It’s Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. and Drew, Jackson and I are headed to Chicago for a wedding and to visit some friends. This will be Jackson’s first time to Chicago and I’m excited to introduce him to some of my friends he hasn’t yet met (or doesn’t remember meeting when he was tiny) and to take him to the beach! Drew bought him some beach toys yesterday and although he thinks he knows what a beach is from different books he reads (er, that we read to him, I mean), I think visiting one in person and playing in the sand and wading in the water is going to blow his mind. I hope the weather cooperates.
This trip will also mark the last time Jackson flies for free since he’ll turn two in a few weeks and airlines require cheap-ass parents like us, who would probably fly with kids on their laps until they turned 18, to actually spring for a seat for their offspring once they celebrate their second birthday. Womp-womp. On the plus side, I hear two is a really fun, low-key age to parent.
Before I say adios to finish doing laundry and packing, here’s my public service announcement for you: There are lots of Labor Day sales happening this weekend, including a first-ever, store-wide 25% off sale on Fab.com! So go getcher selves some design-y home goods, artisanal meats, and morse code necklaces. And have a happy Labor Day!
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Jess August 30, 2013, 4:21 pm
What other sales?!!! I need to know.
rachel August 30, 2013, 4:24 pm
I got an email about a gap sale.
Addie Pray August 30, 2013, 4:24 pm
Happy Labor Day, ‘mericans! This is one of my favorite holidays. In large part because it reminds me of “back to school,” my favorite season of all!
Can I share my weekend plans with you? Tonight I am going to listen to a friend play the guitar at Celtic Crossing if anyone cares to show up and join me. He starts at 10pm. I have NOT been able to sleep all week – I just lie in bed wide awake and watch the time go by – 1 am, 2 am, 4 am, etc. – so I am hoping that continues tonight so I can watch his whole show.
Then, for the big day Saturday: Well, I have been trying to organize a group of friends to go kayaking and *finally* two friends are humoring me. They’re letting me plan the whole day actually, and more excited I could not be. We are waking up bright and early on Sat. morning and walking through Lincoln Park, down to the Gold Coast for breakfast, then we’ll keep on walking down Michigan Avenue and catch a water taxi to Chinatown, where we will rent kayaks and go paddling on the Chicago river for two hours. Then we are going to get dim sum for lunch and by late afternoon we hope to be at Derby, a Mizzou-affiliated bar in Lincoln Park where they are televising the Mizzou football game. HOW FREAKING PERFECT DOES OUR SATURDAY SOUND?
Saturday will only be topped by Sunday, when the beautiful, talented MaterialsGirl weds! Btw, Wendy, thank you for Dear Wendy, through which I’ve made good real friends (and real good friends). Muah!
And then BAM it’ll be Monday already and I’ll be pissed because of all the housework I have to do before returning to work on Tuesday. How the hell did the weekend go by so quickly?
cdobbs August 30, 2013, 4:33 pm
i’m canadian, but i took my mom and dad to chicago for christmas last year (my dad is a huge blackhawks fan so we went to a game)…..i loved it! the food was amazing and the shopping on michigan avenue was awesome (i’m from niagara falls which does not have the best shops and no victorias secret) we also went to lincoln park and up the sears tower and onto the skydeck (very cool) and also to the aquarium….navy pier was really cool, although i bet its a lot better in the summer….i had no idea they had water taxis that would have been cool to do to….sounds like you are going to have an awesome weekend 😀
Amy August 30, 2013, 4:37 pm
Ooops – my comment below was intended to reply to yours…
jlyfsh August 30, 2013, 5:10 pm
Your Saturday sounds perfect AP! I’ll be at an aquarium and bbq festival with my nieces. And then eating pineapple upside down cake for my brother in law’s birthday. Hopefully going to the beach on Sunday and doing nothing but chatting with my sister in law while M entertains the kiddos with my brother in law. My dogs are also meeting a baby for the first time in about 5 hours. I’ve already open the wine, it’s white though, sorry I’m not sorry about that! 😉
Have fun at MG’s wedding! 🙂
Sue Jones August 30, 2013, 5:59 pm
So, AP, any news from mister suckface moviestar? It would just be important to tell all of your DW friends if, um. anything happens, since (I will speak for myself only) us bored middle-aged housewives in yoga pants want to get a little vicarious entertainment, since my weekend will mostly be spent trying to keep my 10 year old playing outside, chaperoning his friends, and keeping him off the iPad! Maybe a hike… and I really need to firm up my childcare if I am going to hike a 14er soon!
