little black journal

It’s been kind of a garbage dump of a week, so I’ve had my sights set on this three-day weekend for the past few days.  Since Monday, I’ve been making my Saturday plans:  sleep in, roll out of bed only for a latte and a scone, and then roll back into bed for an afternoon with Harry Potter and Season 6 of Lost.  I believed it was just what I needed.  But then my more adventurous, more fun-loving better half turned to me on Thursday night and said, “What if we woke up on Saturday morning in a different country, instead?”  We quickly Price-lined a hotel in Vancouver, packed our bags, and as soon as the whistle blew on Friday afternoon, we were Canada-bound.

It wasn’t until I started looking online for things to do near our hotel that I realized July 1st was in fact Canada Day, so we would be in the thick of the country’s annual ‘birthday’ celebration.  As soon as we got into the city, traffic slowed to a crawl, as the streets were swarming with people clad in red and white, waving their maple leaf-adorned flags as they danced to the music of any number of bands that had set up shop on the street corners.  We snaked our way to our hotel, gladly ditched our car at the parking garage, and set out in search of 1) good food, and 2) general merriment and festive-ness.  Jack and La Verne had recommended Zakkushi for dinner, a cozy little Yakitori joint just a few blocks from where we were staying.  We snagged a couple of seats at the bar and promptly began ordering to our heart’s delight – items on the menu were about two dollars apiece, and we wanted to try to try just about everything.  For the next hour, the waitress brought us plate after plate of pork-wrapped asparagus, grilled quail eggs, and miscellaneous chicken parts, paired with cold, refreshing pints of Sapporo.

Happy and well-nourished, we waddled out of the restaurant and followed the throngs of people to the waterfront in hopes of catching the big fireworks show.  We staked out a little spot at the harbor’s edge and watched bang after bang of red and white lights.  I marveled at how unknowingly perfect our timing had been in our last-minute decision to make the trip up to Vancouver – you don’t see this every night!

Post-fireworks, we headed toward Gastown to check out the Pourhouse – an allegedly ‘legit’ bar where bartenders respect and know their cocktails.  Shane was determined to verify such rumors, so we plopped ourselves on a couple of barstools and promptly ordered our fist round of drinks.  Shane was impressed with his Fernet-laced Toronto, and my Golden Fizz (gin, lemon, egg, soda water) was perfectly creamy-but-light. Verdict: this bar was indeed legit.

By the time we left Gastown, it was nearly 1 am, which is pretty late for an old married couple such as ourselves, so we cabbed it back to the hotel and fell into bed with a couple of food and drink-induced smiles on our faces.  It had been a very good night.

I was delighted to see sun shining through the curtains early the next morning – I peeked outside and took in the view of the harbor and mountains, pleased that it would be a perfect day for touring the city.

Shane threw on his running clothes and headed out for a jog around Stanley Park.  I thought about joining him for all of six seconds, and then decided instead to head back to bed for awhile – I just wasn’t quite ready to give up on my plans of a Saturday sleep-in.  Hunger eventually pulled me back out of bed, and we left the hotel mid-morning in search of breakfast.  I followed a recommendation for a good crepe place just down the street, so we grabbed a quick bite and then decided that the sunshine was calling us back toward Stanley Park.  We found a place that offered cheap bike rentals, hopped on our super-rad orange cruisers, and we were off!  It was an incredibly leisurely ride, as we stopped every few minutes to take in the scenery and snap a few photos.  Shane said it was the longest bike ride he’d been on without breaking a sweat – that’s what I’m talkin’ about…

We returned our bikes mid-afternoon and knew that we needed to take advantage of Vancouver’s culinary offerings at least one more time before hitting the road.  We settled on ramen at Motomachi Shokudo, another trusted recommendation from Jack and La V.  And wowsers – these Vancouver-ites don’t mess around when it comes to their noodle soup!  Rich, flavorful broth filled with soft-but-not-too-soft noodles and tender slices of pork.  I dont think I’ll ever be able to go back to those 25-cent packages of Top Ramen that I loved so much in college…

We ended our trip in Yaletown, for gelato and a stroll along the waterfront, then down the charming brick-lined streets.  I love this neighborhood – we’re looking forward to spending more time here next time we’re back.

