Pasadena

{Family day}

{I miss the mountains}

{This is what winter in California looks like}

{Old Town Pasadena}

{Colorado St.}

{Almost 80 degrees and absolutely loving it}

{Wish I could be here when this happens}

{Lunch}

{Mom}

{Brother}

{Bonding}

{Starbucks}

{Love of my life}

Welcoming Sunshine

I usually try not to blog when I come home to CA because honestly, it just seems a bit ridiculous. 

But I don't usually get a Canon Rebel XS on my trips home either.  

My in-laws surprised me with an early Christmas present when I first got here and have now caused me to fall head over heels in love with photography.  

I've always loved taking pictures, but now I really love taking pictures. And even though I have no idea what I'm doing I have managed to take over 200 photos in 24 hours.  

Soooo in order to not have to weed through 2,000 pictures when I get back to Chicago I thought I might try to blog throughout my trip.  We'll see how well it goes.  

I can't make any promises.  

This trip home we are only able to spend 3 days in Santa Clarita, our hometown.  Which makes me just a wee bit sad.  We got in around noon yesterday and I was able to spend the afternoon with my dad while Taylor spent it with his brothers.  As I was driving to meet my dad I totally cried as I passed by all the familiar places of my previous life. I was talking to myself as I drove, "There's where I went to Jr. High. And there's where I got my first speeding ticket. And there's where I got my second. Oh man I used to run up this hill with my soccer team. There's our old house. There's my old gas station, and grocery store, and Bank of America." I am such a sentimental turkey.  But the memories flood over me and I just can't help but feeling like a lost puppy.  It's all so normal, but all so different.  Such a weird feeling.  

Then both of our families met at the Sutton's for the traditional Christmas dinner.  For the last 4 years we've had a big dinner here at their house with both of our families.  I love it.  I love that we are from the same place and that our families have the opportunity to know one another.  And I love that they love each other.  And that they joke with one another.

We stayed up late last night after everyone left, watching the Office with mom and Ray & Parker. Then this morning we spent the day just hanging out around SCV. Are you kidding me with how much new stuff is here? The new Patios at the mall? For real? And when did CC get a Target and Panera? I'm dying. Why wasn't this all here when I was here? Man I miss it here.

Tonight we had dinner with just the six of us, which was special.  That rarely happens because we're always trying to fit in time with friends, etc.  It's nice to come home and just be with our family.

Now T is visiting with some of his buddies and everyone else is sleeping.  And I am blogging. And I love my camera.  And I love you guys.  And I love California.  

Whoo doggies!  Here are my new fancy schmancy pictures from my camera, Sophia.

My daddy.

So this is kinda morbid, but do you ever think about things that will make you cry when your parents are gone? For me, I know for a fact that when my daddy is no longer here, I will cry when I hear the Eagles, smell the ocean, or taste an arnold palmer.  I'm sure I'll cry over a thousand other things too.  

On a lighter note, we like arnold palmers.

The new and improved Rattler's.  A step up I'll say!  Geez.  I kinda miss the old one.  But the rolls were the same yumminess so I guess I'm ok with the new place.  I've been going to this restaurant since I was a little girl.

Loving every minute alone with my dad.

I miss these women constantly.

Taylor's dad picked up cupcakes from the new cupcake boutique by the theatre in CC.  They were ok.  They looked pretty, but nothing can come close to the taste of Sprinkles.  Which I will be digesting next Wednesday in Phoenix, AZ. 

Momma, seester Rachel, and Zena.  I cannot tell you how excited I was to have them close. 

My little brother is amazing.  And tall.  And I adore him.

Krista and Brad came too.  I love them.  We pressured them into talking about a wedding date and babies.  It was fun, but I felt kinda bad.  Poor Brad!  I was a little pushy with asking for a niece or nephew.

Brian, Zena, and Brandon.  Zena is my in-laws newest great dane.  She nuts.

