chicago & oprah

FINALLY posting about our trip to chicago!~

we stayed at the hotel palomar. a very modern, chic, 'uber' type hotel. very different than what we 40-somethings are used to but it was fun. it was only 3 wks. old so everything was very clean and new. we found oursleves assessing the functionality (or lack 0f)...guess we're not so young and hip. that's ok. we're completely ok with that. we just stayed busy all day.

kinda fun...our robes

flowers in the lobby

freaky girls in the lobby for the grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony. had NO idea they were real...we were standing in the foyer and i didn't even notice them until one moved and scared the bageebies (as aunt jan would say) out of me!

oprah, baby! we had such a great time. i was a little worried b/c i haven't watched her show in about 15 yrs. but i've randomly heard her on XM~uh, not so impressed. i was really hoping she wouldn't have some spiritual um...what do i say?...something totally against all my beliefs. BUT...it was the revealing of the million dollar pillsbury bake-off winner, which was neat b/c we got a cookbook! (we're pretty fond of cookbooks in our house~i look at the pics but liv actually COOKS from them...what a concept!). she was a single mom and her son was there and it was pretty cool. and...

'nate' was there. apparently he doesn't need a last name. this just shows how out of it i am. i had no idea who he was (fyi: he's a home/interior designer) but ooowwweee he's a q-t. probably about 25, but cute, like a son ;). and...we were the ONLY ones that got a pic w/him~we caught him, by accident, on his way out-in the parking garage-to a meeting.

my new favorite restaurant in chicago: preseco...amazing! (and mom...i ate brussel sprouts-NOT that i liked them or anything~just for the record!)

um~he was on the wall at the mexican restaurant. i thought of ben when i saw it. no idea why. hmmm...really wondering about that. probably would have thought this was interesting. or something like that. yep.

isnt this beautiful?! a shoe store with my name on it! i think i'll put it as my screen saver...on my computer...and my phone...and my e-calendar...

this great place was in lincoln park (just south of where we lived about 17 yrs. ago) karen wants to move here. but we're not letting her. why, then, is she taking real estate flyers out of their boxes? i already told her that they're not taking any new residents, regardless of what those silly pieces of paper say. she's not listening. she's single. a nurse (i'm sure she probably makes millions at this point!). and loving chicago. she wants to move. badly. we're not letting her. PERIOD!

joanne said it was getting a little boring just sitting by the lake so she stepped in front of a cycler (you know, one of those REAL ones w/spikes on his shoes...she doesn't mess around!). if you ask me, she just wanted some attention! ;) we were just happy there was no ER involved, although i think the other guy probably visited his plastic surgeon afterwards-he had a pretty nasty gash in his face from his sunglasses! good thing joanne's beautiful face wasn't messed with-but at least she had a pretty good battle scar to show for it...c'mon, the bigger the injury, the more the sympathy, right husbands?!!

the zoo. couldn't find any of my kids here. where are they?!

(just kidding, you little monkeys!)

a store called that's my bag. lots of purses. vera's. brighton. a purse door handle. very cool!

water tower place. jumping water. just a pic. trust me~one of those things that's way better in real life. bear with me, folks.