Did you see Sex and the City this weekend?? Well I haven't. Nor have I seen the final episode of Lost, yet. In the span of 48 hours I've officially moved myself under a rock and am unable to converse with anyone without prefacing this fact so the spoilers stay away. At least I have a decent chance with Lost, it is tivo'd. I'm talking with the girls about seeing SATC tomorrow but the likelihood of getting myself to the theater this gorgeous weekend is pretty slim. Early reviews are excellent though...and of course there is popcorn at the movies.

We did girl dinner last night for my b-day dinner at Takashi, new place on Damen. This morning Stella and I got up bright and early to make our first trip of the season to the dog beach. K&J were there too with C&Z (and of course gorgeous Q). Super fun. Stella went right back into the water, big success (she was scared much of last summer).

And I finished the front yard, finally. Hopefully everything thrives and I never have to plant there again.

Hubby gets home tonight from work trip in JAX and we're hitting the local street festival. Going to make some lemonade!

Happy weekend!

I bought the cutest canister for my herbs this weekend. The previous plot was the typical burnt orange ceramic pot which was left outside over winter and came through spring cracked and pretty ugly.

This little guy looks like stone but is actually plastic. I am semi-obsessed with it. I'm sure the plants are going to grow like gang-busters in there.

AND did you know that curry is a plant you buy and it looks pretty much just like rosemary? I realize this may be obvious to some of you but I had no idea and I am totally fascinated. You can see him (I guess the herbs are 'hims' and the veggies will be 'hers') on the right in the middle here. For those curious, we also have: basil, rosemary, thyme, catnip (for the cats) chives and oregano.

To be honest, I don't even cook with curry but obviously I'm going to have to start now. I am just fearing the day I pick a bunch of what I think is rosemary and get the curry instead...

The most exciting renovation I didn't know we needed?

Finishing off the fence on the side alley.

I had been preoccupied with a little hole under the deck on the other side of the yard, left unfinished last summer when we had to move the entire fence in one inch (still kind of ruffles me when I think of this but I digress). Chris boarded it up Saturday and I was thrilled with the result. It has annoyed me since last year, especially when I recently looked up and found Stella in the neighbors yard, having shimmied out when the jerry-rigged blockade came free.

What I didn't know was that he had a far more ambitious project in mind for the next day. Previously the fence ended about 5 feet shy of the access door to our side alley. There was a short chain link fence there - enough to border the property but easy to jump. The problem was (outside of safety from bad guys of course) when anyone walked through to the apartment building next to us, Stella would tear down the patio stairs and bark like cujo at innocent passersby. Not to mention Moby, one renter's little white puff dog. OG - the barking...

Anyway, Chris built out the rest of the panels, reversed out the door, and it looks totally awesome. If you've never been to the house, this is unimpressive to say the least, but to me it was the most fantastic improvement I didn't even have on my radar. Thank you!!

At last, we rest. I write with my token summer drink (grown-up lemonade) in hand, the flower-filled yard in my view and the smell of BBQ in the air. A wonderful end to a great weekend.

I finished up Peace Like a River yesterday, SIL recco, and it was really good. A warm, humorous story of family and faith. My only regret is that I didn't read it sooner.

Tonight we're celebrating our anniversary (earlier this week). Steak and salmon (I made a big batch of Carol's secret marinade today) on the grill, caprese salad and three types of cake and pie! All to be enjoyed on the patio.

Likely the last word on our little robin family, all three babies have safely fled the nest (we took it down this weekend). They have been hanging out in the apple tree learning to fly and look happy and healthy. Remaining are just the regular customers at the bird feeder: purple finch, sparrows, cardinals and the occasional woodpecker.

Happy Memorial Day!

Fabulous weekend so far - we went to Winona yesterday (looks awesome, gutting pretty much finished now) and then spent a considerable amount of time at Lowe's. Chris has actually visited nearly every hardware store within a 5 mile radius of the house since Friday for various things.