And with that, it was time to hit the long dusty trail back to Seattle.  Thanks, Canada – our spirits were higher when we left than we arrived, so I’d say our little getaway was a smashing success.

We’ve been enjoying some quality time with family lately, with a visit from my mom and dad last weekend, and a quick trip down to Portland this weekend to see my brother, his wife, and the girls.  Although these trips always end up feeling much more brief than I’d like, I’m thankful for these short-but-sweet chances to reconnect with one another.

My parents were here on a typical rainy June weekend, and so my hopes of enjoying Seattle’s great outdoors didn’t quite pan out.  But we passed mornings hunkered down in cafes to enjoy a latte, followed by afternoons spent lounging at home to watch the Giants, and evenings gathered around the dining room table for a home-cooked meal and a game of cards.  And so my bitterness over the rain subsided as I realized how nice it was to spend a simple, cozy weekend at home with my mom and dad.

Our trip to Portland was equally mellow, but substantially sunnier, and so we did our relaxing in the backyard.  Lots of good eating, lots playing with Elise and Morgan, and a quick trip downtown to do a little shopping at Powell’s and West Elm, for good measure.  Shane continues to be Elise’s favorite, and I suspect he is trying to sneak his way into Morgan’s good graces as well…

I really don’t mind being runner-up, though.  I can’t hold a grudge against a gril with a smile like this one.

Finding ourselves with a little time to kill in the Pearl District before the stores opened, I subjected the family to a little photo shoot.  It is amazingly difficult to get two adults and two small children to look at a camera all at the same time.  But…success!

And this is the point where I lament the end of a beautiful weekend.  Sigh.

Shane and I have been feeling like a Californian weekend was overdue for some time now – we’ve been missing our friends, the sunshine, Saturday afternoons with the Giants…  And so we booked our tickets and headed down to the Central Valley last weekend.  It had been nearly two years since our last visit to our former home, and so I had a list of things to do and people to see.  My ‘girls’ were at the top of that list – Francine, Kelly, Amanda and I have been friends since high school, and it’s been far too long since we were all together.  We spent Friday at the nail salon, followed by a perfect lunch at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants.  There are times when I worry that I’ve changed so much since living in Seattle that it will be tough for us to connect like we used to, but after 10 minutes of sitting around a table together, shrieking with laughter about long-ago memories, I realize that our bond is not that easily broken.

After our lunch-induced caloric overload, we decided to burn off those burritos with one of our favorite pastimes:  shoe shopping.  Amanda and I have a favorite store in Modesto that we visit every time I’m home, and we can easily spend hours wandering up and down the aisles, trying on heels that we know we’ll never be able to walk in or bright pink wedge sandals that won’t match anything in our closets.  What I love most about these little shopping excursions is our ability to pinpoint exactly what the other person would like (“theses polka dot wedges are so completely you!”).  I was talking about this with Nancy the other night and she summed it up perfectly:  she said it feels really good to be known, which is what’s so special about these times with the girls – they know me in a particular way that no one in Seattle does or ever will.  Of course, there are also times when I surprise Amanda with my apparently poor taste (“oh, no, Kel, you’ve got to be joking with those”), but I love those moments, too – brutal honesty without the risk of hurt feelings is a pretty unique thing.

The rest of Friday was pretty mellow – burgers for dinner, more catching up with old friends, watching movies as I crashed out on the couch…  Saturday morning, it was time to bid farewell to Turlock and head to San Francisco for the rest of the weekend.  We were intent on catching a game, and thought it would be fun to end our trip with a night out on the town.  After checking into our hotel, we jetted over to AT&T park, stocked with peanuts and sporting our Giants gear.  It was a beautiful day to be at the ballpark, and the buzz of excitement in the air told me that I better get ready to do some serious cheering and high-fiving.  I was wrong.  Horribly wrong.  Lincecum pitched the worst game of his career, and we left the park in the middle of 8th, as the Giants were down 8 to nothing.  Ouch.  At least the sunshine was there to buoy our spirits.

