Tom's Birthday

On Saturday we had some friends over to celebrate Tom's birthday. I made some of his favorites... lasagna, deviled eggs, and a variation of this recipe for Oreo Cupcakes. The Oreo in the bottom was the best part! Yummy. We ate, drank, and watched the Cubs kick the Rockies butts. (Bummer!)

As I had mentioned on here before, we purchased a grill for our deck earlier this month. Tom is usually VERY hard to buy gifts for. However, with the new BBQ he needed some accessories. Presents done.

Of course we had to try them out on Sunday night, which was his actual birthday. We made burgers stuffed with cream cheese, sun dried tomatoes, basil, Trader Joe's Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade. They were delicious! (Have I mentioned how much I love living right by a Trader Joe's?) We spent the rest of the night relaxing and watching the Rockies beat the Cubs. (Go Rockies!)

It was a great weekend. I am so grateful to share my life with such a wonderful man :)

Spring Flowers!

This is our deck... empty and sad until a few weeks ago. The previous owners left us a couple of potted bushes. Very nice of them! One is a lilac which is looking very lush and green now. I'm still not sure what the other one is. It looks like a mini tree of some sort and is just starting to sport some tiny little buds.

I scored a bistro set on craigslist for $50 and we bought a few early spring flowers for our patio pot. It's amazing how much a little color will brighten up an outdoor space. I am still searching for the perfect window boxes to line the railings with, which will be filled with flowers and herbs.

Spring Patio

Lilac buds!

Ranunculus, Dianthus, & Pansies

(Chloe wanted her picture taken too!)

We also purchased a BBQ for the space and are looking forward to many meals outside this spring and summer. It's going to be our awesome little city oasis!

Shamrock Shuffle

Yesterday Tom and I ran our first 8K. Our plans to train for the race never really materialized so we just went for it. Much to our surprise we both finished without any major complications. However, the post race care has included a lot of ibuprofen, ice, and aloe vera. (Yep, we are getting old.)

We ran the race together and finished in just over an hour; 1:00:32 and 1:00:33 to be exact. With over 40,000 participants, Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle is the largest 8K in the world. The course weaves through downtown and starts, and ends, in a park along the lakeshore. The weather was amazing. We had 80 degree temps and sun shine. It felt like summer!