Christkindlmarket Girls Day

Since the month of January is already flying by, I thought I should consider posting my holiday pictures.  Proof that the new year did not include the goal of being a more timely blogger :)  Near the end of December, I had a half day off work, and I couldn't think of a better place to spend it than the Christkindlmarket.  The market is located downtown in Daley Plaza, and it is one of my favorite Chicago holiday traditions.  Vendors come from all over the world to create an authentic German Christmas market right in the heart of Chicago.  I was thrilled to visit on a weekday, as the crowds were much lighter, leaving less time standing in line and more time wandering with yummy food and drink in hand!

Oh how this place warms my Christmas loving heart!  It makes the bitter, below freezing temperatures much more bearable :)

Big Christmas trees and latkes, two of my most favorite things!

While Christmas cheer is the first reason I go to the market, gluhwein is a close second.  This hot, spiced wine has become one of my favorite holiday drinks since my parents moved overseas.  It is oh so yummy, and the cute little boot mugs make it extra special to enjoy!

No day is too cold when gluhwein is involved :)

Sweet pastries and beautiful Chistmas ornaments are in every corner of the market.  This was actually my first year to go inside the ornament house, as the crowds are usually too crazy.  Additional incentive to go on a weekday!

A blurry but happy picture as we said goodbye to the market and headed for some shopping on Michigan Avenue.  And a quick train snap of my purchase for the day... a fushcia beanie!  I've never been able to pull off the beanie look, but my friend Christie was encouraging when she said, "If anyone is meant to wear a hot pink beanie, it's you!"  Done and done :)

If you ever come to Chicago during the holidays, the Christkindlmarket is a must.  And if its possible to go on a weekday, even better!  PS: see past Christkindlmarket trips here, here, and here.

Merry (Belated) Insta-Christmas

I had the best intentions of being a better blogger over the holidays, but the minute I got home and saw my family, that went out the window.  And I'm totally ok with that.  Our time here in Houston has been beyond wonderful.  I've been so cozy and content, that I've broken out Cameron just once, instead relying on my much easier to tote iPhone. Here are a few of my favorite snaps from the past week.

1. Getting into the Santa spirit after meeting friends for drinks at DOC Wine Bar. 2. My holiday manicure.  I cannot get enough of OPIs Rainbow Connection; it is the perfect glitter polish!

3. Christmas cookie decorating, a family tradition. 4. A pre-Christmas visit from our friends Jesse and Steven.  Always good to see them!

5. Finally in Houston and loving the weather.  No coat needed!  PS: I picked up this sweater from Macy's on Black Friday for $20! 6. My attempt at pretty but free wrapping...campus newspaper, gold ribbon, red paper, and tiny rhinestones.  Use what you have, and make it work!

7. My parents pretty tree, ready for Santa. 8. Christmas Eve story time, The Polar Express and The Night before Christmas.

9. My sweet doggie, snuggled up in his Christmas sweater. 10. Moscow Mules in our new copper mugs (thanks Josh and Anthony!)

11. The Clark Griswald of Houston who lives near my parents.  We love this house! (PS: you can watch the video I took with my iPhone here on Youtube.  You know, in case you're still in the holiday mood.)  12. Out for yummy and close-to-impossible-to-get-in-Chicago Mexican food with my mom.

13. One of my favorite presents of the year?  Matt surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas!  We're planning to go early next spring, eeek! 14. One of Matt's presents from my parents and the hit family game this holiday, Six Word Memoirs.  It's awesome and has been our go-to activity the past few nights!

I hope you have been enjoying time with loved ones, soaking up all the special moments that this holiday season brings.  We're in Texas for a few more days, and I must admit, I'm not quite ready to leave.  I plan to spend the next few days savoring every small moment I can!  Merry (belated) Christmas to all!

Christmastime in Chicago

Last Christmas was our first year in Chicago, and since we thought we'd only be in the Windy City for a year, we soaked up all the Chicago Christmas goodness and even hosted my family for the holidays.  (See their visit here.)  This year, we're heading to Texas for the holidays, and between my crazy weekly commute and trying to use weekends to rest, we haven't done a whole lot of Christmas stuff.  So this past weekend, we grabbed two of our good friends and headed to enjoy a few of our favorite Chicago Christmas spots!

We love the Christkindlmarket, and since Norma and Jerry hadn't been, we were thrilled to take them.  We also took it upon ourselves to introduce them to all our favorite market yummies, including Gluhwein, latkes, and roasted nuts.