We've done a ton of work at the house - I planted the vegetable garden!! Oh my it is going to be a great summer: nine different varieties of toms, eggplant, peppers, green beans, brussel sprouts (first time for me), zucchini and cucumbers. I can't wait. Flower garden is finished. Trying to figure out what to do in the retched tree lawn. The water feature is up, fence fixed, patio furniture refinished. Wow, busy couple of days.

We have a b-day party downtown tonight. It is supposed to rain tomorrow but I'm hoping not so we can relax on the porch all day and admire the hard work.

Happy Memorial Day!

Not that you didn't see this one coming but this was the longest week ever! I never really recovered from the Vegas hangover, again no surprise, and just got crushed at work. I have a thousand errands and am counting the minutes until the long weekend. The in-laws were here Wed & Thurs which means lots of good eating and drinking. No rest for the weary!!

It is supposed to be warm and sunny beginning tomorrow. We have virtually no plans. We're visiting Winona to do some work. Need to do some things in the yard and just catch up. I'm so excited I might not make it to the afternoon...

More to come.

I DO love Vegas...though I feel like I've aged 10 years welcoming in 33. We headed out Thursday morning for a long weekend in Sin City, staying at the Palazzo (new wing of Venetian). Molly and Joe, Scotty and Gaston, and of course Chris and my birthday surprise, Carrie!

I rolled into the cabana Saturday morning only to find Carrie there!! The best birthday present EVER (I had been hinting all week that all I really wanted for my b-day was Carrie in Vegas with us like years past) and to my surprise those two had planned it weeks earlier. What a fantastic present :)

And living the life of a high roller for the weekend can't be beat either (of course I just enjoyed the perks, while preferring to stick to the 'common' area of the casino myself). Cabana at the pool, great restaurants, fine wine, to-die-for shopping, and of course blackjack until the sun comes up. The boys had a lot of luck with slot machines oddly enough, which was a fun spin on things (wheel of fortune pun intended).

The girls stuck with cards and had a couple great tables throughout the weekend. Because of Carrie and a wild ride with our dealer last night/this morning, I think I finally did end up a winner (though I was definitely sleeping sitting up during those last two shoes).

It was the perfect birthday weekend, another great Vegas celebration. Now this old lady is off catch some zzzz.

Best birthday present ever!!!! Chris flew Carrie out to Vegas!!! More to come but we're having a blast!!!

As mentioned, we made another trip to Angels and Mariachis on Saturday night. This new Mexican restaurant is on Division, a short walk from the house. We've been habitually hitting a different Mexican cantina on Chicago Ave for the past several months once or twice a week - Chris has a new-found love for margaritas. So when A&M opened its doors a couple weeks ago, we went on opening night. It was packed and we had to abandon the mission without even a drink but headed back the following weekend to see if it was worth the hype. It was packed and we ate outside, though it was really too cold to do so comfortably. The food was great, excellent chips and salsa, queso fondido and guac.

I've also unofficially begun a hunt for the best fish tacos in town and theirs are pretty good. That night, for reasons I'm still unsure of (blame the delicious margs) the manager comped our meal. Something about packing up the patio furniture while we were eating, though it hadn't bothered us. Needless to say, it was a nice touch.

We visited last night with Gaston and enjoyed it again. The scene is great - a nice mix of the eclectic old neighborhood style with the new, trendy crowd. It is officially in the running to take over the old favorite. The patio will be great once the weather gets a little warmer. And back to the margs, they are fantastic!

You've heard some talk of the recent diving bombing by mama and papa robin. We haven't been able to spend much time outside lately because of it, even Stella is no longer safe. Chris was nice enough to risk his life to give you a little taste.

Happy Mother's Day to all our moms and grand-moms. I hope you have a great day and celebrate how wonderful you are. I wish we could be there to share the day together but we're thinking of you and love you lots.

