Our Weekend - Chicago Trip!

Oh Chicago, we love you.

This weekend Nick and I took a quick getaway to Chicago!  We hadn't been there in about a year and decided a weekend away was in order.

Our flight was delayed on Friday due to this latest storm...  

While we were waiting (and watching the snowplows hard at work) we enjoyed some beverages and food in the airport bar..

Saturday, we started off the day by going to one of my FAVORITE breakfast places.  I love love love breakfast.  It's seriously my favorite meal of the day.  We stumbled across this restaurant in Las Vegas last year and when I saw they had a Chicago location, we had to go!

Nick got a bloody mary and I got a spiked hot chocolate!!  Then we got to the main event!  I had a smoked salmon scrambler and Nick had eggs, bacon and a Snickers pancake!  It looked delicious!!

After breakfast we just spent time walking around and dropping into the shops on Michigan Ave.

We happened to stumble across Subway's new adventure?



Astrology Readings???

We also stopped into another bar for some beverages...

Note the Gap bag in the background...

Saturday night we met up with some friends for dinner and then spent the night out in the Wicker Park neighborhood.  It was a great time!

Sunday we got up and took the L back to the airport for our flight back to MN. 

It was a quick getaway - but very needed!!

I hope you all had fabulous weekends!!

Friday's Letters

Dear Winter -

 I am over you.  Seriously, seriously over you.  I'm tired of the cold and the snow and the terrible driving.  We got yet another storm this week and they are calling for one next week as well.  Please just go away.  I really want it to be flip flop season.

Dear Peanut Butter (veggie) Burger I ate last night -

You were amazing.  Seriously amazing.

You had peanut butter, a bit of mayo, fried onion straws and pepperjack cheese.  I know you were so unhealthy - but so delicious!  Nick had the 'real meat' version, which also included bacon, he agreed it was fabulous!

Although - we were both put into immediate food coma's... yikes!

Dear Bridesmaids Movie - 

Ever since a co-worker made a reference to you this week I can't stop quoting you.  I've even listened to the soundtrack on repeat all day.  It doesn't hurt that you take place in 2 of my favorite cities.  Milwaukee & Chicago..  Ahh.. love.

Dear Milwaukee - 

I miss you.  I miss you a lot.  It's been 2 1/2 years since I lived in 'the state of Milwaukee.  When I was talking to the above mentioned co-worker about the movie, he asked me if I enjoyed Milwaukee.  This led to me giving a very long explanation of all the reasons I love Milwaukee.  It ended with him telling me that if my current job doesn't pan out - I should really look into being an 'ambassador for the city of Milwaukee'.  A girl can dream!  :-)

It Nick and I were just chatting this week about how we wish it was summer in 'the state' and we could go and patio drink somewhere ...

Dear Chicago - 

I'm so excited to see you this weekend.  It has been far too long.Hopefully our flight isn't cancelled (please refer to the previously mentioned snowstorm).  I have big plans to eat brunch at one of my fav spots and to imbibe in some adult beverages with some good friends.  

No matter how many times I visit, I am always looking forward to the next trip.

In the words of Will Smith "We all know Chi town's got it goin' on"....

First Things First! Link Up!

 

 Today I'm Linking up with Halie @ Penguins, Pasta & Polka Dots to share my 'firsts' 

 First thing I do at the gym 

I've recently gotten back into the gym habit.  I used to be so dedicated, then work/grad school/wedding planning overtook my life and I fell out of my routine.  Now that I'm getting back into the habit - I would have to say the treadmill is my first stop.  I usually try to get in a good run and then decide what I want to do next.  If I time it right, I can usually get my run in and then drop into one of the Yoga classes for a cool down.

(note - I do not look as good as any of these people when I'm actually working out)  :-)

 First Date with Current Significant Other

Technically Nick & I met online - even though we'd gone to college together and had some friends/rec sports league in common.  Our first date was April 3, 2009 at Bar Louie in downtown Milwaukee.  We met up for 'a drink' and ended up staying for four hours!!  

First email address

hmmm...  I think I had many, many email addresses - I believe the first one was erin_britney@hotmail.com - oh yes - I was a huge Britney fan  (it's Britney bitch...)

Remember her back then? 

Before this...

Before this loser...

Before this unfortunate incident...

So glad to have you back Brit Brit.... 

Let's dance until the world ends..

Weekend Shenanigans

Hello there!  

I'm linking up again to share my weekend Shenanigans

Thursday

We went and saw Skyfall at the cheapie theater by our house.  I'd never seen a James Bond movie before (to my knowledge) and I actually really liked it!

I think living a life like that would be so fascinating!  Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a secret agent running around with a hidden gun looking for the 'bad guys'.  

Friday

We set out in search of a good Lenten fish fry.  Being from Wisconsin, you could literally go to any bar/restaurant/church and find an awesome Friday fish fry...  This has been a struggle for us since we moved to Minnesota.  We ended up at a bar near our house...  It was less than appetizing.  We won't be going back.

However....

We had the 'pleasure' of being seated next to 2 interesting groups.  One was one of the most dysfunctional families I've seen in awhile.  It was a mom, dad and their teenage son.  The mom spent the whole time yelling at the dad about the bill/what he did with his wallet/how many glasses of wine she wanted to have.  The son spent the whole time yellling at the mom about how he was apparently having digestive issues (he was quite graphic, I'm censoring this post) and that she needed to stop drinking her wine so they could leave...  and the dad just sat there and took it - without really putting up much of a fight..

