Fun Fun Fun in the Big City - Warning Long Post

I'm back and get ready to read because it was a jam packed weekend of fun!!! Now I'm back but busy with puppies and work so it's taken me a couple of days to get to the blog.

Chicago was wonderful!!! Suze and I haven't spent any quality time together in years so it was so fun to just be us girls being silly in the big city. I arrived Friday morning, via an unusually on-time United flight and headed straight to our hotel. My DH had let us use his Marriott points to score two free nights at the Marriott Magnificent Mile. What a sweety! It's a nice hotel...nothing to complain about. In fact, there's a brand new Starbucks in the lobby so lots to be thrilled about. Suze and I spent alot of time at the Bucks around Chicago...enjoying our lattes. The hotel is in an awesome location...right on Michigan Ave...a stone's throw from Nordstrom's and all of the other magnficent shopping. Wanna hear something funny? We didn't even go into any of those shops....nope, not even Nordstrom.

Friday was a whirlwind of a day. I checked us into our hotel (thank you Marriott for having a room at 10:30 in the morning) and headed down the street to get Suze. Once we were all unpacked, we headed out the door. Suze was on a mission for a camera so we scounted out the nearest Wolf's and headed there. Ooops...well, we got sidetracked by Old Navy where we picked up some cute jammies on sale then we had lunch so THEN we found her camera. Once that mission was accomplished, we were free to hang out and just have fun which we did. More window shopping on Friday then we stopped in for a quick nibble and glass of wine at one of our fave Chicago spots - Quartino - on the corner of Ontario & State Street. Awesome inexpensive Italian wine and pizza (Italian style, not Chicago style). Well, one glass of wine turned into a bottle and nibbles turned into a yummy pizza topped with fresh arugula that turned into yummy, yummy grapefruit martinis and a fun bartender named Eric so needless to say....we never made it past Quartino.


We were in bed early on Friday...both of us had early mornings and those comfy, fluffy pillows at the Marriott were calling our name.

Saturday morning was exactly what I was hoping for...luxuriously sleeping in...no pups whining for food or attention. Heaven in Chicago...LOL. When we finally drug ourselves out of our room, we opted for a walk along the lake. It was a gorgeous day and I couldn't believe how many people were out walking, running, biking, rollerblading, swimming. It made me think for a nano-second that Chicago is a city could live in (at least until winter arrived!). We made our way leisurely back to the hotel...stopping to have a yummy cinnamon dolce latte for me at Bucks and a nice, icy 7-Up for Suze. Along the way, we stumbled upon the Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago. The church is a landmark Gothic Revival church and a welcome relief from the middle of the day heat and crowds on Michigan Avenue. We stopped for a moment of silence inside the church then made our way to the lovely courtyard and fountain. It's so nice to come upon a peaceful place in the middle of a city.

Quick showers and we were off again. We were on another mission. Both of us had done some research and come up with ONE, yes ONE, stamp store in Chicago that we wanted to visit. So it was our mission on Saturday to find it. We decided it was such a great day that we'd venture a walk down Rush Street and work our way up to North Clark to visit Stamp On In. We ventured through Chicago's Gold Coast area. In the late 1980s, the Gold Coast comprised the second most-affluent neighborhood in the United States, behind Manhattan's Upper East Side so it's not surprising that we were shopping for this:

or maybe one of these that comes with a cool price tag of $438,000!!!!

Along the way, there were the obligatory Bucks stops...a long peek into Anthropologie...a too yummy for words lunch at another of our faves: Le Colonial. This was our first trip to the Chicago restaurant but we had a yummy dinner at their New York location several years ago. So yummy that we have been talking about going back there for 4 years!!! We had a cute little table outside and ordered up some fabulous appetizers.

goi Cuon
Soft salad rolls of shrimp, rice vermicelli, lettuce, bean sprouts, & aromatic herbs in rice paper, with peanut plum dipping sauce

hao tom
Grilled shrimp wrapped around sugar cane, with angel-hair noodles, mint, cilantro, & lettuce, with peanut plum dipping sauce

ca song
Tuna tartare with tomato, cilantro, & cucumber,tossed in ginger soy dressing, served with wonton crisps

More wandering...through Lincoln Park...up to North Clark and finally...Stamp On In!!! Well, we were delighted to be there...what a cute little shop...so cute that we didn't take any pics. Well, we took some pics of samples but other than than, we were way too busy filling up our baskets with fun craft goodies. If you are a crafter and are in Chicago, definitely stop in to see Terry and Rick...the stamping guys!!! Not only do they have a great shop but they were so much fun to chat with!! Sadly, they closed at 5 and we had only arrived at 3:30 so we were unable to do leisurely shopping....it was definitely craft speed shopping. We did have the time for creative genius Rick to give us a tutorial on Copic markers. Fun fun fun and now we actually know how to use them!!!! Whew...we piled in a bunch of fun in that 90 minutes. Ooops, totally forgot our earlier excursion into Blick Art Supplies where we had the craziest (not in a good way) salesperson trying to sell us Copics. She even went so far to give us a demonstration. Suze was all set to buy...until the demonstration....it was so weird that we couldn't wait to get out of there, much less purchase anything from the clearly mentally unstable salesperson. Did I mention that there was a mishap on Saturday and I came away with a black eye? Hmmm....

