♥ Mr. & Mrs. Pilic! ♥

There are a lot of pictures from today... so I won't waste time:

BREAKFAST:

we were hungry. 

^^ We had mixed reviews from the group on the quality of this breakfast, and although we all agreed that the service wasn't much to brag about, I'm happy to say I was in the camp that didn't find my food totally detestable.

After breakfast, the gang decided it would be fun to head off to the kart tracks. I was on the fence about the whole idea until I walked into the bathroom and was confronted with this:

"screw you, short people!" - this mirror 

That solidified my decision to accompany Esther to the other end of the plaza, and go to a nail salon. I haven't been in a nail salon in probably 10 years, and according to the nail tech, that's FAR TOO LONG AND [MY] CUTICLES ARE PROOF OF THAT! How dare I. How. Dare. I.

It took me 15 minutes just to tell the guy I didn't want my nails podged onto my hand [acrylics], but that I really just wanted them painted. We compromised, and he did this gel french tip manicure, which is better I suppose than having fingernails 5 inches thick with gunk. I like my natural nails, so I'm okay with this. I think. At least there was a double sunroof in the car to distract me from whatever self-doubting concerns I may have had about my nails, which was a superfluous concern to have in the first place, but whatever. I'm not the type to go to a nail salon, so do I at least get points for doing a girly thing?!

umm.. 

We finally headed back to the cabins to help the boys get dressed for pre-wedding pictures; it was cute seeing them all dressed to impress, for one of their best friend's weddings. Seriously, they looked good!

friends help friends with bowties.. 

mike. rob. dillon

work it, boys.

the groom & all the groomsmen!
rob. dillon. kenny. mike. chad 

They wouldn't be our guys if this didn't happen:

that's better.. almost didn't recognize ya'll.. haha 

off they went! 

Esther and I were back on the pool deck watching the boats cruise by when the boys headed off for pictures, and couldn't help but laugh when we turned back around 15 minutes later to find them huddled together on the back porch of the cabin: 

hideout? 

Soon enough, it was time to head over. The ceremony was on the bluffs, and there couldn't have been a better day for it! 

so pretty! 

Esther and I finally got ready, and I don't think we did too bad, either!

pretty esther! 

We took our seats and watched with the crowd as the ceremony unfolded:

the preacher, the groom & his men! 

here comes the gorgeous bride! 

It was a beautiful ceremony, complete with some funny moments, serious vows & lots of love all around. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Pilic!!!! ♥♥

mr. & mrs. pilcic ♥

AND THEN COMES THE PARTY!

my handsome date! 

this hilarious moment when matt was voted in as an employee...
red or white, sir? 

this unnervingly close-to-the-edge-of-a-200-ft-cliff picture of matt... :/ 

dillon on the bluff.. that looks like a riverbank. 

these two dapper
pinterest models
bluegrass bandmates
groomsmen.

my bra strap making an appearance... jerk.. haha

future facebook cover photo for dillon.. 

with the stunning bride!! 

matt thought this was a stranger's phone.. but that's okay. 

we both look a little creepy here.. haha 

rob & ryan

congratulations, mrs. pilcic!

In the midst of the evening fun, I admittedly didn't get a ton of pictures, but I'm sure they'll surface over the next few weeks, especially when the official wedding pictures come back.

I feel quite blessed to have been included on such a beautiful day with such an awesome group of people!

Congratulations a thousand times over to the new couple.. cheers to a lifetime of love, laughter & learning.. together! ♥

Did I mention I love weddings?
#wearenext ;)

Cheers!!

xo | cmd 

The Pre-Pilcic-Wedding Party: LOZ

We're HERE!

welcome :) 

It's a mere 3 hour drive from Granite to Loz, which flew by in the company of the three amigos I accompanied for the trip [Rob+Matt+Dillon]. We arrived at the winery, checked into our rooms and settled in for the afternoon until Mike & Esther arrived.

shawnee bluff!

