Ramblings of My Life

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T14:21:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas to everyone. We are spending our holiday weekend up at a resort on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. That means good food, breakfast in bed and a lot of bumming around in bed. This is our treat to ourselves. Hope you all enjoy your holidays.

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Italy Day 2 - Sorrento

2011-11-03T13:17:00.001-05:00

For our second day in Italy, first whole day, we decided to explore our home base town of Sorrento.

The day started with a pretty great complimentary continental breakfast at our hotel.

Breakfast is held on their 3rd floor indoor/outdoor patio overlooking the main street Corso Italia below. Just below is one of the main areas for parking scooters. There is very limited parking allowed on the street, so everyone would try to jam their scooter into a spot. We would see people moving others scooters over just to get theirs in. It was quite the sight.

Quick.....view from our hotel room balcony that overlooked Via San Cesareo. It was less of a street and more of a glorified alley. There were shops on both sides, but very little automotive traffic was allowed. It was mostly pedestrian. We would hear the trucks only pull in early in the morning for deliveries, and then the rest of the day it was a scooter here or there that could even fit in between the foot traffic.

We took off exploring shortly after breakfast, thru the Piazza Tasso where we had dinner the night before and headed toward Marina Piccola. The actual city, hotels and everything is up on a hill/cliff. So getting down to the seaside, ports or beach requires climbing up/down one of the cliff side stairs or you could take a winding road there. We opted to go down the stairs directly at the Piazza Tasso, down Via Luigi De Maio. Very beautiful views!

We made a friend on the way!

Walked around the Marina a bit checking out the various styles of boats from fishing boats to luxurious yachts and sailboats. And also checking out the amazing views of the Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius across the bay.

Before we knew it, it was lunch time. We opted for a sea side restaurant on the pier. Florin had a carpaccio pizza and I had a great tomato pasta with fresh greens on top. Yummy!!!

After lunch we walked back up a different set of steps/stairs to the hotel. Changed into our bathing suits and walked back down to the beach for our first swim in the Thyrrhenian Sea (off shoot of the Mediterranean Sea). It was salty, but overall not bad. It helped keep you afloat making it easier to swim. I loved it!!

After a while swimming, the sun starting to give us shadows, we dried off, walked back up the stairs, took more pictures and headed to the hotel to shower and change for dinner.

As most nights, we had no specific plans for dinner other than to walk around, check out menus and randomly pick restaurants. On our first night we were walking down some random street and saw an entrance to a garden up a small set of stairs just beyond the street. It had a menu posted by the stairs, so we checked it out, went up and got a table. The restaurant is called "The Garden" and has little intimate candlelit tables set up throughout this beautiful little garden, and stringed lights set up in areas for ambiance. There were also smaller tents/ cabana type settings for larger parties.

Florin ordered an assortment of local seafood grilled and I had a salmon gnocche. Sadly, this was my least favorite dish I had. I couldn't finish it. The salmon tasted liked it was canned (since it was broken up into small pieces, it probably was) and the sauce was just too rich. On the other hand, it was one of the best dishes Florin had ordered. I had a few bites and had to agree. For dessert we wanted tiramisu, but they were out, and opted for a Napolitean, similar to the night before, a pastry soaked in a syrup with fresh whipped cream and fruit. We split it and loved it.

And on our walk back to the hotel we ran across a church that was open for an art showing. Just a quick pic of the inside.

We usually ended the night by walking off our heavy dinner. The city would become alive at night with everyone out enjoying the warm weather and evening breezes off the sea. We joined in and pretended to be locals. This night we ran into a local vintage outdoor market. I saw this tea set and thought of my sis Lyg. Had to take a pic!

It was an earlier night than normal, tired from the time change and knowing we would have a full day ahead of us the next morning.

The Trip of a Lifetime: Italy Day 1

2011-10-31T22:23:00.000-05:00

Hello, I'm back!!!! Let's temporarily interupt the never finished Wedding Recaps to talk about the fabulous trip we took to Italy and Romania in September.

We left Chicago on September 8 in the late afternoon. I'm not even going to mention the stress of ALMOST missing our flight out of Chicago because we got to the airport late and then sat in the longest security line EVER, ran to our gate only to find our flight 1.5 hours delayed!!!! Not fun, but at least we didn't miss the plane.

