My Kind of Town

Back from an absolutely fabulous Chicago wedding... I want another wedding (to the same guy of course)

School's out

Today is the last full day of school for my 10 and 7 year old. Today I am in full neurotic mode, I need to buy teacher gifts, make sure all the camps have been signed up for, stock the garage fridge for the summer, and buy the last minute items needed for the wedding this weekend. I of course also have lunch duty today, thankfully I also have a "moms only" lunch poolside today. So after I serve pizza to the kiddos it is off for my adult lunch. Tomorrow is the official last day of school. My kids go to school from 8:30 -10 then the school is off to 6 Flags for a day of fun. I love amusements parks and my 2 older kids are old enough that they will now go on rollar coasters. I think this is the perfect way to kick off the summer!

Billy Elliott

Next weekend is the big wedding weekend in Chicago. The outfits are picked out, hair, nail and make up appointments are made and the tickets to Billy Elliot the Musical have arrived. The day after the wedding the kiddos are heading back home with their grandparents and Dan and I are staying in the windy city until Monday. While the men are going to the Cards/Cubs game I will be seeing Billy Elliot with my sister in law. I am so excited to see this musical. I have heard it is fantastic and the dancing is amazing. I am fully prepared to sign myself up for some adult jazz dance lessons when I return home

Vacation I want it

Paris
The beautiful beaches of Maui
African safari

I am always telling my husband one of the secrets to a happy life is to always have your next vacation planned. We took our kids to The Cayman Islands this past March so it is time to get our next trip planned. We normally don't go on vacations during the summer. I usually spend most of the month of July in Michigan with my in-laws, so this brings us to the Fall. The obvious questions are... where do we go, and do we go with or without kids? We always take our kids on spring break so sometimes it is nice for just me and hubs to get away. I studied in Paris while in college, then taught French for 6 years so Paris is always the obvious first answer for me. We have been going to Paris every other year for the past 10 years. We were over there last in August 2009. Of course a very different vacation would be to lay on the beaches of Maui. I love Hawaii, I personally think the best time to go is in February. In February all the humpback whales migrate south from Alaska, it is truly an amazing sight to see these creatures. I will definitely take my kids some day but they have to be old enough to handle the 11 hour flight. My dream vacation is to take an African Safari. I have done the research and there are some amazing safaris you can take from South Africa. You stay in your own hut and each hut has a plunge pool. Each day you decide if you want to do the day or night safari. The day safari you go out at 3 am and return by 10am. The night safari you go out at 10pm and return by 3am. Well a girl can dream. What's your dream vacation?

Tennis Anyone

We had a busy weekend here at chez moi. Friday night was dinner with the kiddos and another family. Saturday was all about running errands, cleaning house and doing laundry. Saturday night, however, was dinner, cocktails and some late night dancing with our good friends. We wrapped up our weekend with a mother-daughter tea at my 7 year old's school. Today I hit the tennis courts to try and burn some of the calories I consumed over the weekend. I am always on the hunt for some cute tennis clothes. I found this tennis outfit at Nordstroms. I love the brand Zella and I love the bright yellow. Who cares if you win or lose your match, you will definitely be the best dressed one on the court!!

Let Summer Begin

I found this darling BCBG dress today. It has already found its way into my virtual shopping bag and will be arriving in 5-7 days. This will be the perfect summer dress. I keep using the upcoming nuptials of my brother in law to buy more dresses, at this time I have about 3 options for the rehearsal dinner and about 4 for the reception. It's time to call a spade a spade. I just want this dress! Happy Friday

Found

Cute shoes found and bought!! How sassy are these?

Hair and Nails

Yesterday was all about hair, nails, and getting things done. First up was to schedule my appointment for my "summer hair" as I like to call it. Summer hair is essentially highlights. I personally like it when my roots match the rest of my hair. Anyone who gets highlights on a regular basis knows that the timing is everything. My brother in law is getting married Memorial Day weekend, so the timing of my highlights has to be perfect. I also restocked with my favorite shampoo/conditioner..Frederic Fekkai "Glossing" this is the best, it smells so goods and leaves my hair feeling so silky. I love that I can now also buy Frederic Fekkai at Target, seriously, you can buy just about everything there. Next up was to pick out a nail color. I usually wear a pretty clear color on my nails. I love to wear a dark color, but the minute you get a tiny knick on your nails they look really bad. I bought a bottle of OPI "I pink I love you" this will be the perfect color to wear also for the "wedding weekend" it will go with all the different outfits for all the wedding festivities. Now I just need to find some cute shoes

A Night at the Ballet

This past weekend, was a busy weekend. Fun but busy. Our 7 year old had her annual ballet recital Saturday night. I absolutely love to watch her on stage, she was born to be in the spotlight. After the recital we went out for a late night dinner with my parents. We left baby Scarlett at home with the sitter. Sunday, being mother's day, I took the day off. After mass we went to one of my favorite restaurants for brunch then I was off for a spa day. I came home to a dinner completely prepared by hubs. I knew mother's day was definitely over when I walked into my laundry room this morning and saw a pile of dirty laundry that was as tall as my 10 year old. Only 364 days till the next mother's day.

On the mend

About a month ago, this little guy fell off the monkey bars at school. He started off with an over the elbow, not water-proof cast. For the past month I have been helping him dress, washing his hair, and being his "writer" for his homework. This past week we finally got a shorter, waterproof cast. He still has a hard time writing, but at least he can shower without having to wrap his arm in a garbage bag. I must admit I am enjoying our time after school when we do his homework.

I'm a little bit country

I am still recovering from my bachelorette weekend in Nashville. This was my first time to visit this city and it was really fun. I was with my soon to be sister in law, my sister in law, and 14 other girls. They were literally shutting down the highway for flooding as I was driving out of town. I feel like I just made it out. Despite the monsoon we had great food, great drinks, heard great music (there are some extremely talented people in Nashville) and a great time....well what I can remeber