Cream colored ponies & crisp rhubarb strudels...

http://www.fettbot.com/

2012-12-11T19:11:00.002-06:00

Wahoo, WordPress is my new Blogging Platform! It's still under construction, but come check out http://www.fettbot.com/ in the next week!

I've hit my blog photo capacity

2012-11-29T20:19:00.001-06:00

Blogger, I'm having trouble deciding whether to continue using you. I just received the following message and it makes me annoyed. I really don't want to have to pay to upload photos on my blog, nor delete on posts. What do I do?

Whoops! You're out of space. You are currently using 100% of your 1 GB quota for photos. Upgrade storage

Photos are stored in your Picasa Web Albums account and are included in your 1 GB free quota for photos. Additional storage you purchase is shared between several Google products and is in addition to your free quota. Learn more

Lincoln Park Zoo and the baby zebra

2012-11-14T20:38:00.001-06:00

We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo this weekend! Mr. F and I got brunch in Lincoln Park and then walked through the zoo to see the baby zebra! The little boy was born this summer on August 23rd.Source: chicagoist.com via Emily on Pinterest

The colt's name is Kito, which is Swahili for "jewel". The mama zebra's name is Adia and the dad zebra's name is Clayton.We had so much fun watching it run around the pen.Kito was so cute with brown and white stripes. He even had a fuzzy mohawk along his spine!Kito reminded me of our baby horse, Zoe, so gangly and uncoordinated. He was all legs.When we walked by the warthogs, Mr. F proudly annouced this was a poop colored Pumba. The child next to him, instantly, goes, "Daddy, daddy, it's a poop Pumba." Now he knows that children repeat everything you say, whether you mean it our not!Surprisingly, Sunday was warm at nearly 70 degrees!

It was super blustery too.

Shockingly, it dropped 30 degrees by Monday morning and even snowed lightly. Fortunately, the weather is warming up again and should be sunny and about 50 degrees for Katy's wedding this weekend!

Wedding week for my bestie in Chicago

2012-11-12T09:48:00.001-06:00

I had a wonderful long weekend, complete with good food, friends, and a visit to the zoo to see the baby zebra. I will post pictures soon!

I'm so excited for this week!!! On Thursday, my cousin Katy's family starts flying in for her wedding. We have a pizza dinner planned at Giordano's for deep dish! The rehearsal dinner will be at Shaw's and the wedding is on Saturday.

I've picked up my gorgeous eggplant Amsale bridesmaid dress, which was tailored perfectly for me!!

Source: amsale.com via Emily on Pinterest

I cannot wait to get my hair and makeup done on Saturday too. Here are a few hairstyles that I'm interested in:Source: weddingchicks.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Emily on Pinterest

Source: blushingbridewedding.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Mr. F says go simple, or even have my hair down, but I love these updos.

I'm also super psyched for wedding party pictures around Chicago.

Source: stylemepretty.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Elisa on Pinterest

Yay!

Mr. F's parents came to visit in Chicago last weekend

2012-11-11T21:34:00.004-06:00

Mr. F's parents came to visit us last weekend!We walked from River North to the Art Institute of Chicago last Saturday. Of course, we took pictures with the Bean when we walked by it!Mom-o wanted to see the Chagall windows. They were a brilliant blue!We also went through many Impressionist galleries. We saw "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte", Renoir's "Acrobats",

trapeze artists and ballerinas,

and horses at Longchamp.I was surprised how many paintings that I actually recognized!

We had a lot of fun with Mr. F's parents last weekend and we'll see them again soon, for Thanksgiving in St. Louis.

A Miami weekend!

2012-11-03T16:47:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I went to Miami to celebrate Katy's bachelorette party. It was 40 degrees warmer than was in Chicago. It's a high of 47 degrees today and there's a windchill that makes it feel like the upper 30s. Katy's getting married in two weeks, on November 17th! We all arrived by Friday night, flying in from Boston, Chicago, and Baltimore. We stayed in a cute boutique hotel in Surfside, outside of Miami.It had a little kitchen that we made all our meals in. Saturday night, we had a mardi gras theme dinner and costumes! We ate King's Cake and dressed in green, yellow or purple with lots of mardi gras beads! We went into Miami to a hip-hop dance club, called Buck 15. We heard awesome 80s and 90s music, including the Ghostbusters theme song, but the best part was our celebrity sighting! Shaquille O' Neal came to the club while were there! Katy gave him beads and I gave his girl friend some beads too. My beads, however, were incredibly tangled and when I tried to give a few to Shaq's friend, they all clumped together. So, Shaq, his girl friend and I spent 5 minutes untangling them together!!! When he finally separated them all, Shaq put them back over my head! I couldn't believe how nice he was, to help me with them all. I was going to give them all to him!

