But then I finished my homework and I'm feeling slightly better about life (for now) so I have decided to write about my amazing long weekend.
On Thursday liz and I drove to Chicago. It was a 6 hour drive made better because we were driving in my awesome new car. We got to Chicago, had some mediocre (see: bad) pizza (its because it wasn't deep dish, a poor decision on my part) then found some fro yo and hung out at the hotel.
On Friday, Liz and I drove downtown for breakfast at Little Goat. A friend actually recommended this place as good for breakfast and it had already been on my radar of Top Chef restaurants downtown (Stephanie Izzard owns Little Goat and Girl and the Goat which is across the street). Liz had Elvis waffles (peanut butter butter, bananas, bacon maple syrup- so freaking delish) and I had sourdough pancakes (simple but good). We took this super cute picture in the photo booth inside the front door:
With Ellie reunited with her cool cousins (see below), we headed back downtown for lunch at XOCO. Ellie got to experience wonderful new flavors and tastes because Liz and I are foodies and like eating at Top Chef restaurants (Rick Bayless is the mastermind behind XOCO).
After that we went to the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower but I think it was douchey of them to change the name, even though they had naming rights). Liz and I had been through the educational part before but Ellie hadn't so she read a ton about the city and spouted facts for the rest of the afternoon and evening. When we got upstairs (to the 103rd floor after a freaky fast elevator ride), we went straight to the ledge.
It was a gorgeous day to be looking out at the city. El wanted to stay and see it in the night time but we didn't. That is definitely a plan for a future visit though. After the Sears Tower, we took a rickshaw ride to Millennium Park. There was an event happening so most of the park was closed but we still enjoyed it. The bean was open so of course we took adorable pictures.
Then we started up Michigan Ave to Water Tower Place and got stopped by hundreds of bikers riding through the city. It was CRAZY and one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's called Chicago Critical Mass and its this organized bicycle ride through the city on the last Friday of every month to reclaim the streets for bikers and show a peaceful way to assembly. It was awesome and I wish I had taken pictures or at least gotten a video of the dude who yelled at the bikers for "not following the law" and for creating a disturbance but damn was it a cool disturbance.
We did some shopping at Water Tower Place and then had dinner at Roy's Hawaiian Asian Fusion restaurant (a place Liz and I stumbled upon during our trip 2 years ago and had to come back for more). After dinner we returned Ellie to campus and drove back to the hotel. It was a late night and it was an even better day.
Saturday morning Liz and I made the trek to Oshkosh. We changed into our wedding attire at a rest stop. We're classy dames. The wedding ceremony was wonderful. Heidi and Ryan's priest was so funny and was perfect for them as a couple. Heidi looked AMAZING as did her 9 bridesmaids. It was just lovely and I cried. The reception was great too because we got to choose our seats so it was not as awkward as it could have been (I wasn't sure who was going to be there that I knew). Dinner was buffet style and was so tasty. There was a photo booth, a thumb print tree, a guest book, notes to leave for the happy couple, a candy bar and such beautiful decorations. It was just an amazing wedding all around. Plus the fact that I love Heidi and think Ryan is fantastic doesn't hurt either.
Here's a great (creepy eyed) picture of Heidi, Jenna, Erin, myself and Carissa- all my residents when I was an RA. This made me incredibly happy. And speaking of being an RA, at 6:00 this morning (Sunday), our fire alarm went off in our room (on the 7th floor of the hotel) and told us an emergency had been detected in the building and we had to evacuate. Knowing how fire alarms work, I took my time putting on pants instead of my PJ shorts and grabbing my keys and such. Out in the hallway, it was like a flashback to Lourdes where everyone was standing in the hallway all bleary eyed and hungover, wondering if we really had to go outside. The alarm stopped so I called down to the desk to find it was a false alarm. I gave the all clear to those around me (including Jenna and Erin, just like the good old days) then yelled down to the really old lady (I think it was Ryan's 92 year old great-great grandma) about to go downstairs with her walker. Disaster avoided there. Back to bed we went with a sense of accomplishment for me. If I could be an RA in Lourdes for a few more years I think I would be happy. :)
Anyway, after breakfast this morning and saying goodbye to the happy couple, Liz and I made the 4 1/2 hour drive home and we are now back safely.
I am exhausted. I am happy. I wish this weekend could repeat all the time (without the driving).
I love my friends and my life. :)