Goodbye Chicago!!

First flight was to Newark. Already 1.5 hours late, the flight arrived half hour early only to be delayed another 2 hours out of Newark. Straight to Italy...........

8-9 hours later we arrived and it's September 9th now......through customs, they didn't even look at my passport, oh well. Waited for our luggage.......reminder to pack lighter next time.........got sidetracked buying an Italian SIM Card for the phone..........didn't work on our phones.........so we bought a phone. Moving on...........to the train station in the airport..........

A half hour train ride from the airport into the city of ROME. NO air conditioning we were stuffed on the train with so much luggage. Reminder to pack lighter next time. In Rome we had originally planned to do a short trip in the city to visit the Trevi Fountain and Coleseum. The checked luggage line looked like a one hour wait, the ticket line to get train tickets to Naples looked line another hour long line......Plus the two hour delay landing and getting through the airport, we would have maybe two hours in Rome and that was just cutting it too close......

Plans for Rome tossed out the window.....I proceed to stand in the long line over an hour to buy train tickets to Naples. More dragging luggage through the train station to the train to Naples....Reminder to pack lighter next time......... (We took a Trenitalia fast train to Naples)

Made the mistake of getting on the wrong train car...........Got in car #11, should have been in car #6. Train started.........had to drag luggage through tight train aisles from car 11 to car 6. REALLY hating our luggage at this point. Made to car #6 to our reserved seats............1 hour train ride to Naples, 20 min spent dragging luggage.

We're in Naples.........gotta find the stand to buy tickets to Sorrento.....let's get lost and drag the luggage around some more. Hopped onto the train to Sorrento (the Circumvesuvia) .........very similar to a city commuter train, very crowded hot and stuffy but luckily some windows opened for a breeze.

TANGENT: Naples, for what we saw, was not very pretty. There was graffitti everywhere. The train was covered in it and everything we saw off of the train was covered in it.

One hour later we land in Sorrento......Home base for the trip. Tired of our HEAVY luggage, we get a cab to the hotel. It's about 4 in the afternoon at this point.

Just some math: Flight 1: 2.5 hrs, layover 3 hrs, Flight 2: 8.5 hrs, airport and train to Rome: 1.5 hrs, waiting in lines: 1.5 hrs, Train to Naples: 1 hr, tickets and train to Sorrento: 1.5 hrs

So about 20 hours later we have landed!!! Hotel del Corso was pretty swell to say the least. Our room was small but homey with a balcony overlooking a cute side street and a ton of little shops.

We quickly showered off our travels sweat from lugging around heavy bags, took a short nap and headed out for our first Italian dinner. Picture time!!!!

At the hotel

Dinner on the Piazza Tasso

My meal - grilled vegetables with prosciutto - melted in my mouth

Florin's meal - couscous with pork and some salad greens (can't remember all details)

The local law enforcement

View from the Piazza Tasso down to the sea

After dinner walk and exploring led us to some beautiful gardens

The evening scene, every night, they close the street to cars and everyone comes out to socialize

It's not a real trip to Italy without some gelato (cherry & hazelnut) and a dessert (cake like pastry soaked in rum/honey goodness with whipped cream and strawberries).......SOOO good I miss it.

A little more walking around to burn off our desserts and off to bed ready for the next day's adventures.

Hello? echo... echo

2011-06-01T18:38:00.001-05:00

Yeah. Sorry. Been busy these days. It's been a while since I blogged. I just don't seem to find the time and motivation these days.

It's warming up which means construction season is upon me. Needless to say, my work days have grown longer, I'm working at home when I get home and on the weekends, and free time is spent vegging out on the couch or sleeping and maybe hitting the gym or a walk in the nearby forest preserve. I'm writing this blog post on my Blogger phone app on the train ride home from work. Typically I nap or read the newspaper to rest my brain. Plus writing all blog posts on the phone is very limiting and time consuming.

Next excuse.....whenever I do get online to blog I get distracted by searching for stuff on our Italy trip.

Quick update on Italy: the trip moved one week later to the second week in September due to work. We have passports finally. Now to gather some money to buy very expensive plane tickets in the next week or so. Hotels are narrowed down and plans are really taking shape.

I can't wait!!!!! Oh yeah....pretty excited for going to Romania too but those plans are simpler and less exciting than Italy. Italy!!!!!!