He’s only smiling because he got a new hat to replace his crusty old faded one…

A short nap back at the room, and then we were ready to paint the town red.  Saturday was the 12th anniversary of our very first date, so we were in the mood to celebrate.  Shane had made reservations at Delfina, a cozy-but-hip Italian restaurant in the Mission.  We slurped up perfectly prepared spaghetti and oohed and ahhed over our tagliatelle.  I like to think that Shane will look back on that night and remember the dress I wore and conversation we had, but he has already confessed that what made the biggest impression on him was the fact that Ellen Page was sitting at a table just five feet away from us.  We didn’t approach her, but I still had to listen to his dorky one-liners from Juno all night, about his ‘hamburger phone’ and ‘food baby’.  I’ll admit, as we don’t experience too many celebrity sightings in Seattle, it was kind of a big deal.

Dinner was followed by cocktails at Wilson and Wilson, a tiny little speak-easy known for it’s intimate bar and finely crafted drinks.  The theatrics of getting to our table were a bit much (having to give a password to the fedora-wearing man at the door, and then being led through a dark bar to a door that had to be unlocked with an old key, beyond which we finally found our seats), but still, it was a fun night.  The cocktails were good, the conversation was good, and I was toasting to 12 fabulous years with a pretty incredible man.

We started Sunday with a coffee date with Brieanne, my college roommate and fellow Francophile (we were in Paris together for our fourth year of college).  It was fun to catch up, to hear about the exciting things in store for her as she expecting her first little bebe in November.  Post-coffee, Shane and I headed over to Hayes for our brunch reservations at Absinthe.  I’m not sure how Shane found this place, but O.M.G.  My french toast was the best I’ve ever had – slightly crispy around the edges, but unbelievably light and fluffy on the inside.  Sinfully good.  Shane took a bite and his eyes got really big as he exclaimed, “It’s like a taste of heaven!”

Yum-my.  But also super-filling, so after brunch, we were ready to do a little walking.  We wandered around the neighborhood, and then made our way toward the new federal building, designed by Morhposis.

I think I was so high on sunshine and french toast that I wasn’t much in the mood for architecture-gazing, so after a quick spin around the block, we headed back toward the park in front of City Hall to find a patch of grass with our name on it.  My college friend Chris came to meet us there, and the three of us camped out on the lawn for a couple of hours, chatting and soaking in the beautiful day.  It was nice to put away the busy-body, sight-seeing side of myself, and just focus on good conversation and quality relaxation.  I should try that more often.

One last stop for more sunshine-soaking at Yerba Buena, and it was time to head for home…

Au revoir, California.  Hope to see you again soon.

It’s hard to see our long-awaited vacation come to a close, but we ended it on a really lovely note, with some super-relaxing, family-filled time in Alexandria. We got to take part in so many special moments over the past couple of days: we were able to see Shane’s sister walk in her college graduation ceremony, after years of hard work; we got to take his mom out for a belated Mother’s Day lunch and his dad out for an early Father’s Day dinner; we watched Shane’s dad reap the benefits of his shiny, new, state-of-the-art tractor; and we all gathered together last night to cheer on our little nephew Avery as he drove in his first go-cart race (at the age of six! look at him go!). Since we often only see Shane’s family once a year at Thanksgiving time, this visit felt like a nice little bonus, packed with good memories we were thrilled to be a part of.

It was also a treat to see Minnesota in the springtime, with buds on the trees and fields full of dandelions. Although the November snow certainly has its charm, its nice to see so many shades of green in places that I’ve always known as frozen and bare.

And now, after 8 glorious days of doing what we want to, waking up when we want to, eating what we want to, and generally being completely self-indulgent, our big trip has come to a close. ‘Home, sweet home’ was my mantra throughout the entire flight back to Seattle, muttered in an effort to ease the pain of saying good-bye to ‘vacation, sweet vacation’…

We arrived in Minneapolis around noon on Tuesday, sad to be bidding farewell to Chicago, but excited about the next leg of our trip. We only had 24 hours in Minneapolis, and I really wanted to make the most of that time. So after lunch at a Mexican restaurant on Nicolett Mall, I…went shoe shopping. It’s true – there were probably sights I could have been seeing, museums I could have been visiting, drinks I could have been tasting, but the weather was much hotter than I’d packed for, and my feet were screaming for a pair of sandals. One strappy pair of wedges later, I did a little cafe-sitting and then was ready to take on the city. Shane and I had tickets for the Twins game that night, so we put on our lightest-weight clothing (87 degrees outside – seriously?!) and walked the two blocks to the stadium. Our seats were perched high above the outfield, so we had a great view from which to take in Target Field.

