9 Days Together!

So I've been slacking on my blogging duties but I'm vowing to be better about it!  Plus things have been really busy!

I finally moved home with my parents and have everything settled in.  I still need to hang up pictures but other than that it's all organized.

I moved home on a Saturday and the next week I did a cake tasting and flower consultation for the wedding.  The cake tasting didn't go as well as expected so I'm still looking for a baker but the flower consultation went really well! I picked out all the flowers and am planning on DIYing them all.

After a week of relaxing/cleaning/wedding stuff, TJ came to visit!  We hadn't seen each other in almost 6 weeks so it was a happy reunion at the airport.  We drove straight up to South Bend, IN to spend the week with his family and friends.  It was a wonderful 9 days together.  Here is a recap:

Saturday: Notre Dame vs. Purdue   Tailgating with family and friends!  Delicious mimosas, cornhole (I'm terrible and hit a woman in the head), singing the Notre Dame fight song (by the end of the week I finally learned it) and having a good time!  Luckily the weather turned out great; sunny and a little bit chilly!  We got tickets to the game and Notre Dame won!

Sunday:  Breakfast with TJ's family.  His grandma and uncle and aunt drove down from New York to spend some time with them so we all had breakfast at Cracker Barrel before they headed back home.  It was great to meet them and hear stories about TJ when he was little!  Afterwards TJ and I headed up to Lake Michigan with his dad and stepmom.  We played bocci on the beach and then had fish tacos and pizza on the rooftop of this little restaurant, The Stray Dog.  Afterwards TJ and I split some sherbet and spent the rest of the night relaxing.

Monday:  Nothing exciting happened that I can remember!

Tuesday:  My favorite day of the week!  We registered for our wedding gifts at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  It was so fun to pick out stuff for OUR home!  We agreed on almost everything except bedding.  Oh and my need for a KitchenAid mixer.  I really want one!  Afterwards we looked at suits for the wedding.  We walked around the mall for a while, then headed home to get ready for our engagement pics!  I surprised TJ by finding a photographer in South Bend who could take our pictures on the campus.  They were an awesome couple and I'm so excited to see the pictures!  After pictures we picked up TJ's brother Tony and met their grandma for dinner at Olive Garden.  Delicious!

Wednesday:  Another relaxing day...

Thursday-Friday:  We were up bright and early to head to Chicago.  TJ went into work and I sat downstairs at Caribou and studied for my diet tech test.  Eventually I got bored and headed over to Michigan Ave.  I did some shopping and stopped to get lunch at this little Italian sandwich shop.  I got a turkey panini, cucumber salad and an orange Pellegrino water.  I walked to the lake and ate.  I usually hate eating alone but it was strangely relaxing.  After TJ got off work, we headed over to Wrigleyville where his friends live.  They graciously allowed us to stay with them in their gorgeous condo!  We walked to dinner at Giordano's where we split a large pizza!  Sooo goood!  TJ had been talking about that pizza for weeks!  The next day we took the train into dowtown; TJ worked, I studied.  We grilled out that night and made smores on their rooftop deck!  Then early to bed, early to rise!

Saturday:  Notre Dame vs. Michigan  Rainy Day....ewww.  And Notre Dame lost.  Not fun.  Especially for the fiance's and wives of the ND fans.  The guys complained the rest of the night and kept talking about the loss.

Sunday:  Drive back to the airport.  Dropped TJ off for his flight back to Denver.  I cried all the way home.  Another month until he comes back.  But until then lots to do!