It is cold and rainy in Chicago today - sheets of unrelenting rain with no end in sight. Stella and I are snuggling on the couch contemplating a day of catching up on work and perhaps a little online shopping :)

For those riveted by the robin family drama, a quick update. There are definitely three babies inside. They have feathers now but still haven't left the nest, they're pretty scrawny. The mother is increasing aggressive which has me hoping they start to fly soon. Once the weather gets nicer it will be hard to deal with all the dive bombing.

Angels and Mariachis review coming tomorrow. We went again last night and it may just surpass our favorite Mexican place on Chicago Ave. Happy Sunday!

Happy Mother's Day to all our moms and grand-moms out there! I hope you have a wonderful day and celebrate how great you all are...we wish we could spend the day with each of you.

It is cold and rainy in Chicago -- sheets of rain coming down with no relief in sight. - like sheets of rain. Stella and I are curled up the couch getting ready for a day of

While in Orlando I saw the new Iron Man movie and it was great! Well, actually I should clarify the experience -- I never see movies in the theater. The last one I saw was Spiderman during convention last year. I think I really just like the experience (read: POPCORN!). Our viewing was coordinated by a sponsor so we had all-you-can-eat free popcorn, candy and soda which really makes the whole movie that much more exciting. That and yummy RDJ (robert downey jr) - he is so cute. But the movie really was good (though def not PG-13 in my opinion, some really scary stuff in there) and I'm left wondering why we don't do it more often!

In the light of day I can see everything I planted last weekend is flourishing which makes me smile inside and out. If only it were a bit warmer so I could sit outside and enjoy it all day long. I picked some lilacs for the house and everything smells wonderful. My favorite!

I'm home and a day early! Great meetings today in Nashville which ended early and allowed us to jump on a flight home tonight instead of tomorrow morning!! There is nothing like the treat of catching an early flight and to sleep at home tonight, it can't be beat. Lots of great success at work today too. Dog, cats and husband nearly as excited as I am with the early return.

A full report of what I've missed in the yard and at home in the light of day tomorrow. For now, it's margarita time :)

I have been trapped in a convention hall for the last two days and don't know much about what is happening in Myanmar outside of the fact that it sounds too horrible to be true. The news I have seen has been literally unbelieveable. Too sad.

Orlando is going quickly which is wonderful. We just have the fun meeting remaining tomorrow. We partied last night which goes against our typical schedule - where we just have to bring the noise on the last night. I'm too old to do every night so hopefully tonight will be lowkey.

Can't wait to get back home and enjoy more Spring!

Ah, such a warm and glorious Sunday! Attached is the first photo of our baby robins. There are two (maybe three?) in the nest and you can see one with mouth open wide for food here. I planted the flower baskets and filled the flower garden with a nice mix of annuals and perennials. The veggies still need to wait a couple weeks but I'm already planning, so excited. I may start my own Farmer's Market.

Still pretty bummed after watching the Derby yesterday -- I may be finished with horse racing. Poor Eight Belles.

On a happier note, the apple tree is in full bloom, we're grilling out and eating dinner on the patio tonight!

Congrats to Carrie and Rachel for a successful finish of the Indy Mini this weekend :)

Off to Orlando and Nashville this week, updates may be slower but I'll write if anything exciting happens.

The baby robin(s) are here! I saw one this morning, our first sighting. One bird sits on the nest while the other gets food (worms?), then they switch. You can see one tiny face reach up for food. I need to get closer to assess how many but I think they just hatched today! More to come...

Yum, yum, yum! We finally made it to Old Town Brasserie this week and I can't believe we waited so long. Apps: escargot for me (a roquefort blue cheese added to the garlic butter sauce), smoked salmon and shrimp for Chris. I took the waiter's recco on dinner (though he did consistently recommend the most expensive dishes) - a fabulous lobster, scallop, shrimp dish with some sort of green couscous. Chris had the prime rib. Amazing. There is only one option for dessert - the chocolate souffle. We can't get back soon enough. The service was great. Wine list amazing. Yum, yum, yum!

Good luck to Carrie and her friends running the Indy Mini this weekend - hope you win!