goodbye, chicago

I missed the season premiere of my all time favorite show, So You Think You Can Dance, tonight and I am so so so sad.  Mourning...

We have been home for two weeks but unlike my China trip, wanted to finish documenting this trip.  I think it is because the kids are involved.

This is the last of my Chicago stuff:

I started off the morning by getting up and ready before the family so I could go and explore the shops around the hotel.  My favorite were:

Dick Blick Art Materials- I have bought some stuff from them online but to go to the actually store was so much for me.  It got all my nerdy crafty feelings going.  I loved it in there so much.  All the rulers, all the notebooks, all the paper, and even a cordless electric eraser!  Mr. Recession is My Reality made sure that I walked out of there only spending $4.  The cutest wooded ball push pins ever and refills for my mechanical pencil.  How good am I?

   

Other favorite shops:

H & M-  Love their sale racks.  Mr. Recession couldn't even get me down there.  $20 got me 4 shirts.  Quantity AND quality (well, moderate quality, the place is pretty cheap).  Yes, there are cheap chain store clothes beyond Target and Old Navy.

Garrett Popcorn Shop-  Oprah was right, this place is great.  I love mixing sweet and salty and their signature cheese and caramel combo, though freaky sounding, is so so good.  So good that I went back and bought some more.  Some to share and some to make sure that I have some for times like right now, when just typing about it makes me want it.  Going to grab some from the kitchen, be back in a second...

... okay, I am back and now this is going to take my twice as long because I have to get the cheese off my fingers every time I need to type.

Went back to the hotel to find my family doing their favorite things:  Karl still working (or rather taking and making phone calls about his no longer working, securing files, working out details, etc.) and the kids in their jammies watching TV.  I forced them to stop their most favorite things.  After all, we were in CHICAGO!

I just figured out that I just hold the popcorn bowl up to my mouth I don't actually have to get the cheese on my fingers.  Can't control the cheese/ caramel ratio but I am willing to sacrifice.  

 

We parked at Millenium Park because it was cheaper than our hotel.  It also gave us a chance to see the park during the day.  

  

 All these business people eating their lunches and then these two kids started chasing the birds.  They were going at it so hard it was cracking me up.

  

In suburbia, if something is a few miles away, it take a few minutes to get there.  In Chicago, if something is a few miles away, it takes forever.  We went to a place called Hot Dougs.  Though the had me at, "Welcome to Hot Dougs!  The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meats Emporium," I read further to find that they their "hot dogs" included crazy stuff like alligator and fancy stuff like fresh mozzarella and goat cheese.  Oh, and, of course, they had the Chicago Dog.  A somewhat sacred dish in these parts.  Look at that line to get into the shop.  A HOT DOG shop!  I looked around and realized that this is serious man food.  At some points Eva and I were the only girls in there.  My pomegranate drink was so good.  

  

Though it was fun to go to such a popular, weird shop, I would never consider that place an appropriate source of nutrition.

The family was so nice to let me go into these cute shops:

Paper Boy- So cute, had every cute ribbon, stationary, paper, gift, book, you can imagine.  The ribbon.  Oh, the ribbon...

(funny story:  I was waiting for Karl and the kids to pick me up after I was done and noticed a store called "Uncle Fun" across the street.  Couldn't tell what kind of store it was but didn't go in because from the name thought there was a small chance that it could be one of "those" kind of stores.  I didn't go in.  But upon Googling "Paperboy" for this post found out that the stores are friends (or uncles) with each other and Uncle Fun is, in fact, a toy store (not just for adults).  Dang, wish I knew that before.  I would have checked it out.)

Paper Doll- Another cute chop chock full of similarly inspiring stuff.    

Renegade Handmade- Talk about inspiring.  A whole store full of handmade stuff.  Like a real live non cyber etsy shop.  

Lesson in posting right after a vacation:  All the shops are kind of fuzzy in my mind, now.  One giant, happy, inspiring, fuzz.  I can't remember which shop was which.  I am pretty sure I mixed up those that I wanted to go to, those that were closed, and those that I actually went to.

 

 

Who knew that Monday is the new Sunday in Chicago?  SO many shops were closed.  Lame.

