a puppy and a party

i spent last weekend in chicagoland, attending my friend erin's bridal shower on friday, shopping with my mom and going to ravinia with kelly and her husband chris on saturday, and spending father's day with my dad and grandpa. an added bonus was getting to meet julie's new golden retriever puppy, boomer. here he is in his crate the day julie brought him home...

and again, last friday, nosing around mr. schweigert's house slippers. he's growing like a weed! we didn't get oscar till he was 5 months old, so we didn't get to experience as many of the overnight changes and growth spurts (we also got to bypass waking up for 3am potty trips). he's an incredibly mellow dog and had no interest in posing for photos or even looking up when i called his name excitedly, repeatedly. not sure if you can see it in this picture, but julie has outfitted him with a cute, plaid collar.


erin's shower was fun. the opportunities for all four of us--erin, julie, kelly and me--to get together are, sadly, a lot fewer than they used to be. family obligations, travel for work, long-distance relationships, and living away from chicago (me, for the last 8 years. erin, starting this fall) have made group plans a challenge, but we still do our best to see each other when we're in the same place at the same time, and keep up to date on what everyone's up to when we're not.

here's erin looking lovely and bridal in her white dress, expediently making her way through the big pile of presents. she got a lot of baking tools/supplies (can't think of a better word there) and breakfast ware (juice glasses, coffee mugs, cereal bowls). she also received a signed copy of ted allen's cookbook (but not this book)!