Changes

Image via Dear Musketeer

A couple of weeks ago an opportunity for a new job presented itself out of the blue. I wasn't necessarily looking for a new job, but it was true that my current work-from-home (consulting) position was not providing much real-world interaction. When I read the posted job description, I thought (at the risk of sounding cheesy...) "this was written for me." Without hesitation, I typed up a cover letter and sent it along with my resume and positive thoughts. Hours later I had an interview lined up. I thought about the change I could potentially be making all weekend. My interview was so much fun, and hours later I was offered a position. I was ecstatic! My husband and I took a few days to discuss the opportunity and let the idea of change really sink in. Knowing that I just couldn't pass up the opportunity that was offered to me (it's not often that something so perfect just presents itself to you...) I happily accepted the position and will begin my new venture this Thursday. So, after 6+ years with the same company (and many different roles) I'll be moving on. I'm nervous. I'm excited. I'm anxious. Working from home was great -- I had the freedom to make my own schedule and be with Bean all day, I took days off whenever I needed them, etc. -- but, as I mentioned, the lack of coworkers and interaction was really getting to me. The change in my day to day routine is something I'm really looking forward to. I can't wait to embark on this new adventure!

Have you ever had an "ah ha!" moment when you realized you needed to make a change?

My Favorite Place

My husband and I spent the last week back east visiting family, celebrating at a wedding and spending time at the shore. Both of our families have spent their summers in Sea Isle City in southern New Jersey for years. This summer marked my 28th year at the shore -- my first trip there was when I was just a month or two old. During college, I even lived with my grandparents in their tiny beach house for two summers. During that first summer that I lived at the shore I rekindled a friendship from kindergarten and fell in love. A few years later, the boy I  had known since kindergarten proposed to me on the beach in that small beach town. My (now) husband and I were even married at the shore - though not on the beach. So, as you can imagine, the shore has a special place in my heart. On our last day at the shore, I took a walk by myself along the beach in the morning. The beach is so peaceful when it's not filled with sunbathers and ice cream carts. Here are a few photos I snapped to share my favorite place with all of you:

I can't wait to be back on the beach in late July with my parents and grandparents.

Counting down the days!

Happy Day!

I'm celebrating by heading out to Watershed tonight with friends for cocktails!

My grandma insists that I only 27, but in actuality I turned 28 today. Here's to a GREAT year!

Image via BHLDN

Weekend Highlights

On Friday night, we met up with good friends at Bar Toma for wine and pizza. It was our first time there, and despite a few mixups with the wrong food being brought to our table, we had a great time (and enjoyed a complimentary app and gelato for the mixups!) I highly recommend the arancini appetizer and the chocolate gelato! Following dinner, we had some more wine on our friend's deck in Old Town while wrapped in Snuggies.

Saturday was a bit gloomy and rainy, so my husband and I headed to Macy's on State Street to do a little shopping for a wedding we're attending in June. I picked out a pair of wedge sandals, which will be perfect for the sandy beach ceremony. On the way out, we spotted a Marc Tetro print of a Boston Terrier and decided we could not leave without it (it's named "Chicago Boston Terrier"!) We also stopped at Intelligentia for some much needed caffeine.

On Saturday night, we met up with Hannah and her guy, Tyler, at Au Cheval. The atmosphere in the tiny euro-style diner was great, and the food was delicious. The house-made root beer floats were to.die.for. Seriously, the best I have EVER had. I'd go back there just for another!

Sunday was gorgeous in Chicago - the weather was perfect. We lunched on our deck and soaked up some sun before getting ready for a new week.

How was your weekend?

The week ahead: Heading to the Phillies vs. Cubs games on Wednesday and Thursday (we'll be routing for the Phils, our hometown team!) & a visit from my cousin and her fiance this coming Friday-Monday!

Hawaii Highlights

My husband and I are back in Chicago after an amazing vacation in Hawaii! The time we spent on Kauai and Maui was so wonderful -- we feel so lucky to have been able to take the time to travel there! I can't say I preferred one island over the other -- they were both unique and equally beautiful. Here are a few highlights in photos from our trip:

Top to bottom

Hiking and lookout point in the Waimea Canyon -- Kauai

French toast with pineapple, macadamia nuts & coconut syrup -- Kauai

Shipwreck Beach near our resort -- Kauai

Catching some rays at our resort -- Maui

Checking out the ocean view -- Maui

Swimming under a waterfall that we kayaked and hiked to -- Kauai

The lava shelf at the Olivine Pools -- Maui

Olivine Pools -- Maui

Napali Coast lookout -- Kauai

Jack Johnson concert -- Maui

If you're headed to Hawaii in the near future, let me know if you have any questions about Kauai or Maui! We did a lot of research before we left, and I am happy to recommend sites to see on either island! I also highly recommend both resorts we stayed at -- The Grand Hyatt in Kauai and The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua in Maui. Aloha!

