Hello, hello! How’s the day going for you?
We spent most of our days this week in Chicago and returned home late last night! Yeah… it really doesn’t feel like Thursday around here.
I shared the highlights of the Bulls vs. Pistons game this morning and have a whole batch of pictures and stories to share with you this afternoon. Ready?
Fantastic.
Scenes from Chicago – Nov. 2014 Edition
Since it was Veteran’s Day (and a big belated THANK YOU to all the honorable vets out there for serving our country!) and Scott and I were technically on vacation (for the day), Barry took the day off as well and we all enjoyed a lazy morning followed by brunch at a new-to-all-of-us restaurant called Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe.
We picked this spot because it was walking distance to some of the famous sights of Chicago neither Scott or I had ever seen in person, despite visiting the city a handful of times before.
They are known for their pancakes, but I have to give their omelets a fair shout out. They were huge and loaded with egg-quisite (quoted from their menu… so punny) ingredient combinations!
I ordered the Espanola with egg whites, jalapeños, avocado, onion, cilantro, mushrooms, cheese, and bacon instead of the chorizo on a bed of corn tortillas. I made sure to list every single ingredient out because I want to remember this meal and recreate it as soon as possible. You should too!
It came with a side of hash browns and pancakes. I ordered the gluten-free honeycakes and put forth my best effort to eat about half of everything.
It was a fabulous meal, but the company was even better. Joining the three of us was a long-time blog reader and now real-life friend, Tanya!
She and I are mutual friends of Barry’s, and I remember the day I got a random text from him saying she casually mentioned reading my blog in one of their conversations. At the time, she was totally unaware that he was friends with Scott and I. Crazy small world, right?
Anyways, we left overly full and Barry ran off to an event while Scott and I were left to explore the city. Before we set out, Tanya offered to take us up to her office in a high rise building to see the views without having to wait in line to visit the Willis (Sears) Tower. Um, yeah!
We were forty-seven stories high and made our way up to a few different floors to take the best of it in.
It was chilly and rainy outside, so I was very thankful to take her up on the suggestion to sight see from the inside.
Thank you so much for the tour and access to the views, Tanya!
We made our way back downstairs and followed her directions to go see next point of interest on my list: The Bean.
I couldn’t believe that neither Scott or I had seen it in person before.
Being there was pretty neat.
We wanted to get a picture in front of it and lucked out by finding someone snapping a ton of photos on his own. He had a fancy looking set up and knew exactly what he was doing!
The Bean (also known as the Cloud Gate) is located in Millenium Park and has tons of things to do and see nearby. The two of us moseyed along and stopped to capture this 39-foot head statue. We found a group of new friends there and took turns taking pictures for each other.
Props to the girl who got this one on the first try, twice in a row!
(One for us and one for her friends…)
We were thoroughly impressed.
A short walk took us to the Red Bull Art of Can Chicago exhibit next.
Literally everything in the exhibit was made out of cans of Red Bull. Can you believe some of these details?
That’s a heck of a lot more patience and talent than I’ll ever have.
We had a couple more hours to kill before meeting another friend for dinner, so we walked and cabbed all around the city. We heard Macy’s was putting up their Christmas decorations and wanted to see them.
Better yet, how about this Tiffany Mosaic Ceiling inside?
Remember that tiny Tiffany window Scott and I saw at The Whitney? That one piece was worth more than $6 million, so I can’t even imagine what this bad boy is valued at. It was gorgeous!
We walked down the rest of State Street and stumbled upon famous sights.
ABC7 Chicago State Street Studio
Then we shopped a little…
(Why didn’t I buy these when I had the chance? Seriously.)
We popped in to the Museum of Contemporary Art wanting to see the David Bowie exhibit, until we found out the tickets were $25 each.
(And we had already been here before…)
We finished up our afternoon with a couple of sweet stops on Michigan Ave.
(Of course Scott bought this ridiculously large bag of Twizzlers.)
We had already been to both of these places before as well, and sadly, weren’t hungry enough to try anything this time. I assure you that the hot chocolates are wonderful and worth a trip!
Before long, it was time for us to Uber over to Grand Street to enjoy the buzzed about Coalfire Pizza for dinner.
