Family Time and Frontera

Stephanie and Pancho are in town this weekend. To celebrate, we all went for dinner at Frontera Grill. We had to put our name in at 4:30 and still did not get a table until around 7:15, but it was totally worth it. The food was absolutely excellent (and the mojitos were, too). Needless to say, I'm still full from all the delicious food.

Jim, John, and me post-dinner

John and Pancho

Stephanie, Stephanie, and me.

The bar - where the magical mojitos are made

Spring Sunday and Celeb Sighting

John, Jim, and I went to Lincoln Park Zoo on Sunday to get some sun and see some lions. Just as I was headed past the gorillas into the monkey house, I spotted a super tall, hairy guy who needed a shave. He looked really familiar, and on closer inspection was Vince Vaughn! He and his new wife were out enjoying the sun and the monkeys as well. This has been our first celeb sighting since we moved to Chicago (unless you count my sighting of Sam Ronson last year). After the zoo, we walked around Lincoln Park for a bit before introducing Jim to the wonderfulness that is Trader Joe's. All in all a fun and relaxing Sunday!

Anteater

Me with the rhinoceros (it's an inside joke)

Emperor Penguins

J and me outside the polar bear tank (that didn't contain a polar bear)

Law Prom 2010

Last night we went to the annual American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Gala (a.k.a. "Divorce Law Prom") at the Ritz. I went last year and thought I would spare John from what I thought would be a painful evening -- my colleagues and I talking about work and laughing at what other people are wearing, their dancing, etc. But, this year I dragged him along with me, and he had a really good time (or so he says). Below are some pics from the event.

The Oklahoma Contingency: Russ Reid and us

Our table, with a good view of the dance floor

(meaning lots of great entertainment -- nothing is

funnier than your opposing counsel dancing

to "Oh What A Night")

Rebecca and me with our giant glasses of wine

Birthday Parties, Races, House Guests, and Springtime

Our dance cards have been pretty full this past week. On Thursday I went to the most amazing bar for my friend Sarah's birthday -- the Violet Hour in Bucktown. It's hidden behind this fake ad for an upcoming opening of a Chinese restaurant. It's so neat inside -- light blue walls, crystal chandeliers, a fireplace or two -- very prohibition-era. The drinks are fabulous, too -- they take their drink making very seriously, with classic drinks like sidecars and Pimm's cups. I'm looking forward to a return trip!

Also on Thursday, our friend Jim Manhart moved to Chicago. He's currently staying with us until his mattress is delivered to his cool bachelor pad in Lincoln Park. On Saturday morning, the three of us wandered down to Grant Park for a little 5K race. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, so it was nice to be out and about enjoying the outdoors. We spent the rest of the day wandering around our 'hood and had drinks and apps at Daily Bar and Grill here in Lincoln Square.

I have a super busy week coming up - a couple of hearings, a full day CLE, and lots of other things going on. I will be glad when this week is over!

The girls at Violet Hour

John and Jim in Grant Park

Gross picture of me crossing the finish at the Wrigley Run

Spring in Chicago!

Spring in the City

We have had amazing weather the past couple of days -- it's made it nearly impossible to work (that, and the fact that nearly all of the leadership at the firm has been out for spring break). Tonight we went out with friends Liana and Brian to celebrate the warm weather and to get in as much "Liana time" as possible since she is moving to Florida next weekend. For those of you who don't know, Liana was my first "Chicago friend." We met at this really awful job we had with this crazy sole practitioner. Both of us were brand new to Chicago, so we instantly became friends. Liana just got a fabulous job at a top-notch family law firm in the Miami area. While I'm so happy for her for this opportunity, I'm really sad for such a great friend to leave Chicago! We already have plans to visit Boca this summer. We waxed nostalgic tonight and headed to Las Mananitas in Boystown -- a classic "Megan and Liana" spot. We then headed to Trader Todd's in Lakeview, where we proceeded to sing a really embarrassing rendition of "Gloria" by Laura Branigan -- aided by muchas margaritas, of course!

I'm really hoping that we can have a formal going away party for Liana next week. She has been an amazing friend these past four and a half years, and I'm really going to miss her (along with her boyfriend, Brian). We celebrated her new job pretty hard tonight, though, so I'm not anticipating feeling very awesome tomorrow. But it's totally worth it!

The original Trader Todd's. Owned by Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds.

Whoooo! Shots! (Not really.)

John and me after muchas margaritas!

Cheers!

Getting Crafty

My handiwork

Last Friday, my friend Nicole organized a card making class at Paper Source. We learned how to do all sorts of creative things, like make our own envelopes and liners, embossing, etc. I had so much fun that I headed to Michael's on Saturday to load up on supplies to make cards at home. I've never been particularly interested in arts and crafts, but I'm finding that I'm enjoying them as I get older because they are sort of therapeutic -- a way to escape from the stressful reality of the day. I also just finished a knitting class at Loopy Yarns in the South Loop. I'm still trying to finish the hat and scarf from that class but will post when I'm done!