Nick and Nat...Our life in the Midwest

The Great Alaskan Adventure Part 6

2011-03-08T13:13:00.009-06:00

The morning after hanging with the hardcore kayakers/cool kids, we awoke early to put some hair on our chests with a breakfast of instant oatmeal and black coffee. Mmm...

After breakfast, we threw on our kayak garb and headed out onto Resurrection Bay. The weather could not have been more perfect. We've both said this may have been our favorite day of the entire trip. And that, friends, is what you call a bold statement.

The view from our cabin. (It's taking a lot of strength not to write something like, "Talk about a room with a view, huh?" We'll refrain.)

Right now you're probably asking yourself, "Why is that not Nat's FB profile pic?" We're asking ourselves the same thing.

After a couple hours of kayaking, we stopped to ~~rest our on-fire arms~~ check out a waterfall. We love a good waterfall. Know who else loves waterfalls? BEARS! There was bear scat, salmon carcasses and honey pots all over this stretch of the woods. (And we are not lying about the honey pots. Not lying at all.)

Lunch break. Also know as, "The Most Beautiful Place Ramon Noodles has Ever Been Ingested."

It's official. We want a pet puffin. They are the most adorable creatures on earth. They try so hard to fly and because they're not so good at it, their friends all gather around to cheer one another on. We sat in our kayak long enough to cheer on the little fella above. He did brilliant. We - his adoptive parents - were so proud.

We shall call this one, "Victory!"

Cue the rocky sea, rolling clouds and shrimp boat. End scene.

Until next time,
Team Taylor

Correction

2011-03-07T17:06:00.002-06:00

In the last post, I made the assumption that Nick and I have the same feelings in regards to rented, tan roller skates verses cool black ones with racer stripes. Turns out, I was wrong. Nick actually had his own roller skates. And they were black (no recollection of racer stripes). In other words, he was one of the "cool kids," who won the racing competitions and always participated in couple's skate with some girl, who definitely had white skates with colorful pom poms. Meanwhile, I was leaning against some wall, attempting to look cool, which, we all know, is impossible in tan roller skates.

The Great Alaskan Adventure Part 5

2011-03-07T16:09:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, while attempting to put together a 3,000-piece puzzle and listening to the Avett Brothers radio station we created on Pandora, we began reminiscing about our Alaskan adventure and it occurred to us that we should really finish writing about it if, for no other reason, than because we know that one day we won't remember it quite as well and it was too swell of an adventure to forget. (Sidenote: We usually don't consider ourselves "puzzlers," but we're running out of winter-weather activities. The puzzle/music afternoon was much more enjoyable than the time we attempted to play hide 'n' seek in our apartment. That was just depressing.)

Anyway...back to Alaska.

The last time we chatted (well, we wrote and you read), we had arrived at Kayaker's Cove and were getting settled into our cozy little cabin.

Shortly after we arrived via water taxi, a group of way-more-hardcore-than-us folks arrived from Seward via kayak. Um, yeah. That's a 17-mile trek, which in our minds is an incredibly far distance. (I mean, it took us 45 minutes to go 17 miles via water taxi.) Anyway, we quickly learned that 17 miles is chump change for this crew, as they had recently completed a kayak trip along Alaska's inside passage, ending in Seattle. As in Seattle, Washington. And, if they weren't the coolest kids at camp already, we also learned that they documented the voyage and had turned it into a documentary film appropriately titled, "Paddle to Seattle."

So, our night at Kayaker's Cove was spent with 15 hardcore kayakers/Alaskans. We'd like to think we didn't look like amateur hour, but, let's be honest, we weren't fooling anyone. For one, they all had super cool, personalized kayaks, while our rented kayak had "Property of Kayaker's Cove" written down the side of it in black Sharpie. Of course, this reminded us of the days at Tarwheels when we had to rent ugly tan roller skates while the regulars had black or white skates with colorful pom poms and racer stripes.

A Case of Second Child Syndrome.

2010-12-30T13:37:00.004-06:00

Nick and I know a thing or two about Second Child Syndrome. (Heck, we'd probably still wear hand-me-downs if we hadn't both grown taller than our older sibling.) Which is why I said that when Baby Tuten #2 came along, I would take just as many pictures and write just as many blog entries as I did with Anna Claire back in February 2009. Well, that hasn't happened.

For the record, I blame someone with the initials ACT, who would rather play fake games of hide 'n' go seek, eat Cheerios and sing "I'm a Little Teapot," than let me document the first days of little Lauren's life. Of course, I gladly participate in the hide-seeking-Cherrio-eating-here-is-my-handle-here-is-my-spout antics. Which means I've become the very person I swore I'd never be: the cause of the Second Child Syndrome.

To that avail, I'd like to take this time to display some pictures of sweet little Lauren and assure her that if her mom and dad ever make her wear 2-year-old-high-water jeans, all she has to do is run to Aunt Nat and Uncle Nick. We'll buy her her very own pair any day.

I call this one: You'd be sleepy too if you had to hold these cheeks up.

Hang on tight.

Papa D coordinated with the hospital walls.

The Tuten-side!

World, meet Lauren Hayley.

2010-12-28T14:03:00.002-06:00

This morning, a little after 9 a.m., Lauren Hayley made her grand entrance into the world. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces, Miss Lauren has a full head of dark brown hair, just like her older sister, Anna Claire. She's also got the signature Pless chubby cheeks, which makes her extra squeezable.

Special News Cast...

2010-12-28T07:58:00.002-06:00

We interrupt your scheduled programming to bring you a special titled "Baby Tuten #2 Makes Her Debut."

We are reporting live from Greenville Memorial Hospital. Baby Tuten is moments away from saying hello to the world for the very first time.

Stay tuned...

The Great Alaskan Adventure Part 4

2010-11-16T16:24:00.008-06:00

After our hike, we had to say goodbye to Peel and Roberta for the week. They had to get back to their white-sneaker-ers/fanny-packers and we had a lot more AK to see.

Immediately after saying our goodbyes, we drove from the Ptarmingan Lake (remember, silent "P") trailhead to Miller's Landing, a water taxi port in Seward, AK. From Miller's Landing, we took a water taxi to Kayaker's Cove, a little nook within Resurrection Bay.

The boat in the middle of the water was our transportation. And yes, it was as cold and wet as it appears in the picture below.

After the 45 minute boat ride, we arrived at Kayaker's Cove, a kayak and wilderness "resort." (Err, not sure if "resort" is the right word to describe Kayaker's, but let's roll with it.)

Kayaker's Cove is a collection of small private cabins (there were 4 total) and one lodge that sleeps 15-20 people. It is rustic, but tranquil and oh-so-peaceful. Looking back, we agree this might have been our favorite experiences. Without electricity or running water, but with a roof over our heads and a wood-burning fireplace, we were perfectly comfortable, but still uncomfortable enough to feel like it was a real adventure. We cannot say enough amazing things about Kayaker's Cove. Seriously. Loved it.

What we didn't love was the outhouse. One trip in and we opted for the great outdoors after that.

Our precious cabin. Notice the billowing smoke from the chimney. We started the fire the second we arrived.

The inside of the cabin. We were freezing, muddy and wet when we arrived, so starting a fire and putting on dry clothes resulted in many happy dances.

Resurrection Bay from the edge of the Kayaker's Cove property. After a rainy day, the clouds finally started to break up. And if it wasn't already picturesque enough, a seal came right up to the shore to see how we were doing. Perfection.

Cue Nick Drake's "Pink Moon."

Until next time,
Team Taylor

The Great Alaskan Adventure Part 3

2010-10-26T17:19:00.012-05:00

So, clearly we're not that great at blogging even every week. But you forgive us. Because you're awesome. And how do we know you're awesome? Cause you read this blog. Duh.

Anyway, let's chat some more about Alaska, shall we? Last we spoke, we had just finished telling you about the evil paddle boat and the adorable-ness that is Renfros Cabins.

Shortly after making it ashore from the paddle boat excursion, Peel and his girlfriend, Roberta, showed up. They had both been working all week, so this was the first time we had been able to see them since arriving in Alaska. Obviously, it was great seeing Peel, especially in his new home-away-from-home. And Roberta exceeded our every expectation. The four of us had a blast at our little cabin in the middle of nowhere. Most of the evening was spent eating. Which, in our opinion, is exactly how most evenings should be spent.

Stuffing your face with Alaskan king crab is always a good time. Always.

Peel's catch.

This is what the guys call "prepping maka." (Don't worry, I (Nat) don't understand the inside joke, either.)

Cedar-plank salmon cooked over the open fire. That's how we roll.

Because we were so hungry by the time we actually sat down to eat, we didn't take any pics of our final feast. (We hate it when our stomachs control our minds. It happens, like, every day.) Anyway, picture the most amazing crab legs, salmon and potatoes drizzled in garlic butter and you'll have an idea of what went down at Renfros that night. Top that picture off with fireside s'mores and your picture is even more complete.

Post feast and fireside time, Peel told us an original bedtime story. We can't even remember the gist of the story. It was that successful.

The next morning, Saturday, Aug. 28th, Peel and Roberta took us on a little 7-mile jaunt to Ptarmigan Lake (That "P" is silent, by the way. Unlike me (Nat), as Tay would say.) The hike was wet, muddy, foggy and awesome.

Ptarmigan Lake really brought out our eyes.

We've been here.

Another one! For the seats in the back!

Bear scat (that's poo for those of you who are not up on your feces lingo) was everywhere on the trail. Like, everywhere. Days later, Peel and Roberta admitted to us that it was the most fresh bear scat they had seen on a hike and they were both convinced we were going to walk up on a grizzly. Thankfully, Peel and Roberta kept their fears to themselves and let us walk merrily along in our ignorant bliss.

Even more delicious than bear scat, we found tons of fresh raspberries along the hike. And Bear Grills acts like surviving in the woods is hard. Puh-lease.

It's fun fact time! Did you know that in the months leading up to hibernation, a bear must forge roughly 200,000 berries a day in order to pack on enough pounds to survive? Well, they do.

Clearly, if Nick were a bear, he wouldn't make it to December.

Until next time,
Team Taylor

The Great Alaskan Adventure Part 2

2010-10-01T12:10:00.005-05:00

Whoa, weeks go by fast. They're like the Jesse Owens of time. (Please excuse the bad joke. Funny hasn't been coming as natural lately.)

Alright, where were we? What were we talking about? Oh yes, we had arrived in ANC on Wednesday. Thursday, we spent the day in Anchorage, being as touristy as possible. Friday we woke up early, hopped in the trusty rental and drove down to Seward, AK. Basically, once we were 20 miles outside Anchorage, we started feeling like we were seeing the Alaska everyone talks about. Oh, you know, the take-your-breath-away-can't-believe-this-is-the-same-earth-you-live-on Alaska. In fact, the 2 hour drive to Seward took us over 3. There was lots of "PT" spots, after all. (Note: "PT" is short for "picture time." Instead of constantly asking one another if we should take a picture, we'd save ourselves the breath and just point to things, grunt and say, "PT." Which translated to, "pretty. need picture. point. shoot. thank you." Caveman conversations came in quite handy. Try if you haven't already.)

Above, us on the side of the Seward Highway. Folks call this area Turnagain Arm, which we don't really get, but think sounds cool. So, here we are, at Turnagain Arm.

Just north of Seward you'll find Exit Glacier. It's not the largest glacier we saw on our trip, but it's impressive in its on right. The blue color, which isn't as obvious in the picture below, is absolutely remarkable. Even from far away, you can feel the air blowing off the ice. Some nights we take turns sticking our heads in our freezer so we can, just for a moment, relive Mother Nature's majesty.

Because of falling ice, this is as close as we could get to Exit Glacier. Obviously, from here, the aqua color was much more apparent. (Fun fact: The ice on a glacier is actually clear. Any color you see - mainly blue - is actually our eyes' interpretation of the sun's rays penetrating the ice. Or something like that.)

After our visit to Exit Glacier, we made our way to Renfros Camp, our very humble, albeit cozy and adorable, abode for the evening. Peel told us about Renfros, which was located on Kenai Lake, and it was one of his best recommendations. The cabin, which sleeps four, came complete with a fire ring and paddle boat. Immediately upon arriving we had to take the boat for a spin. (Wait, you can't take a paddle boat for a spin, can you? Well, you know what we mean.) We look a pic of our quarters from the water. At this point, we felt like we might possibly be the only people on the planet.

Shortly after taking the picture above, we realized we had drifted perhaps a little too far from the shore. So, we started paddling hard. Fifteen minutes later, legs burning, we had made it about half-way. Neither of us were sure we had the strength to make back in, as the current in the lake was definitely slow-river-like. Naturally, instead of panicking, we both started cracking up at the thought of Peel and his girlfriend, whom we had never met, showing up (they were joining us at Renfros), only to find us - the Alaskan amateurs - in the middle of Kenai Lake, screaming for help. After a few minutes of laughing, we found the leg strength to bring the boat ashore. We didn't get back in the paddle boat the rest of our stay.

Evil paddle boat.

To be continued...

Until next time,
Team Taylor

The Great Alaskan Adventure™ Part 1

2010-09-18T08:03:00.014-05:00

The blisters have healed. The smell of campfire has been washed out of our clothes. The sleeping bags have been aired out and put away until our next adventure.

We are home from Alaska.

We say that with the slightest (perhaps not-so-slight) tinge of sadness, because, truly, The Great Alaskan Adventure™ was as spectacular, magical, exhausting and exhilarating as we had hoped. And it's hard to believe that the vacation we talked about for over a year is now officially 2 weeks over.

Because it would take entirely too much typing to recount every detail of our trip in words, we'll use pictures to chronicle our journey. (Pictures are so much more awesome, anyway.)

In case you can't tell, that is Nick's super-duper-excited face. Before we left ORD on August 25th, we stopped at the fine, culinary establishment of Chili's Too for a celebratory beverage. We both did the giddy two-step through the security line. Not only were we headed to Alaska, but we were going to be away from our jobs for a full 7 days (The Great Alaskan Adventure™ was 11 days long, including weekends). We hadn't said, "sayonara!" to our 9-5ers for that many days since our wedding in 2006.

Post-Chili's Too, we boarded our flight. Six and a half hours later, our pilot informed us we were making our final descent into Anchorage. That is when we pulled open our window shade and saw this:

At times like this, you have no choice but to throw out an overly-used quote. So we did. "Toto, I don't think we're in Chicago anymore!"

We arrived in Anchorage around 9pm (midnight in Chicago). At that point, the sun was still far from setting. (It went down around 10:30 or so.) Fueled by adrenaline and expensive airline snacks, we headed to Peel's Place and continued to stay up another 3 hours.

For those of you wondering, Peel's Place isn't a hotel or bar. (Though that would be a cute name for one.) Peel's Place is, literally, our friend's humble abode in Anchorage. Very humble. As in mouse-hole humble. (Hey, he called it that, not us.) Peel was gracious enough to let us use his pad as a pit stop throughout our journey. Peel also helped us plan our itinerary. Truly, without him, our trip wouldn't have been nearly as incredible. We know we have incredible taste in friends. Peel is no exception.

On Thursday, the first full day after arriving in AK, we spent the day in Anchorage. For the most part, we were busy prepping for the remainder of our trip (i.e. buying propane for our camping stove, making sure we had enough smores ingredients, etc.). We did get a chance to check out downtown Anchorage, which isn't un-Gatlinburg-like. There are photo boards and "I wrestled a grizzly" shirts as far as the eye can see.

Thursday afternoon we drove to Palmer, AK (45 minutes from Anchorage) to check out the Alaska State Fair. There, we did the only things you can possibly do at a state fair - stare at strange people, eat junk food (we choose reindeer dogs) and gawked at ENORMOUS veggies.

Poor Dancer.

Oh, and Prancer, too.

The veggies are impressive until you remember that farmers in AK grow everything in 3.5 months - the only months of the year when they have sufficient sunlight. Then you realize the veggies are super impressive.

Not pictured: the cabbage the size of a bean bag chair. Tay wanted to boil it up. Sick.

Thursday came to an end at Moose's Tooth Pizzeria. There, we ate the. best. pizza. ever. Halibut with some sort of garlic goodness sauce.

The pizza, jet lag and craziness of the state fair forced us to bed fairly early Thursday night (most definitely before the sun went down). Which, of course, was okay because Friday was to be a big day - it was the day the REAL adventures began.

To be continued...perhaps sooner than later.

Until next time,
Team Taylor

Mission Blog: Once a Week

2010-09-08T15:27:00.018-05:00

Um, this blogging thing is hard. How do all you routine bloggers out there do it? What with your kids and your jobs and your homecooked meals? We only have a itty bitty condo and each other to worry about and we still find ourselves lacking time to blog. Sheesh.

