And May....

So far this month has been wild.  My great and amazing friend Rachel got a gig in Chicago for 6 weeks and she is staying with us.  She made us cookies, has done more dishes in a week then either Bill or I have ever done, and she was here for Victor's Celebration of Life party.

Rachel & Me at our wedding.

Sadly, we kept losing the camera and don't have pictures of the party, but the memories are great.

Victor and me a couple days before our wedding.

This Sunday (May 23) is Bill and my one-year anniversary.  This time last year I was 15 pounds lighter, had an amazing tan and awesome hair.  What a year can do.

Saturday night Bill is taking me to A Tavola for dinner, my absolute favorite Italian restaurant. 

And we're spending all day Sunday together, probably heading to the Garfield Park Conservatory and somewhere awesome for lunch, like Revolution Brewery in Logan Square.  Although the Hawks are playing, maybe they will have TV's.

I can't believe a year has already passed, I loved our wedding and it will always be the greatest day of my life.  

Julie is....I mean Bill is...cooking Part Six

Ahhhh Pork.  The best I have ever had was in North Carolina with the Carmona's.  Bacon, bratwurst, and of course the slow-cooked spicy pork burritos.  Heaven.  We attempted to recreate it.

Cooked for 9 hours and seared with a dry spice rub, cooked in beer, adobo peppers and spices.

And the best part is how it falls apart. 

And of course we had many, many people over for dinner that night!

Fun Times on a Road Trip!

Erica and I LOVE visiting our friends Sara and Charles, and their kids Sean and Scarlet in Pekin, IL.  Sara, Erica, Charles and I all went to ISSA, the Illinois Summer School for the Arts for a couple weeks for two summers when we were Juniors & Seniors in High School.  Long story short, although its an AMAZING long story, Sara & Charles fell in love and have two amazing kids.  Erica and I were roommates when we were 16, and now we are still the best of friends.  There will be references to our beautiful Kristin, too, throughout this blog, and she was also at ISSA. I think for all of us to still be such amazing friends after 16 years is quite remarkable.  Quite possibly amazing.  Two weeks, two summers in High School.  I can't imagine my life without Sara, Charles, Erica and Kristin.  And of course our beautiful Sean McCash, who passed away 10 years ago that really tied us all together.  He is who Sara & Charles's Sean is named after.
It took Erica and I 4.5 hours to get to Pekin (stupid roll over on I-55 @ 294) but it was so well worth it.  We had a blast with our lovely friends.

A Wonderful time in North Carolina

My amazing sister and friends bought me a ticket to Asheville, NC to visit my friend David Carmona.  David and I have been friends since Sixth Grade, and he lives on Stone Mountain in Black Mountain, NC with his beautiful wife, Ema, and three amazing children, Noah, Nimuae and Gita.  And their awesome dog Atticus.  And goats, chickens, spring water, and his brother Alex and his wife Kelcey next door.  What an experience and such a wonderful time.  Bill came with me, which was wonderful, and we honestly had such an amazing time.  We ate tons of awesome food, hiked, visited Asheville, hiked some more, fished, went to a crazy Farm House party and hung out with beautiful, skinny, like minded super nice people.  So many beautiful people.  It was awesome.

April is Alright by me!

Thus far, April has been the best month for me in 2010.  I hate to jinx anything, its only being April 7th, but so far for this month, I'm super excited to be nominated for the board chair of the student division for Women In Film Chicago.  Its such an honor and I am so excited to be on the board - I would be encouraging students from all colleges with film programs to be involved, to network, and make their film experience better for them as individuals.  And 1 million more things!

Secondly, it was my 32nd birthday.  Wow - 32.  I can't believe its already happened!  I had Friday off (for Good Friday - April 2 - and I had a wonderful day with Mackie going to JAM for breakfast, off to get our nails done, and of course a tad of Shopping!
Then we went to Resi's Bierstube.  Pictures to follow!

Third - its finally Spring time and we mulched the hell out of our yard.  It looks so awesome!

Lastly, tomorrow we are flying to visit the Mighty Carmona Family!  I can't believe it until I'm there!

Oh St. Patrick's Day. The Saturday before.

I guess Mary-Frances is the recent blog post theme, because she equats St. Patrick's Day up there with her birthday!  I love that we skip the parade, and go on to watch the river be dyed that random neon green, and start with coffee and move on to lunch.  This year we were down in physical numbers, but we had a great time.  Pictures follow after the jump!

Mary-Frances is Getting Married!!!

One of my best friends in the world is getting married on November 19, 2010.  Mary-Frances and Jeff have been together for quite a few years now, and he popped the question in December.  Mackie and I are Co-Maids-of-Honor, or as Mary's family likes to call me Matron of Honor.  I understand that I'm married, but Matron just seems OLD.  Regardless, I'm done fighting with the ladies, so I'll be the Matron of Honor.  So, these pictures are from the beautiful engagement party that Aunt Mari-Jo threw for Mary-Frances and Jeff.  They got tons of presents and there were so many people there to celebrate!

Mrs. Brady and Aunt Lu gave them Irish Crystal Toasting Glasses.

Mary-Frances, Jeff, Aunt Lu + Mrs. Brady

And Kathleen kept jumping in the photo!

The beautiful cake that was made by Mary's aunt.  It was like a mini wedding cake!

And they got to practice cutting - Mary is so cute here!

And the baker - amazing, huh?