Chicago 2014 Edition

A week ago Aleks and I were in Chicago having the best weekend together we've had in a long time.
This week has been hectic, and while I'm bone tired, I'm grateful to have the perspective on how wonderful our trip was.

I'd just like to say that this trip wouldn't have been possible without my amazing, generous, patient, intensely helpful mother-in-law, who watched not only our girls for 3 days, but also our puppy, who is not yet house trained. Oh, and we've had workers at our house for 2 weeks putting up new siding. She put up with that as well, including the day they cut through a pipe on accident.

(Also, can we just note that the previous owners did not have the house tyvek wrapped before putting the siding up? These guys have had to replace a ton of rotted plywood. I can't tell you how good it feels to have this done.)

If Nana isn't up for sainthood, I don't know who is!

Did I mention that we had an amazing weekend? Well, we did. It was completely and entirely the best 3 days Aleks and I have spent together in a long time.

Don't let my crappy iPhone pictures distract you from fact that each day was so fabulous it was if there were butterflies fluttering and birds singing while the sun provided perfect lighting for all our adventures.

Due to delays and connections, we almost didn't make it to Chicago the night we had planned. Thankfully, my husband knows his way around a travel app and how to sweet talk the Delta employees. Magically we made it to our hotel just before midnight.

The weather was perfect and the view from our hotel reminded me how much I love city life.

After a late breakfast we walked around a bit and enjoyed being schedule free.

Then we saw some very dear friends and their new baby!

Who happens to look just like his sister. 

And also happens to love me. If love looks like falling asleep in someone's arms.

We got pedicures together and it was a really great idea. Aleks always talks about how much he loves getting pedicures, but we figured out that he hasn't had one since we've been married.

We told the girls we might bring them a gift from the American Girl Store. After being unable to find anything under a thousand dollars, we left empty handed. They got shoes from the Disney store instead. Which were too small for Ruby. So, womp womp.

Anyway, we had reservations at Rick Bayless' Topolobampo, which we were really excited about.

Two years ago we went to Frontera and saw Rick Bayless, himself! This time Rick was in L.A., but it was an amazing dinner.

7 courses with wine tastings for each course. (I didn't get a picture of the first course, which was actually my favorite, a shrimp cerviche.)

I'm still full.
Seriously.

Somehow we managed to make it back to our hotel without bursting at the seams and then met up with some old friends (they're not old, we've just known them for awhile) for drinks. 

And then the next morning we slept in until 9(!) and I believe the last time I did that was eleven years ago.

Then ate some more and browsed a record store before heading to the airport.

We got home after the girls were in bed, but we had a happy reunion the next morning.

I've been kind of a pain to live with this week. Stressed out and almost manic with everything that needs to be done. This guy has been the best. Patient with me and taking my sometimes misplaced urgency in stride. He's up for sainthood too.

I'll be storing up the memories of this weekend for a long time to come.

Chicago!

My parents left yesterday after spending over a week with us.

One of the things that happened while they were here, was that Aleks and my dad installed a new toilet.

While they were at Lowe's I asked them to look for a toilet lid that I had seen on Pinterest.

It has a kid-sized seat that folds down on top of the regular toilet seat.

We got two and I think it's the best $80 bucks we've spent in a long time. No more disgusting potty seat inserts!

Once again, Pinterest for the win!

Aleks and I decided to take advantage of my parents and booked a trip to Chicago.

The flight from Wichita to Chicago was on the tiniest plane.

It was about 2 inches too short for Aleks.

As the plane left the runway, it took a good amount self-talk to push aside the guilt of both of us leaving the girls for the first time.

It was rainy and cold when we landed. After checking in to our hotel, we grabbed a bite to eat, then promptly returned to our hotel room, cranked up the heat, and took a nap.

Best. Day. Ever.

We never get to nap when we want, it was such a luxury!

We stayed at the Allegro, which had funky touches throughout the room.

I loved the double door into the bathroom, and the light fixture in the middle of the room is to die for.

That night we headed out to dinner at Frontera, one of the restaurants of Aleks' favorite chef, Rick Bayless.

We had tried to get reservations at Topolobampo (the upscale restaurant), but at 2 months ahead they were already booked.

Frontera doesn't take reservations, but they open at 5. When we got there at 5:15, we were told that the wait would be 1 1/2-2 hours.

A long wait didn't dampen our excitement.

Frankly, after getting a nap in the middle of the day, there wasn't much that we couldn't handle.

So we got seated in an hour and as we were sitting down, I said to Aleks "Oh! There's Rick Bayless' wife talking to the people at the table next to us."

(By the way, she looks exactly like she does on "One Plate at a Time.")

After placing our orders I noticed Rick Bayless in the kitchen. I excitedly told Aleks and pulled out my phone, trying to zoom in to get a picture. As I fumbled with the zoom feature, Rick starts walking toward us and stops at the table next to us.

Aleks and I nearly had a heart attack.

I've always thought I'd be cool if I met a celebrity. I don't get easily starstruck, but both Aleks and I had racing hearts.

I was able to covertly capture this picture with my phone.

I don't know who those people next to use were, but through Aleks' eavesdropping, we were able to figure out they are somehow involved in theater.

Dinner was delicious.

I ate way too much and looked like I was 5 months pregnant the next morning.

However, we walked a lot.

Which was great, because we ate a lot.

We did a lot of touristy things.

Like the bean

and Navy Pier

(Aeks hates heights)

and the Chicago Art Institute.

(I discovered I have a 30 minute museum tolerance)

Some good friends of ours live in Evanstan and had us over for dinner Sunday night.

This is Rex and Enzo.

We were living in Pullman (the first time) when Rex was born.

Now he's 7 and gave us a violin recital, complete with a hand written program and intermission.

Enzo is 5 and showed me his legos and knock-knock joke skills.

Oh, and we had a nice time with Nick and Alice too.

Chicago is a beautiful city. It rained the first two days we were there, but Monday was bright and crisp and lovely.

It was hard to leave the girls and we missed them a lot.

But it was great to have uninterrupted time together.

It feels like life gets so busy these days that it's easy to forget who you're married to.

These breaks are so good for Aleks and I, it gives us time to reconnect and dream and plan.

When we got back, the girls were certainly glad to see us, but they had a wonderful time with Grandma and Papa.

Grandma and Papa said they had a nice time too.