After our wonderful adventure at Stamp On In, we wandered down Wells Street, ending up in Old Town. What a glorious part of the city! We wandered in and out of small boutiques, bakeries, spice shops...fun fun fun. But all that fun left us weary on a Saturday night. And although we had the best intentions to go down to the Navy Pier and watch the 10:15 fireworks, it didn't happen. Instead, we put on our new Old Navy jammies....had fun looking through all of our fun craft purchases, rented Sex and the City, ordered room service and went to bed at a reasonable hour. A perfect night if I say so myself.

You would think that all that relaxing in our hotel room would have us up at the crack of dawn...nope, we had another luxurious morning of sleeping in...had our showers and Bucks lattes then headed to the Navy Pier. Sunday we were more on a mission than any other day...probably because up until then we had pretty much just been wandering around Chicago. We hopped on a 10:30 a.m. Architectural boat ride, sat back, enjoyed the lake breeze and watched the skyline go by...what a nice way to start the morning.

We had another crystal blue day but it was starting to warm up just a little so it wasn't as comfortable as it had been earlier in the trip. Like the funny girls we can be, we decided to ride the carnival swings on Navy Pier...fun fun fun...but thankfully I had not eaten anything before riding them...from the Navy Pier, we took the water taxi up the river to the Sears Tower. And this , my friends, is as high as we got in the Sears Tower, once the tallest building in the world. There were too many people and we just did not feel like standing in a sea of humanity so we took our pic here at the entrance to the SkyDeck and went on our merry way.

We ended up at Bin 36 for lunch...a cozy wine bar/restaurant that was perfect. We were hungry and nibbles of cheese & olives (along with a flight of Sauvignon Blanc) were just what we needed!!!

I loved the presentation of the cheese on the tile square. Hmmm...something I could do at home with my leftover tile from the bathroom makeover???

We continued to wander around Chicago and it seemed like we couldn't turn the corner without running into these two beauties....formally known as Marina City and quite famous in many movies but also affectionately known as the corn cob buildings which cracked me up everytime we saw them because yes, they do look like giant corn cobs!!!

We couldn't end the weekend without a little culture and some much needed A/C so we headed over to the Art Institute. If you go, the museum closes at 5:00 but at 4:00, they drop the prices to 50%...so instead of $12.00 per person, we only paid $6.00!!! And what a deal...we saw:

American Gothic by Grant Wood

The Thorne Miniatures - actual rooms that were recreated in dollhouse size...amazing!!! Can you see the Eiffel Tower out the window? It's faint but the details in these miniature rooms are stunning!!!

The very large Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte by Georges-Pierre Seurat

and Suze's favorites, architectural elements from Chicago landmarks and buildings.

And last, but not least, ending our day at the Buckingham Fountain.

And our last evening, spent relaxing in our hotel room watching this:

Monday we both had early afternoon flights so we made a quick trip to The Paper Source for more stamping fun items and then to O'Hare to get home to our sweet hubbies.

Puppy Emergencies & Lack of Sleep

Well, just look at this face...is he not adorable??? He is such a sweety and has the cutest personality. He also had a belly button hernia that had to be repaired with surgery on Friday...his 3 month birthday!!! He's fine but has 3 inch cut in his belly and needs to stay quiet for the next two weeks. I don't need to tell you how difficult it is to keep a 12 week old puppy quiet...especially since he and his sister like to wrestle all the time!!! He's not sleeping well through the night (still!!!)...so I am still sleep deprived and my allergies are bothering me so I feel like a walking zombie these days!

Kimi is a great big sister and just a big puppy herself. It's so funny to me that this is one of her favorite spots in the house. When she's really feeling playful, she'll drop her treat filled Kong toy from up here because when it hits the floor all of her treats come out. Smart girl!!!

Other than doggie stuff, it's been normal around here. As usual, we are constantly in a state of travel planning. We have a couple of trips coming up that we're excited about.

Labor Day weekend I am heading here with my best friend, Suzanne, who lives in Virginia:

We did a girls' trip to NYC a couple of years ago so this time we're targeting Chicago! I'm sure there will be plenty of good food and shopping while we're there. Suze is putting together a list of things that she wants to do/accomplish while we're there. All I want is to spend quality time with her and get some sleep. The thought of three nights in a nice, quiet hotel room is more than I can stand!!

In October, Dick and I are heading here, with Scott & Nancy, friends from Florida. Dick & Scott share a birthday week so we are celebrating together this year.

