Chicago

Yay for 3 day weekends! I took advantage of this past one by heading up to Chicago to visit my bestie, Sarah. Sarah moved to Chicago a couple of years ago and lives in a fun little apartment in Wicker Park. I am probably the only crazy person who thought it was a good idea to go to Chciago in the middle of winter, but to get a whole weekend of Sarah time, it was totally worth it.

Having been to Chicago several times, there wasn't a lot of touristy things I really wanted to do. Having just had Christmas, I didn't really feel the need to shop, and with the frigid temperatures that moved in as I got into town, walking around and enjoying the city also wasn't on the top of my list. That being said, we still had lots of fun. And, thanks to Sarah, there are pictures to document our fun!

We started out by heading down to State Street before the weather turned really cold. We went into a few stores, but I am cheap and didn't want to spend money, so I mostly just looked at pretty things and made mental notes to check a few websites for sales!

We ate amazingly while we were there, which is saying something since Derek and I are back on the Whole 30. Derek said he would have understood if I ate pizza and all other sorts of Chicago-y goodness, but I didn't cheat! I ate healthy the whole time!

Irazu Saturday night. Amazing Costa Rican.

Blue Line Diner. Yummy food, and not very expensive or super crowded. I told Derek this would be our bar if we lived in Chicago.

Saturday night we went out for the birthday of one of Sarah's friends. I got to experience Saturday night bar hopping in Chicago, including getting debris blown into my face and open mouth as we crossed a street.

We went to church at Soul City in the morning, and the worship and sermon were great! I love going to church with friends in other cities and getting to see what their Sunday mornings look like. After church we went to brunch, which is another very Chicago-y thing to do.

We went to the Willis tower Sunday afternoon and looked out over Chicago as the sun was setting (or was actually mostly set, but that's ok!) I've been to Chicago several times but had never been up to the top of the Willis (formerly Sears) tower, so it seemed like something I needed to do.

Look at us! We're standing on top of Chicago!

We finished off the weekend with dinner at Blue Line diner where we watched the AFC championship game and then we walked back to Sarah's apartment as quickly as possible. By Sunday evening the temperature had dropped and I thought my legs might freeze and I wouldn't be able to make it back to the apartment. But I did. And we spent the evening warm and toasty inside watching Friends. I may or may not have fallen asleep on the couch.

It was an awesome weekend and I can't wait to do it again. Maybe in the summer when it's a little warmer!