Chicago

December 1 & 2:  Every year we get together with some WIU friends for homecoming weekend in the fall.  We usually plan a girls trip in Nov/Dec to shop and spend the night together... this year we decided instead to do a couple's weekend.  We thought it would be a good way to celebrate turning 30 (even though we turned 30 over a period of several years!)  We thought it would be fun to come in December so we could have fun seeing all the down-town lights.  We had fun planning and anticipating our trip and even more fun enjoying it!  

We started our day with shopping... of course!  We had fun walking down Michigan.  After a few hours of shopping we moved our cars to our hotel and checked in.  We then caught a cab to our lunch destination... Reza's.  This was a Mediterranean inspired restaurant.  Several of us enjoyed eating a Chad's Inn in Lincoln, IL (while it was open).  Marc heard from some friends awhile back that the chef at Chad's Inn had trained at Reza's so we had to try it.  It did not disappoint!

After lunch we did more shopping.  We walked over to State Street to see Macy's.  After that we split up--the guys headed back to the hotel.  We had to visit the Walnut Room to see the 3-story Christmas tree...

Eventually we made it back to our hotel (in a cab!) and got ready for dinner.  After we were all glamed up for dinner we went down to catch a cab.  We were trying to wait for a van so we could all ride together.  As we stood waiting, the guys were approached by a limo driver.  He saw our group and offered to drive us to dinner for $5/person.  It was a very fun surprise!  We loved cruising down Michigan in our sweet ride...

For dinner we decided to get reservations at Table 52 (well know because the head chef is Oprah's personal chef!) based on Luke & Sarah's recommendation.  It was such an adorable little restaurant!  It is tucked away into a cute little house just off State Street.  The menu was small but it was still difficult to decide.  We had a great unhurried dinner... the best part--no little ones to worry about!

 We truly love this group of friends so much!! Glad there in our lives for keeps...