Apology Love

I would like to humbly and sincerely apologize to readers of Sarah Loves Hearts for my recent unexplained absence.  Not to make excuses but I have been a busy bee.  Since we last spoke I co-hosted a birthday party in Chicago for my bestie Morgan, went to a lovely engagement party for Lisa that same weekend, traveled to Napa for Lisa's amazing bachelorette party and visited darling Sam in hipsterville, aka Portland, Oregon.  This week I taught a workshop Monday and Tuesday, Saturday morning I'm running a 10k and Saturday afternoon I fly to Florida for two weeks.  I fly back into Chicago on the 21st and am cohosting a bridal shower there on Saturday.  Sunday I'll return to GB.  Soooo, long story short I have had a lot on my plate and have put my blog on the back burner.  I plan to return to blogging upon my return at the end of June.  In the meantime, have lots of fun and I'll see you soon!  

Sticker Love

I have referenced my love for stickers numerous times but it bears repeating.  I love stickers!  I am like a five-year-old girl when it comes to stickers.  I want them all!  I'm sure that like most small children I enjoyed stickers but I didn't get really into them until middle school.  I do however recall that as a little girl my mom bought me the Aristocats sticker book.  Do you remember those?  They sold them at the grocery store and they were usually related to a movie.  Then the stickers with scenes from the movie were sold in packs and you tried to eventually get all of the scenes.  Anyways, I was so into the Aristocats (which is an amazing and under-appreciated Disney film and you should go see it immediately if you haven't) that I bought (or more accurately my mother bought for me as I had no income at that time) pack after pack of stickers.  Even then I was missing a few but my dear mother sent away for the missing ones so my book could be complete.  I think they messed up though and I am still missing one.  I have the book so I will have to check.  

This is what the book is like.  It is really cool!  Do they still make these? 

Commencement Love

Happy Monday friends.  I hope everyone's week is off to a great start.  I had a very busy weekend but it was nice.  Friday was my dear friend Jeremy's last day working here so his boss hosted a going away party. It was very nice.  Fortunately for me Jeremy won't be leaving the area until August so we'll have plenty of time to have lots of fun this summer.  Still it is sad to no longer have him as a colleague.  After his party I ran some errands and then babysat Cher's little people.  We had a great time!  

Twins reading

Closet Love- Part Two

Yesterday dear readers were given a glimpse into that most sacred of spaces, my closet.  Today the tour continues.  As I explained yesterday, I have two connected closets off my room.  The second closet holds skirts, dresses, shoes, and handbags primarily.  It was hit hardest (in a good way) by my recent organizational purges.  As you walk through the first closet into the second, to the right is a single clothes rack.  On the far side skirts are hung on four-tier skirt hangers, in rainbow order of course.  Next to them are dresses and on the near side, strapless dresses hung on skirt hangers.  

Dresses and skirts, nice and neat

Closet Love- Part One

I've mentioned several times my recent closet organization project and have promised pictures.  Well, the moment you've waited for is finally here.  There is so much to say I've decided to make this a two-parter!  First, some background information: I am very very fortunate to have a double closet.  Off my bedroom is a large walk-in closet.  When you enter the closet you face another door leading to a second, larger, walk-in.  Trust me, I need all this space.  Several years ago my mother painted both closets a lovely bubble gum-pink with glossy navy blue trim.  They are truly beautiful.  Today we are only going to look at the first closet.  This closet holds my shirts, tank tops, sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets and many accessories.  When I reorganized recently I went through every single item, trying on many of them and deciding which to keep and which to get rid of.  I also reorganized some of the storage so that it was neater and more effective.  Here is the finished result:  

To the left, to the left, all the shirts on the rack to the left

Railroad Love

One of the activities I devote my time to is serving on the Board of Directors of the National Railroad Museum.  The Museum is really cool because like the Smithsonian or the National Gallery, it is literally the United State's official Railroad Museum and it's located right here in GB.  I have been on the board for two years now and generally I really enjoy it.  My background in fundraising informs my viewpoint and I think I bring a unique perspective.  I am also the only girl and the only person under forty.  It's not exactly a diverse group.  

