Our Weekend in the Windy City (Anniversary Trip 2018)
Wheh, is it Friday yet? Coming off a glorious three night trip to downtown Chicago in celebration of our anniversary, these past couple of days have felt hard to get back into routine. But the days have been sweet, slightly chaotic, and it has felt good to be home as a family of three, again.
Since it was our three year anniversary on the 23, Landon and I decided to make it a special anniversary celebration and we scheduled a fun, romantic trip for just the two of us, the 22nd through the 25th. My parents took Benaiah for part of the time and my in-laws had him for a night too. Landon and I spent Wednesday night at home and then headed to Chicago (by train) for a two night, three day stay.
Wednesday night, Landon came home, we had dinner and coconut milk ice cream (using THIS recipe) and we went out to see Ant Man 2. We loved the first Ant Man and we both enjoyed the second one just about as much. I never know what to expect with sequels, but we both found it hilarious and super entertaining.
Thursday morning, (the day of our anniversary) was probably one of my top highlights from the entire trip. We got up fairly early, ate some peanut butter toast, and went to our first CrossFit class together. Landon has been to a few CrossFit class, but I have never been to an official class. The workout was a KILLER, 42 minutes of lunges, kettle bell swings, ring rows, rowing, and single arm shoulder presses. I knew it was going to be a tough one when I was already feeling it after the warm-up. Haha. We both ended the workout dripping sweat and feeling full of life. It was such a fun experience to share together and I can’t wait to go back for more.
We didn’t have much food back at home and since it was our anniversary, we decided to go to our favorite breakfast/lunch spot. Buttermilk has the some of the freshest food and every time I go, it always hits the spot. I was debating between a giant salad (since it was around lunch time) or a farmhouse skillet, and decided to go the breakfast route. It was everything I hoped for and tasted so good, especially after a crazy workout. Landon got the chicken fried chicken skillet and he enjoyed his too.
We left for Chicago around 1 in the afternoon and made it to our hotel around three o’clock. We lounged around for a while, enjoyed the scenery, and sipped on some coffee. Eventually, we made our way out to dinner and enjoyed a dinner at a local, upscale pizza place that had a killer salad and a delicious grilled veggie pizza. After dinner, we found a super yummy, local ice cream shop and both enjoyed ice cream in homemade waffle cones. YES PLEASE.
Landon and I spent Thursday and Friday (literally) running around Chicago. According to my Garmin, between the two days we walked/ran about 20 miles through the city. Our hotel was gorgeous and I was super impressed with our stay. When I was searching for hotels in the downtown area, I kept feeling drawn to the Ambassdor. I am so glad we chose to stay, because it was gorgeous, historic and right near Lake Shore Drive. Landon and I both agreed, it was a fun location, because the hotel was near more of the residential/historic area and felt a little tucked away from the businesses of the heart of the city, while still being close to all the tourist attractions.
We enjoyed a lot of good food from the Protein Bar (their smoothies/ salads are amazing) and ate once a Lyfe Kitchen. Between the two ‘health,’restaurants, I think I liked the Protein Bar better, but Lyfe Kitchen was good too. We also stopped at a couple different coffee shops (one place gave a piece of chocolate with their lattes – please and thank you) and went on a fun architectural boat tour. I was a little bummed because the weather wasn’t as nice as I was hoping, so I didn’t bring my camera out as much as planned. I did get some good pictures on Saturday though and snagged some on my phone.
Really, the best part was simply being together. It felt like such a treat to sneak away for almost three entire days and spend it focusing on each other, eating good food, and talking without interruptions. As much as we enjoyed our time, we were both eager to get home and see Benaiah by Saturday day. It was such a sweet reunion and it has been good to be home, admits the struggles of getting back into routine.
This summer has been really a season of a lot of change and a lot of weird, hard stuff. And sometimes that is life. I am so thankful to have, first of all, the Lord as my sure and steady anchor through the trials of life and secondly to have this man at my side – through the good and the hard and the fun and the joys and the trials. He’s such a gift and makes my days to happy. Chicago was a blast and we can’t wait to take it on again. Here’s to the next adventures ahead!