Turning 27 & Celebrating Year Two

The end of August and start of September holds two significant days for me. Those two days being my birthday and Andrew's and my wedding anniversary. It's still hard to believe we're married—let alone celebrating our 2-year anniversary! This year we took some time and enjoyed a short vacation while house-sitting for his parents.

TOP & PANTS: H&M, JEWELRY: Forever 21, Art Effect, Macha, DIY, SHOES: Sam Edelman

Everything sort of jumbled together during that week and a half, as most vacations do, and ended with an incredible meal at an entirely-too-fancy restaurant as a gift from my in-laws. It was the perfect, and I mean perfect, excuse to finally break out my Sam Edelman Yara Lucite Heel sandals. They are absolutely the most gorgeous things I have ever put on my feet.

Lightly Smoked Salmon, Caviar, Radishes, Cucumber, Horseradish Crème fraîche (+ a single chip (lol))


Gazpacho with Heirloom Tomato, Shrimp, Crème fraîche | Corn Soup with Leeks, Corn, Lobster

Raspberry Sorbet, Peaches, Basil

Wild Icelandic Cod, Seasonal Mushrooms, Bacon, Turnip, Tarragon Sauce
(My entrée, blurred in the background: Wild Alaskan Halibut, Seasonal Vegetables, Porto Sauce)

Chocolate Flourless Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream & Raspberry-Blueberry Tarte, Blueberry Ice Cream

The food served at Oceanique was fantastic and we'll probably never go back again—ha! After our meal, we ended the night with a few cocktails at Billy Sunday (Rahm Emanuel walked in, strangely enough). Andrew's more of an Old Fashioned, served up kind of guy, whereas I like my alcohol to taste as little like alcohol as possible. Billy Sunday's Cobbler was just the drink for me.

Vin De Maison, Soursop, White Dog, Lime, Martinique Bitters, Elderberries

Andrew surprised me with a horseback riding adventure on my birthday—something I'd never done before. I wasn't expecting to be as frightened as I was and it took some serious soul-searching to calm my nerves. The horses were beautiful and quite docile but still. Although it happened to be the hottest day of August, the trail was beautiful and the experience was a lot of fun and mostly pain-free. The sore thighs the next day? Whoa.

We also spent a day at the Lincoln Park Zoo (while it was 90° with 80% humidity), ate loads of food, did some frivolous shopping, and of course a good amount of relaxing. I'd like to say the end of my summer was awesome, but it's well into September and still 95° out. You guys know what I mean!