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!