Natale Con La Famiglia

I can’t believe I am recapping Christmas Eve on my blog.  I apologize for not keeping up.  The holidays along with other personal issues kept me away for a bit.  I needed a break in remembering how the year ended.  For the most part, I have yet to make any resolutions for 2018.  It’s not that I am slacking on myself.  These recent events took me by surprise, and I am slowly nursing myself back to normal.  This weekend I am planning on visiting my friend in Michigan.  We will be celebrating her birthday.  For the most part, she is bummed out about some things not working out for her and I decided on the last minute to visit her.  I know how it feels when things take you by surprise.

I want everyone to know, it’s ok to take some time off for yourself to regroup.  Life can be hard (I just never imagined how hard it can be when you lose someone).  Last year, I knew 5 people that passed away suddenly.  It is a growing reminder for me that I am getting older, but also that Life can be incredibly unfair.  I never in a million years want anyone to go through the hardships I’ve witnessed.  Seeing friends and family hurt broke my heart.

As a result, I felt incredibly guilty around Thanksgiving.  I knew I needed to get away (for myself mostly) and I did in early December.  But then the holidays were creeping up again, and I felt the sudden urge of sadness.  I can now see how the holidays can trigger strong emotions when someone passes away.  

Luckily, my friends and family knew of my struggles and were very helpful once more.  I didn’t realize that even recapping these sad moments could take me back to that time, but now that weeks have passed, I’m am getting excited for things to come.  The next few months will be filled with lots of planning, and hopefully I will share the news soon of what’s to come.

Back to recapping Christmas Eve!

I was out the night before with my friend who came into town for the holidays.  As a result of us getting a little crazy, we woke up to the sight of a blanket of snow.  This snowfall came out of nowhere.  We grabbed brunch and then we went home to rest up.  It was Christmas Eve and we knew it was going to be a full night ahead of us once more.

My brothers picked me up and we headed to my aunt’s place.  This was her first time hosting this year, and we enjoyed our night there.  My step brother also showed up which was a nice surprise. 

I got a bunch of gift cards which I can’t wait to use.  I am looking forward to this weekend in Michigan.  I am thinking this is the year I might visit my friends who have moved away from Chicago.  That could be a possible New Year’s Resolution…   

Game Night

Sorry I’ve been MIA.  As you can see, catching up on the blog was NOT one of my New Year’s Resolutions!  Lol.  I got a little depressed as the year ended.  I knew a total of 5 people that have passed away in 2017 and it was hard to look back at all the memories that I made with them.  I did not want to reflect too much and decided to keep busy with friends and family.  I am feeling much better and am excited for future plans again.  Sometimes it takes a minute to go through the emotions, but I’m blessed being surrounded with people who care. 

I actually won some tickets for a Bulls game during the holidays.  I decided to surprise my brother.  He’s never been to the skybox lounge at the United Center, and was very excited to go.  We had a great time.  I’m not big on sports, but we stayed until the very end to get the full experience.  Needless to say, I reminded him that was his Christmas present.  Lol.  Gotta love that brother-sister bond!

Friendsgiving

Last Saturday I went to my very first Friendsgiving.  I have to say, I’ve been down lately.  I can’t help but feel guilty about the holidays coming up.  My friend just lost someone very close to her, and I wonder about her well-being.  It dawned on me how this time of year can trigger a lot of emotions, especially loneliness.  I guess that’s where Friendsgiving comes into play.

Let’s face it.  Sometimes we can’t choose our family.  But friends are a different story.  These are people who know you best, yet choose to spend time with you, confide in you, and love you unconditionally, no matter what.  I’m very grateful I have a set of good friends whom I cherish to death.  Despite not really being in the mood for holiday cheer, I showed up at the last minute to my first Friendsgiving.  I loved seeing my friends, although I was quiet most of the night.  I know tomorrow is going to be a lot for me.  I’m not feeling very talkative, but this is the only time I get to see most of my family all in one room.  It’s hard to get together with our hectic schedules.

I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving.  If by chance, you are spending it alone, watch a good flick on tv or catch up on book you’ve been wanting to read.  I am a huge fan of self-help books and the one I recommend is Big Magic.  Everyone has a purpose here on this earth, and this book will wake up your inspiration.  Until next time…

I wore a cowlneck sweater in camel.  The color is making a comeback this season.

I didn’t take any pictures there but this one.  I’ve never seen a bottle like this.  Too cute!

Spreading myself thin...

