There are few things in this world that can make me scream with terror and excitement like a little kid. This is one of them…

We’re going to Cedar Point this weekend!!

Land of the tallest, scariest and ridiculously fun roller coasters in the world (not to mention some AMAZING people watching, elephant ears and water rides to boot). I’m giddy with excitement!

Hope you all have an exhilarating weekend too. :)

One way Luke and I are different is in our desire to socialize.

Luke would be perfectly happy to stay home all weekend and relax, while I feel the urge to go out and spend time with friends. Luke has a small group of friends he’s really close to, while I have a larger network of people I try to keep up with.

The problem is, living in a city like Chicago (where half of my hometown migrated to after college) means I have A LOT of friends to hang out with (I know, tough problem, huh!). Most times I love having so many options of things to do and people to see, but occasionally I start feeling stretched too thin.

With busy jobs, relationships, vacations ect its becoming nearly impossible to get all my friends together in one place, which makes it hard to maintain meaningful relationships with EVERYONE.

I’m starting to feel like I’m foregoing  strong relationships with my closest friends to be “sort of” friends with a lot of people.

What do you think, is it better to be friends with a lot of people or have a close-knit group of core friends?

How do you keep up with the network of people who are important to you?

Now that I’m married, I get to take a unique perspective to the dating game my single friends are playing. Whenever we go out, I get to sit back and watch them get hit on. Some guys do it great….others, not so much.

This weekend Luke had to work, so I had a lot of time to spend with my friends and witness the many awkward ways men in Chicago hit on them. I can appreciate how hard it can be for a guy to approach a pretty girl, but some of their tactics were just downright rude.

For example, on Friday night a guy was clearly checking out my tall, blonde friend. However, instead of talking to her, he hit on another girl in our group and did everything possible to make sure the one he was really interested in saw.

The little game he was playing was SO OBVIOUS it was sad…and incredibly rude to the girl who he ultimately ended up using for attention.

On the totally opposite scale, on Saturday while at the pool, my friend spotted a cute guy. They clearly were attracted to each other by the smiles and eye contact that ensued.

Instead of beating around the bush, the guy confidently came over to our group, approached my friend and said “Sorry if this is a little awkward, but I wanted to come introduce myself to you.”

A++!!

They exchanged numbers and the guy got two big thumbs up from our group of girls.

So guys, what’s the lesson here? You’ll likely get much farther with that pretty girl if you act normal, confident and NICE. There’s a time and place for game playing, but in general we see right through it.

Ladies- what’s the worst way you’ve ever been hit on? How would you like to be approached by a guy?

Happy pre-fourth of July everyone! Despite my best efforts to track down a long lost friend with a cottage, jet ski’s and pontoon boat, Luke and I are sticking around Chicago this weekend. :)

While my poor husband is stuck working all weekend, I’m planning to hit up the pool a lot, watch some fireworks and of course make some delicious grub. I just love all the red, white and blue themed recipes I’ve come across…

I found these adorable red, white and blue cupcakes over at Tidy Mom blog.

These “pretzel sparklers” would be a bit hit with kids, I’d bet.

For the adults? I’m digging this fourth of July cocktail.

I love this american fruit-flag! It would be delish with some fresh farmer’s market berries.

Photo credit: http://www.rd.com

Of course, it doesn’t get much more all-american than a good old hot dog!

I’m planning on baking my second-ever cheesecake since my last one turned out so yummy. This time it will be a classic New York cheesecake decorated with some patriotic berries.

Photo credit: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com

Photo credit http://www.bonappetit.com

How are you guys planning to celebrate? What foods are you most looking forward to eating?