our chicago getaway

we arrived back home late last night from our whirlwind vacation to chicago. we had so much fun and did so much walking that i think it will take me a full week to recover. here are some photos to recap our trip.

on saturday we went down to lincoln park to do some shopping at the stationery shops there. we also happened upon vosges chocolates and quickly headed in. we had seen their features on food network enough to know we had to try some while we had the chance. i bought the most amazing chocolate bar i've ever tasted. it was filled with tibetan goji berries and pink himalayan sea salt. oh my, my! i will certainly be ordering their products online in the future.

on saturday night we went to navy pier to see the cirque shanghai show. it was, of course, amazing. the things that they can do are insane. my camera decided to run out of batteries about 10 minutes into the show, so the only photo i have is this one. it's a little blurry because there wasn't enough light, but i still think it looks kinda cool that way.


on sunday we went to the frank lloyd wright house & studio tours in oak park. we went on the tour of the actual house and studio and then another tour of the historic district which featured some of the homes he designed while he was there. we are such fans of architecture and it was a nice treat to see the homes up close and personal. here's a photo of his original home (actually this photo is more of the studio side than the home itself).


sunday afternoon we went to the chicago botanic garden. it was completely amazing. we're also huge fans of things like this. we miss the arboretum in minneapolis that we used to visit, so it was nice to feel like we were back home again. here are some random photos of beautiful things:







we also had our first trader joe's experience while there. it was on the hubby's list of things to do and we managed to come across one. we weren't disappointed, and bought lots of goodies. the hubby found out today that they're getting one in milwaukee soon, so we'll be able to visit often. yea!

then on monday we got up bright and early to get to our segway tour. of course, we woke up to sprinkles outside. we hoped that it wouldn't get worse, but alas, we rode around chicago on our segways in the pouring down, windy rain for 3 hours. it was miserable, but so fun at the same time. i think people must have looked at us like we were crazy. but, the tours were rain or shine....we just got the rain end of the deal. i can't imagine how much fun it would have been if it was a nice day out. well worth the money....even in the rain! so fun! of course, now we each want one, but at $5000 each, i think it will have to be one of our "some day" dreams. we didn't get many pictures because of the rain, but while under a bridge, we had a fellow segway-er take our photo. you can't really tell, but we're actually standing on them in the photo. sorry about the quality, but it was pretty dark under the bridge, and we were soaked from head to toe....even with a poncho.


on the way home, we stopped by ikea to pick up some stuff for my business and then headed to my parents to pick up the little dude.

it was a great trip, but like always, i'm glad to be home.

my dearest hubby

has it really been 5 years of wedded bliss already? where did the time go? it seems like yesterday that we met across the “line” at the restaurant where we were working together. you in your chef’s uniform and cool glasses, me in my horrible, horrible, waitress uniform. (the one you wouldn’t let me get rid of for years because it was the first thing you met me in….how sweet).

in the short time we’ve been together, we have managed to get through some of the most stressful things any couple can manage. we’ve moved 5 times throughout 2 different states and spent 3 years and more money than we ever thought possible just trying to bring our little dude into the world. you loved me through 3 years of up and down, out of control hormones, a long stint of shots in my rump, and sex on demand. you loved me through all the disappointment month after month. year after year.

now that we finally have our little dude, you love me through sweats, no makeup, and hair pulled back everyday. you still tell me i’m beautiful even though i know you’d love me to “do myself up” a little more often. though you’d never say it out loud.

you’ve loved me through the start-up of a business which has forced you to stay at a job you hate. you have been such a support through the whole process. i couldn’t have done it without you. i’m a very lucky woman.

for these reasons and many more, i love you as much today as the day we were married 5 years ago.

happy 5 year anniversary baby. i love you.

yet another great review!

check out the latest review of marzipan inc. / shades of violet! kelly, from independentluxe obviously takes her reviews seriously and you can tell by the in-depth and thorough review she provides. it almost makes me blush!

another great feature

i tried to post this all day yesterday but it kept bombing on me.....

shades of violet was featured today on mixed plate. it's a fabulous blog full of great products. go check it out!

on another note, my last post must have been a little confusing. i was referring to people searching for "paisley wallpaper" and coming up with my site because of the title. being that i don't have any paisley wallpaper on my site, it must be a little disappointing for them.

i've got nothin' for you

i'm so sorry for all of you who come to my blog every single day searching for "paisley wallpaper" only to be majorly let down. i've got nothin'. sorry to disappoint, but hopefully you'll find something else here worth staying for!

that's one way to get skinny

at the beginning of this year i promised my self i was going to lose all the weight i gained trying to get pregnant and actually being pregnant. that really hasn't happened. in fact, i have a suspicion that i've gained a few. unfortunately our scale has needed a new battery for several, several months now. i'm a little afraid of what it would say if it worked.

