cronuts.

Cronuts. Can we talk about them for a second? A donut shaped flaky layered pastry deep fried? Yes. Please. Here's an article about the cronut craze in NYC. It's a pretty big deal I guess. Some Chicago gals and I decided to get together and try this recipe out! If you have the time, it's definitely worth it! We followed the recipe from 'Dinner With Julie'. I am already excited to make them again! Maybe with chocolate drizzled on top? Mmmmmmm...

{those are some pretty great girls right there}

♥

the haps.

So many great happenings going on around here these days! First things first: have you guys read the book 'Divergent'? Oh Em Gee. It's SO GOOD. Kind of the same feel as 'The Hunger Games' but (gasp!) I liked it better! 

So get this- there has been some construction going on in the park across the street from us for a few months. They started building these foundation-less weird house looking buildings and we couldn't figure out what they could be! We drove past one day and asked what they were building and the security guard yelled/whispered "It's a movie set!". Whaaaa?? We were instantly intrigued. We did some googling and found out that the movie based off the book 'Divergent' was being filmed in Chicago and parts of it would be filmed across the street from us! They started the filming for it last week and its been SO exciting to spy on it. It was so interesting to see the actors all dressed in their costumes and how many people it takes to film a movie. I loved it! I decided that I should probably read the book so I went out last week and bought it. I finished it in 3 days and cannot wait to start the 2nd one!!!

{for those that have read the book- the crowd all dressed in black in the back right are the 'Dauntless' people}

{todd caught me spying like this- it was just so exciting!!}

Taste of Randolph Fest was this past weekend over in the West Loop. We met up with some friends there on Friday night and sampled yummy tacos and guac. Great people watching too!

A few months ago we bought tickets to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing at a concert up in the suburbs. We had lawn seats so we packed a picnic, took our chairs and blankets, and listened to my favorite choir sing under the stars. It was so beautiful and such a wonderful night! I love that choir! 

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lit fest.

Summers here are all about festivals! There is one almost every week it feels like! One of my favorites is the Lit Fest. It is put on in the South Loop on our street. When we first moved in last summer it was going on that weekend, so we walked through it and loved it! It happened again this past weekend and it was just as fun as last year! They have booths and booths of new books, really old books, vintage posters, cookbooks, author readings, and other fun literature related things!

We found two vintage magazine pages of a Coca-Cola and a Canada Dry advertisement. I want to frame them and hang them in our kitchen somewhere. 

One booth was having a sale for $5 dollar books and we scored on a hardcopy of Harry Potter 4+5! Both of which we needed in our collection! I found a couple cookbooks and Todd bought a couple biographies. We ended the day at a local taco joint in our nieghborhood. We love the Lit Fest!

♥

porterbacks.

Once upon a time, I lived in Provo, UT and was paired up with a girl to teach in our church. This girl and I had never really met but decided to get together and chat about our teaching assignment. When I walked into her apartment and she offered me a Diet Dr. Depper, I knew our friendship was meant to be. Torri and I spent the next hour chatting and laughing and talking about how we met our fiances. After a summer of going to Sonic together and bonding about wedding plan stress, we both left to get married and start our lives. After we were married, Todd and I moved into an apartment complex in Provo. I was driving to work one day when I saw Torri and her new husband, Curtis, moving boxes into our same apartment complex! I quickly called Torri to see if it was true! For the next year the four of us became the best of friends. Always at eachother's apartments, dinner dates, watching Friends, borrowing nail polish and cups of sugar. We loved it.

After a year, Todd and I moved to Chicago, and Torri and Curtis moved to Arizona. They also just had a little baby boy a few months ago. They decided to plan a trip to come visit us this past weekend here in the city. It was the best weekend!!

Todd and I got to meet little Tadpole (Thomas) and hang out with two of our best friends. It was a blast and they loved Chicago! We took them to our favorite restaurants, went to a Cubs game, walked around the whole city, drank too many Diet Cokes and Diet Dr. Pepper's, and spent Saturday at the Lincoln Park Zoo! 

We miss them already!!!!

♥

chi town.

(photo taken by todd)

It's been one year for Todd and I in this wonderful city we call home. I can't believe how time has flown! We've loved (almost) every day here. It's been such an adventure. 

My Top Ten Chicago Favorites (so far)

- Segway tours through the Museum Campus and Buckingham Fountain

- Being able to walk to work a few blocks away

- Working in the same building as Todd and meeting him for lunch

- Hole in the Wall ice cream in Oak Park

- Walking around bundled up through the Christkindlmarket around Christmas time

- The wind that literally blows you across the street

- Shopping in the Gold Coast

- Summer concerts and picnics in Millenium Park

- Driving up and down Lake Shore drive

- Laying out in the sun at Oak Street Beach

- The River Walk in the summer

We love you Chicago!

♥

garfield park conservatory.

Now that the weather has warmed up a little here in Chicago (fingers crossed), I want to get out of the house as much as possible! We've been hibernating for long enough.  I have been wanting to drive to the Garfield Park Conservatory in West Chicago since I read about it online. Todd and I drove there last Saturday for a little morning date. It was absolutely beautiful inside and exceeded my expectations! So many wonderful beautiful plants growing inside this monster of a greenhouse. We loved exploring the rooms and seeing all of the different species of plants. We might be nerds for having a blast at the conservatory...but we loved it. Sorry we're not sorry ;)

I ooed and awed over all the wonderful cacti and succulents in the desert room. Might have been my favorite room. 

There was a room that was made to be what Chicago would have looked like millions of years ago. I loved it! So green and lush. Very humid and swampy like. It was so interesting!

Love exploring our city!

♥

fast 6.

As most of you know, I am kind of in love with the Fast and Furious movie series. It's my ultimate guilty pleasure and I am not even mad about it. Fast and Furious 6 came out last week and you better believe I saw the early showing the night before it came out in theaters. For those that haven't seen it, it's everything you want a F+F movie to be. Cheesy lines, ridiculous explosions, humor, muscles, and unrealistic car races.

My friend told me about a podcast that these two guys put on called The Fastcast. If you are a fan of the F+F movies, you will love this podcast. It started out as a joke but is now totally serious. I love their dry humor and sarcasm and the way they defend these movies. It's amazing and hilarious.

♥