Addie Pray August 31, 2013, 1:53 am
We exchanged a few emails but see its pretty clear he wants nothing and has a significant others he’s committed to so… Moving on.
I’m at an Irish bar and I’m talking to an Irish guy. Can’t fucking understand a word but he’s so cute with dimples so I nod like I understand, haha.
Addie Pray August 31, 2013, 2:58 am
Home now, at 1:52 am. Who am I? I need sleep! If I wake up before 7 am I am going to be pissed.
I made a very bad decision you guys. I had the cab driver drop me off in front of the 24-hour “burritos as big as your head” place, and i got a burrito and ate the shit out of it. my stomach is in such pain. It’s so mad at me.
So, Elliot, sigh. Don’t get me wrong, I would have LOVED to have gone out. But the night I met him it was pretty clear that was not going to happen, so I just had fun time bonding. You guys, my friend Aaron is such a good singer – talent + taste = killer combo. I used to come listen to him play every Friday night, back when I lived downtown. I hadn’t been since before I met Jason and then once we were dating I just never made it back. I’m glad I went tonight. It was good. I’m going to try to go more regularly. So, Chicago meetup at Celtic Crossing? … In 4 weeks? (My next 3 Fridays are already taken, I know.) So, in 4 weeks? I’ll get it started, later.
I’m so full, I’m so tired. I’m so tired I can’t sleep.
Sue Jones August 31, 2013, 5:18 pm
I would just hate to be a movie star’s significant other… better to be on your end and have a little fun and walk away. Gotta run and ferry my 10 year old from his playdate to a sleepover. My husband is working tonight so it looks like it will be just me…so maybe I will take myself out tonight… Hope you feel better!
CatsMeow August 30, 2013, 6:26 pm
Dang, AP! I would be so exhausted after a weekend like that!
CatsMeow August 30, 2013, 6:35 pm
And I’ve got a lil’ piece of Chicago coming to ME this weekend. 😉
Christy August 30, 2013, 4:36 pm
YOU GUYS BEST IDEA EVER:
When GG gets pregnant, we can refer to the kid as GatorGuppy! Because it has to be alliterative.
kerrycontrary August 30, 2013, 7:40 pm
Since you know my sister’s last name this will make sense…my brother in law is a-mart, my sister in law is k-mart, and my nephew is mini-mart. lolz.
Christy August 31, 2013, 7:27 am
Awesome!
GatorGirl August 30, 2013, 8:31 pm
I love it!!!
Can I start calling my cat GatorGato? Too much?
othy August 31, 2013, 12:02 am
Nope, not in the slightest.
painted_lady September 1, 2013, 12:40 pm
Not only can you, but you should.
Amy August 30, 2013, 4:36 pm
I bet you have such a great time kayaking! I just got a new one and took it to a little lake in the mountains last weekend. It was so peaceful and relaxing. And a pretty decent upper body / core workout.
Well and now I just want to tell this story – we had a really terrible forest fire earlier this year – like 110,000 acres burned. Anyway – they just opened up additional parts of the burn area last weekend. The fire had burned right down to the lake on one side. And on the drive up – there was a valley between two big hills that was just burned completely out – black and charred… it would have been devastating to see – EXCEPT – for the beautiful wildflowers that crawled up the valley floor. Just a beautiful visual of new hope.
Have a lovely time kayaking. I think the city would be SO SO pretty to see from the river!
Addie Pray August 30, 2013, 4:51 pm
Oh that sounds pretty. And thanks! None of my friends have any upper body strength to speak of – though of the girls did help me carry a couch up 4 flights of stairs so we’re tough – so this kayaking thing will be interesting… I’ll take picures!
iwannatalktosampson August 30, 2013, 5:36 pm
I just took my boss on a lunch date and we had 3 beers and got on a conversation about mushrooms. You know the kind. Sometimes I forget why I hate my job. Today is that day.
