My kind of town...

Chicago is. We went for a long weekend in July with our friends Javier, Cheri, Scott & Robin and had a blast. It was John's first trip to Chicago and I hadn't been in over 15 years. The trip was planned by Washburn Alumni, but it was very much a do your own thing kind of trip.


We started off with a Chicago architectural boat tour and I highly recommend it! That night we went to a great cocktail party hosted by Washburn for us and Chicago alums. We drank all of the free cocktails we could, then walked to the original Pizzeria Uno where, amazingly, our group of 7 got right in and ate ourselves silly.



The next day was spent in Wrigleyville. Drinks at a friend's apartment, Cubs game, and more drinks at Murphy's Bleachers. Again, we found ourselves happy & hungry, so we trekked all the way to a Costa Rican restaurant we'd heard of, Irazu in Bucktown.


Saturday was spent negotiating Michigan Ave. where Transformers 3 was filming. We had breakfast at a place we'd spotted the day before, e.leaven, delicous! We made it through the crowds and did some shopping. We ended up on the 96th floor of the Hancock Center for two and a half hours drinking the most delicious mojitos we'd ever had. Then we hit Tiffany's where Cheri did some major damage and John bought me the sweetest pair of earrings. I've decided that we should always have cocktails before shopping for jewelry! Again, happy & hungry, I dragged us several blocks to get some food at Portillo's.
That night we went out for Italian at a place Cheri's friend had recommended, Rosebud on Rush. We went for a long walk afterwards and ended up stopping at Billy Goat Tavern to pick up a cheeseburger for Robin. (I think she and Scott were suffering from too much fun)




Sunday, we were a little lazy and walked to Millenium Park and grabbed some breakfast on the way. We'd flown out but were taking the train back, so we ordered pizza from Gino's East to take on the train with us. I wanted Lou Malnati's but was talked out of it. I really didn't care for Gino's East, especially when compared to the Pizzeria Uno from Friday night. Next time, it's Lou Malnati's!


It was our first time on Amtrak and we loved it! (Except for Cheri, I don't think she liked anything that day) But John, Javier and I would definitely do it again! It was a long trip, but time flew and we spent most of our time playing cards in the observation car.



We can't wait to go back!

JulySuperFunTimes

A belated post with July goings on. 4th of July party at Javier's house! A little rain, lots of beer & food and more fireworks than should be allowed. (Children pictured are courtesy of our friends Shayne & Autumn)






Soon after, it was time for Fiesta! We'd be on our way to Chicago a few days later, so we only had one night to hang out in North Topeka, eating tamales, drinking beer, eating tacos & tortas, drinking beer, eating enchiladas, drinking beer and drinking beer.

Kunst und Bier

Art and Beer. That pretty much sums up our weekend. It was a nice start to the summer, I can't believe it's June already. Friday night was spent with my family. Uncle Robert was in town for a golf tournament and we spent a fun evening at Mom & Dad's. Saturday morning, we got up a little early and hosted a breakfast for friends. Cheri brought the champagne! After a few cocktails, we headed over to Washburn and the Mulvane Mountain Plains Art Fair. This is one of my favorite events in Topeka. We always see fantastic pieces in all price ranges. Several pieces in our home are from past years. This year we came home with two Asian prints for our upcoming master bedroom makeover, a few pieces of jewelry and two prints from an artist I've admired for a while. Check out her etsy store, Rural Pearl.



The first weekend of June also means it's time for the German Fest! Javier and Cheri came over & we left for North Topeka about noon and got in line for lunch. Sauerbraten, bierocks, German potato salad, etc. The line was a little long but moved quickly and we were happy to buy a couple cold beers for appetizers. Afterwards we found a shady spot in the biergarten and settled in for a couple of hours. We remarked that we hadn't run into any friends and then we saw the Ybarra family. John Ybarra brought a pitcher over to our table and we helped him drink it. I discovered that mixing a little frozen margarita into my beer was delicious! It reminded me of one of my favorite summer drinks, wheat beer & lemonade.
John even found time to fit in nine holes late afternoon!