Thankfully this year's visit was much warmer than our two visits last year.  We spent much of Sunday giving thanks for the 40 degree weather and laughing thinking back to the previous year and how cold we were.

We never get tired of The Bean.  Can you spot us?  (Hint: we're almost smack dab in the middle, just above and to the left of the girl with the Santa hat.)

Have I mentioned how happy I am that we live here?  God is so good.

We stopped to take in one of my favorite views of the city and watch the ice skaters in Millennium Park.

After taking an "extended tour" of the city (we frequently get lost when Matt plays tour guide), we stopped for dinner at Barrio.  I found out about Barrio through Gilt City last week, and since we've been in search of a good Mexican restaurant, we thought we'd give it a try.  And oh my goodness, I'm so glad we did because it was fabulous!  The food, the service, the drinks...to die for!

Norma and I's first round of drinks: the Rehab Margarita and the house sangria.

So happy she's in Chicago this year :)

We did a combination of appetizers and tacos, and there wasn't one thing that disappointed.  (Though Frontera still wins out for the best ceviche in the city.)  We will definitely be back!

After dinner, we bundled up and headed to Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It's no secret, Matt and I love this zoo (see here and here), but we hadn't yet been to see it decked out for the holidays.

It was really beautiful to see the zoo so spruced for the holidays.  And though most of the animals were already asleep for the evening, we had fun just wandering around.

I'm so grateful that we made a point to get out and experience a few of our favorite Chicago Christmas spots (and that we found a new favorite restaurant in the process!)  And of course, sharing the adventure with our friends who are new to Chicago made it even more fun.  The Christmas season can be busy and hectic, but it's the small things that make the difference!

Tomorrow Matt and I are heading to Texas to spend Christmas with my family.  I am SO excited to spend the break curled up in snuggly pajamas, lounging around my parents Christmas tree, laughing with the people I love.  Now, if we could just get there without having to make the drive.  Oh yes, you read that right...we are driving the 18 hours to Houston.  My spending freeze had lessons that extended well beyond shopping.  We just couldn't justify the $1,000 travel cost, and since Matt has a hybrid, we'll spend just a tiny fraction of that.  So we're armed with lots of snacks, caffenated beverages, and books on CD.  Let's hope we survive :)

PS: I'm guest posting over at Lindsay's blog today, sharing my Christmas Happy Lately List.  Pop over and come say hi!

Ann Taylor Christmas Fun

Most of you know that last year, during the year between me completing my coursework and starting my internship, I had a blast working retail.  I stayed mum about the retailer for most of year, but when a trip to New York came about, I spilled the beans.  I loved my year working for Ann Taylor, and I'm lucky enough to have a boss that lets me work seasonly if I want to.  (Weird fact about me: I love working retail on Black Friday and through the holiday season; the madness is energizing!)  I loved my year with Ann, but more than the clothes or the clients, I loved my coworkers.  They became my Chicago family, particularly since I started at the store two days after our moving truck pulled into Chicago.  Though I'm two hours away during the week, I still try to see the AT girls when I'm home on the weekends.  Two weeks ago, one of the girls hosted the store Christmas party, and it was so fun to get together and get crazy again.  It made me realize how much I miss them!

Our big happy AT family!  PS: we did a gift exchange at the party, and the gift I brought was that cute leopard cape on Kathy in the front.  I really wanted one for myself, but I showed restraint and stuck with the one :)

I'm not sure I could ever have a white Christmas tree, but Kasombra's tree was so pretty; I loved it!

Pretty sure Matt snapped this picture as my gift was "stolen" away from me.  I had initially scored a super cute bracelet, but I knew it wasn't going to last.  Someone snatched it up, which allowed me to "steal" a Starbucks gift card.  Perfect considering my recent ban on Starbucks!

Terri and Kathy, two of my very favorite people in the whole world!  My AT family has taken such good care of me, even as I've moved on to finish my Ph.D.  I am forever grateful for them and so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of women!

PS: Not sure if you remember the dress I wore in AT's runway show, but it's finally in stores (see it here).  It's been so fun to see it in the window displays and to think I wore it before anyone else!  By the way, a little birdie in New York told me that this was Demi Moore's favorite dress from the campaign she shot!

Also, DON'T FORGET TO ENTIRE MY CURRENT STELLA & DOT GIVEAWAY!  You could win the fabulous "On the Mark" necklace for taking about ten seconds out of your day to enter.  Go do it now; it'll be the perfect way to perk up your weekend!