And for you photo viewing pleasure.....tulips from earlier this month and downtown water tower and John Hancock building taken today during lunchtime.

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and many more to come

2011-05-09T20:15:00.001-05:00

Two years ago I married my best friend, my soul mate and the love of my life. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

For tonight.....it's deep dish pizza and homemade guacamole. The real celebration will happen later this year in Italy. I can't wait!!!

Happy 2 years to us!

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A Wedding Recap: Let's Hear it for the Boys

2011-05-06T13:51:00.003-05:00

(sorry for the hiatus.....I've been kinda really busy. I now won't finish these recaps before our anniversary which is Monday, but they will get done eventually.....maybe by next year....I promise)

So after the ladies had their time to pose....it was time for the men (we didn't necessarily do it that way....but I'm posting it that way)

First.......my man....so handsome........

The men..........

Love this next photo......those are some shiny shoes

One of the best photos of the day....highlighted by the AMAZING skylight and retro circle couch!! I call it "King of the Mountain"

Them again........

And I couldn't resist getting a photo with the guys as well.........

All photos by Anna Guziak Photography
Hotel - Marriott SpringHill Suites by O'Hare
Ties purchased on Amazon.com
Custom Groom's Suit by Andrea Vagna in Chicago Loop (recently changed their name to Zeglio)
Groomsmen (all suits were their own)

Wishlist from Ruche

2011-04-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

I was introduced to Ruche a long while back........and then forgot about it........and just rediscovered it. I love the vintage style of the clothing, shoes and accessories. Below is my wishlist........

Matisse Meg Denim Wedges - $67.99

Catch up to me Canvas Wedges - $38.99

Bold as Love Print Skirt - $36.99

Lily lace green beaded purse by Melie Bianco - $63.99

Ponderosa ranch crossbody saddle bag in taupe - $36.99

Leaf bag in avacado - $42.99

Beat of my heart purple pleated skirt - $32.99

A Wedding Recap: My Ladies

2011-04-20T08:20:00.004-05:00

After photos with the (then) future husband........it was time for some photos with the wedding party. First up.......the ladies.....

Quick.........Strike a pose!!!

L to R: Maid of Honor, One of my Sisters and Youngest Sister

Two good friends

Then we pulled out the parasols for a quick photo op. We only took a few photos with them and that's all we saw of them that day. Oh well.......

Ending on a 'unscripted' note....enjoying a few laughs with the girls.

All photos by Anna Guziak Photography
Hotel - Marriott SpringHill Suites by O'Hare
Bride & Bridesmaid Dresses from David's Bridal
Bouquets arranged by another one of my fabulous sisters
Parasols from Luna Bazaar

A Wedding Recap: Together is Better

2011-04-15T08:00:00.003-05:00

After our first look, we took some time (just the two of us) to relax and take photos together. It s was the beginning of our day together and it was nice to finally relax a little bit after a crazy morning getting ready.

First at the really cool stairs........

Some elevator action. Love the wood paneling. I didn't really notice this photo that much before I started these wedding recaps. And the more I look at it, the more I really like it. Maybe it's turning into a favorite.

I'm not going to lie.........that airplane wall mural definitely played a BIG part in deciding to go with this hotel for getting ready and photos. I'm a bit of an airplane nerd/fanatic. LOVE this photo too and is one that we had printed to frame on our wall.

Another stair photo.....a bit more vintage look.......love it too!!

Moving to the lobby.........it was empty this time of day. Actually, one guy was reading a book when we got there, but moved to a different area when he saw we were taking pictures. How nice!

Another reason I chose this hotel............really cool statement wall.........but we had to stand on tables to take advantage of it since it started above the chair rail.

And lastly, some blowing veil action. Another favorite photo!

All photos by Anna Guziak Photography
Hotel - Marriott SpringHill Suites by O'Hare

A Wedding Recap: First Look

2011-04-13T11:34:00.002-05:00

All dressed up, it was time to meet my groom.......

One of the main reasons I picked this hotel for the wedding morning was the awesome staircase and art deco/vintage feel. I awaited up at the top of the stairs.....

Time to go........

Love his expression!!

We meet!

Twirling around to show him the outfit.....

A kiss to start the day..........

