farewell hard drive

even though life is good, some unfortunate things have been happening around here. in the last two weeks, i cut my finger really bad while cutting a nectarine, our car broke down and i was almost stranded until a man who looked like morgan freeman helped me, i broke a glass, and the cherry on top is that my computer crashed and burned. died actually. my hard drive went corrupt and i have to get a new one. the clencher is that we don't know whether we can pry my files (pictures from the last eight years, my whole college career of paper and assignments, and my library of music) off the drive or not. i think i cried harder than when my dad told me as a 15-year-old that we were getting rid of AOL on the family computer and i wouldn't have instant messaging anymore. lame i know.

so here's to you hard drive, for all these years of keeping my life together. advice to the world: buy an external hard drive and put everything on there!

tasty

today we hit up the taste of chicago with some friends from our ward. they showed us the ropes and took us to their favorite food booths. we tasted amazing cheeseburgers, chocolate banana crepes, roasted corn on the cob, huge slabs of watermelon, italian ice, and last but not least, chocolate covered frozen bananas. it was a great day minus the sun burn i got. our favorite: roasted corn on the cob!

in front of the buckingham fountain in grant park.

right when this picture was taken, the water totally sprayed us and soaked our clothes.

almost famous

this morning when i drove into my work parking lot (conveniently located on the ghetto-ist street of chicago), i was stopped by a man. he told me that they were filming public enemy (the new johnny depp movie coming out) and that i had to park somewhere else. my parking lot is going to be in public enemy. famous? maybe.

a visitor

my cousin megan was in town this weekend for an ebay live event. it was so good to see a familiar face! despite the greatness of this place, it does get lonely not knowing anyone. we went shopping, tried on ridiculously expensive (and looking) shoes at Neiman Marcus, browsed at Tiffany's, and had lunch at Cheesecake. i love this girl so much!

baby beluga

does it look like i have a lot of time on my hands? well i do. the job starts monday. what exactly will i be doing? i don't even really know. data entry basically. at this point, i will do anything thats yields mula.

since all my toys are packed in a dirty storage unit in provo, and are probably being infested with insects for that matter, i am feeling less creative. and let me be specific -- when i say toys, i mean my cool pens, stationery, scrapbooking supplies, glue gun, button collection, paint, glitter glue, sewing machine, and all my dearest creative toys. thus, here is a shot at creative blogging while sharing our latest news...

Curiously, we walked up the steps of the shedd aquarium yesterday because this week all chicago museums are free to the public. one more reason to love june in this city. what did we find inside?

Hoards of fish! turtles! sting rays! sharks! pure aquatic bliss.

I asked nate if i could have a beluga whale. either that or a bunny. he said no to both.

Caught up in a beautiful sunset, we took a picture with the city

Ah! i love cheesy pictures. and being a tourist. thank you very much.

Got lost in a sculpture...of legs.

On our way home, saw the most pimped out cadillac. this picture doesn't do it justice. it was so high off the ground with the hugest rims. nate told me to hurry up and take the picture before we got shot.

we love you chicago.

lately

we went out to dinner at cheesecake factory with nate's buddy aaron. don't laugh at this picture - I met nate at work and made him tuck his shirt in because it went down to his knees. okay, that's an exaggeration, but it was loooooong.

a little stop at ghirardellis. ironically, it's across the street from the huge hershey's store and cafe. which quality of chocolate would you choose? right. us too.

they have the biggest sundaes here. mmmmmmm.

tying the knot

I love the author Sophie Kinsella - she writes the "Confessions of a Shopaholic" series. It just so happens that the owner of our apartment loves her too and owns the entire collection. I am almost done with "Shopaholic Ties the Knot." I've been reading to my heart's content! Anyway, it got me thinking about weddings. I loved our wedding.

