PITCH PERFECT 2!!

Yeah, so we talked about cooking breakfast at Jesse's this morning, but didn't have that conversation until we were sitting AT breakfast at Apple Tree. Which..... ok, that's fine, because the food's still good, but uhhhh.. we're definitely cooking at some juncture this weekend.

After breakfast, we made a 2ish hour stop by Geoff & Nikki's - it is sunny and beautiful outside today; we hung out there for a bit, soaking up the day and playing with little [although growing so quickly!!] Emma, before we headed back to Jesse's.

I had a few errands to run, so after a short nap [yeah, that happened, too; Jesse has these two TREES...]:

that happened. it was... awesome.
zZzZzzzzz... 

I came back to the boys giving the backyard smoker a run for its money, and the dogs playing together as though they'd known each other since day 1. That's a big deal for Stella, if you've never met her.

this thing.... #nailedit

pittie party! 

puppy smiles!
stella. sasha. zepplin.

The food came out amazing. Like, ah-mazing. Recommend, recommend.
Rob's mom and Don stopped by for a little while, which was awesome. The last bits of daylight hung around with the smell of slow-smoker chicken

The time came for me to leave the backyard shindig and head to Collinsville, where I met up with Ali and Damanji! That's right.. it was FINALLY TIME! 

pitch 2!! 

Ok guys.. I mean let's be real here. First, this movie came out LAST Friday (5/15). It is now EIGHT days later and I finally went to see it, in the company of literally the ONLY two people I would want with me to see it:

i seriously.. just... love. love. loooove them. 

Long story short, we found a movie theater in St. Louis that looked more like a Marriott than a movie theater, ordered some chicken quesadillas and a Stella Artois [because say whaaaaaaaaaat this place?!] and settled back into sectioned-off captains chair recliners to watch this.

P.S. - I'll see it again, anytime, if any of you out there need a tag-a-long :).
P.P.S. - This:

this is us, basically. 

I'll leave the night that way. I rolled back in to Jesse's closer to 1am than midnight [oh, and this is backdated], just before Rob and Jesse returned from Geoff & Nikki's. It's been an amazing day here in Illinois ♥.

Tomorrow  = Lake & Friends!
One more day here before the trip back to Ohio.

Woo!

xo | cmd 

FRIIIDAY!

Phewwwwww, Friday!

So, here's a throwback that has resurfaced from years back. Remember this girl?

nancy. meagan. cori. courtney
express edwardsville - 2012

^^ [Original photo from  THIS May 8, 2012 entry] This was from Meagan's going away party, during my time back at the Edwardsville Express office. It's been about 3 years since I worked with Courtney, but she just recently paired up [such a small world!] with one of Rob's good friends.

Happy Birthday, Courtney! 

lol.. happy birthday, girl! 

At work, we were [still] celebrating Elisa's birthday; she chose The Eagle for her lunch out, and with it being our standard Friday office lunch, it worked out perfectly.

the eagle | otr - cincinnati, oh 

^^ YOU GUYS. If you've not been to this place yet, you need to go. :) This is the first time I've been there for lunch, but it's just as good if not slightly better than dinner. Haha. YUM!

We endulged ourselves with chicken, spoonbread, mac&cheese, grits, fries and succotash before wrapping up and heading out. Well, almost heading out. Despite the bitter sting in the air, we braved the walk down a few blocks to 1215 for some mid-afternoon pick-me-ups:

elisa & i spotted a fun selfie wall...
1215 wine & coffee bar | otr - cincinnati, oh

peppermint mocha = per.....fect! 

Peppermint mochas on Fridays are an incredibly encouraging touch. What's even better though, is when you receive a little something you've been anxiously awaiting for a few weeks. 

That was today, too! It was a random day perusing Etsy when I ran across The Copper Fox, specifically a Latitude & Longitude bracelet stamped with a line I will forever love: The House That Built Me. Anyone who knows me knows the gratitude and love I have for the house my parents built, in which I did grow up: physically and emotionally. That place built me, just as much as my parents built it. So when I saw this item listing, it wasn't a tough decision to fill and empty the little shopping cart icon. 