Knowing this, we are going to try a new method. We're calling it...drum roll, please...Mission Blog: Once a Week. Meaning, we are going to try (note the word try) to update our blog once a week. This means we can put "update our blog" on our to-do list and then scratch it off when we actually do so. Oh, imagine the satisfaction! Items crossed off to-do lists brings this task-oriented couple much, much happiness.

So, if we still have any readers out there, check back in once and week to see what we've been up to. Or don't. We'll understand either way.

Okay, enough with the boring monologue about Mission Blog, let's chat about something awesome. (Well, we think it's awesome, anyway.) I, Nat, turned 30 this year! I know what y'all are thinking - "How can Nat be 30 when she still looks like a teen model?" Well, as shocking as it is, it's the plain truth. My birthday was at the beginning of the summer. In fact, it was my Golden Birthday. Meaning, my age and my birth date were one in the same. I turned 30 on May 30th.

So, what did we do to commemorate such an event? We went to Milwaukee, of course! ("Mill-e-wah-que. It's Algonquin for, 'the good land.'" - any other fellow losers out there will recognize the Wayne's World reference.) We had never been and, since it's only 90 miles north of Chicago, thought we would check it out. If nothing else, we thought, we could eat some cheese.

Other than knowing we were going to Milwaukee, I was pretty clueless as to our plans. Nick, being the fantastic husband that he is, insisted on planning the trip. We stayed at the new Iron Horse Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. It's very, very biker-ish, if you couldn't guess from the name. Milwaukee, after all, is home to only the most iconic American brand - the Harley Davidson motorcycle. (Ok, maybe Coke is the most iconic American brand. Whatever. Harley is up there, too.)

The Iron Horse Hotel. Team Taylor gives it 5 stars, not only because it is super nice and swanky, but also because they welcome dogs of all sizes. There was even a "bone bar" inside the actual bar, where pets could chose their treat.

Our room smelled like leather, which, naturally, reminded me of shoes, which, naturally, made me want to go shopping.

Instead of shopping (smart husband), Nick planned for us to visit the Harley Davidson Museum, which was only a 10-minute walk from our hotie (Slang for hotel. See, I can be hip and 30.) Pictured above is Harley Serial #1. It is the very first Harley ever created. (Did you know Harley started as a bicycle company? Well, it did.)

Look how fast Tay looks on his bike!

Look how hot I look on mine!

Yay, I'm 30! And I'm flying!

We also visited the Milwaukee Public Market. We loved its market-ness. Especially its cheese!

Cheese-shaped-like-beer, where have you been all my life?

Tay also took my to the Milwaukee Art Museum. There, you can find the largest collection of Georgia O'Keefe's outside of Santa Barbara. I'm a big Georgia O'Keefe fan. All of her prints are so light. And air-y. And happiness-y.

Of course, the museum itself is quite impressive. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava and opened to the public in 2001. Since it sits right on Lake Michigan, the "sail" structure coming from the building really makes it look like a boat. The building alone is reason enough for stopping by.

Nothing says, "hey, we're still young and spontaneous," like a good hurkey in front of an art museum.

Let's try that again.

Now, a mom-approved one.

Being the big cheese lovers we are, we also stopped at Mars Cheese Castle. They have over 1,000 different kinds of cheese! Since neither of us had ever tried the infamous cheese curds, we decided to give them a go.

Mmm, curds.

As perhaps evident from the photo sequence above, we were not fans of the cheese curds. They are rubber-y. And weird. And, well, not cheese-like at all. Which lead us to wonder...Did Little Miss Muffet actually run away from her tuffet because of the spider? Or, more likely, was she headed to the commode* after eating her curds and whey? Hmm...

We'll leave you with that pondering thought this week.

Join us next week as we talk about ALASKA: When City Slickers head into the Bush.

*Using words like "commode" makes me feel very much 30.

Until next week,
Team Taylor

What's a few hundred days between friends?

2010-04-01T11:29:00.010-05:00

Alright, alright, calm down, people. We'll start blogging again. You can stop with the protest signs demanding more posts already. Geez.

Here, in no particular order, is a list of things we have failed to tell you about:

1. We have fancy schmancy friends. Don't believe us? Well, get a load of this:

This is us in December at a formal Christmas party. (Actually, it was called the "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Party.) And yes, you heard that right - formal. The two dapper gentlemen in the picture with us were the hosts. (They also happen to be our neighbors.)

2. The thing with living in a city is sometimes you wanna act like you live in the country. You wanna eat country food. And wear country clothes. And sing along to Willie Nelson. And drive out into the wilderness to cut down your own Christmas tree. So, of course, that's exactly what we did this past holiday season (minus the country clothes).

Oh, and so you know, there is no telling how many times we quoted our favorite Christmas movie during the two hour drive out to the farm. Imagine if you will:

Nat: "We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols."

Nick: "We're not coming all the way out here just to get one of those stupid ties with Santa Clauses on it are we?"

Nat: "No, I have one of those at home."

Ahh, good times.

3. Don't you love it when a home-cooked meal tastes as good, if not better, than something you'd find in a restaurant? It's like a little victory for home cooks in the battle of us vs. them. ("Them" being restaurant chefs.)

Well, we try not to be braggarts, but you can go ahead and chalk one up for home cooks after this beauty:

What is it, you ask? Well, it's a braised beef short rib sitting on pureed potatoes, sauteed Swiss chard and topped with a horseradish creme fraiché. Bam! Take that, Emeril! Of course, we can't take credit for the recipe (it's from SmittenKitchen.com), but our execution was, what's the word?, oh yeah: perfection.

4. In January, my mom, sister and I ("I" being Nat, but you knew that already.) hosted a simply supurb "S"-themed shower for McKenzie and baby-on-the-way Samantha. (Note: baby-on-the-way Samantha became real, live Baby Samantha on February 9th.) The shower was held at Chelsea's Tea Room in Biltmore Village and, yes, it was as pink and girlie as it appears in these pictures.

5. On February 13th, Anna Claire turned 1! Can you believe it? We surely can't. Her adorable birthday party was held in Charleston and featured some of our favorite things - balloons and decorations by Party Blvd., chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-a (Oh, come 'on! They're amazing.) and, of course, a very happy birthday girl smashing into her very first cake. Love her.

6. We missed you.

So thankful...

2009-12-11T14:31:00.004-06:00

We wish we had the stamina to give thanks all day, everyday for our many blessings. Thank you, alarm clock, for waking us up and ensuring we're not late to work, despite the fact that we'd love to whack you with a mallet. Thank you, hot shower that keeps our B.O. in check and warms us during the cold Chicago winter. Thank you, 9-grain toast with raspberry jam that keeps us surprisingly full throughout the morning. Thank you, downstairs neighbor, who doesn't complain when our building reeks of garlic because our friend Smitty decided to cook us his "legendary" garlic pasta surprise. Thank you, okay, okay...you get the picture.

We have so much to be thankful for, too much to be thankful for, in fact. So, it's nice to have one day solely devoted to remembering our blessings. Of course, we ALWAYS know how blessed we are, but Thanksgiving brings all those blessings to the forefront of our minds. Plus, Thanksgiving gives us a reason to stuff ourselves with turkey and pie. Which is one more reason to give thanks.

This Thanksgiving we drove to Asheville. We hadn't been in Asheville since last January, so it was great to be back.

Here's the infamous "get-into-the-pic-before-the-self-timer-goes-off":

Let's try that again:

Anna Claire, our favorite blessing of 2009, couldn't be with us on Thanksgiving Day, but she came up to visit on Friday.

Forget me not...

2009-11-13T09:34:00.036-06:00

Gosh we, like, totally abandoned you, didn't we? Like totally. Please, accept this word-of-the-day as a peace offering:

interrobang // noun
definition: the combination of a question mark and an exclamation point, indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
used in a sentence: aren't you so excited to learn a cool, new word like interrobang?!

Alrighty, where were we? Oh yeah, we admitted to ignoring you. Then you forgave us and read the post below as if we were never, ever gone.

Let's journey through our iPhoto library, shall we?

Last time we left off, we had just gotten back from our summer beach trip. (Whoa, that was a long time ago.) Shortly after, we traveled Richmond, VA to help our dear friends, Marie and Ty, tie the knot. The wedding was so special, not only because Marie and Ty are perfectly in love, but because we got to spend an entire weekend with our college besties.

Speaking of college besties, here we are at the bridesmaid luncheon:

Oh, and here's a gorgeous pic I took that I wish I was in:

But turn that frown upside down, I'm in this one:

After Mr. and Mrs. Henson's wedding in Richmond, we returned to Chicago and welcomed Nick's mom and Guy. We had a wonderful time with them, as evident in this pic:

In addition to sticking our heads in photo board thingies, we ate a lot of food. Like these weird little fishies from the Ukrainian Village Market:

These headless, salty fish, called sprats, are similiar in taste and texture to sardines. (Which basically means I won't be eating them again.)

After Nick's mom and Guy left, we spent the next week packing up our beloved apartment. Saying goodbye to our first place together was a little bittersweet, but certainly more sweet than bitter. Of course, 2253 W. Iowa will always have a special place in our hearts, but it was time for us to move on to the next step, ya know? Here's Nick packing up his records, also known as The Heaviest Collection Know to Man:

The following Friday, August 7th, we became homeowners and moved into our very own 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo. We love it. Big time.

Home oh-so-sweet home:

We love you, front door:

We're located up the stairs, on the second floor. Once we have third floor tenants, the stairs will be carpeted. In the meantime, it's construction chic.

Come on in, y'all!

The living room, as viewed from the front door:

For new construction, we are so pleased with the detail our developer put into our unit. Here's the front balcony, the hardwood floor and the coffered ceiling:

Standing on our front porch, we can easily spy on our neighbors. So far, no one is nearly as interesting as Sweatpants Man, but we're still holding out hope.

This is where we channel our inner Julia Child:

Sleepy from reading this really long blog post? Just walk down the hall from the kitchen/living room to the bedrooms.

If you ever come visit us, this is where you'll sleep. (Note the breathtaking view from the window.)

When you wake from what is sure to be a glorious slumber, enjoy a nice steam shower in the guest bath. Ooo, la, la, huh?

This is where we get our beauty sleep:

We've got a balcony off of our bedroom. We can also see the Sears...err...Willis Tower off in the distance.

We also have a large deck above the garage. We have gotten to use the deck much yet, but plan on getting on Bobby Flay-on next summer.

Alrighty, enough about our condo. Let's move on to a much more adorable topic, shall we? Let's look at pictures of sweet, little Anna Claire! The Tuten Family came to visit us the weekend after we moved into our new home. Anna Claire loved Chicago.

Ugh, that first one is so cute, let's look at it again:

After precious Anna Claire left us (oh, and Meredith and Thad too!), Brandi and Ella Rae came to pay us a visit. We couldn't get over how big Ella Bella is now - such a little lady. And, as always, it was fabulous to see Brandi. We miss having her close by, but are fully prepared to hound her until she comes back. Starting...right...now...BRAN, COME BAAACCCKKK!!

At some point in September, zig moved offices. We're now all fancy-like on the 27th floor of highrise on Michigan Ave. On our first Monday in the new space, Oprah threw her kickoff party. The entire day I (Nat) kept daydreaming about Oprah yelling out, "PLEASE WELCOME TEAM TAAAYYYLLOOORRR!!"

Oh uh. HALT! Blogger isn't letting me upload any more pictures into this post. Silly blogger. Hmm...looks like this won't be THE WORLD'S LONGEST BLOG POST after all. That's okay, we're tired. Aren't you tired too?! (interroBANG?!)

We're glad we're back.

Beach Blanket Baby...

2009-07-21T10:55:00.004-05:00

So, I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first? The bad news? Okay...here it goes...I'm out of vacation days. Boo, huh? Oh well. The good news is that I got to spend my last 3 days off with Anna Claire and the rest of my family, whom I love dearly, but aren't nearly as cute as the babbling 4 month old.

Last month Nick and I headed down to Myrtle Beach and spent 5 days generally acting like beached whales. With the presence of our newest family member, AC, this trip was even more laid back and casual than previous years, which, if you've ever vacationed with my family, is probably hard to imagine. We ate in most nights and read chapters in our books between surf side naps. It was the perfect calm before what is now our storm back in Chicago, as we prepare to purge, pack, move and become first-time homeowners.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from our trip:

Under contract. Over joyed.

2009-07-03T12:02:00.016-05:00

After looking at 18 different condos and making an offer on 3 different units, we have found our home and are officially under contract. We could not be more excited. We've both have been doing the happy dance for days now.

So, let's tell you about our little place, shall we? It is located in the Ukrainian Village, so we're getting to stay in our neighborhood. It's actually only 4 neighborhood blocks from where we are now (2 blocks north and 2 blocks west). We are thrilled to have found something close by, since we obviously know the area so well already. Plus, we aren't having to say goodbye to our favorite dinner spot, Bite Café. And we'll obviously still be able to check on Sweatpants Man from time to time. (Phew!) Another plus about the location is that our unit literally backs up to Kate and Eric's home. Kate was the first girl I met at UT. We were in the same sorority and we lived together our sophomore year of college. It's pretty amazing that after all these years, and in a city as huge as Chicago, that we will be able to talk to one another from our back decks. It makes me giddy just thinking about it.

The condo itself is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath (YAY! 2 bathrooms!). By suburb standards, it's pretty small. But for city living, it's quite spacious at 1300 square feet. We got to walk through the space once more today, below are a few pics we took.

Here's the outside of the building. We are on the second floor. It is a new construction 3 unit building. Solid brick, which I hear is a pretty big deal.

Nick standing in our living room/dining room, looking out over the front porch.

A gas fireplace = cozy.

Our squeaky-clean kitchen. Be still my heart.

Mosaic-tiled back splash? How did we get so lucky.

Our current dishwasher checks out our future dishwasher.

A steam shower. Aren't we fancy schmancy?

I have never felt so passionate about an appliance. It literally almost brings tears to my eyes.

Nick standing in the master bedroom. Sliding doors lead to a back deck.

Master bedroom closets patiently waiting for Closets By Design to work their magic.

According to Aunt Vinton, a double vanity is the key to a happy marriage.

Our deck above our garage (yes, we have an actual garage!). Christopher B., we'll be turning to you next year to help us with our urban garden. Mmm, tomatoes.

We close on August 12th. Home sweet home can't get here fast enough...

The search continues...

2009-06-11T10:21:00.003-05:00

So, we heard from our realtor this morning and we did not get the condo. Apparently one of the other buyers offered well above asking price. In this market, that is not something we are willing to do, especially considering this is a temporary place for us, not our forever-dream-wanna-raise-our-kids-here-home. So, the search for the Team Taylor abode continues.

Stay tuned...

Think happy thoughts...

2009-06-10T14:03:00.003-05:00

So, today we made an offer on the condo we really liked from Sunday. But before you start thinking that our days with Sweatpants Man and a Glue-held cabinet are over, you should know that two other offers were made and the sellers are considering all three. Since we pretty much laid our best offer on the table, now all we can do is wait and see. Apparently the sellers are anxious to get out, so we should hear something sooner than later. Of course, good or bad, we'll update our blog once we hear.

And we usually wouldn't feel the need to tell everyone that we made an offer, but we figured we could use all the happy real-estate thoughts y'all could muster. So send a little prayer our way...some good vibes...anything you can offer to help our offer is greatly appreciated.

Team Taylor is ready for home sweet home.

House Huntin'...

2009-06-08T09:40:00.007-05:00

Nick and Nat sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes Nick pushing a...err, no quite. Then comes a house. At least that's how our song is playing out.

That's right, we are officially on the hunt for our first house. And by "house," we mean condo. As you may or may not know, we have been renting a 2 bed/1 bath apartment in the Uki Village for almost 4 years now. We have loved the apartment so much, despite the fact that the bathtub is falling into the basement, we have one cabinet being held up with Gorilla Glue and we can't keep the heat above 62º in the winter. But it has been a perfect first nest for us - one filled with many wonderful memories as we tackled big city living together as newlyweds. I get teary-eyed thinking about leaving the place. (Then I scrub the mold forming around the kitchen sink faucet and my tears dry up and I'm ready to start packing!)

So, our lease is up on August 31st and we have decided that it is time to move on. And what a perfect time! Interest rates are low, tax credits are high and homes are cheap. (Well, at least cheaper than a few years ago.) Of course, all this does not mean that this purchase is any less stressful. So far we've been trying to find the balance between location (crucial in Chicago) and what we want out of the living space (2 bathrooms, PLEASE!). It's very, very difficult, but we're being patient and know that the right place will come along.