We had heard great things about this place and wanted to try it out with a friend of ours. You might remember Kelley coming to visit us at the end of last year, almost a year ago to the date!
It was so great to see her and her mommy-to-be belly!
We all decided to split a pizza and salad and left it up to Scott to order the Caprese Salad and Pepperoni & Whipped Ricotta pizza.
The whipped ricotta was no joke, y’all.
It was all very good! After dinner, we made our way back to Barry’s and got ready to explore the city more with him.
Our first stop was at Underground Wonder Bar for some live jazz music. Tuesday certainly drew in an interesting crowd!
I ordered a fruity specialty drink (couldn’t even tell you what it was, but super calorie and sugar dense I’m sure) and Scott ordered a virgin bloody mary. It was a small place, and we could see the potential for a great time.
The music on this day of the week, however, was very… eh, unique. Coming out and “hitting the town” on a Monday and Tuesday night proves for some epic sights and sounds… let me tell you.
We bounced around as the night went on and our friend Katlyn met us out after she finished up her dance practice. It was a fun time!
And we were all stars.
Thanks for hosting us, friends! We can’t wait to come visit again on the weekend next time. Until then… stay classy, Chicago!
See you bright and early in the morning for Friday Favorites! <3

So glad that you had such a great time here in Chitown. And LOVE me some Wildberry’s! I really want to go to the Red Bull can art exhibit. Maybe my hubs and I will go this weekend!
You should!! It was pretty cool 🙂
Love! Glad you had a good time, and glad I could show you some indoor sites! Until next time! 🙂
Yes, it was a great trip! So good to see you!
I’ve never been to Chicago and really want to get out and explore the scene there. You and Scott win for coolest photos – that one of you guys jumping is priceless. Glad you had a good trip. Why don’t you schedule another getaway so I guest post again??? 🙂 hahah! Happy Thursday! See you in the AM for Friday Favorites!
Thank you so much for posting! I’m sure I’ll reach out to you again in the future… and yes, you should visit CHI-town! We are only 5 hours away 🙂
Isn’t Chicago and amazing place? When living in the States we lived in Arkansas. We took the train to Chicago overnight. It was a fun experience and a great city to explore. http://www.eatallovertheworld.weebly.com
LOVE it! My husband is from Arkansas! He went to U of A. We both love going back to his hometown(so) and also to bigger cities like this one!
I have never been to Chicago! I hear it is a ton of fun with lots of museums, theaters and restaurants. Looks like you guys made the most of it! The pic with you both jumping is awesome.
You would love it, there’s so much to do!
Glad you had such a good time in my hometown. Next time we should do a blogger meetup!
That would be fun!
You really hit all the spots in your time in Chicago! I work at the Willis Tower and look at too the United Center. I don’t have the best of the view but when I walk on over to the other side of the office I can see Lake Michigan. During these cold months it is definitely nice to enjoy the view from inside 🙂
Yay! And too funny, you were right there 😉 It would be so cool to work at a place with that kind of view!
Ahh I’m going to chicago next week! Super excited!
Lucky!! Have so much fun!
I love these pictures of my hometown! Lovin the Twizzlers pic! That’s so me!!
xo Anne
http://arcwrites.blogspot.com/
Thanks! I certainly enjoyed our time there 🙂
Loved this! I lived in Chicago for 1 year and this brings back all my memories! WOW that Red Bull art is amazing!
Love the city! It would be fun to live there for at least a year 😉
The token Chicago pictures are awesome! And I love the jumping ones! That red bull exhibit is amazing! I would make a trip to Chicago just to see that.
Ha, thanks! It really was impressive. I’m so glad we stumbled upon it!
Oh my. I MUST put that ricotta pizza on my Chicago bucket list. We will apply for the 2015 Chicago Marathon so maybe next year! That pizza looks amazing!
Yes, Anna-Marie! The Chicago Marathon is also on my bucket list – but probably not in 2015. I’m so pumped for you to do it!
That’s awesome about the reader turned friend! What a small world it is 🙂 Looks like such a fun trip into the city, that pizza is massive!
It was! And yes, I want to go back already for more!
Wow, you guys have some height in your jumps! 🙂 I love Wildberry!
Ha, yup. We used the ledge and jumped off of it. We’re crazy.
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