If You Need a Laugh

Please stop whatever you are doing right now and watch this video.  I am certain you will be overcome with laughter and that your day will improve.  Trust me.  I've seen it four times and still can't stop laughing.  LOVE IT.

Ok, be honest, did that not just seriously make your day a whole lot better? :)

PS: little blonde girl at the 1:40 mark, you are adorable beyond words.

Lost Post: A Quick Visit, the Christkindlmarket, and Rockit

In all of the Christmas craziness, I totally forgot to post these pictures!  Our friend Edgar was in Chicago the week before Christmas for two days for a stop off on his interview tour.  (Edgar is a friend from grad school so he is currently going through the same weird interview process as me.)  Though it was a quick trip, it was so good to see him and show him a little bit of our city.  I had to work most of the time he was in town, but I managed to snag Friday night off for a little fun.

Friday night, we all met up at the Christkindlmarket market (previously mentioned in my Christmas recap post.)  I expected it to be fairly crowded a week before Christmas, but thankfully it wasn't too bad.  I wasn't quite sure where the market was, but our friends told us to walk down Dearborn and look for the big Christmas tree.  Sure enough, it was impossible to miss.  So pretty, especially to see in the middle of freezing cold Chicago!

We made an instant beeline for the gluhwein stand.  If you haven't had gluhwein, you are missing out!  Its a mulled wine, popular in Europe, typically served around the holidays.  Its basically a cross between hot apple cider and red wine.  Yum!  I first had it when my parents moved to London, and then my mom started serving it at my parents annual Christmas open house.  Then when my mom and I went to Belgium for a Christmas market, I practically lived off of it because it was so insanely cold when we were there.

Edgar warming up with some Gluhwein.  Having Edgar (a fellow Texan) in Chicago, made me realize how much I've acclimated to the cold weather here in Chicago.  While I was no doubt freezing this night, poor Edgar was in pain he was so cold lol.  Walking to the market I couldn't stop laughing at Edgar's spontaneous shrieks and shrills from being so cold.

Our favorite Chicago friends!  Without them, we wouldn't have seen half of what we have in Chicago.

Hahaha, this picture makes me laugh out loud.  Edgar's face, the steam from our mugs, remembering how cold we all were and how fast we were trying to drink the gluhwein, lol.  A fun memory for sure.

Cheers to the holidays, friends in town, and loving our fun city!

Nothing like life-long friends to keep you laughing and keep you warm!

For dinner, we headed to Rockit, a posh little burger joint that has recently won a ton of accolades and awards.  It was named by the Tribune as one of the top ten celebrity hangouts in Chicago, so I tried to keep my picture taking to a minimum so I didn't seem like "that person."  But don't kid yourself, if Brit Brit would've walked in, all my cool would have gone out the window.  PS: Matt and I split the Rockit burger: kobe beef, melted brie, fried shallots, and medjool date aioli on a red onion brioche bun with truffle fries.  OMG.SO.GOOD!

I did manage to have my friend Matt snap this picture of me, because I wanted yall to see my nails.  They're still super hard to see, but if you squint or zoom, maybe you'll get an idea.  I wanted something fun for the holidays, so when I got a manicure, I had them do a gold metallic polish with black polka dots.  It almost looked leopard, but not quite, and though my husband thought I'd lost my mind, I thought it was a fun change :)

And since I've posted twice recently about Christmas markets, I thought I'd dig up a picture of my first Christmas market, in Belgium with my mom!  At Christmastime in 2008, my parents were still living in London, so Matt and I went there for Christmas.  I flew over a few days early though so my mom and I could take a girls trip to the Christmas markets in Belgium.  (My parents went to the main market in Germany and came back with rave reviews.)  It was a short trip, but we squeezed in a lot of laughs, a lot of walking, and a lot of shopping.  Here we are in Bruges at the market square.

And here I am, with food, no surprise lol.  Did you know french fries were invented in Belgium?  Who knew?

The grand plaza in Brussels.  If you are ever in Europe at or around the holidays and have time for a side stop, the Christmas markets are wonderful!  But if you can't make it to Europe, just come to Chicago.  The weather is just as cold and the gluhwein is just as good.  And ps: I promise this is my last Christmas post of the season.  Pinky promise :)

Christmas in Chicago Recap

I had intended to do a day by day recap of my family's visit to Chicago, but after going through all 9 million pictures, I realized that just isn't going to happen.  Because I picked out all of my favorite pictures, and well, they totaled 63.  And since I love you all so much, I decided to spare you the play by play, and instead just post a few of my most favorite pictures from their trip.  And by "a few most favorite" I mean 30.  Ha.