Actually, we looked at a very promising condo yesterday, but I'm going avoid going into too much detail for fear of jinxing it. We promise to keep you updated as things progress.

Anyways, it does look like we're going to have to leave the Uki V (tear). Years ago when we moved in we were told that the neighborhood was up and coming. Well, they were right. Four years after we moved into our little apartment the area is surrounded by Marc Jacobs boutiques and gourmet grocery stores. Of course, with all the improvements, real estate prices have risen way beyond our reach. If you know anything about Chicago, we are now looking in Uptown, Logan Square, Lincoln Square and Ravenswood, as these are the "new" up and coming neighborhoods. Wherever we move, let's hope Marc Jacobs follows shortly after.

Here's a Chicago neighborhood map, Uki V. is the small purple neighborhood just north of dead center.

New post...New Bern...

2009-06-04T09:06:00.003-05:00

Last month Nick and I headed down to eastern NC to spend a long weekend with his mom and stepdad, aunt and uncle, great aunt, as well as his brother, sister-in-law and their adorable kids. We had an incredible time, enjoying the gorgeous NC spring weather with a family we don't see nearly enough. Of course, anytime with Nick's family also means we get to indulge in one of our favorite pastimes - eating! From his mom's famous eggs benedict, to his aunt's yummy crab cakes, we left the beach full to the gills. Hopefully we can get back to the New Bern area sooner than later.

Slackin'...

2009-05-05T08:38:00.005-05:00

You know that kid from high school who was really smart, but just didn't apply himself? He usually wore a Grateful Dead t-shirt with some brown cords, even in the heat of a NC summer. And though we didn't say it, we were all thinking the same thing...SLACKER! I feel like that kid. Well, not exactly like that kid as I have vowed never to wear a Grateful Dead t-shirt again after seeing a picture of myself from college sporting a tie-dyed hoodie with little dancing bears on the front. (Even if you don't say, you're all thinking the same thing...POSER!) Anyways, thanks to my bloggin' friends (I'm looking at you: sister, Sal, Bran, Mer F., Susan, Jess B., Jess G., etc.), I feel very much like a slacker. I mean, I haven't been blogging and I don't have a swaddle-free baby, a shed, a 3-year-old crush or birthday parties to blame. Actually, besides being busy at work and traveling quite a bit, I don't have a single excuse for my blogging absence. How's that for slacker?

So, seeing as it's going to be too hard for me to catch you up on everything that's been going on with us this past month, I'm going to start with a general overview. The Cliff's Notes of our life, if you will. Here it goes...

Mexico:
SYNOPSIS: If you remember, we were in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 4 weeks ago. Though it was INSANELY hot, we had a fabulous time. Nick golfed with the big wigs from his bank. I read a book a day.
HIGHLIGHT: Nick raising his eagle award above his head at the ceremony. Me laughing hysterically.
LOW-LIGHT: Nick slamming a tennis ball into his boss' wife's face. Me laughing hysterically and hiding it.

New Orleans:
SYNOPSIS: Naw'lins really deserves its own post, as it was our most fun vacation since, well, since I don't know when. We had an absolutely fantastic time. We were down there for a wedding, but took a couple extra days off work to check out the southern city. We both found the town to be full of charm, friendly people and delicious food, of course. We ate so much creole and cajun food that even now the thought of a bowl of gumbo makes my stomach churn a bit. And though I don't need to see a Po'Boy sandwich for at least another couple months, I would head back to New Orleans in a heart beat. For anyone that hasn't been, I highly recommend it. Of course, our trip was enhanced drastically by Logan and Andy's gorgeous, southern-as-they-come wedding.
HIGHLIGHT: THE FOOD! Especially the barbaque shrimp at French Quarter Fest (check out that hunk of butter!!)
LOW-LIGHT: NOLA absolutely, positively HATES my hair. I could NOT keep the mane tame...it was impossible and the very reason that I will never be able to move south of Tennessee.

Alright, I thought I would be able to catch up on everything in the post. But seeing as I need to actually start working, I'm going to have to revisit this post a little later. I know, I know...SLACKER!

A case of cabin fever...

2009-03-30T08:31:00.008-05:00

Every year since we've lived in Chicago, we get a BIG case of cabin fever late March/early April because, let's face it, the winters up here are just entirely too long. So, it came as no surprise to me when this past weekend, we couldn't think of anything we wanted to do indoors. Cabin fever has officially set it. Since neither of us needed to work over the weekend, we had 2 full days to fill however we would like. Here are a list of things we WANTED to do:

- go on a bike ride
- go on a picnic
- plant some flowers
- grill out
- go for a comfortable walk (comfortable being the key word here)

Of course, all of the above activities would require us going outside. And this is what outside looked like when we woke on Saturday:

Kind of depressing, isn't it? Ahh well, no use crying over fallen snow. We tried to make the most of our hibernating weekend anyway. On Saturday night, we made an indoor picnic and participated in Earth Hour, which was from 8:30-9:30. For those of you who don't already know, Earth Hour is organized event where people from all over the world shut off their lights for one hour. Check out www.earthhour.org for some pretty cool pics of city skylines going dark. Here's a pic of our delicious, simple indoor picnic:

By yesterday afternoon, a lot of the snow had melted. It was still pretty cold, with temps hovering around 40º, but that wasn't cold enough to keep us from grilling out after the UNC game. Last night's menu? Beer Butt Chicken! Delicious and redneck-y: the perfect way to end a quiet weekend inside. If you haven't made Beer Butt Chicken before, I highly recommend it. It's easy and keeps the chicken flavorful, tender and moist. Big yum factor here. All you have to do is throw some brown sugar, salt, pepper and chili powder into a half-full can of beer. Stick the can of beer up the rear end of a whole chicken. Set the chicken up on a heated grill (use the can of beer and chicken legs to make a tripod - told you it was redneck-y), cover and let the chicken cook through (about 45-55 minutes).

It's the absolute perfect cure for cabin fever. Trust us, we know.

Excuse me while I brag about my husband...

2009-03-23T10:13:00.003-05:00

I am not exaggerating when I say that Nick is one of the hardest working people I know. If I was to write a list of all the things I love about him, "strong work ethic" would be close to the top. (Right between: "He will always 'rock paper scissors' for household chores," and "He likes to sing along to radio jingles with me on the way to work every morning.")

So, you can imagine how excited I was to learn that I'm not the only one who has noticed his dedication to a job that, let's be honest, can be stressful, frustrating and exhausting - especially in this lovely economy. Late last week, the president of Nick's bank invited both him and I to the President's Club Trip, which is an annual all-expense paid trip for a select group of bankers and their guests. This year the trip is to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. And the best part is that we leave next Friday, which means we get to escape Chicago's terrible excuse for spring for 5 days, 4 nights. Ahh, I can smell the salt air now.

Now, before any of you start whining to President Obama (I'm talking to you, Thad), you should know that Nick's bank hasn't accepted one penny of bailout money. And this trip was earned the ol' fashioned way - with hard work, long hours and dedication. That said, we realize how lucky we are to have this opportunity, especially in this economy. We are thankful every day for our careers. (We will be EXTRA thankful next weekend while we're sipping pina coladas poolside in Mexico.)

Redirecting you...

2009-02-26T08:20:00.002-06:00

Sadly, updates on Anna Claire won't be as frequent on our blog due to the fact that we're in Chicago and AC is adjusting to her new world in Charleston. If I hear of any great AC stories or are sent any pictures, I'll post them here for your reading/viewing enjoyment. In the meantime, you may want to check out Meredith and Thad's blog if you don't already do so. Their blog address is: www.atarheelandatiger.blogspot.com. They're really busy with their new little housemate, but I know they'll post stories/pictures as often as they can.

Of course, all this means that this blog, the one you're reading right now, will go back to housing random stories and pictures of us, Team Taylor. (And yes, we realize the pictures of us aren't nearly as cute as the ones of Anna Claire and we're okay with that.)

Oh, but before you leave us (hopefully not for good) here's another picture of sweet Anna Claire sleeping on her Aunt Nat's shoulder. Can you believe the adorableness? We can't either.

And the blogging slows down...

2009-02-24T08:37:00.007-06:00

Can you tell I'm back at work? I must say, as much as I love my job and am thankful for the experiences available to me here, writing website copy isn't nearly as fun as snuggling with little Anna Claire. Ahh, well. That's the reality of life, is it not?

So, let me wrap-up the week I had with Anna Claire...

Last Thursday, Mom, Mere and I loaded up Anna Claire for her first shopping trip. Actually, when I call our outing her first "shopping trip," I realize it was pretty pathetic as far as shopping trips go. We just went to Micheal's Craft store so Mere could get some pictures for the nursery matted and framed. Anna Claire didn't even get to leave the car. Instead, she stayed in her car seat while Mimi (mom) sang the old classics to her, including Mary had a Little Lamb, Jesus Loves Me, and, my personal favorite, The Itsy Bitsy Spider. There's nothing like a good nursery rhyme to get the feet tapping, ya know?

Here's AC chillin' in her car seat. I think she's gonna be a hat person. I love hat people.

After a successful shopping trip, Anna Claire decided she need a little naptime in her Moses basket with Mommy Bear. She looked so comfy cozy that I got a little jealous and started wishing there were Moses baskets for adults. Come on, you're thinking it too.

Anna Claire's nap left her feeling very rested and alert, as evidence in these pictures.

Friday I had to say my goodbyes and head back to Chicago. This is what Anna Claire looked like when I told her I was leaving:

The truth is, Anna Claire will never remember the week I got to spend with her when she was just days old, but I will cherish the time forever. And watching my sister take on the role of "mommy" with such patience and grace was truly awe-inspiring. Of course, when I think of my mom's patience level, I know Mere learned from the best.

I am so blessed with a wonderful family.

Man Hands...

2009-02-18T20:50:00.004-06:00

The past couple days we have been dissecting Anna Claire's every feature trying to discern who she looks like. She has Thad's brow, forehead and nose. Meredith's almond-shaped eyes and full lips. Redden's (Thad's dad) dark hair. Pawpaw's chicken legs. And the signature "Pless girl" big hands, also referred to as "man hands" by a few unfriendly boys on the playground (not that I was scarred by that 1st grade experience or anything). Mere and I both have large hands, which we definitely got from our mother. Mom definitely got them from her mother, our maternal grandmother. And while I never cared for my large palms and long fingers growing up, I realize now that I see the same feature on my new niece, large hands aren't so bad. Actually, on her, they look absolutely perfect. And anyways, how many girls do you know that can palm a basketball? Or remain the undefeated Thumb War champ for 10 years running? Or can play a single-note glissando on black piano keys? Not many, my friend, not many.

Here's our girl again, "man hands" and all. Isn't God good?

For the record...

2009-02-16T09:11:00.004-06:00

A couple people have sent us emails asking if the newest addition to our family is going to be called "Anna Claire" or simply "Anna," and I thought I'd go ahead and clear up any confusion. She will go by "Anna Claire." Which means she's got that whole southern-girl-from-Charleston-double-name thing going for her. Can't you just see all the oyster roasts, pearl necklaces, sear sucker skirts and monogrammed hand bags in her future?

Anna Claire Update...

2009-02-15T16:44:00.012-06:00

Let's update on little baby Anna Claire, shall we? Hmm, where to start? How about the beginning, complete with photos.

Here are Meredith and Thad just before we left for the hospital. They had just said goodbye to their dog, "Jasmine," and forewarned her that when they saw her next, she would have a brand new little sister. Jasmine didn't seem to understand. We think she gets it more now.

Next, we headed for the hospital. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, there was very little drama on the way there. No screaming. No breathing exercises. No "Drive faster, drive faster!!!!" Ahh, well. Maybe next time? Here is a picture of Mere and Thad checking into Women's Services Day Surgery. It just looks drama-less, doesn't it?

After checking in, Mere was sent to the surgery prep room were she got lots of really fun things like IVs, shots, needles, tubes and monitors. While she was in the prep room, mom and dad showed up, as well as Gloria and Redden. Honestly, I think they were more nervous than Mere and Thad, both of whom stayed cool as cucumbers the entire time.

(By the way, this is Mere and Thad's last official photo kid-less.)

While Mere was in the prep room, everyone but Thad was ushered to the waiting room. Lucky for you, however, Thad snapped some pictures in the operating room for our viewing enjoyment. I should warn you though, if you're at all queasy at the sight of blood, stop. reading. right. now.

Now, off all the pictures taken on Friday, I think this one is the coolest. It's Mere, Thad and Anna Claire Tuten's first family portrait. See, I told you it was cool.

Within 20 minutes of being on this beautiful planet of ours, Anna Claire got to experience a lot, including: laying on a scale, having her hair washed under a faucet and having a measuring tape wrapped around her head. Hey, no body said the first birthday was all that glamorous.

Lucky for our little A.C., the day got a whole lot better when she had the chance to meet the family that has been anticipating her arrival for so long. After all, what girl doesn't like to be "oooed" and "ahhed" over?

Oh, and just in case you feel left out and would like to participate in the "oooing" and "ahhing" yourself, here are a few pics of our fabulous girl:

We love you, Anna Claire. Welcome to our family!!

Introducing Anna Claire Tuten...

2009-02-13T18:04:00.003-06:00

Our baby has arrived!!!

2009-02-13T13:03:00.001-06:00

Happy news!! Baby Girl Tuten arrived at 12:39. According to my mom, she is, "without a doubt, the cutest baby there ever was!" (No surprise there,huh?) She is a very healthy 6 pounds, 9 ounces and is 19.25 inches long. She also has a very full head of dark brown curly hair. The jury is still out on her name. Right now Mere and Thad are just trying to enjoy there first few minutes with their daughter.And Mere is feeling good, all things considered.

I will post more details very shortly.

The surgury begins...

2009-02-13T11:17:00.000-06:00

We were just informed that the surgury is beginning. It's 12:15 EST. Won't be long now!!

The waiting begins...

2009-02-13T10:58:00.000-06:00

Mom, dad and I, as well as Gloria and Redden (Thad's parents) are now officially perched in the waiting room at Cooper Hospital Women's Center.There is wireless here at the hospital, but the signal is so weak I haven't been able stay on long enough to upload pictures; that may have to happen later tonight.About an hour ago the nurses began preping Mere for surgury. She has her IVs in now. Like I mentioned earlier, her surgury is scheduled for 12:30, but we have been told they may start early, depending on the doctor's status.

Mere and Thad are both cool, calm and collected. Mom asked Mere if she was nervous and she said, "No, not at all." In the waiting room (away from Mere) mom said, "Well, ignorance is bliss, I guess." Clearly, mom is speaking from experience after having 4 C-sections many years ago.

Alright, I'll update again soon...

Hospital bound...

2009-02-13T09:16:00.000-06:00

It's now 10:15 and we (Mere, Thad and I) are on our way to the hospital. I must say, a scheduled C-section really keeps the drama out of the labor process. I asked Mere if she wanted to practice her breathing on the way to the hospital for dramatic effect, but she declined. Instead we are listening to Rascal Flatts on the radio and enjoying the gorgeous, blue Charleston skies. What a great day for a baby!

First post of the day...

2009-02-13T06:32:00.000-06:00

Well this is it. The day my family has been waiting on for months.(Though if you asked my mom, she would say we have been waiting on this day for years.) I will post as often as I can while we await the arrival of Baby Girl Tuten who, by the way, is still nameless.(Mere and Thad have decided it is gonna be a game day decision.) Mere's surgery is at 12:30 EST, which means we are leaving gor the hospital at 10:00. It also means that I need to go shower now.Oh, but before I forget, I'm not sure what the internet situation will be at the hospital. If I don't have wireless, I'll resort to blogging from my Blackberry like I am now. Also, I'm not sure if I will be posting here at nickandnat or posting on Mere and Thad's blog, which atarheelandatiger.blogspot.com Once I have it all figured out, I'll let y'all know. Alright, I gotta get beautiful for my new neice!

It's SLURPEE time in Chicago...

2009-02-06T16:20:00.002-06:00

One of the cool things about spending 3 winters in the arctic tundra that is Chicago is that you grow accustomed to single-digit temps and negative wind chills. Which means that when Mother Nature blesses you with a 43º February day, you and your co-workers wanna strip off your coats and head to 7-11 not for hot chocolate, but for cherry SLURPEES!!!!!

So that's what we did. Feels like spring in Chicago today!!!!

The Most Handsome Shelf Ever...

