Hawkeyes Invade Chicago

Labor Day weekend... Hubby and I went to Chicago and saw tons of Iowa fans... And got to see the Cubs and Hawkeyes!

On Friday... We went to Hawkeye Day at Wrigley! We went to Cubby Bear, Goose Island, Barleycorns and Merkle's! All filled with Hawkeyes wearing gold!!

On Saturday, we took the train and spent some time in the South Loop, and then walked to tailgate!!

Iowa vs NIU game at Soldier Field... Iowa wins!!! And had about 75% of the fans!

Each night we spent time with family and on Sunday took the m&m's to the park :)

Cubs win! Hawks win! Great weekend!


We had a blast!!!

Count your blessings

After having a wonderful time at a wedding, we headed home. Turns out, there was a different plan for that night. It was a little after midnight on August 26th.

We turned into 76th Street, going east and stopped at the Byron Center light. We stopped...it was a blinking red. John and I even had a little conversation about how much fun we had and how we have to meet up with those friends soon.

We started through the intersection and then we saw the car coming from the left. This car was easily speeding at least 20 over. He slammed on the brakes, the tire screeching was so loud... He swerved to the left and hit our left front bumper. John was driving and I was in the passenger seat. If he hadn't slammed in the brakes he would have hit our drivers door and I'm not sure I would be sharing this story.

The bumper tore off and flew to the right. We spun towards the south. The car turned off. It wouldn't start and was leaking fluids. The radiator was pushed about 4 inches to the right and into the engine.

I was in shock... But we were both okay. I sat there and just waited... Stunned. John told me I had to get out of the car because the blind spot at this intersection was obviously really bad. I tried to open my door and it barely opened. We are so lucky.

Minutes later the friends we were with all night at the wedding stopped... They kept us calm and stayed with us as the police came and the tow truck to take away my car.

Caroline, Bryan and Kristi are so wonderful! They all kept us calm... Helped get stuff out of my car... And Kristi even dropped us off at home. Words cannot express my gratitude. We are blessed.

My car is officially a total and the check is waiting for us at the agents office. We got a VERY nice settlement... Cannot complain at all!

John has had no issues since the accident. I'm having some back spasms and headaches... But Advil is my new BFF.

Thanks for all of the messages and texts from all of our friends and family. Even though I'm in insurance it was scary.

And now we start the search for our new car to replace the Ford Focus.

Fall

I usually don't decorate for Fall until after the first Iowa game, but this year I changed it up a little!

It's only 10 days away from Iowa's season opener at Soldier Field. So. Excited! Since we are going to the game I won't be here to decorate!

So here are my pretties! Love! Fall!

A new dish

I wanted to use up some ingredients I had.. So I decided to make up a dinner!

Ingredients

3 T olive oil

1 T Olive Oil, chipotle

1 Onion Red, diced

10 medium slices, cooked bacon

1 zucchini , quartered and diced

1 squash, quartered and diced

1 1/2 c shredded chicken

12 oz penne pasta

1 T Paprika, Spanish

1 T thyme, crushed (dry)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 stick salted butter

4 oz feta

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 128 g
Amount Per Serving
335 calories

directions-
Boil chicken 45 minutes in salt and pepper with water, shred when cooled. I use 1 1/2 C and reserved the rest for later.

Cook bacon... 10 slices and dice.

Add oils, red onion, bacon, zucchini, squash, paprika, salt and pepper and cook until vegetables soften, about 8-10 minutes. Add thyme and shredded chicken. In a separate pan cook penne. In another pan melt butter. Add chicken mixture to noodles in bowl, top with melted butter. Scoop out portion. Add feta to top! Yummmmmmmmmy!

Last day in Boston

We slept in... until 8:45AM! :) John walked to get us breakfast and coffee from Bean Leaf... our favorite breakfast place! He just got us something small...

So we could save room for our 3rd visit in 3 days to Sam LaGrassa's! We had had HAD to have the Chipotle Pastrami one last time!

And of course, I had to try their mac n cheese, mmmm

We walked around... but it was hot.. it was already 89 degrees at Noon. We took our last looks at the streets of downtown and checked out. We made it to the T station 2 blocks away and got to the airport early... we did this whole trip without taking a cap one time! We just used our T cards and walked... such a great, walking city! Good bye Boston... you were amazing and we LOVED you :)

But after a long travel day, with minor delays.. and a sick dog at home... we were soooo happy to be at home.. with our babies!!!

And now... back to normal life... no vacation!

And helping to heal our Abby Girl :)

Day 6 in Boston

We started off this beautiful day with some breakfast at Bean cafe! We sat outside and I had a cheese and avocado omelette with bacon and John had a sandwich. I also got to feed the birds! :)

Then off to Fenway we went. Time for a tour of the historic- Fenway!

I asked a lady to take a picture of us... after the pictures she started shrieking, "Oh My Gawd, you two look like you are on yar honeymoon.. I swear to Gawd."

View from the top of the Green Monstah!

The guide told us about the history of the red seat... this is how far Ted Williams hit a home run, over 500 feet!!

There were over 50 pictures I took about the history of the Red Sox, but I just tried to capture ones that showed the beauty of the park. It is seriously, the cleanest baseball stadium I've ever been too, and it's 100 years old (Plus I've been to 16 other stadiums, more on that later).Now leaving Fenway!Well, quick stop at another historic piece of Fenway.

The Bleacher Bar is a bar that is in Centerfield! You can watch the game from this bar, without a ticket! Although, when there is a game you can't take pictures~ we stopped by before a game :).

This is so cool. Before the game, this shop places the starting lineup for the Red Sox above their awning!

Off to the "Back Bay" for lunch and some more sightseeing!

From a recommendation, we went to The Salty Pig for lunch.

This was our amazing lunch. Salad, bread with an amazing fig jelly, two kinds of pork and two different cheeses! AHHHHHHMazing! :)

Plus they let you leave a souvenir in the check out book when you leave... so you all know what I left, GO HAWKS!

We started our walk on Newbury Street. Which is comparable to 5th Avenue in New York. Tons of amazing shops, restaurants and scenery. First stop, Charley's Saloon! (Time for a quick beer and to check in on the Olympics).

At the end of Newbury Street, is the Boston Gardens. Beautiful! Here are some of my favorites!

The park was beautiful... and the color combinations are inspiring!We just walked another couple miles... so its time for a late snack/early dinner!

Time to walk a couple more blocks to, Sam LaGrassa's!This time we shared the Cuban and the Pesto Chicken! :) mmmmm

We walked back to the hotel to freshen up (after all, we had just walked 1.9 miles front he start of Newbury Street to our hotel) and of course, had to watch the Olympics before we started our last night in Boston!

Having a cocktail at Our Local, Favorite, The Vintage Lounge!

Having a drink at The Place.

Next, we walked up to the North End to Pizzeria Regina. We only had to wait about 20 minutes, not so bad. The pizza, was, just okay! We liked the pizza better we had a couple days prior. Oh well, we tried it!

Met a new friend Jill, at the corner bar. :) LOVE meeting new people!

We owned Boston :) Last pic on the walk back to "our side" of town. We stopped by Jose McIntyre's to chat with the Iowa waitress and have a drink and then ended back at Vintage Lounge... what a great day! Lots of activities, food, and fun all with my bestie :).