Cubs Game at Wrigley

While Trent is in Milwaukee today at the Cubs/Brewers game, I'm at home again and blogging about the Cubs game we went to a week ago! Yep, last Sunday, we went up to Wrigley for a Cubs/Cardinals game. We did the Farm Bureau bus trip again with my Dad - it had been a few years since we did this, and I'm happy to say it was a much better experience than the last! It was also the first night game we had ever been to at Wrigley.

As lifelong Illinois residents, we're big Cubs fans, so it's always fun to experience a game at the famous Wrigley field. This year was also the first year that they had the new area by the field, called The Park at Wrigley. There are bars and restaurants, a grassy hangout area, and a few shops that you can hang out at before the game. We thought it was pretty cool.

We checked out the new Cubs merchandise store, which is two levels high, and there's a balcony you can go out onto with a view of the people walking around below.

We also went into the Jostens jewelry store, the official jeweler of the Cubs, and they had replica Cubs World Series rings there, which you can actually buy for yourself. 

Then we got our photo taken with the Cubs 2016 World Series trophy. Pretty cool to see in person!

We walked around the field for a little while before the game. It actually sprinkled when we got there, and we totally thought it was going to storm on us, and we would have a rain delay. Luckily, the majority of the rain stayed away and the sun came out later for us!

It was fun to be back at Wrigley again watching the game live in person. It had been a while! Our view wasn't spectacular or anything, but we could still see the field pretty well, and we got to experience the new seats and the new video screens.

They've done so many new improvements to Wrigley in the last couple of years. It still looks basically the same, but with a few upgrades here and there. Another change is that the bullpens are now underneath the stands and closed off, instead of out in the open. And even the bathrooms are upgraded!

Also, I think the below picture was a little stroke of luck for me. The sun is hitting me just right so it looks like I'm glowing! Haha.

We played the Cardinals, who are one of our biggest rivals, so it was fun to be amid both Cubs and Cardinals fans. And it was a pretty packed house.

We got to see all of our favorite Cubs players, from Kris Bryant, to Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell, and Javy Baez.

And best of all...We went home with a W!

Nothing like getting to sing "Go Cubs Go" with the rest of the crowd after a great win at Wrigley Field. A fun time was had with my Dad and Trent at the game!

At the end, when most people had already left the stadium, our entire bus got to take a huge group photo in front of the field.

Not going to lie, it was complete chaos and confusion trying to get everyone together and figure out where we were supposed to be, with everyone leaving the stands at the end of the game, but we figured it out somehow, and it actually turned out pretty cool in the end!

As we were leaving, we even got a glimpse of the players heading out to their rides at the end of the night. Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward walked right in front of me as I was waiting for Trent to get out of the bathroom! Haha. It was kind of surreal.

I was so glad I took work off the next day. Night games are no joke, when you have to ride all the way back home in a bus the same night and don't get home until 3:00 in the morning! For that reason alone, I'm not sure if I'd do another night game bus trip again. But it was a fun day overall, and good to be back at Wrigley again.

Trent's Birthday Weekend

Happy Sunday all, and hope you've been having great weekend! Yesterday was Trent's 33rd birthday, and we celebrated yesterday, and now are hanging at home today.

We went out for dinner last night with my mom and dad, to Driftwood Pub, a new restaurant by the river in Davenport. It's changed names a few times over the years. We actually went here for our rehearsal dinner in 2015 when it was called Waterbar.

We sat out on the patio, and it was a little chilly, but the food was good, and you can't beat the view. 

Plus, take a look at Trent's "Shrimp-Wrecked Bloody Mary," which they say is both a drink, and an appetizer! I didn't try it, but Trent said it was pretty good.

We stopped at a friend's house in Davenport for a short time after, then went back home. Trent has yet to get his present from me - we know what it will be, but I'm letting him pick out the one he wants.  So I'll be sharing more when we get it!

In the mean time, we've been watching a lot of Cubs games lately, and we picked up some mulch, so I'm waiting for another nice 70+ degree day to put it all down in my flower beds. Will it be today? We'll see. :)

I also have to get some flowers for the porch, but again, I'm waiting for nicer weather.. summer can come any time now!