Let's Talk Babies

2011-04-07T16:12:00.004-05:00

And I mean hundreds of them.......
I interrupt our regularly scheduled wedding recaps to let you know that we now have at least over a hundred new fish babies swimming around our aquarium.

Last week we discovered that our Jack Dempsey fish couple had laid a TON of eggs on a rock formation thingy in our tank. Check out my video (taken w/my phone) of the eggs and our aquarium.

With a little bit of research, we found out the eggs hatch within 3 days of being laid. And sure enough, the video shows the eggs swaying a bit. They are hatching. Once hatched, the mama Dempsey moved them (with her mouth) to a corner of the tank in a self made rock cave.

Yesterday they started moving around, but weren't really swimming, just floating a bit.

Today they are swimming and look like fruit flies underwater. Check out today's video (sorry for the glare in parts of the video....we're not professionals).

The hubby was going to make some calls to local aquarium shops to see if they will take them off our hands once they grow a little bit. Our aquarium definitely can't handle that many fish when they get older.

(I told him that we just just let nature take course and let the other big fish in the tank eat them. A few already became dinner.)

A Wedding Recap: Details

2011-04-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

The following photos are a few of the morning detail shots.......

Hair Pins and Makeup

My dress....Loved it.....

Shoes..........I still wear mine

Custom Hairpiece that I helped design

The rings

Brooch attached to my sash in the back

My purse...to carry necessities like lip gloss and tissues

Flowers........boutonnieres and bouquets

All photos by Anna Guziak Photography
Custom Hairpiece by Jennypickle
Makeup by "Makeup by Jules"
Hair by Cathy of IDentity Salon
Dress and sash from David's Bridal. Dress by Oleg Cassini and the sash was purchased there too
Shoes by Irregular Choice (not available in green anywhere online that I can find anymore)
Bridal brooch purchased on a whim at JCPenney in store
Dress alterations by Beyond the Reflection in Chicago
Flowers purchased wholesale at FiftyFlowers and FlowerExchange and arranged by my sisters and I.
All vendors come highly recommended by me.

A Wedding Recap: Bridal Portraits

2011-04-04T11:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry...but the following post has a bunch of photos of just me. I promise I'm not self-absorbed.

So after we all got dressed.........while all the bridesmaids were getting their makeup and hair done, I went and did some photos with our amazing photographers.

At the hotel, we got a nice bridal suite on the penthouse floor. It was really nice. One perk that I didn't know in advance is the really nice lobby up on the penthouse level. It had a really big skylight and retro looking circular couch in the middle. You'll see both highlighted in future photos.

Either way, the skylight provided great natural light for some really nice photos. Enjoy!

Back shot of the dress and sash!

Loved my bouquet.....Amarylis and Freesia....smelled so good

Some b/w action!

This is one of my favorites as well. Jules did an awesome job on the makeup, and you can really tell here. See link below to her site!

Some vintage action.....and some photos with my veil.

I love the coloring with the wood panels!

Love this photo too!

This photo is actually down on the first floor of the hotel.....they had a wall painted purple.......it was actually taken later in the day when we were taking photos together, but I put it in with this batch.

All photos by Anna Guziak Photography
Hotel - Springhill Suites at Chicago O'Hare.
Makeup by "Makeup by Jules"
Hair by Cathy of IDentity Salon
Custom Hairpiece by Jennypickle
All vendors come highly recommended by me.

A Wedding Recap: Dressing Up

2011-04-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

After hair and makeup, it was time to put on the dress. I do have a photo of the dress getting on, but there was too much skin showing (my own) and not sure I'm comfortable with that photo on the internets......

First my bridesmaids helped me in the dress and buttoned up all one million buttons down my back.

Putting on the garter

Probably one of my favorite wedding photos and one of many that I got the most compliments on. I just love the back of my dress. The lace and button up details are what I fell in love with. I was never one for showing lots of skin and this was perfect for me. I haven't seen many dresses out there that have this detail. I loved its uniqueness.

A shoe and toe detail. Thanks to my sis for painting my toenails. The color was almost a perfect match to my shoes.

Putting on my shoes. MOH in the background getting her makeup done.

My sis helping me with the sash and pinning my brooch on it.

I love this photo for it's journalistic value.......I was putting on my lip color.

