Monday, June 28, 2010

John here. I stumbled on this video made by some folks that like our neighborhood just as much as we do!!

Check it out!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Third Annual LP Summerfest

Last night we headed to LP for our third annual Summerfest get together. I'm sure that the actual festival has been going on for more than three years, but it's all about us and what we're doing on this blog. Anyway, this year's fest did not disappoint - same sangria and same cover bands, but it's always fun to hang out and dance with Jared and Kristen! Sarah and Jim joined us this year, along with Jared's girlfriend, Julia. The more the merrier! Looking forward to more years of sangria, Sixteen Candles, and sweaty dancing!


Jim, Jared, Ritu, and Julia


Two sangrias at a time. Sadly, quite a bit of those sangrias
ended up all over my shirt by the end of the night.

John is attempting to cover up all the spillage on my shirt with his dancing legs.

We wear our sunglasses at night. So we can so we can...

Monday, June 14, 2010

Missing the Desert Already!

We got back to Chicago late last night and were greeted with foggy, wet, and cold weather. Quite the opposite of our fantastic weekend in the desert! On our final night there, we ate at this place called Melvyn's. Apparently, it was Sinatra's favorite place back in the day, and I don't think they've changed anything about the place since the Rat Pack used to hang out there. Everything was straight out of the 60s, including the menu. It was delicious!

We will definitely be heading back to PD again soon -- next time in the winter so we can really enjoy the heat. Here are a few last pictures from the trip. Back to reality...

Yet another gorgeous view!

John reminiscing

View from our table at Melvyn's. I think we were the youngest
people there.

Me at Melvyn's. In case you're wondering why John isn't in very
many pictures, it is because he did not share the camera.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

More Pics from the Living Desert

Me, posing in front of some desert-y stuff.

John with the (microscopic) ostrich

Palm tree grove


Family of giraffes

Our Desert Adventures Continue...

This morning we got up early and headed to The Living Desert zoo, another spot John visited growing up. We had to go early so that I wouldn't spontaneously combust in the hot afternoon heat. There were so many neat desert animals! We saw lots of wild cats, and we visited a petting zoo with desert goats that wanted to eat all metallic objects on my body. Below are some pics from the zoo!


Sleeping bobcats

These little guys attacked me and tried to eat every
metallic thing on me! I guess goats really do eat tin cans?

This one's called "Stoic Ostrich on the Hillside"

John!

This little guy made a beeline for that gold thing on my shoes!

In Love With Palm Springs

We arrived in Palm Springs on Thursday morning for a little summer getaway. John grew up coming here in the winter to visit his grandmother, and I am always searching for a part of California to like, so we decided to make the trip (the super cheap travel packages helped, too). We are staying at the Miramonte Resort, which is in gorgeous Indian Wells. We spent much of our first two days here lounging by the pool. Something about this place and its 70s charm makes us want to drink swank cocktails, so we've been doing quite a lot of that, too, especially by the pool.

We ventured out to downtown Palm Springs last night to have dinner at Matchbox, a great pizza spot in the heart of the action. Summer is the area's down season, but there were plenty of people out last night enjoying the cool desert evening. It's amazing that a place that gets so hot can be so cool and quiet at night!

Essentially, I'm obsessed with this place! It's quiet, it's clean, and it's mid-century modern (my favorite). I finally found a place in California that I like!


The backdrop to every part of Palm Springs

Mojito - our pool side drink of choice!

The view from our shady spot by the pool.

The view from the lobby of the resort.

Downtown Palm Springs

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Maifest 2010

Last night we went to the German Maifest in our neighborhood with Jim, Stephie, and Scott. It would be more aptly titled "Sweaty Drunk Fest", but no one asked my opinion. There was great people watching, that's for sure! After we left (escaped), we went to Garcia's for some great margs and mexican food, and we ended the night with Rock Band at our house. Fun times!

It's been pretty rainy and muggy this weekend, so we are looking forward to getting away to drier weather this week in Palm Springs. Can't wait!




John and Jim with their monster-sized ($12!) beers.

Yesss! Jim won me an awesome MJ framed art piece!