Every year, I tell myself I will finish my Christmas shopping early, and every year I end up frantically looking for stuff to get on the 24th.  Talk about procrastination!  I really want to work on this because I loathe shopping at the last minute for people.  Not to mention, I sometimes feel I settle for something that might not be appropriate for them, but at least they got a gift from me.  NOT GOOD!  I want to be thoughtful on my gift giving and those things take time.  I fell in that trap again this year and I was miserable. 
I have a friend whose birthday lands on Christmas Eve, and since this time it landed on a Saturday, I had a feeling she might be celebrating on Friday instead.  I have not caught up with her since her birthday last year and felt terrible about that already.  We use to hangout years ago, but then our little group changed due to the breakups of our boyfriends.  I sometimes miss those days, but looking back, so much has happened after that.  Things changed.  I reached out to her via text and she told me she was going to be out for a birthday dinner but afterwards might step out elsewhere.  We played it by ear and I felt good about it.
Until I decided to do some more Christmas shopping.  Since now my aunt was hosting, and we found out a few days beforehand, I wanted to pick some gifts up for my cousins.  Because I was trying to rush to the stores to find something, I ended up slipping on ice and hurting myself.  That's what happens when you're mind is all over the place.  Besides bruising my ego, I got back up and ran off to 6 corners. 
I was on a roll looking for things when I received a text from the birthday girl.  Two friends had backed out of the dinner and she asked me if I could make it out by 8pm in place of them.  I was stuck.  There was no way I could get to Lincoln Park in 45 minutes.  I still had to go home and get ready and make my way there.  Plus I needed more time to finish up my shopping.  I told her I couldn't make it but to count me in after dinner if they go out.  She seemed fine with it, and I continued shopping for my cousins.
I made my way back home flustered, but satisfied.  I wanted to relax a bit, so I took my time getting ready.  I knew something was up when my phone was blowing up.  There was a group text with my friends going back and forth.  Our friend from Detroit was in town for the holidays.  She was at a nearby suburbs doing some shopping herself.  We were trying to set up a time and place to meet up, but it wasn't working out.  I continued getting ready and right when I was figuring out what to wear, I got a call from my Detroit friend:
"Get ready, we're coming to pick you up."
"Wait!  What?"
"We'll be there in 7.  We're going to Café Iberico."
YIKES!  I was stuck.  I thought about my friend in Lincoln Park.  Her dinner was at 8pm and now it's 9:15pm.  I was thinking about meeting them up after 10pm.  But since my other friend wanted to eat something at Café Iberico, we would be downtown.  I figured I'll take advantage of the free car ride and then excuse myself at one point to go join the other party.  I was spreading myself thin, but at the time it seemed like a good idea.
She arrived approximately in 7 minutes, just like she stated.  Off we went.  I miss her little baby.  We all caught up with one another and were enjoying ourselves.  I kept looking at my phone but did not hear from the birthday girl.  She texted me that she was still at the restaurant around 10:15pm.  I replied that I was making my way downtown, but I was trying to kill some more time.  I continued my evening with my friends and then she texted back after 11pm to come to the restaurant.
Over the years, she would normally paint the town red.  I was hoping she was going to do the same and go out so I could join her somewhere but she was still at the restaurant.  By this time. she had been at the restaurant for over 3 hours.  I panicked.  I told my friends I had to make this party and left.  I cabbed it over to Lincoln Park and made it in 10 minutes flat.  The party made it's way next door to a pub.  I joined them, but I knew something was up.  They were pretty drunk by now, but the party was much smaller.  Some people left after dinner.  As we caught up, there were so many changes in the works.  I felt bad missing out so much of her life.  To make matters worse, she was pretty hurt those 2 friends who did not show up to her party.  I felt incredibly guilty for showing up late.
I did not know what to do.  I felt I had let everyone down.  And I still wasn't done with my Christmas shopping.  I found out at the last minute that my step brother was going to join us for Christmas Eve dinner.  Another one I had to find a gift for.
I rode with my friend in a cab to make sure she got home ok.  It was the least I could do.  I just hope I didn't blow it with her.     

How could I leave him so soon?? 

I had to make more time for him!!  He lives so far away...

His Ralph Lauren sweater is on point!

Made it to see this babe!

I need to make it up to her somehow...

COLDEST DAY OF THE YEAR!

December was an fickle month.  Every 4 days I had a party of some sort to attend, and it started to take it's toll on me.  My shoulders were tensed, and I felt I didn't have enough time to do my regular routine since things were always popping up here and there.  Not to mention, my mom was acting differently which made me wonder if depression was slowly creeping its way back.  I wanted to be there for her, but I also had to live my life.  Unfortunately, I knew I was spreading myself thin due to overbooking my time with everyone, and by mid month, was feeling anxious myself.
A fond farewell party took place at my firm with one of our beloved employees deciding to pursue a new chapter in his life.  AGAIN, just like the birthday brunch earlier in the month, and the ugly Christmas sweater party out in the burbs, this one lasted longer than I anticipated.  I joined in on the festivities 2 hours late into the evening and the party was still going strong.  One thing led to another, and off we went to Quartino to have dinner.  We were having a good time with one another, I didn't notice the time passing by.  We eventually left and went for cocktails afterwards.  I think our friend was very appreciative about the whole night in general.