It was quite ridiculous.

After they left - this couple sat down at the table they had been at.

They did this the entire time.  I literally don't think they spoke to each other...

After dinner we decided to go back to the cheapo theater (can you tell we love this place!) and see 'This is 40'.  We had some time to kill, so we hit up a wine bar across the street first.  It was our first time going there and I think we'll probably go back.  It was super cute and cozy and we ended up scoring a seat by the fireplace (a huge perk - considering it was 1* outside!)  For some reason the pic of us didn't turn out?

Saturday

I went and got my hair cut.  I've always had fairly long hair and recently have just become sick of it.  I wanted to cut it shorter and go for a different look.  I have naturally curly hair - so going short is always risky - you don't want to end up looking like a poodle.  I had searched around for a salon that got good reviews for cutting curly hair, I went and gave it a try.  Here are the before and after pics... 

The new style is still growing on me...  I'm not sold yet..

The rest of the day Saturday was pretty relaxed.  Nick had gone and gotten a massage in the morning.  We went out to lunch at myburger and then got frozen yogurt at Yogurt Lab.  Lunch was good, however we were fearful for our lives at the yogurt place.  While we were in line to make our yummy eats, a stampede of poorly behaved children came in.  They were literally yelling/pushing/screaming to make their desserts.  It was horrible!  And to make it worse, the parents didn't say anything, didn't try to correct their behavior and didn't even apologize to the other customers that were (literally) being pushed out of the way by these kids.

I just don't understand why some parents let their children behave this way??  I understand kids will be kids and no matter how much you try to teach them good manners - sometimes they just act out - but some of these kids were probably close to 10 years old - so they should have been plenty old to understand how to wait their turn. 

After that traumatic experience we went home and spent the rest of the day chilling on the couch. 
It was glorious! 

Saturday night we checked out another local restaurant for dinner.  We'd never been here before and had heard rumors that it was a good place.  The menu was slightly upscale bar food - with a lot of local/natural ingredients.  We LOVED it!  We'll definately be back!  The food was good, there were great drink specials & the music playing in the background was fabulous! 

So it totally grossed me out that my trout came actually still looking like a trout...but once Nick cut the head off and got the 'meat' out - it was super yummy.

Sunday

More househunting.  Yuck.  We went and looked at a few loft/condo's in downtown Minneapolis.  We (think) we have decided we want to be downtown and be in a walk-able location.  This pretty much rules out any single family home - so we're now on to the mission of finding the 'perfect' condo.  We looked at 3 units in the same building - they were unique to say the least...

They were all ground level units and actually had a 'basement' level as well.  So we would have gotten a TON of sq ft - which was great.  However it wasn't overly 'usable' footage due to the industrial/loft layout.

Plus the building didn't have parking.  You had to rent out spaces in a parking ramp a few blocks down.  This is a HUGE downside - especially in the winters when its -20 and you would have to walk a few blocks to your car.  I think this is untimately the deal breaker for us..

Here are a few photos of the building..

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!!

Happy Valentine's Day!! & Link-Up

This morning Nick & I exchanged Valentine's Day cards...

His card to me.....

My card to him....

Clearly we have different opinions of this holiday..

Happy Valentine's Day to my Valentine!!!

I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day!

Ever wonder if your spouse really knows you?! Well now is the time to find out!

HOST:

The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife

CO-HOSTS:

JanLoves, The Marvelous Flight of Cara, Delightfully Dunn, From Awkward to Art,
Planned in Pencil,   Jessica Who?, Northern Belle Diaries, You and Me are We,
The Family Darr, Songbirds and Buttons, The Grace of Southern Charm, Just Simply Live,
Pretty Living PDX, The Lemonade Diaries, Life as I know it

How long have you been married?

Nick: almost 2 months

Erin:  almost 2 months

Where was your first date?

Nick: Bar Louie Downtown Milwaukee

Erin:  Bar Louie Downtown Milwaukee

Where was your first kiss?

Nick: Parking lot of my apartment

Erin:  In the parking lot outside of Nick’s apartment

Who first said, "I love you"?

Nick: Erin

Erin:  me

What were your wedding colors?

Nick: Chanukah blue & silver

Erin:  Royal blue & Silver

Who is her celebrity crush?

Nick: ?

Erin:  Probably Brian Williams

If she was ordering drinks for both of you what would you each get?

Nick: Leinies for me and a cider for her

Erin:  Probably a Miller Lite for Nick & a UV Cake & Pineapple for me

What is the best meal she has ever cooked you?

Nick: She doesn’t cook – although she does make good omelets

Erin:  I don’t cook

What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you?

Nick: She doesn’t really cook

Erin:  I don’t cook

What would she say is your most annoying habit?

Nick: shaking the box of Goldfish crackers when I eat them

Erin:  He comes home from work and IMMEDIATELY goes for this giant box of Goldfish crackers,  shaking it LOUDLY between each handful….drives.me.crazy!!!!!!

What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed?

Nick: reads

Erin:  reads

What's her blog's name?!

Nick: no idea

Erin:  the erin episodes