Hamilton The Musical

I was trying to come up with some ideas for what to do for my mom’s birthday this year.  I wanted to take her to the movies since we haven’t gone in months.  I was looking into “Crazy Rich Asians” when another idea popped up.  I wondered if I could get tickets for Hamilton.  Hamilton has been in Chicago for over a year, with tickets still being high on demand.  My friend convinced me it might be easier to score some now since time has passed.  I looked into but was shocked at the prices!  I have not seen a play in years, but some tickets were close to $400!  I looked and looked and found some seating available on her birthday but we would be seated in two separate rows.  Whenever I tried to purchase something together the prices would skyrocket.  My friend suggested I look at other dates and surprise her with tickets on her birthday inside a card.  I thought about it, but then opted not to since I would still have to come up with something to do on her actual birthday.  I texted my mom right away to see if she had any plans with anyone first before I went ahead to purchase them.  Once she replied no, I got on it and bought the single seated tickets in two different rows.  I told my friend I hope she doesn’t mind sitting in front of me since this is the best that I could do.  Luckily she got very excited when I texted her what I had done.  I had no idea she really wanted to see this show!

On the day of, we met at the train station and rode downtown.  It was pretty cold that day, but it gave me the chance to wear my over the knee boots and new sweater dress I had bought months earlier.  My mom could not stop smiling while we waited in line to get in.  Once inside I decided to order a glass of wine since I didn’t want to miss any of the performance.  My mom was looking over curiously at the concession stand.  I asked her to pick out what she wanted, but she settled on the tour book.  I bought a souvenir t-shirt for myself before we were seated.

The show, as you have heard, is absolutely amazing!  I loved every minute of it and my mom was practically glowing from the whole experience.  I would recommend this to anyone visiting Chicago to check it out.  The music alone gives you chills!

Labor Day Weekend Sunday

That Labor Day Sunday my mom wanted me and my brothers to come over for dinner.   A friend of mine seemed a bit down, so we decided to catch up for afternoon cocktails.  We had talked on the phone the day before but since I was meeting my friend from Rhode Island, we couldn’t find time to hangout with one another.  I figured I could squeeze in some fun before my mom’s dinner since she usually serves around 6:30pm.  I wanted to show my friend the rooftop at London House since she was staying nearby.  Luckily, Chicago was beautiful that day.  Not a cloud in the sky!

I made my way downtown and was surprised how packed it was for a Sunday afternoon.  Over the years, downtown could be a ghost town especially during holiday weekends.  There are a lot of transplants here in the city, and a majority of them fly out back home during the holidays.  But it seems a ton of tourists decided to be in town for Labor Day, and they were all hanging around the Chicago River.

Our wait wasn’t too bad to get inside.  We ordered some wine at the bar before heading up to the rooftop.  She loved it!  We wanted to grab a table so we walked up to the host.  She was super sweet!  We were having a good time discussing Chicago’s nightlife.  We eventually got a table, and our host would come up to check up on us.  In the end, my friend and her hit it off and exchanged numbers.  They wanted to go out after her shift, but I had to head back home for my mom’s dinner.  I was up in the air about meeting up with them later.  My mom had just came back from Mexico and I wanted to hear about her trip.

My brother picked me up at my train stop and we headed over to my mom’s place.  She absolutely LOVED her trip!  I felt bad because she confessed that she started to cry at the airport when her friends dropped her off.  I realized that she had spent 7 whole days with her friends and she must have gotten attached to being around them.  She’s still lonely being by herself at the apartment, even though she has her dog with her.  I need to be around more…  

 friend of mine seemed a bit down, so we decided to catch up for afternoon cocktails.  We had talked on the phone the day before but since I was meeting my other friend from Rhode Island, we couldn’t find time to hangout with one another.  I figured I could squeeze in some fun before my mom’s dinner since she usually serves around 6:30pm.  I wanted to show my friend the rooftop at London House since she was staying nearby.  Luckily, Chicago was beautiful that day.  Not a cloud in the sky!

I made my way downtown and was surprised at how packed it was for a Sunday afternoon.  Over the years, downtown Chicago could be a ghost town especially during holiday weekends.  There are a lot of transplants here in the city, and a majority of them fly out back home during the holidays.  But it seems a ton of tourists decided to fly in for Labor Day, and they were all hanging around the Chicago River.

Our wait wasn’t too bad to get inside.  We ordered some wine at the bar before heading up to the rooftop.  She loved it!  We wanted to grab a table so we walked up to the host.  She was super sweet!  We were having a good time discussing Chicago’s nightlife.  We eventually got a table, and our host would come up to check up on us.  In the end, my friend and her hit it off and exchanged numbers.  They wanted to go out after her shift, but I had to head back home for my mom’s dinner.  I was up in the air about meeting up with them later.  My mom had just came back from Mexico and I wanted to hear about her trip.

