Chicago!

After Nashville, I hopped in the car with Emily, we picked up Kim in Louisville, and we headed up to Chicago. We stayed with Oregon in her lovely condo in Wicker Park in Chicago.

Here's the downtown Chicago skyline. It was pretty chilly there, and luckily Chelsea let me borrow her jacket for the trip!

This is me, Emily, and Oregon huddled up for a picture.

This is "The Bean" in downtown Chicago (the picture above), and the picture below is me taking a photo of myself reflected in The Bean.

Below are two pictures from the surprise Bachelorette party that they threw for me! We started out at the apartment, dancing around to music and opening lovely gifts. Then we went to a Mexican restaurant for margaritas and tacos. We were planning on going dancing afterward, but our conversation was so great we just sat and talked for 2+ hours!

After dinner/convo/buckets of margaritas, we walked to a bar that was virtually empty, but we managed to make two fun friends! Oregon and the girl (Katie, I believe) exchanged numbers since she was new to Chicago and looking for friends. Yay!

The bartender brought us free shots (yum!), which prompted Katie's man friend to buy us another round (yay!). Kim talked the DJ into playing Bob Dylan for us, so when Tangled Up In Blue came over the speakers Kim and I geeked out! Next came Bohemian Rhapsody, and Katie and I sang and danced to the entire song. So much fun!

On Saturday, we headed to Oregon's friend Heidi's apartment in Wrigleyville for a keg party which started at 9:30 a.m. The keg had green beer (which turns your teeth green, by the way). Heidi made everyone breakfast sandwiches with green eggs and ham (or bacon)!

This is Oregon (or Ellen, her real name) with her boyfriend Fluff (or Sean, his real name) in their St. Patty's Day green.

The lovely Emily Moore, teacher extraordinaire.

Kim and Emily, ready to dominate the beer pong table.

But wait, they have forgotten the rules! Quick recap...

 

After a brief and disappointing round of Quarters, we headed to the living room to play a chant game with a lot of ladies at the house. It was pretty hilarious, and I'm sad I got no video...

I had so much fun with my WKU ladies in Chicago! I can't wait to get together with them again. :)

After the keg party, my cousin Nikki picked me up and we went back to her apartment. Later we walked to grab a delicious sushi dinner. Her and Eric (her fiance) were fabulous hosts! I had lots of fun with them, too. And also Oliver, her dog, who slept on the air mattress with me that night. :)

Sunday morning, very early, Nikki drove me to Midway and I boarded a plane to LA. I slept almost the whole way there, and when Mark picked me up, he was very happy to have me home!

Nashville travels

Introducing: Sookie! from jessica bates on Vimeo.


Cougar Arm Wrestling from jessica bates on Vimeo.


Arm Wresting: Mom vs. Maggie from jessica bates on Vimeo.

In Nashville, I thought I would have tons of time to see everyone, hang out with the family, and relax. It turns out, that was not the case! My days filled up quickly, and it feels like my Nashville stay was over before it even began. Over Christmas, Chelsea was working a lot, and I barely got to see her. This break it was the opposite: Chelsea and I had tons of sister-time, and Maggie and I barely saw each other!

I finally saw the wedding/reception venue (the Mill at Lebanon), and it's lovely.

Mom, Chelsea and I ate at Michael's Cafe, who will be catering the event. (YUM!)

We got some great decorating ideas. I got to invade a book club at Elizabeth's house, and I got to invade her classroom (even though I was late -- shocker!), and I got to see her in HER wedding dress!! Such a treat! I had a fitting for my dress, and as Elizabeth zipped me up, she said something like, "You better not gain another pound!" Yikes! Hahah, but it's true, it was snug. :) I have been doing some arm exercises because I want to look like a beautiful, buff bride (who doesn't?).

I got to attend my future sister-in-law's baby shower (Ally!), and her baby boy (my future nephew) will be here sometime in April! I got to attend my cousin Nikki's lingerie shower at Karen's, and some of the guests were nice enough to bring ME presents! So I had a mini-surprise-lingerie shower, too!

I left on Wednesday morning for Chicago. I rode with Emily (college roomie) and on the way we picked up Kim (other college roomie) and we stayed with Oregon (other college roomie!) in her condo in Wicker Park. More pics coming soon for the Chicago outing!

Now I'm back in Santa Monica, which Mark is really happy about. I am, too. Living out of a suitcase gets tiring! More soon. :)

happy birthday, Poppy.

Today would have been Poppy's 90th birthday. Cheers! (I'm guzzling a glass of Night Train in your honor. Love you.)

engagement photos!

Here are just a few of the engagement pictures from this past Saturday. They were taken at the Getty, and our friend Chelsea took them ALL on her iPhone. (Really, she's amazing with that thing!) Enjoy!

We had a lot of fun, and Mark really enjoyed posing! What a dapper man. :)

January wrap-up!

I haven't been posting much lately, so I'm going to pack a lot of stuff into a little post.

