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A time for love...

For this blog I will post some pictures that I haven't posted yet in the interest of save them off of my phone.

 Luke celebrates the big THREE!!

 Luke is wishing for toys and Mommy is wishing for patience!

 Eddie with Kayla, Landon, and Luke.

 Rich and Sir Costalot (Costa)

 Kayla and Landon go Pumpkin hunting

 All three pumpkinteers

 The beautiful Princess Kayla.

 Loving Landon with his giant pumpkin

 Corn maze with the boys

 Pumpkin on a stick

 Look at these three angels!

 My handsome Husband city livin'

There is a beautiful little girl that I have come to know and love. She has cancer. There is this great nonprofit organization that will paint shoes for children that struggle with cancer and other unfortunate diseases. These are the ones that I ordered for little Olivia. Peaches Neet Feet are great. Go Team Olivia!!

  

 I never get tired of water shots. I feel most at peace when watching the water.

I love how calm this one is. It looks like a painting.

Life in Siberia .. er I mean Chicago

I have moved right back into lake effect snow and I couldnt be more disgusted with myself about it. We absolutely adore Chicago in every condition that is not snowy. I could write an entire blog about how much I detest it. But instead I will tell you what we do to keep ourselves entertained...

Right now I am watching my husband pace back and forth and play his guitar, 90's songs tonight. He started with some Fuel and we just went from there. When he does this I always stop dead in my tracks. It always pulls at my heart strings and I am in awe of how lucky I am.

We watch a lot of movies. This weekend we downloaded some new movies. I wont share the names as I dont want us to get in trouble or judged for downloading movies but the two that we saw were pretty darn good. Even when we dont download them we have Netflix. We watched Guilt Trip on New Years and really enjoyed it.

 This has been an awfully stressful last few weeks for us. Not because of the holidays but because I came down with the flu on Christmas Eve and it lasted a little over a week. I was down for both Christmas and New Years. On Monday, the 30th, we said goodbye to our beautiful Muffy. She was a valued member of the Quiah family for 13 years and her loss was devastating.

Well, on to watching the snow fall more. Tomorrow, with the windchill, we will be drudging to work in -40 weather. Yes, you read that right. I am so disappointed that the expectation is for people to leave their homes in this weather. Not that our home is super warm and cozy- we have a radiator that we cant control. We have these big beautiful windows that are drafty. Thankfully, we have a heated blanket.

Okay, enough with the winter complaints. My next move will be warmer than this.

Autumn is good for my soul.

One hundred posts? Pretty impressive, especially for someone who doesn't generally consistently stick with anything.

Autumn is coming and it's my very favorite season. Jonah put some of my music on my iPhone (yeah still bored with that process) and it has really taken me back. It has been good for my soul to listen to my favorite albums. I also got my paws on a big beautiful cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte. I took a big whiff of it first before tasting it. It took me back to this one particular memory.

I was 22 or 23 and I lived on Walker Ave in Greensboro, North Carolina. I was staying in a house I affectionately call, The Dungeon. The Dungeon had very few windows and I lived there during some of my darkest days. Down the street from that house was a park that I held dear to my heart. I would frequently go to this park on my free afternoons with my camera. I would just walk around all afternoon and think through my problems.

One rainy afternoon, in the fall, I grabbed a venti Pumpkin Spice Latte and went to the park. I was wearing this giant cable-knit sweater that felt like a hug. The moist brisk air smelled like high school football and my time in the marching band. I didn't take many pictures that afternoon but just soaked up my surroundings. It was perfect. I wasn't lonely for one minute that day which was a real treat. That was one of my favorite days ever.

That whiff of Pumpkin Spice Latte, a few days ago, brought me right back to that day.

Autumn is good for my soul. It stirs me up and pushes me to express myself. It's coming.

XoXo!
M

The last few months have been a little windy...

Lots has happened since last December. The biggest thing is that we moved to Chicago.

Initially, I was not excited about the move. It was my promotion that led to the transfer but we were living in a beautiful little townhouse with rose bushes, a fenced in backyard, 3 bedrooms. We painted and decorated. We had ourselves a little love nest on the outskirts of DC. When I told Jonah about the news he was so excited. He missed city livin'. I couldn't possibly believe that I would like Chicago more than New York.

A few weeks after we moved I had to travel back to New York for work and I stayed for a week and a half. What an eye opener. I love NYC and I always will. There is an energy there that is indescribable. BUT... Chicago is awesome. I love how clean this city is. I love the beaches. The people are pretty awesome. My office is sweet. My apartment, although expensive, is quite charming. We really like Chicago. Keep in mind, we have only been here a few months and have not seen winter yet. Thus far, a big thumbs up from us.

Could this be our forever home? Maybe! Probably not (snow) but it is definitely a real possibility. 

Us keeping things goofy

One of my favorite post Chicago pics of the cats. Tea time!

A first attempt at decorating

Couldn't love this rug more if I tried

I frequent the Farmers Markets where I find my favorite, Peonies!

We love the beach- 2 blocks from our apartment

Love lake livin'

Started to grow veggies in the back

Fireworks at the beach

I should get back to this blogging thing. I kinda missed it.

Xoxo!
M

One door closes and a new one opens

Whelp, I'm thirty years old.

To be honest, if you asked me a few years ago I was fairly disappointed that this milestone was coming up however now that its come its refreshing.

My twenties were heartbreaking and fun. I learned a lot about life, love, faith, and self-worth. Up until 26 it was rough. I struggled with a horrible depression and had a terrible time getting back on track. Twenty-six is when I was steered in a different direction. I genuinely get to enter my thirties happy. I feel like I have overcome and acomplished more than I imagined I would. I feel successful at work and happy at home.

Of course, I must celebrate the new chapter in my life with a to do list. If I'm not making a list I don't feel like I'm achieving. Ive come up with a few adventures and goals that I would like to try in my thirties. I will share the list here so that I dont lose it like I lost the last one.

Things to do in my Thirties:

Go hot air ballooning.

Grow a veggie garden

Learn how to and make a quilt.

Finish Kayla, Landon, and Lucas Baby Scrapbook and make it a regular thing again

Have a baby

Learn to knit and knit a baby blanket

Have a romantic picnic on the Mall in DC

Run a 5k

Take a surfing lesson

Start my own business on the side

School

Take a beginners Italian class

Pay off my debt

Get my license back

Get in shape

Buy a house

Drive route 66

Sky Dive

Watch a meteor shower

Go to Paris

Go to Venice again, this time with my Husband

Build a nest egg

Drive across the country

Buy a car

Stop feeling guilty

Send cards

Learn how to play BlackJack and play at a casino

Purchase my dream camera and get back into photography

Stay at a 5 star hotel

Go on an all inclusive vacation

That's where I stand right now. We'll see how far I get and I may add more or take some away. This is my list. 

You may be wondering what I did on my birthday this year. Well, we were suppose to be in in Florida but that didnt work out for us this time around. We decided to go see the family in Erie. Now that the children are there and I cant see them as often I miss them like crazy. I went to a day spa called Panache. It was awesome. I got the luxury package and was pampered all day long. I even got my anti-aging facial. I will post an after photo. I think it worked. 

After the spa we went to see my brothers band and found that they threw a surprise party. We had a lot of fun. I posted some photos on Facebook. The last time I celebrated with my family I was 21 and it was just as crazy this time around only this time I didn't drink nearly as much but had a blast regardless. 

My beautiful husband did a great job making the day really special. Despite the hatred I have for my birthday he did a fantastic job making it wonderful. 

I'm thirty, and for the first time in my life I can honestly say I'm at a good place. I wouldn't change a thing.

XoXo!

M