GoodTimes PhotoBooth.

whew! this weekend was a blast! 

a quick getaway to vegas for a 2-day bachelorette party AND a bridal shower!!

a lot of food was eaten, sleep was forgotten, many laughs were heard, and yes, even a few tears were shed. 

my only wish was that the weekend could have lasted longer!

for part of the shower i dressed up a wall, stuck up a light and bam! just like that, a photo booth was made! i wanted to share just a few (ok, maybe more than just a few) photo booth photos! enjoy!

{good times banner via banter banner as first seen here! fabric flowers via a diy found on once wed.}

michelle is getting married in 3 weeks & i still can't believe it! 

isn't she a stunningly beautiful bride to be??!

happy haul-idays.

i'm still a little bit in denial that thanksgiving & christmas are almost here...isn't it crazy?
for the holiday season chronicle books is hosting an incredible giveaway! you can win up to $500 worth of books! all you have to do is follow these steps (they're easy!):

1. make a list of chronicle books valued at up to $500 that you'd like to win
2. post that list on your blog
3. go here and submit your blog into the running (you have until december 10th!)

and you know what else is amazing? if you win, one of your readers that comments on your post will win your list of books too! so comment away!

oh and after you comment on my list head on over to i art u & Cocoa Green and comment on their lists too. they both have pretty sweet lists that i'd love to win!

1. Plenty || byYotam Ottolenghi
2. The Glorious Past of Italy || by Domenica Marchetti
3. From Seed to Skillet || by Jimmy Williams & Susan Heeger
4. Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey || by Jill O’Connor
5. Tartine || by Elisabeth Prueitt
6. Flour || by Joanne Chang w/ Christie Matheson
7. Pops! || by Krystina Castella
8. Farm Together Now || by Amy Franceschini & Daniel Tucker
9. 1000 Designs for the Garden || by Geraldine & Ian Rudge
10. Lotta Jansdotter’s Handmade Living || by Lotta Jansdotter
11. Paper + Craft || by Minhee & Truman Cho
12. Lotta Prints || by Lotta Jansdotter
13. Open Studios with Lotta Jansdotter || by Lotta Jansdotter
14. Volume || by Kenneth FitzGerald
15. Designers’ Identities || by Liz Farrelly
16. The Printmaking Bible || by Ann d’Arcy Hughes & Hebe Vernon-Morris
17. A Year of Mornings || by Maria Alexandra Vettese & Stephanie Congdon Barnes

grand total = $493.10! comment away! maybe we'll both win?! if you make a list of your own, let me know!

a few chicago eats.

while in chicago, irv planned an entire day of eats + activities in the city :) i happily sat back and did nothing but enjoy the day he had planned. oh, and i'll have to admit, the anticipation of not knowing where we were going to go next definitely added to the excitement of the whole day. 

stops included: toast || hot doug's || bleeding heart bakery

toast was such an adorable little breakfast joint! i don't know why i haven't been frequenting this place. i had some of the best scrambled eggs ever, seriously. 

pesto scramble. scrambled eggs w/ tomato & gruyere w/ fresh house pesto. served w/ house potatoes.

pancake orgy. one of each: blueberry, banana pecan & lemon poppy seed, topped w/ house berry granola, vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit & drizzled w/ honey.

hot doug's was definitely an experience for me. i'm not very big on hot dogs with toppings. i'm usually content with a plain bun or sometimes a little ranch dressing is perfect. but this time i tried a veggie dog with everything on it. 

the pete shelley vegetarian dog. 

and finally, bleeding heart bakery for dessert. it's such a colorful & fun place to sit and enjoy some delish baked goods. my favorite things we ate there were the lemon bar & brownie that we ended up buying just as we were leaving, to take home as a snack. 

veruca salt {salted caramel in vanilla} cupcake.

definitely wish i was capable of eating more on days like these! there are just too many amazing things to eat & not enough room in my stomach :)

am|photography.

every day i am so amazed that i am blessed to be surrounded by so many incredibly talented friends. 

one of these friends, adriana monsalve, just re-launched her photography website. 

when she sent me the link to check it out i was expecting something along the lines of amazing, 

but what i found was better than amazing! 

she is insanely talented. and that's not an exaggeration. 

i love seeing the world through her lens.

i picked out some of my fave images from her windy city portfolio to share...

get ready for your jaw to drop. 

enjoy!

Adriana Monsalve

website || blog || twitter

don't stop now! go to her website and explore! 

she has so many stories to share with you. 

you can find more images from chicago, california, colombia, ethiopia & more!

and after that go to her blog and say hello!

she has one of the biggest hearts of anyone i've ever met. 

*nothing but ❤ to you, nunz :)

cloud 9.

"snow ice is a delicious frozen treat that can be described as a cross between ice cream & shaved ice. it has a fluffy texture much like cotton candy, but melts like creamy ice cream."

have you ever had snow ice? or even heard of it?

because i hadn't until i came across cloud 9.

once i found out it was in chicago i had to go.

irv & i tried mango snow w/ strawberry & mango sauce and chocolate snow w/ strawberry sauce.

and you know what? the texture really is like cotton candy, frozen cotton candy that is!

i'm back from chicago!

is it really november already?
if you told me it was august i would completely believe you. how is it november?

i have so many adventures from my trip to chicago to share with you, but while i go through all of my photos i'll leave you with a few images from one of my fave restaurants. 

sultan's market! 

"if it's not our falafel, it's freakin' awful!"

oh how i miss sultan's market when i'm not in chicago. they have the best falafel i've ever had, seriously. 

they've done a lot of remodeling since the last time i was there. 

look at these photos compared to these photos i took 2 yrs ago. 

the next time you're in chicago. go here. it's cheap & delicious. what more could you possibly ask for?