BLOOMS, PROJECTS, A PARTY & MY SINGLE GIRL WEEKEND!

Hi everyone!  I hope all of you had a great weekend.  We had gorgeous weather here in Chicago and this week is going to be in the 70's, which is really weird for us at this time of year.  I'm definitely not complaining!  I picked up these pretty white tulips at the grocery store Saturday...couldn't resist, just $5.00 for the bunch.  I think I'm going to add some white to the garden bed along the fence that I showed you last week (and thanks for all the compliments!).  I smile every time I look out my windows.

The Husband packed it up and headed to the lake Saturday afternoon.  He told me he was going on a sabbatical, he told Emily he was going on a retreat and told Abby he was going there to get some sleep! lol!  I personally know that he has been nurturing his love affair with his new fishing boat.  I think I mentioned to you that the old boat he bought last spring was too small for our rough lake.  So he found another bigger used boat on Craig's List and he is happily toying with it up there right now.  He'll get home tonight, exhausted I'm sure.  

I, on the other hand, had what I called my single girl weekend!  Saturday I cleaned, grocery shopped and made a terrific jalapeno popper dip for the Bachelorette party #2 that night.  I'm going to give you the link to this dip next time...it was SO good!  While I was mixing and humming and dancing a little to some 90's music all alone in my house Saturday afternoon, I felt like I was twenty again!  I think we all need a little time alone once in awhile.  Outside my kitchen window I could see people walking dogs and kids playing ball in the street and I just couldn't help but think how good life can be!

And look!  I am tying up all my personal loose ends for the wedding.  Emily and I took a trip to the mall Friday and I found my shoes.  My dress has a silver broach at the waist so I thought silver shoes would compliment it.  And these are kitten heels so I won't break my neck.  I also found silver/crystal drop earrings and a purse. 

This picture came out sideways and I couldn't fix it, but I also found these jeans in a little shop and fell in love with them.  I am loving all of the bright colored jeans that I've been seeing this spring but I never thought I'd wear floral.  These were just subdued enough and I wore them to the party with a gray cardigan and black flats. 

The party was at Megan's house (the matron of honor), and it had a Mexican theme.  See the little sombreros hanging in the door?  We had salad, fajitas and rice, along with pitchers of margaritas.  We played some really hilarious games, too.  One was like Jeopardy, which pitted Mother In Law against Bride on who knew Mike the best.  I could feel a few feathers getting ruffled when we were playing that.  Another was how well we know Emily, I lost by one point to her best friend.  I couldn't guess her favorite cocktail.  I could tell you her favorite Gerber baby food when she was a baby but this stumped me!  We had a ball and she got even more gifts, these of a more personal nature...pretty nighties, soaps and lotions and candles.  She really has such a great group of family and friends.

Here's me and my girl at the party.  She's having problems with her contact lenses, but oh, this is just one thing in a long line of jinxes that have been happening to the poor thing.  A few weeks ago we were driving and we were rear ended by another car...just a slight tap and we were okay but she was so shook up.  Then, when we had the huge rains 2 weeks ago, they had some muck come up in the basement of their new house and though it was just a little bit and caused no damage, she was down there sanitizing everything for two days.  A few days later she walked outside to go to work and found she had a flat tire.  And then a few days ago, the real icing on the cake, the big diamond from her engagement ring fell out.  Luckily she found it under her desk, but her jeweler won't have it ready for her until two days before the wedding.  That's really pushing it.  She seems to be taking it all in stride, she has more energy than anyone I know.

My projects have dwindled down to almost nothing.  I had a few really eye popping pictures of our totally unorganized office that I tried to upload but they kept coming in upside down.  This is actually the cleanest corner.  The desk is stacked with Abby's school books and there is all sorts of craft stuff and odds and ends from Emily's interior design school days.  All mixed in with The Husband's work.  So this is what I'm working on today.  This is a really small room, in fact, it used to be a kitchen!  Our home was built in the 1930's and a few years later an addition was made that they called a "Mother In Laws Quarters".  It had/has 2 bedrooms, a bath, a kitchen and a living room with a small porch off one of the bedrooms.  The living room is our family room and of course, we didn't need another kitchen, so first that was a nursery, then play room and now an office.  It's a crazy little house we live in but sort of charming, too.

I roamed the backyard with the dogs and my coffee early this morning and discovered this lone tulip...I think it's called a stargazer (?).  Just all alone.

And the last of my daffodills which bloomed during the rain and I never got to cut and bring in.  I hope to get out this week and pick up some pansies for a big pot on my front porch...it's still too early to plant annuals here (even if I had the time).  

SO, I'm going to get on with my day and find out when The Husband is going to tear himself away from the lake.  I'm ready to make a nice big dinner, after my weekend as a single girl I found I really don't like cooking too much for myself so it was cereal for dinner last night!

Have a great week everyone! :)

XO,

Jane