They're here, they're here!  So happy to finally have my whole family in Chicago!

Me, Ry, and Chicago.

Sunday, we stopped by the Christkindlmarket, a big German Market that sets up shop in Daley Plaza.  Several Chicago friends had recommended the market, but with my parents having gone to a real German Christmas market in Germany, I was apprehensive.  But it was delightful!  Lots of the vendors fly over from Germany and bring some incredible treasures with them.  My favorite...no surprise, the food, particularly these potato pancakes :)

Oh how I love this guy :)
PS: Most days in Chicago, I try hard to look cute, no matter how cold it gets.  But Sunday was painfully cold, and I couldn't bear the thought of freezing all day while we showed my family the city.  So I said to heck with it and piled on my big puffy coat.  Sure I may have resembled a marshmallow, but I was a warm marshmallow :)

Fried apples+whipped cream+powdered sugar=a very happy dad

My favorite four people in the world.

Yall know I had to drag them to The Bean.  It's my favorite place in the city!

Christmas card worthy according to my mom.  A potential for 2011.  Except Matt looks kinda lonely over there on the right :(

Someone needs to windex The Bean.  Its throwing off my photo opps.

Matt found a great spot at the Art Institute that has an incredible view of the city.  We went up to take a peek, and I added it to my top five Chicago spots.  The view was beautiful and oddly undisturbed.

We spent most of Monday at the Museum of Science and Industry, and I couldn't get enough of the interactive butterfly exhibit.  You know, the ones where they react to where and how you move.  Don't kid yourself, I was pushing the ten year olds out of the way so I could have another turn.

Dinner at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba, without a doubt one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago.  We bring about half of our guests here, and I have dreams about the bacon wrapped dates and spicy potatoes with tomato aioli.  Omg.so.good.

During the two hours we were at dinner, it snowed quite a bit (especially in the eyes of a Texan.)  My dad was so excited he laid down at the corner for an impromptu sidewalk snow angel.  Awesome.

Cookie decorating at our place.

Matt and his headless snowman.  Poor guy, didn't stand a chance :)

Me and my OCD cookie.  I arranged each sprinkle with a toothpick.  Lol, crazy much? :)

How did I get so lucky to be his big sister?

The Christmas tree at Macy's on State street.  Really really beautiful (though I think the tree at the Museum of Science and Industry outdid it.)

A kid in a candy store :)  My dad is a total popcorn lover, so Garrett's was heaven for him.

You can't come to Chicago and not have deep dish pizza.  Our favorite is Lou Malnati's.

There's no better way to warm up than with a red cup from Starbucks.  (Remember in my Christmas Happy Lately list when I mentioned the caramel brulee latte?  Heaven in a cup I tell you.)

Hanging out in our new Christmas Eve pajamas.  (Every year on Christmas Eve, we get to open one present.  It just "happens" to be new pjs each year.)  This year I asked my mom for more loungewear type pjs, and I got a super cute lounge set from Express.  Black with a little bit of leopard, just my style.  Thanks Mom!

Ryan opening his present from Matt and I.  He really wanted new shoes from Nordstrom, so we got him a gift card.  But I can't just give a plain old gift card, so I wrote a poem to accompany it.  A sample from this year's poem: "You get to choose the size, color, and shape...just don't be acting crazy like Professor Severus Snape."  Just call me Jay-Z junior, bahaha.

Matt's gift to me, a major blog upgrade!  More on that in the months to come.  (Thanks, honey!)

What better way to celebrate a white Christmas than sledding!  Hooray!

Please ignore the lady on her iPhone, and note the guy on the green disc with his arms outstretched.  Yep, that's my dad, always a big kid at heart :)

A guy who loves me, supports me, and makes me laugh.  I couldn't ask for a better Christmas gift.

Weeeeee, there I go!  (I hadn't intended to pull a spin move, but the one leg out did me in.)

My "little" brother and me.  Ha.

Our last group photo before we turned home to lounge in our sweats and enter a food coma.  (Matt did all the cooking and oh was it yummy)  Having my family in Chicago was such a treat, and I couldn't have imagined a more delightful, wonderful Christmas!  I am SO grateful that my family braved the cold and came to visit.  Going home is always wonderful, but there's something special about having the people you love come to you!

New Years is tomorrow, so I guess this is officially my last post of 2010.  Hard to believe this year is already over; it has seriously flown by!  Have a fabulous New Year's Eve, however you choose to spend it, and please please be safe.  Happy 2011 yall!