Time for the men........there are way less photos of them since some of the guys came to the hotel already dressed up. Plus the photographers spent a lot of time upstairs with me and the girls. Sorry boys!

Getting their ties on. Skinny yellow/gold ties were purchases for the groomsmen from Amazon.com and a skinny green tie for the groom also from Amazon.com.

All the guys.

The groom had his suit custom made by a haberdashery here in Chicago. I joke but in a serious way that it was probably our best wedding investment. He wears that suit to church most Sundays.

Love this photo too.

All photos by Anna Guziak Photography
Ties purchased on Amazon.com
Custom Groom's Suit by Andrea Vagna in Chicago Loop (recently changed their name to Zeglio)
Groomsmen (all suits were their own)
Bridal brooch purchased on a whim at JCPenney in store
Dress and sash from David's Bridal. Dress by Oleg Cassini and the sash was purchased separately there too

Shoes by Irregular Choice (not available in green anywhere online that I can find anymore)
Hairpiece by Jennypickle
Dress alterations by Beyond the Reflection in Chicago

A bit of venting/ranting, etc

2011-03-31T15:13:00.004-05:00

Just a few things that I felt I had to say:

All these studies about artificial dyes, BPAs in canned foods, trans fat, etc......saying that they are bad for your health........I feel like screaming DUH!!!! Maybe it's just me, but isn't it almost common sense that natural/fresh foods from scratch are probably best for you. Anything that is processed, preserved, instant, has artificial ingredients in it, can't be all that good for you.
People who complain that they don't have money (I know I'm guilty too), but wear designer clothes, have expensive gadgets, live in HUGE houses, and drive luxury cars, really rub me wrong. In today's world of high unemployment and economical crisis, I understand that times are hard. And when you're hit with things like this and your income has shrunk, you need to change the way you live. It's a matter of necessity vs luxury. There are things you need (food, shelter) and things you want (nice clothes, Iphone). But maybe you don't need a five bedroom house and mortgage payments you can't afford when you could easily fit in a two bedroom apartment or condo you rent. You don't need to eat out everyday of the week when you can prepare your meals at home for a fraction of the price. You don't need cable tv, an Ipad, gym membership, etc. Anyways........moving on....you get the point.
Person with the assigned parking spot next to ours: Your car is tiny, ours is slightly larger. Why can't you learn to park your car further back in your parking spot so that we can manuver our car into our spot a bit easier? Really........you don't even park all the way into your spot, leaving your car hanging out front. I could fit another half of hour car back there. Pretty please just be smart and back up a little. It would make our lives so much easier and less likely to hit your car as we try to get into our spot in the tight space you've allowed us. K. thanks.
Why can't this weather just warm up a little. I love winter, but it's April (tomorrow) and I'm sick of wearing my coat, two under layers, a scarf, gloves and hat.
I hate the stupid heater in my office that screeches away several times a day. We have no control over it. To add to that, we can't control the thermostat. So sometimes it's freezing and other times it's sweltering hot.
I need a vacation. But all my vacation days this year are going to the Italy/Romania trip in September. It's going to be a looong year until then. I definitely don't get enough vacation days.
My head hurts. Those two ibuprofens didn't work.
I could add another 10 items on here concerning politics, but maybe I'll save that for another post.

A Wedding Recap: Getting Beautified

2011-03-30T13:45:00.004-05:00

Wedding morning rolled around bright and early. My alarm rang at 6:30AM and I reluctantly got out of bed. First things first, I headed downstairs to the hotel lobby for some free breakfast buffet. Yum! I ran into some family members and enjoyed a few short moments going thru the plans of the morning, grabbed some pastries, milk cartons and juice and went back upstairs to shower.

About the time I finished cleaning up, the room was already filling with sisters and bridesmaids. My photographer, hair stylist and makeup lady arrived not long after that and set up. First on the agenda, get my hair into rollers.

That phone was in my hand ALL day.......well all morning at least. I was my very own wedding planner afterall.

Hair in rollers, I was off to the makeup chair. You can see my makeup trial HERE. I had airbrush makeup done with amazing false eyelashes. That makeup stayed on all day.

The bridesmaids got their hair and makeup done as well.........

(MOH/ Cousin)

(sis/ bridesmaid)

With my makeup done, I was back in the hair chair. While that got done, my sis/slave painted my toenails. Hee hee.

