What’s Up Wednesday {May Edition}

The last Wednesday of every month I link up with Mel, Shay and Sheaffer for What's Up Wednesday. I am completely BLOWN AWAY that it is the end of May. Where the heck did time go!? Strap in for a big ole post recapping it.

1. What we're eating...

Our fridge is still so stinkin packed full of all the goodies Honey filled it with, so we did a quick trip to Trader Joe's to stock up on essentials and some fillers. This was the first time I let Maddie Jane use the mini-cart in TJ's because there was not many people in there. And you guys... she was OVER the moon. 

2. What I'm reminiscing about...

Our anniversary trip to Chicago! It was the best little get away with Age. He is my #1 person and having intentional time together can be tough to fit in, but it is SO important!! I never want to stop dating him :) You can read about that mushy lovey weekend HERE.

Also still reminiscing about Bev's super dreamy wedding!! She got her wedding pictures back and they are ahhhmazing. Here is a little sneak of us, but I'll let her divulge the rest :) In the meantime, you can read about the weekend HERE.

3. What I'm loving...
Our community pool!! We were a little hesitant to join because it was kinda pricey, BUT it has been the best decision ever! Maddie Jane is such a fish and asks us pretty much every hour if it's swimming time. There is a pool, tennis court, a kegerator, social activities, playground.. and SO many other families the same stage in life as us.

The big kids are SO sweet with her, and have even talked her into already jumping off the diving board! And she has been having some serious play time with her friend from down the street, Natalie. They are THE cutest together and equally bossy, ha! We have met a ton of people and have enjoyed all the things this little social club has to offer!

4. What we've been up to...

Honey was in town this weekend!! We ate.. and drank.. and played outside.. and did it all over again a million times. It was the best weekend and we were SO happy to see her after 5 long months! 

I am not a fan of musicals, but Maddie Jane sure is!! And theater was Honey's major in college, so they had the best time watching broadway on YoutTube! She is such a performer.. I probably need to learn to like musicals... ha!

She spoiled us ALL rotten as usual. And thankfully we only have to go two weeks before we see her again!!

5. What I'm dreading...
Samantha has her third round of chemo tomorrow. I hate seeing this girl suffer, but thankfully her symptoms have been mild for the most part. Say a little prayer for her that it continues that way! 

I feel pretty helpless in helping her with this battle. She has been SO incredibly brave and never complains.. A few weeks ago MJ and I wore our violet in her honor. 

6. What I'm working on...

Our backyard!! We have finished phase one and they started phase two today! We are so happy with the progress and are looking forward to spending much more time out here!  

Honey helped me pick out some decorative pillows and I couldn't love them more. Phase two is doing a paver walkway from the backdoor and then phase three will be putting a roof over it. BUT that phase is going to have to wait until we save our pennies up! 

 7. What I'm excited about...
We had a big celebration at work to celebrate reaching 400 contractor headcount! Such a huge accomplishment for our little tiny firm.

Our Ops team in Atlanta planned a freaking awesome celebration too! Balloons, breakfast, mimosas, and LRC to win cash (seriously look that game up!)

We stayed late on Tuesday night to create this balloon garland and hung it from the ceiling. And now I want to create balloon garland for EVERY single celebration in my life, haha!

 8. What I'm watching/reading...

I started binge watching Riverdale and I am low key obsessed.. and embarrassed ha! It's pretty juvenile, but I can't stop watching. It's an easy watch if you have some time on your hands.. or want to delay bed time 3 hours haha

And I'm reading Little Fires Everywhere. It was a little slow to begin with, but I'm really enjoying it now and almost done! It has some twists and turns that will make you think about adopting outside of your race.

9. What I'm listening to...

"I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee" per Madelyn Jane. Every single day. 

10. What I'm wearing...
A little casual Friday action..

And then you will see me in these shoes EVERY other day of the week, ha! 

11. What I'm doing this weekend...

Well when Bev and I went to the Sip and Stroll in Brookhaven, we entered to win VIP Food and Wine tickets and I WON THEM. We promised each other if we won we would take the other. SO I have a really freaking amazing day date with Bevvie!! Meanwhile AJ will be taking MJ to a birthday party..  Swimming.. Bike riding.. And we will wrap up Sunday with some family time before AJ leaves on a business trip. (This girl is so proud of herself and how fast she can go on her bike!)

