summer break.

Hey summer, 

You kinda snuck up on us.. and now you're half way over. 

Do you mind slowing down just a little?

I want my hubby to be on summer break forever.

love,

A selfish wife that never wants to give her husband back to medical school. 

But really, this break has been wonderful. 

And I'm going to be very depressed when Zak goes back to school. 

Ugh I'm already dreading it.

But I can't think about that now, just gotta stay in the moment and make the best of his time off- and ignore the fact this is his last summer break.. ever.

I've been patiently waiting to finally use our new pool, but unlike AZ summers, midwest summers include lots of stormy days. 

So fingers crossed I can lay out today and soak up a little sun.. 

I'm looking a little to ghost like as of late. Yikes.

Hah and same thing goes for our gym.. I need to try that puppy out too. 

It's been almost a month since we moved in and I haven't touched any piece of workout equipment. 

Opps. We've been busy?! That's my excuse. 

Anywho this next week is Fourth of July! 

Can you believe it?!

And I'm working till 9:30 that night.. can you believe it.

Yeah there's no way to put, working on your favorite holiday sucks. 

Thankfully we're going to have a belated fourth of july party/BBQ on Saturday-

 so it'll make up for working on Independence Day.

And speaking of that party we're hosting, I need to get my butt in gear and start planning. 

If anyone has cute ideas, send em my way!

I've searched Pinterest and looked at different blogs and still haven't found many decorations or super fun games that have caught my eye.

I may try and whip up this cake though, so wish me luck!

Welp we're gunna go hit the pool, and take Romie down to the river for a walk-

hope you have a lovely Saturday!

xoxo,

Minnesota.

We're back from Minnesota, and man did that trip just fly by. 

We could only stay for 4 days {2 being travel days}, and wish we could have visited longer.

There's so much to do there! And the lakes are endless.

We both agreed that we'll certainly have to go back sometime soon. 

Anywho, the wedding was so much fun! 

I was the brides personal attendant, and Zak was an usher, 

so we were very involved throughout the day.

Oh and I was also shooting her video, so we were busy. 

And when I say busy, it's the best kind of busy. 

I mean who doesn't love weddings?!

Sadly though, since I was shooting videos, I barely took any pictures. 

Literally, only one. 

It was such a pretty reception, I wish I would have snapped more!

You'll just have to wait and see the gorgeous flower arrangements, cutest dance moves, and sweetest first look during the video, I guess. ;)

On the first night there we decided to go to the Mall of America.

We were really classy and went in our sweats, hence no photos from that excursion. 

But, it was tons of fun. 

Zak and I first stopped at Anutie Anne's for those deliciously dangerous cinnamon bites and then we just walked around in awe getting totally lost. 

I mean this mall has everything, including a Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack.

They don't have either in NE/IA, so I was in heaven. 

The next day we were even more bums and just had a relaxing hotel day complete with room service and an all-you-can-eat breakfast that had fresh donuts.

PS I ate way too much in these 4 days. 

And then we headed to the rehearsal and grooms dinner, which was a blast!

We still can't thank the new Mr. & Mrs. for including us in their special day, it was just lovely!

xoxo

chicago video

So remember when we went to Chicago like, a month ago? 

Well we finally edited the video together, woot woot! 

Better late than never, right?

Anywho if you missed any of the Chicago posts you can see them here, here, here and one more.. 

here.

Enjoy!

Chicago 2014 from sidney coats on Vimeo.

girls night.

Hey blog! Long time, no see. 

I feel like it's been months since the last time I wrote, but really it has only been two weeks. 

However, so much has changed since then!

June has been a busy, busy month for the Hambschs. 

The first weekend we went to Chicago for our anniversary, which I filled yah guys in on, and then that next weekend we packed everything up and moved into our new apartment! 

Somehow within a week of moving we got everything unpacked, hung on the walls and decorated in time to then host a bridal shower {last weekend} for one of our dear friends. 

And now we leave for their wedding in just two days! And it's in Minnesota, crazy. 

But back to last weekend and the bridal shower. 

It was really sweet. 

A bunch of the wives that I know wanted to throw the bride-to-be an Omaha shower {since she already had one in MN} so we got everyone together to host a little shower/girls night- sans kiddos and hubbys. 

It was lovely. 

We went out to dinner, {still craving the caprese flatbread pizza I ordered}, then went to our place and celebrated with presents, dessert and lemonade. 

And let me tell you, these ladies know how to bake. 

We had chocolate dipped strawberries, raspberry mini cupcakes drizzled in caramel and my good ole store bought cookies, {opps}. 

And then we stayed up talking till midnight, it was great. 

I'm so thankful to have these girls in my life! Our husbands have become great friends over the past year, and our little group is the best support. 

Anywho, I gotta start packing for our trip to the Twin Cities now- I can't wait for the wedding! And to shop at The Mall of America.. :)

Have an awesome Tuesday!

xoxo

happy one year wedding anniversary!

The fact that it has been a year already blows my mind!

It. Went. By. So. Fast.

And so much has changed since then!

We were still in Chicago on June 1st {the reason we came in the first place}, so we started off our day with a celebratory brunch at the Riverside Cafe in Bucktown. 

