Christmas Time in the City

I absolutely love being in a city at Christmas time! The lights, decorations, hustle and bustle...it's hard to beat! This year I was so excited to get out and experience all Chicago had to offer for the holidays: shopping on the Mag Mile, Macy's decorations, Christkindlmarket, holiday train, Zoo Lights, ice skating at Millennium Park, caroling at Cloud Gate. These were all on my Christmas to-do list, and I was thrilled when my mom decided to come up for a visit so we could live the Chicago Christmas Extravaganza together!

The night before my mom arrived, was the last night of Caroling at Cloud Gate. Even though Justin and I absolutely froze and could hardly move our lips to sing, it was still wonderful! They were giving out hot apple cider, which definitely helped to warm us a little. The performers would sing a few songs of their own and invite the crowd to join in on the well-known carols. The brisk air, warm cider, buildings lit up in red and green, and sounds of Christmas carols, made for a beautiful evening.

ice and snow on the bean

Mom was here for 4 short, action-packed days, and she was just as excited as me to bundle up in our puffers and see the holiday sights! The day she arrived we layered up and walked to Millennium Park for Ice Skating in the reflection of 'The Bean'. 

We were a little disappointed to discover that since we didn't have our own ice skates, the wait was 1.5 hours. So, we decided to postpone the ice skating, made a quick visit to Cloud Gate - The Bean - Justin's Spaceship (whatever you want to call it) and headed down towards State St. to take in the holiday sights and sounds.

yet another shot of the bean

We stopped at Macy's to show mom the store decorations and Christmas Tree in the Walnut Room. She got a good taste of the insanity that is Christmas shopping in Chicago. 

macy's gorgeous mosaic ceiling and christmas decor

From there we made our way to the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza, which I knew mom would love! It's a German market complete with brats, beer, pastries, glass ornaments, wooden toys, and the not-to-be-missed hot spiced wine! The wine warmed us up nicely after walking around in the cold all day, and I think it was mom's favorite part of her visit! 

christkindlmarket

tree at daley plaza

I just loved this market...so many wonderful smells, and beautiful ornaments. We will definitely make the Christkindlmarket part of our new Christmas traditions!

Mom was on a mission, from her husband, Mark, to bring some Gino's East pizza back to South Carolina. There is always a line out the door at Gino's, but we braved the elements in honor of Chicago deep dish, and mom was able to give Mark his Christmas wish. I have to say that Lou Malnotti's may be better, but the verdict is still out on the best Chicago deep dish. I'll keep you posted on that one.

guests have left their mark all over the restaurant

The next day we did some shopping on Michigan Avenue with all the other Christmas crazed people. Quite honestly, there's only so much I can handle of that scene, but it's just not Christmas without it. That night, we had dinner at a cute little French restaurant in Lincoln Park, Mon Ami Gabi....so yummy! Justin's parents had recommended it, and so do I! It was tres magnifique!

christmas tree photo op "apres diner"

After hearing about the decorations, lights, and yes, cinnamon fragrance on the holiday train, I was determined to ride it. Mom and I took the L train back to Lincoln Park for another round of shopping. We ate lunch at a little diner we happened upon, called Nookies Too...yet another great Chicago eatery. 

lincoln park from the L

After a shopping filled afternoon, we made our way to the L stop where the infamous Holiday Train was supposed to come through. I knew we were at the right place, because kids were everywhere....just as excited as me to see Santa and ride the festive train. Sure enough, the Santa Express arrived on schedule. 

The holiday train was quite an experience. Every corner was Christmasified! The ceiling lights were red and green, the poles were candy cane striped, the seats were covered in Christmas fabric, Christmas music was playing, even the ads were Christmas themed, and it actually smelled like cinnamon! I was in amazement like all the kids we were riding with. 

The last day of mom's visit, we took it easy. We made another visit to the Christkindlmarket and finished up some shopping on State St. We never made it back to the ice rink or to the Zoo Lights (at Lincoln Park Zoo), so I'll be towing Justin to those things once we get back in town from our Carolina Christmas. I think mom will be making a yearly pilgrimage to Chicago each December we are here, and we have found some wonderful new holiday traditions!


Merry Christmas to all!

First Chicago Snow

I feel like most of what I talk about these days is weather, and I'm a little embarrassed to be making a big deal out of "a little snow", but to me it is a big deal! 

When I bundle up to take Brizz dog out every night about 10:30, I think back a few months to when I could just open my back door and watch her play from the comfort of my sofa in my cozy PJ's. Now I tuck my pajama pants into my snow boots, wrap my scarf around my neck as tight as I can, put on my puffer, hat and gloves and venture out into the slushy, snowy night. This is a 3 times per day occurrence, and I've given up on my hair ever looking not flattened and static free. At least I don't have to take her out at 6:00 a.m.....that's the husband's shift! I have learned though, that no matter how "warm" it make look outside, to always put on all layers of clothing for optimal warmth. Whenever I decide to skip an article of clothing, I regret it. And, if anyone is in the market for serious snow boots, these are the ticket:

merrell saratov snow boots

I'm telling you, they do the trick! Waterproof, insulated, anti-microbial, ultra light, good cushion, good traction, and they're leather! I wear these puppies every day!

