An Easy but Productive Weekend

Monday again? Ugh.

I want more of this weekend.

To be honest we didn't do much. We watched baseball and football all weekend.

I'm not exaggerating.

A couple news segments and a few Flipping Boston episodes happened, but for the most part in the Fall we only have sports on the TV. 

That's a lot of cheers, jeers and beers, folks!

But I was productive amid the games.

Do you have an At Home To-Do List?

I've had one in my head for quite some time and never really had time to address these items.

Well, Sunday was the day. Thank goodness.

I feel so much better knowing that my drawers and closet are organized.

I also went to Mass, made breakfast, washed my make-up brushes and did the laundry - all before noon!

Even my make-up and beauty product samples went from this:

To this:

So much better.

Diane from A Spot of Whimsy inspired me to do that, so thanks to Diane!

Yay for de-cluttering!

We also did some wedding stuff, but that's another post for another day...

...meaning Wednesday. I'll post about it Wednesday. ;)

How was your weekend?

[Linking up with Sami, Leeann and Meg :)]

Weekend Update

Oh weekend recaps, why have I neglected thee?!?! Here are a few photos about the past two weekends: Two weekends ago we were so excited to have our first weekend without plans since June. I had high hopes of lounging and generally doing nothing. However, the Friday of said lounge-fest we were surprised with free tickets to the Michigan State/Notre Dame game in Southbend.  Um, hi. Free tickets? DONE!  So we put away our sweatpants and instead sported our green and white! Luckily we had some friends with tailgates. Yeah, it was really a fantastic situation. I learned a new game involving a hammer and a stump with nails. I also learned a little Boones Farm game. It was enlightening.

Even though MSU lost we had a great time!

I may not be a ND fan, but let me tell you: I kind of love that campus. It's gorgeous. And the people are friendly! 

Beautiful, right? Last week was insanely busy, too. It was Social Media Week and I went to four sessions and two happy hours. All free! I also had some other fun things going on last week. I didn't learn much from the SMW sessions, but a couple of them were decent. One at least had a great view from the 82nd floor of the Sears Tower!

Needless to say, by the time the weekend hit I was spent. Friday night we went out for dinner, and besides that, wedding planning, Mass and a couple of errands, we did not do much! Yay for lounging!

OK I did one thing: I saw Giuliana Rancic!

I volunteered for Bright Pink's event called FabFest on Sunday morning, co-hosted by Giuliana.

It was a great event!

{view of my walk to the event at 7am Sunday morning}

The rest of the day was full of lounging, yelling at the Steelers and eating some delicious Skinny Taste BBQ that Andrew made!

Teddy had a good day, too:

How was your weekend?

[Linking up with Sami, Leeann and Meg :)]

Weekend Update - and a Giveaway!

[Linking up with Sami, Leeann and Meg :)] Another great weekend is in the books!
Friday Andrew and I just chilled and ate ice cream from Cone. It was lovely! Saturday I went for a run and then got ready for Diane's Bachelorette! We rented out Pearl's Nails on Halsted and brought in champs and cupcakes. It was the perfect start to the evening and the folks at Pearl's were amazing hosts.

After nails we popped by the local firehouse. They sure did enjoy our company.  Let's just say that they have clearly entertained bachelorettes before. It was beyond awesome. Then it was off to the bars! We went to Kirkwood's, John Barleycorn (in River North), and Untitled.  So much dancing, so many laughs, SO much booze! So.Much.Fun.  I actually didn't really want the night to end! Today we met up with my friend from high school for brunch at Grange Hall Burger Bar. I love catching up with her when she's in town! Other than that delicious meal, today has been relaxing and fun with grocery shopping, Mass, and eating Andrew's ridiculously amazing grilled chicken for dinner. Yum. OK on to the giveaway! Honestly it's been two weeks since the BlogHer Conference. It's about time I blog about it, right? That morning I ran the Big10k, had a scrumptious breakfast at Eleven City Diner, power napped, and literally ran to the conference. My friend Kelsey had an extra pass and I wanted to partake! It was a shame I couldn't go on Friday but I was finishing up a South By Southwest proposal and missed everything, and obviously the race kept me from the morning sessions.  Oh well, I definitely made the most of it!

I went to two sessions led by bloggers and they were pretty decent, but the best part of this massive conference was the expo! Oh my free goodness was it awesome! I got sample after sample and free wine after free wine. Kelsey and I had a fantastic time! Unfortunately I don't remember too many specifics. I should have written this post two weeks ago. Sigh. Aside from the Turning Leaf Wine, delicious Wild Ophelia chocolate, and cool products (like the Shark! I want one!), there were so many photo ops! 

Snickers had a clever photo booth and gave me so many bags of Snickers. The Gorton's booth was hilarious because I got to wear the garb! The Samsung display was incredibly cool, too. I hammed it up by dance-walking for four seconds and they combined all of the movements into one photo. I was impressed! I received quite a bit of swag, too. In fact, I received a TON of swag.

And, lucky for you, I'm giving some of it away!! (What? I want some of it, too!)

It's full of treats, face wash and lotion, two bottles of Garnier BB Cream, some sort of energy drink packets, Moo cards, two packs of Im Press nails, coffee, mouth wash, Windex Touch Up, and a bottle of pretty Essie polish! Want it? You have until Wednesday night to enter! I'll announce on Little Bit of Sass Thursday! Please use the Rafflecopter below. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Weekend Update

{Linking up with Sami, Leeann, and Meg!}
Linking up with the ladies again this week!

