Crickets in Trees: November 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

(Less than) 48 hours in Seattle

At the end of October I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle for a work trip. The way my schedule worked out, I was only able to go from Tuesday to Thursday and I debated if it was worth making the long trek to Seattle for such a short time. But I’m so glad I did! Given that I was only in Seattle for less than 48 hours, I covered a lot of ground. My first night in Seattle, my sweet family drove all the way down to Seattle just for a dinner with me…even my brother and his girlfriend came. We ate at Tutta Bellas, my favorite pizza place in Seattle. It has amazing Italian style brick oven pizza.

On my one full day in Seattle, I was able to reconnect with my dear college friend Laura inbetween work meetings. We met up for lunch in Pike’s Place Market with my little sister and a student that I brought on the trip with me. It was a lovely sunny day, and we strolled the market sampling fruit, cheeses, candied nuts, and smoked salmon. Then we finally settled on a lunch from my favorite cheese shop, Beechers, followed by dessert from a fabulous little French bakery, Le Panier.

Me & Laura.

Me & Krissy Kris.

Beechers Cheese Shop. Oh so good.

Where all the cheesy goodness is made.

Lunch!

Sally & Krista.

Yummy French pastries from Le Panier.

That afternoon I took some time myself to stroll through the shops in Freemont, and to take a quick walk through Gasworks Park. Then Sally and I met up with some Wheaton professors and went out for dinner at Anthony’s Home port on Shilshole Bay…this has been one of my favorite seafood restaurants since I was a kid!

View from Gasworks park.

After a meeting with SPU’s president on Thursday morning, I grabbed my little sister and Sally for a stroll through Queen Anne and some coffee at Ladros before heading back to the airport. It was so refreshing to be back in “my” city, take in views of Mt. Ranier, and smell the sea air. It was also great to see my family and reconnect with some of my old professors. And that was my last flight before our little girl makes her grand debut. So glad for my less than 48 hour trip to Seattle!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Birthday Weekend!

My dear husband and my dear friend Emily have a birthday within a few days of each other, and Emily flew out this year to celebrate her birthday weekend with us here in Chicagoland. So I got to spend a weekend full of great birthday celebrating with the two of them!

I took a day off from work on Friday, and Emily and I spent a great day in Chicago in Wicker Park, strolling the quirky streets, shopping, and dining. We had a great fall day with sunshine to keep us warm amidst the fall chill, and then we spent the evening in Wriggleyville at Improv Olympics. James and I had been there before this summer with some other friends, and had a great time. But we’ve heard rave things about the Shakespeare Improv troupe, and had always wanted to go to one of their shows. Emily happens to love Shakespeare, and Chicago is the capitol of Improv, so it was the perfect opportunity to enjoy Shakespeare Improv. And. It. Was. Hilarious. Seriously, they were so good! Someone in the audience tosses out a theme for the evening, and our night someone called out “The Invention of Soap.” This troupe managed to weave a whole story line, in two acts, that threaded the invention of soap into their Shakespearean dialogue. I cannot wait to go back.

Saturday James, Emily, and I spent some time at Cantigny, which is an amazing park we discovered not far from our house. I can’t believe we lived here a year before I discovered it. I used to think it was just a private golf course, because it was all gated from the outside. And it does have a golf course. But it also has a huge property full of different gardens, statues, little trails, and a beautiful estate you can tour. It has what we’ve been told is an excellent military museum on the property, as well as a main building that people can rent for parties and such. This property was owned by the founder of the Chicago Tribune, and when he died he willed it to the public, in hopes that it would always be enjoyed free of charge. Again, we had fantastic weather to enjoy while strolling amidst pumpkins, mums, cabbage plants, and the last blooms of a late summer.

And Sunday, I threw a triple Birthday Bash for Emily, James, and one of my co-workers (Kristy) whose birthday was also right in the mix. We had an eclectic group of friends over for an evening of chili, fall treats, pumpkin carving, and birthday cake. This was such a perfect weekend, and I’m so glad I got to spend some time with Emily before I enter the world of motherhood—where impromptu gallivanting around the city is harder to come by. :0) Thanks so much for coming, Emily!