chicken, beef or fish?

when we talked about the things that we absolutely wanted our wedding to have - the top of our list was great food. and the top of my parents list was "NO CHICKEN." and so it was decided, great food/no chicken would be the most important part of our day. i wish the problems of the world could be solved that easily.

we were lucky and loved the very first caterer i reached out to, and she was gracious enough to agree to cater both our rehearsal dinner and our reception.when we met in December it was incredibly stress free, and she assured us that she would do everything possible to create a menu that captured us as a couple.

and she did! our menu for both nights is downright mouth watering and it entails some of my favorite foods, some of pat's, and some of ours. the food will speak to where we were born and raised, and the wonderful city of chicago where we met and fell in love. so yes, there will be meat, there will be cheese, there will be seafood, there will be some more cheese. in the words of our dear friend john, "your menu covers everything from the shores of the Chesapeake Bay to the far east."

thanks lisa frank.

i don't know how she did it, but lisa frank's art spoke to me  in the way a jean michel basquiat spoke to jay-z. it served as my muse. i knew what i wanted to do with my life. i wanted to be a marine biologist.

this dream would be shattered on a family vacation in maui. my older brother, father, and i went snorkeling. i could hardly contain my excitement. i imagined swimming with whales, i would have fish eat out of my hand and kiss my cheek. i could barely contain my excitement as i got into the water. and then it happened. my first panic attack. i completely freaked out. i was convinced a great white shark was going to swim up behind me and swallow me whole. i couldn't swim. i couldn't do anything but flail about. hours later, after i had completely calmed down and we were back in the condo, my dad told me "honey, i think maybe you should think of a new career" in his wonderful half teasing but 100% loving way.

i could never look at my lisa frank dolphin folder the same way again. which is why the following school year, the bunnies became my favorite.

print love

we have finally gotten around to hanging a few things on the walls of our little nest. just in time to renew our one year lease, i might add.

side note: i've been asked a few times if we plan to buy a house here in florida, because well, houses are extremely affordable in this neck of the woods. but our answer remains: we don't know. first will come marriage, then we'll think about a house with a baby in the baby carriage. and maybe not even in that order!

back to the walls. i've combined a few DIY pieces, with a few prints i've collected over the years. i've taken pictures and posted those on instagram because i am obsessed with instagram. i've received quite a few questions about where i bought this or that. so here it goes:

chicago bean via: etsy

i'm so happy print - via etsy

(without the terrible shadow)

portrait by anna rifle bond

 french fried potatoes - thrift store in chicago

state prints - chicago's renegade craft fair

(but the designers have a website now - here!) 

a&p via hobby lobby (and spray painted gold) 

a million congratulations

i would do absolutely anything to still live in chicago.  so patricio, polly, and i could walk a few short blocks, with a bottle of champagne in my longchamp, and celebrate spring break style because....

JOHN AND BECKY ARE GETTING MARRIED! 

a million congratulations really are in order for our most favorite neighbors and our dear dear friends, because this perfect pair is making it a forever kind of thing.

we love you guys, and are over the moon happy. 
xoxo.


"they are the kind of friends who remind you by their very steadfastness, that truth, beauty, and goodness exist in the world. and that no matter what, there are and always will be, people loving people through thick and thin."