Sue Jones August 30, 2013, 6:02 pm
Oh yeah Wendy. 2 year olds are the best! It is your job to prevent him from killing himself by running into traffic, etc. That is your sole purpose in life right now. And I actually found 4 to be more challenging. More loud tantrums… but each kid is different. 2 was for me mainly exhaustion because my kid had no sense of safety or caution at that age and would just charge out into the bike path in front of roller bladers, cyclists, etc… The plus side is I lost a lot of weight from running after him constantly…
Skyblossom August 31, 2013, 9:16 am
I found the same thing. At 2 there is no common sense and no sense of danger that isn’t totally blatant.
APR September 2, 2013, 1:17 pm
I hope Wendy was being flip about the age of 2. They even have a term for the horror that is the “Terrible Twos!”
BriarRose September 3, 2013, 8:52 am
For me, age 2 was nothing compared to age 3. I called it the “Oh Dear God Threes”. Age 4, things started looking up. I’d say 7 and 8 so far were the most fun for me. Just so awesome talking to my daughter, doing things together, etc, with no hint of attitude or being embarrassed by Mommy. She’s almost 9 and I feel like she’s already becoming a tween.
lets_be_honest September 3, 2013, 9:34 am
Totally on the same page as you.
Skyblossom September 3, 2013, 9:50 am
I found age 2 to be much harder with my son than with my daughter. My son was much more active and adventurous and was afraid of nothing. My daughter was much more cautious and fearful so she didn’t try to do the things he did. Starting when he was 2 we ended up in the emergency room at least once a year until he was six. The first time was with croup but after that it was stupid things like he swallowed a suitcase key or stuffed dried beans in his ears or fell off an exercise bike and his hand split open and needed stitches. We had to deadbolt the backdoor to keep him in the house and I always kept the garbage disposal unplugged just so that he couldn’t flip it on and then stick his hand down the disposal to see how it worked.
the attack August 30, 2013, 6:34 pm
Im picking up my Australian friend at the airport tonight, and we’re going to Memphis and camping this weekend for a mini-vacation. We plan on doing Graceland for sure, which will be like the fifteenth time I’ve been there but still fun. We’ll probably go to a fair and obviously eat lots of barbecue. I love Memphis and wish we could move there. This should be fun!
Addie Pray August 30, 2013, 6:43 pm
That sounds like a fun weekend, mate!
Are you taking him to the creationism museum? (That’s in Memphis, right?) I’d like to go there, and see if I can spot a Duggar or something.
Skyblossom August 31, 2013, 9:18 am
Watching for a Duggar would be fun. The creation museum would either make me angry or I’d be laughing so hard at the displays that they’d kick me out. Not sure which way it would go.
the attack August 31, 2013, 8:19 pm
I’d never heard of the creation museum, but google says its in Kentucky. I don’t think I could handle that at all. I hope we have time to go to the civil rights museum though.
CatsMeow August 30, 2013, 7:04 pm
Ooh fun!
Wendy August 30, 2013, 7:09 pm
Memphis is one of my favorite cities! Drew and I went their for our first wedding anniversary and had THE BEST time, mostly because we met some great people who showed us some serious southern hospitality (hi, Nora!). Have fun!
the attack August 31, 2013, 8:24 pm
I remember you posting about your Memphis trip and the porch parties you went to! This is nice because P used to live here, so it’s like getting a tour from a local I already sleep with. I really want to move here!
GatorGirl August 30, 2013, 8:32 pm
Have fun! Jealous about the Graceland stop!
bethany August 30, 2013, 6:40 pm
BYE EVERYONE!!!!!
I’m leaving for vacation bright and early tomorrow morning (5am!) We’ll be road-tripping through through New England up to Nova Scotia, and I’ll be gone 2 weeks! Don’t do anything fun while I’m gone!!
I might pop in here and there, but am going to try to really disconnect. I’ll miss you guys!