2009-02-04T10:35:00.005-06:00

One of the blessings (or should I say curses?) of being married to someone who works in creative advertising is that you are sometimes asked to help out with projects. Especially when the projects are done on-the-fly like this one our agency recently did for ethel's chocolate lounges. ethel's is one of our clients and is a part of the larger M&M/Mars company (and, for the record, they have the most delicious PB&J chocolates ever). For Valentine's Day, ethel's asked us to help them create a shelf to display their new heart-shaped chocolate box. After a couple rounds, the client decided they liked our idea to create a shelf that looked like a man holding a box of chocolates behind his back. You probably see where this is going, right? Yep, you guessed it - Nick was our model. Here are a couple pics of him as a shelf standing in front of the ethel's on Michigan Ave., right in front of the Nordstrom's. Does he not make the most handsome shelf ever? I think so.

Great success...

2009-02-03T15:03:00.000-06:00

Whoa, it worked.

I amaze myself everyday.

Test...

2009-02-03T14:56:00.002-06:00

This is a test to see if I can successfully update our blog from my Blackberry. If so, I will be able to provide play-by-plays of Baby T's arrival from the hospital. It will also confirm that I am the most technically-saavy person you know. This is fact, not an opinion, by the way.

24,567th reason we can't wait for summer...

2009-02-03T13:03:00.003-06:00

We miss you, watermelon.

Friday the 13th: More Happy Than Scary...

2009-02-02T11:39:00.002-06:00

It's official. We are going to be an Aunt and an Uncle AGAIN on Friday, February 13th. For those who don't know, we are already Aunt Nat and Uncle Nick to Ethan and Abbey (Nick's brother's kids) and Emily (Nick's stepsister's daughter). But on 2/13 we will add another niece to our family...this time from my (Nat) sister and her husband. To say that our family (both immediate and extended) is excited about the new arrival would be the understatement of the century.

So, why Friday the 13th? Well, Baby Tuten (that's her temporary name right now - jury is still out on her official name) is breech. And after numerous unsuccessful attempts to manually turn her, Meredith and Thad have decided to deliver via C-Section. To be honest, I (Nat) think Baby T didn't want to turn cause she knew if her arrival wasn't scheduled then her favorite aunt (yours truly) would have a hard time making it from Chicago to Charleston for the birth. Oh, and Meredith petitioned to try and get a more appealing birthday (like, say, Feb. 12th), but apparently you don't get to pick when you have the surgery. (As if the doctor has other patients he needs to tend too?) But like my mom said, "We don't believe in all that voodoo witchcraft stuff anyways, so it doesn't matter when she's born." Well said, mom, well said.

Okay, so are you ready for the best part?!? Remember when I said I work for the best company and have the best boss' in all of America? No? Well, I do. And to prove how amazing they are, they have given me one week of "Aunternity Leave." Yes, that's right - they have given me a week to travel and stay in Charleston for the birth of my new niece. Only thing I have to do is check my email regularly and do a little writing from the beautiful state of South Carolina. Pretty great gig, huh? Good news for you is that I'll be able to post tons of pictures and stories on this blog about my niece's first days on this beautiful planet of ours. Lucky you, lucky me, lucky Baby T.

Put it on your calendar, people...

Fashionably late for 2009...

2009-02-01T15:29:00.002-06:00

First, let us wish you a very belated, albeit very happy, new year!! Second, let us apologize from our bloggin' absence. Third, let us share with you our new year's resolutions. (2009 is going to be good one, we just know it.)

1. blog more (err, clearly we're off to a rather poor start. oh well. the first resolution is sometimes the hardest.)

2. do at least one new thing each month (we just squeaked a "new thing" into the month of January...last night (1/31) we went to our very first roller derby tournament. more on this later.)

3. watch/read the "classics" (there are some books and movies that every adult should see. this year, we're gonna try. note: right now, we've got "Casablanca" on. does anyone else think Humphrey Bogart seems too old for Ingrid Bergman? maybe this is why he calls her "kid?")

4. expand our recipe repertoire (we've got a new chili recipe on the stove right now. wish you could smell our apartment - intoxicating.)

5. move (apartments, not cities. at least that's what we think we're gonna do. more on this later.)

we're so glad to be back.

Party Blvd. TV shoot...

2008-11-06T14:48:00.003-06:00

A couple weeks back, me and a few of my (Nat) co-workers got the opportunity to travel down to Asheville to shoot some TV commercials (or "spots" as they're called in the ad biz) for the one-and-only Party Blvd. We are so, so excited about how the footage from the shoot looks so far and will be recording the voiceovers next Wednesday. The spots will be completely done by the new year, so anyone living in WNC will have to keep their eyes peeled for them. Working with my family was a really great experience...they definitely provided the BEST craft service I've ever seen...complete with brownies and cookies from a local bakery. And, of course, it was a completely new experience to have a client so worried about our well-being...were we getting enough sleep, did we want a chair, could they go get us milk shakes, etc. Now, everyone go buy some party goods.

We double dare you not to love this sweet costume...

2008-11-05T17:21:00.002-06:00

That. was. awesome.

2008-11-05T09:21:00.003-06:00

Election Day '08!

2008-11-04T09:31:00.003-06:00

We got up and voted at 6am this morning at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School behind our house. The line was fairly short, so it only took us about 30 minutes to get in and out. Chicago is all a buzz with the anticipation for hometown-guy Obama, of course. Which, like him or not, fills this city with an excitement for politics that neither of us have never experienced before. Yesterday we found out that we both received Election Night tickets, so we will be spending this evening in Obama's tent in Grant Park along with 65,000 other ticket holders. (The city is expecting close to a million people outside his tent in the surrounding park area.) Regardless if you support Obama or McCain, this campaign will certainly be one for the history books.

Now, go vote!

A little bit more Mexico...

2008-10-30T16:54:00.002-05:00

On Thursday of our vacation, we took the shuttle down to Playa del Carmen and then a ferry boat over to Cozumel. Though it was fairly overcast the entire day, we had an awesome time. We did a little snorkeling in Cozumel and saw some unbelievable fish. Our favorite sighting was a couple barracudas who were circling an enormous school. Literally, there must have been 500,000 fish all hanging out together, protecting one another from the looning predator. After snorkeling, we headed to the sister resort to ours on the island. Because we are V.I.P. members, we were able to use their resort facilities - like their cafe and their swimming pool. We're pretty much the coolest Very Important People we know.

Mexico continued yet again...

2008-10-28T09:06:00.002-05:00

The Wednesday after our Tulum trip we decided to hang out at the resort and enjoy the absolute perfect weather. The view from the pool looking down at the Caribbean Sea was like a scene from a Corona commercial. Which made us very happy. Wanna know what else made us very happy? The nacho bar by the pool. Nothing like a mound of cheese-covered chips in a bikini. Ahh, we love vacation.

After a day by the pool, we had dinner at Senor Frogs. Mainly because when you're in Cancun, you kind of have to embrace all that it has to offer - like eating dinner wearing a balloon hat.

Nick's 30th Birthday rainbow...

2008-10-27T16:18:00.003-05:00

We forgot to mention that when we returned from Tulum and jumped into the resort's pool, we could see a rainbow out over the ocean. It had apparently rained all day in Cancun, but we didn't see a single sprinkle in Tulum. Rain clouds try and stay away from birthday boys apparently.

Also, here's a pic of our poolside friend. Iguanas were everywhere! I (Nat) was pretty terrified of them due to an experience I had while living in Miami (iguanas are aggressive!). But Tay loved this little guy that came out for his b-day party.

More Tulum pics...

2008-10-27T09:51:00.001-05:00

Mexico cont. again...

2008-10-27T09:32:00.002-05:00

Tuesday was Nick's actual 30th birthday, so we wanted to do something extra special. We had heard wonderful things about the town of Tulum, so we decided to rent a little car and drive down to check it out. Tulum is about 80 miles south of Cancun, but because of the road condition, takes about 2 hours to get to by car. Once we were in Tulum, we quickly understood the appeal. Tulum is kind of like the anti-Cancun. It's not commercialized at all...no McDonald's or beachy-looking souvenir shops. Instead, Tulum is filled with quiet little beaches lined with hippie-style bungaloos. The little town was full of American and European backpackers who were packing the non-air conditioned hostels.

In Tulum, Nick and I decided to rent bikes from the Iguana bike shop. We had also heard cool things about the Grand Cenotes, so we figured we could ride our bikes there. (The "cenotes" are underwater caves that formed when a meteorite hit the Yucatan Peninsula about 65 million years ago.) At the Grand Cenotes, we snorkeled in the cool, fresh water, which was so nice after our 4 mile bike ride with a single speed bike in 95º heat.

After the swim, we rode back into the town and ate at a very, small little restaurant. There, our communication skills were at an all-time low. We resorted to pointing and using hand motions to describe the types of food we enjoyed. It worked brilliantly and lunch was delicious.

With our bellies full, we rode another 4 miles to the beach. Though the town could stand to pick up some unnecessary liter, it was gorgeous. And VERY hot. We we returned the bikes at the end of our day long excursion, we were completely beat. But of course that didn't stop us from enjoying an evening swim back at our resort.

Not a shabby way to welcome 30, huh?

Mexico cont...

2008-10-27T09:20:00.003-05:00

Sunday and Monday in Mexico was spent catching up on much-needed sleep and lounging on the beach with books and pina coladas. Monday we did venture into downtown Cancun for some insanely cheesy quesadillas. At the quesadilla stand, no one spoke English and our Spanish was a bit spotty, so when the woman asked if we wanted crumbled cheese on top of our cheese quesadilla and we thought she was asking if we wanted sour cream we gladly and enthusiastically said, "SI!!!!" Ugh. It was good, but it did nothing for making us feel bathing-suit ready the next day. Monday night we celebrated our vacation in true Cancun fashion, by whooping it up at Dady Rock night club. It wasn't really our scene, but when in Rome, ya know?

Here we are!

2008-10-24T16:14:00.004-05:00

We find bloggin' is like reading a book - the longer you are away, the harder it is to jump right back to where you left off. But that's exactly what we're going to attempt to do. Here goes...

The last time we posted, we were just one day away from heading down to Cancun, Mexico for a week-long vacation. (Gosh, our trip feels like eons* ago.) For those who still read this blog (despite its neglect) and didn't know, we were in Mexico celebrating Nick's 30 years of glorious life. (That's right, Mr. Taylor is now officially "Old Man Taylor," but only until I (Nat) turn 30 and then we won't make any reference to it being old.) So, Nick's turning 30 and off to Mexico we went. We chose Cancun for a number of reasons, but mainly we ended up there because we were able to trade a week of our timeshare (in the Dominican) for a week there. It ended up being a smashing-ly awesome deal and certainly made any timeshare fears we had vanish faster than you can say Mai Tai.

So, day one...we arrived in Cancun on Saturday, Sept. 20th. As soon as we land, we are whisked away to our hotel and greeted as V.I.P. guests with some pineapple/coconut drink concoction. We spent the next several hours exploring the grounds of the resort and taking in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Around 2pm, we decided to look for a spot to watch the UT/Florida game, cause even though we were in a tropical spot, it's fall and that means we have to make football a top priority. I'm embarrassed to say that only hours after landing in a "foreign" country, we find ourselves sitting at the bar at Outback. So much for really leaving America behind, huh? Ah well, Cancun is pretty much America anyways - only with better weather and cleaner buses.

This is the part of this post that I don't talk about the disaster that was the UT game and instead post a few pics of Day One of our vacation:

Days 2-7 to be continued. For now, I have to head to the airport (I'm in Raleigh this weekend visiting KJ, Ray, Sir and sister).

Wilkie's Wedding

2008-09-19T08:19:00.003-05:00

So, we kept thinking we would post again once we found the little cord thingie that connects our camera to our computer so we could upload some pics from Wilkie's wedding. No such luck. We're not sure where that little cord is, but promise to post pics once we either find it or purchase a new one.

Wilkie's wedding was an absolute blast. I realize that sentence sounds a little cliched and dorky, but honestly that is the best way to describe it. In a lot of ways it felt like a mini-reunion, not unlike the way Catie Ashburn's wedding felt for us back in May. Nick and I were so content and consumed visiting with friends we hadn't seen in way too long that I can't even remember most of the details (which you all know is NOT like me at all). I do remember that the bridesmaids were in the cutest short, navy dresses with pink sashes...possibly from J. Crew. Oh, and they carried button boutiques, which was a charming little touch. Of course, Wilkie looked as handsome as ever in a blue, pinstripe suit. (Almost as handsome as my husband.) But really what I will take with me and remember for a long time to come are things like:
- Annalee throwing her flowers down on the aisle with such spunk, as if to say, "you want flowers? i'll give you flowers."
- John Olup's toast, especially the part where he said, "I heard Stephanie say once that she thinks Wilkie looks like Brad Pitt. It was then I realized love really is blind."
- Stephanie's tears as she said her vows.
- Wilkie's excitement on the dance floor. That boy's dance moves are ridiculous and contagious.
- Tay requesting Michael Jackson to the DJ and screaming, "I just made this party."
- Tay saluting the crowd when they introduced him as a groomsman at the reception. (It is very clear to me when my husband is comfortable in a room. This was one of those times.)
- Nick, Reno, Logan and Wilkie crowding around and hugging on Peggy. You can tell they all love her endlessly.
- Reno telling the cops (who showed up because the party got a little loud) that, no, he wasn't interested in going to jail, but he would gladly go to Vail. Ah, yes, that was a classic moment.

In other words, Wilkie's wedding confirms everything we already know...that the best weddings are filled with people who love each other dearly. And if the boutiques are made out of adorable, vintage buttons, well, that is just icing on the wedding cake.

A Wilkie of a Wedding...

2008-09-10T10:09:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow, we are headed to our favorite part of the country, North Cackalacky, for a Wilkie-fied wedding. Our dear friend, Nick Wilkinson (aka "Wilkie"), is getting hitched to his lovely bride-to-be, Stephanie. Wilkie occupies a very special place in our hearts and has been amazing friend to both of us, but Nick+Nick are especially close. We are thrilled for his happiness and look forward to the weekend.

Oh, and we promise to take lots of pics, as we will have quite a crew at the wedding. (Nick's friends tend to be a little rowdy when they get together. My friends? Oh, we're perfect little angels.)

The Future Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie:

Labor Day Weekend...

2008-09-03T17:45:00.003-05:00

So I (Nat) made it to Traverse City after all. Obviously I arrived a little later than I anticipated, which meant my visit was much too short, but still had a wonderful time in the Cherriest City in the World. (Note: I'm not exactly sure that TC is the "Cherriest City in the World," but I have to believe they're pretty close.)

Got in pretty late Friday night...just in time to be greeted by the beautiful Ella in her birthday suit after a bath. Saturday, we (me, Bran, Ella, and Bran's parents) woke up early to hit the river in a kayak, canoe and tube. It was a perfect lazy river day on the water. Saturday night we sat on an open air patio and took it what was sure to be one of Northern Michigan's last summer days (FYI, fall is peeking its head in BIG time up here...it's not even 70º in Chicago today). After dinner, Bran and I took in the Traverse City nightlife (who knew there was so much of it?). I left Traverse on Sunday (I told you the trip was short!) after a delicious, yet not-so-nutritious, brunch. And while the visit was seriously way too short, it was wonderful to spend some time with a friend and family that has known me since I was a buck-toothed 7 year-old and continues to love me despite all those awkward years.

Thanks Neumies for a wonderful, fun-filled weekend.

And they strike again...

2008-08-29T11:55:00.003-05:00

And here we were thinking that there wasn't possibly anything left for a theif to steal and dangit if they don't prove us wrong AGAIN. ARGGGHHH!!!

Oh, you think you've heard it all...my purse was stolen 2 years ago...followed by our car being broken into...followed by our apartment being broken into...and now the converter from underneath our car? It's so ridiculous I'm laughing as I type this.

Here's what happened: This morning Tay and I went to load up the car. The plan was that I was going to drop him off at work and then head up to Traverse City to visit Bran and Ella. As I start the engine to pull out, however, it sounds like I'm turning on a John Deere tracker...in a hail storm...with a roaring lion attached to the roof. I'm not kidding. Loudest, most annoying noise you've ever heard. I quickly turn off the car and Tay and I look at each other.

"What the heck was that?" I said.
"Um, I have no idea, but it sounds really bad." Tay responded.