We didn't get photos with him, but you can see his silhouette in the background here.

With the exception of Heather, who caught a 6am flight, we woke up leisurely on Sunday to check out of our cute hotel. Fan and I got Serendipity frozen yogurt and saw Dexter's house on the way to the airport!It was a wonderful warm weekend but I'm really looking forward to Katy's wedding. I helped her with place cards this weekend and went with her to pick up her wedding dress! I just picked up my eggplant Amsale bridesmaid dress and I'm so excited to dance in it! Source: amsale.com via Emily on Pinterest

Miami pictures coming soon!

2012-10-31T11:10:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping to post pictures from Miami soon. I've been super busy this last month with applying for jobs, bridal showers, working long hours, and a quick weekend trip to Florida!! I announced to my work that I will be leaving and it feels so good. We will be moving back to Seattle at the beginning of the year! I love Chicago, but it will be nice to be closer to family again!

My cousin, Katy's bridal shower

2012-10-21T14:51:00.001-05:00

We drove from Chicago, to Wilmette, on a sunny Saturday afternoon to celebrate Katy's bridal shower.To add to this perfect fall day.......the leaves were changing and the mums were in full bloom! The Mother of the Groom's friends, the Mauies were the hostesses of this lovely party. They greeted us with cute cupcakes with Ks and Rs and St. Louis bacon. (This is sugar glazed bacon, which is amazing!)

The mother of the bride, the bride to be and the mother of groom had a few minutes for pictures before the rest of the guests arrived. Katy's nephew, baby Henry was a cute addition too.

We had a delicious lunch of cheese souffle, fruit, sausages, cinnamon rolls and great company. After lunch, we had a fun question and answer video with the groom that I filmed and edited! (Please excuse some of the background noise. This was my first iMovie!)

Baby Henry tried to help with unwrapping the presents. I gave Katy fine china tea cups and saucers from her Bloomingdale's gift registry. Liz, Katy's family friend, made her a gorgeous fall table runner. Katy got a onion soup family recipe from her soon-to-be mother-in-law and a pot to cook the recipe in!

The groom arrived when the last of the presents were being unwrapped. Baby Henry loves his Uncle Rob!

I love making rehearsal bouquets out of the ribbons and wrapping paper, just look how this one turned out!

On our drive home from Wilmette, we stopped at Plaza del Lago to look at a few china patterns, picked up fresh pasta, and took pictures in front of the Bahai Temple!

[I had to look it up "Bahá'í literature directs that a House of Worship should be built in each city and town, and emphasizes that its doors must be open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction. The Bahá'í laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship must be a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions."]

Girl & the Goat!

2012-10-14T00:34:00.001-05:00

Mr. F and I went to one of our most anticipated restaurants in Chicago (after Alinea and Charlie Trotter's) on Thursday. Girl and the Goat did not disappoint us!

Source: girlandthegoat.com via Marie on Pinterest

I've had three weeks of stressful 10-12 hour work days and we decided to take advantage of this lovely restaurant when we saw a random reservation, within normal dinner hours, pop up on Open Table.Mr. F met me at the Blue Line L stop and we walked to the West Loop to Randolph Street. We got there 30 minutes early so we sat at the bar and got fancy cocktails. I love the goat emblem on the menu and napkin rings! We were seated at a common table next to the kitchen. It was fascinating to watch the chefs, the amazing plating and all of the fast moving servers!We enjoyed watching the wood burning oven too. For an appetizer, we had the goat empanadas.They were stunning to look at but we wished they were a little spicier.

Our second dish was the escargot ravioli. Mr. F didn't like the graininess of the snails. However, our scallops were delicious and beautifully presented.

Our favorite dish of all was the pig face with a fried egg on top.The meal did not need redeeming but this course blew us away. It was like the most delectable bacon breakfast, followed by a parsnip cheesecake with pears!This was not only stunningly presented but it was phenomenal to eat, too!