They have the cutest garden patio area and a delicious buffet. So good. 

We ate and talked about our wedding day one year ago. We went through the entire day again, reliving each moment. 

It was really sweet.

We both want to remember the little {and big} things that happened. 

All the details, people, vows, food, photos, love, decorations and laughter that was shared.

PS if you want to see our full wedding post you can check them out HERE, HERE and HERE.

Oh and our wedding video HERE too.  

And if you really want to go back in time, HERE is our proposal story.

It was the whole reason why I started blogging. I wanted a place to share our little love story.  

Anywho, after brunch we took Rom for a quick walk around the neighborhood, said goodbye to Chicago and hit the road. 

It took us a little over eight hours to drive home, and when I say "us" I mean Zak to drive home because he's awesome and drove the entire way while I napped some.

We did make one pit stop at the Iowa state Capitol building. It's a crazy cool structure, and since we'll be IA residents at the end of this week we had to stop and take a photo. 

Once we got home we dropped our bags and headed to Ted and Wally's Ice Creamery. 

We have a little tradition when it comes to special occasions and banana splits.

When we got engaged we called our parents while sharing a banana split on the board walk in Catalina Island, it was perfect.

And then after our wedding was over we had the driver take us to the Sugar Bowl in AZ {complete in our wedding gown and tuxedo} and ate a banana split while pinching ourselves that we were Mr. and Mrs.

And now, each anniversary we want to have one, to remember our special day and reminisce about our wedding and little life together. 

Here are the three times so far:

It may seem silly, but we love it. 

Oh and we ate our wedding cake too! It was actually good, despite being frozen for 365 days and surviving a plane ride. Yes, that is how I got it to Omaha. 

And yes we ate it in our living room since the rest our stuff is all packed up.

It was the perfect ending to our anniversary trip!

I'm so thankful for this vacation, it was lovely. 

And to Zakary, I love you so unbelievably much. You're my best friend, my soulmate, my better half and I don't know what I'd do without you. 

I am truly blessed to spend all of eternity with you. 

Happy one year, babe!

chicago day three.

Day three was packed!

We woke up Saturday with a full itinerary. 

We got downtown as soon as we could, and started walking toward Millennium Park. 

We wanted to see the infamous "bean" without the huge crowds. 

It was kinda crazy to finally see in person. 

It's huge! And shiny! And weird!

We loved it. 

We took tons of photos with the other tourists, and then walked around the rest of the park, checking out the stadium and memorials. 

After that we walked to the one and only Chicago Theatre. 

There wasn't a show playing that we wanted to see, so we figured a tour would be just as cool, and it was. 

Another thing we totally recommend!

The inside of the theatre was made after the Palace of Versailles..

so yeah it was breathtaking. 

And the grand staircase was a replica of the famous Titanic stairs.

Yep, the ones Jack and Rose would meet on. 

Dreamy.

We got to see the entire theatre, and learn all about it's amazing history. 

It's 93 years old! 

We went through the lobby, up the staircase, sat in the box seats {we snuck a photo in Oprah's, saw the auditorium, looked at the original organ that is still played today, walked the stage {so cool!}, checked out the green room {where celebs go before/after shows, and read all the famous signatures that lined the hallway.

Our tour guie had some crazy celebrity stories to tell, which were so interesting!

He said when celebs come, they can request anything they'd like in their contract.

And he had seen some pretty unique requests!

Like Beyonce wanted all black carpet in the green room, Russlle Brand needed a grandmother to comfort him before his act, Justin Timberlake wanted fresh cold Diet Coke {made within the last 2 weeks at 42 degrees} and that Katy Perry was the rudest/meanest person he had ever worked for..

He said some teens won a contest to meet her and that she locked herself inside her dressing room and told them to leave. 

Crazy!

After the tour was over we walked to the lovely Magnolia Bakery for a little treat. 

Their banana cream pudding with vanilla wavers and lemonade was heavenly. 

It was the perfect spot for a little break.
PS if I didn't live with a gentleman, my kitchen would be a spitting image of this place.
It's my favorite color, ever.

Then we walked The Art Institute of Chicago.

We strolled throughout the different galleries, they were lovely. 

It was amazing to see actual Monet's in real life!

His lily pads are my favorite.  

We also got to see the famous American Gothic painting as well as the A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte painting. 

Amazing!

Afterwards we headed to a Park Grill for dinner. 

It's kinda cool because you get to eat directly under the "bean."

We sat and ate for a long time, we needed a break from walking.

Poor Zak was wearing new shoes.. and they were cutting his heels. 

He's such a trooper.

I felt horrible! But he insisted he was fine, and continued on like nothing was wrong!

Once dinner was over, we walked down the river front and went back down to Navy Pier.

It's so pretty seeing a carnival on the lake.

They had all kinds of rides, and of course the popular ferris wheel. 

It was getting late, so we decided to head back home. 

I loved that we drove our car, because we were able to drive through the neighborhoods on the way home.

I loved looking at all the brownstones, storefronts, cafes and parks. 

It was one of my favorite things!