Houston Round 3 {Part 1}

I'm back, I'm back! Did anyone miss me?

Don't answer that.

Now that my stomach is fully digested from eating my way through the state of Texas and I feel way less sleep deprived, I guess I can recap my trip! 

I'll be honest...I've never had such a love/hate relationship before when going on trips with Steph. Even before on our other trips/vacations, I still somewhat expected that you know, it would end at some point, but this time when I got home it felt different. Different as in since I've been there three times now and created so many new memories with her that it feels more natural to always be around each other and it kind of does have a small feeling of home to me (maybe it was the fact that I drove us around in her car, around her city, or that I had some of my clothes delivered there in "my" room...I can't be too sure about all this...) But we joke that since "we" have a house in Ohio and a house in Texas, that now we need one somewhere in the middle of the U.S that we can go to. ;) We better get to work on that one...

 

This trip was already so special due to the fact that it was Steph's gender reveal party that me and her two best friends hosted, so there was no way in you know what that it wouldn't be amazing already (I will recap all the details of this tomorrow!), but we had so much fun the other days as well. Would you expect any less? I think NOT! AND I can't forget to mention that I got to get in so many kisses and cuddles with my other favorite pooch, miss Oakley (I'm her favorite aunt by far, naturally...)

The first few days that I was there we: got pedicures, ate at Zoe's Kitchen (Holy cow! Why Ohio doesn't have one of these fine establishments is just RUDE), laid out at the pool (do you see it up there? #heaven), had priceless drives around in their golf cart going to garage sales and meeting all her neighbors, and going to one of my now favorite places, Dekker' Mesquite Grill, with their friends Brian, Kristen (blogger Kristen who now doesn't have her blog..wah!) and Chris.

When Steph and I originally talked about what I wanted to do when I was there, one of the things I mentioned was "dinner at a cute place where we could sit outside and hang out by a fire pit with good Texas food"...Dekkers delivered.

I mean, I knew it would be a winner when we spotted this truck in the parking lot....

Everything really is bigger in Texas, isn't it!? This picture doesn't even do the truck justice! The sweet owner of it actually told me to stand up here for the picture (after Steph told him "she's from Ohio!" ha)...I'm not just randomly posing on it, don't worry.

 

{dress from here and on sale!}

 Beau, Chris, and Brian

 Of course we got a picture with the Chef...

 Kristen, Me, Steph

 The soon to be Wylie's! 

This was probably my favorite night on our trip, which you can pretty much see from this last picture. It was just what you think of when you think of good ole Texas fun and I loved every minute of it...from the food, the setting, the weather, and of course I loved getting to hang out with the Kristen and Chris (love love love them) and spending girl time all three of us together! One happy Ohio girl that's for sure...

{new favorite quote right there}

The day after Steph's party, we went to get BBQ for lunch from Goode Co., which is the best of the best in Texas so I've heard! Billy was insanely jealous that he was missing out on this at this point of my trip. He is a HUGE BBQ fan and I couldn't help but text him a bunch of pictures to make him jealous...and yes, of course I splurged and got a huge beef brisket sandwich (there is absolutely no way that Steph would let me go to a BBQ place in Texas and not get any meat, it just wasn't happening...but one time was a-OK by me!)

It was worth every single bite. If you ever visit Texas, please make sure you go to eat at Goode Co. Heck, eat there more than once. Eat there daily. I won't judge you.

And just to prove my point that I literally ate my way through the state...my last night there was spent learning how to eat 2 pounds of crawfish, or mud bugs as they call them. I liked the crawfish (it was actually really spicy!), but the best part? The corn on the cob that came in the bucket with them...oh my lanta, I could've probably ate 12 of them. Oh, and my last lunch before the tears starting streaming down at the airport? The most heavenly Tex Mex you will EVER have from Lupe's...

Next up will be all the little details about planning and prepping for Steph's gender reveal!

Sadness that I'm not there but 1200 some miles away setting in right about....now, but hey I did come home with a bunch of goodies!

 

thank you Steph for both of these amazing necklaces & also notice the adorable keychain (from here) she got me...there's a heart leading from Texas to Ohio! This makes me happy. :)

A Blogger Friendship Timeline

Once upon a time, girl started a blog (ahem-this one)

Girl randomly creeped on a blonde, southern Texan girls blog (almosttt complete opposite of herself)

Creeping turned into email exchanges and the quick realization the girls were so alike it was pretty much scary...

then the necessary swapping of digits happened which turned into weekly, followed by daily, texts and phone calls...

to, FINALLY, a random idea one day about meeting up turned into our first awkward meeting at Fort Myers airport (except it wasn't awkward at all) and our first picture ever taken together...

 after some convincing they made it happen...

 

which, of course, turned into more yearly trips with our husbands across the US of A together..."you met HOW?! What in the world is a blog?"

 

 

 (#skinnyarmposeaddicts)

Girls form a one-of-a-kind friendship...

