But the closer we got, we saw how spectacular each window display was....
I don't think pictures really do them justice. In each display, different things were whirling, twirling and dancing all around, and to top it off, Christmas music was playing outside the store. We were in holiday heaven, pumpkin latte in hand....
We thought the outside was good, we had no idea we were in for an even bigger treat inside! Let me introduce you to a little thing called "Holiday Lane"....
This was a HUGE section of Christmas trees, decorations, ornaments, stockings, every kind of Christmas item you can imagine. You could even write and drop your letter to Santa in the mailbox....
After ooh-ing and ahh-ing for several hours over all the Christmas goodies, we walked all the way down Michigan Avenue to, none other, than the John Hancock building. After a drink and an appetizer, we hiked all the way back down Michigan Avenue to head home. We were absolutely exhausted from all the walking so we decided to pick up a pizza from Giordano's, Kathy's first Chicago style pizza. A bit overwhelming, but I think it was a hit.
We changed into our pj's, ate some pizza, sipped some wine and snacked on some delicious pickles we'd picked up earlier from Pastoral. Of course Charlie couldn't go ignored....he got plenty of attention from Kathy, the ultimate dog lover....
The next day, we set out on foot again. We walked all through Millennium Park, did some shopping then got ready for an (so we thought) early dinner at Frontera Grill. We headed that way around 5:00, arrived around 5:15 to a line a mile long out the door! The wait was going to be 2-2 1/2 hours, for 2 people at 5:15!!?! Luckily there was a sushi restaurant across the street that was empty so we had some wine and edamame while we waited, which made the time go much faster. By the time we walked back across the street and waited a mere 10 minutes, we were seated. Landon and I had been here before and just shared some tacos and margaritas, but Kathy and I shared a ceviche in coconut milk then for dinner we shared an amazing shrimp dish. It was all well worth the wait....
The next morning, I went to walk Charlie and came back to Kathy, who had a sneaky grin and told me she had some exciting news.... KAREN was on a flight to come play with us too!!! I was shocked to say the least, but SO excited. That little stinker had been planning it for days, but wanted to surprise us, and she did, and it was a good one!
We met her at the train stop, and after about ten minutes of "I can't believe we're all in Chicago... together!" we regrouped at the apartment and had a repeat so we could show her all we had done. We had to take her back to Macy's to show her our favorite "purple tree"
Then back through Millennium Park....
We decided that evening we would rather just stay in, get comfy and visit all night, so that's exactly what we did. We picked up a bunch of food and just snacked and chatted all night, it was perfect.
Monday morning, before they left, we had to go admire the view from the top of our building one last time....
On our way to the airport, we drove all around, showing them all different areas of Chicago, not just the downtown bubble we had been in all weekend. We even stopped for a quick bite at Southport Grocery & Cafe for some sandwiches, soup and salad.
I had so much fun with Kathy all weekend, we did so much and had a blast together! And Karen was such a wonderful surprise, I'm so glad she did that, so much fun!!! Love my dear aunties, lots of memories I'll treasure!
(Oh, you may be wondering about the title of this post. Kathy was completely entertained just looking out the window overlooking Michigan Ave. There are always all sorts of crazy performances.... dancers, people playing buckets like drums, and while watching all of this Kathy said "Well, I don't think I'm in Carrollton anymore" Haha, nope, you're not! Too funny.)
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