This weekend was as close to perfect as they come. I can’t stop thinking about how many/few weekends we have left before the little guy gets here and everything changes.

I know that change is good and necessary for growth, but this weekend I found myself wishing, more than a few times, that I could just put our lives on pause for one more summer. (And since I’m making rather far fetched wishes to begin with – let’s make that one more summer, not pregnant, OK? Mama wants a summer cocktail.)

J and I will be celebrating six years together this summer and we’ve definitely had our fair share of glorious, free summer weekends together. So when the little guy comes and we can hold him instead of just theorizing about who he’ll look like and how little sleep we’ll get — I’m willing to bet we won’t feel like we’re giving up anything at all, and we’ll love our new normal.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that right now, it’s scary to think that in 6-8 weeks the weekends (or any day, for that matter!) won’t be spontaneous celebrations of great weather and searches for great food. For a little while, anyway.

And that’s definitely how I’d describe this past weekend.

I woke up Saturday and spent an hour or so partaking in my favorite Saturday morning ritual: making fun of Food Network chefs (I’m looking at you, Trisha Yearwood!), drinking coffee and browsing Pinterest. I headed out for a very slow walk down to the end of Olive Park and back, intended to head over to Navy Pier but it was so hot (already almost 90!) I decided that probably wasn’t the best idea. Olive Park is by far the most beautiful park in the city and I love watching people swim at the beach and watching the boats out on the water. I think all the time about bringing the little guy down there for picnics and eventually, to run around and play.

J and I made a big breakfast at home, then I headed down to the pool where I snagged a great chair and read magazines for a few hours in the shade until J came out to join me when the sun came out. Floating in the pool feels like heaven these days, especially on a 95 degree day.

We headed out on our balcony to watch the America’s Cup races for a while and I while I admit to not having a clue what they were doing out there, seeing the lake full of boats is the best thing ever, and I could watch them all day.

J’s birthday was the middle of this week, so I had made reservations for Saturday evening to celebrate at Spiaggia. The atmosphere and food were incredible — the gnocchi in particular was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. And we had a great table overlooking Oak Street Beach on Michigan Avenue… definitely a pinch-me moment!

And then we did something I swore I’d never do: headed to Navy Pier on a Saturday night for a fireworks boat cruise. I stay away from Navy Pier at all costs during busy times because it sets my claustrophobia into high gear, but seeing the fireworks from the water has long been on our Chicago bucket list. Anything for Jason 🙂 It was still in the 90’s and extremely humid, but once we grabbed our seats on the boat and got a little breeze, I (almost) forgot about being jostled by strangers and the fact that my hair was sticking to my neck.

And it was totally worth it. The view of the city under the fireworks was nothing short of spectacular. I love Chicago and I am so lucky to live here.

Sunday morning we slept in and then I grabbed a Zipcar and headed out on my mission: to fill up our patio planter with flowers. Something I’ve said I’d do for the last 3 years we’ve lived here, by the way!

My little urban gardening experiment was surprisingly therapeutic, and I’m hoping the flowers fill out a little bit (and also that we find a way to straighten the flower box that apparently was not meant for condo balcony railings!)

The flurry of activity the day before (plus wearing heels to dinner) left me pretty pooped despite a good night’s sleep, so I ran a few more errands then indulged in a long mid-afternoon nap. I woke up and relocated myself to the couch for some research for our winter vacation, Jason grilled us dinner and we called it an early night.

Change may be a-comin’, but it’s hard to feel anything but grateful when a weekend is as perfect as this one was.