Graham and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on Sept. 20. I can't believe it's been five years since we got Maui'd at Gannon's restaurant in Hawaii in what I felt was the perfect ceremony for us. Time flies when you're moving 1,700 miles, saying goodbye to our dog Taylor, becoming parents to two girls, celebrating a World Series win and buying a home, with lots of other memories in between. I ... Read more
What I Didn’t Know About the Fourth Trimester: Maternity Leave Lessons
Maternity leave is over. I'm back to work full time as an editor. A positive is that I can work from home, though returning to work was still depressing and overwhelming. But on my first day I realized I also felt something I didn't expect: relief. I felt relieved to be forced into a routine that is in some ways familiar. I felt more like myself than I have in months. Now that I am working again ... Read more
Johnnyswim at Vic Theatre | Why You Should See Them in Concert
Graham and I looooove Johnnyswim. The husband and wife duo have incredible voices and are such talented songwriters. Their song "Take the World" was our first dance song at our wedding, and we listen to their music all the time. I bought tickets for last Friday's show months ago and we've been anticipating the show ever since. They played a sold out show at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, a gorgeous ... Read more
Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns at Chicago Botanic Garden
Happy Halloween! Graham and I had a spooktacular date night at Chicago Botanic Garden on Sunday. It was a bit past our old folk bedtime, but we managed to find tickets for the sold-out Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns on the last day of the event. We would have preferred to attend the earlier time slots, but we were only able to find 8:45 p.m. tickets available. We were still pumped to plan our ... Read more
Our Little Secret
Abigail Joyce Photography | Third anniversary photos at Montrose Harbor, Chicago Toward the end of summer I started to lose my motivation and focus. I felt lost and uninspired, and I wasn't sure what to do next. I shifted my priorities, gave myself a break and now I can happily say that I'm starting to gain some of that drive back, in large part because of some upcoming, exciting changes ... Read more
Saying Yes to My Well-Being
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WellYesMoment #CollectiveBias I've always considered myself to be a motivated and driven person. I am always saying yes to new classes, activities and opportunities, sometimes to my own detriment. I say this because in trying to do too much, I have sometimes neglected my ... Read more
34 Date Ideas (Besides Going Out to Eat)
Graham and I don't get many date nights, but when we do, we try to make them as memorable as possible. While there's nothing wrong with simply going out to dinner (it's one of my favorite things to do in life), I wanted to share date ideas for fun things to do that might not be the usual date activities to you. I tried to not make these Chicago specific so that you can hopefully ... Read more
Life Updates and Seeking Balance
I'm sharing a compilation of life updates and thoughts with the hopes of being helpful in some way and maybe even offering inspiration. Most of my focus this month has been on rebalancing my life and being kind to myself. Perhaps you've been struggling with the same and I hope this will be beneficial or give you something to consider.Something I want to cut back on is the frantic way I've been ... Read more
August Goals
Yet again I am shocked by how quickly time passes. Will that ever stop happening?In June I set an intention to invest in myself and my blog, and in July I continued doing that. As you might have noticed, I had several collaborations that came about because I set that goal. I also invested any earnings from Floradise blog back into tools that will help me continue to improve it. I enrolled in ... Read more
July Goals
If you read yesterday's post, you know how I am always go, go, go nowadays. I'm not complaining -- I'd rather be pulled in many directions and be able to stay home with V than have to leave her at day care in order to work. I love spending my days with her and I know they will eventually come to an end when she begins school. I'm savoring this time with her now. With that said, some days I feel ... Read more