This camera makes even the normal look really, really good.  At least in my opinion.

Christmas decor at my in-laws.  So lovely.

I love this picture.

So happy they have a Christmas tree up.  We took ours down before leaving and it was just so sad.  I love theirs.

Since when did my baby brother become a grown up?  Good golly miss molly.

He's so wonderful.

Coffee Kiosk, I miss you.

This is so nuts to me.  When did this happen?  SCV'ers fill me in.

I'm pretty sure I drove to Northridge my entire high school life to get my M.A.C. foundation.  Are you stinking kidding me that we now have one and I live in stinking Chicago?  What's the big idea M.A.C?!  

P.S. Bare Escentuals is 10 thousand times better than M.A.C and I am so happy I saw the light and converted over.

Taylor with his momma.

We have a Yankee Candle store?  Geesh.  Another thing that would've been really nice to have when I lived here.

Yes Christmas time with the snow is cool, but are you kidding me.  Please.  I am in flip flops and my husband is in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of December.  Give me a break.  I'll watch White Christmas and be completely satisfied with the snow on the tellie.

Just glorious.

Second time in 24 hours.

I always leave a happy girl.  I sometimes wish they were in Chicago, but deep down, I would hate it.  

They belong here where the sun shines year round.

I seriously miss these mountains more than I ever would have expected.  And yes, I think they are mountains.  I realize people from Montana might laugh at it, but they are my mountains.

The sky was beautiful tonight.  And I could actually see it because there weren't a thousand sky scrapers blocking my view.

Night.

Who says you can't have a cozy winter in Sunny So Cal?  Psh.

My sweet in-laws.  

I still can't believe how much they spoiled me in getting me this camera.  

Plus they let me marry their son.  

Holy cow they are special.

My yahoo brother-in-laws.  I really enjoy being the only girl in the family right now.  Although I promise to be welcoming to my future sister-in-laws.  

I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't take this picture of my husband.

Very Sutton like meal.  Steak, potatoes, and some greens.  Loved it.

Peace.

Going back to where I come from.

I may not return.

Although I say that every time, and every time my husband makes me get back on the plane.

He's lucky I love him so much and can't stand to be far from his reach.

I will come back tanner, fatter and so stinkin happy.

Till then, 

Merry Christmas, my friends!

K. SUE

A Very Merry Christmas Surprise

A couple of disclaimers:

1. Taylor is absolutely the most thoughtful person I've ever met.

2. Taylor is ridiculously romantic.

3. Taylor is just the sweetest guy I've ever known.

4. I can't handle long blog posts, but I just can't help it with this one.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Friday night this last week was going to be our last date night before going home for a couple weeks. Taylor had mentioned at the beginning of December when we sat down to discuss our budget that he wanted to save all our date budget for this one date this week. Which was a total of $30.00. We're high rollers. It's just how we do it. :) So I was thinking we'd probably hit up Chipotle, and then maybe grab some coffee...which I totally LOVE doing. We try to go on one date a week, and usually Taylor surprises me- and as you can tell by our budget for the entire month that we don't usually do really lavish things! It's mostly coffee or dessert, or something simple like that. Just a place for us to get out of our routines and reconnect. So I wasn't surprised that he wasn't telling me where we were going this Friday, I just knew he wanted to take me to dinner.

A couple of random events transpired during the week and Taylor's surprise almost got ruined. Poor guy. Looking back now it was probably so annoying, but he was as gracious as ever. And when I thought I was onto him (Did I forget to mention that I always try to find out the surprise? I'm terrible. I know!) he totally threw me off.

So Friday night came and he told me to get a little dressed up.

"Hmm...we must not be going to Chipotle," I thought.

He hailed a cab (something we almost never do) and when he gave the address I knew exactly where we were going. Table 52. One of Chicago's most famous restaurants. It's owned by Oprah's former personal chef and there is typically a six month waiting list for reservations. At our old place at 1100 N LaSalle we were just mere blocks from it and every time we'd walk by it we'd talk about how fun it'd be to eat there.