My brother picked me up at my train stop and we headed over to my mom’s place.  She absolutely LOVED Mexico!  I felt bad because she confessed that she started to cry at the airport when her friends dropped her off.  I realized that she had spent 7 whole days with her friends and she must have gotten attached to being around them.  She’s still lonely being by herself at the apartment, even though she has her dog with her.  I need to be around more…  

Baby Shower at the Ukrainian Cultural Center

I hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July holiday weekend!  I did a lot, so I’m glad we have a short work week.  Let me recap the last Sunday of June…

After that eventful Saturday at Mamby at the Beach, the next day I had to attend a baby shower.  I was pretty exhausted.  I made it to church then headed back home to get ready.  The temperature dropped a bit to the 70s, so I wore pants and a cute top I won off ebay from BCBG.  

I FINALLY figured out how to wear a milk braid (lol) so it was nice to do something different to my hair.  I’ve noticed as I have gotten older that my hair is not as full as it once was.  Sometimes a ponytail looks too stringy.  I miss having full curly hair.

My friend looked beautiful on her big day!  It was a complete surprise to her.  She enjoyed catching up with everyone.  Pretty soon her life is going to be very busy with the baby.  It’s going to be an adjustment but the happy couple is eagerly waiting for her arrival. I’m so happy for them!

Family Time...

That same weekend I celebrated the birthday of my friend at Bar Deville, I also spent some time with my family.  The next day I went for coffee and cake to celebrate my little cousin's birthday.  She is still in high school, but she's growing up to be a wonderful young woman!  I'm so proud of her!  It was also the first time I got to see my mom since I've been back from my trip.  My mom was on a hectic work schedule and had only one day off.  The hotel is swamped right now, so we decided to see each other when she returned to a regular work week.  She did come by my uncle's house to wish my cousin happy birthday.  My uncle's mother was there too.  Unfortunately, her health is not so great, so for the  most part, my mom was attending to her.  I know my mom takes these things very personal with everything that she's been through these past 2 years.  I can see how hard it is for her to process bad news.  At one point I tried to make my mom feel a little bit better by giving her the postcards I got for her from Greece.  She loved them! 
To make matters worse, there was also the sudden death of a family friend.  He passed away that Friday night during rush hour.  My mom told me the news later on that evening.  His wake was the next day.  Me and my brother decided to go pay our respect that Sunday.  My mom was going to pass by our friend's place on her day off that following Tuesday.  I got chills pulling up to their apartment in Hyde Park.  Me and my brothers use to play with his kids, so it brought a lot of good memories back.  I miss those times!  We had so much fun.  I feel bad that my family lost their friend, and seeing his kids mourn their dad brought tears to my eyes.  They miss him so much!  We caught up with the daughters and met their new families.  They hold a special place in my heart.
I knew this was going to hit close to home with my mom.  She did came by after all and spoke to his widow.  They've been married for 40 years!  For me, personally, I'm glad I got to see my family during these difficult times of loss and anxiousness.  I pray that we continue to support one another. No one should have to go through this alone.  Life is precious!

Her smile...

Happy Monday!  I'm getting very anxious about my upcoming trip.  I want to try not to let my emotions get the best of me this week.  I stayed low key over the weekend running errands and cleaning up my apartment.  As I've gotten older, I've noticed I feel more relaxed when my place is neat and tidy.  I also went through my closet and started to pull out some pieces for my vacation.  Since I know I might be a nervous wreck this weekend, I figured I'll start on that so I won't miss anything when I do pack my suitcase.  It sucks when you have to "prepare" yourself for your nerves.
What has helped me also are some motivational quotes I would find off Pinterest and Instagram.  I love the look on people's faces when I see them in a place I want to be.  Their smile says it all.  Greece is a magical place indeed and I'm looking forward to experiencing it myself!
The weekend prior I attended a wedding with my mom.  She wanted me to accompany her but didn't give me too much of a notice.  I had 2 weeks to find an appropriate dress for this wedding in the suburbs.  The ceremony was going to take place in the backyard of a house that belonged to my mom's friend.  Her son was getting married and she wanted to throw the reception there.  She has a pretty big yard for hosting 80 guests!
About a month ago I was going crazy searching for dresses for my friends' upcoming baby baptisms.  I found a dress that I put in my checklist but decided on 2 other dresses for those events.  Since I'm on a tight budget for now, I was thrown off with the invitation, but luckily I still had a dress in mind.  What do you wear for an outdoor wedding in a big backyard in the middle of summer?
I won the bid on my dress and luckily it came in a few days before the weekend.  I had to replace the slip underneath (don't you hate slips that don't line up?) and opted to wear my wedges instead of heels.  I was happy with my choice for this occasion.  Off I went to pick up my mom!

The black lace detailing was see through.  I bought a nude slip off Target which did the trick...

