Love in the Windy City!

we finished up our last workshop of the North American Tour yesterday in Chicago, Illinois! it was a solid way to end because i actually spoke for about 20 minutes (and again…didn’t pass out but i didn’t feel as great about this time around because i was less prepared) but i was BOLD and did it. i can assure you that this absolutely would not have happened at the beginning of our tour-yay for growing (and i mean this figuratively but also a little literally since eating on the road hasn’t been that great for my ‘skinny jeans’). it was incredibly snowy so thanks to everyone who made it out!

my husband did a superb job on teaching the workshop full of energy, content and great humor (he’s lucky he married such a funny lady because i’m finally starting to wear off on him). he just wrote a great recap of the tour HERE so check it out because i’m not ready for my recap yet!

this workshop was even more special because my cousins, Katie and Ross drove through nasty weather from Indiana to be there! we haven’t seen them since our wedding.

after the workshop, we switched hotels to be in the heart of downtown Chicago and that was an excellent choice! this is probably one of neatest places to read testimonials from Ravery’s workshop on the 15th floor of an awesome Courtyard Marriott-highly recommend staying here when in town!

another great perk of this hotel is that they have an awesome pool and jacuzzi where you can watch the snowfall! after our outing in snow we came back for a soak (i can usually only last about 5 minutes in a hot tub before i feel like my insides are melting) but it was a magical setting.

my very favorite part about this hotel (aside from the great view) is that THEY HAVE A DONUT SHOP INSIDE, called ‘Glazed and Infused!’ here’s a tip though…it closes at 3pm so when you get there at 3:17pm and you aren’t aware of this and all you want are coffee and donuts inside your stomach…you will be disappointed. that’s on tap for today though! i will also try to refrain from making this face again because it’s weird.

as you can see from above, we bundled up and headed out into the snowy/windy city to explore Chicago! i have been here once before with my grandparents when i was younger and it was a pretty quick trip so i was excited to be visiting this city as an “adult” which essentially just means i have to buy my own treats and dinner this time around.

Chicago is way cooler than i anticipated! thank you everyone for your suggestions on where to go and what to eat because there is so much to do here! i also learned that Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the US and during our short stint in Houston as the 4th largest city, Chicago somehow seemed less overwhelming. we think it’s because the river and the water break it up.

look at this sneaky piece of art trying to hide from us!

naturally we had to go visit the very cool and famous “bean” in Millennium Park! it was waaaay bigger than i anticipated. i loved it and played under and around it for about 15 minutes.

my husband likes to get all creative and has a great eye for depth perception so he can create fun pictures like this:

side note-this is the only bean that i will come close to eating. while i may have had a transformative year, i still detest beans.

another side-note: i do not share this same artistic quality and here’s my version where he is cracking up because he knew i wasn’t capturing the photo. sorry boo, i tried and i still don’t get it!

we give a thumbs up to the bean-a MUST visit because it is so unique and impressive.

we grabbed coffee and continued to walk around the park and then on to other parts of the city, like the ‘magnificent mile’ where tons of shops line the streets. it was excellent to venture through the city as husband and wife (not business partners), while holding gloved hands and giggling. it felt really special and the snow falling around made it feel super romantic and more than once i pretended we were in a romantic comedy.

there was some serious slush happening and we both ended up with soaking shoes because of those sneaky puddles.

this drove us to eating at the closest recommended deep dish pizza place by our hotel- Pizzeria Uno! i could tell it was going to be good by the official historic location sign:

we opted for the traditional classic of cheeeeese. they put the sauce on the top which was different. i think i prefer cheese on the top better but it was certainly a very deep dish and quite delicious.

there was a nice photo of me posing with a piece of pizza and as Ravery went to take a second option picture i could no longer just smile with pizza, it had to be in my mouth. here’s the happy medium. i am also wearing my favorite sweater, agaaain.

since we are celebrating our last stop of our tour and my husband has just been on a month-long challenge of eating only healthy things (i did not participate because who wants to do that during their birthday month?! not me) we had to get a pizzookie (they absolutely did not call it this and probably wouldn’t like it but that is what it is).

it was certainly delicious but not the very best pizzookie i’ve ever had (yes, i’ve obviously had multiple ones) it was the right choice nonetheless. my husband loves to order dessert with his meal and since it was his celebratory sweet treat, i allowed it. i am usually a very separate meal and then dessert type of person but that was my good deed of the day.

we are headed back out this morning before our flight later to take in some more of this great city!

this has been a super fun city to end our tour in and i feel so thankful to have gotten to experience all of this with the love of my life. stay tuned for some of the biggest lessons i’ve learned for the past 6 months on the road!

oh. and GO BRONCOS!

the new wifestyle: sometimes nothing beats being bundled up, walking the streets and laughing with your loved one. don’t take that for granted.

questions:
1) do you get to see your extended family of cousins very often?
2) what toppings do you like on your pizza?
3) when’s the last time you compromised with your partner?