The Best Gift Ever

I wanted to share my most favorite gift with all of you this year. You probably won't get as excited as I did, but it's still pretty cool. This is my new work/grad school bag! My amazing mom and dad got me this beautiful Fossil bag so I can be (and look) super professional and organized on my new grad school venture. Even though class doesn't start until Monday, I've already started putting things in it because I can't wait to use it!

I mean, this just screams "journalist" - right?

(Thanks Mom and Dad! You're the best!!)

Thank You 2010

2010 was an undoubtedly good year for us, filled with almost too many good things to count. We enjoyed many trips to see dear friends and saw even more of them get married. We spent time with our amazing families and even went hiking in Joshua Tree National Park. We made some huge life decisions and moved to a brand new city. We basked in the glory of another Minnesota summer and took a lot of walks around the lakes. And we definitely ate a lot of Sebastian Joe's ice cream. We went for motorcycle rides and helped welcome some new precious lives into this world. We were lucky. We were blessed.

So as we ring in the new year, we're remembering all the great things that 2010 brought and are anxiously awaiting all that 2011 has in store.

So from our family to yours, happy new year!

Hiking at Joshua Tree

Visiting one of my best buddies :)

A trip to Mexico, visiting the ruins of Chichen Itza

The boy likes to run...

So hardcore

A perfect Minnesota summer sunset

Our empty apartment (we miss you!)

Lots of driving.... lots

Chicago: our new city

Lots of winter walks by the lake

Spreading some Christmas spirit!

'Tis the Season to Decorate

Let the decorating begin! Luke and I spent one day last week decorating our cozy 600-square-foot apartment for the holidays. We didn't bring our massive Christmas tree with us though, so we had to improvise. A lot. We picked up this adorable mini Christmas tree at Michael's - really, the whole "boot" part is what sold us.

Luke is in charge of lights.

We had to get creative with where to hang the stockings...

The finished tree! It only stands an impressive two feet tall, so we added our normal tree topper to give it some help.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Super Happy Holiday Fun Day!

It's not often that Luke and I both get a day off together, so we took advantage of this special Tuesday and deemed it "Super Happy Holiday Fun Day" (duh!). It commenced with Luke's homemade egg sandwiches and followed with a trip downtown for the afternoon (and we may have watched The Price is Right somewhere in there). And to keep our Minnesotan roots alive, we headed straight for the ice rink at Millennium Park.

Sporting his patriotic side...

Show 'em how it's done!

They're serious...

After our ice skating adventure, we headed to Daley Plaza - home of the giant Christmas tree and the cutest holiday market you've ever seen.

Luke must have seen something more interesting.

Merry Christmas!

What's not to love about the holidays... and cute little Christmas markets?

Best Husband Ever

Last night Luke surprised me with a delicious dinner, which he prepared (and cleaned up!) without any of my help. That's right, he steamed the mussels, cooked the mahi mahi and prepared the Caprese.

I knew he was up to something in the kitchen, but was lying on the couch, too captivated by my book to see what he was up to. And when I turned around, this is what I found...

And here is the man of the hour. He cooks, cleans and catches criminals - what a guy!

Domestic Diva

Since moving to Chicago, you could say I've picked up a relatively new hobby - cooking. Most of the time Luke's a big fan of this new-found passion.

Most of the time.

There are a few things he doesn't like, however. (And you can imagine my shock when this meat and potatoes, "I'll clean your plate and everyone else's at the table, for that matter" guy told me he doesn't like pie. Really? Pie?) For instance, take his unexplainable aversion to corn. That's right, I said it, corn. He only likes corn by itself - if you put it in anything else, he won't eat it. And most recently, he's decided he doesn't like pumpkin things. Well, instead of shying away from my favorite harvest-time flavor, I decided to take care of this once and for all. So I spent Saturday afternoon baking up some delicious pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting. What's not to like?

The finished product!

Notice the open space beneath his finger... something's missing! As I was frosting, everytime I turned to put another one on the rack, somehow a new open spot would mysteriously appear. There's more pumpkin stuff where that came from, Luke!

And so, I thought it only fair to share this mouth-watering recipe with you. Courtesy of your friend and mine, Betty Crocker. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies

2/3 c. granulated sugar

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

3/4 c. butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. pumpkin

2 eggs

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soad, cinnamon and salt.

On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 45 minutes and frost. (I'll admit, I used frosting from the can... it was much easier at that point.)

Cupcake Love

Last night Luke and I went out on a date, partially to celebrate my new job! I'll be working for the business school at Northwestern part time for the next couple of months - writing, editing, researching and doing all of those other nerdy things that I love. We started the evening out at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Wilde, and thought what better way to end the evening than with cupcakes! Phoebe's Cupcakes is right down the street and boasts the most scrumptiously tasty cupcakes in all sorts of flavors.

