Rodrigo y Gabriela Concert

After getting back from Washington DC, I planned on staying overnight at my friend Daisy's place in Chicago and then Tim would pick me up the next day... since we had a concert to go to that evening. But during dinner Friday night, Tim surprised me at the restaurant! =) It was nice to see him earlier than expected. We ate at Nella's... one of my favorite pizza places ever. heh

The next day was pretty relaxed. Carla was in Chicago during the weekend too, so it was nice to hang out with her. We're all going to see each other again in a couple of days when we head out to California for Ria's wedding =) And I'll probably see Carla again during my birthday weekend. hehe I love it.

Saturday night, Tim and I took the Metra to Ravinia for the Rodrigo y Gabriela concert. The place was packed! It was such a gorgeous venue for a concert. It feels completely different from Chicago, that's for sure. Tim and I got there early so we could walk around and explore it.. We ate dinner at one of the cafes there and then headed to our box seats. The concert was amazing. Rodrigo and Gabriela are just amazing at the guitar - and Gabriela rocked it hard! Tim loved the concert. He went up closer to the stage towards the end; I just stayed in our seats. Comfier, heh. He even got shake Rodrigo's hand. haha I'm glad he had a good time. =) It was a lot of fun for the both of us.

It's cold..

The weather changed pretty significantly today. This morning it was pretty chilly. I've been attending MED Week here in DC. So far, it's been a good conference. I have made some good contacts to hopefully help us in the future. I miss Tim though and I can't wait to get back home.

Last night, my high school friend Dan visited me. I haven't seen him in so long - since our high school graduation! He works out here now. We went to dinner and walked to the Capitol Building. That building is really pretty, especially at night. It was fun to catch up with an old friend. I haven't talked about high school that much in a long time. haha

 

A Great Saturday

Before flying out to DC today, Tim and I drove to Chicago on Saturday to hang out with family and friends. Before Chicago, we stopped and hung out with Tim's brother and sister-in-law, Joseph & Katie, and their kids. They did a days worth of rock climbing. I decided to just watch (for some reason) but still had a great time with all of them. Gabe, our 4 year old nephew, was so cute while he was climbing. He was so good! And Grace, was just frickin' adorable the whole time. We got to hang out more while everyone was climbing. She's so cute.

After rock climbing, we headed to the city to meet up with my college friend Kyle. He was my first friend at U of M.. other than the ones that went to my HS. He moved to New Zealand after our college graduation and I haven't seen him since, so it was nice to hang out with him on Friday. Us three went to a great restaurant called Longman & Eagle. The food, the drinks, were all delicious. I wasn't in the mood to drink anything but water, but it was great to watch them make their drinks. They were really meticulous and proud of what they were making. It was great to see. And the food, was definitely not an exception. It was delicious and you can tell the chefs were just as meticulous as the bartenders. It was a great meal with great people and great conversations.

After hanging out with Kyle, Tim and I headed over to our friend Michael's place for a party. We haven't hung out with him in awhile, so it was nice to see him again. Tim got to hang out on their rooftop. I was too chicken and tired to climb the fire ladder outside. =P I didn't trust that ladder, to be honest. After that party, Tim and I headed to The Underground Lounge to see Tim's friend Marcus perform - he played the guitar and sang. He was really good. The lounge was just this small bar with a stage. Reminds me of going to punk shows in high school. By this time, I was just soo tired. We headed to Tim's brother's house to sleep for a couple of hours before getting up to get ready to go to the airport. Yes, I said a couple of hours. =P So yeah, that was mine and Timmyk's Saturday. It was a lot of fun and just filled with different things. We loved it. And now I'm in Washington DC for the week for a conference. I miss Tim already....

Peoria Chiefs Baseball Game

 Last night, we got invited to go to Peoria for a Chiefs baseball game by our friends Kari and Jay. I love going to smaller baseball games. (Sorry if I don't use the correct terms for the different levels of baseball teams. I honestly do not know much about baseball in general! =P hehe) Anyway, they're fun, and the food and drinks are relatively cheaper. I enjoy them a lot. And the tickets are definitely cheaper, or just free (even better!). Tim and I had a lot of fun. I paid attention to the game more so than any other baseball game I've ever attended. hehe I learned some things too.

