Hometown/Chicago weekend

We left Alexandria on Thursday morning and 12 hours later had arrived in Illinois. It actually was not nearly as bad as it could have been considering that I haven't done a road trip like that for some time. Time went by pretty quickly - we mad libbed, drove through 6 states, got one speeding ticket and arrived in Oak Brook all exhausted and stiff.

The past few days we have been trying to cram meeting/visiting with everyone in. Friday we got to go to the Cubs/White Sox game which was a ton of fun. I loved being at Wrigley Field for the first time and drinking beers in the sun. That night we went over to Amir's to have sushi and wine with him and his sweet wife and meet their little daughter Jannah. I had almost forgotten how much I love Chicago and what a beautiful city it is. Lake Michigan was sparkling, people were all over the streets in their summer wear and roads were shut down due to the NATO meeting so we snaked our way through the city to head back to the burbs. 

Last night I got to meet the sister, her husband and two of their three girls. Everyone was very nice and it was good to get to know them a bit before the big day.

If today were a movie title it would be called "Meet the Parents". Stay tuned...it should be a very interesting evening this beautiful summer-like Sunday in the midwest.

A Happy Girl

Things have been pretty blissful - I cannot tell a lie. I am so happy. Life just took a beautiful and unexpected spin and all of the sudden I am thinking about staying in one place - and want to. We have started the emotional roller coaster of house hunting and it is fun and frustrating and exciting all at once. The idea of settling into one place and having all of my belongings under one single roof as opposed to spread out pretty much all over Maryland - HUGE thank you to Kara, Brian, Dad, Joanne, Mom, Kevin, Chrissy, Willie, Andrew - for letting me store and/or set up shop in their homes.

Last weekend we received some unexpected news about Andrew's current contract and all of the sudden it was as if school was out for the summer. What are two currently unemployed kids in love to do with the gift of time that they now have? First, wine tasting of course! And so we hit a few wineries in Virginia on our way to the Shenandoah Valley to spend the weekend at Bubi's. We arrived a bit sleepy and wine-y :) I love my grandma and getting to spend an extended period of time with her was the best! She has great advice about relationships and compromise and I was thankful that her and Andrew were able to get to know each other better. Saturday we went out for a Mother's Day breakfast and then ran a few errands before Andrew and I hit the Bell Grove Plantation's 17th annual beer festival which we plan to make a tradition. It was the perfect day for it with the sun beating down, a real live 70s band and drink tickets. That night after a much needed nap, I made my crab soup and we all sat down for dinner. I was sad to leave our little oasis and Bubi come Sunday morning.