I went for the pumpkin, while Luke stuck with his usual - chocolate with white frosting. (The photo isn't the best... but that might be because I was using my free hand to fend Luke off from sticking his finger in the frosting. You can tell he already got a swipe in.)

So much for savoring every bite...

Room with a View

So, we've got our apartment set up and all the boxes have been unpacked finally. It's a beautiful day in Chicago today, so I thought I'd share the view out our living room window. Oh, the perks of living on the tenth floor. If you look closely, you can see Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs, in the background (you can see the white bleachers sticking up).

Uncle Luke & Auntie Cait

So, this has nothing to do with living in Chicago, but still exciting news to share. Luke and I became an aunt and uncle to our first niece a few weeks ago! Meet Claire Renae Rossi, quite possibly the most adorable baby in the world. We have yet to meet her, but are counting down the days until Christmas when we get to see her (and her parents!).

I plan on reading lots of books to her and sending fun packages in the mail to live up to my duties as the best auntie ever. As for Luke, I imagine he'll be teaching her how to shoot an airsoft gun and maybe even giving Claire her first motorcycle ride (when she's old enough, of course.). Congrats Sarah and Nick, she is so beautiful!

Chicago by Sea

For Luke's 27th birthday, he wanted to take a boat ride. So, that's what we did! We took the architecture boat tour starting on the river downtown and traveling through the locks into Lake Michigan. It was beautiful!

What a beautiful city!

Buildings are TALL here!

The Birthday Boy!

Luke had frog legs for dinner...

MOVED

We did it! After two and a half long months of living out of boxes and suitcases, we are finally moved (except for all that stuff still sitting in my parents' garage). It feels good to be in our new apartment and to be honest, feels a little like Christmas when we're opening boxes of things we forgot we had.

We rented a Uhaul and brought all of our stuff down on Monday. We got here around 2 p.m. and thought we were in for a long afternoon of moving. But go figure, all of our moving experience helped us complete the task in a mere one hour and 45 minutes. Luke even told me, "Cait, you are a lot better at moving than you were when we first got married." I'll take that has a compliment.

Driving to Chicago!

The last of the move, at least we didn't have to hoist it over the balcony this time.

Current state of our apartment... EEK!

We also got cable and internet again, and even a microwave! I feel like I have rejoined civilization. And last but not least, we lost a beloved member of our family today - Jetta. We will miss the sporadic cross-country road trips and all of your "quirks"; however, we will not miss when the door locks froze shut or that one time we had to push you by hand into a parallel parking spot. Make us proud in your new home, Jetta!

Things I know...

So, I've been in Chicago for about a month now, and just like any other city, it has its own individual characteristics - its own personality. So here are five things I know:

- Street sweeping is a trick. Now, you can park for free on our street, but if you can avoid getting a parking ticket for an entire month, then you, my friend, should be spending your time at the casino. The city posts these "street sweeping" signs one day before they street sweep. And since there's a scarcity of parking spaces around here, you often find yourself parking a few blocks away. So unless you have ample time to spend strolling to your car each day (which, I conveniently do), you are bound to get a ticket at some point or another. Oh, and one more thing - the parking enforcers (a.k.a. Meter Maids) wear bright yellow jackets with the word "revenue" boldly enscribed on the back. Need I say more.

- J-walking is a way of life. One quick way to tell a tourist from a city-dweller is to watch them as they cross the street. Out-of-towners wait for the walk signal and cross at appropriate crosswalks. Chicago-ans cross whenever and wherever the heck they want.

- The land of B.Y.O.B. Yes, it really is what you think it is. You can bring your own bottle/beer/booze to a whole slew of restaurants for no extra charge. Three-buck Chuck? Yes please! (Don't judge me for my wine selection, I'm a grad student.)

- Deep dish pizza rocks. 'Nuf said.

- You can get your own grocery cart. Yes, it's true. You too, can be the owner of your very own collapsible grocery cart. It just so happens to be the best way to transport your groceries in the big city. And you don't even have to give up your parking spot. When I convince Luke that they're "cool," I plan on decorating mine with myriad colors and maybe even some sparkles.

A New Beginning

It was almost a year ago that we visited Chicago, not sure would the future would hold, but excited for new adventures. Talking about it now, the one thing that we learned from that trip is just how much bigger Chicago is than we had imagined.

And here we are, after a whirlwind two months of packing, moving, packing, moving, packing and for one final time (we hope!), moving. So as we explore our new city and see just what life has in store for us, we invite you to read our updates along the way.

Cheers from the Windy City!