Addie Pray August 30, 2013, 6:41 pm
Oh how fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Be safe and wear your seat belts!
CatsMeow August 30, 2013, 7:05 pm
OMGOMGOMG! That sounds like my dream vacation! I want to go to Maine and Nova Scotia sooo bad.
Girafe September 3, 2013, 2:03 pm
Why doesn’t anybody want to ever come to New Brunswick? It is after all, the picture province 😉
Enjoy NS – it is truly gorgeous over there too! 🙂
GatorGirl August 30, 2013, 8:32 pm
Have an amazing time!
Classic August 31, 2013, 12:43 am
Have a wonderful vacation!
rachel August 31, 2013, 12:45 am
That sounds awesome! Have fun!
kerrycontrary August 30, 2013, 7:43 pm
My labor day weekend looks super boring! I got out of work around noon but I’m trying to recover from a cold so I read Steve Jobs biography and watched It’s a Disaster. And then I have to get my third rabies shot on Monday, which is exactly what I wanted to do. Hopefully I’ll get some pool time on Saturday/Sunday before it closes for the season. I feel like since I’m in my 20s I should always have fabulous plans for labor day/memorial day. Does anyone else ever feel like that?
GatorGirl August 30, 2013, 8:38 pm
Best wishes to MaterialsGirl on her wedding weekend!!
This weekend is starting off with a bang and a noon Gators Games tomorrow. I bought shorts (!), a new Gators tee, and a bunch of craft beer for the game tomorrow. Our little baby craft brewery just started canning! I can’t wait to cheer while trying to avoid heatstroke in The Swamp!
Otherwise we have no weekend plans. I canceled/didn’t schedule our Labor Day party so we have no plans after the game. I plan on sleeping in, relaxing, and drinking beer by the pool. And maybe finishing my curtains and pillows. And sleeping.
Lyra August 30, 2013, 8:42 pm
My Labor Day weekend plans:
1. Move.
2. Not freak out about my new job too much.
3. Buy copious amounts of wine and beer to consume with my amazing best friend (who will be helping me schlepp furniture up 2 flights of stairs on Sunday) once my parents are done helping me unpack the apartment.
OH! After a decent amount budgeting tonight, I realized I can afford to get a cat sooner than anticipated! Like, I could probably get one in the next few weeks. I’m super excited about that. 🙂 🙂 🙂
othy August 31, 2013, 12:05 am
Mr Othy’s birthday is labor day. We shall celebrate it by doing nothing! (we had his party last weekend, since it is impossible to get folks together labor day weekend).
CatsMeow August 31, 2013, 12:34 am
I have 3 birthdays in my family (2 on the same day, 1 happening a few days later, but all being celebrated at once), so I am going back to my hometown and staying at my mom’s. Good news? The Lawyer is going to be there. Hopefully I will break my dry spell. It’s 11:30 and I just got home from happy hour. Yay long weekends!
Heather August 31, 2013, 12:39 am
We live in Kenosha & it’s hotter than H here right now. Perfect Beach weather! My son will be 3 at the end of September. I’m so relieved that 2 is almost over but everyone tells me 3 is worse!?!?! I don’t want him to grow up so quickly but at the same time I’m ready for an age where they don’t change to fast, they have a better sense of danger & right and wrong. Enjoy your weekend!
MaterialsGirl August 31, 2013, 1:24 am
I AM GETTING MARRIED OMG.
My face broke out so bad after my eyebrow and lip wax. I have super sensitive skin and normally use a honey wax which is gentler, but I went to benefit (and bought makeup of course) and unfortunately I did not react well to their wax. My esthetician fixed my face today and I had a lovely microdermabrasion too. I can already tell my face is calming down,
Thank god I had the placecards and things in last week. Now I’ve just been doing things like Costco trips, picking up my dress (which I almost forgot to do), cleaning, etc.
It’s gonna be really fun though.
Wendy, where is the wedding you’re going to? If I had known you were coming, you coulda been Addie’s date! Who doesn’t love good beer and Beatles on strings?
Addie Pray August 31, 2013, 1:57 am
Wendy’s wedding is also Sunday – so you’re just getting moi! Ha.
d2 August 31, 2013, 9:20 am
Your day is finally here! Enjoy!
