Saint Patricks Day - Chicago Style!

We got to Chicago about 7:20 pm on Friday with an 8pm dinner reservation at Quartinos. We had found the place online and it was good... but REALLY crowded and REALLY loud. We were thinking it was more 'fine' dining and were a bit surprised at how loud it was. It was not easy to carry on a conversation.

It was good food though - a bottle of wine shared between us and it was the perfect low key night before the big day.

Angie, Nicky and Jessica - walking back to the hotel after dinner.

Saturday morning we had a coke and vanilla vodka and shot of fireball, before we left the hotel and a hot chocolate with Baileys - that we took with us to watch the river get dyed green. The only problem with the hot chocolate was it was 70+ degrees out and perfect! But I managed to finish it right as the river changed to the greenest green color I have ever seen!

After we took more pictures of a green river than anyone would ever need, we followed the masses of people down to where the parade was, but with time to spare before it got started - we visited the "bean" at Millennium Park, right off of Michigan Avenue. This was on Nicky's must see list - so I'm glad she got to see it. It is pretty cool and the area was very crowded.

(Yes, our shirts say "Kiss Me I'm Iowish".)

We didn't actually make to the parade... silly, I know, but we found a perfect place for lunch with open door/patio type seating and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to drink some green beer, have some Chicago deep dish and people watch for a couple of hours... :-)

We walked around for awhile to other area's of Chicago and finally found an Irish bar that didn't look too packed, O'Callaghans. It was prefectly busy, but space to move around and we spent the rest of the day there, meeting new people, having beer and taking a couple shots.

We had a great time! And although I was a bit tipsy, none of us were out of control! :)
We even took a minute to give Brendan, my friend that passed away, a shout out - as this was "his" holiday.

We had a great time and it was so fun to spend it with my friends in a town that was packed with people that seemed to all be in great moods. The weather was perfect, the beer was cold, the food was delicious - and I got to check 'Driving in Chicago" off of my life list.
Perfection.

New Kitchen Floor

Before... the blue, small tile floor.
I tired to get a couple with the dogs - you know... cute pictures. Then I realized, Rocky just looks bad. He was so nervous that the kitchen table had been moved and that I was making him "sit, stay, stay... NO STAY!" on the kitchen floor... he's just not cute in this picture.

And AFTER!!
It's Beautiful....

So beautiful, I want to make out with it.
I was told that I should clean it first.... and my response was... "nah, I like it a little dirty".

The whole kitchen looks SOOOO much better. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my new floors so much.
I might sleep on them tonight. Lets be honest... this floor is probably cleaner than any other space in my house.
It'll be a mini-vacation... in my kitchen.
I LOVE IT!

Less Than 2 Days

As my days are winding down at NCMIC, people have been stopping by my desk and telling me good luck and good bye and telling me I will be missed.

When I first started at NCMIC I worked with Jenny and Meggin. We all became fast friends. They are funny, witty, strange and wonderful and I know our friendships will continue after I leave. They both gave me cards that made me cry… I’m going to miss them a lot.

Another of my co-workers, Nicky and I are going to Chicago for Saint Patrick’s Day with my sister and our other friend Angie. I also know that Nicky and I will continue to be friends after I leave. She’s so funny and fun to be around.

It’s weird to think about not seeing these people that I have seen every day for 4 years. The hardest part of leaving has been the thought of leaving the wonderful people that NCMIC has. It truly is a great company – but I need a new adventure.

Below is an email a co-worker wrote to me. He’s not someone I see daily or talk to often… but it was a very sweet email.

Hi Holly,

Rumor has it that (hope I’m wrong!) that you’ve found another job and will be leaving soon.  I’ll be sorry to see you go. For what it’s worth though, I wanted to pass something on.

I really respect the way that you’ve worked so hard with different social causes over these past years.  You’ve seen a need and done something to help when most people would look right past it.  That’s unique and admirable- and speaks volumes to your terrific character.

Just wanted to pass that along before you go…not knowing if I’d ever get a chance to say it.  Hopefully it doesn’t come across as a ‘I hardly ever talk to that guy…what’s he doing sending me this?’. It just seems that some good things should be noticed though, and all those things that you’ve done are among the very best.

Best of luck with your new job- I’ll miss seeing you.

“Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.”

Alba - in the East Village

It was a windy but clear night in Des Moines, Iowa when I went to Alba in the East Village to have dinner with some girlfriends. My mood was chipper and my shirt was cute as hell - so I was feeling good.
I met my friends some old, some new - there were 8 of us altogther. Conversations were great, drinks were flowing and the food was SOOOO yummy.....but expensive.

We started with a cheese platter, jalapeno fritters, roasted brussels spouts and a squash and Granny Smith Apple soup to get us going.

For my meal I ordered the scallops. They were soooo good. My friend Nicole and Katrisha ordered the vegetarian hash. I have no idea what that involved, but they seemed to like it. Jen ordered a burger that looked wonderful and two girls ordered a fish that was really good. The food is all 'fancy' with mainly local, fresh ingredients. I would recommend this place if you are looking for something a bit more fancy and a bit 'different' it was so good!!! And the martinis are TO DIE FOR!

And then... dessert. This apple cranberry cobbler with walnut ice cream was the end to a fabulous meal. It was sweet and salty. SOOOOO good.

Chucks - Since 1956

Wednesday night I went to Chucks for dinner with my good friend Wayne. It was on my list of places to go in the next 12 months.

The menu was simple. Pizza, Pasta, sandwiches.

We started with their 'famous' onion rings.

They tasted like.... onion rings.

I got home made cheese ravioli's with 1/2 alfredo and 1/2 red sauce. It was good, but pretty bland.

But I had NOOOOO problem cleaning my plate.

Wayne got the Chicken Marsala. He was not impressed. :-( But he did make an action shot with his side of spaghetti!

We decided if we ever go back we'll try the pizza... as the food we got was not all that wonderful. They must be doing something right though since they've been around since 1956. The decor and seating has probably been around that long as well. It was just... ok.

Checking it off my list. 

Holy Old Pictures, Batman!

So I take a lot of pictures at events. I finally loaded all the pictures to my computer and I realized there were a lot of things I didn't blog about with pictures. So here are some.

December:
KC+Dan+Me= Packers first loss of the season x Uncle David, Uncle Danny and Cousin Lee + beer = slightly drunk.

Christmas cookie decorating:
My two favorite small humans.

My bedroom before my first painting experience in my house:

My bedroom after I painted it "Dusty Leaf". I love it and I'm very proud that I did it all by myself. I want to paint other rooms in my house... but not sure what room to do next. (the spots are from my camera - not patches on the wall.) :)

TMI? Maybe....

I was going through my underwear drawer looking for a certain comfy pair of underwear when I found a pair and kinda laughed.

FLASHBACK:

The year was 2001, the pants wear Limited khakis and the underwear was a light green colored thong. The reason I remember this pair of undies so well is because of a comment my boyfriend at the time made. He knew that when I wore a certain pair of khakis, I always wore that underwear. It was true, they fit the best under those pants. (I still have those pants too, by the way, but the no longer fit).

Then I got to thinking. I have 10 year old underwear. I wasn’t sure if this was gross or not. I mean, they are washed after each wearing. They are still in relatively good shape, but I haven’t worn them in years. I doubt they’d fit as wonderfully as they used too. Do I just throw them away?

Is it gross, weird… wrong to have such old undies???