Favorite seat on the bus!

I got my favorite seat on the bus today. I've only had it three times, and I only get it when the bus is so crowded that I barely get on. The seat, of course, is not actually a seat. It's a spot - the spot standing right next to the driver, holding on to waist high rails and standing tall in front of the huge windshield. You feel like you're ... I don't know, steering a huge yacht that's moving at a great speed. Just on land. The bus goes down Lakeshore Drive so you can see the lake with the beautiful city skyline and the zoo. It's the best.

Best Boyfriend Ever

I arrived home yesterday after a long day of work, in a bit of an emotionally distressed state. Boyfriend Matt did his best to cheer me up, finally retreating to the other room to get me a 'mysterious present' that he'd apparently been stashing in there.

When he came back, I saw two things. The first was a little blue box (yes, THAT little blue box) with its signature white ribbon.

The second was an attached note that said "This is NOT an engagement ring" (emphasis in original). I think that was a very good idea, as Matt knows I have a bit of an overactive imagination. :-)

I opened the box to find a mesh silver ring from Tiffany, a ring I have been coveting for years and years. It's absolutely lovely. What a terrific out of the blue surprise. What a great boyfriend, eh?

In other news: the weekend was incredibly busy but awesome. It started with lunch with my friend Adam on Thursday, who was up from Champaign/Urbana. On Friday, two of my college dormmates arrived and we painted the town red. Erin and Kelly actually came into town for our friend Emily's bridal shower, which I hosted on Sunday, but more about that later. We started with dinner at Duffy's, then a little drinking/British Couplin, and we ended the night at Hogs and Honeys where both Erin and I rode the mechanical bull (Kelly and Boyfriend Matt refused). On Saturday we had breakfast at the beloved Bongo Room and ended up wandering the shops on Halsted for awhile. We spent part of the hot afternoon indoors with the air conditioning on, eating cheese and sushi and playing Euchre. (In a close game, Erin and Boyfriend Matt beat Kel and me.) We went over to Emily's house for a BBQ and then ended the night with a drink.

Sunday was Em's shower, and let me tell you, the shower would have been terrible if it weren't for the help of Boyfriend Matt, Kelly and Erin. Matt cooked us all breakfast in the morning (frittata and bacon - yum!), and then we started working and didn't stop until the first breakfast arrived. Kelly and Erin acted as errand runners, sous chefs for Matt, decorators, etc. I acted as the person panicking about the shower. Anyhow, the shower turned out beautifully, and I think everyone had a great time.

So, that's what is going on here. I'm off to admire my own mesh ringed finger! ;-)

Weekend Road Trip

This weekend was a busy one! My mom came into town on Friday night, and she took Boyfriend Matt and me out to dinner at Bistrot Margot, a delicious French restaurant in Old Town. We enjoyed a nice bottle of red wine, a delicious appetizer that involved an artichoke filled with goat cheese fondue, great entrees and dessert, too!

On Saturday morning we headed up to Muskegon for my cousin Rachel's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. The bridesmaids dresses were unusual and very pretty - bright blue with pink ribbons and seams. At the reception, Boyfriend Matt, Mom and I got to catch up with some of my aunts and uncles. We drove back to Chicago that night, finally landing back at our apartment at 1 a.m.

We started today off right with breakfast at the Bongo Room, which is still my favorite (not too expensive) place to eat in Chicago. We drove through Wicker Park and down the Magnificent Mile, and then decided to spend the rest of the morning at the Old Town Art Festival. Mom treated me and Matt to a beautiful batik. We can't wait to have it framed! This afternoon we hit up Sam's Wine Store and a few other shops, and had a late lunch at Goose Island Brewery. Now Mom is gone, I'm doing some stuff for work, eating Thai food and enjoying a glass of Prosecco. Yum.

Sunday in the city

This weekend has been an amalgamation of fun and work. On Friday evening, Boyfriend Matt accompanied me to dinner at the home of one of my law firm's partners. The home was grand and beautiful, the catered dinner was delicious and it was especially nice to speak with the attorneys and their families outside of the office. The event accomplished its intended affect, at least with me: when we left, Matt and I were struck with the desire for me to make partner and have a giant house in the suburbs.

On Saturday morning, Matt and I got up early and hopped on our bicycles. We rode around town, hitting up two farmer's markets, the public library, the beach bike trail and the Wiener's Circle for lunch. I spent the afternoon working on a memo for work - a memo I have been struggling with for a week now. For dinner, we met up with a friend who was in town visiting and one of her friends, at a great little restaurant called Le Creperie. Nicole, Cynthia, Matt and I shared two bottles of wine while working our way through french onion soup, dinner crepes (chicken, tomatoes and goat cheese; broccoli and cheddar) and dessert crepes (bananas flambe and creme caramel, topped with a generous portion of ice cream). We worked our way to a local pub and ended the night at the Reichart Brothers Party, picking up more friends along the way.

Today has been less interesting - an hour long phone conversation with my helpful associate mentor regarding my memo and a trip to Panera, where I am working on the memo (and updating this). I'm looking forward to an evening of television: the finales of the Sopranos and Big Love are on tonight. Is anyone else as excited as I am? :-)