On Sunday, the primary kids sang Families Can Be Together Forever. Apparently I was really emotional or something, but I started crying when they sang these words: while I am in my early years I'll prepare most carefully so I can marry in God's temple for eternity. Hello crybaby! Those words just got to me because I dreamed and prepared for so long to marry in the temple...and I did it!

On another note of pure greatness: I found a job!! I start sometime this week.

perfect

i know that every girl thinks their dad is perfect, but mine truly is. i always wanted to marry someone exactly like my father. but since our personalities are practically the same (recipe for disaster..who knows?) and i couldn't clone him...i chose the next best thing: nate. my dad has this infectious zest for life. he can't sit still ever and is always moving. i love his sense of humor. i love when he acts like he's 18 (which is a lot). he still owns his skateboard and goes to the skate park. he is always up for skiing or biking or game night. he is so diligent - he gets up every morning at 5 to work out before he goes to the office. he is getting up there in years but still has a six pack. yeeeah. my dad is the epitome of a righteous, honest, faithful, and loving husband. he has made it clear in our house that we must hold the utmost respect for our mother. he works so hard to provide opportunities and memories for me, always making family vacations a priority.
i love my dad more than words can say. happy father's day!

a successful day in chicago

Since my job search is a bust (the lady at the temp agency said that no one is hiring due to the state of the economy...awesome), I decided to go downtown today. We have two trains close by: the EL Train (there was a murder at our station not too long ago...I have been told to never step foot near it) and the Metra (a safe, air-conditioned ride). Just so you can get a visual of this lovely place...here is our station:

I decided to walk the Magnificent Mile. Let me just say, the name speaks for itself. Not only is this famous mile-long strip filled with delectable stores like Neiman Marcus, Prada, and Louis Vuitton, but also with an appetizing array of stores that a poor newlywed student (me) can enjoy...specifically a HUGE Nordstrom Rack and the infamous H&M.

Here is the Chicago Tribune building...which is built in the gothic style?? Look close and you'll see fleur-de-lys under each window. Love the detailed architecture!

ah! sancutary...when I live in Provo, sometimes I just go to Nordstrom not to buy or even look, but just to be in it because it feels familiar. I happened to be raised by a loyal Nordstrom lover (my mama).

Last but not least, I took a walk in Millennium Park. This is called "The Bean." Pretty famous apparently...and we do live in the Windy City, so naturally my hair looks fabulous. This also made me laugh: Millennium Park was built to commemorate..obviously..the Millennium, but it wasn't finished or unveiled until 2004. Nice timing...

goodbye hair

da da! i butchered a good eight inches off.
it feels good! maybe I will stay a little cooler in this chicago heat...

chi chi chi chicago

This is the Aon Building where Nate works. He was hoping to be up high...but let's face it: interns only get to work on the 10th floor.

I am currently job searching like a mad woman, getting to know our neighborhood, and venturing downtown. My current job is figuring out which nights are free at all the museums so we can see everything! Chicago is grand.

la maison

this is our new home

we live in a cute little mod apartment in the hyde park area of chicago

you've gotta love old chicago buildings with ancient plumbing - it takes about half an hour for the ankle-deep water to drain after you take a shower.

excuse the messiness in some of the pictures: we are still moving in!

for your viewing pleasure

here is the link to our wedding pictures:

http://kylelarsonphotography.instaproofs.com/collection.php?event=46832

the website asks for your email address, but this is only to view the pictures. no worries.

it's official

We're married!

May 23rd was the big day (pictures to come...) and then we headed to Victoria, British Columbia for our honeymoon. We went on the Victoria Clipper, a boat from Seattle to Canada.
It was a gorgeous day.

On our third day, we went on a whale watching boat. We put on huge thick coats.

The boat driver told us not to even try to take pictures because the whales move too fast - "just buy a postcard." But, Nate got lucky at the right time and the right place. This is Shamoo's step brother's girlfriend.

Our last day in the Flower City

We ate amazing food, treated ourselves to a little shopping, and slept in every day.
Happy Honeymoon