IT ARRIVED TODAY: 

i am... in love. 

And I... I can't. It's beyond perfect. This girl Sarah who creates these pieces and runs the little Etsy shop will never know how much I truly treasure this little cuff and what it represents to me. Love, love. LOVE. 

I took off at the day's end, en route to get Sydni and thankful for it being Friday. Rob called as I was heading back to the house, and let me know that Jesse had made it town and was at the house with Zeppelin! Syd and I pulled into the driveway at the same time, and spent the next hour or so catching up with our friend... and furry friend :)

yay, weeknd visitors! hi zepplin! 

And then there was the question of dinner: Jesse wanted to try out something local, so we voted again for Buca Di Beppo, where we wound up with enough leftovers to last us probably through the middle of next week. #PIZZA. Haha. 

buca with mini! 

So that's not a bad way to start the weekend!

We're supposed to get some heavy snow overnight tonight folks - be CAREFUL out there if that applies to you, too!

TGIF!
xo | cmd

H-A-P-P-Y Saturday!

apple tree | granite city, il

First things first:
Places we've - well, I've - never been... and breakfast.

Rob introduced Syd and I to the Appletree Family Restaurant in Granite today. It's not a spectacular venue by most standards, but my hometown has very similar places and I love them... so I wasn't opposed at all.

It turned out to be much more like a diner than anything else, and I happen to love diners. Breakfast was delicious, Sydni was happy... we were all together in the same place at the same time... life's good.

From there, we headed down to a car show in Belleville, hosted in part by a guy Rob works with. Today was the perfect day for this (: 

perfect day for a car show!

And then it was off to Dawne's! It was so good seeing her, and if I'd had my stupid phone with me, I would've taken a picture to commemorate the first time I've seen her in months. She and Sydni had some long-overdue catching up to do, so we chatted for a few minutes and then went on our way.

We stopped by the mall for a few minutes, snagged some Orange Julius and checked out the new trends at Zumiez [luckily nothing spectacular enough to take home this time], and were back at Rob's in no time.

These two got some quality play time in today (:

tug tug tug tuuuuug...

Once the pups were a little tuckered out, we geared up for an afternoon ride out on Rob's [newest] bike. It's sad, but this is the first time we've ridden together.. haha. There's a first time for everything! Ours is just usually... delayed. (:

knockout bike. knockout boyfriend.
all around win (:

We rode over to Jesse's, where I finally got to see his little Zepplin [new puppy!], who is far too cute for his own good. I didn't have my phone with me, so these are borrowed.. but trust, the next time I see this little one, I'll have some shots of my own ;)

zepplin! adorable growin' lil brute (:

The three of us took off in search of a hangout, landing us at a pool table and a drink before deciding not to risk the chances of rain on the bikes for the night. Rob and I headed back to change and trade a chopper for a diesel.

goofball. & i love everything about him.

Before long it was back to Jesse's, to pick up him and his friend Kelsey.. and off to Fast Eddie's it was. We were in the mood for some grub and chick-on-a-stick sounded just about right. Y-U-M. (:

fast eddie's bon air | alton, il

Then to Rajun Cajun piano bar, where Jesse, Kelsey & Rob all failed at convincing me to get up on the stage and play anything. I thought about it, yes, I did... but I didn't. Sorry guys.. maybe next time. Haha ;)


rajun cajun piano bar | alton, il

We dropped Jesse & Kelsey off before our final destination of the night: Bindy's. Alicia made Rob promise the last time he saw her that I'd come by when I was in town next. So... it seemed perfectly fitting, especially with it being Bindy's 24th anniversary party!

♥ alicia!! [not my best picture, but we'll deal...]

This is backdated, fo sho. We made it home, had one of those liquid-encouraged, brazenly-candid conversations on the way, and at that, called it a night.

¡Hasta Mañana!

xo | cmd