Chicago Trip, and Cubs win the World Series!

What a week it's been! Wednesday night, the Cubs won the World Series! It was such a crazy game, full of ups and downs, and it left us all on the edge of our seats watching. Trent and I both screamed with excitement after the final play in the 10th, when Bryant threw the ball to Rizzo at first to make that final out of the game and seal the Cubs' championship win. It was the most exciting game we'd ever seen for us Cubs fans.

Just a few days before though, Trent and I went up to Chicago for the weekend. We had originally just planned to see one of our favorite bands, Green River Ordinance play at a small venue, and have a pretty low-key weekend. But, the World Series schedule meant the Cubs would be playing at Wrigley that night, so that changed our plans a little bit!

We found out that Trent's cousin Jessica and her husband were going up to Chicago to celebrate in Wrigleyville, so we met up with them - after we went up in the Willis Tower. We had never been there before, so we got to cross something off our Chicago bucket list while there.

We all ate at Giordano's and checked out Harry Caray's, which was a little too busy that night to wait for a table. But we caught the first part of the game during dinner at Giordano's, then took the El down to Wrigley.

Even though the Cubs lost that night, the area around the stadium was still full of excitement and tons of Cubs fans. It would be their second loss in a row, but we were still hopeful the Cubs would get their groove back. Who would have thought though, that they would come back to win 3 times in a row and clinch the entire series!

It was such a fun night, and we even made it back to the venue in time to see Green River Ordinance play! They sang our wedding song, "Dancing Shoes," which was just one of the coolest moments of the night for us.

They even came out into the audience and sang right in the middle of the crowd. Literally less than a foot in front of us. It was an amazing show.

Since our Chicago trip, the Cubs went on to win, and we celebrated the rest of the week. Trent even went up on Friday for the parade with his friend Leo. Unfortunately, there were so many people there that they didn't even get close enough to see it! But they celebrated in Wrigleyville afterward, and got to enjoy the fireworks that were set off over Wrigley Field.

To make a great week even better, Trent got a new job offer and starts next Monday! He's looking forward to it, and excited to start this new chapter of his life.

Needless to say, we have had an amazing week and have enjoyed our Cubbies finally breaking the 108 year curse! Looking forward to the documentary and movie that is sure to follow this one. :)

Baseball Pumpkins (Go Cubs!)

Is there anything more exciting at the end of October than watching your team in the World Series, especially when it's the Cubs?! Trent and I have been watching every game, from the playoffs until now. Us Cubs fans are all hoping this is the YEAR!

That said, these are the pumpkins gracing our porch this October! Gotta cheer on our Cubbies.

I painted both last weekend. A slight change from my painted pumpkins of last year.

One thing's for sure - "We ain't afraid of No Goat!" (In the words of Bill Murray).

You know we all believe that we can win the World Series this year, but honestly, whether we win or lose in the end, this season has been nothing short of amazing for the Cubs!

P.S. - My blog was recently featured in the article, "25 Blogs, Resources and Tips for Remodeling a Fixer-Upper Home" from GarageCabinets.com. Check out the link and scroll down to the "Blogs" section to see a nice little blurb about This Little House of Mine! :)

Fall Sunday

It was a beautiful sunny, fall day today. I spent this Sunday at home getting things done around the house while Trent was working. Laundry, dishes, and fall decorating. Yes - I'm finally getting my fall porch finished! It's taken me a while to lug my fall tote out from the closet and finish changing up the decor, but it's all coming together. I'm hoping to have fall porch photos up this week!

The leaves have also been taking their sweet time to change this year. This lone leaf was one of the first colorful guys I've seen on the ground so far. I have a feeling they'll all start changing like crazy soon.

This weekend has been full of fun with friends and family. Friday night we watched the Cubs playoff game at The Fieldhouse in Davenport with a group of friends. It was a good time, and we won the first game vs. the Giants.