Aloha!

I've been a horrible blogger lately, tsk tsk! For those of you that don't know, I write another blog as part of my job -- The Finer Things. Between blogging over there, designing emails and site graphics for my consulting job, designing and creating beautiful wedding invitations for my husband's cousin and his fiance and getting ready for our Hawaii trip, I just haven't had the time or energy to post over here at Darling Notes. Shame! Before I say bon voyage and depart for Hawaii tomorrow, I thought I'd share a few pics that I've taken on my phone recently:

My brother in law and his girlfriend visited Chicago for Easter weekend. We checked out the sites of Chicago and ate a ton of food. I cooked Easter dinner for 6 people. While they were here, we dined all over the city, including dinner at q (which was amazing!) and brunch at Cafe Babareeba (create your own bloody mary bar!)

A sneak peek at the invitations I designed and created for my husband's cousin and his bride-to-be. We're looking forward to their wedding in June!

On a whim I had my hairdresser give me long bangs. I love them.

Bean has been extra mischievous lately. I folded all of the throw blankets and she had to make a bed on top of them. Somehow, she always finds the most comfortable spot in the apartment to take her naps.

We leave for Hawaii tomorrow morning, and we could not be more excited! I am guessing that my phone should work on the islands, so I should be able to post a few photos on Instagram. So, aloha for now!

Busy Week and Style File

Tomorrow, my brother in law and his girlfriend will be arriving in Chicago for Easter weekend! I've been busy grocery shopping, cleaning and preparing for their visit, and keeping busy with work & designing a custom wedding invitation ensemble for my husband's cousin and his bride to be. The bride chose a pink and green palette, and the invitations are looking great so far. I'll show a photo once they're done!

This week, you can check out some fun posts over at Project Gadabout featuring Darling Notes. I'm so honored to be participating in Poppy's ongoing Gadabout series! Today's post features my Style File:

Poppy did a great job putting the images together for the Style File! You can view the entire post {here}. 

How is your week going so far?

Project Gadabout

I am so honored to be this week's Gadabout over at Project Gadabout! There will be a couple of fun posts this week, including a guest post, bio, roundup of my favorite blog posts (posted this afternoon!) and more. Be sure to stop by Project Gadabout to learn a little more about me and read Poppy's other fun posts!

Catching Up

I feel like life always gets busier this time of the year. People are out and about, and the city feels more energized -- I love it! The quiet and cozy winter gave way to spring summer temperatures this week, with the high reaching 82 the last two days! The sliding doors were open all week long to let the fresh air in, and I was able to enjoy some time in the sun on our deck. Since Darling Notes has been a little quiet, I figured a little catch-up post was in order.

1. Did you know that I'm a paper person? I'm head over heels for nice papers, pretty stationery and invitation design. I've been working on my husband's cousin's wedding invitation ensemble. The bride selected a pretty shimmering pink and green palette with starfish and shell motifs. We're in the design process right now, but I have no doubt they'll be beautiful!

2. The warmer temps have me thinking about flip-flops and being barefoot. I need a new polish color for the spring, and I'm thinking about this strawberry pink color from Essie. I'll definitely need a pedicure before our Hawaii trip.

3. I could not resist posting this photo of a pug in a bowtie in front of a ship. I mean, is he cute or what? Sweet Paul is hosting a giveaway for your choice of the bowtie or flower collar from Etsy shop Rover. I'm hoping to win the flowered collar for Bean.

4. Have you been keeping up with The Everygirl? I'm loving all of their daily features, and today's post is no exception. Click over to see two pretty and delicious drinks for St. Patrick's Day. Since this is our first St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, the husband and I are going to head downtown tomorrow morning to watch the river be dyed green. Apparently it gets VERY green, and I think I need to see that (maybe with an Irish coffee in hand?)