We had a wonderful time and the food was delicious. I ate some yummy Salmon and Taylor ordered Duck. Talk about items that aren't usually on our dinner menu! We also ordered these delicious sweet potatoes with a maple and brown sugar glaze. Oh. my. word. It was definitely the kind of food that makes you groan a little bit when you eat it. Slightly embarrassing in a fancy restaurant. When the check came I excused myself to the ladies room and when I came back Taylor asked me if he could give me my Christmas gift. He said it was under the check.

I moved the check and under it was a envelope with the words Joffrey Ballet. I think I started to cry a little. I have been wanting to go see a ballet almost since the moment I moved here. And the desire just kept growing and growing. The Joffrey Ballet has a building downtown right on State St. and sometimes during the day when you walk by you can see the ballerinas practicing. It makes my heart go pitter patter. I turned it over and it had the date, the show (The Nutcracker), and a little message from my honey that said, "You are my princess." We were going to see the Nutcracker right after we left the restaurant! And it was opening night. I couldn't believe it. A real ballet. And the one that I'd always wanted to see. I honestly didn't think we'd ever go because it was just too expensive.  I really couldn't believe it.  

The show was beyond wonderful. It was everything I thought it would be and so much more. I cried during one part of it because it was just so dang beautiful. And I couldn't believe the thoughtfulness of my husband. We had the greatest time and we both really enjoyed it. It felt so much like Christmas in a big city. Just like you would imagine it. And I want to be a ballerina. And I want a little girl. And I want to wear a tutu. End of story.

Afterwards we were having the hardest time hailing a cab. It was ridiculous and I was freezing. And I was in high heels. I hate high heels. After about 10 minutes of trying to catch one Taylor looked at me and asked me if I could walk 6 blocks. Was he crazy? Maybe all the twirling and sugar plum fairies had affected his ability to think? "No babe. I cannot walk 6 blocks. I am freezing. And my feet feel like they are going to fall off. Let's just take the brown line, we're right here. C'mon." He kept persisting that we just walk and I was so stinking confused. Finally he let out a sigh and said, "Well this was supposed to go much smoother, but we're not going home tonight, we're staying in a hotel down here in the loop!"

Are you kidding me? Could this man be any more precious? "Yes babe. I can walk 6 blocks." I was seriously so, so, SO surprised. That was the last thing I saw coming. "What about my pj's?" "Already there." "What about my acne medicine?" "Can't you just skip that for one night? Can't you sleep with your makeup on?" "Crazy boy say what?!!!"

We stayed at a lovely little hotel down on State and Washington and seriously had the best time.  I felt so undeserving and so overwhelmed by his kindness towards me, and just that he had gone through so much.  I kept telling him his gift was waaaay better than the one I had gotten him!  I kept reminding him that he had gone over not only our date budget, but our Christmas gift budget (talk about role reversal!  Usually it's totally the other way around!) and he kept saying, "Shhh."  And then would kiss me.

Yup.  The sweetest guy ever.

{The Restaurant}

A little blurry, but you get the idea.  This is the third fancy restaurant that T has taken me to, and every time I've always want to take a thousand pictures of all the beautiful details, but it always feels so cheesy to do so!  Just trust me, the place was beautiful.

{The Nutcracker}

Did I really see this?  It feels like a dream.  I've seen broadway shows, and I've been to concerts here in the city, but nothing comes close to this.  It was absolutely one of my most favorite things I've ever done here in Chicago.

 {Hotel Burnham}

Walking down St. State, freezing, naturally.

We had a view of the Daley Plaza Christmas tree from our room!

Meet our city's newest Anthro.  Lucky for my sweet husband it's not open yet.  I was excited we were right across the street.

Macy's on State St.  Just a few blocks north is where Taylor proposed to me (on State St. bridge).