    12. What I'm looking forward to next month... 
THIS GUY IS GRADUATING!!!! He defended his dissertation and his fancy garments came in the mail! We are headed to LA in two weeks for his graduation and then from there going to Hawaii!! I can't even put into words how proud of him I am. I am so incredibly thankful for his dedication and perseverance he has put forth to support our family while working on his PhD! We love you BIG babe!! 

xoxo, 

Anna-Grace 

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5 Year Anniversary :: Chicago

This past weekend we jetted off to Chicago for our 5 year wedding anniversary. We both took half days from work and met up at the airport on Friday afternoon. We had big plans to have all the complimentary drinks and watch a movie on the plane, and we were both out cold before take off! #parents When we made it to our hotel (Loews Chicago), we were greeted with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. 

Traffic was awful getting into the city, so we bumped our reservation back an hour and leisurely got ready for the evening. We finally made it to this glorious little corner booth at RPM! 

We normally don't order steak tartar, because it's neither of our favorite.. but we are SO GLAD we did. Seriously best steak tartar of my life. (Even better than the Crystal! Sorry E :))

AJ got a wagu ribeye and I had the most amazing miso cod. 

Annnddd we got mushroom mac & cheese as our side. The service, the food, the ambiance. I'm seriously about to go write a Yelp review now.. OUT OF THIS WORLD. In fact, AJ said best meal of his life!! Thank you, thank you RPM!! 

And with all that yummy food, we def didn't have room for dessert. So we settled for the complimentary anniversary cotton candy :)

The next morning I was up early watching the royal wedding and AJ ran down and grabbed us coffee. Again we took our time meandering around the hotel room and leisurely getting ready. Isn't it crazy how much time you have on your hands without a kiddo!?! 

The flowers in Chicago were simply amazing. I'm not sure if it's the city maintaining these, or each individual business, but every corner was even better than the one before. 

After lots of walking and shopping, we hit up Lou Malnati's for deep dish pizza. 

They warned us it would take 30+ minutes to cook the pizza, but we didn't mind a bit. We were there pretty early and had the restaurant to ourselves for the most part. We sipped champagne and enjoyed the peace and quiet. 

I'm not real sure why there is a debate between Chicago and New York pizza?? They aren't even the same thing!!! Two totally different experiences, and both have a special place in my heart :) 

These big ole hunks of pizza kept me full to past 8pm! Glad we did a lot of walking! 

We had plans to rent bikes and ride down by the water, but it was just too cold and windy. So we walked back towards our hotel, popping into a few more stores. 

And stopped by Millennium Park.. 

And of course the Bean! 

We went back to our hotel and took a GLORIOUS two hour nap before heading out for the evening. First stop was a little wine (well bubbles for me) and chocolate tasting.

After that we ran and snagged a blanket from Nordstrom for the next day. I saw that it was going to be in the 40s for our boat ride, and this was the best decision I made all weekend! I did NOT pack well for the weekend...

We dropped it off at the hotel then ubered over to Maude. When we have date nights, I always try to go somewhere not kid friendly, that we would normally take MJ too. This was exactly that - loud, dimly lit, and the most pristine French food! 

We had chicken liver mousse (that AJ is STILL talking about), french onion soup dip, and escargot. 

SO much bread, and SO much butter. And I went to sleep VERY happy that night, ha! 

The next morning I stayed in bed until the very last minute to get ready to catch our boat. Hotel sleep is just THE best. And looking out the window from our room, I just knew we were going to be preettyyy cold.

Everyone on our boat architecture tour was SO jealous of our blanket! Solid purchase from the night before. Such a cool experience - would absolutely recommend it as the best way to see Chicago.

After this QUITE chilly boat ride, we thawed out by the fire, had a sushi lunch and made our way to the airport. We were SO eager to see our girl and I swear the travel back to ATL took a million years. Thankfully Mom had passed the baton off to one of our fav babysitters Abby, and she had her cozy and asleep in bed by the time we got home around 10pm. 

We were trying to figure out the last time we took a trip just the two of us.. We are thinking it was Napa back in 2016, which you can read about HERE. Needless to say, we are committed to parents' only travel every 6 months or so moving forward. It's SO GOOD for the soul. It's rejuvenating to not be Mama for a few days, to not cut up any food, or change a diaper, and to give 100% of my attention to the love of my life. Cheers to five years and million more babe! 

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