A Superbly Parental Weekend

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This weekend, my parents came to visit. We toured around and showed them the ins and outs of our new city, and many drinks were had.

There was also pizza and filet mignon.

On Friday, my parents arrived just before dinner. My dad had a hankering for both pizza and beer, so thankfully, there are a few breweries in Grand Rapids that specialize in pizza.

One of these beers was called "Lil Sebastian" which, if you watch Parks and Rec, is amazing.

We ended up heading over to Harmony Brewing Company. We were seated immediately, and we proceeded to have a delicious meal.

They have some really delicious pizza combinations (sea salt and cracked pepper tossed arugula with feta and slices of thick prosciutto? Count me in!), but I did feel like their pizzas were slightly undercooked. Everything else was perfect, so I think it can be remedied by just asking them to leave them in an extra minute or two until they're crispy.

Afterward, we headed back home and watched our wedding video (we finally have it!).

The next morning, we started with a yummy brunch at Terra. As usual, everything was amazing. This is fast becoming a favorite brunch spot, regardless of city.

We went back to the house and gathered our things to drive to Holland for a beach and boating day. The weather looked great, so we grabbed our swim suits and set out.

By the time we got to Holland, the weather was still decent, but it slowly cooled down so that it was comfortable but not quite perfect for sunning. Darn you, June in the Midwest! We bundled up and took a cruise on the boat with my in-laws and sister in law.

Afterward, we all banded together to prepare a feast for 10. We made steaks, a big salad, and a delicious veggie dish that reminded me of a cheesy Ratatouille.

We drove home late that night and went straight to bed.

Sunday morning, we headed over to Cherie Inn, which is one of my new favorite breakfast places, too. It is a bit understated, which is what I like about it. The exterior and interior are both simple and somewhat traditional, but then the menu blows your mind with its interesting combinations, and the food is delicious.

Afterward, we drove around the city a bit to show my parents around. We drove to the east side and went to Reed's Lake to show my parents how easy it was to get from our city-living to some good old lake life.

Once my parents left in the afternoon, my husband reminded me that the US was playing in the World Cup. We decided not to get cable (we have done this in every place we have lived together so far), so we would need to head to a pub for dinner, beer, and soccer.

I donned my USA gear and we headed to The Green Well, where we found seats at the bar and had beer, dinner, and 95 seriously nailbiting minutes.

And that, my friends, is a wrap for the weekend! We're gearing up for another fabulous weekend with my cousin (the mixologist queen) who is coming to visit with her main squeeze!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Did you watch the game?
• What's so great about your favorite breakfast joint?

A Day In The Life of a Freelancer's Daily Grind (Or Lack Thereof)

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After I quit my day job back in December and started doing my own thing, my schedule has been in a state of flux. In order to track (and be honest about) the way my days are falling into place, I decided to try to do a "Day In The Life" every month or so, and see how those change.

If it looks a little all over the place, I can explain that! I try to schedule my days in advance, but also like to let myself work in spurts as I feel like it. After all, that is the real luxury of working from home and being your own boss, so I didn't want to just force myself to replicate my least favorite parts of having a day job. Here goes:

6:45am.** Wake up, make the bed. Spend a few minutes reading from a devotional they gave us at church this week, but the readings in this one are pretty short. Afterward, I throw my contacts in and put some makeup on because that's something I've learned has helped me be more productive. I don't get much done in glasses and sweat pants.

**I would probably not naturally wake up at this time if I had my choice. I would keep going back to bed and sleeping longer. But, I have a much better and more productive day when I get up the FIRST time I wake up, so I try to force myself to get up.**

7am. Start answering emails that came in after I stopped working yesterday. I have an email from a potential new client, so I re-work my schedule for the day to fit in a call with them. I plan my day out and organize my meetings and objectives to complete.

8:06am. Coffee time. Thank God for Nespresso. I go upstairs with my husband and we spend about 15 minutes having coffee together and talking about what we want to do this weekend. I also prep the chia seeds I am planning to have for lunch and throw it in the fridge so they can soak and expand for a few hours (3 tbsp Chia Seeds, 1 cup Almond Milk, 1/4 cup Water, 1 tbsp PB2).

8:20am. I randomly feel like cleaning my room, so I pick up in there and in the bathroom. Hey, cleaning sucks to do, so if I feel like doing it, I oblige.