Addie Pray August 31, 2013, 11:47 am
One more day… MG your wedding is not until tomorrow so if you decide you need me to pick you up and drive you to Canada or something instead of getting married, you let me know. You still have time to back out…
Addie Pray September 1, 2013, 4:27 am
It’s September 1, today is the day!!!!!!!!!!!! … But you still have time. You *sure* you want to do this? I mean, now is your chance to escape…. dun dun dun! 😉
MaterialsGirl September 1, 2013, 8:58 am
Yes I’m good I just really don’t want it to rain during the ceremony
Addie Pray September 1, 2013, 10:39 am
It’ll be a beautiful perfect day with no rain, I promise!
Wendy September 1, 2013, 2:16 pm
Yay!!! Happy wedding day! Enjoy every minute!
Wendy September 1, 2013, 2:20 pm
Oh, and the wedding I’m going to tonight is in River North, I think.
Fabelle August 31, 2013, 11:26 am
I’m meeting KKZ today!! Er, I should probably start getting ready. We’ll take pictures 😀
Classic August 31, 2013, 11:47 am
I hope you take a picture for DW, not just Facebook. Have fun!
vizslalvr August 31, 2013, 5:43 pm
Yesterday we did happy hour at Momocho (mmm taquitos), grabbed a beer at Melt with some friends, then played Catan with another friend. Today I spent three hours cleaning and am currently watching the Notre Dame game. After the game we’re going to a bar where my husband is entered into a contest to win a motorcycle. Tomorrow we don’t have plans, so I’ll get 4-5 hours of work in and maybe take a nice hike with the dog. Monday is a picnic at my aunt and uncle’s house with the fam. Basically, a productive and fun long weekend.
lets_be_honest August 31, 2013, 10:28 pm
Hiiiiii. Drunk DWing!!! Watching a break up RIGHT NOW. They’re yelling about her not eating but being high and drunk. He sounds so patient. She crying like a dying horse. I’m moments away from referring her to Wendy. That’d be rude right?
Now they’re fighting about carbon monoxide. He says she’s gonna die from it?? Make an effort to eat a sweet potato? I should record this. Haha. Pretty sure they don’t know I’m here.
the attack August 31, 2013, 11:46 pm
Wendy needs a document with business cards that we can all print out and give to any crazy people we see. Refer her to Wendy! Do it!
lets_be_honest September 1, 2013, 1:09 am
Update. They are back together and dancing ???
Addie Pray September 1, 2013, 4:24 am
Where is/was this happening? I’m trying to figure out if you’re, like, on a fire escape peaking into someone’s kitchen, or taking a smoke break outside at a wedding and they’ve come out to argue but don’t see you there? Either way, funny!
lets_be_honest September 2, 2013, 10:02 am
Haha, smoke break, not spying into windows.
I am SO TIRED. Didn’t sleep a wink last night and got into the closed office at 8 am. Boo!
d2 September 1, 2013, 9:02 am
A mash up of Real Housewives and Dancing with the Stars?!
Addie Pray September 1, 2013, 12:25 pm
You guys I just met Drew and Jackson and I got to kiss Jackson’s sweet face off! If Wendy posts pictures, I’d just like to explain why I look like shit: I’m extremely hungover, sick, dehydrates, haven’t showered since Friday, and I’m dirty, like actually covered in dirt, and sweat, and dirty sweat.
Wendy September 1, 2013, 2:15 pm
You looked cute. And, anyway, I was unshowered too. And wearing in bikini even though I should not do that in public. Can you send me the pics you have? I’m still waiting for Katy to send me what she took.
iwannatalktosampson September 2, 2013, 1:08 pm
Lululemon has begun vanity sizing, officially. I cannot express my disappointment in a mature manner. Fuck vanity sizing. Now I have to go BACK to the fucking store and get a smaller size, when I am 5-10ls heavier than my skinniest anyway. #firstworldproblems. But I don’t care! I am annoyed. You’d think I just lurrrrrrve running errands in 90 degree weather. You’d think.