First, Mark started a company! It's called Subtorious Sound (the link will take you to the website), and he will sell audio software that he's made. Here's the logo I made for the company:

Second, wedding plans continue. The date is set (JULY 2!), but the location is no longer Cheekwood. Now, it will be at The Mill at Lebanon in The Loft area. I'm working on our Save the Dates, which I don't want to share, yet, because I want you all to be surprised when you see them in the mailbox! Mom, Chelsea and Corey have been amazing -- searching for cool decorations to go with our colors and theme. Mom's been working on a winning table setting! (Love you guys!)

Third, I've been making some really great friends! Chelsea (whom I mentioned in an earlier post), is shooting our engagement pictures at the Getty museum this Saturday. Should be a good time! She's also invited me to a Zombie Prom, that I will be attending, but if any "undead" start biting each other, I'm out. (Chelsea works in the horror film industry; unlikely friend for me, right?!) These pics are from last weekend where we went to see a friend's band play in Hermosa Beach.

(I forgot to actually get in a photo myself...)

Fourth, I've been cooking some delicious things!

1 - zucchini fritters

2 - orange/cinnamon chicken + veggies

 

3 - healthy cookies (no sugar or butter, what?!):

and 4 - vegetable couscous + wine (I didn't make the wine.)

Fifth, we got a TV, and because of that, we finally got our living room set up and feeling cozy. I'll shoot/post a video later, mostly for Tenderheart to see. :)

Sixth, I got a new side gig where I write/schedule/post tweets for a number of companies. The jobs are just stacking up! (I also got a job at Subtorious Sound as Vice President of Operations. I am the graphic and marketing guru there!)

Seventh, I am a member of Goodreads, a social networking website that is centered around books. I have pledged to read 60 books in 2011, and so far I've read 5. Five a month will get me to my goal! The books I've read are Suzanne Collins's Mockingjay, Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat, David Nicholls's One Day, David Sedaris's Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. [Notice the widget at the top right of the blog; you can see my Goodreads profile by clicking there!]

Eighth, I love you and miss you all! I hope to be in town sometime soon.

Love from the west coast -

j

we're so high-tech.

Our Christmas present from Michael and Melanie (Mark's parents) arrived today. Due to our lack of tables as well as wires that connect to the speakers, we are temporarily housing the TV on Mark's desk.

After three years of living together, this is our first TV. We still will not get cable; Netflix, Wii and internet streaming will be enough!

Love,

j

finally back in la la land

Mark and I had a fun, busy two weeks of traveling. Here are a few highlights!


Nashville, TN
Christmas is Nashville is always a blast. Mom's house was decorated to the max, and I loved hanging out with my mom and sisters, although Chelsea had to work more than I wanted her to. Maggie was my driver, and we had a lot of fun talking, singing and laughing in her hot little five-speed. We also had many nights of sisterly chats, including ones that woke up the middle sister even though she had to work early. :)

My entourage went with me to shop for a wedding dress. (The lively group included Mom, Chelsea, Maggie, Emily, Corey Ann, Melanie, Ally, and Erin.) Thanks to all of you, we found a winner at Southern Belle Rose on White Bridge Road. I absolutely love it, AND it was on the clearance rack. Cha-ching!

Erie, PA
Erie was relaxing. I met my future nephew, Jack, fed him sweet potatoes and pumped him up to crawl. Jack is all Freeman -- dark hair, dark eyes, and beautiful.

We ate well, drank delicious wine, and had tons of good conversation. Carl and Stephanie will be leaving Erie soon when Carl serves in the Navy, so this trip will probably be my last to Erie! Such a nice town.

Cleveland, OH
On a pit stop through Cleveland on our way to St. Pete, we stayed with Michelle's family for a night. After visiting with our lovely Michelle, her family showed up, and hilarity ensued. Mark and John Primeau were guzzling his homemade brew, MaryAnne was schooling us in chicken foot and dominoes, and Michelle was feeding me detox tea. Of course Kat led an improv game that bested Mark and me, but the sisters were fantastic! The Primeaus are definitely a fun bunch, and their hospitality was endless!


St. Petersburg, FL
As Mark so eloquently said, we had a "novel experience" this New Years Eve. After waiting for about an hour to receive dinner at the club dining room, we headed down to the dance floor to cut a rug before KC and the Sunshine Band played. Mark and I rocked out to the DJ beforehand, and when KC came out we had secured a position at the front and center of the crowd. KC even came up to boogie right in front of me -- score! Melanie was stuck next to a couple that used a walker as a dance prop, and her foot was repeated rolled over while her sides were repeatedly jabbed with the walker's handles. Mark and I "dance/fought" for our place, and he had to get fierce to put a wild woman in a NYE hat in her place. We made it back to the hotel for the midnight fireworks show, and I made it to the toilet in time to throw up. Yay!

I got sick in St. Pete, and Mark followed. He caught a more serious strain of the bug, though, and ended up in the ER with a saline drip and anti-nausea medicine. We delayed our flight back to LA for a day and stayed with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Steve to recover. Thanks, guys!

Here's a pic that Ally, my future sister-in-law, took of me and Mark on NYE! Thanks, Ally!

 

Ally and Scott are expecting a baby boy in April! So excited for them. :) 

Miss you all!

Love,

j