40 years of wedded Bliss

Posted on August 29, 2012 by carlieblissirwin

My amazing parents have been married for 40 years. Four zero. That’s a long time.

We celebrated their love in style last Saturday night on a yacht cruise on Lake Michigan and in the Chicago River. And if you have anything to celebrate, at all, for any reason, ever, I would highly recommend this method. We rented the SunSea yacht for 3 hours, capped off by the fireworks display at Navy Pier and it was one of the best nights ever.

Congrats Mom and Dad! I love you guys!

P.S. After this party, and Kelly’s bachelorette party, I’ve had a very yacht-y month! Awesome.

Ultimat

Posted on August 22, 2012 by carlieblissirwin

The “e” was left off on purpose. I’ll explain.

Vodka has not been my drink of choice since I was frequenting frat house basements back in 2002. Just the mention of the word makes me think of screw drivers and vomiting. In that order.

But a few weeks ago, I was introduced to a vodka that didn’t make me shudder, burn my throat or result in questionable decision-making. In fact, when imbibed in Gimlet form, this vodka was straight-up delicious.

Ultimat Vodka. New! Refreshing! And gluten free! (Yes, I’m an advertising copywriter.)

Will was introduced to Ultimat vodka at a work event. The next day, we were having a drink with some friends before a wedding reception, and he spotted it at the bar. He convinced us to try it, and it got rave reviews.

See? Don’t we look extremely pleased with our beverage choices?

The best thing about it is that all you gluten-free people can drink it and not feel like you’re going to die. One of the friends we were with actually has a gluten allergy. She decided to be adventurous and try Ultimat, and reported back that she felt like a million bucks the next day.

No, this post is not sponsored by Ultimat (although free alcohol is never discouraged by this blogger). I just wanted to let people know that really good vodka does exist. Plus, it seems like a lot of people are having to go gluten-free these days, and I know your drink choices are limited. So here’s one you don’t have to be afraid to try!

Enjoy, my friends.

Image via

Florence

Posted on August 20, 2012 by carlieblissirwin

Yes, I am still posting photos from our Italy trip, which took place approximately 3 months ago.

Two more cities to go. Stay with me!

Next up: Florence!

Out of the cities we went to, I think Florence can be most easily compared to Rome. It’s a smaller city and doesn’t have all of the ruins, but it was really beautiful. If I had to rank them, I might say I liked Florence just a smidge better than Rome.

The first major landmark we came across when we arrived in Florence was the Duomo.

I think I saw the whole thing through the screen on my camera because I couldn’t put it down the entire time we were there. The Duomo is quite photogenic (wish I could say the same about myself). Every angle was prettier than the next.

The rest of Florence was just as impressive and probably my favorite city to just stroll around, taking in the views.

We went up to the Piazalle Michelangelo, where the views totally justified the amount of steps we had to climb to get there.

We stayed at the Residenza dell’Orafo, and they left us this little treat while we were out during the day.

Score! (Except the orange drink was actually kind of gross.)

The second day we were in Florence, we wandered around Boboli Gardens and took a tour of a Medici castle.

We also saw the David, which was more amazing than I was expecting. It’s huge! (No, I’m not referring to any specific part of him when I say that. The whole thing. Is huge.) But alas, David’s a bit camera shy. No photos allowed.

And finally, we obviously had to make time to sample the amazing food and wine Florence had to offer. We were in Tuscany, after all!

Ok, so now I only have one more city left to share in our whirlwind tour of Italy. Venice is last but not least! Stay tuned for that.

And here are the links to my other Italy posts if you need to catch up:

Cray-mazing weekend

Posted on August 13, 2012 by carlieblissirwin

Yes, I’m still trying to make cray-mazing happen. All the cool kids are saying it, and I suggest you get on board.

But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about my epic weekend, made possible by my awesome husband and our 5th anniversary (whoa), beautiful weather, my friend Kelly’s bachelorette party, and one gorgeous yacht.

Well done, weekend. You really outdid yourself this time.

In case you’re curious, Will and I celebrated our anniversary with drinks at RM Champagne Salon and dinner at Piccolo Sogno. Both places were great and had amazing patios.

The yacht (oh the yacht...) belongs to a friend of Kelly’s sister, and has refueled my quest to find a BFF who owns a boat. The search continues. Apply within.

And that about wraps up my super fun weekend of celebrating with people I love. Doesn’t get much better. This life of mine is kind of ridiculous in the best way possible.