And we're going to see:

This will be my 3rd time seeing this show and it's awesome!!!! Sally and I saw it when we were there for market last year then I brought Dick to see it because I knew he'd love it. We tried to get Scott & Nancy to join us then but they had a grandchild on the way so it was impossible, but we talked them into joining us in October. I can't wait. If you haven't seen it, it's a fun, fun show...and we normally hang out at the Revolution Bar in The Mirage before the show. Last time we were there, there was an awesome DJ spinning some fun tunes.

Last but not least, for 2008, we are heading to my hometown in Louisiana for Thanksgiving.

We are packing up the truck and the two pups and driving home. It's not a bad drive - about 19 hours - and with the price of airfare, rental car there and putting two dogs in the kennel, it's easier for us to drive.

Hopefully, we won't see any of these:

but I bet we have some of this. This is Boudin, a cajun sausage type food, but rather than just meat inside, it's stuffed with a rice and spicy meat mixture. It is my all time favorite cajun food.

And this is Dick's favorite cajun food...cracklins. Basically it's pig fat fried in pig fat...okay, it's a little more appealing that that....it's like bacon with the fat on it, fried and highly seasoned...okay, that probably didn't make it sound any more appealing but trust me, they are a tasty treat----and when cooked perfectly they are nice and crunchy (perhaps bad for your weight and cholesterol and your arteries)!!! Throughout the years, I've found that you either love them or you hate them and in general...most men love them!!! They go especially well with a nice, cold beer.

A New Adventure

photo by Filippo Fior

Can you guess where this? Well, it's where we're going May 23, 2009!!! Yep, it's funny...Dick thinks that I plan my next vacation while I'm still on vacation...LOL. Not true, I've been home 3 months now.

Yes, it's true...Italy again in 2009. This time with friends from the East Coast...I'll keep you posted on the details. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself.

On a puppy note. Whew, I forgot how exhausting having a puppy was...and how much sleep I was deprived during Kimi's early days in our home. Cody is adorable and sweet, but he only sleeps until 4:30. We can get him to lie down for about another 45 minutes but by 5:15/5:30, he's whining & barking and ready to be up and playing with his big sister. I am so tired!!!

Gone To The Dogs

Happy Sunday. Have you had a good weekend? We've had a great weekend!! Friday night we went out to dinner at a local Italian place that we both like (Zamparelli's in Lafayette, CO). Sorry, Robin, no pics but we split the antipasto plate which was delish...lots of dried tomatoes, salami, mozarella, etc. Dick had the chicken marsala while I had the gazpacho that I love!!! I adore tomatoes and fresh gazpacho is the perfect summer meal for me. I also had two grapefuitinis....more delish with fresh grapefruit juice...yum yum!! After we got home, we sat in our front yard with our dogs then a couple of neighbors dropped by, we opened a bottle of wine and sat around "visiting" with the neighbors and the dogs. A Friday evening doesn't get much better than that for me.


Saturday, Dick finally got the neighbors' go kart up & running...here's Dick & Derek, our neighbor, getting ready for the test run. The kids had a great time playing on it all weekend.

Saturday we spent all day putting together our new patio chairs!! Exhausting. I had some errands to run, baby gift to buy and a short trip to Hobby Lobby for more craft stuff!!! Today, spent the entire morning putting together the patio table, pulling weeds, watching the Formula 1 race on TV and napping (yep, I said napping...and did I mention it has been HOT here??). Sunday afternoon and I am just exhausted...ready for some down time in my craft room before I settle down in front of the tv and watch my DVR shows!!

Here's weekend puppy pics for your enjoyment. Kimi really looks huge next to him and she is. He's a little chewer...anything close to his mouth and put those teeth on it!!!




This picture is misleading because Kimi had been terrorizing him for awhile....when he finally got himself unpinned from her, he was up & barking at her like crazy!!

Boy, is he a cutie. Kimi is also a beautiful pup but he's very cuddly and would just like to lay around with his plushy toys if she didn't keep stealing them!!!


Have a happy rest of the weekend and a good week!

Puppy Antics

What have we done? The double puppy saga begins!

Happy Sunday! Well, here we are...at the beginning of our two puppy saga!!! We picked Cody up this morning at a Starbucks in South Denver....my two favorite things: puppies and Starbucks! A nice way to start the morning.

Here he is, sweet little Cody, during a quiet moment on the way home. He whined most of the way home then fell asleep.

Kimi seems to have adjusted well already to him. She's been playing with him and doesn't seem to be too annoyed by him. I think he got tired of her because she just wouldn't leave him alone. But here they are, our little berner babies. I'll keep you posted on future antics!!!

Blog Love Award

Wow!! I've been given a blog award...tee hee. My new friend, Fifi, who painted the beautiful Tuscan Courtyard scene for me has given me some blog love! I'm so excited!!! And we're gonna have a big blogland party along the Seine!! Do stop by her blog, check out her incredible art and give her a big hello!