We heard murmurings from the fans in the seats behind us that there was a tornado and hailstorm warning in effect, but we hoped that we’d already paid our bad-weather dues at the Cubs game, so we hung tight in our seats, wanting to see if the Twins would come back from the Tigers’ early runs. Toward the third inning, the first fat raindrops started to to fall, so we headed down to take cover under an overhang. In the fourth inning, the rain really started to come down, and we really started to overheat – just when we started debated whether or not to wait it out, the decision was made for us…

We were too hot and thirsty to see how long the delay would last, so we rushed outside and took refuge from the rain in the nearest bar, thankful that at least we’d had the chance to check out the Twins’ beautiful new ballpark. The rest of the evening was really low-key, with junk food and basketball back at the room – not quite the all-star tour de Twin Cities that we’d planned on, but it was still a good day.

Wednesday morning started with breakfast at Moose and Sadie’s, a charming little cafe/bakery in the Warehouse District. We shared a sticky bun and munched on fruit and yogurt, eager to check out a little more of the city before heading up to Alexandria for our visit with Shane’s family. And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we stood up to head out into the city, those pesky fat raindrops began to fall again. We hoped it looked worse than it actually was, but after getting thoroughly dampened in only two short blocks, we began to worry that our morning was doomed. We cursed ourselves for carrying umbrellas halfway across the country and then leaving them tucked into our suitcases back at the room. But I say, when life gives you lemons, just drink coffee, so we ducked into a nearby cafe, determined to wait out the rain with a hot latte. One on One cafe ended up being a really good find, with great coffee and an interesting vibe, as it was part cafe/part bicycle shop. We were happy to sit there for awhile, and even happier when we saw that the rains had stopped.

The rest of the morning was spent on a quick architectural tour of downtown – we checked out the library, snapped a few photos of the Warehouse District, and slowly meandered back to the hotel.

Our final stop before heading out of town was the Mill City Museum – I’d read about this old flour mill that had been converted to a modern museum dedicated to the history of the mill. The incorporation of new glass structures with remnants of crumbling stone walls and rusted steel members was beautiful – we spent awhile poking around the courtyard, snapping photos and admiring the architecture.

One last gaze at the Mighty Mississippi (which looked particularly mighty in light of recent events), and it was time to say good-bye to Minneapolis.

Looking forward to some chill time with family over the next few days – somehow all of this relaxation has me a bit worn out…

If there is any truth to the phrase ‘too much of a good thing’, we tested its limits in Chicago – our final day there was full of more amazing sights, flavors, etc… We jumpstarted the day with coffee at another Intellegentsia Cafe – this one on the ground floor of the Monadnock Building. To most you, this building’s name won’t ring a bell, but for those of you that suffered through third-year architectural history with me, you’ll know that this is the tallest load-bearing masonry building in America, with masonry walls as much as six feet thick at its base. Fascinating, no?

Post-lattes, we spent a little time wandering around the neighborhood – this was one of my favorite areas of Chicago, with so many beautiful old masonry buildings of different colors and patterns. I walked around in an urban daze, my eyes continually pulled upward to buildings that frame the canyon-like streets.

And I love the juxtaposition of old and new – I was thrilled when we came upon the Spertus Institute, a new building made famous by its faceted curtainwall. It’s exciting to be able to experience first-hand the architecture I’ve admired in magazines and design blogs, and I was totally enamored with this building – Shane had to go grab a seat at the nearby park while I walked back and forth at the base of the facade, wanting to understand every little angle and reflection.

