Bookends

It was another busy week at work. I am still learning a lot and getting used to the environment, job, and schedule. Bookended, on either side of the week, Jake and I enjoyed some time together.

Sunday, we took a nice walk into town.

We stopped at the coffee shop for a drink.

We window shopped and made a quick stop at the Gap. 

I learned an important lesson about trees and boys with short hair being much more photogenic in the wind than girls with long hair and loose clothing. Also, Jake doesn't have patience for photo taking when we are out walking.

We cut through the park's land and admired the budding trees.

************

After a full week of work we had an impromptu date on Friday night. I got off work...

Don't mind the dirty mirror. I just really wanted to squeeze in a picture of my outfit.

changed my clothes, and hopped on the train to meet Jake in the city after work.

We met at Native Foods Cafe. If you like food, I would recommend you check it out. 

It is an all vegan restaurant and the food was delicious, fresh, and healthy. Normally there isn't much to say about service at order-at-the-counter restaurants. Not Native Foods. The staff was super friendly and went way above and beyond to make our experience at their restaurant great and feel like special guests. It was pretty impressive.

Aside from the service, the food was great too.  My tofu, rice, and kale bowl was in a word, yum. Going, 

going,

Note the expression of eagerness on my face. I was digging in!

GONE!

They even had some tasty vegan cupcakes.

Don't mind Jake's face. That is just his reaction to a perceived imbalance in the sharing of the cupcakes. Do not get in the way of that man and his dessert. You've been warned.

As we were enjoying our wholesome meal, a random thought popped into my head. It seems like the most healthful meals and restaurants I've enjoyed are in the least pastoral locations. I don't know why that is.

It is a good thing I enjoy the city and vegan fare. They seem an unlikely, yet exclusive pairing.

Done with dinner, dessert, and a walk all before 6:30 on a Friday night. Party animals we are not. Little did we know the  excitement of the night was waiting for us at the train station.

As we walked down the walkway toward the train, we noticed a guy walking/stumbling along. After a bit of bouncing between the train and pillars, he smacked to the ground, falling flat on his face. His glasses cut his face and eye which started to bleed and swell immediately. Jake sprung into action, running to get a police officer or some kind of aid. Another lady stayed with the guy and made sure he didn't stand back up.  I just stood there, as the ever important watch dog. It was pretty dramatic. He was thisclose to falling under the train. Not that it was moving, but still.

After about a month of waiting, the police officer sauntered over and took over the scene. We got on the train and continued on.

Outfit deets:

Apricot Lane Boutique leggings. Nordstrom Rack shoes. H&M dress. Gap sweater. J.Crew Outlet belt.

A Wonderful Day

Since seeing the Nutcracker last year we have been talking about catching another holiday show this year. It was a bit of trial and error to find a good show at a reasonable price

 (A Christmas Story: The Musical, $180 on the low end. No thank you.)

Danielle found a little theater doing a production of It's a Wonderful Life. We were in. 

This was our day "Chicago Christmas Spectacular" day. (We didn't really call it that, I just made that up)

First, bundle up! Wool hat, ear muffs, wool coat, sweater, leggings, knee high wool socks, boots, scarf, gloves: check, check, check, check.

Then we went to the ChristKindl Market. It was pretty spot on with the Christmas markets I have been to in Germany, except this one was CRAZY busy. There were pretty booths selling traditional Santa figurines, ornaments, food/drinks, and home made goods from Germany and other countries.

A booth selling some pretty ornaments

Some traditional live music

SO many people

a peek into a shop window

 Jake and I got a little overwhelmed by all the craziness and took a walk around the perimeter for a bit. In a quiet corner of the market we found a crepe stand.

mmmmmm, tasty.

After that we took in some of the Christmas decor around downtown.
I'm sure other cities do to, but Chicago does Christmas pretty big. Every building and shop screams "Holiday", "Christmas", "Winter" at you as you walk past.

Planters outside an office building

Christmas trees and presents on the Wrigley Building

Planters on Michigan Avenue. They always have something pretty and creative all year round.

The water tower in Lego form!

Christmas tree at John Hancock building.

Us ladies all bundled up.

After a quick and snug cab ride, we went to dinner and then to the show.

I selfishly took a bucket seat, sorry boys and Danielle.

The show was so much fun! It was at a little theater in Lincoln Park called Victory Gardens on their Biograph stage. They performed It's a Wonderful Life as a live radio show set in the 1940's. They treated us like a live audience at their regular taping. They started the show by having us join in on some caroling (fun!).
The actors did a great job, all of them did multiple voices/characters. The sound effects guy was really awesome. He was always on cue, and since the show was set in the '40s, nothing was computer generated. During the "commercial breaks" they read shout out cards written by audience members before the show started. There were a lot of birthdays and anniversaries, awww. After the show the cast met us in the lobby holding trays of milk and cookies. It was just pure and sweet old-fashioned christmas  quaint. (Does that sentence make sense to you? I'm gonna go with it.) If you are looking to catch a Christmas show in chicago, go see It's a Wonderful life live at the Biograph (and invite me).

