Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year, most important, our families and friends. We hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday.

We had a really fun, hopefully annual, friends Thanskgiving with a few friends last weekend and it was a really great night. Lots of laughs! I haven't had time to post an pics yet, but Jenny was kind enough to put some on her blog. Can't wait until next year!

Happy Holidays
The Cranleys

A Historic Day

Regardless of our individual political beliefs, this is a historic day for America that we should all be proud of. Duke and I decided to attend the rally for Obama last night in Grant Park and it was truly amazing to stand among the more than 100,000 people from every background as the election results were announced. We are looking forward to someday sharing our experience at the rally with our children. here are a few pics we took last night although they do not come close to capturing the size of the event or the feelings shared by the crowd.

Halloween Weekend

We had a great weekend with the Oskay's in town. We went to a halloween party at the Gibson's and tailgating for the Bears game on Sunday. This visit was extra special becuse they brought the girls. Duke even hosted a dance party Sunday night for the girls in our living room. They are super cute and so much fun. We can't wait to see them again.

Pucci Wedding Celebration

Our good friends Ben and Julia Pucci got married back in May in a beautiful small family ceremony in Florida on the beach. This past weekend they hosted a super fun party at the OnQ Club in Elgin to celebrate as newlyweds. We had a blast! It was fun to see some of my friends from college and to hang out with Ben and Julia since we had not seen them in a while. I also got to see my good friend Shannon and her husband Mike who live in Indy. We spent some good quality time on the dance floor! A fun time was had by all.

Batter Blaster

This is a totally random post, but I saw Batter Blaster recently on the blog Urban Grace and I happened to see it in the grocery store this weekend so I picked it up to give it a try. It's awesome!! So easy, the pancakes tasted great and it's organic. We might just have to host a pancake and waffle breakfast soon!!

Congratulations Chicago Marathon Runners!

We wanted to send out a big congrats to our amazing friends who ran the Chicago Marathon yesterday. Way to go Nicole Wells, Spencer Singer, and Mace and Breah Ponce!!! All did very well and I'm sure they are busy recovering today. You should be very proud of this amazing accomplishment.

The Big 3 - 0!

I turned 30 last week and it was pretty fun and exciting thanks to my wonderful husband, family and friends. Duke made me feel so special and loved by planning a weekend full of surprises for my birthday. He started with a special dinner on my birthday and the big surprise came Friday night when my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law and nephew showed up at our door around 8:30 PM from Pittsburgh. I had no idea they were coming and could not have been more excited!!!! Thank you to my family for making the long trip to celebrate with me. It really made the weekend.

It was beautiful and warm this weekend...highs in the 80s! So, we took my nephew Grayson to the Lincoln Park zoo Saturday which he loved. Saturday night was my joint bday party with our friend Wes Powell whose birthday was Saturday. Wes' wife (and one of my BFF's) Kathryn and Duke planned a party for us at Corosh and it was the perfect spot to celebrate. They had great food and cake complete with an embarrassing photo of me as a little girl dressed as Wonder Woman! Duke was DJ Duke and did such a good job that a friend from work kept saying she wanted him to DJ her birthday party! Duke might just have a second job in the works!

So many people came out to celebrate with us. Duke's sister Julie, brother Mike and sister-in-law Dawn came out...Thanks!! My BBFF (that's BEST Best Friend Forever for those of you wondering) Jorie came in from Indianapolis with her husband Jason for the party. You're the best Jorie!! Thanks to everyone who came out to wish us a happy bday! It was a great night and I had the headache the next morning to prove it.

We ended the weekend with a home cooked breakfast feast made by my Mom. She brought all the supplies with her from PGH! She's such an amazing cook and I hope that rubs off on me a little. My family headed on their way back home and Duke and I just relaxed for the afternoon.

The biggest thanks goes to my wonderful wonderful husband. He made turning 30 so much fun and I'm truly excited to be able to share my thirties with him. I love you so much!

Enjoy some pics below.