Scratch Off Love

I have mentioned many times my typical Saturday routine of developing a menu and grocery list then going to Woodman's but I believe I have neglected to ever describe what we do at the end of our shopping trip.

Love from Kentucky

Yesterday is always one of the saddest days of the year because it means it's almost an entire year until the next derby.  That being said, Derby 139 (well four for our group) was as a marvelous time. 

Me at the Oaks

Derby Week Love

The week that I have long-awaited is finally here!  I just have to get through 3 and 1/2 (well now only 2 1/2) days of work and it will be time to depart for the Derby!  I have made some last minute decisions that may shock you.  I am sticking with my French Connection Derby dress mentioned here and my hat I bought a few weeks back BUT I am going in a different direction with my Oaks dress.

Office Love

I am very fortunate to have an office I like very much.  I spend more waking hours in my office than any other one place so I'm glad that mine is so nice.  A big reason I like it so much is because I have done a lot to personalize it and make it feel like my own.  I've mentioned before that I have a darling Keurig in my office that was a present from my mother.  I use it every day and truly love it.  I had a little coffee serving area next to it and recently added another tray on the other side to hold tea fixings.  

My lovely Keurig set up, note the Tiffany mug a sweet gift from Linds.  The carafe holds water for the Keurig, not vodka, this isn't Mad Men!

 Another feature of my office I really enjoy is my desk chairs.  For my first two years I had the standard issue office chairs and I never really liked them.  I hold a lot of meetings in my office and I wanted chairs people could move around and roll up to my desk as well as something that was more aesthetically pleasing.  One day I found two fabulous tweed club chairs at SVDP for only $25 each so of course I snapped them up.  

beautiful chair

I also have a tiny bit of green in my office in the form of a bonsai tree, also from my mother.  I do not have much of a green thumb but so far so good. 

not a very good shot of my baby bonsai

In addition to the changes to my Keurig set up I also made some changes to my bookshelf today.  As you can see holding books is kind of its' secondary function.  Primarily it holds photos of my favorite people and other little knick knacks. 

lotsa babies

I've also decorated the walls to suit my personal taste.  I had an accent wall painted in a greyish-blue, borrowed a piece of art from the College's Collection and hung up corkboards for my own mementos.  

my office

All in all it's a pretty nice place to spend 40 hours per week (give or take).  Last night my mom made Blackberry Chicken for dinner.  It was delicious! 

                                         
I have a pasta dish cooking in the slow cooker to enjoy after zumba.  I'll post about it tomorrow.  Until then friends!  What do you think of my office?  How do you personalize your work space?                                                                                                  
                      

Closet Love

I hope your week is off to a great start.  This post is going to be brief but I promise I will make up for it later this week when I'm not quite so busy.  I had a lovely, productive weekend.  What about you?  Friday I finally finished Operation Pocket Square: 

the finished product

Welcome Back Love

Hi friends!  I've missed you.  Big apologies for my long absence.  As I indicated here I was attending a work conference and I don't really like blogging on my ipad which was all I had with me.  Please join me as we travel back in time.  We have so much to catch up on!  I briefly mentioned this past weekend in my last post but I wanted to share some projects I worked on as it was a very projecty weekend.  My dear friend Rachel recently had a baby and I wanted to make (bake?) a diaper cake for her.  I found very simple instructions here on pinterest (where else?).  I really wasn't sure how many dipes I'd need so I bought the biggest box I could find of size one, 128 tiny diapers.  It ended up being more than enough which is good to know for future reference.  Here's the finished product:

I put pieces of cardboard underneath the lower two layers for stability.

Love from Milwaukee

Hi friends! Apologies for the lack of a post today. I wasn't by my computer as I am in Milwaukee for a conference until Wednesday. Note the title. I do NOT love Milwaukee at all. I had a wonderful weekend. Got in two great runs with Cher, had a very fun birthday dinner at SALT and accomplished beaucoup projects (diaper cake, pocket square, presents wrapped, framing jobs), saw the amazing UW band AND on top of all that, took a nap. I promise to upload many pictures but can't right now as all I have is my iPad. I have recently received some friendly feedback to include more pics so will do. Dear readers, I always appreciate your suggestion and constructive criticism. And I can't stop singing Les Miz songs!!!