I pull out of the spot so we can get a better look under the hood and under the car. Tay looks under the car first and is like "WHOA! Our mufflers almost on the ground!" To which I respond, "Huh? What? What do you mean our mufflers almost on the ground?!" Then I look and realize he means exactly what he just said (Nick's not an exaggerated for those who don't know...he always tells stories exactly as they appear. Me? I have a flair for the dramatic. Always have. I get it from my Paw-Paw, I think.). So, here we are, with a roaring car that's waking the neighbors (see, I told you I'm dramatic.) and a muffler inches away from the ground. But then we see...what?...what is that?...is that a pipe sticking out of the muffler that is cleaning, perfectly cut? "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!" I scream. Nick doesn't know, but it doesn't look good. So, he calls Tony at Ashland Tire and Auto. (It's sad when you've had so much car trouble in a city as large as Chicago that you have a mechanic that knows not only who you are, but the car you drive. Nice and convenient, yes. But sad nonetheless.) Tony tells us the sad news...that our converter has been stolen from underneath our car. Apparently it's a big trend, this converter stealing business. Theives take converters (mainly from Jeeps and 4-Runners) and sell them in scrape yards for $80-$150! Why, you ask? Oh, cause apparently Jeep and 4-Runner converters are filled with platinum. If only we'd known that we would have hacked ours off ourselves years ago. I kid. So, anyway...our converters gone, but it's all easily replaceable. The good news is that our theif was a professional and so he only took the valuable part, so our total is $245. While I was at the garage there was another Jeep with a stolen converter (told you it's a trend) and their theif had been much more sloppy. There work was costing them $890!

So, I guess with that news we're trying to look at the silver (or should I say platinum?) lining?

We're still full cont...

2008-08-27T14:14:00.002-05:00

It just occurred to me that I never finished telling you all about the rest of the culinary adventures we had with Nick's mom. How very amateur blogger of me.

So, let me pick up where I left off...

After gorging ourselves on Indian food Saturday afternoon, we headed home for food-coma naps and a recharge before heading to Frontera Grill that night. Frontera's head chef is also the owner and also happens to be a pretty famous food guy - Rick Bayless. If you know anything about Rick Bayless, you know that he specializes in Mexican fare. So, after a dinner of Thai and a lunch of Indian, we set ourselves up to nosh on Mexican. (Could our stomachs handle all 3 countries? I had my doubts.) Regardless, Frontera was absolutely, positively delish. Though I'm not sure I've ever been so full in my life - margaritas, "gourmet" tamales, cheese quesdillas, cream squash with corn torillas, plantains, ancho-rubbed rib steak, flan and sweet corn cake can do that to a person. We had an excellent time, though I don't plan on eating that much in one setting for a very long time.

Sunday morning was started off by...you guessed it...more eating! Though I should say that we opted for Bite (our favorite Chicago spot just blocks from our front door), which basically has vegetarian/vegan-friendly American food. Thank goodness for American food...never knew how much I miss it until it's gone. (Kinda like the time when my good friend, Sal, and I went to Europe and for 3 weeks did so well eating local food and produce...that is, until we arrived in Venice and carried our heavy backpacks through winding pathways to find none other than McDonald's! The Egg McMuffins I ate in Europe were by far the tasty breakfast sandwiches ever made.)

So, after 4 days of extreme eating, we grilled out on Sunday night. There was still way too much food, but at least it was pretty simple stuff and wasn't too overly rich. But we had a wonderful time with Nick's mommy...we look forward to her next visit. Hopefully our stomachs will expand before then.

We're still full...

2008-08-18T15:44:00.004-05:00

It would be fair to say that this past weekend was one of the least hungry weekends of our lives. And we loved every second of it.

Nick's mom came to visit us for 4 days of eating and, well, more eating. "P", as Ethan and Abbey like to call her, is quite a foodie and so we had a blast trying new restaurants around Chicago, even if our tummies sometimes wished we'd stop already.

Thursday night we went to Sticky Rice, a small Northern Thai restaurant not far from our apartment. Sticky Rice has gotten tons of positive culinary reviews from some very honest food critics. There is well over 100 items on the menu, including the dishes we sampled: homemade Thai sausage (tasted like a lighter version of traditional sausage with Thai flavors like cilantro and ginger); Thai spring rolls (the sauce was very sweet, but delicious); duck and leychees in red curry (we had never tried leychees before...whoa, sweet!...it has the consistency of a stewed tomato, but was as sweet as...um, not sure how to describe it); crispy pork in Northern red curry (spicier than the traditional red curry); and pad basil ewe with shrimp (is "ewe" right? that seems silly now...hmm...anyway, it was delicious and filled with yummy, yummy eggplant).

Saturday we went to Devon Ave., the Indian/Pakistani neighborhood in Chicago. When we arrived we discovered that there was an Independence Day Parade (India's independence, perhaps?) about to begin. We hung out in the neighborhood for 2 hours, traipsing between markets waiting for the parade to start. Maybe it was the fact that the parade was so late, or maybe it was because we don't know a lot about the Indian/Pakistani culture, but it seemed to be one of the sadder parades we've seen in a while. The poor kids on the floats looked so hot and miserable they could barely muster any smiles while the loud speakers blared Bollywood-style music. Ah, well. The lackluster event didn't stop us from eating our hearts out at...oh gosh, can't remember the name of the restaurant...Sa..Saberi..Saneri...something like that. Anyways, it was at this random spot that we noshed on some amazing Pakistani pot roast (YUM!); fried potato thingies (that's their official name); some chicken dish that was hot, hot, hot; a plate of spinach and lentils; and two pieces of nan bread that were just slightly larger than a new born baby. Once we left we had to get out of the neighborhood immediately. We were so full even the smell or sight of more sauce drenched veggies made us feel a little funny. (And Indian food and funny feelings simply DO NOT mix).

More culinary adventures will continue next post.

World's Best Aunt

2008-08-15T12:01:00.002-05:00

I'm totally gonna need this tote come February. That way, if any of Thad's sisters try and challenge me to an Aunt-off, I'll be completely prepared. Cause if my tote says I'm the best in the world, it's gotta be true.

Beach, Baby and Baseball

2008-08-12T11:30:00.004-05:00

A week ago Wednesday, I (Nat) returned from spending 5 nights down in the lovely, sweltering state of South Carolina. I flew in and out of Charleston so I could see Mere and Thad's new home. Which, despite the enormous SC spiders that love to use their front porch as a gallery to show off their latest and greatest webs, is perfectly charming and comfortable. They have a wonderful laundry room, his and her walk-in closets, a two sink vanity, a dishwasher...all the things that make a city-leaving sister very, very jealous. (Who am I kidding? She probably wishes she could store pantry items in her linen closet just like me. Always want what you don't have, right?)

After a short sleep in Charleston, Mere and I woke up Saturday and traveled down to Myrtle Beach to meet our parents and brother, aka Sir. In Myrtle Beach we generally acted like labradors, napping on the beach in between meals and games of Bocci ball, where Mere and I were clearly dominate. Ahh, beach life is so nice. And relaxing. And sandy.

Anyways, on Sunday at the beach, Thad was able to break away from the hospital and join us for a very quick 24 hours. It was then that we learned the exiting, thrilling, joyous news that we'll have Baby Tuten #1 joining our family in February. I haven't seen my mom that excited sense...well, sense ever maybe. The news of a baby on the way lead way for numerous conversations involving baby names (I like Tut Tuten...very Egyptian royalty), and nursery colors and the baby's sex and maternity fashion, etc. So far, very little has been decided upon, but there are still 27+ weeks to figure it all out.

The day after returning from the beach, McKenzie and Peter joined us for a weekend of baseball, shopping (unbeknownst to the guys), architectural tours, eating deep-dish pizza and Second City comedy. We had a great time and thankfully the Cubs pulled out a "W" in the 11th inning. Phew, it was a close one. But we got to sing the cheesy, yet hilarious, "Go Cubs Go" victory song, so all was right with the world.

Yesterday, Nick's mom arrived for 4 days. We've got lots of eating on the agenda...hopefully we can also work in a lot of walking. (When you live in Chicago, you don't always feel very light on your toes if you know what I mean.)

Hope you all are enjoying the summer as much as we are. (UPDATE: Haha, I just noticed Nick's eyes are closed the pic below. Sorry, Tay!)

HELP!!!

2008-07-31T17:43:00.002-05:00

I (Nat) am working late for the millionth time this week. Which means I'm also eating dinner with my co-slaves, I mean, co-workers for the millionth time this week. We've exhausted the Thai/Chinese/pizza options in the area and are moving on to Goose Island Brewery. Trouble is, none of it sounds good to me. Why? Cause I'm tired and smell bad and don't want to eat sickie take-out food again.

So, if you happen to read this blog in the next 60 minutes (it's 5:47 CST time now), I would appreciate your assistance in picking out my nasty, albeit free, dinner. Here's the menu:

VOLS do Chicago...

2008-07-22T11:04:00.003-05:00

How do 4 VOLS spend a weekend in Chicago?

My guess is: eating take n' bake pizza covered in veggies...convincing one person in the party that bread pudding really IS delicious...acting shocked when, after tasting the white chocolate-soaked blueberry bread, the person still thinks it's "just okay"...spending 3 hours in Target saying things like, "ooo, this is cute! how about this? or this? or this?" trying to pick out the perfect baby gift for another VOL (shone, i'm looking at you)...scaring the vegetarian with a baby squid at a tapas restaurant...being very proud of vegetarian when they eat the baby squid...acting shocked when said vegetarian thinks baby squid, "tastes kinda gross"...jumping up when water on the patio awning of tapas restaurant dumps down onto one person's head...rejoicing when, because of the dumped rain water, manager of tapas restaurant comps our ENTIRE meal (estimated savings: $160)...deciding at 3am that leaving the bar is the right thing to do...hugging husband when he runs in the rain to find a cab for all the VOLS who don't wanna get their shoes wet...waking up early enough to enjoy brunch on a patio...searching for a dining room table at a wholesale furniture store...SCORE! finding a gorgeous dining room table from India for $400...shopping for what appears to be FALL clothing...gasping at the thought of summer being halfway over...hitting up the produce market for tons and tons of vegggies...picking out fresh shrimp at whole foods market...grilling all the veggies and fish on a gorgeous sunday evening in chicago...talking about how we wish we all lived closer to one another...crashing at midnight on sunday night, tired as ever, but happy as larks.

Can't wait 'til football season. GO VOLS!

The coolest...

2008-07-11T13:56:00.003-05:00

Sometimes we like to act that we're cooler than we actually are.

A couple weeks ago when we went to the opening of Angels and Kings, a bar owned by Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson, was one of those times.

Our good friend, and fellow Tennessee grad, Kate O. got us on the guest list. (Kate is actually cool, so she can do things like get people on important guest lists.) So, we went. And we acted very cool. Or at least tried to. We wore hip VIP passes around our neck. We acted like we didn't care if we could see Ashlee's baby bump or not. And we even tried to look bored when a photographer from MetroMix snapped our picture in front of the mugshot wall. Awesome.

Bet you wish you could be cool like us.

No? Okay, well then pretend.

Happy Birthday, America.

2008-07-09T09:26:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to you.
You look like a monkey.
And you smell like one too.

We kid. We kid. America isn't nearly as cute as a monkey. (Nor does it smell as nice.)

So, for the glorious July 4th holiday we went down to good ol' Ashevegas (for the less hip, that's Asheville). We had 4 days solely devoted to doing nothing but hanging out with our family, something we haven't gotten to do much of since Christmas. Mom and I (Nat) went to 4 antique stores looking for something to hang in our living room. And, you'll be happy to know, that while I didn't find anything for our walls, I did find a very fabulous black, patent leather vintage clutch that is now in my closet. Right beside my other fabulous black leather clutches. (One can never have too many apparently.) On the actual 4th, Nick and I hung by the pool and entertained ourselves by doing really mature things like having a dive-off and racing the length of the pool doing various strokes. (Nick won the dive-off with a one and a half flip that ended with him landing on his face in the water. I was too scared to reattempt it. I won all 3 pool races...free style, back stroke and breast. All the years of swimming lessons finally paid off!! Oh, I also won the hand stand competition, but that wasn't as surprising and thus, not quite as satisfying.) The night of the 4th we gorged ourselves like any good southerner on America's birthday would do. Delicious. While we were home, we also got to spend some time with Nick's aunt and uncle, our friends Kayce, James, and their baby Katherine, my cousins, my grandmothers, my aunt and uncle, and some of my parent's closest friends. We had a great time...we'd forgotten how nice everyone is.

Oh, we take that back. We would NEVER forget how nice everyone down south is. We also would NEVER tell a monkey it looks like America. Just so not true.

Hope y'all had a Happy 4th!

Boulderin' into Boulder...

2008-07-01T13:09:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, we spent 3 beautiful days in what has to be one of the prettiest parts of our country, Boulder, CO. (It ain't no Asheville, but it's still fairly splendid.) We were there to celebrate Kim and Chad's wedding day. And boy was it exciting, for two reasons in particular:

1. It was the only wedding we have both been in since our own.
2. We are the matchmakers credited for their romantic relationship.

That's right...move over, Mr. Sandman, the Taylors are in town. I (Nat) first met Kim in 2003 when I was living in Miami. I met Chad in 2005 when I started working at then Hadrian's Wall. In the fall of '05 (Kim had since moved from Miami to Chicago), I introduced the love birds at an industry paper show. There was a whole lot of awkwardness that night...Chad giving Kim the wrong business card, me telling Kim to go ask Chad about hunting or fishing or riding a 4-wheeler, Kim assuring me that there was no way Chad would like her, me telling her she was crazy and later proving it when he asked her on a date...sometimes falling in love needs a little push, you know? Anyway, they dated for a while and then Chad popped the question about a year ago, securing our fate as the most successful matchmakers probably in the history of the world. Probably.

Their wedding was absolutely gorgeous. "Rustic Modern" is the term I'd like to use...it was on a farm that you got to by "turning left at the yellow barn," there were organic veggies, fresh meats, flowers in mason jars, a bonfire, a bluegrass band, biscuits stuffed with strawberries and cream, wondering dogs...everything was perfectly them.

And to think it all started with the wrong business card at a paper show. Thanks, C+K, for letting us be a part of your charming day.

Girls Inc. "Dear World" or What I Do Part II...

2008-06-25T11:37:00.004-05:00

For the past 3 years, I (Nat) have had the wonderful opportunity to work with Girls Inc., a non-profit organization that helps less privileged girls ages 6-18 prepare for life beyond high school. The organization does wonderful things for young girls in our country, providing them with the support, knowledge and opportunity to excel and make the most of themselves.

So, you can imagine our excitement when the folks at Girls Inc. gave us the opportunity to create a PSA for them. Of course, you can imagine our nervousness when they told us they didn't want any child actors, but ONLY girls from the Girls Inc. programs across the US and Canada. This may sound like a small, easy request, but in actuality it offers quite a challenge. Using "real girls" in lieu of actors is quite a bit harder - you have to be extremely careful that the PSA doesn't end up coming across as bad performances, but rather are still viewed as professional pieces that just happen to not include any professional talent.

After hours and hours and hours of concepting, we came up with what we still believe is a wonderful idea that allowed the girls to be themselves, to talk about what it is like growing up as a female in 2008. The idea has been called "Dear World" and is the title of the PSA. During casting, we asked the girls from the Girls Inc. centers to write letters to the world...telling the world about themselves, their dreams, fears, etc. Once we had completed casting, we chose 50 Girls Inc. girls to travel to LA for the shoot. In LA, we filmed the girls passing their letters out to passers-by, posting them on blank walls downtown, throwing them off buildings in the form of paper airplanes, etc. For the audio, we looped all of the letters together, taking pieces from loads of letters to create one, cohesive letter to the world that the girls then recorded in a sound booth.

The experience of creating this PSA is indescribable. Watching the girls' excitement when they arrived in LA, stayed in a nice hotel unlike anything they had stayed in before, ordered endless amounts of room service, got pampered and dressed on set, etc. was the coolest part of the 3 year long project. It was something I will remember forever and, for now anyways, has been the highlight of my career.

For your viewing pleasure:

Ravinia...

2008-06-24T09:46:00.003-05:00

About 40 miles outside of Chicago, there is a place called Ravinia Festival. Ravinia was built about a bajillion years ago (or 104 to be exact) and was meant to be an amusement park to lure people from the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. Today, it is an enormous picnic.

Every weekend and some week days throughout the summer, live bands perform on Ravinia's theater stage while thousands upon thousands of mid-westerners gather in the lawn to listen to the music and picnic like you've never seen people picnic before.

