Happy 1st Birthday Grayson!

I went home to Pittsburgh this past weekend for my nephew's birthday party. Duke stayed here in Chicago for the annual Blainey Butler Golf Outing which was a big success again this year.

I can't believe how big Grayson is getting. He is so cute and has the sweetest little personality. He is on the move, walking everywhere, saying mama and dada, and singing songs with Grandpa Mowrey.

Kelly and Adam did a wonderful job with the party. It was at a park near my parent's house and the weather was great. Oh, mean Aunt Sarah and Grandma Sassy did play dress-up with Grayson one morning and got some pretty funny pics. He loved it!

I had such a good time at home and can't wait to see everyone again over the holidays.

Happy Birthday Anna!

Today was Anna Gibson's first birthday party. She is such a happy little girl smiling all the time!! She's on the move now, walking everywhere. She loved opening her presents and she really loved her cake!! How cute are these pics?!

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Faber!

This weekend our good friends Pete and Beth got married here in Chicago. The wedding was FABULOUS! You two did an amazing job planning this wedding! The ceremony was in Grandmother's Garden by Lincoln Park Zoo and the reception was at Prairie Productions. The reception cite was a very cool loft like space. The flowers were beautiful bright greens and pinks and I loved Beth's dress. We had the best time dancing and enjoying the very tasty food. Check out the pictures below.

I Heart NYC Part Two

We had an amazing trip this past weekend to NYC!! It was a bday present/surprise for Duke's bday. I surprised him with Yankee tickets and then surprised him again Saturday morning when he found out that our good friends the Powell's and the Beaumont's were going to NYC with us. We stayed in a great hotel, courtesy of Kathryn's Mom. Thanks so much for the wine Mrs. Powell!! It was right next to Bryant Park. we realized when we got there that is was Fashion Week! We saw all the tents and a few people who looked important, but no one we recognized.

I really love NY and can't wait to go back! We saw and did so much, the highlight being the Yankees game. Dad, thanks again SO MUCH for those tickets. Duke owes you some major chores around the house next time we are in PGH, so start making a list.

We had tickets 14 rows behind home plate. We enjoyed Nathan's Hot Dogs and some beers, and the got the biggest kick out of these two older women sitting behind us who have had season tickets since 1950...that's right, 1950! And, they knew everything there is to know about baseball and the Yankees. The only bad part was that the Yankees lost bigtime...sorry Duke!

Despite a rainy day on Friday, we still made it to several different neighborhoods on a bit of bar crawl with the Powell's friend Nitten who lives in NYC. Even though we had a local showing us around, we still stuck out as tourists in our fashionable bright yellow rain ponchos we got from the city tour bus. My favorite stop that day was Freeman's. Very cool! The Beaumont's had to head off to meet some friends from the wedding that they were attending in NYC that weekend, so unfortunately, we didn't get to spend any more time with Jenny and John.

We also has some amazing food. Friday night, we went to Spice Market in the meatpacking district. It was a recommendation from my friend Alison Hunt and it was amazing!!! We love it. Thanks Alison! Saturday was game day, and then we went to IL Pallazzo in Little Italy for dinner. That may have been my favorite experience because we got to pass through Chinatown and then once we got to Little Italy, the San Gennaro Festival was taking place. There were food booths lining the streets, games, tons of people, music. Our food was amazing and our waiter Tony kept things lively with several interesting stories about the area.

Sunday was a hot and sticky 90 degrees, but we headed out to Central Park anyway and took a carriage ride and walked around a bit. The Park is just gorgeous. We probably only saw a quarter of it, so I can't wait to go back and spend a whole day there.

We headed to the airport exhausted, but with tons of wonderful memories. Next time, we're doing a NYC shopping trip!! Below is a list of places we went for anyone looking for recommendations and a photo album.

Mercer Cafe
Room 18
Freeman's
Ara
Spice Market
IL Palazzo
Arthur's Pub

Jack's 2nd Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated our nephew Jack's 2nd birthday. We headed to Duke's parent's house in Palos Heights on Saturday morning for the party and we had a blast! The weather was beautiful and Duke's sister, Julie, put together an amazing party for Jack. The big jumping jack was a hit with the kids and with some of the adults (that would be Duke who took his turn in the jumping jack at about 11 pm). There was lots of fun, great food, laughs and good company. We planned on spending the night, so we just hung out in the backyard all day and into the night. Thanks for a great party Julie and Jeff!! Here are a few more pics of the party.