The weather was good, but rain clouds hovered in the distance, so we decided to take advantage of what might be our final hour of sunshine and grab lunch at a sidewalk table at The Gage on Michigan Avenue. Our pork-intensive week had me craving vegetables, and this beautiful beet salad totally hit the spot.

Energized by our veggie-rich lunch (or was it the beer?), we headed over the Art Institute of Chicago for a serious art fix. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since I’d been a little disappointed by the previous day’s museum, but figured the trip would be worth a shot – if nothing else, I wanted to check out the renovation of the Modern Art wing, designed by one of my favorite architects. Holy. Cow. I had no idea what we were in for – the contemporary collection far exceeded my expectations with several pieces by my favorite artists. Giacometti, Dubuffet, Rauschenberg, and the list goes on. And the space was beautiful – there’s a reason they call Renzo Piano a master of light.

After a couple of hours of wandering through the galleries, we started to experience art fatigue, and so we called it a day at the museum and headed out to Millennium Park. This park might be one of my favorite things about the city – the public art is amazing (seriously, how cool is the Bean?), and the variety of spaces provide something for everyone, whether you want to people-watch at the Crown Fountain, or sit on a quiet bench, or stretch out on the lawn. Plus, the tulips are in full bloom in Chicago, allowing for these amazing little patches of color along the park’s edges.

After taking one last spin through the park, we headed back toward our hotel, stopping briefly at the Aqua Tower to snap a few photos – more architectural eye candy…

We had late-night dinner reservations and several hours to kill until then, so after resting up back at the room for awhile, we decided to take a leisurely stroll in the direction of the restaurant, figuring we could probably find a bar or two that could fill our time until 10. Our wandering landed us at The Bull and Bear, where we ordered a couple of beers and caught some of the basketball game. From there, we walked south of the river, pausing often to enjoy the city at night, in all of its lit-up glory.

A short bus-ride landed us right across the street from the restaurant, but being that we still had an hour to kill, we headed into Haymarket Brewery to grab one more drink, and see if Chicago’s microbrews had anything on our Northwest favorites. We had a good time, but I will say that I remain partial to Manny’s… Finally, the moment we’d been waiting for arrived and we headed over to The Girl and the Goat to grab our table. Shane made these reservations nearly two months ago, as this place has been making quite a buzz and can be rather hard to get into. I’m sure its fame is largely due to the fact that it was started by Top Chef Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard, but after enjoying our meal, we can confirm that its popularity is legit. The chickpea fritters melt in your mouth; the goat and veal sugo is rich and meaty, but perfectly lightened with the addition of sweet, juicy gooseberries; and the roasted pig face topped with a sunny-side egg is…unusual (Shane loved this dish, but I think jury’s still out on this one). Throw in a couple of oh-my-gosh rich desserts, and we left there with some pretty huge grins on our faces. However, I was only smiling until I realized just how sickeningly full I was – I suppose ‘too much of a good thing’ really does have some truth to it… Nonetheless, it was a meal we’ll always remember and a perfect way to end our decadent tour of Chicago.

Next up on our Midwestern vacation: 24 hours in Minneapolis!

I was up early(ish) this morning to start the day at the hotel’s fitness center, knowing that we had another calorie-rich day ahead of us – and wowsers, glad I thought ahead… First on the docket was brunch at Publican, a relatively new restaurant just west of the river. From our little table in the corner of the open, airy dining room, we feasted on pecan sticky buns, asparagus frittata, and a fluffy, pork-topped omelette. When the waiter asked if we’d like to add a side of bacon, Shane nodded his head enthusiastically. Let me say, ‘thick-cut’ bacon has an entirely new meaning now – by ‘side of bacon’, I think the waiter meant ‘side of a pig’. This stuff was insane! But since we’re on vacation, and since it makes Shane smile, I won’t regret the indulgence.

After lunch, we took a short walk around the neighborhood, enjoying the industrial vibe of the street, with its low-rise brick buildings, topped with old wooden water towers.

From there, we took a bus over the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, where we spent an hour wandering through the galleries. The current Jim Nutt exhibit was not super-engaging for me, but I did come across one of my favorite Francis Bacon paintings, so the visit was well worth our time.

