Please sign here.

We must really be married now. For the first time in my life (and Tyson's) we are having furniture delivered. On a truck. To our apartment. It does not come in a box, we are not putting it together: no-assembly-required. Is this real life?

We bought a taupe sofa (after months of online searching) from Crate&Barrel called "Silhouette." Does anyone know where to get those plastic covers? Just joking...but not really. I plan to get some crazy pillows to spice it up since it's a pretty standard color. More pictures to come when the nice men bring it up a set of very steep stairs and wrangle it into place.

Ever so proper sofa winks at tradition with a fresh new color and playful new proportions. Same-height tight back and arms shelter with subtle curves, punctuated with a clever graceful rolled arm and eye-catching corner base miters. Lustrous soft-textured weave accentuates the unexpected silhouette.

96 Days in 2010

I used Tripit to track all of my work and leisure travel for 2010. Back from my last trip to Wichita for Christmas, the final stats are in:

2010
Days Traveling: 96
% of Time: 26%
Trips: 26
Approx Distance: 38,728 miles
Cities: 14
States: 9 (w/o layovers/airports)
First Trip: Breckenridge, CO on Jan 28, 2010
Last Trip: Wichita, KS on Dec 22, 2010
Longest Trip: Thailand (14 Days)
Most Visited: Kansas City (6) St. Louis (4) Davenport (4)

Since I started using Tripit in June 2009, I have traveled 57k miles.

Bolton Christmas in Wichita, KS

My Mom and I preparing Christmas Eve dinner. She made Alton Brown's beef tenderloin in a salted herb crust (a family favorite!) Yes, there is a delicious cut of meat inside of that deceiving loaf.

"I WRAP DA PRESENTS!" - Kitty

Courtney poses as "Ove Glove Minnie Mouse."

Chicago History Museum

Yelp hosted a "Shop Local" Holiday bash at the Chicago History Museum on Dec 7.
We browsed through several of the galleries, but I really need to go back because
it was much more interesting than I thought it would be.

Gorgeous chandelier in the entrance to the main hall.

Annie sits in front of the city's first elevated train car engine "No. 1" You can go in, sit down and pretend you are going to work in a very gentlemanly style. This is part of the "Crossroads of America" permanent exhibit.

Chiang Mai, Phuket & Bangkok, Thailand

I divided our 2 week trip into three albums based on the city. We spent about equal parts in each area, but didn't take as many in Phuket since you can only take so many of the same beach shots. You get the idea, it was insanely gorgeous that a place like that exists on this planet and you can get there in 24 hours. It was a grueling 24-36 hours on the way back, but certainly worth it. I can say that now that I'm home. And I really don't mind airports, Bangkok's airport had amazing people watching and Toyko's airport was eerily quiet...Not like Chicago where you have people sprawled out everywhere eating McDonald's, sleeping on the floor and yelling at their kids. I traveled in full on comfort mode: track pants (they were lululemon, so at least I had some class) and cotton t-shirts. Of course on the way back from Japan everyone on the plane was a businessman dressed in a full suit. Not this lady. If I'm traveling in cattle class, I will dress like it!

Phi Phi Islands and Chiang Mai were my two favorite places to visit. Off the beaches, Phuket was just another sprawling beach destination busting at its seams. Bangkok was crazy chaotic and although amazing to visit, gave me a headache with all of the smog after a couple days. I would love to go back and visit Thailand, but would not spend it in Bangkok. I get the jist; it's the true definition of a hot mess. It makes a city like Chicago seem very organized and tame. I can't describe the driving on Phuket or in Bangkok. You literally can do whatever you want. A bus was stopped in the middle of the street letting people off, our car had to dodge it. Whole families were on motorbikes without helmets. Cars were driving on the wrong side of the road, swerving or just generally driving at dangerous speeds. We spent half the time gritting our teeth and the other half laughing in amazement.

We literally took 1200 pictures, so I only posted some of the best ones:


Bangkok-http://picasaweb.google.com/ashley.bolton/Bangkok#554555218012512939
Phuket- http://picasaweb.google.com/ashley.bolton/Phuket
Chiang Mai- http://picasaweb.google.com/ashley.bolton/ChiangMai#

The first 2 pictures are from elephant trekking near Chiang Mai. The last is from Wat Doi Suthep, a temple on top of a mountain outside Chiang Mai.

Mae Ping Elephant Camp

One year old elephant at Mae Ping Elephant Camp.

At Wat Doi Suthep with little girls dressed in traditional hill tribe costumes.

First snow of the season

Right on schedule, it started snowing the night of my birthday and continued the next day. This is on our walk to Floriole to get coffee the next morning.

Double Stuffed Mailbox

This is our mailbox. And THIS happens nearly every day. It's maddening! Poor wedding invites and neatly written thank you's make it unscathed half way across the country and end up here. Crumpled, smudged and waiting to exhale.