Tim and I got a picture taken with the team mascot Homer. That costume honestly stunk. And I didn't realize my face showed it on the picture! haha Ooops! =)

Brisk Air of Fall?

The weather has definitely turned into Autumn the past couple of days. It was insanely hot and muggy in Indianapolis over the weekend and when we got back home, it was a cool brisk night. And from then on, the weather has remained a nice cool. I feel like it'll be a cold winter this year... =P oh boy...

Over the weekend, I didn't get to post this, but it was my nephew, Ian's 2nd birthday. He is such an adorable kid. He loves to call me Ninang Grace (even though I'm not his Godmother) and he loves to say "Tito Tim". He's such a little chit-chatter. I love talking on the phone with him and Lily. It cracks me up each time. I celebrated Ian's first birthday with him last year, but this year, I didn't make it out to California. But I heard he had a great birthday. I can't wait to see him and Lily in a few weeks when Tim and I head out to California for our friend Ria's wedding. =)

Indianapolis Celebration!

We headed down to Indianapolis on Friday evening to meet up some friends for a weekend celebration. My oldest brother is heading to the Philippines in a few days - he'll be there more than the US for now on, so some Benchmark Logic people wanted to have a celebration. There were 8 of us that met up. Just hung out in Indianapolis... We had a short business meeting for Benchmark Logic and got to see their public library which was really amazing on Saturday morning. At night, we hung out in the yuppy area of Indianapolis, Broad Ripple.

Yesterday, we walked around in the muggy heat. Enjoyed lunch at a German restaurant - Rathskeller. It was good. I had a tasty french onion soup and their salted pretzel. There was a bike race going on, and in one section they had a mini race for little kids. It was sooo cute.

The rest of the group did a segway tour around this nice park in Indianapolis. Tim and I ended up not doing it. But we heard it was a ton of fun. (And so much cheaper than the Chicago segway tours) They even have gondolas here too, maybe we'll do that later today. Last night, Tim and I walked around the center plaza of downtown. It's a really nice area. There's lots of people walking and I love the monument in the center. Actually, I really love all of the many monuments around Indianapolis. After that, we hung out with the rest of the group at Jillian's... similar to GameWorks and just played a lot of their games there. I think the favorite was the basketball shooting game. I love that one. 

All in all, it's been a great weekend in Indianapolis.

Today is mine & Tim's 2 year engagement anniversary. hehe It was nice to go somewhere for the weekend and celebrate multiple stuff. =)

McLean County Fair

Tim and I had a great weekend. We just relaxed and hung out together. We hung out with some friends on Friday. It was First Friday in Downtown Bloomington, and my friend Johni and I walked around and checked it out. It was her first First Friday - we mostly hung out at the Eaton Gallery. I love hanging out in that gallery. Great art, great conversations.

Tim and I went to the McLean County Fair today.. just checked it out. It was all right - small, typical fair. We walked around and saw some farm animals. We played some fair games... Tim won me a banana. hehe It's been a really fun weekend.

Thinking Thursday

If you would have asked me to make tea or coffee using a teapot more than a year ago, I wouldn't really know how to start. If you would have told me I'd be cooking dinners almost daily(and like it!) more than a year ago, I'd be like 'are you serious?'. If you would have told me over a year ago, that I'd be working from home, learning scompletely new things, exploring my own thoughts and wants for the future - I'd be amazed. A lot can happen in a year. Tim and I have been married for over a year, pretty crazy how fast time goes by, and it's been great. We have definitely learned a ton and we're really excited what the future will bring. It's fun to chitchat with him about we can do in the future. I guess that's one of the best perks of marriage, you really can create the life that you want together. I love our personalities, and how they fit well with each other.

