Memorial Day Weekend 2018

Hi friends!! I’m so sorry to have disappeared the past few days. I was soaking up family time and blogging took a back seat. Unfortunately I got some sort of stomach bug on Monday so my plan to have a recap up on Tuesday got thrown out the window. I’m back now so let’s dive right into the weekend. Have a great day 🙂

Friday

Alex, Bailey and I were up bright and early on Friday to finish the rest of our drive. We ended up deciding to break up the drive to my parent’s house and were staying about halfway there in Poland, Ohio. We found a pet friendly hotel on bringfido.com which made it much easier to do since we knew Bailey would be welcomed.

Once we were dressed and ready, we headed to a Dunkin Donuts for some breakfast before hitting the road. We made pretty good time and ended up arriving around lunch time. It was just my little brother, Brendan, and my dad that were home so after they met Bailey and we chatted for a bit we headed out to lunch. We went to Pazzi di Pizza, a local Italian restaurant in my hometown of Elmhurst that has a great lunch menu. I got the chicken vesuvio panini which came with a salad too and it hit the spot.

We drove around downtown Elmhurst because Alex is actually working on a potential deal there for work. Small world right?! When we got home, we hung out with Bailey outside. My parents don’t have a fenced in yard so we brought our 30 foot leash with us and tied it to a tree in their backyard. It was fantastic! Bailey could run around without someone being attached to her at all times and we didn’t have to worry about her running away. After being in the car for the morning, she had lots of energy to run out.

My mom got home from work so we all caught up on life before Alex left to go meet a client. Mom and I headed to do a little shopping and I grabbed a new workout tank and capris thanks to a Dick’s gift card that I had. Let’s be real, who doesn’t loving buying something and feeling like you don’t have to spend money because of a gift card.

We headed home and my older brother Brian had arrived from Michigan. Alex finished up with his meeting and when we got back, Dad had started dinner. He grilled brussel sprouts, romaine lettuce and steak to enjoy. All of it was so tasty!

Alex and I ended up taking a “Bruber” (Brendan Uber) to go meet my friends in a nearby town for the night. It was so much fun to meet up with them and catch up. We started at a bar with a country cover band who was fun before heading to a semi outdoor bar. Our Bruber picked us up and we both collapsed into bed once we got back to my parents.

Saturday

I had every intention of going for a run when I woke up on Saturday but that didn’t happen. Instead I read a bit outside with Bailey before heading for a mani/pedi with my mom. It was nice to be able to sit and relax while talking to her after spending the past two days in the car. Luckily my mom called ahead for appointments because they place was packed! We joked that it was everyone who had stayed in town for the long weekend. After our nails were done, we went to a few local stores to shop around.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the family. My dad went to a meat warehouse and brought Bailey back a bone to chew on. Man did she LOVE that bone. We could have left her for hours and she would not have even noticed she was alone. I mean look at how she’s looking at the bone…that is true love.

For lunch, we picked up some Mexican food from a place that has quickly become my family’s go to for catering. Seriously this stuff is legit and so tasty. This is probably bad but I don’t really remember what we did the rest of the afternoon. I think I napped for a bit though.

For dinner, my dad fired up the grill again. This time he made a beef tenderloin, corn and something else. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out with my family.

Sunday

Sunday started off on a great note with a big breakfast. Growing up, my dad would pick a few Sundays and make a big breakfast with bacon, eggs and hash browns. Since most of the kids were home (my sister is studying abroad in Australia so she was the only one missing) he decided to make one for us. Scrambled eggs, two kinds of bacon and hash browns were perfect to start the day.

My mom and I last minute decided to go see Life of the Party. We both give it two thumbs up! It was funny but not crude and every funny part wasn’t in the trailer which I appreciated. If you’re looking for a good movie, you should check this one out.

When we got home, it was time to get ready for the party. I had two cousins graduate from high school last week and one of them was having a party during the afternoon. It was actually most of the reason we went to visit Chicago. After saying hello to everyone I grabbed a new to me beer to try. Goose Island is a Chicago brewery and I was really intrigued to see. Goose Summer Hours lager was similar to Summer Shandy but not as light. If you see it, you should pick it up.

My aunt and uncle had the party catered and went with Portillo’s and got Italian beef. I packed my bun with it and filled my plate with fruit salad and Caesar salad to round out the meal. Man do I miss Italian beef here in New Jersey. If you are ever in Chicago you must try this sandwich out!

After eating, I went outside to sit outside and talk with the rest of the family. Once the mosquitoes started to bite, I headed back inside to help my aunt bring the dessert out. Oh man…it all looked so good! The sunflower cookies were delicious and I definitely brought one home with me. Once we got back to my parents, we packed up as much as we could before heading to bed.

Monday

We got up nice and early to head out on the road. I’m not sure who was more upset to leave because Dad and Bailey had a great bond going. The running joke is he’s going to show up at home now with a puppy.

We were making great time and had every intention of making it all the way back to New Jersey. Then that got thrown out the window. Somehow I caught a stomach bug and we had to stop in Pittsburgh for the night so I could rest a bit. Once again Bring Fido came in handy so we could find a pet friendly hotel to stop at for the night. After checking in I crawled into bed and slept on and off for a few hours before attempting to eat a bit and slept the night away.

Tuesday

Luckily both my boss and Alex’s bosses were incredibly understanding when we both had to call out. After a late start we ended up making it back to New Jersey with no issues. I still had some stomach pain (actually I still do) but we didn’t have to make any emergency stops which was a good sign. Alex did a few work calls on the road (thank you Bluetooh!) and I fell asleep a few times on the ride. When we got back, we unloaded to car and just collapsed on the couch happy to be back.

Question of the day: What was the highlight from your weekend?e