Post-museum, we grabbed a table at a sidewalk cafe where we could enjoy a cup of coffee and a good dose of sunshine – the weather today was perfect, almost as if making up for the drizzle we endured at the ballgame yesterday. Fueled with caffeine and Vitamin D, we made our way to Navy Pier, to catch our boat for the Chicago River architectural tour. This was the highlight of our day – totally relaxing, totally fascinating, and just a perfect way to take in the city on a sunny afternoon. I had visions of Shane and I slow dancing at the back of the boat, a la Julie Roberts and Dylan McDermott in ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’, but apparently they discourage standing while the vessel is in motion. Hmph. Nonetheless, we saw some really beautiful buildings and learned a ton about Chicago’s history.

After our cruise, we strolled down Michigan Avenue, popping into a few stores and taking in ‘The Magnificent Mile’. Our walk landed us at the base of the John Hancock building, which Shane heard has a cool bar on the 96th floor with amazing panoramic views of the city. How incredibly convenient! And so we hopped in the elevator, snagged a couple of seats by a window, and ordered our drinks. Shane’s martini wasn’t quite up to his standards, but we were able to overlook that fact for the sake of the view.

And check out the perspective from the women’s restroom – I kid you not!

By the time we left the bar, we were hungry – our decision to skip lunch was intentional, as we knew that tonight was the night that we would set out for Chicago’s best deep-dish pizza. Shane had done extensive polling of anyone we knew who had lived in Chicago, and we settled on Lou Malnati’s as our joint. We were given a table by the window and promptly ordered their classic pizza, with sausage, cheese, and tomatoes. We hungrily dug in when it arrived, and although the deep-dish is no match for our beloved Tutta Bella thin-crust, it hit the spot. It also did us in – our plans of hitting up one more cocktail bar were dashed when I thought about how nice it would be to get back to the room, put on my stretchy pants, and veg out. And so we ended our night watching basketball from our comfy hotel bed. Yes, these are the things vacations are made of.

After a lazy morning (my definition of vacation includes not having to set an alarm clock), we set out in search of good coffee to fuel us for our first full day in the city. Our quest landed us at Intelligentsia, where I happily sipped through my double latte while taking a peek at Chicago’s hipster population – they were no match for Seattle’s Vivace crowd, but I suppose that’s to be expected. From there, we were bound for Wrigley Field, with tickets for a noontime Cubs v. Reds game. As we popped off the L and walked toward the ballpark, I was immediately struck by the infectious excitement that surrounds a Saturday afternoon ballgame. Ticket scalpers, peanut vendors, and hyped-up fans spilling onto the sidewalks from crowded bars told us that we had landed in the center of the action. The buzz of being surrounded by so many tried-and-true baseball fans carried me through the first few innings, despite the chill in the air and the occasional drizzle. My enthusiasm started to wane as the rain fell harder and the Reds took a 2-1 lead over the Cubs. I asked Shane how committed he was to watching the whole game, and he encouraged me to stick it out. And thank goodness I did! The Cubs came back in the 9th to win the game, and despite the fact that I am still 100 percent loyal to my SF Giants, I couldn’t help jumping out of my seat, shouting and clapping my hands, giving high-fives to the joyous fans surrounding us. It’s fun to get so unexpectedly swept up in a moment, and we left the ballpark with huge grins on our faces, unable to help ourselves from singing along in the chorus, ‘Go Cubs Go, Go Cubs Go, Hey Chicago, what do you say, The Cubs are gonna win today!’…

After the game, we grabbed a cup of tea and headed back to our room to warm up and sneak in a little nap before dinner. Dried out and refreshed, we decided to hit up Xoco – a highly reputed Mexican restaurant started by famed chef Rick Bayless. And holy carnitas, Batman, this place was delicious! My red chile short rib soup was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time, and Shane nearly fell out of his chair over his goat barbacoa torta. Even the chips and guacamole were perfection. I give Shane major, major props for scouting out some of this city’s best eats. I married one heck of a trip planner.

