weekend getaway // chicago

last week, addison and i took a little mini vacation.

i started back at work this week and i start school next week, so i wanted to go somewhere with addison before i got super busy again.

so we headed to chicago last thursday! my friend maria lives up there, so we went and stayed with her.

i've been to chicago once before and loved it. i wasn't really wanting to go up to do anything in particular {besides shop}, but more of just to relax and get away. although a trip with addison isn't really all that relaxing. it was fun and completely worth it though!



we headed out thursday morning. my mom and i took addison to florida a few years ago, but i've never taken her anywhere by myself. so this 8 hour trip was definitely a first for me.

my friend amy was headed up to indianapolis that day, so we met up at a rest area and played a bit.

then, we met up again to do some shopping. maria had to work that day, so we weren't in any hurry to get there. shopping definitely helped us kill some time :)

addison did great on the trip there. she watched some movies, napped, and we jammed. and she ate lots of snacks. the girl likes to snack.

we made it to chicago around dinner time and ended up just staying in for dinner. we were both pretty exhausted.



friday we got up and headed out to get some breakfast. we hit up a bagel place and i had a bagel with some delicious sun dried tomato cream cheese. addison got a blueberry muffin, and we went over to starbucks to get coffee and eat.

after that, we went to millennium park to play in the fountains and see the bean. addison was really excited about it. it was kind of chilly, so i didn't know how long she would last. we took a bathing suit just in case. there were lots of other kids playing, and addison just ran around splashing. she got her clothes pretty soaked, so we whipped out the bathing suit. it's such a grown up looking bathing suit for such a little girl. when we were done with the fountains, we went to see the bean. addison was pretty funny looking at herself. she tried to lick it too. i can't imagine how disgusting that would have been.

we went back to maria's and relaxed for a bit. addison watched beauty and the beast and was apparently a little shocked at one part. after the movie, we played a little and then we headed out to pick haley up at the airport.

addison was apparently a little tired because she passed out on the way to pick up haley. but right when we got to the airport, she woke up and was all smiles.

we headed to dinner at burger bar after that. it was delicious. we had fried pickles {yum!} and maria and i split the veggie burger {amazing!}.

we hit up the grocery store on our way back to maria's. i left haley and maria with addison while i ran to get addison some juice. i heard a lot of laughter coming from their direction, and i found them using addison to get something on one of the top shelves. they were quite resourceful. haley held addison up and addison reached to in and grabbed it. i believe they were getting some quaker rice cake things. who knows.



saturday we woke up and ran to breakfast. i took the jogging stroller in case we wanted to go for a run. i'm glad we did, because i definitely pigged out the whole weekend.

we went to orange, and it was great! we sat outside and enjoyed the nice weather. addison had a good time chatting with maria's dog, james, before lunch. she got quite close to him.

we had some champagne flights with our breakfast. it was 3 mini drinks, with fresh squeezed strawberry, pear, and pineapple juice. they were fabulous.

addison had chocolate chip pancakes, and i definitely stole some. so good.

we walked along the river on the way back to maria's.

we got ready for the day and then headed out to uncle julio's for lunch. um, yum. such good mexican food. delicious chips {thin like chili's. i love their chips}. oh, and the margaritas? amazing. they have skinny margaritas that are "healthier". we gave them a try. and i like being healthier.

after lunch, we started our shopping expedition. i really just wanted to go to h&m, so i didn't do much shopping at other stores. we ended up going back to maria's and then walking down to michigan avenue.

and h&m was packed. so i didn't get myself anything. and i was extremely sad about it. but seriously, there was no way i could have gotten any shopping done. maria was great and walked addison through the store while i tried to shop, but so. many. people. addison got 3 adorable dresses though. lucky girl.

i may plan a weekday trip to atlanta soon and go shopping there. ya, that sounds good.

after we were done shopping, we took a cab back to maria's and addison passed out. when she woke up, we headed out to get maria's dog from doggy daycare. then we hit up target. and i finally did some shopping for myself. at target, which we have at home. but i scored 2 maxi skirts and 2 super cute tank tops.

we ended up just getting panera for dinner because it was getting late. and then we made brownies {my recipe is so yummy}. but really, we just made the batter and ate that. because who really wants to bake brownies?? not us.



sunday, we went and had breakfast at the same bagel place as friday and ate at starbucks again. then we headed home.

i wish we could have stayed longer and hung out more. and done more shopping {when it wasn't so crowded}. but alas, we had to come home.

like the ride there, addison watched a bunch of movies and ate lots of snacks. we both ended up not being hungry for lunch {hint, the snacks}, so when we stopped for a potty break, we went to panera and she got a smoothie and i got some iced coffee {my new favorite thing}.

we had so much fun on our trip! thanks maria for letting us stay with you and putting up with us! and thanks haley for letting us crash on your weekend!!

addison is now gearing up for yet another trip with her daddy. the girl is a traveler!

i'm going to gear up for some serious pool time.

have a good memorial weekend!

ticket for one

yesterday, i had a first.

i saw a movie.

all by myself.



i'm not going to lie. i was kind of looking forward to it.

i took some grapes and cheese for a snack. and some water. i thought about taking wine, but then i thought that it may be a little early in the day to drink {but really, is it ever too early to drink??}.

it was a matinee movie {on a monday, no less}, so i knew there was a possibility that i'd be the only one in there. and that would have been pretty cool. i could've done anything i wanted!! not that there was anything excited i wanted to do in a movie theater by myself.

but, there were 2 other girls in the theater when i got there. and 2 older ladies came in later and sat behind me.

the movie didn't look all that great. but i had finished the book the night before and really wanted to see it.