Friday night was very chill: Daniela stopped by and we just hung out. Low-key Fridays are the best kind of Fridays.

Saturday I went for a lovely run to Buckingham Fountain and back.

Chicago really is the best backdrop for a run. 

The rest of the day I fiddled with the wedding website and then we were off to Ribfest and our friends' housewarming party! The party was so much fun, but Ribfest?

That's a lot of people, folks. Ick.

It smelled amazing, though.

We played many college games at the party. Card games are still lethal and flip cup is like riding a bike.

I think those two sentences just made me sound old and lame.

Oh well. 

Sunday I went to brunch and passed Holy Name Cathedral on my way to Bloomingdale's for more Nespresso! 

I was planning on Mass at our church later in the afternoon, but I love checking out different churches and I am so glad that I did!

So beautiful!

The rest of the day I worked on the wedding website some more. I really enjoy "designing" it on my own in Blogger rather than through the knot or another site. Much more freedom, but also much more frustration. I'll be sure to share the link during a Wedding Wednesday post in the near future!

Looking forward to a (hopefully) quick week: we're heading to New Orleans on Saturday!!!!!!

How was your weekend? Did you check out any festivals?

Weekend Update

{Linking up with Sami, Leeann, and Meg!}

How is the weekend over already?

First of all, I don't think enough people know about Old Navy's sale:
40% off all active wear online and free shipping over $50!

I stocked up last night.
No, I shouldn't spend money on myself, but considering how I have worn the same thing over and over and over again for years...it was time.

{via}

Happy shopping!

Now for the rest of the weekend: it was really low-key.
I was pretty productive, but I spent most of it indoors and on the couch.

Friday night I drank beer while chatting with Cappello, one of my BFFs, for two hours over the phone. Who says long-distance friendships don't last? Not us! Then I lounged and caught up on TV shows.

Saturday I woke up early, went to Self Magazine's Workout in the Park (pics below), went to brunch with two sorority sisters, grocery shopped, made an AWESOME dinner for us, and lounged.
Sunday I went to Mass and lounged.

Amid my lounging I also started a new book, created an inspiration sheet of floral decor to send potential florists (I feel like giving them visuals will help since I won't meet them in person), worked on invitations for Callie's shower, practiced calligraphy, and practiced Spanish on Rosetta Stone.

So yes, lots of couch time, but I wasn't completely worthless!

The workout in the park was pretty cool. It was about a 2-mile walk from home, so I decided to walk since it was nice outside. The event was from 11-3, which I thought was a ton of time, but when I left around 1:00 I wish I could have stayed longer! I got a free ticket thanks to Bright Pink, and had no idea what to expect since there wasn't an online schedule of events. There were three workout areas and vendors around the perimeter handing out tons of swag.

I did a CrossFit WOD, then an interesting workout called Stiletto Strength. Between tough movements during this workout I had to strut. It was weird. Then I went to get a free mini-facial by Garnier, and while I was in the super long line I did a kickboxing workout.

I missed out on the yoga/pilates and other cool workouts. It was a fun experience and definitely something that I would enjoy with a small group of girlfriends.

The only thing that really got to me was how many of the instructors kept telling us how sexy we are and how sexy we can look while working out. Sorry, but being sexy is the last thing I think about while I workout. Strutting definitely isn't in my regimen, either.

Whatever, it was fun, and I had a fantastic time with my sorority sisters afterward at Eleven City Diner for brunch! YUM!

How was your weekend?

Weekend Update!

{Linking up with Sami, Leeann, and Meg!}
This weekend was fantastic!

Friday started by seeing Gatsby with the book club. We reread the book and saw the film together. We all loved it! I definitely want to see it again and I plan to buy it!

I got a drink for the movie, too! I love theaters with bars. Such a great idea!
Chicago readers: if you go to the AMC River East 21 on Illinois, their bar charges the same amount for well/rail liquor as they do top shelf liquor. Just an FYI. :)

And OK, I'm going to go out on a limb here. I never thought Leo was unattractive, but I never really got why girls went so gaga over him...until now. Gatsby was an awesome character for him. 

I think Leo is like George Clooney and wine: gets better with age.

Saturday morning I woke up for CrossFit! It was a great workout. The people are so supportive and friendly!

Afterward, Andrew and I went to Road Runner Sports so I could get new workout shoes through their Shoe Dog Program.

You guys. This was incredible. They tested everything about me, from the simple measurements to stride and flexibility, arches, balance, etc. They were looking at me for about 10 minutes! They made custom insoles that were molded to my feet, too. It was so cool! 

I found the perfect shoes!

The saleslady said this combo is the "perfect storm": custom insoles, the perfect fit of shoe, and their brand of Drymax Thin Cushion socks. I was a little skeptical, but my 8-ish mile run today sold me.

Plus, had I not liked any of it today on my run (or up to 30 days from now), I could return anything! I also became a VIP member and saved some money on my purchase!

Thanks to this investment, we stayed in on Saturday night. It was amazing just laying around, eating a lovely dinner, and watching TV.

Sunday was another nice day. We had fun chatting with our moms in the morning and Andrew made a delicious breakfast. Like I wrote above, I also went on a pleasant run around the city in my new kicks!

Teddy helped me stretch first.

Then I ran down to Adler Planetarium. It was so pretty outside!

When I got home, however, I noticed that the tickle in my throat from earlier in the day was officially hurting. Even with Claritin, cough drops, tons of water, and a quick nap, I was done for the day. Very disappointing. 

Oh well, in all is was a great weekend!

How was yours? Did you see Gatsby? What did you think?