Source: girlandthegoat.com via Mad on Pinterest

If you like trendy restaurants with celebrity chefs, this restaurant is right up your alley. I'm so glad we went and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Chicago!!

Oh the places you'll go!

2012-10-08T20:13:00.003-05:00

I'm very excited. On Friday, I received a promotion that was a long time coming. It was announced today at work and met with wide approval. Now I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina for the night and day. Wow! Sometimes I need to remind myself of the wise words of Dr. Seuss. This was actually our Kappa rush slogan my senior year of college.

Source: Uploaded by user via Tieks on Pinterest

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

“And when you're alone there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants
There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.”

“Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. Oh! The places you'll go!”

“Out there things can happen, and frequently do,
To people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don't worry, don't stew.
Just go right along, you'll start happening too!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Lazy last weekend

2012-10-04T21:33:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it's almost the weekend again! Last Friday, I had a continuing education course at McDonald's Hamburger University in Oak Brook. My cute pregnant coworker and I posed with the fall colors behind us during our lunch break. Over the weekend, Mr F and I went to brunch, read a lot and had a long relaxing weekend.

The kitties enjoyed the laid back weekend too.

Aunt Eva's birthday dinner

2012-09-23T21:41:00.000-05:00

I got to play with my new Canon PowerShot camera today at Mr. F's aunt's house in La Grange. Aunt Eva's birthday was Friday so we got together for a dinner celebration. I love taking pictures of Tigger, the cat,and Asta, the German Shepard puppy. She's almost two now, but so hyper and cute.Aunt Eva's garden was amazing to photograph too!Mack found a stick to play with while I looked at the flowers. How cute are Tigger and Asta waiting outside the door? After dinner we sang happy birthday and ate German Chocolate Cake. It was delicious. Happy Birthday, Aunt Eva!

Groupon Riding Lessons at Bell Acres

2012-09-22T18:35:00.002-05:00

My cousin, Katy, and I got a Groupon for riding lessons and we finally redeemed them last weekend and this weekend.We drove out to Homer Glen where the Bell Acres kitties greeted us as soon as we got out of our car!

For our first lesson, we had horses named Trotsky and John John. We also saw a cute hackney pony too!We had our second lesson last Sunday and we rode two different horses, Reba and Maggie.Today, we had our third and final lesson. The cute orange cat greeted us again. However, our lessons were a lot harder today. I have never ridden saddleseat before and it was really difficult! I wasn't used to the double reins or holding my arms at a higher angle, even the bits look completely different than the basic snaffles I'm used to! Katy and I are looking for riding lessons at a Hunter/Jumper or Western barn next!

Lucky

2012-09-14T20:25:00.007-05:00

Do you hear me,
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky oh my, baby I'm trying
Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

Source: melissaesplin.com via Isis on Pinterest

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again

Source: kcassidyphotography.com via Katie on Pinterest

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jason_mraz/lucky.html ]
I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music fill the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

Source: rockettstgeorge.co.uk via Tricia on Pinterest

To Do in Chicago this Fall

2012-09-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the summer, I made a list of Chicago foodie places that I wanted to check out this summer. We checked out Kuma's Corner, and got the Lair of the Minotaur!We also went to g.e.b.!It was hard not to love the atmosphere and delectable food.I really enjoyed the handmade cavatelli. We even saw Graham Elliot!!!He also replied to one my tweets from the night!

@grahamelliot I had such a great time at g.e.b. that I blogged all about it. …ewofemilysfavoritethings.blogspot.com/2012/06/geb-an…

		GRAHAM ELLIOT
		@grahamelliot
@Fettbot sweet pics!

08:07 PM - 14 Jun 12 via Twitter for iPhone

Last weekend, Mr. F and I were jogging in Lincoln Park and went to Pequod's Pizza for lunch!

There are still a few restaurants that I'd love to check this fall, like the Girl & Goat

Source: google.com via Emily on Pinterest

and also the Purple Pig.

Source: google.com via Emily on Pinterest

I haven't been to Big Star yet, either!

Source: google.com via Emily on Pinterest

Are there other cuisines, or restaurants, that I should try soon?

Engagement and Anniversary Party in St. Louis

2012-09-04T21:09:00.000-05:00

Mr. F and I celebrated the three day weekend in St. Louis! We got cupcakes at Jilly's cupcake bar and cafe, a shop near the in-laws house. The owner won Cupcake Wars a few years ago!How cute are these bee cupcakes, called the Bee Sting?! They were delicious vanilla cupcakes with honey lemon curd and lemon cream cheese buttercream! The honey comb was white chocolate bark too!

