How to pack a suitcase....

Mom and Dad B don't know it yet, 

but look who's headed to AZ with us :-)

Chicago>Arizona>SanFran>Arizona>Chicago

Eeeeee! I'm so excited!

Republic Steele

Machine shop + 5 awesomely talented cool dudes = 

one happy photographer. 

Here are some of my favorites from the session! 

 

 

 

 

If you're around Chicago on Friday April 27th, 

see them play at Underground Lounge...

and come see me! 

Thanks guys, 

I had a blast shooting with you!

Dear Anthony and JaxDog...

That snuggle/snooze fest going on? 

Yeah, I'm pretty jealous. 

At least I've got a sweet band session to edit, 

a stiff drink and some Chopin to keep me happy.

Happy Dance

So many things are making me happy this week! 

Here are just a couple :-) 

1. My first Swig n Swap.

What's a Swing n Swap you say? 

Step 1, clean out closet. 

(This lady says 75%!)

Step 2, bring all old goodies, 

along with drinkies,

to a friend's house with some other wimmens. 

Step 3, trade!

A big thanks to my dear friend Colleen for hosting...

and to all the ladies who got rid of some gems! 

2. Old pictures of the hubs. 

Some day hopefully Anthony and I will be blessed with children. 

Seeing pics like this make me so excited 

to have a miniature version of him running around.

3. No explanation needed

I may have seen it twice. :-) 

So good! 

Lock it down....

By having an inside locale for my bike at work and home

means that I don't always need to use my lock. 

Which also means that I forget to bring it when I go to the grocery.

Hahahaha.

Happy happy joy joy!

Here's what's making me overjoyed this week!

1. Dog smiles. 

 There's absolutely no denying he's smiling.  

2. Biking to work. 

On my daily trek, 

I pass a bread store and chocolate factory. 

If that doesn't make a person happy, 

I don't know what does.  

 

 

It also makes me want to eat 

pretzel buns for lunch every day :-)

3. Library shushes. 

Have you ever seen a librarian actually shush someone? 

I saw it live this week, 

and I almost burst out laughing. 

It made the 20 min wait in line totally worth it. 

Oh, and the shush? 

It was directed toward a baby. 

Hahahaha. 

4. Also, Anthony and I went home 

to Posey County this past weekend....

and of course that made us all happy.  

While there, I found 3 four leaf clovers...

Whaaaaa?!!!!

I'll post pics soon!

What's making you happy this week?

Come Monday...

Thank God for Monday morning breakfast at work. 

This one went above and beyond expectation. 

Thanks to #bumsesh for the image. 

Mine turned out crappy.
Maybe it's just one more sign
telling me to get an iPhone. 

And now I need a bacon nap. :-) 

Happy List

Here's what's making me happy this week! 

1. Sandwiches. 

I woke up on Saturday morning with the though, 

"I need sandwiches"

"Bring me sandwiches"

I felt a little like Joey Tribiani with my request, 

but I didn't care, I needed sandwiches.  

 

We found the best Italian Beef I've had in the city. 

If you're looking for a hidden gem of a sandwich shop, 

check out Fiore's Deli. 

As you can tell by my sandwich dance, 

I'm pretty happy about Fiore's.

2. Also making me super duper happy this week

are the possibilities for Anthony and I 

in the next couple of months. 

 *Print by Lia Marsman

A lot of opportunities have opened up 

and without saying too much, 

we're both super excited to see what the future holds. 

(and no, I'm not pregnant. just sayin). 

3. And finally,  which this may sound silly,

my friends are really making me feel blessed and happy this week. 

After leaving college, 

it gets harder and harder to meet people. 

I feel as though now, after three years in Chicago, 

I've truly gained some great friends. 

Whether it be through book club, karaoke, running or work, 

it's just been nice having a group of friends

that I can rely on and laugh with. 

Yay food! Yay changes! Yay friends!

 

Dear Jax....

Really? 

You want to go outside? 

I couldn't tell :-)

Dear Saturdays at Sip....

I adore you. 

Just saying. 

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, 

February and March are great months to get stuff done, 

read good books, and hang out at coffee shops. 

And no, we're sadly not planning any Cuban vacations anytime soon, 

but tune in to "What's Making Me Happy" this week, 

because it does look like

 there is travel in our (very near!) future. 

Happy Hour

One of my favorite podcasts, 

Pop Culture Happy Hour, 

ends each show with 

"What's making us happy this week".
(my hilarious friend Jess shares my love too!)

I love this idea and am going to try to make it a regular post.

So here goes....

Making me happy this week: 

1. Cards and Candy

Prior to dating Anthony, 

I seriously thought I was good at Rummy. 

Alas, I am not. 

But it's still fun to play, 

and this week I beat him really badly. 

So that's one thing I'm definitely happy about. 

2. Breeeeead (finally) rising from the dead. 

I am terrible at bread making. 

Not once had I had success until Wednesday. 

Maybe it was a Leap Day/Birthday fluke. 

I followed this recipe and it was a huge success! 

Oh, and if you bake them, 

delegate someone to pry them out of your sticky hands 

to take to work, parties, or anywhere out of your home. 

Otherwise you will find yourself 

getting out of bed at 2am to eat cinnamon rolls. 

Seriously. They are that good. 

PS, I halved the recipe and it made 25 rolls. 

That's the danger zone people. 

Yay! Those things, 

plus birthdays of course, 

are making me super happy this week!