Starbucks makes a good morning just that much better.  Can't believe those yahoos didn't hire me.

Our room was cozy.  Although I must say, Taylor's job has forever ruined me.  We've stayed at the Four Seasons a number of times now for free and I will never think any hotel will be good enough.  The Four Seasons really have the best hotels out there.  Just sayin.

Saying goodbye from our Taxi.

Thank you sweet husband.

A night I will never forget!!  

I see God's grace when I look at you.  

I absolutely do not deserve to be loved by such a wonderful man.

The First Snow

It's always my favorite.

It's always beautiful.

It always makes me smile.

And it always ushers in winter with such charm.

Here we go.  

Chicago winter number four for this Los Angeles girl.

Some Current Favorites- Holiday Edition

{Chocolate Peanut-Butter Bars}

I made these last week and they were so delicious.  Here's the RECIPE

Holiday baking is so fun, but my jigglie thighs are not so fun.

What's a girl to do.

{Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre}

This may not have much to do with the Christmas season, but because I've read it right before Christmas this year I'm going to include it.  I'm having the urge to make it a new Christmas tradition for myself.  Last Christmas I had read Little Women and while I really enjoyed it, I think I enjoyed Jane Eyre twice as much.  What a beautiful novel about redemption and love.  There are so many things to say about this piece of literature.  It was wonderful to read and I'm so excited to continue reading more classic literature.

{Sovereign Grace's SAVIOR}

I think every Christmas I blog about this CD.  It's just so good.  It's a CD about Christ Incarnate.  How wonderful!  Sovereign Grace Ministries has some of the best worship music out there, in our opinion, and we especially love ushering in Advent with the CD playing in our home.

{Coffee Mate's Peppermint Mocha Creamer}

I kinda blame this one on the family I nanny for.  Sometimes if I am running late and not able to bring some coffee with me in my travel mug I'll make a cup at their place.  

Now I had purged myself of my Coffee Mate addiction for some time now, but they actually have Coffee Mate at their house.  How can one resist the temptation of Coffee Mate creamer when it is so easily accessible?  It's impossible.  They had Peppermint Mocha and now so do we.  

End of story.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Daddy,

Happy Birthday!!! 

I hope that you've had a wonderful day!  I'm glad you got some good waves yesterday, and that you were able to spend some time with Krista and Brad today.  I am so excited to see you in just a week and a half!  

Thank you so much for so many hugs and kisses.

For showing me forgiveness.

For making me smile and laugh.

For teaching me how to appreciate simple things.

Most of all, for just being my daddy.

Happy Birthday.

I love you,

Boofer Girl

Holiday Weekend Part III

Every year we have a special Christmas date where we do little things around the city.

{The Lights}

First, we walk along Michigan Ave. and enjoy all the lights.

One of the first things I fell in love with with Chicago is the twinkle lights.  I moved here in January and the lights were still up and I remember being in awe.  They make my heart go pitter patter.

Isn't it all so beautiful?!  The best are on Michigan Ave., but really, they are all over the city.

Crate and Barrel always has a fun Christmas display in their windows.

There's the Gap I worked at for a year!  So glad I don't work there anymore.  I do miss my 50% off though.

There are Christmas wreaths up everywhere!

Wrigley Building

{Macy's}

We then walk to Macy's to see the window display, and so far, every year, it's disappointed.  But we do it anyways.

The theme was letters to Santa?  Lame.

Macy's on State St. all decorated for Christmas.

{Christkindlmarket}

We then walk over to Daley Plaza to enjoy the traditional German Market.

And Taylor's whole face becomes really, really happy.

Our fourth year going.

Lovely.

We had a good time this year.  It wasn't freezing.  Phew.

People actually come from Germany to stay for the duration of the market and sell all their handmade goodies.  So much of the stuff blows my mind with it's beautiful craftsmanship. 

There's also lots of candy there!

Lots of glass blown ornaments.

