The party got over (Blog post to follow) and Adam and I made our way back to Salt Lake.
It was about 1am when Adam handed his gift for me to open.
It was a Van's shoe box. Inside, mixed with a few other trinkets, was two boarding passes. (I think there was two? Can't remember now.) flights to Chicago.
Wonderful Chicago.
What??
Chicago has been on top of my list for a while now. Well, not Chicago, The Bean.
I can't handle it when I see pictures of the thing. The Artist said that his inspiration was Mercury. And Maybe I just love anything that has to do with Mercury, I think it is the most beautiful thing in the world.
It was 1AM, the flight left at 5:20, Adam wanted to leave in three hours. THREE.
It was the most bizarre moment, the night had been filled with surprises and it was like I couldn't wrap my head around one more.
I packed, slept for maybe an hour, then it was off to the airport. With Adam announcing that he was only going to play Chicago the entire trip. It was the most spontaneously-confusing thing I've ever done.
I didn't know what to do in Chicago, all I knew I wanted to see was the Bean.
Adam had an amazing deal at a fancy hotel right in down town, where the blue line and the orange line meet, right between the river and the theater.
WHAT?! So fancy! The magical trains sore above your heads and below your feet and the sky scrappers went up so high they disappeared into the clouds. The city was beautiful and packed full of un-tapped exploration.
We had Oprah's recommendation on deep dish pizza, and wasn't a fan, then gave it another try at yelp's favorite place and was still not sold.
Deep dish pizza is kinda lame. Sorry Chicago!
But what the pizza places were lacking in flavor was make up for in charming people, close knit spaces, and both of these pizza places where decked out in Christmas, it was so charming.
The entire city was Christmas. The Macy's windows were all decked out, the salvation army bell ringers were on every corner and the Theater was showing Grinch, the musical.
And before Thanksgiving or not, Christmas was such a welcome treat in this windy cold city, it felt like we were walking around the set of Home Alone, or miracle on 34th street, or __________________ (fill in the blank with any city, christmas movie).
We went to see the play and it was wonderful.
Short and sweet and Chicago may be one of my new favorite cities. I was sold.
Nothing disappointed, and as for the bean it was everything I had dreamed up it would be, it was perfect.
If you ever get the chance, go. It should be a wonder of the world. Who do I talk to about getting that in the "wonder of the world" book? Maybe I'll just start my own book.
A Few Highlights. .
1) The very first time we laid eyes on the bean it took us both by surprise, it was kind of hidden behind some trees and we didn't notice that we were getting closer and closer.
When the bean was in sight, first time laying eyes on it, Adam pulls out his phone and took a picture of a building he liked that was in the opposite direction. .. What the? What could you possibly be taking a picture of??
2) We took a cab back from the pier because it was cold and we needed to get back in time for our flight. Our cab driver said maybe two words, maybe, and Christmas music was blaring, and he had a strand of jingle bells that he kept reaching over and chiming. Also he plowed over a median and was not phased in the slightest.
3) Room service!! We got Chocolate Cake and Cheese Cake to ring in my birthday at midnight. Right in bed. We sat in bed eating chocolate and watching sleepless in Seattle as I quietly turned 30. (Adam's choice of movie). Then we had a full breakfast delivered in the morning.
I don't think I had ever had room service, now I'm hooked. HOOKED!
4) Just casually we saw William H Macy on the street corner. He was with a lady talking like they were trying to figure something out. It took us an entire 24 hour to figure out his name.
5) Going to the Pool
6) When a store owner told Adam his mustache reminded him of Freddie Mercury. (That and a good handful of people that would stop him on the street to complement his mustache)
7) Walking to the bean eating popcorn. If I lived there I would visit that bean everyday. I'm not joking about that.
8) Wet socks.
I can't believe what a fun surprise it was, how calm and perfect the weekend was. Everything came so easy, finding our way to our flights, and the trains and getting to our hotel, it was all so chill it was great.
Adam really is quite wonderful, it is so amazing that he is inwrapped in me and goes above and beyond for my Birthday, what a stud. I am so lucky, so brilliantly lucky.
Now for a brilliant display of pictures, in no particular order. . . .
5 comments:
Chicago has never disappointed. And, i love the subway pictures.
all of these pictures are amazing. You're beautiful, but that bean Tho!... so cool!
Such a fun trip!!! If you end up coming to NY prepare for much dirtier, uglier, smellier subways than that. They looked so clean and pretty in those pictures!! I can't believe it.
I would go back in a heartbeat. Best trip so far. Can't wait for our next adventure.
Beans, beans the magical fruit! You guy’s are awesome. I underestimated you again. Sometimes I think that my mind is working on a wavelength unique to only me. I catch myself thinking of some of the most witty, clever ideas only to realize that I can’t share them. They’re a little bit too complicated for the likes of just any regular person. In fact, when asked about what’s most frustrating about living in this day and age, although my answer fluctuates, its usually that I find it difficult to be the only genius of our time. In the late 1800s and early 1900 hundreds there were brilliant minds like Michelangelo, Edison, Jesus, and Anne Frank. I really think those people would have really suited me. I bet I could have sat in a room with those guys and they would have thought all my jokes were really amusing. This CommentBlog treasure map would be a walk in the park for them. Not to be rude or anything, but I can see the traffic that each post gets, and lets just say the DenimJacket post really had a lot of you lost. I know, I know- obviously if you’re reading this, you’re not the ones who got stuck after the second post. I’m like one of those annoying teachers who chastised their class about being late right after the bell rang. Come on you stupid old lady- the people who need to hear about being tardy aren’t even here yet! No wonder teachers only make 35k a year.
I had a fabulous weekend.
Everyone already knows I have a really creative side to me. I love to get my hands dirty, and I love to immerse myself in all types of projects. Well this weekend I had big plans. For the last few months I’ve had my eye on the most gorgeous set of fabric paints. Now I know what you’re envisioning, and let me tell you upfront- you’re wrong. This isn’t a fabric paint set you find at Target or Michaels. This is a set you can only purchase on Etsy. Some guy has found his life calling, and made a living out of creating fabric paint. He is one of the only fabricators who can be so precise that his premium set has 249 distinct colors. I know. Holy Shit.
He makes the paints to order and it takes him about 60 days. I put my order in back in January and they arrived last Tuesday. Over the last couple months I’ve been dreaming up ideas on how to put these paints to use. I thought about making some cute scarves, or some fun hair scrunchies. I was pretty sure that I’d be using them for some ribbon styled friendship bracelets for all my girlfriends at work. But guys. When these paints arrived all previous plans that I had were gone. Nothing I had thought of yet were worthy of these paints. I swear when I opened the box light escaped out of the seams. They are the most beautiful paints I’ve ever seen. I knew in that moment that I had to use them for a greater purpose. I had to use these paints to make some personalized clothes for my roommates dog.
I wish I could post pictures here, but I also am glad it’s not an option. I like the simplicity that comes with only posting in the comments. I don’t love leaving my creative projects up to your imagination, cause I’m sure you’re minds can’t even begin to comprehend what I did this week in the dog clothing industry. But I do love that you aren’t leaving here feeling inadequate because you’re jealous of my skills. It’s a thin line with social media and blogging. And I’m not here to make you feel bad about yourselves.
Guy’s I’m busy today so I need to cut this short. But look for my next post. The hint is one word (again). The word is FIRST.
-Mckay
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