6.26

Well, here's another tootsie-footsie post.
Sorry to anyone who hates feet... I like them, in case you couldn't tell :)


My sister's foot took a beating this vacation--she got stung by a stingray on her first trip into the ocean, just hours after getting off the plane. Painful, to say the least!

{Do you know the remedy for stingray stings? Submerge the foot in water that's as hot as you can possibly stand--it breaks down the toxins, and thus eases the pain faster.

Thankfully, we learned that trick with my sister... because the next day, her fiancee was stung, too! Ouch.

I told them the stingrays had a thing for engaged couples this year.}

6.25

6.24

I spent a good deal of time tonight just sitting with my sisters... laying in the pool, avoiding the heat, talking about wedding plans and such.

And then I came across this: one of my favorite pictures of us, ever. I love them so much :)

6.23

prints, anyone?

I love good photography.

And I just read about someone who is using his photography to raise money to adopt a child from Uganda.

The idea is brilliant. And so are many of his photos.

Click here to check out his gallery, and maybe consider purchasing a print or two.

{I'm thinking about buying #13 - hanging laundry - or #14, because I love her smile.}


p.s. Happy father's day! I have the best dad in the world, and an amaazing father-in-law, too! I am so blessed :)

a list or two...

A few birthday favorites:
1. Fresh flowers
2. Shopping with sisters
3. Dinner at a tiny italian restaurant
4. Serenades from coworkers
5. Balloons
6. Rainy, billowy clouds
7. Pellegrino
8. Sweet notes
9. Surprises
10. Birthday candles

{I've been a bit off the radar lately...}
But I'll be back soon,
right after a weekend of
french markets
sunshine
and
celebrating dad
:)

sunshine state #1

Some pictures from vacation (want a weekend holiday? here's a mini escape):

That would be the view from our porch. And you wonder why I'm in denial about coming home :)






More to come, as I get to them. I'm off to party-weekend extravaganza (1 picnic, 1 bridal shower, 2 grad parties). The first official weekend of summer, in my book :)

Road Trip

The plan was supposed to go as follows:
(1) Leave Chicago at 6pm on Friday.
(2) Marty and I take turns driving straight through the night.
(3) Only stop to sleep for 2 hours, if necessary.
(4) Take hundreds of pictures of lovely scenery, while we smile and laugh and gallavant through six states.
(5) Arrive at said destination in Florida at approx. 5pm on Saturday.

Ha!

Instead, here's what happened:
(1) Leave Chicago at 7:30, due to unnecessary overpacking. (I am the guilty culprit. Honestly, I can't take a vacation without bringing my whole closet. Ridiculous!)
(2) 8:05--hit hour-long traffic jam just across the Indiana border. Sit. Wait. Bemoan our fate.
(3) 9:05--realize that I am physically unable to sit up, due to a lingering illness. If "driving = sitting up," then "# of available drivers on 24-hour drive to Florida = Marty - Sherah." This is bad news...
(4) Our 2-hour roadside catnap turned into a 4.5-hour snooze fest.*
(5) Take six total pictures (see below), because one can only take so many pictures lying on one's back.
(6) Marty ends up driving all but 1.5 hours of the trip.
(7) Etc.
(8) Etc.
(9) Etc.
(10) We arrive at said destination very, very late, and promptly crash. (Into bed, that is.)

Thus, our scenic drive down to the Sunshine State was a bit different than we anticipated (ahem). But we made it! And, for your viewing pleasure, here are the six pictures we took on the way down:

The sign that alerted us to the hour-long backup just over the Indiana border. Nothing like anticipating 60 minutes of standstill traffic ;)


A roadside staple :)


In Tennessee... beautiful!


Driving through the mountains (a truck was stuck on the runaway ramp):


Atlanta!


Marty was a champ: I'm laying down in the backseat like a baby, groaning in pain, and he's driving for the 18th straight hour and taking pictures of the "Welcome to Florida" sign for me.


Next up: palm trees!

*After vacation, I was telling a coworker, Bill, about Marty's unfortunate marathon-drive down to Florida... however, Bill topped my story with this one: when he was in college, he had to drive from Texas to Illinois at the start of Christmas break. He agreed to let four other students hitch a ride with him. An hour outside of Dallas, Bill got tired, so he nudged the shotgun passenger and said, "Who's driving next?" It was then that he found out that none of them had a driver's license. So Bill drove the entire way on his own.

At least Marty got a four-hour nap!

Snapshot

Happy Saturday :)

Leah : Senior!

Hey bloggy friends! We're back from vacation, but things are so crazy, I haven't even had time to upload the pictures of the trip from my camera... so in the meantime, here's a super-fun senior session I just finished editing!

Meet Leah:

Isn't she purty? ;)

We had to cancel our first shoot, due to icky rain, but the second day we picked was sunny and picture-perfect! Chicago is such a fun place to shoot: there's the obvious urban background, but then you can plop down in Grant park and it looks like you're in the middle of the country! Love it! :)





**Click HERE** to see the slideshow!

(A huge thanks to Erin and Stacia for being the popcorn-experts/purse-holders/newly-engaged-couple-spotters/etc.etc.etc.!)