And did I mention there is lots of pastries?

And of course, they have amazing hot chocolate, and apple cider.  Do you see all the wrinkles on my face?  That means I'm really happy.  I hope I'm an old lady with lots of wrinkles.

{Christmas Movie}

Then we walked our little bunsies home to watch a movie and snuggle up in our Christmasie apartment.

My oh-so-fine husband.

And we drank Egg Nog with nutmeg on top.  So delicious.

And why not end the night with some laughs?  We love the movie Elf!  

It's going to be our "Day after Thanksgiving Movie," movie.

Hooray!

Love that we were able to have our holiday date before we go home to California!!!

Happy Birthday Momma

Dear Momma,

Remember the year before I left for Moody?  It was a year where you and I grew really, really close.  We spent so much time together, just laughing and talking.  The fights that we had become so accustomed to during my growing up had subsided.

And we became constant companions.  Remember all the runs we took around our neighborhood?  I loved running with you.  You were so my motivation to get on up that huge hill!  Remember all our Starbucks dates?  And all the days we'd meet up after my opening shift and before you had to drive into work?  Remember all our fun shopping trips?  And late night movies?  All the conversations that were always full of tears and some laughs.  All the spaghetti consumed, all the memories made, and all the love shared is incredibly precious to me.

It was such a vulnerable year for both of us.  

And it was almost as if our relationship was just beginning.  Sure we've been together, you and I, since birth.  Clearly.  But all of those years of separation due to my rebellion, and many other reasons, had stolen so much from our relationship.  Words can go unspoken here, in such a public sphere.  But you and I, as well as the family know all too well how much heartache we went through.  

And I look at you now, and I am so incredibly in awe of our relationship.  

I know you've told me a number of times how, "Mom's don't remember the bad things about their kids," and that you've pushed all that stuff I had done out of your mind, but I beg you, don't.  Not because I want you to harbor resentment towards me, but because I want you to join me in seeing how GREAT a work the Lord has done.  He alone has restored our relationship.  It is to Him be the glory.  I suppose some would just say we both matured.  Or we both got over it.  Or maybe it was just a phase.  But I know better.  And I think you do too.  Neither of us can take the credit for the transformation in our relationship. 

You are so very precious to me.  

My memories with you fill my heart and drift in and out of my mind constantly.  I am reminded of you on so many occasions that it almost feels like you are here with me sometimes.  

I walk the streets of Chicago and sometimes I see mother's with their daughters.  Sometimes they are out shopping and I immediately reach for my phone to call you.  Sometimes they are out eating lunch and I just smile, thinking of all our memories.  Sometimes they are walking on the streets and they are holding hands.  And I cry.  I cry because oh what I wouldn't give to hold my Momma's hand in that moment.  I am still such a baby sometimes!  And I am so overwhelmed with gratitude that you are still here.  That we still have the opportunity to do that, in the moments we're close.  What a gift not to be taken for granted!

Happy Birthday, dear woman.  You are such a gem to me.  Thank you for loving me in my most unloving moments.  Thank you for all you've done to support and care for me.  

I pray you will one day know the depth of God's unfailing love and His unshakeable mercy given to those in Christ Jesus.

Happy Birthday Noodle.

Love,

Your one and only Boofie

Holiday Weekend Part II

Friday was such a special day. Taylor and I had the day off. TOGETHER. That rarely happens. And not only was it a blast that we both had it off, but it was the day after Thanksgiving. HELLO! That is totally the day to ring in the Christmas season. All week long we were in anticipation of running our Christmas errands together. We were so excited! We got our first Christmas tree from Home Depot, made a run to Target, and then spent the rest of the day in Christmas bliss.

Our Christmas Tree getting all wrapped up and ready to come home with us!  

We were seriously so stoked. 

Babe surprised me with this yummy holiday drink from Starbucks while we shopped at Target.  Good sales that day!!!!  Seasons 1-4 of the Office were only $12.99 each!  Are you KIDDING me?!!!  I thought this was a steal.