Rant-astic

Posted on August 9, 2012 by carlieblissirwin

The office I work at right now is in the heart of a very busy part of the Loop. This is a place where various individuals and/or groups like to position themselves along the sidewalks holding up protest signs, asking for money, handing out pamphlets, pushing petitions and trying to convince you to change your feelings regarding politics/religion/morals/having discussions with complete strangers on the street.

There’s also a woman selling chocolate and singing the same song everyday. (“World’s Finest Chocolate, how ya doin’ today!”)

Yesterday, as I did my “city walk” through this three-ring circus to grab some lunch (sunglasses on, brisk walk, no eye contact), I was approached by no less than three people who mistook me for someone actively seeking information on the evils of abortion.

The first person shoved a pamphlet in my face, forcing me to do a quick sidestep as I narrowly avoided sustaining a paper cut to the eye.

The second person just stood there, her assault tactic being the picture of a ginormous bloody human fetus on her protest sign.

And the third person actually stepped into my path and tried to talk to me (the worst!), asking, “Do you have a minute to help stop the mass murder of innocent babies?”

Well that’s a loaded question if I ever heard one.

“No,” was my response.

No, I would rather let those innocent babies die because they are less important than me getting to Subway one minute faster. And I’m a horrible person. Is that what you want me to say??

I just have one question for these people: If you are pro-life, then why are you making me want to kill you??

Also, some advice: Don’t mess with me at lunchtime. When I’m hungry, helping fetuses not get murdered takes a backseat to putting a turkey sub in my stomach.

And now you know why I’m going to hell.

I’m just wondering, how many people actually say, “Yes, I do have a minute, as a matter of fact. I was just walking aimlessly through the Loop, hoping someone would come up to me and engage me in conversation. I have absolutely nothing else I need to be doing right now.”

????

I’d like to get some stats on that.

And before I start getting hate comments, I’d just like to say that I’m not necessarily pro-choice or pro-life. I’m just anti-getting accosted in the street. If you’d like to share your political/religious/moral views with me, I’m all ears–that’s what the comment section is for!

Rant over.

Image via

Bag debacle

Posted on August 8, 2012 by carlieblissirwin

I could go on and on about all of the benefits of living in a major city like Chicago. I really love it.

But there’s one thing that irks me. (Irks! I’m awarding myself blogging bonus points for using a word I would probably never use in real life.) Since the city is so dense, you can pretty much walk anywhere you need to go. And when it’s nice out, walking is 100% my preferred method of transportation. But this isn’t the thing that irks me–wait for it.

The thing that irks me is that every now that then, my destination requires me to dress up and wear heels. Or sometimes I just want to wear heels because I’m a girl. And then walking becomes a bit more difficult.

I’ve gone the route of walking a mile in heels. That was a poor choice. But when it’s sunny and 75 degrees out with a light and variable breeze off the lake, not walking makes me die a little on the inside.

The solution? Wear flip flops and bring my heels in my purse. The problem with this solution? My cute clutches are not big enough to fit shoes! Whatever is a girl to do?

I’ll tell you what. Go shopping. Not because shopping solves all problems (however, I will not argue against that), but because a cute, versatile bag big enough to fit a pair of shoes has now become a city living necessity. And I believe the definition of “necessity” is that I NEED it.

Enter this vision in black:

Kate Spade shoulder bag (see more kate spade handbags)

The Kate Spade Gold Coast Georgina. She’s a beaut, ain’t she?

I went through an anti-Kate Spade phase for a few years, but I think it’s safe to say that’s over. Now all I need is to be richer. Sadly, this bag is a bit out of my price range…

What about you other city girls? How do you solve the great bag debacle? What bags work for you? And who wants to buy me this one??

Wham, Bam, Instagram

Posted on August 2, 2012 by carlieblissirwin

Just being my usual slacker self over here, with not much time to formulate a post of any sort of substance…

So thank God for Instagram! Here’s a little peek at what I’ve been up to this past week:

Enjoying some beautiful weather… checking out the fancy new Target on State Street… walking to Kilwin’s for my beloved chocolate peanut butter ice cream… hanging out in my deserted office on a Friday afternoon (but not for too long!)… getting in some beach time… attending the gorgeous wedding of Dan and Kaitlin… and, of course, showering The Cutest Dog in the World with adoration.

That’s a good week in my book!