8:45am. Back downstairs to work. I answer the rest of my emails and do a little bit of blog work, like starting this post and editing some pictures.

9am. I had been planning to run from 9-10 and then get to work on my book, but I decide that my hair still looks too good from yesterday's blow dry to mess it up with a run, so I decide to put it off for a while longer. We'll see how that goes. 

I start working on submitting proposals on Elance. This is one of the ways I generate new business, so I try to spend an hour or two submitting new proposals on at least 3 days per week, and then replying to their questions and such. That said, I am totally multitasking, so I also have my book and blog post up for editing.

10am. Finally eat breakfast. Chobani yogurt (mint chocolate chip - if you haven't tried it, hop to it) and a huge orange.

10:20am. Suddenly decide I feel like running. Planned on a 4 mile run but end up running 7 instead because, hey, I can do that now that I don't have to be anywhere at a specific time.

11:30am. While I don't have to be places at specific times, I do have to be ready for interruptions. I hop off the treadmill around 11:30 because my phone is ringing. Answer it and talk to a client for about 45 minutes about content generation and management. Get off the phone and send an email recap with next steps for both sides. 

12:20pm. Eat the nice and congealed (awful word, still using it) chia pudding. It is pretty good but not my best. Make a note of what I did differently so I can correct it for an upcoming blog post recipe.

12:30pm. Spend a few hours working on some wedding invitation designs for a client and friend (they. are. GORGEOUS!). About 2 hours later, send them off.

2:30pm. Go upstairs and make a big pitcher of green juice with my Breville juicer. Drink one glass and put the rest in the fridge. Clean up. Eat a lot of mixed nuts because I am still hungry and it seems like a good way to supplement the carbs of green juice with some healthy fats and protein... but also, I just wanted some nuts.

3:00pm. Finally take a shower and blow dry my hair because it is way too cold outside.

4:00pm. Set up conference call dial-in information for a strategy call on Monday. Start working on making the meeting deck. Somehow, it is not as boring as it seems. I really like making meeting decks...

5:00pm. Spend a while working on my book. I am sending the first 3 chapters and a query-worthy summary to someone to look at, so naturally I have to spend a little time in the book first before finishing my summary. Eventuallly, I come to a halt and felt like I didn't know what else to do with it, so I have my husband give it a read and he gives it the O.K. Send it off.

Note: At my old job, 5:00 is when I would be entirely done with my day. Instead, I tend to pick up around this time and put in a really solid hour or two of work, in which I am very productive. I definitely make up for it by taking tons of breaks during the day to shower, make juice, and run. But, it seems to be a more natural rhythm for me to work during.

6:15pm. My Father In Law will be here any minute and my Mother In Law is upstairs with an almost-ready pot-roast. My husband realizes we are out of beer and we make the executive decision to fly over to a close "party store" (SERIOUSLY, they call liquor stores party stores here. Imagine my surprise the first time they talked about it, when I thought they were taking me to Party City...) and grab a case to have on hand.

6:25pm. Despite buying beer, I am not feeling it, so I make myself a cocktail before dinner. I will only end up having one, so I make it count and put the good stuff in it. I muddle grapefruit, a few drops of NuNaturals Stevia, and crushed mint in a glass before adding 1.5-2 ounces of gin and finishing it off with some soda water made in the soda stream. Perfection.

6:30pm. Dinner. Super tender pot roast, a huge salad, and a few pieces of small redskin potato.

8:00pm. Movie. We have had a pretty intense and crazy week (especially my husband), so we decide to stay in, veg on the couch, and watch an OnDemand movie.

Some basic caveats:

• Not every day is the same, and it depends entirely on what projects I am working on at the moment. There are a few jobs that stay the same, and a lot of jobs that are one-time things.
• The subjects I tend to work on include: (1) social media management for clients, (2) website design for clients, (3) graphic design for clients, including events and weddings, (4) article writing for clients needing blog content, (5) my own blog content, recipes, pictures, etc, (6) my own book. <<I don't always work on the same 6 things in one day - usually I only hit 3 or 4. On this particular day, I hit numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Well, there you have it!

What is your most productive time of the day? I tend to be pretty productive between 10-12 and 430-630. Those are my 'hot spots,' so I try to put my most important long tasks during those times, and schedule conference calls or other more social items during the in between times.