Last Wednesday, we journeyed out to Ravinia to see Alison Krauss and Robert Plant perform. We traveled by train, which took just about an hour. Once we were there, we realized what we were up against...these were NOT normal picnic-ers with their bread and cheese. No, these were hardcore, professional picnic-ers who had to have been working on their fare for at least a week or two. There was silver platter after silver platter of brushetta, crap salad, smoked salmon with cavier, grilled asparagus topped with gouda and shaved parmesan, steak with pineapple salsa, and the list goes on and on and on. Oh, not to mention the cheese and bread and wine. Tons of people had candelabras on their tables for Pete's sake!! And here we were, armed with nothing but a quilt, a wedge of brie, some salami, a baguette, a couple roasted red peppers, a chocolate bar and a bottle of wine. Of course, we thought we were SOOO well stocked on the way out. "People are going to be so jealous of our dinner!," we laughed. "Wait til they see our fancy picnic backpack!" "Oh, I bet their mouths will water when we pull out that organic $5.99 chocolate bar from Whole Foods!" How naive we were. If only we could go back now and tell those two Ravinia Rookies sitting on the train that it would be their stomachs that would growl. Their mouths that would water. Their jealously that would surface. Oh well.

Despite our measily picnic, we still had a wonderful time. The weather, the music, the outdoors, definitely made us feel very far away from the much louder Chicago. And we can't wait to go back next month to see Lyle Lovett (seriously). Next time, however, the reward for best picnic is ours for the taking. And we're going all out.

More than sharks...

2008-06-18T11:19:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I'm going to post projects, commercials, websites, etc. that I'm working on. Not because I think everyone should know what I'm up to professionally, but because I work in advertising and, like it or not, my success is based on the number of people who view or are exposed to my work. So, here I am, exposing you to my work. Hopefully you don't feel too violated.

This is a microsite for Brookfield Zoo. Also known as my life for the past 3-4 months. The microsite was set-up by the 1,124 animals at the zoo that know that they are "even more awesomer" than the sharks. (Brookfield Zoo has a shark exhibit this summer.)

Check out www.morethansharks.com:

Sweatpants Man...

2008-06-12T10:24:00.002-05:00

Many of you who have visited our little apartment in the Ukrainian Village of Chicago (or Uki V, as we like to call it) have heard stories, or better yet, have spotted our wonderfully quirky neighbor, Sweatpants Man. Oh, of course, Sweatpants Man isn't his real name. We don't know his real name, in fact. But we're sure it's something very normal like John. Or Paul. Or Bohuslav. (Remember, we live in the Uki V.) But a couple months after we moved into our place, we nicknamed our bizarre neighbor Sweatspants Man because, well, because he ONLY wears sweatpants. For the past 2, almost 3, years we have seen this man at least 4+ times a week and we have never seem him in anything but hunter green, navy blue or maroon sweatpants. Even in the dead heat of the Chicago summer, he sports his elastic, cotton pants (and matching sweatshirt!). He does, however, pull his sweatpants up create "sweatshorts" on the hottest of hot days.

So, you can imagine our extreme disappointment earlier this week when we discovered that Sweatpants Man has gone on a shopping spree. Oh, yes. Not only is has he NOT being sporting his sweatpants everyday, but he actually bought jeans and navy shorts. How sad, huh? Now, with every new purchase, our wonderfully quirky neighbor becomes more and more...GASP...normal? Whatever are we going to do? Who on our street could possibly provide us with the entertainment that Sweatpants Man has given us? The cranky old lady that curses at dogs when they pee on the grassy patch in front of her house? The middle-aged chain smoker who wears her hair in Pippy Longstocking-style braided pigtails? The fat little Ukrainian kid that repeatedly thinks it's fun to honk the horn in his dad's van over...and over...and over again? Perhaps. But we're just not sure any of them can live up to Sweatpants Man. But we'll see.

In the meantime, let us all share in a moment of silence for the sweatpants that are sadly hanging in a closet in the Uki V, dying to be worn. And appreciated by The Taylors.

Jumbo Shrimp...

2008-06-10T09:19:00.006-05:00

A couple weeks ago, jumbo shrimp (note: jumbo shrimp is our second favorite oxymoron, "pretty ugly" being the first) was on sale at our grocery store. And seeing as we're never ones to pass up a good deal, especially when it comes to food, we bought a pound of the fat little guys (another oxymoron!). These shrimp were huge! So huge, in fact, that Nick had a nightmare that they crawled out of our freezer and played "Stairway to Heaven" on his guitar. Okay, not really.

So, last night we decided to cook the shrimp. Neither of us have ever done anything with shrimp quite this large, so we turned to foodnetwork.com for a little help. Mmm...and help they provided. We found a wonderfully easy recipe for Jumbo Shrimp Stuffed with Cilantro and Chiles. We paired the shrimp with jasmine rice and a medley of asparagus and squash. The shrimp were summery and surprisingly very light. The cilantro paste used to stuff the shrimp definitely has a kick to it (blame it on the jalapeno seeds) and was saltier than we expected (though we used kosher salt in lieu of table salt, next time we'll still use kosher salt, we'll just use quite a bit less).

Here's our jumbo shrimp. Isn't it pretty ugly?:

Jumbo Shrimp Stuffed with Cilantro and Chiles
From Food Network Kitchens Get Grilling, 2005

8 jumbo shrimp, in the shell (about 1 1/4 pounds)
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 large jalapeno, with seeds
2 scallions (white and green parts)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Prepare an outdoor grill with a medium-high fire. Without removing the shells, slit about 3/4 of the way through the shrimp down the ridged back and remove the vein that runs down the center. Rinse and pat the shrimp dry. Whisk thyme leaves, lime juice, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and black pepper, to taste, in a shallow nonreactive bowl or dish. Lay the shrimp cut side down in the lime mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a food processor, pulse the garlic, jalapeno, scallions, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt to make a coarse paste. Add the cilantro and pulse just enough to incorporate into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the opening in the shrimp and close the shrimp. Grill the shrimp shell side down (to keep filling from falling out) for 3 minutes. Turn to the other shell side, cover, and grill another 2 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and are slightly firm to the touch. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Cook's Note: Shrimp cooked in the shells are more intensely flavorful. Leaving the shells on provides a buffer against overcooking, a misfortune many shrimp suffer. Shrimp, even these jumbos, continue to cook once removed from the grill. It's always best to cook them just until opaque and let the delicate shellfish finish cooking off the heat.

Jumbo shrimp in the shell can be a knife and fork sort of deal unless you're outside and it's summer and you are feeling very relaxed. Serve these with lots of napkins if your crowd is the peel-and-eat type.

Hiatus...

2008-06-09T10:15:00.002-05:00

Gap, break, intermission, standstill, time out, discontinuance, halt, lull...call it what you will, but you can also call it over.

After a needed break from blogging, we have made the decision start nickandnat.blogspot .com up again. We hope you haven't missed us too much. We also hope we haven't lost ALL of our readers. This time around, things are going to be a little different. This time around, we'll offer up a lot more recipes and cooking advice, because cooking together is our favorite pastime. We'll also be showing you around Chicago this summer as we document the 4 warm, sunny months in the nation's greatest city. Of course, you can expect tons of pointless, yet entertaining, stories about our neighbors in the Ukrainian Village, our friends near and far and projects we start yet never finish.

We're glad to be back. Kick off your clodhoppers and stay awhile, will ya?

Mr. Peanut UPDATE

2007-11-01T08:57:00.000-05:00

Well, everyone will be happy to learn that Mr. Peanut took first prize at Chicago Bancorp's Halloween Costume Contest! It was a tight race between the nut and another female banker who came as Ugly Betty. We are so proud of Mr. Peanut! He brought home $100 for winning! YAY! More peanut money!

Last night Mr. Peanut opened the door and handed out candy to trick or treaters. Most of the kids had no idea who he was, but laughed really hard anyway. A ninja tried to take Mr. Peanut down. Luckily, he was unsuccessful.

We hope everyone had a fun, memorable Halloween. Now, it's time to start thinking about next year's costume.

Happy Halloween from Mr. Peanut!

2007-10-31T15:30:00.000-05:00

Here is Nick dressed as the amazing Mr. Peanut. We constructed the costume out of felt, fabric, couch foam, and staples. Quite the craft project.

There is a costume contest at Nick's office today. I'll let you know how Mr. Peanut fairs.

The Chicago Marathon...

2007-10-18T15:13:00.000-05:00

As some of you may already know, on October 7th, I (Nat) ran my very first marathon here in Chicago. Nick was there cheering me on every step of the way. After the marathon, I sent a race report out to lots of friends and family. Trouble is, some of the emails bounced back (Uncle Gerald and Aunt Ellen - the emails I have for you must be wrong). To ensure that everyone gets to read my account of the hardest physical experience of my life, I have posted the email race report below.

The Chicago Marathon:

So, this is how I imagined my first marathon:

Cool to cold temperatures. I'd start the race a little chilled, but wouldn't add layers cause I would know I would warm up by mile 5. I'd smile and wave to my friends who had shown up to support me. They'd be dressed in hoodie sweatshirts, sipping hot chocolate and chowing on Chicago-style hotdogs (inevitably, Nick would have mustard from a dog on his gloves). I'd easily sail through the first 13 miles, perhaps even beating my best half marathon time. After hitting the dreaded "wall" at mile 18, I'd hit "repeat" on my iPod and listen to Kanye "Stronger" just one more time. Together, Kanye and I would cruise to the 20-mile marker. I'd be a little tired and tight, but celebrating inside knowing 1.) with each step I was setting a personal record for distance ran in one day and 2.) I was racing an easy 6.2 miles to the finish line. I imagined I'd reach the finish line in close to 4 hours with my friend and running buddy, EB. We'd look at each other and smile through the pain. WE HAD DONE IT! We'd pose for our Finish Line photo. (Later we'd look at the photo on the internet and crack up at EB's disheveled braids and the snot pouring out of my nose, but we'd spend the $35 for a 5x7 because it would be a memory that we'd want to remember forever.) After the photo, I'd grab a mylar wrap and try and keep my body warm just long enough until Nick showed up with a clean, warm jacket, a hug, and, of course, mustard-covered gloves. I'd grab my finishers metal and head home to a hot shower and a great meal. Over dinner, I'd talk about how much fun the race was and decide that perhaps on Monday I'd go ahead and sign-up for Chicago 2008.

So, this is how my first marathon ACTUALLY went:

Woke up at 5:45am to find that it was already 78º and the sun hadn't even shown its face yet. Was at Grant Park with EB and her mom by 7:20am. I was definitely nervous, but also very excited to be in the marathon atmosphere. There were runners everywhere and it felt very awesome to be a part of this "community." After a trip to the Porto-Potty, EB and I hopped a fence to get into the starting line corral. A few moments later, we hear a "And they're off!" coming a large speaker and the crowd starts to creep forward. This was it. The race was starting. It took us several minutes to get to the starting line and actually start jogging. I put my headphones on, hit "play" on the ol' trusty iPod and started the first of 26.2 miles with Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" blaring. "Relax" was, after all, the song our shirts were referencing and it seemed like a good mantra for the day. Start running. Get in a groove. Relax, it will be over soon.

Okay, so it started well. Then...

Well, then the sweat came. And it came so early! We weren't at mile marker 1 and sweat was already dripping down my nose and elbows. This couldn't be right?!? 'I'm not warmed up yet!" I thought. How could I be sweating so much so early into this race? We ran past Chase Bank .9 miles into the race and according to their digital thermometer, it was already 82º. This is when I knew this race wasn't going to be exactly how I envisioned it. At mile marker 1.

EB and I both did great miles 1-8. Grabbing Gatorade and water from each aid station, making sure we were taking in ample fluids. According to my watch, we were running 9:23/miles, which was pretty good for us considering the heat and the crowd. In Boystown, we got an added boost of motivation when we saw Kim and Chad, Andrea and Jason, Kevin and Kathy, Nick, Bryan and Lindsey all cheering us on! "YES!" I thought. "We CAN do this."

I'm not sure when things started going downhill (not literally, figuratively), but I think it was around mile 10. It was SO HOT. Where was all this heat coming from? It was like every runner on the coarse was radiating heat and we couldn't get away from one another. It was at this point, EB and I made a game plan. Jog the 1.3 miles between each water station. Walk. Drink. Cool Down. Jog 1.3 miles to the next water station. Thinking of the race as a collection of easy 1.3 mile jogs seemed less daunting than thinking of it for what it actually was - a 26.2 mile course of scorching heat.

This plan seemed to work. At least for most part. By mile 13 (half-way), our pace had slowed significantly, but that didn't matter at that point. What mattered was putting one foot in front of the other. The next water station would come soon.

By mile 16, EB was cramping bad. This was the hard part: our bodies were craving fluids, but our stomachs were sloshing and full of cramp-indusing liquid. A Catch-22. A rock and a hard place. A cotton mouth or cramp.

At mile 17, EB would sprain a tendon in her right foot when she slipped on, what else, a water bottle. This would be the end of her marathon. After realizing she could go no further, we hugged and said our goodbyes. I wasn't cramping and I wasn't sprained, so I had no choice but to keep going.

At mile 18, I saw a runner go down. Paramedics were on the course in seconds, hooking up the over-heated, tired runner to oxygen masks and IVs. This is when it got a little too intense. This, however, is also when I saw Brandi, Jeff and Ella. A perfect energy boost right when I needed it.

At mile 19, police officers were announcing that the race had been called off. Only the runners where were past the half-way mark would be allowed to finish. Why? Because it was now a suffocating 90º with 100% humidity. They were running out of fluids. And they city was also running out of paramedics. Still feeling okay, I continued with "the plan." Jog 1.3. Walk. Drink. Cool Down. Jog 1.3.

At mile 21, I couldn't find water. Volunteers were going into people's homes, filling up water jugs from kitchen sinks. Residents were running their garden hoses and setting up sprinklers. Children were passing out ice cubes (apparently last year they passed our Jolly Ranchers). I decided the smartest thing to do would be to continue walking until I found water again.

At mile 22, I was handed a 24 oz. bottle of Gatorade from teenage cheerleader who was leading a chorus of cheers from the sidewalk.

At this point, I was so ready to be done. I didn't want to quit, but I was READY to be done. So, I turned my music up a bit more and held on tight to my Gatorade as I ran on to 23 miles..24...25...26...26.2!! I finished. It was, without a doubt, the most physically challenging thing I've ever done in my life. The entire experience took me 5 hours, 27 minutes, and 43 seconds.

But I did it. I'm done. I have a finishers metal to prove it. It wasn't the marathon I imagined, but it was an awesome experience nonetheless.

Would I run it again? Perhaps I should answer that when my blisters are gone and the chaffing has healed.

We're back!

2007-10-15T16:17:00.000-05:00

So, for those of you who haven't noticed (and we're not sure how you couldn't have), we took quite a long hiatus from blogging. But you will be happy to learn that we are back now. Since we celebrated our one year anniversary yesterday, we figured it would be a good time to stop ignoring our site and once again start posting little tidbits from our lives.

Here's the run-down on the last 3 months:

1. Went to Asheville for McKenzie and Peter's wedding. Two words: so fun.

2. Had lots of company, spanning across 8 weekends. It was awesome. Our own little bed and breakfast. Visitors include: Patrick and Amanda (Pat is a friend from high school); Mom and Dad Pless; Meredith and Chris (Mere is a friend from college); Kayce and Rachel (both friends from Asheville); Mom Senter; Bryan and Lindsey (Bryan is a friend from high school); Hunter (brother).

3. Went to Denver for our friends' wedding. Congrats, Oli and Candace!

4. Trained and ran the Chicago marathon. It was 90º and humid. It was painful. It was awesome. It is over!

5. Work. Work. Work.

That's pretty much our summer in a nutshell. What's in store for the fall? Check back tomorrow....can't spill all our guts in the first email back.

We've missed you too.

Homeward Bound...

2007-07-09T14:15:00.002-05:00

How long do you have to live in a city before you start referring to it as, "home?" Hmm, good question. To which we have no answer.

This week we are headed "home." And "home" to us means the mountains of good ol' North Carolina. Asheville, NC to be exact. We're headed back down south for a cousin's wedding. Our third wedding and counting since our own nine months ago. (Can you believe we've been married 9 months already?) And this wedding in particular should bring back lots of memories for us because not only is it in our hometown, but the reception is being held at Crest Mountain, the same pavilion where we celebrated.

And although we aren't going to be home long (and the time there will be slightly busy with wedding festivities), we are looking forward to a few things that we will most definitely need to find time for, which include:
- lunch at Apollo Flame (chicken gyro platter please, mmm!!)
- frisbee golfing on Richmond Hill's new course
- antiquing at The Screen Door for some Depression glass plates we've been wanting to hang on our kitchen walls
- jogging through the trails of Biltmore Park with Lanie Lanster the Amazing Dog
- SWIMMING in an actual POOL!! (People in cities don't have the luxury of swimming pools - there's just no room. We do have one friend who lives in a retirement community building (he's 24 and very much not-retired - we're still not positive how he got in), and he has a pool. But I'm not sure if Nick and I came traipsing up in our bathing suits, armed with beach balls and completing with the largest cannon ball in between games of Marco Polo, we would be well received. So swimming in pool in NC is a necessity.

