our chicago getaway

we arrived back home late last night from our whirlwind vacation to chicago. we had so much fun and did so much walking that i think it will take me a full week to recover. here are some photos to recap our trip.

on saturday we went down to lincoln park to do some shopping at the stationery shops there. we also happened upon vosges chocolates and quickly headed in. we had seen their features on food network enough to know we had to try some while we had the chance. i bought the most amazing chocolate bar i've ever tasted. it was filled with tibetan goji berries and pink himalayan sea salt. oh my, my! i will certainly be ordering their products online in the future.

on saturday night we went to navy pier to see the cirque shanghai show. it was, of course, amazing. the things that they can do are insane. my camera decided to run out of batteries about 10 minutes into the show, so the only photo i have is this one. it's a little blurry because there wasn't enough light, but i still think it looks kinda cool that way.


on sunday we went to the frank lloyd wright house & studio tours in oak park. we went on the tour of the actual house and studio and then another tour of the historic district which featured some of the homes he designed while he was there. we are such fans of architecture and it was a nice treat to see the homes up close and personal. here's a photo of his original home (actually this photo is more of the studio side than the home itself).


sunday afternoon we went to the chicago botanic garden. it was completely amazing. we're also huge fans of things like this. we miss the arboretum in minneapolis that we used to visit, so it was nice to feel like we were back home again. here are some random photos of beautiful things:







we also had our first trader joe's experience while there. it was on the hubby's list of things to do and we managed to come across one. we weren't disappointed, and bought lots of goodies. the hubby found out today that they're getting one in milwaukee soon, so we'll be able to visit often. yea!

then on monday we got up bright and early to get to our segway tour. of course, we woke up to sprinkles outside. we hoped that it wouldn't get worse, but alas, we rode around chicago on our segways in the pouring down, windy rain for 3 hours. it was miserable, but so fun at the same time. i think people must have looked at us like we were crazy. but, the tours were rain or shine....we just got the rain end of the deal. i can't imagine how much fun it would have been if it was a nice day out. well worth the money....even in the rain! so fun! of course, now we each want one, but at $5000 each, i think it will have to be one of our "some day" dreams. we didn't get many pictures because of the rain, but while under a bridge, we had a fellow segway-er take our photo. you can't really tell, but we're actually standing on them in the photo. sorry about the quality, but it was pretty dark under the bridge, and we were soaked from head to toe....even with a poncho.


on the way home, we stopped by ikea to pick up some stuff for my business and then headed to my parents to pick up the little dude.

it was a great trip, but like always, i'm glad to be home.