5. Last Friday, my old iPhone 3GS jumped right out of my hand onto the sidewalk (imagine!) and the screen sadly shattered. Although the phone was sort-of working for a few days, it took a turn for the worse and cracked a little more on Wednesday night. . Since it was over 3 years old and I was eligible for an upgrade, I headed to AT&T on Thursday morning and selected the 4S. IT'S AMAZING. I should tell you that it's currently being held in a massive Otterbox case that is probably bomb-proof. Knowing how clumsy I am, I'm willing to carry around the phone in a bulky case to keep it safe.

Have a great weekend and a very happy (and lucky!) St. Patrick's Day!

We're taking a little trip...

Actually, we're taking a pretty big trip. In late April, the husband and I are headed for sunny Hawaii! At the beginning of the year, it didn't seem like a trip was in the cards for us this year. Pesky things like work sometimes get in the way.  However, we sat down with a calendar and planned out our family visits and other happenings for 2012, and found some extra days... and decided to treat ourselves to a trip to the islands! Neither of us has been to Hawaii, so you can imagine our excitement. I want to start packing right now! We have flights, hotel and car booked, and we're having fun planning out our "itinerary" of activities. It's going to be hard to narrow it down, because EVERYTHING in Hawaii looks beautiful, and we want to see it all. We'll be staying in Maui and Kauai for a total of 10 days. So, friends who have been to Hawaii... what do suggest? What should we see? Where should we eat?

tote, sunglasses, sunblock, earrings, bikini top/bottom, shorts, flip-flops, camera, scarf, lei

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last night, a few of the girls gathered for a little Valentine's Day fun! Yummy flatbread pizza, apps, lots of sweets, champagne cocktails, sangria and chatting -- it was LOVEly! I loved celebrating the holiday with Tess, Hannah, and Jackie!

I'm feeling...

image

Along with some wonderful gifts, Santa also brought me the flu. I've been feeling under the weather since the day after Christmas. Today is the first day that I've started to feel a bit better, but I can't seem to shake this cough. My husband and pup have been taking good care of me, and I finally got some real meds yesterday. I'm hoping I can kick this sickness in the butt by the end of the weekend and get on with 2012!

On a happier note, I wanted to share something that I posted earlier in the week on my other blog... Cupcakes for two! I spotted this amazing recipe on How Sweet It Is earlier in 2011. Two cute little cupcakes - one for you and one for a friend, or two for you if you don't feel like sharing! I like baking cupcakes, but rarely do because I don't need a dozen of them sitting on the kitchen counter tempting me. Next time I have a sweet tooth, this recipe will be what I reach for!

2011, you've been great!

Yesterday, I spent some time jotting down each month of the year and the events and fun things that took place during 2011. I won't hide it -- Facebook helped a lot. Thanks, timeline.

2011 was a fantastic year, full of change for the Mr. and I. The biggest change being our move to Chicago. To wrap up the year, I thought it'd be fun to take a walk down memory lane and record the fun things we did during 2011, month by month. Some months were more exciting than others, but all in all, it was a wonderful  year:

January

- We rang in the New Year with champagne and cannolis from Termini Bros.

- Lots of snow in Delaware!

February

- Monthly Wine Club "meetings" with friends began. Each month had a different theme!

March

- Bought our iMac and finally got CS5 - wahoo!

- Took a trip out west to Seattle and Portland. Visited my brother in Portland and went skiing at Mt. Hood.

April

- Woke up early with the rest of the world to watch the Royal Wedding. Wore my homemade fascinator to work and handed out royal treats to co-workers.

-Began to entertain the idea of Ron taking a new job and possibly moving.

May

- Attended Point to Point to watch the horse races, dressed in Lilly Pulitzer, pearls and a giant hat.

- Flew out to Chicago for Ron to take a final interview. We started falling in love with Chicago and the idea of moving!

June

- Celebrated my 27th birthday.

- Received the news that Ron got the job in Chicago -- we found out we were moving!

- Traveled to Petoskey, MI to meet my Goddaughter Lily for the first time and celebrate her Baptism.

Had a great time catching up with my bestie Meghann.

- Took a trip out to Chicago to hunt for apartments and celebrate our move with friends.

- Put our Delaware house up for sale. It was our first home together.

July

- Spent the 4th of July at the shore, soaking up the sun and enjoying the sand and sea.

- Began purging and packing up our house for the move.

- Spent time with family and friends, and had a great going-away party hosted by my Aunt and Uncle.

- Hit the road -- Chicago bound! On Aug. 13th we became Chicago's newest residents!

