1) My fruit infusion water pitcher
. It is such a great way to get you drink more water! You put fruit in the little tube and then you just refill the water. We've tried doing lemons, limes, oranges and cucumber and mint. I have really started drinking more water because of this pitcher. 
2) New flash deal sites that are popping up! The latest I have found are Bitsy Bug and Little Bird for NYC and Atlanta Moms. I just love all the great deals I've been getting!
3) My Pottery Barn tissue cover. I gave these as gifts this past Christmas and everyone just loves them. I bought two for myself and they seriously have made me smile every time I've needed a tissue. They are GREAT gifts! Go get a few.
4) J's CARES harness
has been getting some serious mileage. We just returned home from round one of our house search and I couldn't have done it without the harness. I highly recommend it for traveling with your toddler! I promise I'll do an updated travel post soon.5) Running out of things to do with your little one? An old classmate of mine from Atlanta created this website for Moms. It is simply amazing, you must check it out!
Now Five Questions for YOU!
1) What is your favorite home or decorating magazine? I'm getting so excited about decorating our new home. I want to go ahead and start some inspiration files. I would love any tips you have!
2) One of the first purchases we'll have to make is mattresses. How exciting! We have our mattress, but J is still in his crib. We'll move him into a single bed and we want to upgrade our queen to a king. So we'll need 2 twin mattresses and a king and maybe another queen. What kind do you have? Any recommendations?
3) We're planning to go to Chicago in May. Do you have any recommendations on where to eat? We'll have J with us, so would love to know some family friendly sights to see. I've only been twice so I'm very excited. We are going for my SIL's graduation from seminary!
4) Atlanta friends, if you have recommendations on babysitters, house keepers, painters, inspectors, yard guys, etc, etc, etc. Send them my way! I'm starting my "can't live without them" file. magnoliasmarriage and manhattan at gmail dot com
5) Does anyone have any tips on saving money while renting a car? Our car rental bill was so high (as was our hotel bill). A simple house hunting trip costs as much as a nice vacation. Since we are going to need to go again, would love any tips you have to share!
9 comments:
I love fresh lemon in my water...I'm slightly addicted. We have king Tempur-pedic, I love it. Although I'll be honest my parents have matress set from Sam's in their guest room, unbelievably comfortable. I'd try Hotwire for car rental, we've used them for hotel rooms super cheap. Good luck!
Exciting times! I love the Lincoln Park area. J would especially like the zoo!
Get my mom's yard people and her painters. She loves them both. But she isn't going to share her housekeeper with you!
Love that water pitcher and kleenex covers!!! You have great ideas! For Chicago - I love the city! I don't know of food places off the top of my head. They do have the world's largest mcdonalds in downtown which is supposed to be fun for kids - my cousins love it. The Lincoln Park Zoo is nice and free!!! Navy Pier is really fun to walk around and there is a children's museum there too! I went to the children's museum when I was like 3-4 so I don't remember anything! I don't know what type of mattresses my parents use but when we moved like 7 years ago my parents went to one of the mattress companies outlet store in stl and got a great deal on some really nice mattresses!
Chicago restaurants: Rose Angelis in Lincoln Park (take a cab from the zoo- it's very, very reasonable Italian, J will be fine there, and it's so delish); Pequods is the BEST pizza in the city but semi out of the way. If you're staying downtown, Pizzeria Uno or Due are the two best down there. If you are shopping on MI Ave, Grand Lux cafe is good for lunch and filled with kiddos. I prefer RL for lunch, but not sure if J would like it as much! Frontera Grill or Topolobambo (Rick Bayless) are both good. A lot of my restaurant pics are further north and not as accessible if you are staying downtown. Mrs Murphy's Irish Bistro is one of my faves in the whole city if you get a chance to go there. It's a big space but not too loud and I've definitely seen children there with their parents before. It's on Lincoln Ave, so if you are at the LP zoo and walking around on Armitage and Halstead (good shopping area full of small boutiques), it's a straight shot up Lincoln in a cab. If you want BBQ, Smoke Daddy is great. The cornbread is TDF. I wanted it as our wedding cake :)
Have so much fun. email me if you need any other recs!
I love, love, love our Tempurpedic mattress! Now that you can go test them out at a store and don't have to buy them over the phone it is so nice! We got ours and had it delivered the next day and I will tell you that we will NEVER go back! I LOVE our bed, it is so comfortable to sleep in but also to sit in and read or watch tv. It has helped my scoliosis problems with my back and is just fantastic! Just my two cents! And they really aren't that more expensive, if at all, than the coil mattresses!
Love the water pitcher. Try priceline.com. I book all of my husbands business trips thru there and you can name your own price for rental cars and hotels (its for real), the only downside is that there are no refunds so make sure that your actually going before booking. I have gotten a regular sized car for a 5 day trip to Cali for $40 total.
I always use Priceline for hotels, you can get some great deals especially on the weekend at hotels that cater more to business travel...I've stayed at 4 stars for $40 a night.
Elle Decor and House Beautiful are the two shelter magazines we subscribe to. Occasionally, I'll pick up Coastal Living, Traditional Home or Living Etc.
For rental cars, we've always seem to use either priceline or hotwire (if you're not too picky about rental companies), or take advantage of our Costco membership (it's usually close to 40% off).
As for restaurants in my not-so-little city, it's hard to choose. I generally recommend places you can't find in other cities so here are a few. Assuming you're in the the Michigan Ave. area, we're fans of Lou Malnati's, Portillo's (italian beef sandwiches), Quartino (it may or may not be too loud for J), XOCO. Mity Nice (Water Tower) and Frankie's (900 N. Michigan) are 2 of our usual ladies lunch spots when one of us has to tote along a mini. They're both in very touristy spots, but they're convenient to a friend's office and accommodating. Goddess and the Grocer is quick and tasty if it's a nice day and you'd like to sit outside for lunch. Yolk is a convenient stop for breakfast with lots of options. Surprisingly, Gibson's has *always* been fantastic for those of us with children.
The zoo is great for the little ones. And while it isn't the Atlanta aquarium or Monterey, the Shedd is a nice place to spend the afternoon. It CAN get expensive at the Shedd, but the behind the scenes tour was a lot of fun for us. Best to leave the rental car at the hotel and hop on a bus (much more convenient & cost effective). My favorite thing is the architecture boat tour -- I even volunteer to go when friends visit. By May, Wrigley field will start their behind-the-scenes tours and it's a nice stop for all; however, keep in mind that game days are crazy in my neighborhood. Feel free to email if you have other questions!
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