Taylor loves Christmas and he loves real Christmas trees.  I find this love of his charming.

We busted out Frankie.

Love our stockings from my Momma.

Christmas indeed.  I spread some of the decor out in spite of my husband's pleas to keep it all in one room.  It was just too much for me.  And I'm too lazy to take more pics and upload them.  But trust me, it's not as, "BAM- CHRISTMAS," as this is.

I love vintage Christmas stuff.  If you know where I can find more, do tell.

We don't have a star or an angel to go on top so I stuck that Christmas sign up there.  Taylor laughed and said it reminded him of the Office episode where Jim tells Dwight his party planning skills are horrible, "It is your birthday.  What not even an exclamation mark?"

My favorite ornament.  My sister gave us this after we got engaged, if you can't tell it has the date we were engaged 11-17-06 and then the boy bear is proposing to the girl bear.  So cute!

 I got this one in Noblesville, IN with Erin.  Again, love the Vintage Santa.

Love my Starbucks ornaments from my sweet mother-in-law.

Martha's always here to help me celebrate the holidays.  I am thankful for my subscriptions to Living and Real Simple (and Cooking Light- this issue there is such yummy holiday recipes!!!)

We don't have a ton of Christmas movies, but the ones we do have we LOVE.  Elf- hilarious, White Christmas- my childhood, It's a Wonderful Life- Taylor's fav.

I can't believe I finally found a tree skirt that didn't cost more than twenty dollars.  Ten dollars for this one at Target.  It's not incredible by any means, but it gets the job done and it didn't take up a majority of my Christmas decor budget.  

Stay tuned for our annual Christmas Date.

Holiday Weekend Part I

What a wonderful weekend it's been!  And it's not even over!  

I'm not a fan of long blog posts, so instead of lumping all of this weekend's festivities in one huge post I'm going to break it up.  

On Wednesday night after I got off work I took the Metra out to Geneva to spend the Holiday with my best friend, Rachel Thomas.  She now lives in DC working for a wonderful church, but she came home for Thanksgiving, and I was able to join them.  

I love Rachel's family.  

When I moved out to Chicago I don't think I anticipated how hard it would be to be so far away from family.  I knew no one when I moved here.  I knew Taylor was here, but I had never met him (that's a fun story, maybe one day I'll blog about that).  Rachel and I transferred into Moody together and wound up on the same floor.  We were instant friends.  And since then her family has become like a family to me.  I'm so thankful that they've been so welcoming with their home and their lives.  

Taylor worked the overnight on Wednesday night so he had to sleep all morning on Thanksgiving and then he worked 3-11pm that night.  He was able to eat a yummy meal though before going into work with our friends Tad and Stephanie (Tad works with Taylor at the hotel).  

The food was delicious and I got to stay up till one in the morning talking with my best friend. I'm so thankful I had somewhere to go for this holiday, and I'm so thankful I feel so at home with her family.  What a blessing.  It was also so good for me to watch Rachel's mom, who is such a strong Christian woman, have such a good attitude about hosting such a big event.  She was so calm and so loving to everyone.  I think if I had to make a huge meal like that I wouldn't be so Christlike.  I loved watching her.

I took the train home after a short Turkey coma and I talked with T's momma.  I cried because I missed her. And the boys.  And Uncle Robbie and Julie. And my whole family.  I missed my daddy, and momma, and brother and sister. But she made me feel better and made me laugh. Both our families didn't have their traditional Turkey day either so it kinda made me feel better that we weren't missing out on a huge get together. Holidays are sad without your family around, but only TWO weeks until we go home for Christmas!!!  And then we have 11 beautiful days with them!!! 

Winter

The perfect winter would start on November 27th and end on January 1st. Too bad there is no such thing. At least not here in Chicago.

Winter is already here again (I suppose not technically, but according to this family it is) and it is so hard to believe.