That night I got to go out with my friend Elisa.  She was my mentor teacher my first year of teaching in Chicago and taught me so much.  Along with the seriously helping me out in my classroom, she also taught me how to cook Mexican food (the real stuff) and introduced me to threading, the coolest way of hair removal ever.  Keeping with tradition, we stopped at a threading shop and I got my brows done.  It is so cool.  They use a piece of thread to shape your brows.  Just a piece of thread!   

  

Then we headed out for Greek food (Think: My Big Fat Greek Wedding). Saganaki (cheese flambe!), gyros, moussaka, and the best dolmades I have ever had (I thought I didn't like them, until I had THESE).  Such a great meal, but even better was the company.  We had a lot of catching up to do.  Awesome night.

  

In the mean time, Karl and the kids were hanging out at the beach.  I never get tired of that skyline.  Uh, Abbi?  If you are missing a really cute kitchen towel, it is because we had it in our trunk from when we took breakfast to the park. Whoops.  Sorry.  Eva used it to keep her feet off the bugs.  She got freaked out by them.  Smart girl.  Uh, I bet you want that towel back, now.

    

Among many obvious differences between mommies and daddies:

If it is 9:30 p.m. and the kids haven't eaten, mommy panics

If it is 9:30 p.m. and the kids haven't eaten, daddy doesn't sweat it, he just calls mommy

Enter our family into Pizano's Pizza (the closest non-McDonald's place that was still open), 10 p.m..  Though I was stuff full of great Greek food, I still had room for the skillet cookie and ice cream dessert.  Always room for one of those.

Hotel, sleep, pack, load up...

Then we headed to H & M (as a family, this time), grab the fastest food we could find (chips, bread, and cookies from the bakery) and headed to the Field Museum (once again, our Discovery Gateway membership pass got us in for free!).  

Let it be known that this is the day that a large bag of Doritos provided my children with all the nutrients they were going to get until 8 p.m.  I felt horrible (and gross, too).  They didn't mind.  I did.

   

The museum was neat.  It brought back a lot of memories from when I did a teacher program there.  I went there a bunch of Saturdays and they taught us all about the museum.  I took my students there for a chocolate exhibit and learned all about the stuff.  I couldn't take pictures of the pirate exhibit so I can't remember much :).

We leave the museum and wisely decide to skip lunch at a place that I REALLY wanted to check out.  We get to the car rental return only to realize that we didn't fill the gas tank, we drive around for a gas station, give up (and decide paying $8 a gallon is better than missing our flight), get to the airport, realize Eva left her purse (with her Nintendo inside!) in the car, have to leave it (Eva cries, of course.  I mourn the money we spent on that Nintendo), rush to security (only to stand there for what seems like FOREVER), Karl runs ahead (only to find that they had finished boaording), asks them to hold the plane, they hold it for a while, we take too long (getting two kids and all our stuff through security, and then running through the airport takes a long time), the guy says that they have to close the gate (and kindly lets us know that the next flight is the next morning), Karl comes to tell us, I need to sit for a breather, Karl goes to double check to make sure that the next flight is not until the next morning, and MIRACULOUSLY the plane has not left yet and they guy lets us on.  

Take a breath.

We made it.  Our chaotic ways were, once again, rewarded.  An entire plane full of people waited for us.

This is the flight where I ate an entire medium bag of Garretts popcorn because I was STARVING.

This is the flight where the stewardess comes running saying, "I am coming, I am coming!" to find two parents oblivious to the fact that their son had been entertaining himself for the last five minutes by pushing the button above his head.  Yep, that one that calls the stewardess.  Yep that one that makes that tone over and over until she shows up.  Yep, totally oblivious.  "So sorry," is all we can say.

  

The luggage took forever.  Us being in the wrong luggage terminal didn't help.  The kids made the best of it and made themselves comfortable while we figured things out.  Look at the center pictures.  Samuel's lips when he is focusing.  Oh, those lips!

This is the day that I had one of the best meals I have ever had.  My mom had korokke waiting for us at her house.  Even when I have had more than popcorn to eat all day, korokke is one of my favorite meals ever.  

So good to be home.

chicago, meet my kids

This post is a doozie.  You get an award if you get through the whole thing.  I don't know how to do simple posts.  I just don't .  

There is something about me that hates to leave stuff out.  

I see those boards with the vinyl letter cutouts on it.  A lot of people have, "simplify" hanging on their walls.  I am going to get one, too.  But, mine is going to say, "complicate."  Then it is going to have 67 little pictures hanging under it because I can't choose my favorite."  Actually, I take that back, the sign won't actually be hanging on my wall.  It will be sitting around waiting for me to hang it.  