Sue Jones September 3, 2013, 10:29 am
WTF, so does that make me a F-ing size 2??? That is ridiculous! Back in high school all 105 lbs of me was a size 7… I am larger than that now but the sizes keep shrinking and my clothes get baggier because I keep insisting that I am a size 6.
cmary September 3, 2013, 10:45 am
My size no longer exists in a lot of stores that I used to be able to count on! They all just look like clown pants on me now. I stick to skirts whenever possible, since I have one pair of work-appropriate pants that fits. Very annoying.
Skyblossom September 3, 2013, 10:58 am
I have the same problem. I have to order almost all of my clothes online because stores don’t keep my size. I used to be a size 7 but now I’m a 4 in some stores and a 0-2 in other stores. Land’s End goes down to petite XXS which is size 0-2 and it fits me.
GatorGirl September 3, 2013, 12:11 pm
This is fascinating to me. I’ve gone from 100 lbs and a size zero 5 years ago to 115 and a size 2/4 now. That seems like a reasonable size change with the weight I’ve put on. And I’ve shopped consistently in the same stores (Loft, J Crew, American Eagle). I will say the “cheaper” things I buy, I’m wearing a large in now. Like Forever 21 I’m a medium or large. The Gators t-shirt I just bought this weekend is a large too. I wonder if it’s to accommodate my ever growing (it seems) chest or if the shirts are getting smaller.
Fabelle September 3, 2013, 12:29 pm
Yeah, I think in cheaper stores (like Forever 21, Joyce Leslie) the sizes are actually becoming SMALLER? I’m a little heavier than my norm right now, but my size never changes all that much, even with some weight fluctuation (i.e. I’ll be a 2 at my skinniest, & then a tight 4, sometimes 6 when I’m a bit fluffier) so it’s been weird to go to Joyce Leslie (my go-to “cheap” store) & immediately grab the size large because I can tell, just by eyeing it, that the mediums & smalls are gonna be way too tiny on me. I think maybe they’re trying to skew younger or something?
In other stores though, I don’t notice vanity sizing so much as horribly inconsistent sizing.
Copa September 3, 2013, 1:46 pm
Agreed! I never really notice or think about vanity sizing, but I find inconsistent sizing frustrating. Depending on the store, I wear anything from a 4 to a 10. That’s a huge range!
kerrycontrary September 3, 2013, 4:42 pm
I think forever 21, joyce leslie, rue 21, etc…all cater to teens and younger people. Like yes you can shop there and find age appropriate things when you are above the age of 22, but they have girls shopping there that are 12-14 as well so they tend to make things smaller. I just figure I’m a M/L in Forever 21 (although I actually found that their pants which are sized by waist measurement (so 26,27,28, etc…) are surprisingly accurate.
iwannatalktosampson September 3, 2013, 4:52 pm
I wish people had to do everything by actual scientific measurements. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could go to the doctor and have them take all of your measurements, and then all stores sold clothes based on those measurements? Even down to underwear? And then if you chose to have things be a little bit big that’s a conscious choice – not an accident? Why is this not a real thing yet?
iwannatalktosampson September 3, 2013, 1:02 pm
I am the fattest I’ve been in a while and I bought some wunder under crops in a size 4 which is my standard. Like I have probably 8 other pairs, all in a size 4, and they fit perfectly, I can run in them without them falling down but they aren’t suffocating. I try these on the next day to wear them to volleyball in the park and they’re too big. They would even be too big to lounge in/do yoga in let alone go running in. And it’s not even a style issue – I have two pairs of regular wunder unders and they’re size 4. It’s not as if my weight has remained the same but I’m smaller because I’m really in shape. I’m not. I’m quite squishy at the moment.
I just feel like I am *specifically* brand loyal so that I can shop online and know my sizes. Victoria Secret has really good sizing. I don’t actually care if stores vanity size – they just need to be consistent with it. Don’t randomly change your sizing and not tell your customers. Because some of your customers are grouchy as shit.
Addie Pray September 3, 2013, 11:19 am
Yeah, no, I’m sorry, this is depressing because it means my size 10/12 should really be a 48. Vivement vanity sizing!