TIME OUT FOR FUNNY STORY:

At some point that morning the photographers wanted to take photos of our rings. That's when we remembered that my fiance/husband's ring was sitting in the safe under my bed. LOL. So we called around to find someone that was free. My brother-in-law volunteered and was quickly given directions and keys to my apartment and safe to fetch the ring.

Hair and makeup done, it was time to see the (almost) final look. Yes, that's my authentic reaction. I didn't recognize myself in the mirror and not in a bad way. I love this photo and everyone's reactions.

Final back of the hair with my hairpiece.....and compare to my hair trial HERE. BIG difference between trial and final, but in a good way. And to those who asked, yes, all that hair is mine. I had NO extensions. I just have a ton of hair. Really!

Next........time to slip into the dress...........

All photos by Anna Guziak Photography
Makeup by "Makeup by Jules"
Hair by Cathy of IDentity Salon
Hotel - Springhill Suites at Chicago O'Hare
Custom Hairpiece by Jennypickle (she used to be on Etsy, but when I went to link her, the shop was gone, but I found her on Wedzu...)
All vendors come highly recommended by me.

A Wedding Recap: The Day Before

2011-03-28T16:09:00.004-05:00

The day before the wedding was full of DOING and no rest.

To save money on the wedding, we went the DIY route. This included flowers, setting up the alter area and I even sewed my own aisle runner (weeks before, not the day before).

Early in the day it was all about phone calls between all the family that was arriving, directions to the church and my apartment, trips back and forth bringing everything to the church, and setup.

I remember my dad ordering Giordano's stuffed pizza. OH Yum. There definitely were a couple trips to Michaels for last minute supplies.

It helps to have a big family who loves to help and is oh so talented.

The floral assembly line.......for the reception centerpieces and my two alter pieces. LOVED THEM!!

I set up the alter with help from the maid of honor and others. We rented cheap picket fence looking panels and covered them with nice fabric to make them look classy.

At some point my sisters put together the test tube favors.

And my wonderful cousin put the finishing touch on my aisle runner. A small detail that I just never found time to do and she surprised me by finishing it.

Later in the day we got the wedding party (most of them) together for a quick run through of the walk down the aisle. Then, since we were all hungry again, we made a late dinner trip to the nearby Noon O'Kabab restaurant for an unplanned rehearsal dinner.

Us, groomsman, maid of honor (MOH)

Brothers, sisters, sister in law and cousin

Us

LOVE Mediterranean food...I could eat this daily...seriously!!

I wish I could say the night ended there and I went to bed and slept soundly until my wedding morning............

But........instead I went back to my apartment with my MOH and packed for my honeymoon. Yep, I packed for the following hour or so. Then........it didn't end there. I had to make a couple last minute revisions to our program. So off to 24-hours open Kinkos aka FedEx Office. I got on their computers which luckily had Microsoft Publisher, made a couple final revisions, printed off 100 copies, maybe even folded them that night (I can't remember), before finally heading to the hotel where we (me and MOH) would spend the night in our bridal suite.

I finally went to sleep around 3AM........yes, you read that right, 3 in the morning of my wedding day with the alarm set for 6:30AM..........

(All photos from my sisters)

A Wedding Recap: A Couple Days Before

2011-03-25T15:20:00.000-05:00

Before I get to the big day, there was plenty of action that happened in the days leading up to it.

Since I decided to go the whole DIY route with my wedding flowers, they were ordered in bulk from two different wholesalers and were scheduled to be delivered 2-3 days before the wedding to my little apartment.

Well, I had to work those days (I only took off Friday the day before the wedding).

However, I was so worried that if I didn't get those flowers into water asap upon their arrival, I'd be flowerless with dead plants.

The day they arrived, I was notified by my landlord that morning. At lunchtime I ran (took train and ran) home, only to realize I left my apt keys at the office. (insert MAJOR bridal freak out and mental breakdown before coming up with plan B....call the landlord) Luckily my landlord was home and let me in. I spent my lunch hour trimming stems and putting the flowers in buckets of water. Flowers were saved and I went back to work hungry.

(photo by sister, not sure which one)

The next day or two I tended to my flowers like little babies, changing their water, adding flower food, keeping them away from direct sunlight and away from potential chilly drafts. Really, a few buckets sat in my tub (not while I showered of course) and the rest in a dark corner of my living room. That wasn't too difficult since I had a basement apt with tiny windows at ground level.