The guys went off to do the rehearsal, Esther and I hung back to do the wine tasting, which took us eventually out to the deck by the pool, with a setting sun and 2 glasses of Centorri for the early part of the evening.

the pool & the view out over the lake

centorri.. x2

The rehearsal wrapped up, and we headed then to the Redhead Yacht Club for the rehearsal dinner. This place has been added to our bucket list of places to revisit when the season is in full swing. NOTED! 

swim up bar & pool area! 

We hung out, watched the Blues game and of course did what we all do best: 

nom nom nom 

^ Gracefully shoved our faces, that is. jk jk. Do you see the four of us, and Matt there in the corner? That food stood no chance ;). 

TOMORROW is the big day! I can't wait to see Taryn's dress and to be a part of this day with them. I love weddings! 

Gooood night, from LOZ! 

xo | cmd 

Hometurf Touristin'

Today was our day in Granite, before we head out for LoZ tomorrow. We spent it doing truly touristy things, which made me happy :)

First stop: Breakfast!

d'awwwww ♥

^ Let's talk about how Dillon is actually a really good photographer? I don't know why that surprises me, but I really, really like this one - thanks Dillon!

Breakfast at Weezy's: good, simple, inexpensive food.. and cool stuff on the walls:

pretty cool! 

After breakfast, we found ourselves back at Dillon's; I left the boys to their own devices for a couple hours and set off in search of a dress for the wedding. I mean, I brought one, but let's not pretend I'm the first or only one who's ever done that and then decided to go out and find a different one, if for no other reason than out of sheer curiosity of what inventory the local stores have.

Fact: It's the SAME inventory, because they're the same stores that we have in Cincinnati. But just maaaaybe, it'll be something different!? 

Anywho, I found not one, not two, but FOUR dresses, all of which will be donned at sometime in the next year, I'm sure. I finished up my shopping excursion and made my way north to Alton, where the boys were already a couple hours into the afternoon at Fast Eddie's.

colorful chairs! :) 

Matt, Chad & Karrie eventually met us there, and we continued on to Chubby's down the street..

friends! 

 And then it was the Pub House..

charging my phone from the ceiling? sure. 

The night continued on into the late hours when we finally arrived at our last stop; Kenny & Taryn joined us there, along with Mike & Esther and a collection of other friends. It wasn't a bad way to end the night; this time tomorrow, we'll be in Lake of the Ozarks, and in 2 days, Kenny & Taryn will be a Mr. & Mrs.!

It's gonna be a good weekend, I just know it :)

Cheers!

xo | cmd

Mmmgghhh... Monderp Monday.

Workplace tattoo, day 1:

healing up! 

^ Today was one of those Mondays that, I imagine, in human form would resemble some form of rabid, multi-taloned bird skating down the side of a chalkboard, while blindfolded and covered in cheap, wet nail polish. Don't ask me why that's the image that I conjured, but it's an accurate read of what today felt like, but it feels right, so we're going with it. It's either that, or the space of sidewalk that was formerly occupied by a real human, presumably having been abducted by aliens. Today was a mix of chaos and all the people we needed being either unavailable, sick or just non-existent all together (i.e., tenured SharePoint Developer - are you a real thing?!).

So yeah. That was Monday.
Post-workday proved to have better ratings. For starters, there was an impromptu family dinner date:

goofballs.. love them to the moon & back! 

We ran an errand as a family after that: the start of our efforts to dispatch the swarms of dandelions that grow back seemingly overnight in our yard [wish us luck]..

pretty nights at home depot.. haha 

That dandelion problem I mentioned: 

the parking lot & the field...
... aka my driveway.. and my yard. :| 

Rob started yesterday by mowing "I ♥ U" in the yard, and Sydni turned it into a racetrack: 

I seriously love this girl.. haha. 

