Happy Holidays!

I know I've been an absent blogger lately, but don't worry I'm going to pull together an update post soon. As for now I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! And since my blog needs a little more holiday spirit... here are our Christmas photos...

Christmas card :)

Me and my sweet puppy

Our little family

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing". I hope everyone has a wonderful time with their loved ones this holiday season, while keeping in mind the true meaning of Christmas...

Love you all!

Stay Strong Sister

Today my sister is having surgery on her hip for the second time this year. And this one is a big one. She has still been having pain since her first one earlier in the spring so something else needed to be done. The procedure is called derotational osteotomy, and here is my attempt to briefly describe it: they will be re-angling her joint by cutting her femur and creating a wedge using plates, screws, etc. This will hopefully dissolve the pain (eventually) since the ball-and-socket joint will not be rubbing (ouch!) and wearing away the cartilage like it is now. As for the recovery... it will be a long one. She'll be non-weight bearing for 3 months and on crutches for another 3-6 months after that.

On a good note, she is about 1.5 hours away from the Hughston clinic, which is a great place to have this procedure done with very knowledgeable and highly recommended surgeons. She has a proactive physical therapist that is already researching away while awaiting her return. And most of all, my mom is able to live down there with her until she can be more independent, and we are all thankful for that. Her boyfriend, Mark, and other friends are more than eager to help in any way they can, whether that be bringing casseroles or giving car rides to/from work and therapy. As for me, I am grateful to have the opportunity to come down there in about 2.5 weeks to help out! And I'm bringing the Wii!! Sonic the Hedgehog here we come... just like the old days! I'm excited to spend some good ole quality time with my sister! And I can't wait to catch up on all the movies I've been wanting to watch-- slumber party central!

Props to my sis - It was just last month that Gwen found out this second procedure is necessary, and she has been so optimistic. I can't imagine how hard it would be anticipating such a long recovery, but my sister is so strong. She has chosen to focus on the good things. She told me that she feels much more prepared for this one and has been doing pre-surgery exercises so that she can go in as strong as possible. She has also been getting the house ready, accumulating practical clothing and knows what she needs. She even moved apartments 2 weekends ago so she can be on the first floor and have more accessibility. I'm so proud of her and know that she'll be so strong through all of this. My mom even told me this morning when they were ready to take her back that she wasn't nervous at all. I guess the hard part is yet to come.

PLEASE PRAY that she will have a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. It's going to be a tough road, but we are all here to support her.

Count your blessings!

Happy Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone! Are you as ready as I am for Thanksgiving holiday next week!?!

I just wanted to tell you that I updated our Chicago (Day 2 and 3) pictures since some of you had trouble viewing the slide show. Check them out if you haven't already!

Reunion Weekend

My beloved Auburn Tigers defeated Ole Miss last weekend, and Ryan and I were there to witness it all! It was so great to be back on the plains and in Jordan Hare Stadium for the first time this year! And to top it off, all my besties were there! We had such a fun weekend re-living our college days. We went to Skybar Friday night just like old times. And yes, we are still on "the list", but you have to ask them to get out the "original" list. We woke up early Saturday morning to make sure we could get a mimosa in before our early kickoff of 11:21 am. The game was so exciting and we came out with the 'W'. WAR EAGLE! I just love signing "It's great to be an AUBURN TIGER" on my way out of the stadium while shaking my shaker proudly! We then met up at the tailgate for food and drinks... and of course flip cup. Despite the cold, dreary weather we had a great time with all our friends! Gosh I miss college!


More pics to come!

Just in for the Night

Wednesday night Kate and Gray, and their flight instructor, flew in from Birmingham for dinner! HOW FUN! We ate at Boscos and had a great time catching up! How fun is that to fly into Nashville on a Wednesday night to have dinner! Gray will be needing more hours over the next year, so they promise to be back soon! I'm holding them to it! So good to see you guys! I'll see you again this weekend at Auburn vs. Ole Miss!

I have no pics from the night, but this is what I imagine they flew in on...