i believe the tables turned yesterday. it was a rough afternoon and i told the little dude that we were going to go for a walk after lunch. he promptly started repeating "walk, walk, walk" like he had been saying it forever. (this was the first time i had heard him say it) we could hardly make it through lunch because he was so excited. all i heard was "walk, walk, walk".

so we went for a walk after lunch and he was so excited about it. i'm not sure why. it's not like we've never taken a walk before. but anyway, the rest of the day it was "walk, walk, walk". he would stand by the back door and beg to go out for another one. if i said "no", it was a major meltdown. i finally gave in and told him we could go to the park across the street while we waited for daddy to get home.

we walked over to the park and played for about 15 minutes in the rain. it started coming down more, so i said it was time to go. another major meltdown. the only way i got him home was to tell him that we were going to go take a bath. (since he got so filthy in the rain). of course, as soon as the bath was done it was "walk, walk, walk" again.

i think my life of being lazy is officially over. no more sitting on the couch eating bon bons all day. it's impossible to say no to a kid who's telling you to get off your a**. talk about major guilt! i guess i'm getting skinny!

big order, big news!

i was so excited when i found a 6 page fax last night from one of my biggest retailers in new york. i almost had a heart attack when i read through to the last page and found the grand total. this order is not only huge, it's mega huge....as in the largest order i've ever had in my almost 5 years of doing this! mega huge as in thousands, and thousands, and thousands, and thousands, of dollars! i was doing the happy dance all over the house. luckily the ship date isn't until october 15th, so we have plenty (hopefully) of time to get all the work done that comes along with an order this large.

home again

i survived our family camping trip over the weekend. it's still not my thing, but there are many aspects of it that i enjoy.

one is being outside all day. since my office is in a basement, i spend a majority of every day cooped up without so much as a window to look out of. it's nice to soak in the rays for a change. i also enjoy sitting around the campfire at night and playing games with the family during the day.

the highlight of the weekend though was going to the local flea market.* i'm a sucker for flea markets, antique shops, and thrift stores. i scored a couple great items....a small vintage zero metal fan for $5, a cool feed sack kitchen towel in amazing cyan and magenta colors for $4, and a strand of gorgeous stones (i'm not sure what kind they are) that i'm going to create a necklace out of for $15.

i'd post pictures, but our camera decided to break the day before we left for vacation....convenient. (if anyone has a recommendation for a reasonable digital camera, (like under $300) please let me know)

after the flea market we headed over to one of the main streets in town to visit the shops. we scored two original signed etchings. one from italy, the other from germany, for $55! one of them is dated 1933, the other is not dated. they're gorgeous and i can't wait to get them framed up. if we can get a new camera soon, i'll try to take some shots of them. or maybe i could scan them in. we'll see.

so, all in all, it was a good time. not something i want to do again anytime soon mind you, but still good. once a year is fine with me. anything more than that is pushing it.

the hubby and i would like to take a trip back over in the fall by ourselves to explore more of the town. they have so many shops* it's unreal. it would be a fun weekend trip....as long as we stayed at a bed & breakfast!

* sorry, their website really sucks and doesn't have any good pictures of how pretty the town really is. go figure....it's a small wisconsin town.

another trip (and a small pity party)

august 9th? oh where, oh where has the summer gone? as I’ve mentioned before, our summer calendar has been booked through September since very early on. this weekend is, of course, no exception.

i do enjoy having friends and family that want to get together with us and do things, but at the same time, i feel like we've been majorly neglecting our house. there's so much i want to do and absolutely no time to do it. i guess that's what the winter is for. hummpp.

this weekend we’ll be traveling to go on a camping vacation with my parents, and my brother’s family. total: 6 adults, 3 children.

in general, I’m not a huge fan of camping. it’s not so much the camping part itself, it’s the preparation that I hate. I really dislike the whole keeping your food in a cooler process. you can never fit everything you want and you have to keep buying ice every other minute. and you always end up forgetting something.

I’m really hoping it’s not 100º this weekend. that’s another thing I’m not good with. I get very cranky when it’s hot. I hate hot. I’d much rather camp in the fall when it’s nice and crisp out. but alas, I’m not in charge of picking the date.

enough whoa-is-me. I should be happy that I have a loving family that wants to go on vacations together….even if it is camping. ;)

vintage button swap!

it's taken me awhile, but i've finally taken some photos of my fabulous vintage buttons that i received from participating in the vintage button swap hosted by sally. i was paired with michele, and here are the fab buttons i received!


here is a photo of the buttons i sent in return. i attached each one to paper cut out in a pendant shape, then strung them all together.


here's a closer picture.


and here's the packaging. the little blue organza bag holds a vintage button ring. (sorry, the individual photo didn't turn out) and sorry for the potos in general. i'm not a photographer by any means.