Jake's highlight of the day:
While sitting waiting for the show to start, Jake spotted a familiar face.
"Hey, it is one of the actors from Murder for Two!"
"Oh, yeah! Your right! Good eye."
"Talk to him."
"No, you do it." "You are closer." "What do I say?"
"Just say you saw the show and that he did a good job."
So I did that "Hi, I just wanted to say we all saw you in Murder for Two and loved it. You did a great job." Danielle and Brenda turned and said something similar. Jake talked about this for the rest of the night and into the next day.
After the show he tried to talk me into getting a picture with him for the sake of "your blog", but he really just wanted a picture of him. I refused, I had already talked to the guy for him and asking to take pictures with strangers is embarrassing (and I know embarrassing)!

Jake, said in dramatic tone, "Who would ever think we would ever see that guy again in our lives and we see him in the audience at another play!"

Merry Christmas!

In an unrelated note: Six followers! Thanks Mom! This blog is going places.

Train Reading

In a bit I will be taking the train into the city to meet Jake for dinner. For some train riding entertainment I am bring along my Chicago and New York magazines. 

Reading the Chicago magazine is going to make me very hungry and fill up my Sundays for the next year and a half with all of its (hopefully) fabulous breakfast place tips.

New York magazine will make me drool for a whole other reason.

I love modern design. It is so interesting to read about all of the innovative and environmental solutions these designers work into their beautiful creations, from houses to playgrounds to high rises to furniture. 

I mean check out this chair...or is it chairs?

I want that chair(s). These people are geniuses. 

I can't wait to read more. Oh, and I am excited about my city date with Jake.

Source:

http://www.chicagomag.com/

http://nymag.com

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/14778/paul-menand-triplette-chair.html

The City

So, the five of you who read this blog (I will be accepting sponsors soon) ((hilarious)) know I live in the suburbs of Chicago. I love it. Hinsdale and our surrounding towns are so quaint and quiet and beautiful. I love walking to the post office, library, or train stop and imagining it's the 1940's/50's when every town was planned this way. With an actual center; where everything you needed was in one area. A place that brought people out of their cars and onto the street to walk between stores. The thing I hate about the suburbs is when I have to leave my horseshoe three town radius (inside 83, Ogden, and 55th street) for something else I might need.

Outside my lovely throwback bubble is the real suburbs, with stop lights (agh, I hate them), four line roads, Wal-Mart, and gigantic parking lots. Where every person is truly an island and you can be out all day and not have a single truly personal interaction.

That is why I hate hobby-lobby and love my local knitting shop. At hobby lobby an employee might not even know where the yarn is. At my little yarn store they ask what I plan on knitting, who it might be for, what is happening in my life that is giving me the time to undertake such a project. It is personal, and I love it. It is community and it is so sweet. It is the same thing that makes Jake and I super excited that the owners/workers and our favorite local restaurants are starting to recognize and remember us.

 Wow, this post totally morphed out of control and now has nothing to do with what I was originally intending to talk about. Back to original post idea:

I love the idea of moving to the city for the same reasons I love our little town. I feel like in the city there is community and many different centers for all the different communities and neighborhoods. The city is very romantic to me in the same way that living in Hinsdale is still romantic to me, even after living here for four years. There is an art, a history, and spirit that I am a part of simply because I live here and choose to own it.  That is why I feel such a draw live IN Chicago ("in" like 312 is my area code, take the red line to belmont and walk three blocks, you'll find us "in").  I love the food and the buildings and the lake. And I'm proud to show it off to anyone who will listen to me.

On the other hand, this weekend was overload. It was marathon weekend. Which means people, so many many people. I can only take so much of people walking every which way, bumping in to me, asking for money, taking photos in my line of walking before I have to sit on the ground and cover my head for a quiet freak out moment. I walked from Union, to Michigan: north, south, north, south, so many times these last three days; I literally felt like a hamster in a wheel. I was so confined by that street  and all the people on it I almost screamed. After three days of walking back and forth I was begging for my quiet suburban life again. Then we went on the river architectural tour and I fell in love with the city all over again: the buildings, the history, the neighborhoods, the people waving to us from the bridges. Perfection.

I mean look at how our cool parks can put a smile on your face.

I mean look at that skyline (and that's not even it's best angle)

I mean look at the great walking path and the great healthy vendors along the way. (seriously the greatest drink ever and it was solely carrots and apples. We watched them make it!)

I mean check out the speed and dedication of our local heroes as they rush through the park to go fish a dead body from the lake

(this is not so romantic, but just go with it people)

I mean, look at our beautiful lake (freshly cleared of dead bodies). 

Look at our fun attractions and the beautiful people who come to see them.

Look at the great productions it provides.

Look how cool it makes you look when simply walking.

Look how much Marilyn loves it.

Look how beautiful it's buildings are and how dedicated it is to breast cancer awareness.

Look how stylish it makes me look.

Look at all it's lovely shoreline and neighborhoods.

Look at how easy it makes it to pop in on a 30th birthday celebration. ("I'm downtown, I know you are too. Just tell me when and where")

I love you, Chicago, along with all the beautiful faces posted above. You make life an adventure I'm included in (you, along with all the beautiful faces posted above).

Have a Sappy, Happy Monday.