Mom's Here! & Other Things

As it is every year, December has been a busy, busy month.  Starting with multiple holiday parties the first weekend of the month and continuing through the new year, it's nothing short of a miracle that we manage to make it through the month (relatively) unscathed.  As clients want things in their homes finished up before company arrives for the holidays, blogging has taken a back seat.  Hopefully that will change in the new year, but I'm not promising anything :)  So, I just decided to do a brain dump post & hope for the best.

I've frequently mentioned how much I love my mom & how much she rocks, right?  Well anyway, I do & she does and we had a blast when she was here a couple of weeks ago.  It was an impromptu trip, but we managed to fill every last minute with things to do. 

Things like shopping downtown, Kriskindlemarkt, dinner at the Walnut Room, cleaning, decorating, cleaning & decorating outside (9 garbage bags later...thanks mom!), cooking & baking.  It was so much fun!

Next up?  Derby, bien sur!  She has been such a good girl this year, so there are a few things in her stocking.  We used this picture for our Christmas cards (which STILL HAVEN'T ARRIVED) & then I realized that I forgot to "sign" Derby's name on the card.  I feel really bad, so I may go out and buy a paw shaped stamp and stamp beside our names :/  Sorry Derb!

This is what she does when we leave - it cracks me up!  We were able to catch it on the camera before she sat down.  I wish the quality was better because I love this picture.

We've had lots of holiday parties & this one with our friends is always a favorite.  We do the secret santa thing where you can steal gifts if you don't like yours.  The only rule is that the item you bring must be in your house at the time that you receive the invitation.  There are always funny gifts as well as great gifts.  The camo Snuggie is an annual tradition & this year, I ended up with it (after giving up my precious candle!).  It was funny, but I'm gifting it to my nephew for Christmas :)

Oh yeah, we also managed to go to Paris as well!  We had a blast & I will share more details of the trip in a later post.  Can't wait to go back!

How has YOUR December been so far?  I can't wait for Christmas! 

Weekend in Columbus

Mr. Q had to go to Ohio for a meeting, so I decided to take advantage of the situation & tagged along :)  I was able to spend a lot of time with family & friends, so I was a pretty happy girl.  I also got to meet baby M, the adorable daughter of my best friend from kindergarten - high school & college roomate freshman - junior year.  

Table for 18, please!  Dinner at Marcella's (yum).

This was my second Ohio State game of the year!  Luckily, we won this time :)  Our seats were in C Deck (the top tier) and 3 rows from the tippy-top of the stadium.  It was like climbing a ladder to get to our seats & I made the trip 3 times.  Burning. Quads. Ouch.

Oh, she is so, so sweet.  I wanted to pack her into my suitcase and bring her back to Chicago with me!

I love going home to Ohio & can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Tuesday Shoesday: Vintage Cowboy Boots

Well, they might not be vintage but they are beat up/old.  

There is a girls trip to Nashville on the horizon, and I really wanted a pair of cowboy boots to take with me.  I also considered buying them there, but when my mom & sister were in town over the weekend, we decided to head out and see what we could find.  I've always wanted to go to Alcala's, which is a pretty famous Western Wear store.  Think country singers & $3,000+ pairs of boots.  However, we passed Ragstock on the way, went in & hit the cowboy boot jackpot.

I wish I was cool enough to pull off vintage pieces, but the reality is I can't & I have always been slightly creeped out by secondhand clothing/shoes.  So when I found these Justin boots, I surprised myself when I realized that I had to have them.  I may or may not have rubbed hand sanitizer on my feet after trying them on (what? It was a sandal kind of day & there was NO WAY I was going to put on a dirty sock!).   

I like that they are already worn-in. The leather just looks fantastic. 

We then hit up Alcala's & tried on boot after boot...

...after boot.

There were some serious boots here.  We also found the same brand of boots that we scored at Ragstock (Justin & Durango for my sister) for sometimes hundreds of dollars more!   

We were there for over an hour & it was a lot of fun.  However, I am so glad that I ended up with the boots that I have now.  I can see myself wearing the heck out of them all fall and winter - I love them that much!  

24 Hours in NYC

On our way to the Turks & Caicos in March we had a 24-hour-on-purpose layover in NYC.  Ted's cousin & her family live in the Lower East Side and we love visiting them when possible.  I also cooridinated a little meet up with Serena aka Mrs. Hamster aka Big Apple Nosh & we had a great time with her and her hubby at the Living Room (great live music).

The Mini Quiches had a great time with their cousins.  If you're familiar with fashion advertising, you might recoginize the be-tutued girl as little miss Chloe Hilfiger :)

We went for crepes while we waited for our table a Cafe Mogador (our favorite go-to restaurant in NYC).

We then embarked on a blink-and-you'll-miss-it tour of Battery Park, Financial District & Times Square.

It was March & it was FREEZING!

As long time lovers of Tony Bourdain, we wanted to visit Les Halles.  It was a big hit!

After a mix-up of which Living Room to go to, we met up with Serena & L.  Serena and I blogged together for Weddingbee & I had the pleasure of spending a weekend with her (and lots of other bees!) in Vegas last year.  Love her!

Ted & I love New York and were happy to have even this short amount of time in this incredible city.

Happy Mother's Day

I do believe that I have the best mom in the world. 

Happy Mother's Day!