A Chicago Style Break

Last weekend I took a break from my life, 

climbed into this beauty of a rental car

[how did they know my licence plate should say New Jersey?!],
drove through Ohio 

[confession: stopped at their best antique mall],
picked up Kristen,

and arrived that night at Hotel Felix, Chicago.

There for a piano teachers' conference,
Kristen and I also partook in some city culture,

starting with these weird guys right outside our hotel.

 Upon settling in, we wandered out to the Navy Pier,

 found a jungle,

 a ferris wheel,

 and a stained glass museum, 

before digging into some Lebanese food at an authentic restaurant back in our neighborhood.

The next day we headed out early to the conference, for master classes and general thoughts on all things music and teaching.  Really, though, we were there for the snacks

[our friendship thrives on
our unique ability to pack interesting snacks]

 and eating our lunch out of a bag

 [which we may or may not have
stored on ice in the garbage can in our hotel....].

We were also there to reunite with our dear Ingrid,

who is uniquely gifted at calling out our own personal giftings

 [which includes scooter retrieval and navigation].

After a long but enriching day, 

we treated ourselves to
some enrichment of the Chicago deep-dish kind.

The next morning we conferenced a bit,
but then told ourselves it was time to play.

We did a little fun shopping,

ate a little raw food [yes, that's ravioli made out of sliced turnips and cashew nut "cheese"]

about which Kristen was particularly excited.

Then,

 we joined this knowledgeable lady, 

 who toured us all around the city,

 explaining to us many specific-to-Chicago buildings,

 architecturally important, and beautiful:

 [The Palmer House]

 [The Empire Supper Club at the Palmer House]

[think Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Emma Fitzgerald...]

 [Ornate department stores]

[think ladies of luxury,
and customer service that actually means something...]

 [Can't remember where this is, but it's Tiffany, and it's beautiful!]

 [The Library!]

[Millenium Park]

Upon completion of the tour,

 we returned to the Palmer House lobby for warm beverages 

and some resting/keeping up on our real lives

before jumping on the el train 

 for a walk through historical neighborhoods.

When it was time for dinner, 

we crashed into this neighborhood place, and--

delighted with our spontaneous find--

stretched out on the bench to relax,

and to eat yummy and neighborhood-y fried food,
complete with burger bar.

Happy with our day of play,

we returned to our hotel keepers,
and followed it up with another day of conferencing.

Then, we climbed in that fancy car,

turned on the heated seats and the bluetooth music [as I debated just keeping this treat of a car for the rest of my life....] and drove ourselves home.

A lovely little respite with a good old friend in a fun new city, thinking about things I love to think?

A Chicago Style Break is welcome, any time.

The Word Is:

be present

Our Particularly Good [Full] Weekend

When Heather and Ash are called away, it is typical for me to swoop in with bag and baggage, to spend a full and fun weekend with my two favorite little ladies.

This particular weekend started off with Kate on a playdate 

and Sarah and I at my headshot shoot,

 followed by a [very exciting]
Wegmans date of shared sushi and dumplings.

Upon retrieving the little one, we met up with some of my friends for a Sweet Frog treat, before returning home and crashing into beds comfy (and new!).

The next morning we stretched and woke, 

 lounged around, creating culinary feasts.

 We played old games for old times' sake,

 [having ourselves a little bit of healthy conflict
while we were at it...]

and took advantage of a beautiful day,

with a bit of outdoor exploration.

We played and prodded,

and took a few selfies to document the moments. 

[Moments such as this child, being a hilarious little nut.]

Speaking of hilarity, selfies, and nuts,
now for a 'when you give a kid a camera' break:

Yes, after lunch, we went for a drive.

We headed out into the countryside

and discussed--among many other things-- how lovely it is

to live in the middle of Pennsylvania

[How lovely, indeed.]

Our destination was my favorite little store out in Amish country, where we got so enmeshed in our decisions about which candy to buy and whether or not Kate absolutely-needed-and-could-not-live-without the little tea set they were offering for sale that we did not document a moment of it.

But, after our decisions were made (vanilla caramels, mint nonpareils, and no to the tea set as sweet as it was), we found ourselves in the town's antique shop.

 My directive to "not touch" was taken as "you must tiptoe, and above all else, do not allow your voice to be heard"

 as these two whispered in furtive phrases

 and sweetly muffled giggles 
regarding all that they were finding hidden away.

We felt fortunate that Kate was reunited with her "one true love!" [inexplicably, a drawer full of forks...]

 that we found this beautiful old ivory-keyed piano,

and this fascinatingly old type-writer, 

upon which Kate felt the need to state that she was "here".

[We had no doubt, darling hilarious child...]

We drove home, refreshed, 

but ready for some downtime,

and dinner.
[More dumplings! More sushi!]

Soon enough, we were ready for pajamas, snuggles,
and Good Luck Charlie [our favorite!],
feeling happy and content with our day well spent.

The next morning, 

 Kate and I had some quality time

 with each other

 and with her new [and very thrilling] antique knife/fork

[what the heck is this thing?!]

before climbing back into the car for yet another drive into the countryside, this time to church, and to the variety of little cats that are in residence out there, who were just waiting for some playtime with these two little cat lovers.  

In their hilarity,
these two sweet things make me laugh;

 in their beautifully particular ways, they make me full.

We had ourselves a particularly good weekend, indeed.