College Love

I was fortunate to go the best, most fun college in the world: the University of Wisconsin.  My senior year of high school I did not want to go there at all.  I wanted to go somewhere on the east coast, preferably in Boston.  Shortly after I got to Madison though, I fell in love with it.  Now that I am an alumna, I am an even more fervent Badger.  This weekend, for the third time, I'll get to enjoy the awesome UW Band here in GB with my mother.  It is so much fun!  This week has been very busy but productive at work and I am looking forward to a break.  Besides the concert tonight I need to run a bunch of errands and run an actual run with Cher (the weather has not been cooperating with us).  Tomorrow, my usual Zumba, menu and groceries and I'm having lunch with my cousin who's visiting for the weekend.  Then tomorrow night I'm celebrating my friend Theresa's birthday at SALT.  Yum!  Sunday, running again and preparing for a trip.  Next Monday-Wednesday I'm attending a conference in Milwaukee.  I also want to find time to complete my pocket square project, fix a broken umbrella and do some other small household tasks.  Think I can do it?  What are you up to?  Something fun I hope! 

Pinterest Love

I am completely in love with Pinterest.  I can easily while away an hour or two looking at pins.  Oddly I resisted joining for quite a while.  Cheryl and Jeremy told me over and over again how much I would like it but I had a weird aversion.  I really don't know why!  Back in December I finally broke down and joined and I'm very glad I did.  I am a very discriminating pinner.  During my four months of activity I've only pinned 309 pins and created 22 boards.  That may sound like a lot but many people have thousands of pins and dozens of boards.  I only pin things that I believe there is a high probability I will make or do.  My biggest board is recipes followed by sewing.  I've pinned 75 recipes and have tried exactly half of them.  I also have another board with recipes just for Snack Club.  And, like any single girl, I have a board for my future wedding (lots and lots of hearts).  I also have a few secret boards for parties I'm planning and gift ideas.  If you haven't joined the pinterest train I suggest you check it out.  But a warning, it's highly addictive!  Here are a few tips and suggestions for a successful pinterest experience.      

Pocket Square Love

In preparation for our upcoming Kentucky Derby trip (24 days!!!!) I am working on a project for my friend Dan, one of the people I take the trip with.  You may recall that last month I posted about some darling vintage fabric I found while looking for fabric to make Dan a pocket square.  I like the fabric very much but unfortunately the colors don't match Dan's outfit.  We decided to try recreating the pattern on plain white fabric in the pastel hues we were looking for.  You follow?  For a refresher here is the original fabric I ordered: 

Sooo charming!

Snack Love

Do you like to snack?  I do very much.  In no particular order here of some of my personal favorite snacks at the moment: 

1. fruit~ an oldie but a goodie, I often eat apples (Honeycrisp preferably) and grapes at work for a snack.  I like oranges but they are so time-consuming. 
2. anything made with hot cocoa mix whether it's hot cocoa itself, greek yogurt mixed with cocoa or oatmeal
3. baby carrots dipped in Laughing Cow spreadable cheese
4. Ry-Krisp crackers~ they're so crunch!  Also good with Laughing Cow cheese
5. Hi I'm Skinny Sticks~ Cher just turned me on to these and they are so delicious!  We had some yesterday for Snack Club along with Pineapple Whip.  Yum 
6. cereal~ I especially love Cheerios, not in a bowl with milk, that's gross but plain or with a glass of milk on the side so they don't get soggy.  I also really like Kashi hearts and Fiber One chocolate cereal
7. coffee, especially lattes made with skim milk and sugar-free syrup

Bridesmaid Love

My weekend was very fun and eventful and productive.  How was yours?  I always used to take Amtrak from Milwaukee (or Sturtevant) to Chicago but for the last year or so I have gotten more into taking the Metra from Kenosha.  For those of you not familiar, the Metra is Chicago's suburban rail system.  It has 11 different lines stretching out from Chicago in every direction.  Well, not east because that would be into the lake. 