Oh, this a Chicago post?

Eva was born in Chicago but she can't remember it.  We left when she was only one.  We started out the Chicago leg of our trip by finding out that Karl was (in his words), "no longer gainfully employed."  So, we went through this part in a daze.  We were in shock.  But we were determined to make the best of it.  Back in Chicago and poor again...

  

This is in front of the law school.  So many memories came back as we pulled up.  They have remodeled it so a lot of it is different.  But the same feelings still come back. 

Let's just hope that this is only time I see Samuel behind bars.

  

The last time Karl held Eva there, she was tiny. 

   

Our first apt. and our second apt.  We move a lot.  Seeing those brought back memories,too.  Like, memories of how much I hate cockroaches.  HATE them.  

The little produce store that I loved to go to grew up and moved.  It is all fancy, now.  That is what happens, I guess.   They grow up, move, and get all fancy.  But my favorite part was still there.  You can buy herbs by the pound.  So, if you only need a little, you only have to buy a little.  Unlike everywhere else where you have to buy a big ol' package for too much money and then you use a little and the rest goes to waste.  

   

A couple of our favorite spots because we could afford them.  Ribs N Bibs (because it tasted like the stuff we fell in love with in Texas) and Hyde Park Gyros (because we could both eat for a few dollars).  

  

This is where the world's fair once was.  Do they still have those?  This is also where the drunk beggar tried to grab my camera to see my pictures and then asked me for money.  Gross and scary.  I can't believe I used to live here. 

 

There was a fire on top of a building.  It was exciting.  And I didn't feel bad gawking because no one got hurt. 

Eva counted 8 fire engines.

We went back to the school and there was a family with 7 kids.  We gawked at them.  I guess it is because you never see that in Chicago.  They let their kids run in the pool, so we did, too.  They had a blast.

  

When we lived in Chicago before, we didn't take advantage of all of the great food because Karl was in school.  

I tried to make up for it on this trip.   

I e-mailed my fellow food lover friend, Paula, who also used to live in Chicago.  She sent me back an awesome list.  We went to a few of her suggestions.  Dinner was at Cafe Leguardia and it was delicious.  They had one of our favorite sandwiches, the Jibarito.   It is a Chicago thing.  Instead of bread you get smashed, deep fried plantains.  I love them.  Samuel does, too.  He ate half of Karl's meal.  I got a sampler.  Because that is what I do.  Dessert was a super fancy description of what ended up being a chocolate covered ice cream ball.  

   

Even though we were super stuffed we headed over to Margies Candies because we were in the neighborhood and because we thought Samuel needed some energy. We all shared a chocolate shake.  You know it is good when you still want it after being totally stuffed.  

We parked at Millennium Park and enjoyed all of its glory.

The cleaning people had a sense of humor.  This is how we found Eva's stuffed dogs.

 

The next morning we headed over the Hancock Tower for Karl's reunion brunch.  I still think about the chocolate croissant.   95 floors up.  Wow.

We went over the the Hyde Park ward.  It was so fun to see old friends.  So, so, so, so fun.  Feels weird to reporting about church and then talk about all the non-Sunday-ish things we did.  But I justify it because we are vacation.  But then deep down I still don't like it.  Oh well.  Moving right along...

 

I thought these see horse things were the neatest things there.  This photo is great for many reasons.  1) It shows the guy totally picking his nose 2) It shows the lady that was clearly dressed for a night club and not the family friendly aquarium.  For whatever reason we were observing in the same path and speed so we saw her so much.  I was freaking out so much that Karl said, (in his best black girl impression) "don't hate."  3) It shows Samuel on the neat boat.

 

These were taken outside the Shedd Aqurium.

Dinner was at Giordano's.  I didn't have a photo.  It is hard to make 10 pounds of cheese look good anyway.  Yum.  There are a lot of great stuffed pizza places there.  Our favorites were in Hyde Park but we wanted to go closer to our hotel.  

And just so one worries and starts sending donations (unless they are from my wish list post :))...

Karl is doing work on his own and he seems to be doing really well.  It suits him, right?

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."    --  Alexander Graham Bell While Karl is great at looking at the doors opening up, wish me luck on not missing that oh-so-safe closed door...