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!

Fall in the City

Fall in Chicago seems to be fading fast. The high today was 45, which makes for a very chilly morning and evening dog walk in the park. The city started turning off all the fountains in October, including the ones in our park. Poor Brizzie just couldn't understand what happened to her fountains. People on the streets are bundled up in their puffy coats and all the stores and hotels are already bringing out the lights and tinsel. The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival is on Saturday, complete with Mickey Mouse and Santa, of course. The ice rink in Millennium Park opens tomorrow, which I am super excited about. I can't wait to ice skate in the reflection of The Bean! It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week. We've decided to stay in Chicago and have our first Thanksgiving here with Brizz and the kitties. We'll be heading back to the Carolinas for Christmas, which may be a little strange considering we could be leaving a white Christmas here for an almost tropical one in Myrtle Beach. But before we get too far into the holiday season, I thought I'd share a few fall pics from around town.

yellow leaves in grant park

red maples outside the art institute

fall in brizzie's park

driving through the west loop to my art studio

the boats are gone for the season :(

  

fly-by from soldier field

people bundled up with their pups at the dog beach

crisp, clear fall saturday on the north side of town

getting ready for the turkey day parade 

(sponsored by justin's company)

beautiful fall sunset

You Can't Be A Gringo (or Southerner) Forever

A couple weekends ago Justin and I found ourselves surrounded by about 20 Italians...all speaking Italian. We were invited to a surprise birthday party for a man who works at Justin's company. It was an interesting evening, even though we couldn't participate in the singing of "happy birthday", a few people were kind enough to speak English to us. There was a whole smorgasbord of food, lots of wine of course, and music from techno to old world Italian. (I am always amazed at how much European women can eat and still stay so thin!) We left right after the espressos and just before the mojitos....I think their evening was just getting started. Espresso at 11:00 p.m.....no thanks, I'd be up all night and the next day. Don't think I can keep up with the Italians, and I would definitely need a new wardrobe to do so!

Last week Justin was working from home and had a couple conference calls on speaker phone. It's amazing how the Italian accent can even make business development sound romantic. When Justin joined his new company, his manager told him, "You can't be a gringo forever!" I think we may both have to learn a little Italian or at least brush up on our French so we don't seem so typically American. 


This past weekend was halloween, and we found ourselves in the same situation times 10 plus costumes. It was literally a club room turned discotheque. We had a fun time and saw some interesting costumes. Even though we may not have romantic accents, I think Americans win the prize for creative costumes and knowing how to do halloween right.

  

Our queen bee and beekeeper costumes were a hit. Surprisingly we had several people ask to take their picture with us. Justin thinks it was just because he was the only "white" guy in the place.

pre party pic with the brizzbee

It's exciting living in a city where there is such a large population of people who don't speak English as their first language. Walking through the streets of Chicago I can hear all sorts of accents. There are people living and visiting here from all over the world, and it's fun to meet people with completely different perspectives and life experiences than mine. 


People are usually interested in where I'm from too. Once I open my mouth, I typically get a comment like, "you're not from around here are you?" I never thought my Southern accent was that strong, but I do catch myself sounding very Southern sometimes. I've had a few people tell me they love a Southern accent and it makes everything sound sweet. (Guess I'm giving those Italians a run for their money!) I was surprised to hear that, since I think it sounds a bit redneck, especially compared to the non-accent of the Midwest. I'm definitely more aware of how I speak here. Some people have told me they can't tell I even have an accent, although one man asked if I was British....I was definitely shocked to hear that one!


So, I'm not exactly sure how people perceive me here, but it is nice to not feel like I have to fit in a mold. There are so many types of people living in Chicago that I could be a different person everyday and still find my niche. It's relieving not to be living in a fishbowl and have people actually interested in who I am and where I'm from. I think I've always been a big city girl at heart....just took me a while to get here.

People, People Everywhere

Sitting on my balcony I can hear all sorts of sounds of the city.....dogs barking, cars honking, fire trucks blaring, construction workers pounding, even fireworks booming at Navy Pier on Saturday nights.  Today I hear marching bands from the Columbus Day Parade. Brizz and I took a walk this afternoon through Grant Park to check out the festivities, but she was more interested in the random bits of trash....I mean treasure....buried in the grass, as usual. So, we visited our favorite fountain and enjoyed the walk back up the lakefront trail to our home. 

You would never know it's October in Chicago. The weather for the past week has been more like the South than the Midwest.....low 80's and Carolina blue skies. There are people everywhere enjoying the warm temps, which is how it's been since I arrived. I get the impression that Chicagoans truly appreciate a nice day and don't take them for granted. Yesterday we noticed a group of people in the park sitting on a picnic blanket around noon. They were camped out until close to dinner time. People are constantly playing soccer, flying kites, walking dogs, or just sitting and enjoying being outside. I've had to get used to walking through different parks in the city and coming upon a person just lounging alone in the grass. When I see someone sitting in the sun, I get the impression that it's not because they want to get a tan, like most Southerners, but they are soaking up the warm rays and enjoying the wonderful weather while it lasts.

Chicago has been especially crowded lately because of the marathon of 45,000 people, which was on Sunday. It started at 7:30 a.m. a couple miles south of our building. At 7:45 we could see the pack of runners sandwiched in Lower Columbus Dr., and they didn't stop coming for at least half and hour. 

yep, those are people in there!

We decided to walk down to the finish line to see the leaders come in. It was amazing to see such incredible athletes and even more awe inspiring to think they finished a marathon in just over 2 hours! Some of them looked like they had just been out for a morning jog instead of a 26.2 mile run. I felt ashamed as I stood there in the sun, squished by spectators on all sides, thinking how hot I was and how much my feet hurt. 

men's winner

women's winner....she was booking it on the home stretch!

We made our way to the 26 mile marker (which was up a cruel hill), and as we watched longer, the more "inexperienced" runners started coming in. It was difficult to see the pain on their faces as they pushed through the last .2 miles. Some got a huge smile of relief and joy as they spotted the 26 mile sign. Others were doing all they could to make it up the hill. One guy lost all his Gatorade and collapsed on the concrete. Less than a minute later he sprang up and kept going. There were amputees racing, men and women of all ages, one guy dressed like Minnie Mouse, runners high-fiving the spectators, and people carrying their country's flag. 

It was inspiring to think about how hard these people had trained, and I have a new respect for marathon runners. However, I will use that experience to inspire me in other areas. Call me a wimp, but I still have no desire to run like that, especially not after seeing the pain of the Chicago runners. Kudos to them, but I'll stick with yoga. 

By the way, I did finally make it to my yoga class. 

Namaste.