Back from Chicago!

Okay, has this weather in the Northeast been amazing or what?  Our weekend in Chicago was awesome, and the weather only made it better…it ended up being warmer than what we anticipated, so shorts and skirts would have been the right attire, but we made it through. Who would ever think we'd have to have air-conditioning in March?  The more important thing was spending time with new baby Jameson and his parents. It was really, really nice to be able to spend some uninterrupted time with them and get all the baby gazing we could get in over three days.

And I got to celebrate my birthday by having a St. Patrick’s day Rueben and a beer at Shannon’s Pub. My family remembered me with some wonderful gifts:

                                                        A silver butterfly bracelet from Fossil  
                                                                             

A set of straws from Stawesome

A ceramic bread basket from Eucalyptus

And I remembered myself with a sweet little vintage find from a Glen Ellyn re-sale shop. Isn't this the cutest crystal pin ever?  I love dead women's jewelry so much:

 

We did some other thrifting, too. And made a stop on the way home for a very special purchase which I'll share in another post.

And, another best Chicago area discovery? Portillo's chopped salad...which I immediately reproduced when we got home  (even though I left THREE jars of their house dressing back in Chicago land!) via a copycat recipe online. Now I crave this salad every day and I can't wait to make it for family here.

                                                               Chopped Salad from Portillos

So we are back and to be honest, this week is absolutely crazy at work. When I take a few days off, it means all the more work when I come back. So, while my daytime spare moments are spent dreaming of sewing, knitting, camper, gardening and house projects...

my evening spare moments this week are spent in a stupor in front of the television! 

I have so many projects in mind just to catch up with this incredible weather we are having:

Shave my legs,

Do some faux tan,

Whip up a new outfit to wear with the freshly shaved and faux tanned bare legs….

All before it turns to forty degrees again!