Last night was my cousin's couples shower and bonfire, and game 2 for the Cubs. It was a perfect fall day to spend some time outside with family. There was plenty of food and drinks to go around, and the Cubs snagged their second game and are off to San Francisco for game 3. This is the YEAR! I'm tellin' ya.

Well, as my fall front porch is nearly finished...stay tuned for pics this week! Eek!

Colorado Vacation - Part 1: Denver

Hello all, and happy September! And can you believe it's already Labor Day weekend? It's so nice to have a few days off to enjoy with family, friends, or whatever it may be. We had a nice Friday night going out for pizza with Trent's aunt and uncle, then coming back here and all getting together out back having a fire and some laughs well into the night. We're enjoying the milder, more fall-like weather we're having, though it's supposed to get back up into the eighties and nineties after the weekend.

Today Trent and I are cleaning around the house and trying to be productive. I thought I would take a little break though, and share the first leg of our Colorado trip!

We had such an awesome time in Colorado, and it the first time visiting the state for both of us. We drove from Illinois, so the drive was a little long, but we definitely made the most of the time we had there.

We stayed in Denver for the first two nights. Our hotel was right downtown, which was perfect because we were within walking distance of the 16th Street Mall and Coors Field, the two places we spent the most time at while in the city.

The 16th Street Mall was full of shops, restaurants, and bars, and our hotel, The Magnolia, was on 17th Street, so we didn't have to walk far. Our first night in Denver, we ate at Rock Bottom Brewery and were not disappointed.

We just got drinks and appetizers, but the nachos we got were huge, and it all definitely filled us up!

The next day, we went to a Rockies / Cubs game at Coors Field, but not before stopping at Colorado's oldest Brewpub, Wynkoop Brewing Company.

It did have a very old school vibe, with tons of character. Trent and I each had a drink before walking down to the baseball stadium.

We also walked through Denver's Union Station. It's a lot more than just a train station - there's restaurants, coffee shops, and stores all inside, so you will never go hungry or thirsty while you're waiting for your ride.

We headed down to Coors Field to watch our Cubbies play. The stadium is huge and pretty cool inside. Very different from Wrigley - a lot newer, and more outside areas to hang out at.

You also can't beat the mountain view! Especially from the purple row of Mile High seats. We had to try those out just to say we sat there. Our seats were a little further down from those, but still pretty high up.

We were hoping for cooler weather while in Colorado, but the day of the baseball game in Denver, it was HOT. It was a Sunday day-game, and our seats were directly in the sun. I was sweating my butt off! 

We were also a little disappointed, because not only did the Cubs lose, but they lost big that day! Oh well, maybe one day we'll get to see them play some awesome baseball!

While in Denver, we also had to check out the Big Blue Bear statue at the convention center. We walked there on our way back to the hotel. Then we stopped for some cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory on 16th St...Because yum, who can pass that up?

We thought Denver was a pretty cool city. Just too bad the Cubs game was so disappointing! 

Before heading down to the Colorado Springs area the next day, we made a pit stop about 20 miles west of Denver at the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre.

If you are ever visiting the Denver area, I definitely feel like it's a must-see to check out at least once. It was really cool and surreal to actually be there after seeing bands perform there on TV, and hearing about so many concerts taking place there.

The stage and amphitheater is built into the giant natural rock formations, and the scenery from the top is gorgeous. It's free to visit during the day, and people actually use it as a workout space. They run up and down the stairs and do yoga and pilates on them! Meanwhile, there are people working on the stage setting up for the concert that's about to take place that night.

We walked down all of the stairs to check out the little museum/ shop at the bottom. Then had to walk all the way up again. It was much more walking than I ever thought, and gave us a workout, for sure!

Just outside of Red Rocks, there's a lookout point that Trent and I checked out, where there are really expansive views of the hills and valleys in the area.

And we saw even more of the red rock formations that jut out of the hills.

That was only the beginning of the mountains and scenery we saw, though! Next up: Manitou Springs!  Where we visited Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls, Pike's Peak, and the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. Stay tuned. :)