After a dessert of churros and chocolate, we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and decided to do a little walking, in hopes of settling our over-stuffed stomachs. We strolled along the river, walked through Milleneum Park, found the brightly lit Chicago sign that I’m sure every tourist (myself included, apparently) uses as a backdrop for a photo, and decided that this city is…amazing.

Shane will say that I tend to get all gushy whenever I visit a place for the first time, but seriously, this place is so rich with old and new architecture (more on that later), with neighborhood dive bars right next to uber-chic restaurants, with what feels like the perfect balance of ‘urban grit’ and modern polish. Our hour-long meander through the city was full of so many good surprises – like the famous ‘Bean’ in Millennium Park. Genius!

We ended our night with cocktails at Gilt – a dimly lit, loungy, super-classy bar a few blocks from our hotel. Ahhhhh, coffee, baseball, churros, architecture, and a bubbly nightcap…yes, life is good.

After a busy week of tying up loose ends at work, spic-and-spanning the house (I refuse to leave for vacation knowing that I’ll have to come back to a messy kitchen…), and scouring downtown Seattle (to no avail) for a pair of cute, comfortable, city-walkin’ shoes, we boarded our plane for the windy city this afternoon and are now settled into our hotel in downtown Chicago. We’ll be here until Tuesday, and then we head up to Minnesota for a night in Minneapolis and a couple of days with Shane’s family in Alexandria. I’ve got much to look forward to over the next week, with tickets to a Cubs game, reservations at some of Chicago’s best restaurants, and plans to take a cruise down the Chicago River to check out the city’s stunning waterfront architecture. This is my first time here, and the anticipation of new sights, new art, and new cocktails is enough to make me giddy with tourist fever. We’re off to a bang-up start, as we just finished a late-night meal at the Drawing Room – intimate, classy, and man, if only I had a picture of the grin that lit up Shane’s face as he took that first bite of bacon-wrapped pork belly. I was partial to the lightly fried avocado slices, paired with my Prosecco-lemon cocktail. The evening was, in a word, decadent. Tomorrow I’ll be good and eat on the lighter side – like maybe a Wrigley Field hot dog for lunch and deep dish pizza for dinner? This is vacation, after all…

We spent this weekend in Portland, hangin’ with the family and getting caught up on any growing/changing that the girls have done over the past six weeks.  My parents were also in town Friday night, so we had a chance to share a meal with them and dote on Elise as an entire family, as she just turned three last week and has come to understand the joy of opening birthday presents.  She is indeed three years old – after a quick but relatively un-enthused ‘wow!’, any boxes of clothes were tossed aside, and it was the little percussion set from Mitch and Kathryn that stole the show as the most attention-worthy gift.  She banged on that drum for several minutes, then passed out her collection of other instruments, with yours truly on the tambourine, my mom on the harmonica, and my dad on the ocarina.  I can tell you that we do not have a future as the next Partridge Family, but we sure do know how to laugh together – I nearly fell off my chair as we all made our terrible racket and Elise danced in the middle of the kitchen as if we were actually playing something with any discernible beat.

Saturday was a quiet day around the house, with a couple of small outings to enjoy ice cream and park time with the birthday girl.  Elise is as playful and energetic as ever.  She loves showing us how high she can jump, playing school, wearing her awesome pink cowboy boots, and sitting on her Uncle Shane’s lap (yes, I begrudgingly admit that he is still the favorite).  Her laugh is absolutely infectious.

Morgan, on the other hand, is still tiny and precious and content just to be held and cuddled and rocked.  Although I can’t wait to see what kind of a little girl she will become, I also never want her to grow out of this always-too-short baby phase.  Shane and I offered to watch the kids and put them to bed last night, so that Mitch and Kathryn could enjoy an over-due evening out on the town.  As I rocked Morgan to sleep, I was overwhelmed by the realization of how much I already love this little girl, at only three months old.

A quick stop at Barista in the Pearl District this morning for the latte to top all lattes, and then our Portland weekend of family fun was over. The house right next door to Mitch and Kathryn’s is currently for sale – if Seattle weren’t feeling so very much like home these days, I’d be asking Shane if we could make an offer  and allow unlimited Auntie and Uncle access to the girlies…