Are you a naturally early riser? My husband NATURALLY wakes up between 5 and 630 most days, but I truly, honestly have to push myself to do it.

What kind of beverage is your "wake me up" drink? I like Nespresso, but I can only do coffee a few days a week. Other than that, I like drinking Mio Fruit Punch mixed in with some coconut lacroix, or Mate tea.

A Birthday and Milwaukee Visit

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Happy Monday to all! I hope your week is off to a great start, especially as we prepare to enter the hyped or dreaded (hyped for me, let's be real) Thanksgiving weekend!

On Friday night, my husband and I headed up the North Shore to visit my parents for the night. It was my dad's birthday weekend, and as you know, I do birthdays right.

We had cheesecake topped with raspberries and freshly melted chocolate (not pictured) and ate it in front of the fire. That is, after we finished devouring our filet mignon.

In true style for my family, we had a lot of conversation and ended the night with two episodes of House Hunters International in front of the fire. This is the epitome of relaxation in my mind!

The next morning, my mother did a little birthday decorating and fixed us a delicious breakfast.

Bacon and eggs = my ideal breakfast. Throw some breakfast sausage in there and you'll satisfy the men, too. 

After a delicious breakfast, I headed to the basement for a workout. I ran about 5 miles, but started with an interval run for the first 15-20 minutes, then started stopping every mile to do 50 jumping jacks, 30 push ups, and a round of boxing. It wahttp://www.createliveblog.com/2012/02/fit-printable-boxing-workouts.htmls pretty similar to this interval boxing workout, except it was significantly longer, a little more running heavy, and also included jumping jacks and push ups.

Afterward, I showered and got ready to pick up some of my girlfriends and head for Milwaukee!

Once we arrived, our first order of business was to head to Lakefront Brewery. We had set up a 2:30 tour for our group, so we headed over a bit early to grab a beer before it starts (they actually recommend it!).

The tour was really neat and it was awesome to see the process and get a better understanding of how beer is made!

Afterward, we headed back to my girlfriends' apartment to have some appetizers and play Cards Against Humanity. 

Around 7 or 8, we headed to AJ Bombers for dinner. This is one of those typical bar food places where you can write on the tables and crack open peanuts and drop the shells on the floor. Needless to say, it was an appropriately filling dinner for having attended a brewery tour in the afternoon.

We headed to a country bar (forget the name... sorry, my brain tends to remove all things country from memory... wink), where my friend rode the bull. I have never seen someone I know do it in person, but it is obviously a difficult thing to do!

Eventually, we made our way back to my girlfriends' apartment and crashed in beds and on couches.

I woke up fairly early the next morning to a scene that is oh-so-typical of girls' weekends: a mess of clothes, boots, and vera bradley bags. It only took us a few minutes to clean the entire apartment, though, which is a good thing because we were starving.

We headed out the door pretty quickly, so I ended up rocking this very questionable hair style. A top knot, falling off the side of my head, with its own built in alfalfa hair. It was large and in charge.

We walked over to Wolf Peach, which was a short 2-3 minute walk up a set of stairs.

It was decorated as a combination of rustic and industrial (kind of looked like a cabin/loft, if that even makes sense) and then topped off with some romantic accents, like this glass chandy.

I had a delicious (and huge) order of Chilaquiles with Chorizo, Avocado, and an over-easy egg. It totally hit the spot and filled me up. I also broke my coffee rule to guzzle some liquid gold.

After brunch, we braved the 17 degree cold to walk back to their apartment and pack up. We headed back to the burbs, where I dropped my girlfriends off and touched base with my parents before my mom drove me to the train.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Have you ever been to Milwaukee? What is your favorite midwestern city?
• Do you have any birthday traditions? In my family, we always decorate the doorways and hang streamers and balloons for people to wake up to on their birthdays! The birthday person also gets to choose the meals for the day.

Life Lately - Hippie or Not Hippie, That Is The Question

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If the title of this post made you think of "To be or not to be," then you can officially award yourself ten points. Or maybe I should just go ahead and award those points to Gryffindor. 