 

A failed plan happened once (but a love letter made up for some of that) but then a big, giant surprise was thrown in there...

Now, girls don't go a day without speaking (really-I think I can count on less than two hands the days we haven't), can't imagine their life without the other...

and one of those special days Southern Texas friend tells girl she is going to be a mommy!

Girls heart swells in happiness that she gets to be an AUNT to someone whom she never knew before said blog and then...

Girl books plane ticket to her favorite state of Texas (that she never even knew was her favorite state) to visit her now preggo friend for her gender reveal party!

 

 

All THIS just to say (if anyone is still following)....

There is nothing better than celebrating and supporting your best friends. Especially one that you never imagined would be in your life if it wasn't for the friggen internet. Who.would've honestly thought? It's a crazy world.

Steph, we are so happy for you and know with 72% certainty you will be the most amazing mom in the whole world (Ok..fine...100% certainty.) I'm so excited for this next journey in your life, and I'm absolutely thrilled you have given me full permission to keep your ace in check when you become irrational, overly emotional about unnecessary matters, and preggo brain finally kicks in has already kicked in (see also: our text convo yesterday). You're welcome.

CHICAGO: Part 2

...if you missed part 1, read here first.

Where to begin, where to begin!

Let's get into where we stopped the rest of our trip and where we ate (obviously one of the more important matters...) 

Our next stops?

-Navy Pier
-Lake Michigan
-Architecture boat cruise (booked here)

We explored Navy Pier before we had to board for our boat cruise since they were both in the same general location. It was really crowded with tourists like ourselves (I mean, hello!) but had a bunch of different restaurants and was so pretty...you could see so much of the city!

 {one of my favorite pics from the trip-the city is just beautiful!}

Me // Steph

The architecture boat cruise was something we booked at the last minute after receiving so many recommendations about it, and I'm really happy we decided to do this. It gave a view of the city we wouldn't have seen otherwise, and you learn a lot about the history of the city and all of the buildings!

 

Next up was going to take a walk to Lake Michigan. Steph had it on her bucket list to swim in this lake (her feet going in was going to have to cut it since it was too cold for an actual swim), so we headed there, had a little mini photoshoot, and we were on our way.

But not before Rocky got to put his feet in the sand and run around near the water with Billy...it was priceless.

 

{our little family!}

This is where the trip got really awesome.

Before I left, I had heard that this bar called McGee's in Lincoln Park was an Ohio State Buckeyes bar (thank you x 1 million to those who told me this!), so I really wanted to watch some of the game on Saturday evening here to see what the hype was all about. It was just calling my name, so I forced my Texas friends along on the journey (Steph was actually wearing OSU colors ALL day, believe it or not. True friend, I tell ya. ;))

McGee's....oh my goodness.

I had NO idea that it would be fully decked out with Brutus (our mascot), flags, and Ohio State fans in jerseys everywhere. Seriously, it was PACKED! I felt so at home! Cheesy, but true. I was in HEAVEN. We didn't stay very long because it was so packed we could barely move, but it was just enough time to make me an extremely happy woman.

Cheers McGee's, cheers. If you are a Ohio State fan and in Chicago when there is a game-GO HERE! You will love it. I promise.

After we left, we went to State (also in Lincoln Park-awesome area!) for dinner. This was one of the best decisions we made....

All I have to say is this: truffle mac and cheese.

I got this dish for dinner (sorry for not having a picture but I was just in shock over how good it was) and if I had to choose my final meal (ever), it would be THIS. Just please do me a favor and go to Chicago and order it. I'm actually really wanting to cry that I'm not eating it right this very minute. ;)

State's atmosphere was awesome, too. It isn't an upscale fancy restaurant by any means, but perfect for a Saturday when you are with men who love to watch football and the prices were very reasonable and all of our food was great. I think my truffle mac and cheese was only $10, but now that I know how good it is I would probably pay $100 for it. Don't tell them that though.

Our last night ended by stopping at Social 25 to dance to an awesome band they had playing there and then somehow we ended up at Ghirardelli on Michigan Ave. for some late night ice cream and sundaes.... I mean, why not?

When in Chicago, you eat your way through the city!

And I would do it all.over.again to see our favorite Texan friends again... that 6 hour drive has nothin' on us! Where should we go next is the question. ;)

not mentioned: me running into our hotel room door and trying to open it without a key, chasing down Rasheed Wallace through our hotel lobby because my husband said he was famous (basketball player?) and Billy claiming that when he took out Rocky one night that they had a long talk together and he met his Dad, and lastly a plethora of taxi cab comments that should remain unspoken about. Good times, good times. ;)

Who has been to Chicago? Did you love it like we did?

 

CHICAGO: Part 1

If you've been around these parts over the past year or so, you are familiar with how my blogger turned real life friendship (ahem-sisterhood) with Steph came about. We have officially had adventures together all the way from Naples FL, to Ohio, to Texas-TWICE (Houston, San Antonio, and the Texas Hill Country), and lastly as of this past weekend we added Chicago to the list.