We cannot wait. Especially since the weather here in Chicago has turned unbearably hot. Last night while trying to finish a 12-mile marathon training run in 102 degree heat (note: 102 degrees at NIGHT!), it occurred to me that running in the heat is 10 times worse than running in the freezing cold. (I mean, I'm sure I'll complain about the cold come January, but for now I need to vent about the heat.) Anyway, the run was rather discouraging - I only completed 10 of the 12 miles and those 10 I only finished because I didn't have any cash to grab a cab and running back would get me home (and out of the heat) faster than walking or crawling (which I considered at one point). The marathon isn't until October 7th - I'll have to make up those 2 miles between now and then.

We hope all of you are having a nice summer and, if it's hot, we hope you have a nice pool to visit.

Team Taylor's headed home...

Addicted.

2007-06-28T16:46:00.000-05:00

We have a problem. We are addicts. Completely obsessed. With what you ask? Well...

Our names are Nick and Nat Taylor and we are Bike-riding-picnic-eating-free-zoo-going-aholics. We can't help ourselves. Each free weekend, when the sun is shining here in Chicago, we're on our bikes with a picnic on our backs, headed to the FREE Lincoln Park Zoo. There isn't a 5-year-old in the city that has seen the zoo more than we have, we guarantee it. We're sure by now the zookeepers recognize us. (The monkeys probably recognize us for that matter.) But we absolutely love it. And here this wonderful city is full of events, festivals, restaurants, and beaches to check out - and we keep going back to see the river otter who likes to show off or the chimpanzee who lost his arm after getting it caught in a fence or the lion who likes to sleep on his back with his paws in the air. Call us crazy. Call us insane. But don't you dare call us zoo-haters.

YAY! ZOOOOOO!!!!

Whatcha doin?

2007-06-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

Summer is the best time of the year, wouldn't you agree? We've been having so much fun now that the weather is warm (or should we say hot?) and we can finally enjoy the outdoors with any type of jacket.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to visit Nick's mom, brother, and family on the NC coast. The weekend was wonderful - filled with TONS of delicious food and our very first sailing lesson (thanks again, Guy for our time on the Hobie)! Nick's mom is master in the kitchen so she kept us stuffed with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Torta, Grilled Lamb, and the best Shrimp and Grits on the planet! We're going to attempt the torta and shrimp sometime this summer - the lamb may be a little out of our league.

After our time in Beaufort, we spent 2 days in Myrtle Beach with our dear friends, Shona and Chris. There, we body surfed the waves and celebrated my (Nat) 27th birthday! It was so nice to relax on the beach and catch up with some of our best friends.

We ended our trip down south with 2 nights in Wilmington for Dave and Bridget's wedding. We know Dave and Bridget from college (Nick worked with them at Woodland's). It was the first wedding we had been to since our own and it brought so many wonderful feelings back. The band was a blast, the food was delicious, and the cake was moist enough to send us back for seconds. It was a perfect way to kick-off wedding season!

I forgot my camera cord, but will try and get some pictures from our vacation uploaded tomorrow.

Stay tuned and thanks for checking in...

We know, we know...

2007-05-22T16:04:00.000-05:00

Okay, so go ahead. Berate us for our lack of blogging. We know we deserve it. We haven't posted anything in over a month! It's embarrassing and we're sorry to we've let you down. We won't make excuses, mainly because they're the same boring excuses you've heard before - we're busy at work, the weather is so gorgeous we don't want to be inside on our computers if we can help it, etc.

But here are some things we've been up to over the last 30-some days...

1. I (Nat) got in a wreck. But before you all start jumping to conclusions about how I'm a bad driver, you should know it definitely wasn't my fault. An oncoming drunk driver decided to share my lane on a Friday night as I was driving home from picking up a friend at the airport. The driver hit us (or should I say hit our poor Jeep) really hard on the drivers rear side. At which point she then tried to drive away. Thanks to all my training, I was in perfect shape to chase her down (roughly 2 blocks) and sternly request that she pull over or I'd charge with a hit n' run. I also reminded her that hit n' runs are felonies and embarrassing additions to any job application. The girl was so intoxicated she didn't really know what I was talking about, but she did pull over and so far everything with our wreck has been smooth and painless. None of us were hurt, our Jeep is being fixed with no cost to us, we have a minature rental car that can't hold our bikes, but is very efficient as far as gas milage goes. So we're a statistic, but a lucky statistic. It really could have been far worse, we know that. And like the AAA lady said on the phone "[we] must have had angels riding on the shoulders."

2. The race. The weekend after the wreck, I (Nat) ran in the Great Western Half Marathon. Due to continued knee injuries, Nick couldn't run with me. But he did drive me (and my running buddy) to the middle of farm land and no where at 6am. He also took some pictures (I forgot my camera, but will upload them in the next day or so) and drove us home when we were stinky and hungry. I was a little dissapointed with my time. I really wanted to break 2 hours, but alas I didn't. My official finish time was: 2:02:11. Booo. Oh well. Better luck in September when I run the Chicago half.

The race itself was hilarious. Only 800 runners so it was really small. It felt like field day only without the popsicles at the end. There were even little trophies for overall and age group winners. We ran through fields, past horses and creeks. It was relaxing and peaceful and worth running again next year. Although I think my running buddy would disagree.

3. My mom and sister came to visit this past weekend. We had a blast, but it was far too short. We (sans Nick) literally shopped all day long on Saturday (how much fun is birthday money?). Then, Saturday night we (Nick included) went to a cute tapas restaurant for dinner before heading off to see The Diary of Anne Frank at the Steppenwolf Theater. It was so, so, so much fun. And made me realize how much I miss NC and being close to my family. Don't get me wrong - I love Chicago - it's just about 800 miles too far sometimes.

4. This weekend we head off on our first vacation since the honeymoon! We're so excited to spend some time with Nick's mom and brother. We're also so excited about some hot weather and beach time. On the agenda is: eat, eat, eat some more, get a sun-kissed glow without ever burning, playing a round of putt-putt or two, and spending 8 days ignoring email and all other work-related things. It's going to be amazing and a much needed break for both of us. Seven and a half months is a long time to go without a day off - at least for us it is.

Well, I guess that's our month in a nutshell. At least the big things that will fit in a nutshell. Speaking of nuts, I'm munching on some delicious almonds as I type this post. Yum-O. I will try and post pictures before we leave for our trip and will definitely post a BIG message when we return from our vacation.

Team Taylor misses all of you. Sorry again for our absence.

Slip-up...

2007-04-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

So all week I* have meant to write a post. To update you all on what is going on in our life. I have stopped myself everyday because I have pictures that I want to post with the post. But, alas, I keep forgetting the little cord that plugs our camera into the computer. Oh well. So today I decided to write a post sans pictures and will try and remember the cord next week. (Right now you might be asking yourself, "why doesn't she just post the pictures at home?" And that's a fair question. With a fairer answer. I don't use the computer at home. Mainly because I'm literally in front of a computer for 40+ hours each week. So when I'm at home I don't surf the web (unless looking for a recipe or looking up movie times), I don't check email (for fear that a co-worker has sent me an email requesting me to look at something, which can certainly wait until the next working day), and I don't blog.)

So...last weekend was our 6 month anniversary. Our friend Caro was supposed to be visiting from Boston, but she got bumped on Friday night and had to reschedule (for the second time!) her trip again. So, instead I ran a 10 mile training run...and I did it all by myself!! My running buddy was out-of-town so I sucked it up and hit the road by myself. For those of you thinking that's not such a big deal, you should know that I've never run that far by myself. And while I missed my training buddy desparately, it was nice to know that my will power is strong enough to do it solo. Of course, there were times when I wanted to stop and grab a cab home, but I figured I'd be so upset with myself later that it wouldn't be worth it. Oh, only 2 weeks left until our race! We're running another 10 miler this weekend, then 11 next weekend, then we'll be all ready to hit the trail in St. Charles! So Friday after my run, Nick and I had some friends over to eat take-out Thai. Zen Noodles on North Avenue in Chicago is YUMMY! We all ordered entirely too much food, but it was delicious.

Saturday the weather was nice so Nick and I walked to a garden nursery not too far from our apartment. I'm growing some basil and needed a slightly bigger pot, so we bought it there. We also walked around and looked at some plants we'd like to have, but since our apartment gets virtually no direct sunlight, we forwent the leafy living creatures - it seemed too cruel to banish them to our dark apartment when they looked so happy where they were. Next month we're going to educate ourselves on plants that survive in almost constant shade and see if we can find a couple things that won't die immediately on our porch or in our living room.

After the nice stroll to the nursery, we headed to the Bleeding Heart Bakery near our house for some organic grub. The Bleeding Heart is officially the first usda-certified organic bakery in the US. It was our first time at this little local stop and it didn't dissapoint us. I got free-range chicken tacos and Nick got a Tuna Mitsi sandwich. Both were delicious and very light and healthy feeling.

After the Bleeding Heart, we walked home, played some cards and then fired up the grill for an experimental food meal!! It was the best one so far!

We had:
- yummy grilled pork chops with grilled sweet onions and soy-honey glaze (although we forgot about our onions - oops!)
- twice baked potatoes
- french-style green beans

It was so delicious - this is why I wish I had our camera! It was definitely our most delicious meal so far. Our next out-of-town guests (that aren't Kosher) get treated to this one!

So, that's it. That was our last weekend, just in time for this next one. Which is supposed to be gorgeous! We're excited for everything we have planned, but I'll save all the details for you for next week.

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Turn your water off while you brush your teeth, recycle, buy non-disposable grocery bags, and, for Pete's sake, turn the lights off when you leave the room (my dad would be so proud of us for the last suggestion, as if you ever left an unused light on in our house growing up he would say, "looks like a ship at sea!")

(*Nick doesn't like posting on this blog so whenever I write in first person the "I" is me, Natalie. Nick loves the blog, he just doesn't like posting on it. But he can attest that all the stories are true.)

Our vacation...

2007-04-13T08:58:00.000-05:00

So we keeping getting asked about our upcoming vacation. So, I'll take this opportunity to let you know what we're doing. We're taking a week off of work - that's vacation enough, but it gets better. We're flying down to Wilmington, NC on May 26th. From there, we're renting a car and driving north to Beaufort, NC where we'll spend 3 days or so with Nick's mom, stepdad, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece. The rest of the week is a little up in the air, but we have some things we'd like to do - a good friend and her boyfriend will be at Topsail Island, so we'll hopefully spend an afternoon with them. We may spend a night or two in North Myrtle. The weekend of June 2nd and 3rd however, we will be back in Wilmington for our friends DT and Bridge's wedding. They're wedding is the first of four weddings we have this year - should be a fun way to kick off our wedding tour.

So, that's it. That's what we're doing. We are so, so, so excited. It's going to be nice to spend a week doing typical beach things. We're planning on eating lots of seafood, playing some putt-putt, reading books that begged not to be put down, building sand castles, boogie boarding, and playing a little skee ball at Chuck E. Cheese (Nick's niece and nephew love Chuck E. Cheese and we love skee ball, so it works out perfectly).

So now you know. Anyone else have an exciting vacation coming up? Do tell - we love living vicariously through others.

Easter and such...

2007-04-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

Wanna hear something depressing? It's snowing here. Again. For the billionth time this year. And for those of you who think we're exaggerating, we are. (But what is a few million times between friends?)

Sorry we talk about the weather so much. We've realized that moving to a place like Chicago, weather is always on the brain. ALWAYS. You know how Randy Travis sings a song about old men sitting and talking about the weather? We've discovered those aren't old men at all, they're Chicagoans. And they just look old cause, let's face it, no one looks young and healthy when it's 18 outside. Yes, it's 18 outside. And it's April.

So the weather. Now you know what we talk about at night. Oh, and food. We love to talk about food. Maybe this should be a weather and food blog. Maybe it's turning into that already. Speaking of food, (see we told you we like to talk about food) how was everyone's Easter? Ours? Oh, just fine. I (Nat) got Friday off! Yes! So I played housewife. I was trying to be just like Bree Vandecamp, but it fell a little short. I made a Tomato and Feta Pie for Nick so he could come home on his lunch break for a hot, yummy, and healthy lunch. (Thanks for the heads up on the recipe, sister!) But my pie didn't turn out so well. No matter how long I baked it (and I baked it 20 minutes longer than the recipe called for), I could not get my cheese to melt properly and my crust to brown. We still ate it and it was still delicious, it just didn't look very pretty. And that is something Bree Vandecamp would never stand for.

On Saturday I had a long run with my friend and running buddy EB. We finished 9 miles even though it was 23 degrees outside. Okay, it was 27, but it was still really cold. After my run (and Nick's fancy new haircut), we feasted on turkey and roast beef sandies from Jimmy John's. JJ's is a sub shop here in the midwest - better than Subway for sure, doesn't hold a candle to Jersey Mike's (for those who need a frame of reference). Post lunch we headed to the theater to see 300. I had NO desire to see this grusome film, but Nick was dying to see it. And since I was still playing the part of Bree Vandecamp, I wanted to please my husband and see something he wanted to see. (That, and he promised he'd go see the Nanny Diaries with me later this month.) So, I'll admit, 300 is pretty good. It's definitely gross and bloody, but I enjoyed it. Maybe even more than Nick did. Surprising, I know.

On Easter Sunday we awoke to find that the Easter bunny had yet again forgotten to stop by our place. We've got a bone to pick with that bunny. Argghhh!!! After getting over our dissapointment we headed to ol' Rosemont, IL to eat Easter brunch with Nick's dad and step-family. We went to Harry Carey's brunch buffet. Whoa. Buffets - talk about needing stretchy pants.

Monday and Tuesday we cried because it was once again freezing and snowing in Chicago. Which brings us to today. Wednesday. The humpiest of all the days. It's still snowing, but we're defying Mother Nature and grilling out tonight. Steaks. Yum-O. We're so ready for spring and summer, but trying to remain thankful for this day. This Wednesday. This cold and snowy work day.

Team Taylor goes on vacation in 6 weeks...

Tid bit cold...let's curl up and read.

2007-03-29T09:27:00.000-05:00

So the little bit of spring weather we had last week was such a tease. It's cold again. Boooo. Not whine worthy cold, but cooler nonetheless. In the 40's today. It's supposed to be back up in the high 60's this weekend, but with tons o' rain. We're so ready for permanant warm weather and sunshine. (Side note: Does anyone remember reading a book as a child about a girl who came from a really sunny place and moved to a town that only got sunlight one day out of the year? The children in the cloudy town were mean to her and locked her in a closet as a joke and when the sun came out forgot to let her out of the closet? We both remember reading it, but can't think of the title. "Sun for a Day" sounded right, but we can't find it on Amazon. Aunt E, maybe Ben knows what book we're talking about? Anyway, we were just curious.)

Speaking of reading, right now I'm (Nat) reading Barack Obama's Audicity of Hope. It's really good and insightful, also a little heavy. At times I have to take a break from it to really understand it - political science never came easy for me. So I picked up The Pact by Jodi Picoult as well (that's for the recommendation, Bam). I'm not too far into it yet, but think I'll enjoy it. I haven't read a love story is such a long time and am excited - even if it's a tragic love story.

Nick is reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I think he likes it. I'm going to read it when he finishes.

Anyone out there wanna let us know what they're reading? We love, love, love reading, so we're always happy to take suggestions.

Team Taylor wishes they made Reading Rainbow for adults.

Spring? Is that you?

2007-03-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

It's official - our windows are open. Hopefully we won't have an "Indian winter" and have to close them again. Yesterday Mother Nature set a record in Chicago and heated the city up to an unbelievable 79 degrees! It felt amazing. We love spring/early summer weather.

On Friday a friend of ours was in town for a night to visit. We had a great time. We ate Thai food at Thai Classic on Clark. Yummy! I (Nat) had the drunken noodles, Nick had some beef and broccoli stir fry thing. All of it was simply scrumpous. After dinner, we headed next door to an Irish pub where the bartender seemed to be speaking in a fake Irish accent, which cracked us all up. There we watched the Faithful Heels pull-out a win over USC.

Saturday we went to our friend's chili cook-off. And we were ROBBED! We officially tied for 3rd place, but got knocked to fourth after a taste-off. (You should probably know that the taste-off was more of a popularity contest in that the 3 tasters on the jury panel didn't know us, but knew our nemisis with whom we tied. Ridiculous? You bet.) Anyways, we shouldn't have tied for 3rd in the first place. The people who won 1st and 2nd place didn't really make chili (and that seems unfair). The guy who won 1st basically made chicken wings, but called it "Buffalo Chicken Chili." It was tasty - but it was shreaded chicken topped with wing sauce, ranch dressing and celery. Hardly chili at all. I made that point that it was clearly a Super Bowl Party-style dip, not a chili for the mere fact that anyone that had any respect for their body could never sit down and eat a bowl of it. (You should know that I only made this point to Nick for offending the chili-maker, but still. He agreed with me.) Next year we're taking home first, they can keep their stupid "participation" award. Puh-lease!