1. I went to Grange Hall on Randolph St and loved it. It was hipster through and through, and felt like a scene from Portlandia where they tell you all about where the beef came from and whether it had a good home (it also reminded me of Ft. Defiance in Brooklyn). The menu is mostly burgers, but I had chili and salad. Best of all was sitting outside with this view.

I will never call you Willis.

Also, they brought water with only a little bit of ice, a small slice of lemon and a small slice of lime (or was it cucumber?). Perfection.

2. Hippy move number two... and I'm not sure if this really is a hippie move. I ordered new toothpaste from Vitacost.com (I figured that something more natural would be more sensitive to our teeth). When it showed up, my loving fiance teased me and said he was engaged to a hippie. Apparently even the packaging looks hipstery? Beats me...

Are you there, Jason? It's me, Hippy

3. Do hipsters get manicures? I'm thinking maybe not (at least not the "real" hippies... I'm looking at you, Wicker Park), so perhaps this will balance out the Portlandia restaurant and supposed hipster toothpaste: I'm usually a french manicure girl. I like that I can get a no-chip manicure and make it last for 3+ weeks without having to take the time to go back and get them fixed. But, the last time I went, I decided to be brave and change it up. And by change it up, I mean get something almost the same but not entirely. I think it was called I Theodore You.

Still going strong, Theodora

4. Fourth, and this has absolutely nothing to do with the (not so) epic battle between hipster and not-so-hipster, I'm a Yelp Elite!

In conclusion... yes, I am fully aware that I am not a hippie. I can hardly pass for hipster, depending on the neighborhood. It is really all in jest. 

QUESTIONS:

• Do you ever make purchases that strike you as out of character?
• Are you into all natural ingredients?
• Do you Yelp?

Birthday Weekend & The Easter Bunny Gets Techy

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If you know me, you know I'm big into celebrating. You just got a job interview? Awesome, let me bake you cupcakes. Your hair looks great today? Awesome, let me write you a congratulatory award. You cleaned your whole apartment? Let's bake a cake. I truly just enjoy celebrating people and joyous moments, from the big to the small. So, naturally, when it comes to birthdays, I go big and I go meaningful.  

Friday was my fiance's birthday. He has a deep, burning love for Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I very rarely bake them, because I seriously dislike following actual recipes and cookies have to be done exactly right. But, on his birthday, I of course had to oblige his longstanding request and surprise him with delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies. Because I was working from home all day, I was able to pop some delish cookies in the oven as I got my work done. I was totally out of butter, and my fiance had our car out in the burbs for a work meeting, so I did a little googling and ended up using this recipe for chocolate chip cookies using coconut oil.

I randomly put together a few birthday decorations using some bottles hanging around, some straws, paper, and streamers. While I'm a "go big" person, my fiance tends to appreciate simple and understated, so I had to keep his preferences in mind.

That said, he did not escape without streamers. I hung these over the doorway from the back door, where I knew he'd come in since he had the car (we have a garage out back - yes, in the city - we lucked out).

When he got home, I lit candles in the cookies and a few extra candles that I scattered around the table and sang him a little birthday song. He probably felt like a 5 year old. To be honest, I think we all deserve to feel like that. :)

After some cookie munching, we hopped in the car to head to his office, which is just a few minutes away, where his birthday gifts had been delivered to. He opened a new watch and pair of shoes.

On our way home, we were just sinking in the beautiful city views, as the gentle early evening sun lit the buildings up. Suddenly, we both really wanted to be outside. So, we dropped off the car and headed over to dinner in Wicker Park a bit early. Instead of taking a cab, we walked. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, and the temperature was perfect.

We had dinner at Justin's favorite pub, Mac's American Pub. This place is really special to us, because it was where we went on our first impromptu date, and we always thoroughly enjoy our time there. My fiance had a burger and I ordered one of Mac's Chicken Salads.

As dinner was wrapping up, I asked him where else he wanted to go on his birthday. Anything you want to try? I was kind of hinting at FroYo at first... but then he had a much better idea. We'd been to The Violet Hour many times, but only with other couples or groups. We'd never been just us. So, we walked over and got in line outside. After just a few minutes, the "bouncer," so to speak, came out and grabbed us from the back of the line. I have no idea why he did this - it was almost as though he just knew it was Justin's birthday - but whatever, we'll take it! Inside, we were seated by the fireplace. I started with the "Hunter Gatherer," and my fiance had an Old Fashioned.



