Sweet Cheesus.

I promise I won't turn this into a blog about how much I love food.  But I will continue to post pictures and talk about how wonderful something is if I've put it in my mouth this week.  My friend Alison and her husband Rob have had us over to their house a few times for wonderful dinners.  They usually have this cheese out and I must say it has become one of my favorites.  I am a total sucker for cheese.  I tried to cut most dairy out of my diet, but cheese is the one dairy product I cannot say no to.  Okay, maybe ice cream too.  Especially this blueberry pie ice cream Tim got a few weeks ago at Oberweis...

So, back to this amazing cheese.  It's so creamy and buttery I just can't help myself.  Spread some out on a cracker, top with a little sour cherry or fig spread, and indulge away!  I cannot eat this unattended, or bad things would happen.  Like I'd eat the whole block.

Yes, I had to put a ginormous picture of this magnificent cheese on my blog.  What's even more concerning is that spell checker didn't underline the word "ginormous" in red.  Anyways, here is a little snapshot before we enjoyed some the other night.

Yummmmmmmmm....It is a miracle that I'm still fitting into my pants at this point.  Tim and I are getting closer to moving into our new place and finals are just around the corner.  I'm excited about my two week break for many reasons, but mainly because we have family coming to visit us in the new place.  Plus Diego gets to join our family again!  Here's a little happy face to leave you with...

Max!  He misses his big brother Diego...

I love food. And Forest Park.

I just got done eating a super-delicious, summer meal.  I saw this recipe on a cool blog site that my wonderful girlfriend Molly turned me on to (WARNING - YOU WILL BE HUNGRY ALL OF THE TIME WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS WEBSITE).  Caprese Quinoa.  Yum yum.  You can find the recipe here and make sure you surf around this site because it is wonderful!  Little mozzarella pearls, cute cherry tomatoes from the vine, delightful basil - chiffonade style - drizzled with olive oil, balsamic glaze and sprinkled with salt and pepper, all mixed in with super yummy and healthy quinoa...I'M IN HEAVEN!!!  The recipe says you can eat it hot or cold, but I chose to let it sit in the fridge overnight.  Please please please try this.  Your taste buds will thank me.  I don't know about you, but anything with fresh basil just screams summer to me.  And maybe since I'm falling in love with Chicago summers (upper 70s to 80s weather...) I just love love love summer!

Other exciting news...Tim and I signed a lease on our new place Saturday morning!  YAY!  This has taken a huge load of stress off our shoulders as we found the perfect, little condo in Forest Park.  The building was built in the 1920s, just like our old house in Wichita.  Same old, dark, beautiful woodwork, hardwood floors...happy face!  And most importantly...DOG FRIENDLY!  Two blocks away from a dog park!  Forest Park seems like the perfect compromise for what Tim and I both want/need for the next few years.  It's about half-way between my school and the city.  Our condo is super close to the blue and green lines (takes us right into the city or takes me right out to my school!) and just a few blocks away from Madison St., a super cool road with lots of fun pubs, shops and restaurants.  I like the word super!  Check out this site to see more! 

Once we get the keys (August 1st) and get all settled in, stay tuned for a blog post with pics of the new place.  WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

Where does the time go???

Hello, hello!  The past few weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least...

I flew into KC (after a FOUR hour delay I might add) on Friday, June 24th and my wonderful sis picked me up and we drove into Wichita that evening.  Tim, Gretchen, Molly and I enjoyed a yummy dinner at Newport Grille and then Tim and I were off to spend the last few nights in our first home together.  Saturday we packed up the rest of the house and on Sunday we packed everything up in the HUGE moving truck.  A big shout out to Jody, Chris, Jack and Charlie for helping us with that super fun endeavor!  Sunday evening, my wonderful parents hosted a little get-together at their home so we could have one last big hoorah with our favorite Wichita folks!  Monday morning we closed on the house, handed over the keys and hit the road.  It was a bittersweet day...Happy that we sold our home so Tim could join me in Chicago, sad to leave something so special to us both.  We left Wichita around 10:45 in the morning and we made it to Chicago around 11:45 that evening.  I honestly can't believe we made it.  I thought we were going to have to stop somewhere along the way and get a hotel, but I think we were both running on adrenaline or maybe just thinking about how much easier it would be to already be in town in the morning.  The next day we unloaded most of our things into a temporary storage unit and here we are today. 

We're still living in my apartment out in the suburbs, which my husband loves dearly (note sarcasm here), until the end of August.  We've been looking at a few new places to live and we're keeping our fingers crossed we can find something as wonderful as our old Wichita home.  The little dogs made the trip with us and unfortunately Deigo had to stay behind with family until we find our new home.  Well, I should say unfortunately for us, because from what we hear Mr. Deigo is being spoiled rotten by Tim's grandparents...so I'm sure he doesn't miss us one bit!

We are all adjusting wonderfully and I think it's safe to say we are extremely happy to be back together again!  We miss all of our Wichita friends and family and we're excited for anyone and everyone to come visit us.  And of course we'll make our Wichita visits too!