I ordered some booties for the Brizz, but they haven't come in yet. Almost every dog I see has on booties and/or a sweater. Some of them have hoodies...so cute! I don't think Brizz is in need of extra layers though. She's doing awesome in the snow...she loves it! I think she'd much rather live in this climate than the hot, humid south. Chomping on ice cubes is one of her favorite past times, so she's living the dream right now! I can't keep her nose out of the snow long enough to actually take her for a walk. Tonight I let her run around in the park off leash with a bunch of other dogs. They were so cute playing together in the snow!

The first Chicago snow we experienced was last weekend. It was so strange for the local news stations to not be reporting 24/7 on "winter storm 2010". They described the snow as a light dusting, which ended up being about 3 inches. There was no panic or mad rush to the grocery stores for bread and milk. All the businesses and schools actually stayed open! I tested out my new awesome snow boots, and we took a stroll along the riverwalk to get our first taste of Chicago covered in snow!

decorations outside our building

I was even more amazed this weekend when they were forecasting a blizzard and stuck to normal TV programming! Justin and I woke up this morning to the blizzard. The huge snowflakes were swirling on the air currents in all directions, even straight up. We have been going to church at 4th Presbyterian on Michigan Ave., which was our plan this Sunday until we saw the snow tornado. After some discussion, we decided that if we set the standard of staying in when the white stuff is around, we're going to end up being hermits all winter. In the South it's fun to stay warm and safe inside and watch the pretty snow, but here life must go on....and it does. We drove to church instead of hiking to the bus stop like usual. The main streets were clear and we had no problems. There were people out everywhere getting almost blown over from the crazy wind gusts. I was in awe and amazement of the fierceness of the storm and the people. I guess Chicagoans just know how to deal with it and so they do. We passed one man wearing ski goggles....I so wish I could have gotten a picture!

view of 4th Church in the blizzard

After church we went up to the roof of our building to check out the blizzard views of Lake Michigan. It's quite a different scene from just a month ago!  Lake Michigan has the feeling of the ocean because it is so big. Seeing the lake covered with fog and snow is a little surreal but beautiful!

where's the lake??

I'm sure it won't take long for the winter weather to get a little old, and I'll most likely being singing a different tune pretty soon (high of 15 Monday...yikes!).  But, for now I'm enjoying being a Chicago snow bunny!

Turkey Day!

Justin and I bundled up Thanksgiving morning and walked down to State St. to see our second parade of the holidays. I'm sure the Chicago parade doesn't compare to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I still loved seeing the giant inflatable cartoon characters floating along State St....that's about all I could see because of all the people, but it was still lots of fun!

 kiddos watching from their 

warm and cozy hotel rooms

Lucky for me, my husband is a tree and was able to snap some pics. Also, lucky for everyone the wind took a break for this parade so there was no threat of being smothered by Garfield and Friends! Here are some of my favs:

kicking it off Mickey D's style

can't have a turkey day parade without the bird of honor

flash those pearly whites people!

the coolest cat around

heard someone in the crowd say this is bob the builder 

(can you tell I don't have kids?)

best buy elf

underdog to the rescue!

bullwinkle looking very dapper in his tux

scooby dooby doo!

southern belles...or maybe cupcakes??

baton twirlers

crazy hawaiian fire dancers

darth vader??

yabba dabba doo!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the company Justin works for was a sponsor of the parade. We actually had an opportunity to help out with handling the inflatables. At the time we weren't sure of our Thanksgiving plans so we decided not to do it. I'm thinking if the chance comes up again we should definitely volunteer. I'm sure that would have made for a great blog!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Case New Holland, it's a company similar to John Deere. They manufacture agricultural and construction equipment. Hence the ginormous tractor (or whatever it's called) rolling through the middle of Chicago! 

Maybe this parade will be one of our new Chicago traditions! We missed being in the Carolinas with our families for Thanksgiving, but it was also nice to spend it together, just the two of us (plus our 3 furry friends). After freezing at the parade we walked back to our apartment just in time to see the dog show! I have to mention that the black tri Aussie female won the herding group, which Brizz was so excited about! :) 

relaxing with brizz, waiting on the turkey

We spent the afternoon relaxing and cooking and had a nice little Thanksgiving dinner....the first holiday celebration in our new city. Every holiday we share together is special, no matter where we are. Justin and I reminisced about other unique Thanksgivings we have shared:  our first Thanksgiving in France when Justin was studying abroad in college; our Thanksgiving on the Great Barrier Reef with my mom (another study abroad adventure). I think about my brother, who this year celebrated in Italy after finishing a year of duty in Afghanistan. We are so thankful Brett has safely returned and can't wait to see him in NC in a few weeks! We all think about what we are grateful for at Thanksgiving. This year I am amazed as I reflect on everything that has happened in the last year and how different our life is now. We have been so blessed with love and support from our family and friends as we made the tough decision to move to Chicago. We were so fortunate to have made a smooth transition and easily settled into our new home. Even though we may not always be right there with our dear friends and family, they are always with us in our hearts and prayers. 

Happy Thanksgiving!