Hunting Trees....

I think a new tradition was born...breakfast at Public House and then heading to the Christmas Tree farm in Walworth Country after Thanksgiving.

Kel was looking hot (note first pic where she had her new boots on..had to sacrifice the running shoes to the mud)

The perfect tree!

Parker family tree....

Freese family tree....

1st Annual @ Gordy's

Gordy's hosted their first annual wine tasting event for Cobalt owners...and as we are tight with two owners, we got to go!

There were 7 wine tables, each with about 6 wines each, as well as 2 beer tables. We got a glass and a booklet to take notes and we were off!
It was really well done...all the vendors were extremely knowledgeable and friendly.
Fun times...followed by cheeseburgers at Chuck's! Can't wait until summer!

Work Day

We all know tat Bob doesn't pass up free labor...so we were put to work after our day of feasting.

First task was digging and setting a flagstone patio.

Next up, raking all the leaves out of the creek.

Finally, laying sod around the patio.

Our reward was wedding cake tasting!

YUM!

Giving Thanks

Kelly and I started out the day with a 5mile Turkey Trot in Lincoln Park - fun times and great shirts! I love the logo of the turkey in running gear!

Then up to the lake where mom was making an incredible meal...We finally have someone who likes the drumsticks...Dan!

YUM!

Dad christened the fireplace...we were all impressed at how great the fire burned and how amazing it smelled! They don't build fireplaces like they did back in 1937!

Tres and Pat came by for desert...and Dan had a gift from Mexico for Tres!

Tres reciprocated with some Corona Familiar...which we thought could only be found in Mexico!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Green Zebra

The Green Zebra is a trendy vegetarian place that Elese, Stephanie, and I decided to try for their Tuesday Tasting Menu. The theme was Autumn Cocktails and they paired four courses with these delicious drinks!

Course 1: Chilled Ginger-Broccoli Salad

Cocktail 1: Masabo Flex: Sake, Japanese Plum, Shiso
Course 2: Butternut Squash Dumplings

Cocktail 2: Charon's Tonic: Whiskey, cranberry syrup, tonic, lemon
Course 3: Hand-Cut Tagliatelle w/ Kale & Cippolini

Cocktail 3: Tempus: Mezcal, Vodka, Grapefruit, Thyme
Course 4: Warm Pecan Waffle (with to die for maple cardamom ice cream)

Cocktail 4: Bourbon, walnut, sweet vermouth, cherry
The food and cocktails were amazing...can't wait to go back!

We said 'Yes to the Dress!'

We threw a bridesmaid brunch this weekend before heading off to look for dresses. In typical Parker fashion, we put out quite the spread....

Kel got these cookies made...purple dresses with our names on them for the bridesmaids and the same in blue for the moms.

Erin brought these delicious dresses from sweet mandy b's.

Seems that orange is in...not that Allie and I have that much of a clue, but if LT is rocking orange it must be in!

Cheers!

Off to Bella Bridesmaid where we had already narrowed it down to 3 choices before bringing the whole crew.
Bridget modeling one of the contenders...but not the final choice.

The winner was this gorgeous Monique dress....in eggplant...

Flattering detail...
There is a removable strap and we came up with 4 styles with it.

The ladies of the wedding party! 8-25-12!!

Why Cleanse?

Cleansing is becoming more “mainstream” these days, so much so that only my brother-in-law-to-be has given me weird looks. So…why cleanse? Quite simply - to allow our bodies time relax and recover. We are exposed to so many toxins each day…from the air we breathe in, to the packaged and stabilized food we put in our bodies.

By removing certain foods that cause inflammation in our bodies – gluten, dairy, caffeine, sugar, red meat, alcohol – we give our digestive system a break and our cells time to heal other ailments. We’re doing three days of liquid – broths, juices, and smoothies – to fully detox and restart digestion.

After 3 days of liquid, we’ll go back to clean eating and gradually try small quantities of the foods we had removed, which will allow us to actually feel any reactions from sensitivities we may have to these foods that we normally ignore since we are just used to feeling that way.

I’m done with Day 1 of the liquid phase and feel good. Never felt full yesterday, but didn’t feel hungry much either. Overall, I’ve felt good throughout the cleanse except for one day a few days into clean eating where I was very sleepy all day.

Will I sustain the clean eating moving forward…probably not. But I have learned a lot of new techniques and experimented with lots of new foods that I am loving and those I will take with me for sure!