Our Windy City Adventure

This past weekend, we had the joy of traveling to Chicago for the wedding of one of Rory's closest friends. I had never been to Chicago prior to this weekend, so I was very excited about this trip. Not only was I looking forward to getting away, I was excited about exploring a new city with Ror and my sweet friend Allie. Allie and I have known each other since college. We met in a Bible study that was led by our pastor's wife that was hosted in their home. She is an amazing woman, an incredible artist, and a great friend. She moved up to Chicago two years ago to do Teach for America and graciously let us stay with her this past weekend.

We got flew in to Chicago late Saturday night, because the wedding was Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning/early afternoon was the only time that we had to see the city, and we made the most of it with our awesome hostess/tour guide!

Sunday morning, we had a delicious breakfast at a restaurant called Orange that was just down the street from Allie's apartment in Lincoln Park. Then, we took the train to the John Hancock building, which is one of the tallest buildings in the city. From the 96th floor, we saw an incredible view of the city, even though it was pretty foggy.

When we came downstairs, I saw that the American Girl store was across the street, and I had a moment. So since my husband is a sweetie and Allie is also an American Girl fan (duh), we went in. Y'all- that store is amazing. Hopefully when we have kids, that'll be a grandparent gift. Just saying.

From the American Girl store, we walked down the Magnificent Mile and saw all kinds of lovely famous buildings and amazing art. It was frigid, but so beautiful. I'm a bit like Lorelai Gilmore when it comes to snow- it is magical to me. I loved walking around all day on Sunday simply because there was snow. :) We went to Millennium Park and saw The Bean, and we ducked in Macy's to see their giant tree and thaw out for a bit.

After that, we went to a sweet little Christmas market called Christkindlmarket- it was the cutest little thing, and we got some fun ornaments and delicious cider there. We then headed to another artist's market called the Dose Market, where we rubbed shoulders with all kinds of hipsters, did a little more shopping, and ate some yummy treats. By the time we did all of these things, we needed to head back to Lincoln Park to get ready for the wedding.

We ate lunch at a yummy Thai place and then showered and got ready for the wedding. Allie let us borrow her car, and we headed to Wheaton! Let me just say that Google maps struggles in Chicago and that I am very glad we left in plenty of time. :) The wedding was absolutely beautiful with a worshipful ceremony and a gorgeous reception. It was hard and strange to see friends for such short amount of time, but we are grateful for any time with them at all.