The other day, Tim and I watched Barefoot Contessa and she made this amazing mac & cheese. Tim was like... can you make that? So, the next day, we went out for groceries to make this mac & cheese. We ended up not getting all of the ingredients needed until Monday. So, Monday night we had a nice dinner together. I love being able to eat dinner with Timmyk at home. It's just so relaxing and mac & cheese makes it even more comfy. We were really impressed with Barefoot Contessa's recipe. Frickin' yummy. =) But yeah, life is good.

I love playing around with our camera. Haha enjoy the mac & cheese video. =P

Friday at Home

It seems like Tim and I hardly spend a weekend at home. It'll be nice to hang out here this time around. We're going to watch Inception tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. I think it'll be a movie-filled weekend. Which is not something to complain about =)  Last night, Tim and I watched It's Complicated. It was a pretty funny movie. Pretty long, but enjoyable. I want to watch Despicable Me too. I was talking to my sister this morning and my nephew Ian goes "Despicable. So funny!" Tooooo cuute. I love his voice. I swear, I wanna smoosh that little boy alllll the time. I can't wait to see them next month after Ria's wedding.

I took some photos of Lily and Ian off from my dad's camera while was he was here. They are so cute. I miss them. I miss my other niece Samara too. I want to hang out with them again - they're at the fun ages right now. It's always hilarious to talk to them. They're just a bunch of chitchatters. They surprise me with their vocab every single time I talk to them. Too cute.

Ria's Bridal Shower Celebration!

Another awesome part of my weekend was celebrating my friend Ria's bridal shower. She is getting married Labor Day weekend in California. She flew in to Chicago for her shower. The Girls and Michael planned a sweet "Breakfast at Tiffany's" themed bridal shower for Saturday evening. My friend Melissa flew in from NY and had a crazy time getting in due to the crazy weather Friday night. The weather for Friday versus Saturday were polar opposites. Streets were literally flooded around Chicago on Friday night.

Anyway, the celebrations started out Saturday morning. I woke up earlier than the rest of the group at Daisy's apartment so I can make them all breakfast. I brought all of what I needed to make them crepes with nutella, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and whipped cream. I wanted all of them to feel extra special. It was too bad my cousin Kat couldn't make it this weekend. We missed her a lot. I even brought the plastic plates and flatware wrapped in napkin (with their own name tag). ; ) Extra special. hehe They all liked it which made me happy =) I even brought some Barako coffee so Melissa can finally try it.

Here are some photos from the morning. No one really wanted their pictures taken right when they woke up, so I don't have a lot. I'm posting this one of Carla and Melissa because it cracks me up. I hope Melissa doesn't hate me forever for posting it. hehehe 

After breakfast, the girls got ready and headed out to Bliss Spa at the W Hotel! Ria gave us all gift cards to offset their (crazy) prices for their different treatments. (Thanks Ria!! You're awesome!) We got to the spa early so we can just relax in the lounging area and just be completely chill. It was nice to just hang out with my girl friends and chitchat. So much has happened and still happening in our lives in the past 3 years. And I love being able to share many sweet memories with them.

Bliss Spa at the W Hotel

 Yum Yum!

The Future Bride, Ria, and me

 Post Spa Treatments! (Facials and Body Wrap) Yayy! Refreshed to the Max! Now off for some tea.

After Bliss Spa, we headed to The Peninsula Hotel for their high tea. We met up our friend Michael there and also our pro photographer for the day, Jeff. We enjoyed some nice tea and lots of mini-everything. hah Sandwiches, scones, desserts. All very lovely and tasty. I was actually very full from this tea experience. And it was awesome that we had a photographer there with us. I didn't bother to take too many pictures for obvious reasons. =) But here are a few:

Ria, Daisy, Carla - lovely lovely

 

Delicious desserts, scones, and sandwiches with our tea (I got their Lychee tea)

Daisy, Carla, Me

 

Melissa and Michael

It was soo nice to have tea with everyone. And it was such a beautiful hotel. After that, we headed back to Daisy's apartment to set up everything for the actual bridal shower. I made some "Tiffany Blue Gift Box" cookies for the party, hehe. Everything turned out really cute & elegant. I think Ria really enjoyed the whole shower. =)