Yesterday I had an 8 mile run. Poor Nick still can't run on his knee and it looks like he won't be better in time to run the half marathon. Sad, huh? We're both so bummed. Me more than him probably. Regardless, I am healthy so I must keep trecking on. Our running buddy, EB, and I ran our 8 miles by the lake. It was gorgeous out, but the run was uncharacteristically hard because of the unexpected heat. I had strings of cotton mouth the entire time. Gross, I know. Oh, and big news! I signed up for the Chicago Marathon!! YAY! It's on October 7th. Not sure if Nick will be able to run it, but it's a possibility. I'm really excited to finally get a marathon under my belt.

After my run, Nick and I watched the devastating loss to stupid Georgetown. Ugh. Gross. Although, now we're pulling for GT to go all the way. I can't stomach Ohio State winning and don't even get us started on Florida (Noah, cut your hair! It doesn't look cool!). No offense Caro. So we're hoping to see UCLA vs. GT in the final game. GO HOYAS?? Feels weird.

Tonight it's supposed to be warm so we're gonna dine on our porch! Can't wait. The fresh air is welcomed with open arms.

Team Taylor loves the windows open.

Who knew bloggin' was so hard?

2007-03-22T08:54:00.000-05:00

Ugh. Sorry, we were MIA again, weren't we? This blog is hard to keep up with, but we'll continue to do our best.

Okay...what can we tell you? Running. We're still training for our half marathon, but we've had a couple hiccups. First, Tay hurt his knee. He has IT Band Syndrome, which basically means the muscle from his hip to his knee is tight and causes a lot of pain when he runs. He's been stretching and icing it, in addition to taking almost 2 weeks off. Tonight we're going to do a slow, steady run and see how his knee holds up. Second, it's been raining buckets here this week. It's fun running in the rain until your shoes get wet (and that happens in the first 15 steps).

Oh, we did another Nick and Nat experimental meal night! So fun and so yummy. This time we made grilled flank steak with rosemary chimichurri, steamed broccoli and mashed red potatoes. Dee-licious. Only problem was the rosemary chimichurri left our breath much to be desired. Wowzers - rosemary, garlic, cilantro, parsley all in the same sauce, watch out for the dragon breath! Oh, we have a picture of the meal. Here you go.

Looks good, huh?

So tomorrow a friend from college is staying a night with us. Then on Saturday we're heading to a chili cook-off! YESSSSS. We're bringing home grand prize, we just know it! We haven't made chili too many times, but we've got some secrets up our sleeves that will hopefully lock in first place! We'll take pictures, so check back next week to see how our chili fared.

Okay...off to work.

Quick Update...

2007-03-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

A quick update so everyone knows we're alive and kicking. This week has been CRAZY. We both worked well over 50 hours (boooo!). On Monday, I (Nat) went to see TV on the Radio with some co-workers. On Tuesday I had the life-changing experience of seeing Justin Timberlake with some girl friends. So while I was out galavanting all over Chicago, my wonderful husband stayed behind and did manly things like play guitar and prepare for March Madness. (Speaking of...let us all take a moment and laugh together at the thought of Duke losing to VCU...feels good, doesn't it?)

So this weekend we have some friends coming in town (hopefully). They're flying in from NYC and Boston, but since the weather is looking a bit scary up there we never know. Flights have been known to be canceled before.

Regardless, we'll make the most of our St. Patrick's Day. And maybe if we're lucky we won't as much next week.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2007-03-06T10:31:00.000-06:00

Wish we were in Asheville celebrating with you! We also wish we had a good excuse to eat some birthday cake. Like the kind from the bakery - except no corner pieces and no red icing for us. Sickie.

Sidenote: Does anyone else in blog land think that red icing tastes different than other icing colors? Since a kid, I (nat) have always thought red icing tasted bitter compared to non-red colors. I brought this up at the last birthday party I attended. Everyone swore there is no difference in taste. To prove them wrong I participated in a blind taste test - red icing on one spoon, white on the other. And guess what, I failed!! Is it possible I've gone my entire life thinking that red icing tastes funny when in actuality it tastes the exact same? Is it all in my head? And, if so, why the hatred for red? Why not green or blue? Anyone got any answers?

Ice skating in running shoes...

2007-03-06T09:02:00.000-06:00

Hands down the best thing about running, in our opinion, is the "community." Oh, if you've ever run before, you know what we're talking about. It's the community of people you instantly get to join as soon as you throw your running shoes on. They're the people that make eye contact with you while you're running, communicating "you can do it!" without saying a word. They're the folks that say, "morning!" - no matter how out of breath they are.

Chicago has a great running community. We like to think it's because 9 months out of the year it's freezing. (Which on top of running gives you a reason to bond with other running strangers.) This morning we met that community, but we weren't running - we were ice skating in sneakers. How were we supposed to know that the wind was so strong that it had blown lake water all over the sidewalk and created 3 inches of ice? Sam Champion didn't say anything about that yesterday. Nor did anyone tell us to bring our ice picks along to grab onto the wall when your feet were sliding in opposite positions (a very compromising position we might add). Ah, no - none of us knew. So, what are we supposed to do? It's 6am - too early to quit and go to work, but too late to quit and go back to bed.

We had no choice but to keep skating forward and laugh about it the whole time. And be so happy that this morning we weren't just a part of a running community, but rather we were a part of a hard-core-freezing-cold-proceed-with-caution-laugh-out-community-of-runners. (Also known as crazy people.)

Fe Fi Fo...FOOOOD!!!

2007-03-05T11:37:00.000-06:00

This is our Weekend Update:

Friday night we went and saw Zodiac in the theater. Very good, but VERY
long. 2 hours and 40 minutes (every bit of 3 hours with previews). Our
advice is to order a small soda. Even when the nice concession stand person
behind the counter is holding up the large cup and telling you for a measly
60 cents more you can have what appears to be 200 ounces of sugar syrup
rather than the manageable 24 ounces you originally asked for. Stay strong.
Tell 'em you're going to see Zodiac and maybe they'll back off. The movie
was pretty good, although we were hoping for a different ending. We won't
talk about the ending here on this blog since we're guessing many of you
have yet to see it.

After Zodiac we went to Goose Island Brewery for a late dinner. Nothing
makes you feel heavy like chicken quesdillas and mini-burgers at 10pm. We
couldn't help it - the movie was freaking 3 hours!

On Saturday we did a pre-spring cleaning. (A downfall of leaving in a
building built in the 20's is that there is 87 years of dirt in the place.)
We scrubed the bathroom and kitchen, as well as did 5 or so loads of
laundry. This weekend we get to clean out our closet! Please, contain your
jealousy - it's so unbecoming.

Saturday night we celebrated our day of cleaning with our first ever "Nick
and Nat Experimental Food Night!" You might be asking yourself, "What the
heck is that?" It's a fair question, as we made it up. So, we both love love
LOVE to cook. Besides being outdoors, it is our favorite hobby to do
together. Trouble is, we find ourselves constantly eating the same things
because of time, or lack there of. So, we made a pack - each week we cook a
brand new meal, as well as listen to a record we haven't listened to before
(sidenote: Nick was lucky enough to inherit his Dad's record collection -
we're in the process of listening to them all) and we're keeping a food
journal of the experience - what the food was like, how much we enjoyed the
record, etc. So on Saturday we made:

Grilled Tuna with Avacado-Tomatillo Sauce
Saffron Rice
Caesar Salad

Album: Frank Zappa and Mother: Roxy and Elsewhere

Overall the experience was a 7 out of 10. 10 being "perfect." 1 being "ugh."

Sunday we went on a morning run with our friend EB. Then we enjoyed some
flapjacks and watched the Carolina/Duke game. How mean is Duke? Just because
you're down by 11 and frustrated doesn't mean you need to start breaking
noses. Seriously, Henderson.

Oh, and in the spirit of the Ol' Heels we made some Carolina-style pulled
pork yesterday. YUM-O!! With baked beans, coleslaw and broccoli cornbread -
grandmas below the Mason Dixon line would be so proud.

Yes, we realize this entire post is about food. We are only slightly
embarrassed. Team Taylor loves to eat.

Onion roll...

2007-03-02T13:31:00.000-06:00

If you think eating a sandwich on an onion roll at work is a good idea, trust us when we tell you it's not.

Stinky breath, stinky hands, stinky eyeballs. Shooo...

Update on us...

2007-03-02T08:51:00.000-06:00

We were supposed to run this morning. We forgot, however, to the set the alarm. Ooops. When we woke to see that it was snowing (AGAIN!) we weren't too upset with ourselves.

Tonight we're headed to see Zodiac at the theater. We got ourselves pumped for a scary movie last weekend when we headed to see The Number 23 with Jim Carrey. Not since The Island of Dr. Moreau have we been anticipating the ending credits so much. Jim Carrey should be ashamed of himself. So we're gonna give Zodiac a try. We'll let you know how it ends up.

Oh, many of you have been asking for an Amazing Race update. Sorry to say we don't know anything, but we're guessing it's not looking good. When we auditioned they told us IF we got a callback it would be in February or March. So technically we could hear this month. We'll see. If we don't hear anything we'll continue saving for our own Amazing Race which we will write/plan/race ourselves. Anyone up for racing us? Must have a team member. Unfortunately, we can't promise $1 million at the end.

This weekend we'll try and get some more wedding pictures scanned. We also need to work on our thank-you notes. Don't think ANY gift we received hasn't been appreciated. WE LOVE EVERYTHING.

Tomorrow we get our Illinois tag on the car. We can't deny it any longer. We are mid-westerners. At least for the time being.

Team Taylor on 3! 1...2...

And it begins...

2007-02-23T10:22:00.000-06:00

At 6:32 this morning we took our first step towards our half marathon. Fifty-three minutes later we were tight and cramped. We were cold and hot at the same time (a side effect of running in below freezing temperatures). But we are happy and healthy.

On Sunday, May 6th will be running our first half marathon together in Saint Charles, IL. If all goes well, we'll be celebrating our one year anniversary with our first ever marathon here in Chicago.

Have we mentioned before that we have the best friends? Well, we do. (We promise this tangent isn't has random as it first sounds.) Three of our friends, Meg H., Robyn F., and Rachel D. are exercising (see, told you it wasn't that random) not only for better health, but for a better world. Meg H. is running to help proverty in Honduras. She is accepting pledges for miles she runs. Robyn F. and Rachel D. are sisters "tri-ing to end homelessness." Specifically, they are raising money through their triathalons to support the Genesis Home in Durham, NC. Both Meg and Robyn and Rachel have blogs you should check out:

Honduras Plus
Tri-ing to End Homelessness

One foot in front of the other...

Happy Valentine's Day...

2007-02-14T09:42:00.000-06:00

We are firm believers that everyday should be Valentine's Day. Oh, don't get us wrong. We're not talking about chocolate, teddy bears, and roses (although more chocolate in our lives would be nice). We're talking about expressing love for others, regardless of the day. Whether it's saying, "I love you" to your husband, wife, child, mother, father, sister, brother, friend. Or maybe it's telling a co-worker how much you appreciate their help. Or thanking the mailman for delievering your mail even though it's 10 below and snowing. Or helping a stranger grab a jar of tomato sauce from the top rack of the grocery store shelves. No matter how you choose to express your kindness, remember February 14th isn't the only day to do it. It's just one of 365.

Happy Valentine's Day from Team Taylor. Time for chocolate...

Wedding Pictures II

2007-02-09T13:32:00.000-06:00

Here are some more...

Wedding Pictures I

2007-02-09T13:21:00.000-06:00

So, here they are - our wedding pictures! Okay, not all of our pictures (there are over 400!), but some of them. Since we haven't had time to scan most of the pictures, we are just including our favorites of each other at this time. We didn't want to only post one or two of friends/family and get accused of favoritism. We'll work on scanning in more this weekend - some of you look great out on the dance floor!

We hope you enjoy looking at these, we know we haven't stopped since we got them. We feel like they definitely capture at least some of the joy, happiness and love we were feeling that day - the best day of our lives.

All our love,
Team Taylor

In sickness and in health...

2007-02-05T11:28:00.000-06:00

Sadly, Super Bowl Sunday wasn't what we were hoping for. Oh, we weren't that sad about the Bears losing (shh, don't tell). Mainly because we despise Rex Grossman (Florida Gator) and love Peyton Manning (Tennessee Volunteer), but that's a whole other topic for another day. Super Bowl Sunday wasn't what we were hoping for because one of us (Nick) was sick.

Was it a stomach virus? Was it food poisoning from the office pot luck? Whatever it was, it was gross and violent and not welcome in our home again. So, our Super Bowl was spent apart. I (Nat) was at Brandi and Jeff's (good friends) eating spinach dip and intently watching the commercials, I mean the game. While Nick was laying on our sofa, (then the bed, then back to the sofa) eating applesauce and drinking Gatorade. Not how we imagined it, that's for sure.

Nick is feeling better today, but still didn't go into work. Communal toilet = not very fun when your stomach's upset. Communal toilet = not very fun anytime actually.

On a more healthy note, we signed up for our next half marathon! It's the Great Western Half Marathon in Saint Charles, Illinois on May 6th. So once little Tay is 100%, we'll be hitting the (freezing) sidewalks to Chicago to get ready for our first race together.

9 degrees and dropping...

2007-01-31T10:21:00.000-06:00

Apologies to our readers: we have our wedding pictures, but we haven't had one second to scan them in to get them posted. Booo, we know. We promise to work on it over the next couple days/weekend and have them posted early next week.

This past weekend we both had to work (again, booo).

Last night I (Nat) had my very first knitting class. Pretty soon Tay will be sporting all my lovely sweater creations. My goal is to knit a sweater with my face on it for him. Wouldn't like look lovely? He could wear when we're apart (mainly cause I'm not letting him sport it in my presence) and always think of me. Aww, so sweet.

Almost Superbowl time! Football and junk food and million dollar commercials - it doesn't get any better.

Team Taylor wishes it would warm up. We're ready for spring!!

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

2007-01-25T17:17:00.000-06:00

Tonight for dinner is Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto. No one can accuse us of eating poorly now that we're married. Our dinners are generally delicious. Lunches, one the other hand, leave much to be desired. Tuna on stale bread and week old chili - at times it brings tears to our eyes. Let's not think about that anymore.

Instead, let us think about the Super Bowl. Go Bears...Go Peyton...our loyalties are torn.

Washing sheets and eating manicotti...

2007-01-17T15:14:00.000-06:00

Being a grown-up is hard. First you wake up early. Then you go to work all day. Then you have to come home and 1.) cook dinner 2.) do chores 3.) watch American Idol 4.) pay bills. We're not very good at it yet. We've definitely mastered tasks 1 and 3 - the rest is a little wishy washy. Speaking of washy - we have to wash our sheets tonight. Never again will we take for granted a washing machine IN your actual home. Not at a laundermat. Not in a basement. And certainly not $2.00 a load.

The girl that lives above us is a housewife. She doesn't do her laundry during the day, but rather waits until night time when the rest of the building is home and wanting to do laundry. It's an evil trick, but we find it hilarious. We play a game of "beat the housewife to the wash." It's fun since there's only one washer and one dryer for 6 apartments. Running score: Housewife: 3 Team Taylor: 1.

Random note for the day: Frosted Mini-Wheats are delicious. Anyone who thinks differently should consult their tastebuds.

Also noteworthy: We're cooking mannicotti tonight and watching American Idol. No one can make us wash our sheets.

Amazing Race Part II...

2007-01-15T14:46:00.000-06:00

So Saturday morning, we arose early to get dressed and head-off to the Amazing Race casting calls in Gary, Indiana. Even though the lovely city of Gary is only about 24 miles south of Chicago, we found ourselves driving around for over an hour looking for the Majestic Star Casino. Who knew steel mills looked so similiar? On our trip down we were quickly realizing if we can't navigate from Chicago to Gary, how would we ever be able to navigate around the world? This didn't stop us from auditioning however. And by "audition" we mean "be ourselves." While most groups at the casting call had skits, props, and songs, we simply spoke into the camera, telling the CBS casting team why we should be on The Amazing Race. Our story? That we're newlyweds and high school sweethearts. Ahh, how cute, huh? Let's hope CBS thinks so. We'll find out if we make it to the second round of interviews by February or March.

Team Taylor wants to see the world!!!