On Sunday night, we celebrated my sister-in-law's engagement and our four year wedding anniversary with Mr. F's parents' friends and a few family members that I hadn't met yet!I loved all the sunflowers at the party. I even brought some back to Chicago for my desk!

Last week's foodie cousin times

2012-08-30T21:05:00.002-05:00

After work last Thursday, we met my cousin, Katy, and her fiance in the Loop. I love walking over all the bridges around the Loop. We met at Rittergut Wine Bar to use our Groupons for a wine and cheese pairing. It was awesome and delicious. I had a rose flight with three different kinds of cheese!

On Friday, two more of our favorite cousins came to town. We celebrated with a tasting menu at iNG. One of the courses had decorative cowbells on the plate, and yes, we tested them to see if they would ring.....It was a rock n' roll themed menu, complete with a picture of Def Leppard screened on delicious Mochi dessert!We watch the YouTube video for Gangham Style and tried to copy PSY's moves. Can you tell that they are brother and sister?

The next day, we picked up Leenie's new husband from Midwayand stopped for dim sum in China Town!! Two more cousins met us for lunch too.
On Sunday, we met Mr. F's old co-worker for brunch. We got to meet his new fiance too!This weekend we're driving to St. Louis to celebrate Mr. F's sister's engagement and our four year wedding anniversary!

Last few days of vacation...

2012-08-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

It's been a whirlwind of events since we returned from Michigan and we're traveling to St. Louis for Labor Day. Thus, this post will mostly be a photo drop.Lyra wasn't a huge fan of the family cabin and mostly stayed in the attic. On Thursday, it was overcast and raining so we explored the small towns of Northern Michigan.Mr. F and I checked out the Cherry Hut. It was super kitchsy and sugary but fun to try once!The menus reminded us to go to Gwen Frostic.I love their nature block prints!The printing presses were going while we were there too!This is how they wrap your purchases!Thursday afternoon was still stormy, so we read and played with the kitties, especially Lily.On Friday, we went to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.

We went swimming with Lee Lee, the wirehaired fox terrier in Lake Michigan,

and watched the sunset!Next up, I'll post about our week with our out-of-state cousins!

Outdoor Activities in Northern Michigan

2012-08-16T14:10:00.001-05:00

Tuesday morning, we all went for tennis drills on the CSA beach courts.I forgot my sunglasses but I still got a good workout in my tennis skirt!After lunch, we went for a walk to Point Betsie and the lighthouse. It was fascinating to watch the fog come in. By the end of the walk, my hair looked liked I had a crown of raindrops and each of our eyebrows were glistening!The camera had trouble capturing the tiny crystals!

Yesterday, the lake had warmed up more so we attempted swimming again. Mr. F was the only one brave enough to stay in longer than a few minutes. Lee Lee, the wirehair fox terrier, even go too cold doggy paddling.I got several great photos wading in the water.

Mr. F's sister and her fiance made a cosmic rock structure on the beach that looks very romantic.Mr. F found the ocean kayaks yesterday too!We had so much fun going along the Frankfort coastline.The water was extremely calm and clear too! We have to do a few eskimo rolls to get all the spiders out thought! It was a good way to cool off!We even saw the remains of an old seawall, or dock, under water!It was a great way to spend the afternoon. I hope Lake Michigan is calm enough to take the kayaks out again later this week! [Today is stormy, so we're reading, blogging, sending postcards and running errands in town! Hopefully the winds bring in warmer water!]

Wine Tasting in Northern Michigan

2012-08-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, it was a little overcast, so we drove to Traverse City for wine tasting. We stopped briefly at the Congregational Summer Assembly for a game of fooseball.Our first winery was L. Mawby where they are known for their bubbles.My sister-in-law and her fiance obliged me in taking several fun photos. We loved the cat weathervane. Mr. F was not as excited to take photos, but he made up for it in the grape fields!We picked our favorite bubbles and had fish pate and crackers on the patio. We saw a neat, yellow, furry caterpillar near us.I love self portraits, can you tell?!Our second stop was the Peninsula Winery in an old schoolhouse. We enjoyed their riesling!The 2 Lads winery was the last stop.It was a neat corrugated, modern building with an amazing view of Grand Traverse Bay.Of course, Mr. F and I took more pictures outside!We had so much fun.Check out the view from inside the tasting room!KJ and my sister helped pick out a few fun wines for dinner too.My favorite was the Cab Franc rose and not just because it matched my Land's End Canvas shirt!