First up, a toast goodbye...

Loved this olive oil from Quartino...

Yummy pizza!

During this time the weather in Chicago was getting frigid.  My friend asked if I would be interested in attending a daytime party at the Godfrey Hotel.  A friend of ours was having her birthday party there.  I always thought she was sweet, so I agreed to go.  I still had to do some Christmas shopping, but figured I could pull this off on the same day.  Little did I know how cold it was going to get.  The temperatures were dropping into the negatives, but the party must go on!
The daytime party was starting at 2pm.  I knew I would not be there that early, so I notified my friend that I was anticipating on arriving around 4pm.  I had to pick something up at Crate & Barrel and since we were celebrating in a hotel, figured I could leave my package at the coat check and attend the party without worrying.  Luckily, everything worked out, but time was crucial since the following weekend was Christmas. 
I arrived at the party after 4pm and the party had not shown up yet.  I waited at the bar in the meantime.  I figured people were late due to the frigid temperatures.  By this time it had dropped to -5, but as the evening went on, it was not going to stop.  The birthday girl and guests arrived after 5pm to -9 degree temperature.  I was impressed she had a good turn out of friends.  She is an awesome girl and everyone came to support her, despite how cold it was.
I wore a tunic sweater with a leather harness over it.  I had seen something similar on a fashion blogger and forgot I had one.  Due to the slush, I wore my pebble leather boots, but I wished I had the opportunity to wear my suede over the knee boots.  Dressing in the winter time can be a challenge!         

Might as well enjoy this margarita cocktail before everyone shows up...

Birthday girl in winter white.

All black for this frigid weather...

Holidays are OVER! Part 3

One of my favorite new traditions for the holiday season is definitely an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.  At first, I thought it was a hilarious idea to get people together to make fun of each other.  But as the popularity grew, I now look forward to seeing my friends--PERIOD.  It's hard to see them during the holidays when everyone has so many commitments.  This is a perfect guarantee that we could touch base and see how we are doing.
The holidays are stressful for some.  It's the end of the year.  People reflect back.  We sometimes check in on our current situations to see if we're heading towards the right direction.  And sometimes we just know what's not working for us anymore. 
I noticed my mom was growing very irritated by the holidays.  I couldn't put my finger on it at first, mostly because she was complaining about how crowded the stores are, etc.  But then she started mentioning how she's not fond of certain people in our circle, and that's when I knew something was brewing.  Despite in the past, whether or not certain people were difficult to be around, we still as a family managed to get together during the holidays.  This time my mom was voicing her opinion, but for me and my brothers, we weren't having it.  I wasn't sure if she was trying to deter us from spending the holidays with others and keeping me and my brothers to herself,  Luckily my older brother took over the communication process and my younger aunt decided to host Christmas Eve at her house.  I know it seems a bit conniving, but me and my brothers all agreed that we didn't want to separate our family because of my mom feeling uncomfortable.  Sometimes I think she's embarrassed or ashamed of being a widow(?)  I wouldn't know how to explain her feelings because they are her thoughts, but I'm beginning to learn a lot from her and my family.
This year one of our friends wanted to throw an Ugly Christmas Sweater party at her new house out in the suburbs.  It's 45 minutes away from the city, so that alone was a hike.  Not to mention, she chose to throw it on a Sunday where no Metra trains run to her town.  Being car less sometimes has it's challenges.  Luckily my friend was coming also, so we met up in downtown to head south to Oarland Park.  To make matters worse, there was a snow storm heading our way.  I was hoping it would start later, but sure enough, the snow was hitting us hard during our commute there.  My friend has a truck so she was breezing through, but this type of weather could be difficult for smaller vehicles.
Once we got there, the party was just starting.  The group turned out to be smaller than intended due to the weather conditions.  Yet my friend seemed pretty happy people showed up.  She gave us a tour of her new home and we finally met her little son!  We had a good time catching up with one another and stayed put for the rest of the day.  I was surprised we left so late in the evening but knew it would be safer for us since the roads would be plowed by then.  As for the funniest sweater; we had a winner!!    

Found this sweater at Forever 21.  Not your typical Ugly Christmas sweater, but it does have reindeers on them...

Check out that spread!

FINALLY met the baby!!  He's adorable!

My friend with the baby and her Hanukkah sweater...

Our little party in the burbs.  The snow wouldn't stop!

What a great idea!  Collecting ornaments from all over to put on the tree.  My friend's made it's way to the top!

The winner of the Ugly Christmas Sweater!

Let's eat!

I may not be a foodie but I got a chance to eat pretty well last October.  My friends make fun of me that I never have an appetite for anything.  I rather have a good drink than to have a big meal.  That's because I usually watch what I eat and exercise regularly.  But there are occasions when I find myself out and about trying new things.

