Long Grove, IL - A Girl's Trip

My mom and I took a girl's trip to Long Grove, IL. It was fun to shop and just spend some quality time together.

It was a perfect day to be out and about. All the shops are in quaint, old houses that have been transformed into the downtown commercial district.

Home accents, jewelry, purses and furniture filled almost every store.

My favorite was Oliva's Past. She had a lot of handmade stuff from people who sell on Etsy. It was fabulous. I did a lot of damage here.

Triathlon 09

A few weeks ago, Carson participated in the Naperville Sprint Triathlon. He did really well finishing in just over 1 hour, 16 minutes. It is a 400 m swim, a 13 mile bike and a 3.2 mile run.

The swim was done at Centennial Beach.

All set to go. Pre-race nerves are non-existent!

It was one of the hottest days of the year, but there was a beautiful sunrise.

Entering the transistion area for a final check and to leave off the shoes.

Exiting the swim

Onto the bike-

Here's our friend Andy flying down the road. I think it was all in the helmet.

Transitioning to the run

Crossing the finish line

Celebrating with Andy on the Finish

Hugs and congrats from the parents

Jim, Karyn and Caden showed their support

Trying To Enjoy the Last Little Bit of Summer...

Don't 'cha hate summer colds? Unfortunately, I've dropped my exercise schedule and I've caught a bug. But, I'm on the mend and we are planning to do The Last Fling this weekend and go see Jason Aldean. Should be a blast.

Here are some pics from the other night. Just enjoying some nice weather on the deck. Ah. This is the life...

It's Almost Been A Month...

Wow. It' s almost been a month since my last post. We have been super busy this summer. CB has been traveling for work and so have I. Two weeks ago, I traveled to Orlando, FL for the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Supershow. I met some craft celebrities including TIM HOLTZ

(that was super cool!), Claudine Hellmuth, Suze Weinberg, Donna Downey and many other people who's blogs I follow. We had a great time shopping for new product and our make-and-take was the hit of the show.

This past Friday, I had a date with my boyfriend:

Hello handsome.

We saw Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley and it was a great show. It wasn't as good as when I saw BP from the 7th row, but it was still great music.

Have a great day!