We got there early and the caterers were still getting everything situated.  I didn't know what to expect since I didn't know anyone there.  I met the groom and he seemed very content.  I admire people who don't seem nervous.  I wish I knew their secret on handling stressful events.  *sigh
Slowly the guests started to arrive and eventually so did the bride.  This was an unconventional wedding where there was no walk-down-the-aisle.  She continued to greet her guests in the yard and could not stop smiling.  It was infectious and people couldn't help but smile back.  She was on cloud 9 and we were all a part of this special day.

The yard had a buffet style setup with high boys.  There were no seating available, just a dance floor ready for the salseros. 

A bartender is pouring drinks ahead of time for guests to come and grab.

The happy couple.  The groom's mother did the table arrangements.

They had a friend ordain the wedding and again, the bride could not stop smiling from ear to ear.  My mom's friend was probably more nervous than the bride since she was in charge of the preparations.  Eventually, as the ceremony was under way, she loosened up and started to smile herself.  Her son's future wife was very happy to get married to him and she knows he'll be in good hands.  What a wonderful feeling it must be for a parent to witness this!



The flower girls!

Loved the chucks!

I started to get emotional watching my mom.  Since the bride COULD NOT STOP SMILING, my mom was smiling as well.  I haven't seen her look so happy in a very long time.  It made me think of everything she's been through these past 2 years.  All I wanted in life at that moment was to see that smile on her face stay on forever.  Nothing else mattered at all.  I was overwhelmed.
The rest of the night was magical.  Afterwards, the husband played a song to his wife on his guitar and started to sing.  She happily danced salsa with the guests.  Now it was time to party!

I truly enjoyed my night out with my mom.  It was such an unexpected surprise.  After a while I could see she was getting a bit tired with so many people around.  We decided to end the night around 10pm.  The party started to slow down by then and we still had to make our way back to the city.  I will never forget this night.  I wish I could thank the young couple in person.  If it wasn't for the bride and her domino effect she had on everyone with her smile, I would not have seen my mom so happy!  It was so wonderful to be a part of their happiness!

It's playtime!

Last weekend I was surrounded by babies, kids, and more babies!  It wasn't planned that way originally.  I had received a birthday invitation for Sunday about a week ago, so I knew about that one first.  The rest came up last minute.  I was invited to a party to celebrate a holy communion on Saturday, and then my friend out of no where asked me to come by and hangout with her and her newborn on Friday.  Funny how that all came about!
First up, my visit to see my friend and her baby.  I felt bad because I originally mentioned that I was going to check up on them every week to see if they needed anything.  Not what happened at all!  In my defense, the weather was sometimes crappy on Fridays, so I would go straight home after work.  We had a lot of rain, but it looks like things are finally looking up.  Memorial weekend is right around the corner and I think we're rain-free for the next couple of days.  YAY!
I loved interacting with my friend and the baby.  It makes me see how precious these moments are when they are still little and sleeping a lot.  He's 2 1/2 months old now and is getting so big!  He's very aware of his surroundings and his mother and loves to smile.  She's in love! 
The next day I made my way over to my other friend's house to celebrate her daughter's holy communion.  Here we had a variety of kids, ranging from 1-8 years old.  It was a house party filled with family and friends.  Since it was last minute invitation, I got her a gift card.  I had no idea what to give her!  If anyone is open to suggestions on what to get an 8 year old girl celebrating a milestone like this, please comment!!  I was stuck and felt bad getting her something so impersonal.  I hope she makes use of it regardless, but I know I could have made it more thoughtful.  Oh well.
Then on Sunday I went to my OTHER friend's party.  Her twin babies were celebrating their 1st birthday and that was held at her sister's house.  It was a Hello Kitty theme and it was big!  There were so many kids at that party.  Because of that they had to think of ways to keep them busy.  We played Hello Kitty games, ate Hello Kitty ice cream cake, and even had a Hello Kitty giveaway bucket full of goodies!  It was fun for everyone!  I enjoyed catching up with my friends who are moms.  Their kids keep them busy but at least with parties like these, we can still hangout with one another and see how we're holding up.  As much as it was a surprise that my weekend was filled with kid activities, I had a blast!

During my visit he was sleeping most of the time.  Luckily I got a chance to hold him when he woke up...

The next day celebrating her Holy communion...

What an awesome cake!



I've known these sisters for 15 years!

Wore a simple cardigan and matched up my boots and wristlet.  It was cold that day...



Time for the Hello Kitty birthday bash!!

Personalized water bottles

Check out that dessert table! 

Red velvet cupcakes...

Gathering up the kids to play games...

Time to play pin the bow on Hello Kitty!

The kids put together a puzzle...

Yes there was a Hello Kitty piñata!  lol



Hello Kitty ice cream cake for the twins!  Of course they had to get two for the both of them...

Time to sing Happy Birthday!

They loved it!