Chicago and More!

My parents gave me a false sense of adulthood - or maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention.  I always thought that when you grew up you got to do whatever you wanted; even if that meant spending all day in front of the television.  Man, was I mislead!  I just worked a thirteen hour day!  Plus, it's a Saturday!  I got all of my papers for class saved, cleaned my house, did all of my laundry and put it away, and weeded part of my garden.  My sweet husband then went and borrowed his parents tiller to weed the garden for me.  It was much faster!  Thank you Scott!  Love you!  Plus I made personal pizzas for Scott, Ava, and I.  It's been a busy day.  But do you know what was on my mind the whole time?  Art.  I kept thinking of what I could be doing out in my art house.  I kept coming up with ideas for new projects - so I wrote those down in short hand.  All I wanted to do was go out into my art house.  That is my plan for tomorrow morning before anyone else wakes up.  I'm going to eat breakfast, make coffee, and take a cup out with me.  That just sounds so nice.  In the afternoon we are hosting Father's Day dinner for my side of the family, and we will be so busy playing games that I won't get a chance otherwise.  :)  It's all fun though.

But, I need to tell you guys all about my trip to Chicago.  It was amazing!  I spend the train rides, there and back, reading and listening to my iPod.  Music is huge to me!  Music is inspiration and life all in one.  But that's a topic for another time.  I got almost a whole week of reading in my Walking in this World book. That in itself would have made an awesome day!  However, there was much more to come.  One of my good friends, Aimee, whom I hadn't seen in about five years, met me at the train in East Chicago, and then we rode the rest of the way in together.  It was so nice to see her and spend time with her.  She knows me so well, and it was just so comfortable to hang together, just like always.  Aimee is doing amazingly, and is so happy!  I am so happy for her.  Spending the day with her was just a gift.  We talked, we walked, we ate, we perused, and she shared some of Chicago with me that I had not seen.  It was just an amazing day, and we both promised that it would not be so long before we got together again.

The very first thing we did once we got off of the train was pee.  But you probably don't care about that part - I sure did though!  Once we were relieved, we found that Utrecht really was just outside of the train station.  Aimee had told me this, and I do not remember ever seeing it there before.  Once we came up the stairs, we turned left, and there it was just staring us in the face!  I couldn't believe I had never seen it before.  The store itself turned out to be so much fun!  It was not as big as I thought it would be, but that may be because I am used to crafting stores.  However, as soon as I walked in, I was in bliss!  Canvases, paints, brushes, inks, etc. Oh, it was beautiful!  We perused each isle and I found the exact things that I was looking for; a travel watercolor set, brushes, travel watercolor paper, and a small container to hold water.  Not only that, but the items were relatively inexpensive.  That made me even happier.  :)  It usually does.

Seeing as that was the only place that I really wanted to go, the rest of the day was left up to whatever we wanted.  Aimee knew where she would like to eat, so we decided since it would be such a trek that we would just start walking and stop wherever we wanted along the way.  But first I needed some coffee.  I had only had one small cup that morning, and was craving more (yes, I am an addict).  So we stopped at The Artists Cafe.  Boy, was that latte strong!  I like coffee, and I can drink fairly strong coffee and espresso.  But this coffee was crazy!  It was Italian, and delicious!  Once we got out coffee, we pleasantly stumbled onto a farmer's market.  Aimee was overjoyed, and I was completely excited!  The produce looked amazing!  Sadly, we did not purchase any because we still had the whole city to wander.

As we went on our way, we stopped at a book shop, a clothing store, and then....a vintage shop!  I had never been in one, and was pretty sure that I would not be able to afford anything (rightly so), but I needed to go in.  Aimee and I both found breath-taking vintage dresses that we would have purchased.  Sadly (or thankfully) we are not Angelina Jolie or Julia Roberts, and our budgets (we actually have them) did not leave space for a $200 dress.  Just visiting the store made me smile though.  I wondered who had worn the dresses, and what the dresses had seen.  Funny thinking a dress can see.  :)  I like that thought.

Lucky for us, the vintage shop was right next to the restaurant that Aimee wanted to go to - Karyn's Cooked. The restaurant was completely vegetarian.  I had never been to such a restaurant before, but it was mouth-wateringly indescribable!  The brown rice and vegetables in teriyaki sauce was delectable.  Plus, I tried tofu for the first time.  I never thought that I would like tofu.  In fact, I was afraid to try it - thinking it would be disgusting.  But it wasn't at all!  The cook had sliced the tofu thinly, seasoned it, and grilled it.  MMMMMMMMMM....WOW!  Aime loved her food as well.  She is a vegetarian.  We both highly recommend this eatery.  Sorry, there was no website listed that I could find.

We didn't have a whole lot of time left once we had eaten, so we headed towards the train station.  Along the way we did pop into Trader Joe's  I'm really bummed that there are no Joe's close to us, because the food and things offered in this store were mostly organic (I believe), and fairly inexpensive.  Their coffee was not bad either.  :)  When we had finished there, we headed to Millennium Park.  It started raining some, but nothing major.  In fact, I found it comfortable and refreshing to walk in the rain.    The rain did not deter us from visiting our destination.  If you have not been there, I think a trip should be made.  I still have not been through the whole thing due to time constraints.  But the next time we go, that will be the first stop on my list.  The artwork is phenomenal, as are the rest of the grounds.  I loved the flower gardens as well.  Flower gardens make me feel pretty and calm.  Maybe that's why I keep expanding my flower gardens every year.  :)  I can't wait to go again. 

When the day came to an end, I was not ready to leave.  Aimee and the city had refreshed my inspiration ten-fold.  I couldn't wait to get home and begin some projects, but I didn't want to leave either.  Saying goodbye to Aimee was tough.  It had been so long since I had seen her.  I know that we won't wait that long again though.  :)

Before I sign off for today, I wanted to point you to the sidebar.  I am trying to get a slideshow of pictures from my Flickr account to play, but I am having a tough time figuring it out.  If anyone knows how to do it, please enlighten me.  :)  Once I figure it out, I will definitely let you all know.  Also, there is a reference section of the books I have read in the past year.  There are a couple of others, but friends have them right now.  Plus I am in the middle of another, but think it is in my car (I hope!).  Please enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions.  :)  Plus, does anyone know about the Flickr slideshow?  Please do share!  :)  See you all soon!  Now go be creative!