Miami pictures coming soon!

I'm hoping to post pictures from Miami soon. I've been super busy this last month with applying for jobs, bridal showers, working long hours, and a quick weekend trip to Florida!! I announced to my work that I will be leaving and it feels so good. We will be moving back to Seattle at the beginning of the year! I love Chicago, but it will be nice to be closer to family again!

My cousin, Katy's bridal shower

We drove from Chicago, to Wilmette, on a sunny Saturday afternoon to celebrate Katy's bridal shower.To add to this perfect fall day.......the leaves were changing and the mums were in full bloom! The Mother of the Groom's friends, the Mauies were the hostesses of this lovely party. They greeted us with cute cupcakes with Ks and Rs and St. Louis bacon.  (This is sugar glazed bacon, which is amazing!)

 The mother of the bride, the bride to be and the mother of groom had a few minutes for pictures before the rest of the guests arrived. Katy's nephew, baby Henry was a cute addition too.

 We had a delicious lunch of cheese souffle, fruit, sausages, cinnamon rolls and great company. After lunch, we had a fun question and answer video with the groom that I filmed and edited! (Please excuse some of the background noise. This was my first iMovie!)

Baby Henry tried to help with unwrapping the presents. I gave Katy fine china tea cups and saucers from her Bloomingdale's gift registry. Liz, Katy's family friend, made her a gorgeous fall table runner. Katy got a onion soup family recipe from her soon-to-be mother-in-law and a pot to cook the recipe in!

The groom arrived when the last of the presents were being unwrapped.  Baby Henry loves his Uncle Rob!

 I love making rehearsal bouquets out of the ribbons and wrapping paper, just look how this one turned out!

On our drive home from Wilmette, we stopped at Plaza del Lago to look at a few china patterns, picked up fresh pasta, and took pictures in front of the Bahai Temple!

[I had to look it up "Bahá'í literature directs that a House of Worship should be built in each city and town, and emphasizes that its doors must be open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction. The Bahá'í laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship must be a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions."]

Girl & the Goat!

Mr. F and I went to one of our most anticipated restaurants in Chicago (after Alinea and Charlie Trotter's) on Thursday. Girl and the Goat did not disappoint us!

Source: girlandthegoat.com via Marie on Pinterest

I've had three weeks of stressful 10-12 hour work days and we decided to take advantage of this lovely restaurant when we saw a random reservation, within normal dinner hours, pop up on Open Table.Mr. F met me at the Blue Line L stop and we walked to the West Loop to Randolph Street. We got there 30 minutes early so we sat at the bar and got fancy cocktails.  I love the goat emblem on the menu and napkin rings! We were seated at a common table next to the kitchen. It was fascinating to watch the chefs, the amazing plating and all of the fast moving servers!We enjoyed watching the wood burning oven too. For an appetizer, we had the goat empanadas.They were stunning to look at but we wished they were a little spicier. 

Our second dish was the escargot ravioli. Mr. F didn't like the graininess of the snails. However, our scallops were delicious and beautifully presented.

Our favorite dish of all was the pig face with a fried egg on top.The meal did not need redeeming but this course blew us away. It was like the most delectable bacon breakfast, followed by a parsnip cheesecake with pears!This was not only stunningly presented but it was phenomenal to eat, too!

Source: girlandthegoat.com via Mad on Pinterest

If you like trendy restaurants with celebrity chefs, this restaurant is right up your alley. I'm so glad we went and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Chicago!!

Oh the places you'll go!

I'm very excited. On Friday, I received a promotion that was a long time coming. It was announced today at work and met with wide approval. Now I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina for the night and day. Wow! Sometimes I need to remind myself of the wise words of Dr. Seuss. This was actually our Kappa rush slogan my senior year of college.

Source: Uploaded by user via Tieks on Pinterest

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” 

“And when you're alone there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants
There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.” 

“Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. Oh! The places you'll go!” 

“Out there things can happen, and frequently do,
To people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don't worry, don't stew.
Just go right along, you'll start happening too!” 
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Lazy last weekend

I cannot believe it's almost the weekend again! Last Friday, I had a continuing education course at McDonald's Hamburger University in Oak Brook. My cute pregnant coworker and I posed with the fall colors behind us during our lunch break. Over the weekend, Mr F and I went to brunch, read a lot and had a long relaxing weekend. 

The kitties enjoyed the laid back weekend too.