My boss wanted to surprise one of our coworkers to a lunch for her upcoming wedding.  She chose the Ralph Lauren restaurant on Chicago avenue.  I was excited to check it out because I've never been.  We made reservations and noticed how full the place was.  Luckily we got our table and ordered a way!  RL is beautifully decorated in Ralph Lauren fashion.  There were sections that looked like a library and then there were sections that reminded me of a horse stable.  There are tons of pictures hanging; some are photographs of old Hollywood actors and  some are of Chicago's iconic skyscrapers.  I missed the feeling of being back in time.  Our city has had our share of up and coming restaurants with a new age/ fusion twist.  It was nice to be in a luxurious country club-style restaurant and enjoy some traditional American food.  By the way, my club sandwich was to die for!  I will say I was pretty envious of their monogram RL coffee cups with matching saucers.

That same week I had dinner in Avec restaurant on Randolph street.  If you head over to this trendy neighborhood, you'll see a string of restaurants back to back.  I haven't been in that area in a while.  It was nice to enjoy a night out in the city.  This tapas restaurant was delish!  I enjoyed the dishes very much and would highly recommend it for a date night out.  

Afterwards we wanted to have some cocktails.  I was curious to see the new Loews hotel, so we headed down there.  We ended up catching the World Series game there.  I loved the lobby bar and even though I'm not a sports fan, had a great time there with the fellow spectators!  Congratulations Kansas!  That was an awesome game!
Tonight me and my family will be celebrating Christmas Eve.  I'm excited to see my mom.  I bought her a vintage brooch and I hope she likes it!  I will let you guys know.  As for everyone out there, please have a safe holiday and enjoy the time spent with family and friends.  If you are spending it alone, there's plenty of Christmas specials on tv as well as blockbuster movies out (hint: Star Wars) for your viewing pleasure.  I'm single so I know how it feels to be alone sometimes.  It's moments like these you go out and try to enjoy your holiday regardless of your circumstance.  Not everyone has it so easy.  No matter how down and out you feel, remember Life has a way of reminding you how blessed you are!  Live life to the fullest!!  And Merry Christmas!!!!!!

 

Check out that mirror!  Loved the décor in RL restaurant!

I cannot find these anywhere, but I need them in my life!



The best club sandwich I've ever had, hands down!

Cheese spread in Avec....

A bottle of pinot to go with our dinner...

I love healthy dishes like this Trout we shared. 

Kale salad with shrimp!  SOOOOOO good!

What I wore to Avec and Loews hotel.  I chose an off the shoulder sweater with bootcut jeans.  Pretty basic since I didn't know where we were heading to.

Do you remember back in September?

The countdown is on!!  2015 is almost gone, and I'm still trying to recap my events of the year.  Blogging on a regular basis will definitely be a resolution of mine.  But let's face it.  Sometimes life gets in the way.  My mom's husband was getting really sick around this time last year.  She's been emotional again knowing that Christmas is around the corner.  I wish I knew how to make her feel better.  Me and my brothers are keeping an eye on her.  We try to get together whenever we can to keep her busy.  Right now, work is slowing down for her.  She's not getting enough hours in, so she's home more.  I don't want her to get lonely. 
I've been trying to fix up my apartment as well.  I moved into a cute condo 4 years ago with my boyfriend at the time.  We were slowly getting everything we needed.  Then we broke up.  That was 3 years ago.  It wasn't until last Christmas when I realized that my mom's husband was going to pass soon.  I stayed in most of the time.  I hardly went out.  I tried to keep myself busy when my ex moved out that I never stopped running from one thing to another.  I never wanted to stay home.  I hung out with friends, traveled a bit.  But I hardly stayed home.  Once it started to get chilly I remembered how lonely I felt in the winter.  I figured it's because I never got a chance to get my place nice and cozy.  It felt empty.  I've been slowly getting some personal pieces in.  I can't wait to show you my before and after pics!  Trust me, it's not a big deal.  But to me it is and I'm glad I'm getting my place the way I want it. 
Back to recapping September.  I have a couple of friends who have birthdays back to back.  I call it the Virgo/ Libra transition!  Towards the end of the month, we decided to take out one of our good friends out for sushi.  She wanted to keep her birthday low key.  It was nice because I got a chance to see my other friend who just had a baby back in July.  After dinner she went to get her son from the babysitter and we all headed back to our friend's place for some cocktails.  It was a perfect end to a wonderful night.  It's going to get harder and harder for us to all get together.  That's why it's important we keep in touch for moments like this. 

The 2nd dress I bought out in Italy for 5 euros!  I decided to wear it to the dinner since it was nice out.

LOVE my friend's hat!  I wish I can rock one, but they never look good on me. 

The birthday girl is the one with the black scarf.  She had a good time...

Good times at Yuzu sushi!