My Favorite Things: Chicago Edition

Alrighty, now for some of my favorites from the last leg of my trip - Chicago.  Amazingly, while I was there, it was 70 degrees and sunny in the middle of March (yes, that just shows you how behind my blogging is).  For me, it was perfect jeans and a long sleeved shirt weather, but for those cold-blooded Chicago-eans, it was tank top and shorts weather.  Guess I've acclimated to the hot weather in Singapore.  

While in Chicago, I got to hang out with a couple of my childhood best friends.  One of my friends has 4 wonderful kids, the youngest is only 6 months old (and the only boy).  It was my first time meeting this little cutie pie porker:

This cute face just melts my heart!

While Dad is at work we....go to the park and take pictures!

Mom and her cutie

Newly promoted big sister

Rocking the fauxhawk!

It's planting time!

Big girls photo shoot time

Sister love

She was pretending her plastic toy knife was a popsicle and refused to put it down for the pictures

This girl is getting so big!

Me and my girl

Here goes our portrait attempts

Almost got everyone looking at me and smiling....I'll take that

Fun on the grass

Of course, there was some crying.  I mean what kid really enjoys being 

forced to sit properly and smile for the camera over and over again.

And of course, when one cries...eventually everyone starts crying

But, with a few hugs and some tickling,

Everyone is happy again :-)

::edit:: I forgot to include a link to the rest of my Chicago pics so here it is!

My Favorite Things: Texas Edition

So, continuing on with my trip around the US, my second and third stops were in the great state of Texas.  First we went to Dallas and visited with my in-laws and got ready for my sister-in-law's big day.  Despite the dreary and cold weather, it was a great wedding at a beautiful country club.  Here are some pictures from the day:

Getting ready for the big moment!

Walking down the aisle

The Kiss

First dance with a couple of little crashers

Kids watching the father daughter dance

And if you remember in a previous post, I gave you a glimpse of the latest dress I made.  I got to debut the dress at the wedding!

Of course, no visit to Dallas is complete without my favorite canine - Beau the bulldog!

Andy and his mom

After our time in Dallas, we headed down to Houston to visit a few friends (mostly me) and do some work (Andy only).  I got to take a trip out to my old neighborhood and visit some "old" friends.

There were lots of silly pictures

There was also a chase around the living room as I tried to take pictures

     

One final self portrait of the bunch of us

While we were in Houston, we got to eat at our favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant - Cafe Pita.  This place has the most amazing Bosnian food at even more amazing prices.

        

Cafe Pita - Guy Fieri featured it on his show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (but we found it first!)

One of my favorite dishes - Stuffed Peppers

We also got to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary in Houston!  Andy took me to Mark's American Cuisine.  It's housed in an old church that has been converted to a restaurant.  

Interior of Mark's

Oysters

My ginormous lobster and shrimp plate - pretty sure my cholesterol was sky high after finishing this.

Can't believe we've been married for 6 years already!

As usual, my time in TX was too short, but I had Chicago to look forward to!  I'll save that for my next post.  The rest of my Dallas/Houston pics are posted in this album.

My Favorite Things: Jersey Edition

So, I've made it back safely to Singapore and have almost conquered my jet lag.  I finally got around to editing and posting my pics, but there are so many I'm going to have to break it up into 3 sections.  Here are some of my favorites from my time in my home state - good ole' Jersey.  

I spent most of my time in Jersey with my family.  It was so nice to relax, eat my dad's home cooking, get my fix of NY style pizza, bagels, and other yummy things.

The whole family took a trip into the city and we checked out the 9/11 memorial site:

Freedom Tower in progress

My sis

My bro


Me and my sis in the reflection of a building

9/11 Reflection pool

Names of people who passed away on 9/11

It's hard to believe that it's been over 10 years since 9/11 happened.  I still remember when I first found out about it.  I'm glad that the memorial is finally open to the public.  It gave me chills reading the stories of the countless first responders that gave their lives that day.

I also got to spend some quality time with my extended family in Jersey.  We had my aunts, uncles, and cousins over for a feast:

Taking funny photos and playing around with my new lens:

Got this pic unintentionally


Tried to replicate the first one

My Uncle Frank went Mah Jong crazy!


Close up of Kyle

Funny cousins

Playing our new obsession: Just Dance!

I also took some time to go into the city by myself and did a little shopping.  Fabric shopping that is.  First stop - Mood Fabrics.  If you watch Project Runway, you'd know that they always go to Mood Fabrics to buy their fabrics.  I just had to stop by and revel in the store's wonder.  It was fantastic.  I had a Project Runway moment, just imagining myself as a designer running through the store, trying to pick out the perfect fabrics.....yup keep dreaming :-)

Then I stopped at my favorite quilt shop in the city and picked up a few cute NYC themed fabrics.  Now I just need to find a project for them!

The City Quilter

I walked around the city and took a few more photos.  It was a gorgeous day!

New York Times building


Flatiron Building

Clock near the Flatiron

As always, I had a great time in Jersey with my family.  Nothing beats being at home with the ones you love. You can check out the rest of my NJ photos in this album.  After spending time in Jersey, I moved on to my next stop: Texas.  It'll be a few days though since we'll be away on a mini-Easter getaway.  Happy Easter everyone!