Birthday Love

I didn't realize it until now but I am celebrating a lot of birthdays this week.  My grandma on Wednesday, baby C's first yesterday and my dear friend Lisa's this weekend in Chicago.  As I mentioned yesterday I stopped by baby C's house (well his parents' house) last night to give him his gifts.  His big brother, my darling godson, happily helped him open them and then fed me wrapping paper.  What a goof.  Then he put the ribbon from C's gift over my head and used it to lead me around his house!  It was very silly.  We played with trains which are his obsession.  I don't think I like anything in life as much as he loves trains and I have an entire blog chronicling the things I love!  We had a lovely time.  Today I am heading to Chicago to celebrate Lisa's birthday and shop for my bridesmaid dress!  Yay!  I can't wait.  The only part I don't like is driving down to Milwaukee/Sturtevant (if I take the Amtrak) or Kenosha (if I take the Metra) by myself.  What are you doing this weekend?  Did you celebrate any birthday's this week? 

Travel Love

Dinner last night turned out great!  The casserole was delicious and I would have to dub the Stevia experiment a success.  From what I read, for baking applications, Stevia only recommends you substitute it for half the sugar in a recipe as it's much drier than regular sugar.  We tend to think of sugar as being dry because it's um, dry but in recipes it lends moisture. 

Spring Love

Even though it is still cold out it's finally starting to feel like spring.  I love the sunshine and hearing the birds chirp when I walk in to work in the morning.  This week has been a little busy but mostly with fun stuff so I can't complain.  Monday of course I watched DWTS and Cher made jello salad for Snack Club.  Yum! 

Easter Love

I have decided to discontinue Sarah Loves Hearts effective immediately.  Just kidding!  April fools!  I am having way too much fun blogging and besides, what would you all do without me?  You'd be lost!  Did you have a nice Easter weekend?  Mine was lovely.  I very much enjoyed having Friday off.  I went to spin for a change of pace, ran a few errands and went to see Les Miz in the afternoon with my mother.  I love that movie so much!  I can't stop singing all the songs. 

Treats Love

Sometimes I like to bring treats to work whether it's for a holiday or special occasion or just for fun.  Today for Easter I brought in Sugar Cookie Bars.  I whipped them up last night and they were super easy and delicious.  In fact, the entire tray was gone by the time I got back from my strength class at 1:00!  I was glad I picked a quick, easy recipe since last night after work I went and saw The Croods with my friend's son and went running later in the evening.  Luckily the recipe hardly took any time at all.  I don't think I mentioned this yet but the Stroganoff I made on Tuesday turned out sooo good.  And it really tasted good with spaghetti squash instead of noodles.  If I made it again the only change I would make would be to use less bacon to make it a little healthier.  

Delicious!

Equality Love

This blog is all about the things and people I love most.  I am fortunate to know and love many gay individuals (gay Americans if you prefer the Jim McGreevey parlance).  I believe that equal rights for homosexuals is the most important civil rights issue of our time and I hope that our current Supreme Court comes down on the right side of history (not the conservative right side, the correct side).  Everyone deserves the right to marry the person they love.  

Love my gays! 

 

Pilates Love + Healthy Substitutions

Yesterday I took my first pilates class in a long time and it was so fun!  As much as I love my workout schedule and the classes I take it was a good reminder that it's fun to mix it up occasionally.  After pilates I came home for a quick dinner before going to Cher's for DWTS.  My dear mother had made Smothered Pork Chops and Roasted Turnips for dinner.  They were delicious, especially the chops.  

My mom said, "aren't you going to take a picture of this for you blog?" so I did!

Train Love

Happy Monday friends!  Was your weekend an ideal balance of fun, relaxing and productive?  Mine was pretty close.  Friday I went running with Cher.  She made a new route for us and it made a huge difference.  We've been running the same route for several months and I think we didn't realize but it was getting kind of boring.  Afterwards we got fro yo and of course it was amazing. 

Sleep Love

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my friend's sweet son's fourth grade concert and it was so much fun!  I am so lucky to have Rachel and her family in my life and cannot wait for them to welcome their new little angel in a few weeks.  And wow, Dickinson Elementary puts on a good show! 