And this is my Kate Kate

CHICAGO - Day 3

We woke early this morning to cram in some more Chicago festivities! We started the day with that wonderful french toast (I spoke about in the post prior) and a little bit of coffee and we were on our way. First stop was Millennium Park. Like everything else it was a short walk from the hotel and we wondered around for a bit looking at the sculptures, amphitheater, and lush garden areas. My favorite was Cloud Gate (the bean)!! It was such an interesting piece of art and so fun to take pictures. It is a 110 ton structure of highly polished stainless steel plates (looks like mirrors) which reflect the city's famous skyline. You'll see pics below. Then we made our way to the Magnificent Mile, which is filled with upscale stores, luxury hotels, restaurants, and businesses. Let's just say we didn't step foot in many of the stores, but we (well, I) had a great time window shopping and walking the streets.

Later that afternoon we met up with 16 others for a Chicago Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour. When looking online for things to do this of course caught my eye since Ryan loves to cook, taste, etc. So, I chose the Near North Tour, which took us through the Gold Coast, Old Town, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. Along the 2 mile trek we tasted delicious foods from seven one-of-a-kind specialty food stores that were "off the beaten path". The tour lasted over 3.5 hours and was also probably one of our favorite parts of the trip. It was so fun to tour the neighborhoods were the locals live that we probably wouldn't have even ventured out to if not for this tour. We had many tastings and listened to short presentations in an authentic Jewish deli (Reuben sandwiches), a specialty tea shop (yummy tea that warmed us up too), the Spice House (cinnamon and salt presentation), Old Town Oil (olive oil and balsamic vinegar- OUR FAVORITE), Catering Chocolate (gourmet foods and cheese), the Fudge Pot (fudge and butter toffee-YUM), and finally Bacino's Pizza (famous spinach stuffed pizza). It was such a neat experience and unlike anything we have ever done before. Our favorite was hands down Old Town Oil. That was actually the one I was least looking forward to, but it was awesome! Even inside during the initial presentation I was very skeptical since sipping oil and balsamic from a little cup didn't sound appetizing, especially since there was no bread involved since that is "an insult to the quality of the oils". Boy were they right! I actually hurried around in that shop to taste as many combinations that I possibly could! First you choose a olive oil and mix with a balsamic vinegar. There were so many flavors! Ryan and my top two favorites were walnut extra virgin olive oil with red apple balsamic vinegar... it would make the perfect salad dressing! The other is garlic evlo and I think it was the 18 year aged balsamic... perfect for a steak marinade. All the combinations were so tasty though... the flavors ranged from Cinnamon pear, tangerine, fig, basil, lemon, cilantro/onion, blueberry, and on and on. We loved making up our own pairings.

After our lunch, we went on a search for something for our home to take back and remind us of our fabulously fun trip (a tradition we've started). We found the perfect purchase at a cute shop in Lincoln Park. It's a framed print/drawing of guitars in different (subtle) colors. We were immediately drawn towards it and knew it would tie in to our Nashville home perfectly. It is now hanging in our kitchen and we love it!

More pictures of our hotel lobby

upstairs lobby - so modern and chic

Walking to Millennium Park

At the famous park

me and my baby

I LOVE U

The bean!

So awesome to see the skyline in the reflection

That's us!

Getting closer...

Haha!

It's me!

Someone else taking our picture...

We had a lot of fun with this thing!

Strange scupture/screen in the park.... later I was told that if we waited long enough the kid would have spit water out of his mouth!

Having fun exploring Millennium Park

Chicago is SO pretty

The Gray's

I'm a VS angel! haha

The start to our food tour... a Jewish deli

Tea Gschwendner

The original Playboy Mansion!

Ryan in front of the mansion

Leaving the Gold Coast... entering Old Town

Salt and cinnamon presentation

At Old Town Oil sipping away - OUR FAVORITE!



Walking by Second City where we were the night before!
Last stop - Bacino's - for famous spinach stuffed pizza! YUM!

Lincoln Park

This is where we found our home keepsake (the guitars)
Taking the L back to the airport... bye bye Chicago! See you next time!

I already cannot wait until our next vacation together! Happy Anniversary to us :)