Our first few days of vacation in Michigan

2012-08-13T10:05:00.001-05:00

We drove up to Michigan on Saturday morning with my in laws for a week long vacation. We're also celebrating my sister-in-law and her fiance too! The weather was absolutely perfect, Saturday afternoon with 70 degree weather. Unfortunately, the water was in the upper 40s! Apparently the North winds have been blowing a colder water into the area, but it should improve in temperature later this week.

Sunday morning, we took a walk to Point Betsie lighthouse!

It was a nice hour long walk, around a mile and a half.

After lunch, we got more exercise by playing tennis! This morning, it's raining so I'm catching up on my blogging but we're going to Traverse City later to check out the wineries!

My office 80s themed bowling party!

2012-08-12T12:54:00.004-05:00

On Friday, my office had an 80s themed bowling party for our company picnic. My department really got into the dressing up part. I really enjoyed backcombing my hair for the part.It was a cosmic bowling alley too, with lots of black light and neon colors.The kids especially enjoyed the glow-in-the-dark jewelry! Yay for office parties!

My sister came for an impromptu visit!

2012-08-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

My middle sister was in the Midwest for a long weekend and drove down from Milwaukee to visit for a night. It was such a nice, quick visit!She picked me up from work and we went for a walk in River North. We even got frozen yogurt. After dinner, Janie suggested we do an intense but quick workout of lunges and a short run. It was tiring! We did have a nice cool down by taking pictures on the bridge near my house. It was a great sister bonding time.

The next morning, Janie took me to work in her cute red rental Fiat.Before she dropped me off at work in Park Ridge, we stopped one block away at my grandmother's old high school!

Of all the suburbs in Chicago, I happen to work in the one that my grandmother grew up in! Thus, my sister and I had take lots of pictures documenting our visit to our grandmother's high school! It was so wonderful to spend time with my sister!!!

Foodie weekend in San Francisco

2012-08-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

This was our view from our San Francisco hotel,the Westin St. Francis, over the weekend. It was sunny Friday afternoon so we walked towards the Yerba Buena Gardens and the Mission neighborhood after my conference was done for the day. The Foreign Cinema was recommended to us, by a friend, and we were delighted that we had dinner there! We had delicious West Coast oysters, a fresh salad with cucumber and goat cheese, fancy fried chicken, and also salmon and green beans.For dessert, we had peach pavlova! On Saturday, I was in a conference for most of the day but they did have wonderful desserts in the lunch buffet! Late Saturday afternoon, we took a trip the Golden Gate Bridge. Unfortunately, it was soo foggy that you couldn't really see the bright orange bridge! It was refreshing to be on the Pacific Ocean again! For dinner, we had another great dinner recommendation. At Barbacco, we had yummy beet salad, delectablepasta with lemon olive oil cake with strawberries.

On Sunday morning, we got breakfast at a cute diner called, Cozy Cable Car Cafe!We loved getting sweet and savory crepes before going to the airport.We stopped by a few statues in Union Square before checking out of the hotel. Kuky even made the trip to San Francisco.We felt so pampered and really enjoyed all this wonderful food for our anniversary weekend!

Our Anniversary in San Francisco!

2012-08-06T21:12:00.001-05:00

As we drove through San Francisco from the airport, this was one of the first buildings I recognized! It's the house of falling furniture! After checking into the Westin St. Francis, we got dim sum at Yank Sing and walked along the length of the Embarcadero! We saw a space ship, the ferry terminal,and saw Alcatraz in the distance!We walked past the original Ghiradelli factory and walked through Fort Mason.As we walked back towards the hotel's neighborhood, we found a gorgeous community garden in Fort Mason, bursting with colorful flowers! Our good friend recommended we go to Wilson & Wilson for cocktails! It was a fun bar with a anti-prohibition theme perfect for celebrating our anniversary! For dinner, we took a cab to flour + water. We had a long wait but it was totally worth it! We had amazing wood fire pizza, hand made pasta and a delectable dessert. We loved celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary here!

Source: flourandwater.com via Emily on Pinterest