Thank You Love

SPOILER ALERT IF YOUR INITIALS ARE SECD.  I've recently posted here and here about the new shoes my darling Sam surprised me with.  Growing up, the rule in my house was, any gift you receive from someone who is not there in person needs to be acknowledged with a thank you note.  This means that people who come to my birthday party and bring gifts don't require an additional thank you in the mail since I can thank them in person (although it's always nice to do so) but any gift that arrives in the mail needs to be acknowledged with a TY note. 

Daily Outift Love

Happy first day of Spring.  It doesn't feel like it here but in honor of the occasion I wore a sundress:

Navy and pink striped sundress from Target

Shoe Love

Like most girls in the world, I like shoes.  I kind of don't like to talk about it because it's such a cliche to be a girl and like shoes but I guess it's one of those things that's a cliche because it's true.  As I've mentioned before, I really like Tory Burch Reva flats.  I have them in brown and navy and they seem to go with everything.  Except socks.  I would NEVER wear them with socks. 

Errand Love

How was your weekend?  Mine was lovely.  I took Friday off work and spent the entire day running errands.  It was glorious.  I made it to every single place I wanted to go and found everything I needed.  Here is my list in order: 

Fitness Love

Close readers of Sarah Loves Hearts may notice that I frequently mention the various fitness activities I engage in.  Throughout my life I have been very inconsistent in that regard.  In high school I went to the Y every single day (it was THE workout spot for my high school) and stuck to an unbending regime of elliptical, weights, and abs. 

Fabric Love

Yesterday while searching for fabric to make my friend Dan a pocket square for the Derby I came across the coolest vintage fabric on Etsy:

New fabric!

Food Love

Happy Tuesday friends!  What did you think of the most shocking Bachelor finale ever?  SPOILER ALERT  I did think it was legitimately shocking.  I was entirely convinced he was going to pick Lindsey.  I'm happy he didn't but very surprised.  We had an excellent Snack Club if I do say so myself. 

Bridal Love + Fun in Chicago

What a fantastic weekend.  As I have mentioned before I went to law school in Chicago and lived there after for about a year and a half.  Many of my close friends still live in the city so I usually visit about once a month.  My visit last weekend was for two very special reasons: 1) wedding dress shopping for my dear friend Lisa, and 2) seeing the Book of Mormon with my friends Alexa and Jamie.  Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start per Fraulein Maria). 

Friday Love

TGIF!  I am so ready for the weekend.  I made a change to Sarah Loves Hearts that I think will greatly improve the functionality for those interested in trying some of the recipes I mention.  I have listed and linked to all recipes in the Cooking tab on the homepage.  I hope this proves useful.  Are there other changes you would like to see?  I just enjoyed a lovely unexpected visit from two of my favorite students (thanks for the drop in Bojan and John).  It was a nice way to while away some time on a Friday afternoon.  This weekend I will be visiting Chicago for a variety of fun activities: wedding dress shopping with my engaged friend Lis, seeing my other Chicago friends Linds, Morgs, hopefully Brooke and maybe my dear cousin, Martha Stewart's Wedding Party (eeee I am sooo excited I love Martha Stewart!!!), and last but not least, Book of Mormon Sunday!  As I mention here, I've wanted to see it for ages and I am so excited.  The only bad thing about going away is missing this guy:

What are you up to this weekend?  Whatever it is I hope it's fun!  If you are participating in any handicapping tournaments good luck! 

Gift Love

I absolutely love surprises, both surprising others and being on the receiving end.  I don't mean like someone jumping out from behind a closed door but fun, nice surprises, unexpected gifts and the like.  I have been a little down lately.  I don't know if it's the endless winter, the lack of my usual Dominican vacation this time of year or what but I have just been out of sorts. 

Cape Love

I have wanted a cape for awhile but I could not find one that suited me.  Then around Thanksgiving I was purchasing fabric for some holiday sewing projects and I spotted the most lovely plaid wool.  It was a little expensive compared to what I usually spend on fabric but it was so pretty I had to have it.  I looked at the fabric store for a suitable cape pattern but really could not find anything I liked.  They were all too fussy or old ladyish and I wanted something very simple and classic with slits in the front to stick my hands through. 

Kitchen Love

As I've mentioned before multiple times, I love cooking and organization, so naturally, kitchen organization is one of my favorites.  Last year I went through my entire house and organized everything.  I noticed that things were starting to slide a bit so I drafted a schedule for every month that would ensure the house stayed in tip top shape.  February focused on the kitchen, pantry and hall closet. 

