushman and my goodness are these amazing! And in color! Can't you feel the hot sun beating down as you look at these images? I'm really taken by them. Plus you've gotta dig these awesome bathing suits. Some serious love going on over here. :)








::more images found on my flickr::

This will get me in the mood for waking up and getting on the road bright and early tomorrow; headed for Chicago! Should be fun, only now I really really want to make a vintage bathing suit.

Also, funny I didn't realize that my last post on here was my 100th. Here's to 101 blog posts! {This doesn't mean they are all well written posts by any means, but still...}