It seemed like all of us had our fill of this Monday; Syd was out cold immediately following the lawn-mowing, and Rob wasn't far behind her. My body was still in lag mode from this weekend, but I was bent on finishing the final book of The Mortal Instruments, which I did tonight, around 1am. 

And yes, this entry is backdated. 

done & done! 

i'll leave this here like the good fangirl i've evidently become.... 

 ^ Thanks, Tumblr for that last one. Seriously. I'm hooked. Now that I've finished all six of these books, I suppose I'm on now to the Infernal Devices, which is also a Cassandra Clare creation. 

Le sigh. 

Anyway, it's a short week this week [again], and then the Pilcic wedding. Woooo! 

Seeeeee yaaaa... 

xo | cmd 

Sunday Fun Day in ChiTown USA...

I momentarily forgot where I was again this morning when I opened my eyes, but was immediately reminded that the city awaited us on the other side of the window, 31 stories below:

sunday in the chicago atmosphere

Departure mornings are always a test of initiative, memory, checklisting, communication and the ability to play travel tetris with your luggage, pillows, etc. so you can haul it all in one trip without the bellboy's help. At least that's how it was for us this morning, trying to drag ourselves out of bed, put ourselves together to look mildly human, pack all of our things in a makeshift sense of semblence and then leave the hotel room without leaving anything... behind.

It's a miracle we remembered where the car was parked.

As challenging as the check out process can be, the drive up to Southport Ave. was the complete opposite:

blue skies cruise, a marina and miles of happy people enjoying the day! 

Speaking of happy people, I think we were ALL happy when Britta descended from her apartment a few blocks away to join us for brunch at Southport & Irving! I'd told her I'd love to see her while we were in the city, but I really didn't expect her to come dressed just like Ali.. haha. 

No seriously, I can confidently say that Britta and I hold the record for the shortest amount of time taken for two strangers to become instant friends, but Ali and Britta just came in a close 2nd. I mean the two of them practically dressed like twins, without even a chance to plan it.  

instafriends! 

french toast, ya'll..
southport & irving | chicago, il 

We ate, we laughed, and we snapchatted. Ali & Damanji are officially SC Assassins in my book; they both managed to get some fantastically troll-esque captures of me. Damanji took the liberties of drafting a side-by-side comparison, and I've gotta say, he's not wrong...

grampy troll... and cori. :0|

more snappy fun.. these are reactions to some of the questions our table
received in the span of the hour we were there.. 

After Southport, we traveled just around the riverbend! CORNER.. to GingerSnap; it's a place Ali found online and committed us to because it says Ginger, and because she is the lens behind GingerSnap Photography. So it makes sense. Right? Right.

it's like the place was made for her! 

reunited!! 

In case you missed what I said about Britta & Ali dressing up like twins, there's this nicely posed sorority picture as proof: 

twinsies! 

Damanji & I have been pretending all weekend that we're as hipster as we feel, so we seized this opportunity to do something hipsterish, in the doorways [to the soul] on this street, illuminated by the light of a thousand serenading high-efficiency lightbulbs. Or something. 

you look so.... pensive

Q: How many hipsters does it even take to change a lightbulb?
A: It's a number you probably haven't heard of yet...

deep in thought about life, the universe, and probably donuts.... 

Q: How many kale smoothies did I drink before this picture? 

A: I'll build you the answer out of upcycled pallets. Stay tuned.

yayyy for friends! ♥♥

We finally said our see-ya-later's to Britta, and loaded up for the trip back to Naperville. From there, it was quick hello's and farewell's to the family,l and then Damanji and I were back in our separate cars, bound respectively for STL & Cinci. 

At least it was as beautiful day for a drive! 

don't skip these, kids... don't skip these. 

almost there :) 

they're much prettier in the daytime! 

Happy birthday, Ali... I hope you had the best birthday yet, and I miss the fun already! It was such a fun weekend meeting some new faces and reuniting with the familiar ones! 

See you on the flipside, blogbots..

xo | cmd