Outdoors Love

I am not exactly "outdoorsy" whatever that means but I actually really enjoy being outside.  That might be a strange sentiment coming in the midst of a seemingly endless winter but I've noticed that when I spend time out of doors, even in winter, it tends to brighten my mood.  Two weeks ago when I went to the outdoor hockey game I noticed how nice it was to be outside for the entire day.  It had been way too long.  This weekend I went running outdoors twice and went cross country skiing two times with my mother.  

mom skiing

Project Love + Odds and Ends

Happy Friday friends!  I hope everyone is having a lovely day!  As I mentioned here, last weekend we celebrated Jeremy's birthday.  After dinner, we were enjoying a cocktail at the very charming Bayside Tavern in Fish Creek.  I noticed that the cocktail napkins had a lovely illustration of a sailboat. 

Winter Fashion Love

Many people believe that winter and fashion simply don't go together.  However, as a life-long resident of the midwest I have to politely disagree.  Winter fashion is certainly different than summer but it is full of opportunities for self-expression and personal style.  My personal favorite aspects of winter fashion are coats and the requisite panoply of winter accessories.  For me this includes, mittens, gloves, headbands, scarves, hats, earmuffs and boots. 

Ice Cream Love

Ice cream is probably my favorite food.  I blame my dear mother for this because when I was a child she used to take me to 31 Flavors (aka Baskin Robbins) or Storheims (RIP) for ice cream almost every day.  We also had it in the house all the time.  Thus I never got the message that ice cream is a sometimes food and instead I view it as an all times food. 

Organization Love

As I discuss here, organization is extremely important to me.  One way that I stay organized is by making a list each Monday of everything I have going on for the week through Sunday.  The list includes all my workouts, social engagements, errands, and the meals I will be cooking at home.  If I'm traveling I include the departure and arrival times for the plane/train.  Here's what this week's list looks like:  

How I do organization

More Love from DC

When most of the universe hears "DC" they immediately picture our nations' capitol.  I recounted my recent trip there here.  However, a tiny portion of the populace associates that familiar acronym with another, more local, DC; Door County, Wisconsin!  This weekend found me in both DCs! 

Love from DC

Hi friends! I'm writing to you from our nation's capitol! I'm typing this on my iPad after a few glasses of wine so pardon any spelling or grammatical errors. If I mess up there/their/they're or your/you're feel free to castigate me. That's unforgivable. I'm watching Say Yes to the Dress. I love that show! I'm here for a work conference and got in late last night. They upgraded me to a lovely suite which was very kind so I feel like a total baller. So, I work in higher ed. I am continually struck by how unstylish ladies and for that matter gentleman in this field dress. Being smart and being stylish are not mutually exclusive! Look at me! Today I saw: an un-ironic fanny pack, a mini-backpack which honestly may be more offensive than the fanny pack, an un-ironic mullet (on a girl !!!), and a whole world of ugly footwear. Seriously if you are smart enough to earn a PhD how can you be so ignorant of fashion? It upsets me. After my conference I ran to F21. I believe I've alluded to my affection for F21 and some of you may be puzzled by this. I certainly wouldn't buy ALL my clothes there but I am totally not averse to fast fashion and it is a great resource for trendier pieces. Case in point: I bought a pair of hot pink jeans there! Going to pair them with a navy J. Crew sweater with a kitty on it and Tory Burch flats on the plane. Later I met up with my dear friend Nina for tapas. We had a fantastic time catching up and I fully forgive her for taking me to the same place (Jaleo) twice. It was delish! The conference has been good and over all I've had a great trip but I'm looking forward to getting home tomorrow and celebrating Jeremy's 30th!!! What do you like to do in DC? Do you judge me for shopping at F21? Do you like tapas?

Daily Outfit Love

Ombre chambray ombre chambray

I love the idea of documenting what I wear every day but I'm a little lazy to actually do it.  When I was in high school and law school I got into writing down my outfits every day for reasons I can't really recall. 