Despite coming from Sunny Southern California, I have learned to enjoy aspects of winter in the midwest.

I enjoy waking up to snow covered streets.

I enjoy scarves, beanies, and jackets.  

I enjoy warm cozy drinks from Starbucks and fuzzy blankets.

I enjoy the anticipation of Christmas and all the twinkle lights around the city.

I love the traditions my husband and I have started for the holidays here in this city.

I enjoy and am thankful for my Uggs. What I would do without them, I have no idea.

I enjoy yummy stews and other comfort foods.

I enjoy how quiet the city is on a Sunday winter morning.  Walking to church in the snow in downtown Chicago is one of my favorite things.  Don't ask why, because I can't really explain it.

But most of all I think I just enjoy the change. It's fun to anticipate the seasons. Of course, during the winter, I do miss warmth. I do miss sunshine. I do miss my rainbows. And I do wish it lasted only until January 1st.  

But that's not what this post is about.

Welcome, Miss Winter.  

Please don't be horrible to me this year.  

I give you full permission to snow as much as you want before New Years.  

Please do.  

A white Christmas is so romantic.  

And then after that, please leave.

K. Sue 

I blame it all on the recipe.

I think I gained 10 pounds this past weekend.

No really.

And I blame it entirely on PW's Cinnamon Roll recipe.

The recipe makes 40-50 cinnamon rolls and after I had inhaled about a pans worth I immediately covered the other ones up and literally ran to my neighbors to give them away as quickly as possible. They probably thought there was no sneaky motive involved in me delivering baked goods. But trust me. There was. Ten pounds is enough for one weekend. Truly.

Please try it.

If you're cool with gaining 10 pounds, that is.

The night I met P-Dub

I met the Pioneer Woman.

Whooo doggies.

What a night.

The odds were against me meeting her. 

I had to work until 6pm and I live in downtown Chicago. 

People were lining up at 7AM to get their number in Skokie, Il. 

Wherever the heck that is. 

I live downtown.  I rarely venture further than Wrigley Field or the South Loop. 

But I knew I had to meet her.  Surely Skokie wasn't too far?  

We got there at 6:30pm, an hour before she was supposed to start talking.  I was number 197. Holy cow. Taylor had to be back downtown by 10:30 to work the overnight shift so I was hoping we'd make it through that line!

Around 9:15 we started to get worried.  The line had not moved at all.  Not one bit.  He called work and they told him he could come in at midnight.  So we had to be out of Skokie by 11:20 at the latest.  

We left the building at 11:17pm.

I almost didn't meet P-dub.  And I'm certain I would have cried.

But I didn't.  And here's some pictures to prove it.

My first book signing.  I felt a little bit like a dork.  But I got over it when I saw her.  She is so cool.

 

First glance at Marlboro Man and the boys!

I took 100 paparazzi shots of them.  Taylor was laughing at me.

I don't understand why.

She snuck in and I almost missed getting this blurry picture of her! Phew.  That was close.

   

She was not messing around with them boots.

Love this one of her.  She was taking some pictures towards the beginning but I think she stopped about 2 hours into signing.  I can't imagine how her hand felt!

Number 197. 

There was a lot of ladies there.  

And a few fellas too.

I thought this one was cute of Marlboro Man with the little guys.

So my cowboy boots got pretty uncomfortable after about 2 hours of standing, but hello.  I wasn't about to wear anything other than my cowboy boots to meet the Pioneer Woman. It would've been disrespectful.  Clearly.

Giving Taylor the freedom to go and pick up dinner was perhaps not the best idea.  I had suggested PF Changs and he came back with Mckie dees.  Figures.  

But I couldn't get mad even I wanted to.  1. Their hamburgers really are tasty albeit sooo dangerously unhealthy.  2.  Look at that sweet face.  He gave up his whole night to sit in line with me and 200 other ladies in order to meet some homeschooling momma from Oklahoma who happens to be hilarious, beautiful, and a darn good cook.  And he didn't complain once.  And he was so excited for me.