The next morning, my fiance woke up with a hankering for The Breakfast Club. You thought birthdays were only one day? Hah. Not when you're in my family. You get the whole freaking weekend. So, off to The Breakfast Club we walked.

We were completely unadventurous and got our normal grub. My fiance ordered the Meat Lover's Skillet, and I ordered an Egg White Omelet with Spinach, Onion, Bacon, Feta, and Tomato Slices on the side.

Back at home, we relaxed for a while and got ready for a bike ride. I was in the mood for a Spin class, but my fiance was on a "roll," and suggested we just hit the road. Pun intended.

We biked over to the Lake Shore Path and headed north along the lake. At first, we thought it might be a bit cold near the lake, but it ended up being pretty much perfect.

Once we turned around, instead of taking the lake path south, we headed into the city and made our way back home from there. It's both exciting and somewhat terrifying to bike through the city, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Obviously, I survived. (No, I didn't. I'm writing this from the grave. April fools!)

At home, I quickly showered and got ready, because we had some exciting plans. I actually got fancy and blew my hair dry, which happens about once a month, so it's always a momentous occasion. Holy smokes, my hurr is long.



I popped some Kashi pizzas in the oven and whipped together some serious guacamole. Our neighbors came over so we could all stuff our faces and then we hopped in a cab and headed to Union Station for Beer Fest. Yep, that food was all for a good cause: lining our stomachs.

Once inside, we began the long and delicious process of sampling beers. There were probably 50 breweries (at least, it felt that way) from all around the Midwest.

We were in search of the next greatest Midwest brew, and ya know what? We found it. My favorite, by far, was by a brewery called Anderson's, and it was an Amber Ale, which is not usually my thing. It was just so smooth and delicious, I couldn't not go back for more.

Eventually, we all decided we'd had enough beer, so we headed to Grandview Tavern for some food. Everyone had burgers, but I was still so full from the combination of pizza/guac/tons of beer that I opted for a side salad and a cup of the soup of the day. Both were... just okay.

On Sunday morning, we decided to head up to the suburbs to spend Easter with my family. It takes about 45-60 minutes to get there, so we always have an enjoyable mini road trip en route. It tends to involve me taking more than a few selfies. #oops

After an amazing church service at The Chapel, we headed home for some Easter grub. My mother had put together a delicious but still fairly light (I mean that in a good way) meal of pineapple ham, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and strawberries.

Post-lunch, we followed another tradition in my family: Hippity Hop. Ever since we were kids, my dad would hide our Easter baskets and then write a poem or riddle for us to use as a guide to find the baskets. This year, the Easter Bunny went techie and wrote our poems on an iPad. Wow, Easter Bunny. Santa's really got to catch up and ditch his paper lists.

Above is a picture of my sister and her "Hippity Hop" poem. When it was my turn, the Easter Bunny had written a poem for my fiance and I to share. We found our Easter basket in one of the fireplaces in the house. See it down there?

Once Easter festivities wound down and I was far too full on candy, we headed home to good old Chicago for some errands and R&R. We grocery shopped, cleaned, and did laundry... and I made a pretty darn delicious quiche for breakfasts this week. Let's file that one under #winning and #reaganing.

We went on a long walk around the city before bed. We were gone for a little over an hour, and I got a few sprints in there with the pup (every time there was a long stretch of sidewalk or a bridge to run up and over, I sprinted it with the dog and then turned around and sprinted back to my fiance, who wasn't wearing proper running shoes).



Toward the end of our walk, when we were headed back, we ran into this really precious message written in graffiti. It says, "ONE DAY YOU'LL LIVE FOREVER." Especially on Easter Sunday, it was such a poignant reminder that Christ died and rose again to GIVE US that gift, that we can live forever because of exactly what Easter is meant to honor. Just another special moment in which God stepped in and showed us something awesome.

QUESTIONS:

• How does your family do "birthdays?" Any special traditions?
  My family has always made a big deal by decorating and hanging streamers, etc. We're dorks.
• Does your family do any special things for Easter?
  Hippity Hop! And too much candy, as usual...

GRATITUDE:

Dear God,

Thanks for showing your face in such surprising ways. Like graffiti in front of a dumpster. Just like Jesus hung out with riff raff, you're willing to show your face among it too.

Love,

Carly