A Wedding Recap: First there was a shower

2011-03-24T15:16:00.004-05:00

A BRIDAL Shower that is.........
(though I did also shower on my wedding day...no stinky bride here)

My bridal shower was a few weeks before my wedding. It was kinda planned late and was maybe too much of an afterthought until the last minute.

But it was pulled together by a few great friends, my mom and myself of course...the planner, it's what I do.

The shower was held at my church since my apartment is TINY and with no family in the Chicago area, there was no house to use.

We had lots of good food, but only took pics of the desserts for some reason.

I have many great friends and family who gifted me with such wonderful things.

I really don't have too many pics of everything. The following are from a game we played where we had groups of girls that dressed up one girl each in toilet paper as a bride. This is the fun that ensued:

And then some pics with family and friends:

And at the end, Florin came to take the gifts to his place, soon to be our place.

(dang, its a little weird seeing myself with such dark hair that I had back then)

(all pics by my sis)

A Wedding Recap.....Preface

2011-03-23T10:18:00.004-05:00

I've been toying with the idea of doing a full wedding recap for a while now. I've posted a few pics here and there, but never anything comprehensive.

As we are now a month and a half away from our 2 year anniversary, it seems like this is coming a bit belated. But the thing is......

I feel like I'm slowly forgetting the little details of our big day that I want to remember. I want to be able to tell the stories to our children and I want to be able to refresh my memory 5, 10, 30 years down the road.

The recaps will come slowly as I have time........but I want to finish around the time of our anniversary (May 9).

And to start..........one of my favorite pics of the day..........it sits framed in our living room.....

All photos courtesy of Anna Guziak Photography.... unless otherwise specified

17 Day Diet: Follow Up

2011-03-21T14:07:00.004-05:00

It's been a couple days since the end of my diet and I will admit to more than a few bad food choices. But I'm getting back on track to healthy eating overall.

For the duration of the 17 Day Diet, I would say I lost around 3-5 pounds. If you look at the heaviest (135) to lightest (130), it would be 5 pounds. But with the fluctuations, I would say I was able to keep off 3.5 pounds consistently. It's not a big deal, but progress none the less.

Weight Loss Journey..........for those who want the back story.................

Back in May 2009 when I got married, I weighed around 130-135. In the following months I gained 10 lbs quickly and at my most weighed in at 145.

The next year or so I worked to slowly shed the pounds. I started a food journal but didn't keep it up and updated on and off. But I looked back at some of my measurements the other day and here are some date comparisons.

August 26, 2009 (the start)
Weight: 139 lbs
Chest (measured at the largest point around the chest): 34.5"
Waist (measured at belly button): 35.5"
Hips (measured at largest point around the bottom): 39.75"

A year later...........September 8, 2010
Weight: 137 lbs
Chest: 34"
Waist: 36"
Hips: 39.5"

End of my 17 Day Diet....and many months overall of eating better....March 19, 2011:
Weight: 131.5 lbs
Chest: 34"
Waist: 34"
Hips: 38.25"

Overall it's already a pretty decent change:
Weight: -7.5 lbs
Chest: -0.5"
Waist: -2.0"
Hips: -1.5"

I really have noticed the change in size of my waist and hips. I fit into a few pairs of pants that I haven't worn since before I was married. And pants I wore a year ago are now loose even with the belt on it's tightest setting. I'm quite happy with myself in the grand scheme of things. I still have a ways to go to get to 125, but it can be done. I'm sure of it.

17 Day Diet: Day 17

2011-03-18T11:06:00.002-05:00

It's Day 17/17....my final day.......except I'm going to 18/17.

No photos of my weight, but still at 130.5.

Breakfast:
Greek Yogurt Smoothie (Chobani Honey flavored yogurt (gross on its own so I threw it into the smoothie, fresh strawberries)

Lunch:
Hummus
Raw carrots
Canned peas (didn't finish the whole can, maybe 2/3)
McDonald's Shamrock Shake...........like I said yesterday, temporary amnesia

Dinner (Banquet at the Hilton for HACIA - Hispanic American Construction Industry Association):
Salad....it was Mexican style...had some corn, mixed greens with a creamy Caesar cilantro type dressing it seems
Entree of chicken thigh w/ couscous, green beans and another cilantro type sauce for the chicken. LOVED the sauce....so good.
Dessert of a three layered chocolate mousse cake with berry sauce and a strawberry on the side.
Coca-cola to drink and plenty of water
Coffee w/creamer & sugar too

Overall: Obviously no workout since I went to the banquet dinner right after work. I got home late and went straight to bed. I drank a decent amount of water, but still not my goal amount.