Martin

We went to Kansas City last weekend to hang out with John's brother Tim and his wife Jennifer. We had tickets to see Martin Sexton in concert at Crosstown Station. I've been listening to Martin Sexton since my days at KSYM 90.1 in San Antonio. My station manager and friend, John O'Rourke, handed me a cd and told me it would be good for my folk show. It was and I fell in love with the sound. I've heard for years that he is fantastic live. And I think he tours often. But in all this time, I've never seen him perform. It's been a mix of timing and timidity. I think when you've got a short list of people you just have to see live...you don't want to be disappointed.
In no way was I disappointed. This was easily one of the best concerts I have ever been to.

We started off the night with a few drinks on Tim & Jennifer's patio. Then moved downtown for some beer & apps. When we headed to Crosstown Station, we found out the concert was sold out. And apparently, Martin got off his bus and gave the fans looking for tickets an impromptu concert. None of us had been to Crosstown Station and it's a great bar for live music. We got pretty close to the stage and settled in for some music. He has an amazing voice and blew us away from the start. When he went into "Helter Skelter", I lost it. We all just had the best time. I can't wait to see him again.

Aha.

Yes, it is me. I'm still alive and well.

I just gave up blogging. I felt self-induced pressure to post and thought my little goings on weren't interesting enough. And really, wonderful things went on in the months and months since I last posted. We went to Vegas in November with our friends Corrie & Chad. We had much fun in the house with our roommate and friend Javier. Christmas was joyous and we had my family over all day for food, gifts, naps, etc.

But it was winter and I don't function well in winter, particularly this long, cold winter. And I began to wonder what the purpose of this blogging was. What did I want to say, to share? We have no children to post cute & adorable pictures of, and yes, that is a little "poor me". We have a full life filled with friends & family. And so many things to be grateful for.

So all of this to say...I'm not sure what the future holds for this particular blog. I enjoy writing a bit and I would like to share pictures and use this as a scrapbook of sorts. And honestly, I may turn this into a little self-improvement blog, hold myself accountable. There are so many things I'd like to do for me. Most importantly, I want to be healthy & active and take care of myself. Then there are little things like meditation, learning Spanish, improving my photography skills, becoming more organized. Things like that. And then I'm not so sure I want to share that stuff with you people.

It is May. There's a bright, big, beautiful world out there. Let's make the most of it.

Aunt Carrie

That's me! While John was busy "working" at the Arkansas Heritage & Blues Festival, I made my way to Houston to see my friend Corrie and her children. Corrie's husband Chad was working the Festival with John, so Corrie and I had a little girls' weekend.

Corrie and Chad have been blessed with two darling children and I have loved getting to know them and watch them grow up. Unfortunately, we only get to see them once a year or so, but we do our best to make sure they remember their Aunt Carrie and Uncle John. And I love being called Aunt Carrie! Love it. Every time Carson said it, my heart melted just a little more. And I feel like we are carrying on a tradition. Corrie's father grew up with my father and are still the best of friends. I grew up calling Corrie's parents Aunt and Uncle. I think I was ten years old before I realized that we are not actually related.

Corrie and I shopped a little, drank a little, ate very well and had a wonderful time hanging out with Carson and Carly!

Javier!

Javier is back. After 7 long months, he is back in Kansas. Everything has been approved, he's just waiting on the final paperwork. And he's happy to be back at work.

We took a small group and a limo to pick him up from the airport. Brenda, Cheri and Eileen joined us and we started celebrating on the way there. He was surprised to see the limo and I think he got a little teary. We opened the champagne and celebrated all the way home. I was glad I'd made the baked ziti the night before because all that celebrating was getting to me.

Because his house is being rented out, he's bunking with us for awhile. He settled in his room and waited the week before he could start work. He was back in time for Robin & Scott's wedding on Sept. 26th and we all had such a great time at the reception.

On the 2nd, we threw a little party and we had a nice turnout of folks, all thrilled to have him back in Topeka. We stayed up way too late, but the guys made it to the stadium just in time to grab our spot for Washburn football.

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. We love having him back and truly enjoy living with him. I hope he feels at home!