it wasn't really that bad. it had cheesy moments. i found myself rolling my eyes every time there was a romantic scene. but that's just me, i think.

sitting right in front of the old ladies was entertaining. they were about my granny's age. and they had clearly read the books, because they were chatting throughout the movie. just little things. it was especially funny during the steamy scenes. it felt awkward sitting close to them during those. but funny at the same time, because they had read the books.

this was the first nicholas sparks book/movie that i didn't cry reading/watching. i'm seriously a softy when it comes to books and movies. but this one didn't make me cry. i kind of felt that it was an accomplishment. go me!!

i definitely don't think it will be the last time i go to the movie by myself. it was really relaxing. i do prefer to have friends with me, but something it's nice to just be all by yourself.

now off to find some other books to read!

recent reads

i thought i'd do a post on some of my recent reads.

i've been kind of a book worm since school started to slow down a bit. and now that i don't have school and work, i've been reading a lot. i start back at work the 21st and school the 29th, so i'm trying to get all my reading in before then.

1 - 3 // mr. grey


i had NO idea what these books were about. i had seem the name tossed around on blogs and twitter, and i thought it'd give it a go.

well, i was definitely shocked!! but i loved the books. i read all 3 in less than a week.

just a warning for those who haven't read it and haven't heard anything about it...they're, um, how do you say? dirty. yes, that. and probably a bunch of other words that i don't want to say because i know my dad is reading this.

i've told all my friends about the books, and i've gotten a few of them hooked. you're welcome, friends!

4 - 5 // divergent & insurgent


i heard about divergent right as i finished the hunger games series. i was looking for something else to read that was similar to the hunger games, and this hit the nail on the head.

it's really different from the hunger games, but still kind of has that feel. lots of exciting stuff. action and love.

the second book didn't come out until the beginning of may {so just a few days ago}, so i had to be patient and wait for it.

i don't like waiting.

as soon as it came out, i bought it. i decided to re-read divergent so it would be fresh on my mind.

insurgent didn't disappoint! it was even more action than the first.

definitely a good read, especially if you liked the hunger games.

6 // the vow


i read this just because of the movie. i thought it would be interesting.

it wasn't really all that great. at least not to me. i enjoyed learning about the story, but nothing really beyond that.

i'm curious about the movie. i haven't seen it yet, but i'm going to watch it and see how well it portrays the book.

7 // water for elephants


i never saw the movie, but really wanted to. i knew it was a book, but i forgot until just recently.

i thought it would be a good book to read by the pool. i started it the other day, and will hopefully finish it over the weekend.

so far, it's pretty good. it's starting to get more exciting. i can't wait to finish it and watch the movie!!

8 // the lucky one


yes, i'm all about books that have movies based on them.

my friends told me this book was really good, and i'm all about nicholas sparks, so it's next on my list of books to read. actually, it's the only one that i haven't read in this list.

i already bought it, so as soon as i finish water for elephants, i will be starting it!

the movie doesn't really look all that good to me. not sure if i'll go see it. but i'll definitely read the book!

so, those are all of my recent reads {and a to-read}.

any book recommendations for me??

graduation

i graduated from belmont on saturday.

no big deal.

i honestly can't believe it. not that i didn't think i'd graduate. i just didn't think it would happen so fast. i feel like i was just starting my time at belmont, and now it's over.

well, it's not really over because i'm in graduate school. but it's hard to believe i'm done with undergrad.



it's official! i snuck my phone in with me during graduation, so i took pictures during the ceremony :)






and even better, it was on cinco de mayo!! so even more reason for celebration!

it was an awesome day. long, but awesome.

we had prepped addison for the day. we told her that it was my graduation and that she would have to be quiet for a while.

she was really excited and kept saying "it's your graduation day, mommy!".

well, someone got some stage freight when it came time to yell when i walked across the stage. all of my family and friends (all 7 of them. students only got 7 tickets for family and friends) were quiet because they were waiting for addison to cheer. she got a little scared, and finally said something. but instead of yelling "congrats!" or "yay mommy!", she said "happy birthday mommy!". unfortunately, i didn't hear exactly what she said. but i heard it was hilarious!

addison did great during the whole ceremony. probably better than me. i was one of the first to graduate. they did it alphabetically by college, and the college of business was the first, so i got to walk early.

all of the family went out of lunch after. then that night i went to a derby party and celebrated with friends.

i still can't believe i'm done. it's crazy. no more undergrad. woo hoo!! now i just have to finish up this graduate school stuff. and then it will be on to the CPA exam. will it ever end?? hopefully some day!

addison's first haircut

yesterday, we took addison to get her first haircut.

yes. she's 3 and hasn't had a haircut. but her hair is just so pretty and curly! i was scared that cutting it would mean the curls would disappear.

but her hair was getting a little out of control. it was so tangly. she would scream every time we had to brush it. even when we used detangler, it was still a mess.

so i admitted defeat and we went to great clips.

my mom and i get our hair cut there from a super sweet girl, so that's who cut addison's hair!

and addison loved it!








she cut off about 3 inches, but it's barely noticeable. and her hair still looks curly! score!

next time we get her hair cut, we may try some layers or something fun. you know, girly stuff.

steppin out saturday - graduation

finally. i'm blogging again.

saturday, we stepped out to......my graduation!!!



on addison: dress, kohl's // shoes, thrifted
on me: dress, blush // shoes, steve madden // watch, michael kors

linking up with steppin out saturday at harper's happenings.


kisses for mommy!

no more undergrad! now on to graduate school.

more on graduation, and catching up in general, another day :)