We waited in line for four and a half hours.  I guess that's what happens when you try to meet the Queen of blogging.

The following pictures are horrible quality and I blame the ridiculous Barnes and Noble employee that I had to hand my camera to.  But it was 11 o'clock at night.  So maybe I should cut him some slack.  

She's so perty.  

And she has the sweetest voice.  

I thanked her for making a yummy cookbook and told her she's fed my addiction to Jadite.  We then talked the rest of the time about Jadite.  

Me and P-dub.  

Chatting it up about Jadite.  

Who would have thought?  

I loved every second.

Do you see that expression on my face?  I'm pretty sure that's the moment in our conversation where she said she puts her Jadite in the dishwasher.  Yup.  I've never been one to hide my emotions.  And that there look is screaming, "Say whaaaat?"  Good thing she's not looking huh? But as I drove home you bet your buns I decided I'm not afraid to put my Jadite in the dishwasher anymore.  Shoot, if P-dub does it, so can I.  Right?

It was so fun getting to talk to her for 45 seconds.  I'm sure it was a little longer than that, but man, those few moments were SO worth the wait.  She is so dang sweet!  And at this point I had completely forgotten at all to take a posed picture with her.  It wasn't until I was in the car driving away that I realized what a dork I am.  How the heck do you sit right next to PW and not get a posed picture with her?  

Easy. 

Just get wrapped up in chatting with her like she's your new Bff.

I was able to snag a picture with her sweet husband though. He signed my books too and Taylor and I got to talk to him a little bit.  He also is super, super sweet.

And this sums up how happy I felt that I was able to leave that place having met PW. The fact that she signed my cookbooks was just a plus.

Thanks P-dub.  

It was totally, totally worth the wait. 

And thanks Honey for indulging my ridiculous side.  You are such a trooper.  I'm making you her cinnamon rolls tomorrow and I'm pretty sure you'll love the woman more than I do.

Welcoming shades of gray

We now are seeing shades of gray in our place.

And we both love it.

And we're both super glad to be done with painting, taping, and moving furniture. The dust bunnies underneath our desk and bookcases still are showing up in my nightmares.

Please forgive the quality of the pictures.  I leave the house for work when it's dark and I get home when it's dark (lame) and I didn't want to keep my friends and family waiting till the weekend to see a peek at our place!  :)  I'll take more in the sunlight when I can.

Love the gray with the teal hutch.

Bri do you see my Starbucks cup on the counter?  I totally bought one today because of you!  I showed T your blog this morning and asked him if he'd heard of them and he said no but we both were laughing over the craze.  Later today I went to Starbucks and asked them if they had any and apparently they had a whole box they hadn't even put out yet!  Maybe the craze is a West Coast thing?  When I told T I got one he started laughing and was like, "So you're gonna sell it on Ebay right?" 

All night I've been looking at him and saying, "My water's still cold!"  :)

I never thought I'd be a "dry flower" kind of person.  And maybe I'm not.  But I do like my wreath.

My lil' pumpkins are going to be going away soon!  We have a strict no Christmas decorating or celebrating until after Thanksgiving.

The infamous picture wall that Taylor likes, and I dislike.  I feel too lazy to change it anymore.  So I guess I have to come to terms with it.

I love, love, love gray with orange. 

We moved the bookcases.  I like it much better this way.  Now we just need to find something to go above the tv.  I'm thinking a clock of some sort.  And above the chair I want to put this cute mirror I saw in Indiana.  The long rectangle shape would be perfect.

I still love our red ten dollar retro chairs.  They make me happy.

I know the pictures look so bad because it's night time, but maybe this one will show you the contrast between the white and gray.  The other ones don't look like we painted! 

This one has nothing to do with the paint.  

I just like it.

Goodnight new apartment.  

We are loving you more and more.