- I started working as a contractor for FineStationery.com, and began working from home.

August

- My parents visited us in Chicago and we enjoyed showing them our new home.

- Our friends took us sailing on Lake Michigan and I confirmed the fact that I'd like to be a sailor when I'm older. Also confirmed... my husband gets terribly seasick.

September

- Our friends Steve and Ali visited from Delaware to spend Labor Day weekend with us.

- We celebrated our two year wedding anniversary.

- I was published in the National Stationery Show's e-newsletter.

- My blog was featured in the Sigma Kappa Triangle.

- We took a trip to San Francisco and the Napa Valley with our friends, the Zaks. Drank lots of wine!

- I started to get back in to shape by taking classes at Barre Bee Fit.

October

- Met a few other Chicago bloggers at a Wine Tasting event.

- Ron's parents visited us in Chicago and were here over Halloween weekend.

- We hosted our first party in our apartment. Lots of great apps and wine!

November

- Watched the Tree Lighting and parade on Michigan Avenue with new Chicago friends.

- Ron's brother visited Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with us. I cooked a full-blown Thanksgiving dinner for the three of us!

December

- Went to a few holiday parties to celebrate the season.

- Took our first trip back east since moving to Chicago to spend Christmas with family.

Happy Holidays to You!

Image source

After a surprisingly shorter car ride than we had anticipated (12 hrs.!), the Mr. and I arrived in Pennsylvania last night. We were greeted by family, smiles, hugs and holiday treats. It's so great to be home for the holidays. I'll keep my post short so that I can get back to the festivities, but I wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy the time spent with family and friends!

I also wanted to send out a huge holiday thank you to Kristin and Megan of the Bon Bon Rose Girls. They have selected me as their Freshly Picked Rosebud of the Week! I'm so excited, and wanted to share their post with you {here}. If you aren't aware of their blog, I encourage you to pop over and see all the fun posts they share daily. In addition to great blogging, they have put together an amazing network of bloggers called Rosebuds. How great, right? Thanks again, ladies!

Ornament Traditions

Our tree is full of special ornaments. My family has a few different ornament traditions -- some that started when I was just a baby.

My dad has given my brother and I the Hallmark daughter or son ornament each year. It's always exciting to see what the ornament looks like each Christmas. I'm hoping to continue this tradition when my husband and I have children.

My aunts and uncles have always given me ornaments. When I was younger, everyone called me Jenni, so there are many fun ornaments with "Jenni" written on them. To this day, they still give me a new ornament every year.

One of the more recent traditions is giving a reindeer ornament to my husband. His family typically had a themed tree, so when we had our first Christmas together, the tree was overflowing with just my ornaments. I felt bad about that, so I gave him a cute reindeer. Every year since then, he has received a new one, and is slowly building his collection!

Do you have any ornament traditions?

Saturday Morning

My Saturday morning:

Slept in and cuddled with the pup, followed by a walk to Starbucks for a Skinny Peppermint Mocha Latte. Chilly air + leaves on the ground -- love it. My first holiday cup of the year from Starbucks {smiles}.

November on my desk calendar from Paper Source has a Boston Terrier on it... could it be more perfect? I framed a piece of Paper Source wrapping paper with pictures of pups all over it, then propped it up on the desk -- it gives the workspace a little flair.

Putting together some blog posts for the week while sipping my latte. Feeling inspired this morning. I want to start posting about the holidays -- too early?

The kitchen counter top is covered with wine glasses and wine bottles. We threw a little wine party for some friends last night. I dread washing all the glasses by hand, but we had a ball last night!

What is your Saturday morning like?

It's Thursday

Good afternoon! I thought I'd just share a sweet little photo from Pinterest today. I feel like I resemble that pup today -- hunkered down at my computer, glasses on, wrapped up in a scarf and sweater. I returned home last night from a fantastic Chicago blogger event only to find that the power had gone out from the high winds here in the city. It was downright COLD in the apartment (could be the fact that the windows in the bedroom let air through, which we recently discovered... *ring, ring, landlord?*) Power was eventually restored around 11 a.m. this morning, just in time -- the dog was wearing her coat, and I knew I was missing precious hours of work time. Casualties of the outage included a few items from the fridge, including coffee creamer and yogurt. A trip to Starbucks made up for it. The place is now warming up nicely, and with the exception of the internet mysteriously going out a few times, I'm back up and running.