Weekly Love List

Not a picture from the future

How is your week going?  I am glad that it's Wednesday.  I leave for a conference in Washington tomorrow night so only one more day of work for me.  Tonight I am making Cheddar Chicken for dinner with a spinach salad and a vegetable, maybe broccoli.  I need a quickish dinner because I am supposed to go running and I need to pack not only for my DC trip but for my friend Jeremy's birthday party which I am leaving for immediately upon my return Saturday.  So here is what I'm loving this week: 

New Dresser Love

I mentioned here that I found a chest of drawers at SVDP two weeks ago.  I had been looking for one for quite some time to hold my fabric and other sewing items.  I used to use just a plastic three drawer unit but my constant thrift store fabric purchases caused me to outgrow it.  As promised, here is the glorious unit: 

Beautiful sewing chest

Chicago Love

Derby hat? 

I lived in Chicago for five years while I was in law school and then when I was working in my first post-grad job.  Many of my friends still live there so I end up visiting about once a month.  This weekend I went down for a surprise birthday party and a hockey game.

Valentine's Day Love

Office Valentine treat

Happy Valentine's day everyone!  Valentine's day is actually my very favorite holiday.  I love a day that is all about spreading love and happiness and I will take any opportunity to wear hearts and pink and red together. 

Monday Night Love

My dinner

I know people usually hate Mondays but I kind of love them because I have such a fun Monday night routine!  I usually go to Zumba at 5:30 but last night I went to a strength class instead because I wanted to get home earlier.  I made Asian Pork with Noodles and Broccoli in the crockpot and then I cleaned the upstairs.  We ate dinner and then came the fun part, my Monday night tradition: Bachelor with Cher and Snack Club. 

Weekly Love List- Valentine Edition

I am going to start the week off right with a list of things I love right now.  
1.  Lindeman's Framboise:  Oh my goodness, I do not normally drink beer and I don't even know if this is a beer exactly but it is delicious.  Like some kind of amazingly tasty raspberry juice.  Thank you for introducing me Jamie and Alexa!  

Musical Love

I have loved musicals since I was a little girl.  When I was really little we lived in a teeny tiny duplex with a bathroom right off the living room.  I would sit in the tub and my mom would rotate the television so I could watch from there and I would watch musicals for hours. 

Thrift Store Love

Adorable!  

I am an unabashed thrift store junkie.  I can not resist the thrill of the hunt.  My favorite thrift stores are dirty and disorganized and full of junk.  I love finding the one great item amidst all the trash.  It's so rewarding! 

Derby Love continued

2010 Derby dress

I had intended to describe my Derby and Oaks outfit yesterday but the post got a little long with all the details of my Friday outfit so I'll finish it off today.  For a Derby outfit I like something that is either very pastel and/or preppy. 

Derby Love

One of my very favorite spring activities is my annual trip with friends to the Kentucky Derby.  This year will be our fourth trip and I am pretty sure it will be the best one yet.  Mostly because we have the best seats ever this year on the second level right on the rail and because it seems like every year we learn more and have a better trip.  But, I am also excited because I LOVE picking out outfits for the Derby and the Kentucky Oaks on Friday. 

Cooking Love

So one of my favorite household tasks is making my weekly menu and grocery shopping.  I just find it so rewarding to craft a menu for the week that is delicious, healthy, interesting and uses up items we have on hand.  I am secretly a depression-era housewife. 

Weekend Love

I often comment that my ideal weekend is a mix of fun, relaxing and productive.  It is surprisingly hard to achieve the perfect balance of these elements but this weekend came pretty close.  Highlights included a lovely dinner at Bleu with friends, a nice run on Sunday followed by an even nicer three hour nap by the fire (wooo happy Super Bowl to me), and best of all my BFF's one-year-old twins' birthday party. 

Day One

Why am I writing a blog in 2013?  Clearly, I am not on the vanguard of a trend as blogs have been around since the 1990s.  I have always enjoyed writing and entertaining people and this is an easy way to do that without bombarding my friends with emails.  I have also gotten really into reading blogs on a variety of random topics, particularly cooking and sewing, fashion and foster parenting.  I enjoy the snapshot you get into the life of someone you may not even know.  I just find it fascinating.  I guess I would like to see what it's like to be on the other side of that.