I would say the worst part of these trips we take together is how fast they seem to go, as usual. Can't we get like three whole weeks together?! That would be really ideal. However, the best part of our trips together, and what I try to focus on, is realizing that these are only the beginning. We have so many more ahead of us (and are usually already planning for the next by the time I'm writing this), and I can thank this awesome blogging world for bringing us together and making this happen. I get excited just thinking about what is next for us! Steph and Beau will always be a part of my life and I'm (we) are so incredibly thankful for this.

So, let's get into this Chicago recap, shall we?

We stayed at the gorgeous Ritz-Carlton Chicago, Michigan Ave location.

 

 

 {views from our room}

 

 {the lobby}

This hotel is stunning, in a great location, is pet friendly, and has an outdoor bar situated in the back that has a fireplace and is really fancy. Highly recommend staying here if you get the opportunity! We were so shocked with how accommodating they were with Rocky - they had bowls and fresh water set out for him when we arrived and it was honestly really easy having him there with us!

In fact, he told us he was living the high life and prefers the hotel life... ;)

 

 

King Rocky says please arrange your luggage at the bottom of the bed so I can jump up and down easier and look even more spoiled rotten.

We all arrived really late Thursday evening, so we actually just went to a small bar where one of Beau's friends works to visit with him and have a casual night together. That casual night turned into us staying up until 4am, meeting random ladies in the elevator with questionable outfits ("WHOA LADY!"), and housing leftover cheesecake to the face like a boss (#classy) in our hotel room.

The next day, our main goal was just to walk around the city to see everything and to take our time exploring everything. Aka: be complete tourists. We wanted to enjoy our time together and not be super rushed, so we kind of just started by walking all the way down Michigan Ave. and stopping at all the "hot spots"!

 

 

One thing we knew for sure was that we wanted to get famous deep dish Chicago style pizza (how could you not?! Steph's no cheese diet wasn't going to get in the way of this!) and we were going to go to Lou Malnati's, but it was a little farther from where we were and our hotel concierge recommended Gino's East, so we decided to go there.

We actually got seated really quickly here, the service was great and the building was really cool, but we didn't love the pizza. Was it good? Absolutely! Who dislikes pizza of any kind? But we just didn't love it. Everyone has their own preferences, so if you are visiting don't let that stop you from going here.

 

 waiting for our seat at Gino's

From what I've heard though (and from some of your rec's!), Lou Malnati's is the best of the best, so I think I will be taking a trip back so I can say I tried it and compare the two. :) Yup, that's a must.

After we got our pizza fix, we explored some more by going to see THE BEAN, Millenium Park, and going into a few shops.

 {sigh...how cute are they? such Chicago studs!}

 

{can you spot us in the bean in this pic? :)}

All of these things are "must-do's" when visiting Chicago! Everything was just so beautiful. I loved seeing all the different buildings (the last time I was in Chicago was when I was in my early teens and I don't remember a lot of it) and the river.

After all of the walking around we did, we decided to go to the top of the Trump Tower for drinks and to see the view of the city because we had heard the view could not be beat. At $12 for a beer, we decided to skip the drinks and just take in the view, then go back to our room for the drink part. ha.

All of these pictures are taken from the top of the Trump Tower....one of the best views I have ever seen and let's just not talk about the pretty blue skies.

After some drinks and naps (from some of us), we ended up going to dinner at Shaw's Crab House, and Beau's friend Chris joined us here as well. The food here was great...all of us got the seafood platter (crab cake, scallops, shrimp) except Billy, and he got the fried shrimp. :)

After dinner, we decided to venture to some bars. Looking back, we hardly got any pictures from after dinner any of the nights because we were just having so much fun that pulling out our cameras seemed like a not so pleasant idea.

We went to this crazy, semi secret lounge called The Violet Hour in the Wicker Park area, where the door is hidden and it's pitch black on the inside and is pretty upscale and swanky.

The Violet Hour's house rule is this: "please do not bring anyone to The Violet Hour that you wouldn't bring to your mother's house for Sunday dinner." Dead serious.

They don't take reservations and they have no light beer, but they do have a crazy good cocktail menu. It was definitely a different experience and fun seeing.

via The Violet Hour

Afterwards, we headed to more of a "college style" bar called Trinity, where Chris's girlfriend works, and me and Steph had the time of our lives here.

We played beer pong against these recent college graduates boys and completely worked the table. Would you expect any less from us?! Why we have no pictures of this epic beer pong experience is beyond me, but I really wish I did at this point. There was dancing, more dancing, some creepers on the side, and so many laughs (oh wait, this would explain the no pictures part.)

Honestly one of my favorite times that I've had with Steph. It was like we were back in college together tearing it up on the beer pong table......which, by the way, we would have DEFINITELY done if we went to the same college. ;)

OK OK, that's a wrap for Part 1.

Part 2 includes much more goodness...trust me. Stay tuned! :)