Updates

Oh wow, it's been two weeks since I last posted?! I'm currently sitting in my room watching the lightning crack, the thunder roll, and the rain come down... and hoping it stops soon because I have a flight to catch! I'm off to the Pacific Northwest this week for some much needed vacation with my family! I cannot wait.

I'll be back with photos and stories of our adventures, but in the meantime, here's what's been going on lately...

There have been some weekend coffee dates.

Kate and I ventured out to Michigan Ave for a movie and it was a gorgeous day!

Hyde Park turned green and leafy!

Work has been really busy, as is evidenced by my overflowing inbox.

I almost walked into traffic in my efforts to snap this photo of a shiba inu.

I designed this cover and was thrilled to receive the printed book! (The cover was even more awesome before the author rejected it, for the record.)

Kate, Melissa, Dave, and I took in a Chicago Fire soccer game. We had a great view!

Sunshine? Yes please.

Forecast for this weekend in South Carolina? Perfect. So excited to go on a mini vacation!

Weekend!

My roommates abandoned me this weekend... *tear* So I had to entertain myself without them. [Love you guys! You too, Kate, even though you don't read blogs.]


Dave and I had a lazy, rainy Saturday. (Remember how I said it was 80 degrees last weekend? We're back down to 30s-40s and raining! Sigh.) I made my famous pancakes, we played cribbage (I CAME BACK FROM BEHIND AND WON! I'm attempting to rub it in, but Dave doesn't read blogs either... too bad.), took naps, made some delicious white pizza, and wished for summer by eating some neighborhood ice cream.

I also played with my iPhone. I love this photobooth app!

Thankfully my roomies all returned from near and far today and we're having a movie night.

Happy Palm Sunday!

P.S. I'm writing this from my new computer! And it's starting to look like spring!!

SUNSHINE

On Sunday, Chicago was given the gift of SUN and WARMTH and BLUE SKY. Can you tell from all those caps that we had long been awaiting a day like that? Oh we had been waiting for weeks, months maybe. And the day didn't disappoint. It was in the 80s and glorious. I didn't know Chicago was home to so many babies and dogs! The beaches and the streets were alive with people all enjoying what was the first glorious summer day -- a summer day oddly in the beginning of April?

I spent as much time outside as possible: running, antiquing, walking instead of riding the train, and grilling for dinner. It was fabulous, fabulous!

And I found a vintage Hawaii-United Airlines sign!

We're back down to the 50s now, but oh Sunday.

48 degrees in February?

What's going on Chicago?

I'm confused, but I'll take it for sure.

Blizzard of 2011

Hey folks, Ashley here on my SECOND snow day! I can't even believe it myself. Yesterday I did a little jig because it was my first ever EVER snow day. Now I have another one. I am so lucky!

So we got this huge snow and these high winds and everything went white here. Yesterday at the tail end of the snow, my roommates and I ventured out to explore the winter wonderland. It was pretty epic and the whole time I was saying, "This is so much fun! This is so much fun!" (Hard to believe, right?)


We got 20.2 inches of snow, but because of the high winds, HUGE piles had formed all over. Right outside our apartment there was snow up to my knees!


On the normally busy street cars were swallowed up by snow. The street still had a good layer accumulated on it and only big cars were out. And lots of people walking around. It was really fun to see all the people out because everyone was friendly and smiling and waving to each other. It was like new years day all over again!


We decided to go see what the beach and the lake looked like, so we headed east with many of our neighbors. We found Chiberia! I've never seen something quite so ominous as the lakeshore yesterday. Large snow-dunes were piled up and the wind was whipping flurries all over the place. Everything was grey, grey, grey.


On our way back home we ventured onto Lake Shore Drive! It was closed for 36 hours (or something like that), so there was no traffic. While we were up there we saw a few snow plows and police cars. Besides that, it was all people taking advantage of the chance to walk on the Drive. There were even some sledders!

So it was a pretty epic adventure. I ended up with melting snow in my boots so I immediately got into bed to warm myself up. Then there was some hot chocolate. It was the best snow day!

Oh my Chicago...

I know the Tribune weather report is wont to overreact about the coming weather, but still, this is what they have to say...

"The ice isn’t going anywhere any time soon, as even colder winter weather moves into Chicago this week. Wind chills of up to 25 below zero are expected by early Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service."

Oh yay. Good thing I have a new coat!

It's Aloha Friday...

Okay, it's Thursday. But it's sort of Friday because tomorrow is a holiday! Wooooo! Three. Day. Weekend. Even better is that I get to see friends who are home from all over the world for the holidays. E.g. home from Bangladesh and Moldova. As well as far flung states. Reunion!

I found this column about adjusting to winter in the NYT today and thought it was spot on. I can totally relate. Enjoy!

P.S. It's my mama's birthday today.  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

If I don't end up with a tan...

This is why. Rain, rain go away!

Check it out, check it out

It rained and snowed like crazy this weekend. Look at us braving the elements. I got a new coat which is my new favorite thing. It is S.O. W.A.R.M. Seriously, it might change my life. It was -10 this morning and only my face was cold.

If you click here you'll see that my first bookcover is now listed in the UCP online catalog!

Friday was the day where I thought I was almost finished with everything. Saturday and Sunday were days full of Christmas and anniversary celebrations. Today is the day where I realize that I have lots more to do. Not imminently, but it's coming. The next few months will be carazy. (Yes, ca-razy).

Now back to work.

Oh dear.