I'm losing steam these last days. I just need some better food.

Sorry no pics today..........

For the final end post, I do intend to post measurements. I know my weight may not be majorly changed, but my clothes and how they fit really has. So I'll do a measurement comparison for you all maybe this weekend.

Happy Green Day

2011-03-17T19:00:00.003-05:00

.........or St. Patrick's Day........

For me it's just another excuse to celebrate my favorite color

Chicago celebrates with green water at the Daley Plaza fountain

I added canned peas to my lunch...

And had temporary diet amnesia and ordered a Shamrock Shake.....the best artificial green colored food out there that only comes around one time a year.......I can't believe I resisted until now

And green toe nail polish........the weight is still 130.5....

I am wearing green of course.....a shirt and my sweater/jacket plus my everyday staple.....

My beautiful wedding ring

17 Day Diet: Day 16

2011-03-17T13:54:00.003-05:00

Weight: 130.5

Breakfast:
Kefir Smoothie (strawberries & peaches)

Lunch (Luncheon for WTS-Women in Transportation):
Tomato bisque soup w/croutons (I didn't eat all the croutons)
Breaded Chicken Breast (I ate half)
Mashed Potatoes (ate them all, but there wasn't much to begin with)
Steamed veggies (pea pods, mini squash, mini carrots) (ate most)
Chocolate cake dessert w/berries (at 2/3 of the cake and most the berries)
Had a soda
Coffee w/creamer

Dinner:
Hummus
Carrot sticks
Edamame (only the little pieces not the whole pods)
Last little piece of my smoked salmon

Exercise: Walk through the forest preserve with the hubby.......approx 40 min walk. The deer were out in full force. Must have seen over 30....at the least. A couple came soooo close, within 10 feet. The one on the left has small antlers and Florin tried to get it to come closer buy enticing it with a water bottle. Not sure it really worked. The one on the right was fairly small and probably one of last years' babies. He was so curious of us and kept coming closer.

Overall: Very little exercise but better than nothing and had to take advantage of the slightly warmer weather. I wish I had more self control to eat less at the luncheon. I also drank maybe 3/4 the amount of water I should have had. I still can't believe I have one more day to go of the 17, but two more since I'm going to end on Friday the 18th.

Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2011-03-16T15:05:00.004-05:00

(apparently I was spelling it wrong as 'hummas' before)

1-15oz can of garbanzo beans, drained from liquid (it might be 16oz can, can't remember)
2-3 cloves garlic grated or put through a garlic press or minced, whatever just make it tiny
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil (as needed for consistency) DO not use vegetable oil. I have seen recipes with sesame oil, but most people have a good olive oil around and it works fine.
1/2 lemon squeezed for juice, about 1-2 TB lemon juice
salt to taste
optional: 1-2 dashes of cayenne pepper (for a little kick)
2-3 roasted red peppers (you can find them usually in pickle aisle at grocery store in glass jar, I get mine at the European grocery store....make sure they are 'roasted' and not just marinated red peppers)

Blend garbanzo beans with olive oil slowly to a thick consistency. I used a blender but a food processor would work too. I don't have a food processor and last time I tried to use my magic bullet to make hummus I failed.
Add garlic, lemon juice, seasonings and red peppers. Blend some more.
Add more olive oil as necessary to make it easier to blend and less thick.
Season with more salt to your taste. I like the cayenne pepper or a kick. Garlic also to your preference. I love garlic so I went with 3-4 cloves in mine.

I enjoy my hummus with carrots mostly or on the side of a dish. Also goes well on pitas and in wraps for flavor. The hubby likes his the Romanian way, spread on bread.

I consider it a fairly healthy option for food and beans a good source of non-meat protein. Just don't eat too much, it does have a bit of olive oil in it. And you can also do just plain hummus without red peppers, just don't add them. Enjoy!