My Eventful Week

My mom decided in May that she was going to take advantage of the Southwest deals and come and visit here in Chicago.  In order to get the cheapest flights she had to fly in on a weekday and out on a weekday so she arrived last Tuesday evening and is leaving tonight.  We managed to stay busy during her time here...

On Tuesday night after picking her up from the airport we drove to Chinatown and enjoyed some YUMMY chinese food at Joy Yees (not to mention some bubble tea)...I love that place!  When we arrived at the apartment, we went for a walk to the beach to try to feel better about the gluttony that we had just committed.

On Wednesday we woke up late and enjoyed lounging around.  We then drove all over the place (mostly north of our apartment) to find the perfect fabric for a baby gift (will post about that later), only to end up at JoAnn's which is where I would've gone to begin with if I didn't think that these other places MIGHT have more of what I was looking for...geez-oh-pete!

We ate lunch at the Austrian bakery right down the street from my apartment that I've always wanted to try, only our lunch was more like supper because we didn't eat until 4:45 - time flies when you're having fun (or sitting in Chicago traffic, whichever way you choose to look at it) :).

On Thursday we woke up and got to work on some of my projects (baby gifts) and stuck around the apartment.  We ate lunch at home and then headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lily Pond and then the beach...here are a few pictures of our adventures:

On Friday we woke up and got ready earlier than usual and headed out to Greektown to enjoy brunch at one of my favorite places to enjoy brunch (introduced by my friend, the foodie, Shea:) ) Meli's.  We then headed off to the Museum of Science and Industry and enjoyed the exhibitions that they had to offer, specifically (for me) the fairy castle (a huge dollhouse that takes up an entire room!) that I've been mesmerized with since I first saw it in the 3rd grade:

We then headed over to State Street to get us some Garrett's popcorn (what's a trip to Chicago without this stuff?!) and to window shop in a few stores.  Off to home we went and enjoyed a nice home cooked meal and zonked out early after our busy day.

On Saturday we headed over to Orange With a Peel just down the street from our apartment to get some brunch (I enjoyed some yummy green eggs and ham :) ).  Afterwards, my mom and I went to the Field Museum while Stephen had some guys over from his small group for a summer "staycation"...they're crazy :).  After the museum, we walked over to the Buckingham Fountain and then down Michigan Avenue to enjoy the Magnificent Mile, here are some pictures from our day:

After the Magnificent Mile we went home to enjoy some of my favorite Chicago Pizza (Giradano's) and relax after another fun-filled day!

Sunday, we woke up and went to church.  We then hung around the apartment and enjoyed our day AND making some more gifts (will post later)...my mom is handy to have around!  At 7, Stephen had small group at our apartment so my mom and I went with my good friend, Amy to my favorite restaurant in Lincoln Park, the Basil Leaf.

Today, my mom's last day here, consisted of some more projects and her mentally preparing to fly home again solo - she's not the traveling type :).  I was sad to see her go, but I look forward to seeing her again in a few weeks when we go home!  She's a lot of fun to hang out with and she's such a good sport with all the things I want her to help me with.  I love spending time with her!

I can't wait to show you some of our projects - she's helping me learn to sew and I would be lost without her!  Keep your eyes open this week to see these fun sewing projects :)