We had a beautiful and warm fall in Chi-town and then BAM. It's cold. Seriously. It's wicked cold. I told Dave tonight that I don't remember it being this cold. He laughed. But you know what? Winter will have the last laugh. And it will be an evil one, for sure.

Weekend + Weather

You know what Chicago is great for? Weird weather. Let's examine:

I had a wonderful weekend - one that didn't last long enough even though it was an hour longer than normal! As much as I hate how it's going to get dark so early now, I did love the extra hour of sleep. Plus it's only a four hour time difference to Hawaii now; you can ask my mom how much she loves that. (right, Mom?). Oh another plus: it's light out when I wake up now. This makes it easier to get out of bed.

This weekend we four of our delightful apartment went to see the Lion King musical (thanks to Kate's grandma and Kate's birthday!). It was ah-may-zing. The only way I know to describe it is 'visual spectacle.' The costumes and puppets and animals and my oh my, I whole-heartedly recommend it. I sat in my seat with my mouth wide open. (Were you embarrassed, Paige?)

I also got new boots (yayyy), barn danced (who knew there were real barns in Chicago?), and celebrated All Saints Day. I love church potlucks. And I love my church.

I have another photo from the weekend to share but it's on my computer at home, so that will have to wait. Weekend part 2... to come.

Hi, I'm alive!

Happy Friday! Did you miss me? (Rhetorical question. Please don't say no!) Life has been busy and full and tiring the last two weeks. I have been storing up lots of pictures and fun things to share but then the amount of things I hadn't posted began to overwhelm me so I just avoided it like the plague. (This is also why my room gets so messy. Sorry about that, Paige!) Hopefully I'll be sharing from my "to-post" list over the weekend - this may include the two book covers I've designed over the last few weeks! My first two! So exciting!

Two photos to share. ABOVE: Marissa came to visit me and we spent a full day walking/shopping/eating/talking and it was glorious. BELOW: We celebrated Ashley's 24th at a swanky gastropub. Good times!

Happy Friday! Chilifest today at work!

P.S. It's 31 degrees outside!

Happy Friday!

Hi friends. Happy Friday to you! I just want to say that I have had the best afternoon. Dave came to have lunch with me, Chicago is having the most gorgeous weather, I got some fantastic encouragement at work, and now... the weekend! I hope you all are having a glorious day as well! Happy weekending!

Scenes from a three day weekend

Oh the joys of three blissful days off. Here's how I commemorated this weekend...

Susie Homemaker. Okay, maybe not quite to the Susie level yet, but I baked delicious cookies (it's not just me! other people said they were delicious, too!), baked an egg in a tomato thingie, and made smoothies for the roomies after a long bike ride.



I ate sushi with Paige and Kate while sitting in these gorgeous chairs. I am in love with the whole decor of this place from the white chairs to the gray and teal walls to the wooden finish. Gorge. Ous.


We had some beautiful weather in Chi-town the last few days. The air was crisp and the sky was clear and the lake was blue. Delightful. (I got a little distracted by how pretty the lake was during my aforementioned bike ride. Everyone survived though. Don't worry.)


Remember Dinkel's Bakery? I was hanging out with my friend Kimmy at her new apartment and she suggested we stop by to grab some of their cookies for our church potluck. Omigosh. I can't wait to go back.


Ashley ran TEN MILES today in preparation for her half marathon and so we celebrated by eating at Ann Sather. Their cinnamon rolls are to die for. We enjoyed them immensely.


I painted my nails teal last night. They make me happy.


And so, those are some of my scenes. This photo tour did not include the movies watched, walls of Dave's bedroom prepped for painting, nor church parties attended. You'll just have to trust me that those were great fun, too.

Las Vegas Weekend!

Last weekend we had a family vacation to Las Vegas to watch my dad play some softball! His team flies out once a year to play in a tournament with teams from all over the country. This year, the whole family joined in as a birthday gift. So Mom and Dad flew out from Hawaii, David and Holly drove over from San Diego, and Dave and I flew in from Chicago. It was pretty epic.


Also very hot. Very, very hot. 100-110 degree hot. I suppose it is the desert. I'd also like to say that I was pretty surprised at the beauty of the scenery. My expectations were... low. It was gorgeous. So nice to see some mountains.



Dad's team got second place! I got a tan. We only lost $8 to the great state of Nevada. Our condo was AWE. SOME. (Read here: waterfall shower, jacuzzi tub, and flat screen TVs in every room awesome.) Dave had his first In-N-Out and BJs dining experiences. Played cards, took naps, watched baseball, walked the strip, ate snacks, played in the pool, had handstand contests, etc. etc.



To sum it all up: had fun. FUN!



I'm already planning the next vacation for California in 5 weeks. Yahoo!

Waking Up In Vegas...

I'm headed to Las Vegas in the near future for my Dad's softball tournament. I just checked out the weather I can expect... Yikes!

Understatement?

This weather update from Friday cracked me up. Was adding "Hot." at the bottom of the temperature reading really necessary?? Seems like an understatement to me.

(I had intended to post this on Friday but ran out of time. I know I've been slacking on posting lately; I'm going to work on it this week!)

I miss this...

But more so, I miss you people. You know who you are...

More photos and stories to come... In the meantime, I'm going to try to stay cool in this hot land of Chicago.

One More Storm Photo

A simultaneous lightning strike at both the Trump Tower and the Sears (aka Willis) Tower, as seen from the John Hancock Building.

photo by: Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune / June 23, 2010