I promise to post about the Chicago blogger event once I download the few photos I took, and get caught up on work. It was such a lovely time, and some of my "internet friends" became "real friends".

Enjoy your afternoon!

The Weekend

The weeks seem like they are just flying by, but for some reason (and I'm not at all complaining) the weekends seem to last long! On Friday night, the Mr. and I headed to Happy Hour at Wildfire. We sampled a few apps and drinks and then met our friend before settling down at Public House to watch the Phillies vs. Cardinals game. While the game was a MAJOR disappointment (really, Phillies?), we did enjoy the night out.

Saturday morning was spent at the Green City Market. We purchased Michigan apples and a whole corn cob that you stick in the microwave to make popcorn. The weather was sunny and really warm on Saturday, and we actually ended up flipping the AC back on. It feels so strange for October! After the market, we headed outside the city in search of a good winter coat for the Mr. and some wellies for me. Saturday fun continued with a concert at Lincoln Hall that night. We saw Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers and Jon McLaughlin. Both were amazing, and the small venue made it to much more fun! I picked up the new Jon McLaughlin album, and the new Stephen Kellogg album will be out in a few days.

On Sunday morning, I met my friend from high school for a morning Barre Bee Fit class in Lincoln Park. It's such a great workout, and my body is feeling much better since starting 2 weeks ago. We stopped by the Apple store at North/Clybourn in the afternoon to check out the iPhone 4, and ultimately decided to wait for the 4S in just a few days. We both have the 3GS now, and are due for an upgrade. We met up with my high school friend again for some food at Burger Bar afterwards.

We did so much this weekend, so perhaps that is why it felt so long! I'm swamped with work this week, but will be taking some time out on Tuesday afternoon to meet up with Danielle. I think the weather is supposed to stay unseasonably warm, but I'm wishing for those crisp autumn mornings to return!

What are you up to this week?

A Trip to Northern California

Yesterday afternoon, we returned from an amazing trip to Northern California (including San Francisco, Sonoma, Napa and the surrounding wine country areas). We'd been anticipating this trip for so long, and had the best time with our friends Ashley and Bryan. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

We started the vacation in San Francisco, where we enjoyed a farmer's market, 24 hour brewed iced coffee, a visit with some friends, a cable car ride, sourdough bread, Alcatraz, China Town, Fisherman's Wharf, and so much more. During our stay in San Fran, the Mr. and I celebrated our two year anniversary with a fantastic dinner at Foreign Cinema, where we sat outside and dined while an old black and white film played on the outdoor wall (a great date night idea for anyone living in the area!)

After exploring the city, we headed up to wine country. On our way, we stopped in Muir Woods for a dose of gorgeous scenery. The trees were beautiful, and I snapped a lot of fun photos.

Wine country was better than we had even hoped. Stunning vineyards, fantastic tastings, lots of sites, delicious food, and time to relax. We rented a house with the other couple that we traveled with, which turned out to be the coolest little house on a vineyard with an outdoor space that was to die for. We cooked our own meals two of the nights, and had an absolute blast playing bocce and sipping wine.

Some of my favorite tastings were at the smaller wineries, including Frias Family Vineyards, and Chase Family Cellars. Sitting down for a tasting with the wine makers is so neat, and we learned a great deal from them. The larger, more developed wineries were also great, though -- Plumpjack, Ravenswood, Duckhorn and Caymus for example.

If you ever have the chance to visit wine country, I highly recommend the trip! There are so many vineyards to see, so many wines to taste, and the sites are just amazing. For now, I'm happy to be back in Chicago, though - even if it's a bit chillier than 90 degree Napa! 

Bags are packed, ready to go...

Images 1, 2, 3

Quite honestly, my bags are not yet packed, but I'm certainly ready to GO! The Mr. and I are headed west early tomorrow morning with two of our best friends for a California trip. We'll start in San Francisco and make our way up to Napa and Sonoma. We really lucked out in finding an amazing house to rent in Sonoma -- it sits on a vineyard! So today, as I finish up some last minute work projects, I'll daydream about real sourdough bread, wine tasting and relaxing!

On a funny note, we will be celebrating our two year anniversary during the trip, and get this -- it's the day we got tickets to tour Alcatraz. Of course we shared a little laugh over how it seems wildly inappropriate to visit a prison on your anniversary -- but hey, perhaps we can get a chuckle out of the tour guide.

I'll try to pop in with a few photos during the trip, and I'll surely be documenting the highlights on Twitter. Follow along if you'd like!