I was not kidding last week when I said I had to fit many moments of yuletide cheer into one weekend in Chicago, and we did our very best to get it all done. On Saturday morning we woke up and rather than being lazy (Saturday swim lessons are over) we got ready and met some friends down at the Chicago Christkindle Market. If you are ever in Chicago while this market is open, I highly recommend it. It is 100% just like the markets in Germany I grew up going to, complete with small wooden toys and delicious food and mulled wine and hot chocolate. The only downside is on the weekend it is packed and we have already made the executive decision to reutilize our 2013 plan of taking a Friday off of work and spending it downtown going to the market and looking at the Macy’s windows, because, nope. We met our friends at 10:45, fifteen minutes before the market opened, and we waited in line for 45 minutes to see Santa.
Santa was a great idea in theory but in practice, Gracie was not a fan.
Girlfriend ran for the hills. Oh well, there is always next year. When we asked Gracie about Santa after the fact she said she “yiked” Santa but that Santa is “scawy.” After the great Santa bust (times two, neither kid wanted to sit in the old man’s lap) we decided we were gluttons for punishment and we ditched the market crowds and instead walked to the newly opened Shake Shack where we…stood in line….again….for food. And then for a table. We ultimately prevailed, burgers for all (very tasty but not fighting crowds for it again, I’ll wait until the buzz dies down) and then we took the bus home so Gracie could nap. There was little rest for the weary though and as soon as she woke up we had a wardrobe change and went to our friend’s Christmas party, complete with another visit from Santa. Gracie warmed up to him a little bit, before he left for the North Pole she bravely ran up and touched his knee before hightailing it back to the cheese and crackers. On Monday her daycare teachers asked us if we went to a party, and when we said yes they informed us Gracie told them she had gone to a “pawty” and it had “Santa, cheese, and crackers.” Excellent summary, no?
Sunday morning I made a whole bunch of cookie dough to chill in the fridge and did boring things like grocery shopping and laundry, the things no one tells you about when you dream of adulthood. We then had a sitter come over and while Gracie colored and napped B and I went to the movie theater for a special showing of my favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas. It was a lovely afternoon of Bing and Rosemary and totally put me in the Christmas spirit. Kudos to my husband for both finding the event and buying tickets to take me.
All in all it was a very merry weekend and now we are back to the salt mines. I did get an unusual break in my week by attending the Monday Night Football game last night (thanks to the Namby family for tickets), where my beloved Saints whooped on my not-beloved Bears. The weather was in the 40s and raining so my attire was less than runway worthy, but I stayed warm and dry:
A photo posted by D (@d.chicago) on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:08pm PST
I layered warm socks, Sorels, Wunderunders, a tank top, a wool sweater, a cashmere scarf, my Barbour (made for damp, wet days but I found myself wishing I’d picked up the optional hood for it over the summer), my Saints hat, gloves, a Ziplock bag for my phone, and an extra layer of water proof foul weather gear sailing pants in case of emergency. I didn’t put the extra pants on until the 3rd quarter so I’d say I did ok. Who Dat!
