Chicago, I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU!!!

So for the last year we have been living in the South. Not the deep south or the dirty south, just kinda South-ish. Definitely more South-ish than I am used to, that is for sure. We have something here called snow days. Now, if you are from Chicago you have no stinkin' clue what a snow day is. You might have heard of such a glorious occurrence, but you have certainly never experienced it. A snow day is a day when it snows more than an inch, so you don't have to do anything. You don't have to work. You don't have to check your mail-- 'cause guess what, the postman ain't working either. You just do nothing. Since experiencing this phenomena, I have been considering living in a more South-ish place. I think this is all a part of Rory's master plan. You see, Rory hates the winter and would much prefer living somewhere South-ish. Despite all of his brainwashing, today i was reminded way I would rather live in a world with no snow days:

Best. City. Ever.

Palmer House Lobby

(I went to Prom here)

Cloudgate (aka the bean)

Staircase in the Rookery

(almost every building has incredible architectural features)

Sears Tower

{you will always be the tallest building in our heart}

Jeweler's Building

there used to be a huge, car-sized elevator in the back so that the robber barons and their wives could shop for jewelry one floor at a time and not even have to leave their cars.

Art Institute of Chicago

keepin it classy

Chicago Cultural Center

Used to be the Library

View from my Grandma's apartment

Dying of the Chicago River for St. Patrick's Day

{not photo-shopped!}

DIY Madness

As of late we have become quite the diy-ers. The school year's coming to a close and I have little bit of creativity left in me to spruce up the house. And of course, Rory's manliness is always helpful:)

First, we took this old barn door we found in Lancaster and turned it into a coffee table. We still have to put the hardware on it, but we love the weathered look.


Then I sewed some pillows to brighten up our dark sofa. Every month we get the pottery barn catalog and I just drool over it. But I know I could never convince Rory to spend $40 on a pillow. So, I learned how to sew. Here's a pretty good tutorial for creating your own Pottery Barn pillows.


Next we decided to re-upholster our chairs. Previous to their extreme makeover these babies were sporting green crushed velvet and crocheted heart seats. They were also about as comfortable as rocks. So we bought some chair pads and went to work.

First we removed all the staples/tacks holding in the fabric.
Then we cut the chair pads to fit our seats.
We used spray adhesive to adhere the chair pad foam to the seat. Then we stapled on a layer of batting, followed by our fabric.
Ta-da! The final product.

Genes

My mother has some amazing gene that allows her to never gain a pound. The woman has weighed the same since baby 1, and that was 24 years ago. The most miraculous thing about this gene is that my mom NEVER works out. She just automatically looks awesome everyday of her life. Oh, and on top of that she eats tons of chocolate and NADA. Not a pound. Well, I was lucky enough to inherit this gene until yesterday. When it decided to fail terribly. Unfortunately, the constant chocolate-crave gene, which I also inherited from her, has not failed terribly. So I am stuck with a J. Lo booty and an unstoppable craving for chocolate. What's a girl to do? If you have any bright ideas let me know, I'll be eating my chocolate.

As heard in room 205

Today my culture class presented their heritage projects. We have literally spent weeks researching, summarizing, conferencing and creating glogs on a country. This was the culminating event. Students brought in authentic foods, prepared five minute presentations, and invited the principal. I was super excited for my kiddos to strut their stuff. Well, let me tell you, those kiddos did me right proud. That is until a boy we'll call Cole presented. Cole spent an extensive amount of time researching India. I read his paper, and it was spot on. I'm not really sure what happened when it went from paper to his mouth, but it came out something like this: "In India everybody's like the people in Senegal. They are all Christian and they eat microwave pizza. And that's pretty much it." OMG. Try smoothing that one over.

Latest Obsessions.

1. Zumba

Zumba is like a Spanish teacher's dream. Crazy good Spanish music mixed with cha-cha, salsa and reggaeton. Need I say more? I shake my groove thing in the back row laughing at how awesome we all look. I share the last row glory with one other woman; her name is Gloria and she's 76. Gloria has put me to shame every class so far. Her hips don't lie.

2. Issac's

Greek food reminds me of weekends spent in Greektown in Chicago with the fam. The staff would have to push two or three tables just to accommodate our crew. We would then spent the next three hours talking, laughing and eating the most delicious and decadent food known to mankind: saganaki, dolmades, lamb, orzo, tzatziki, falfal, baba ganoush and baklava. Issac's in Roanoke brought back those feelings of pure euphoria. Don't skip the white chocolate bread pudding.

3. Motown

Can you think of something better to listen to while cooking dinner or getting ready in the morning? If you unfamiliar with this fabulous genre, try The Lion Sleeps Tonight by the Tokens. It'll put a smile on your face faster than you can say "mbube"