This is Going to Be a Long One!

I am going on four hours of sleep and am so ready for bed, but I really want to talk about the wonderful weekend I had before I embark on my five day weekend tomorrow! Caitlin got into Chicago Friday afternoon. I knew I would be meeting up with her later in the evening, but immediately after work Dominique and I grabbed dinner at Subway (thanks to Elton's dad) to discuss the kids, upcoming goals, progress reports, etc. I think we both felt like we had more to talk about than we actually did, but either way, I always enjoy spending time with her. Afterwards I had the option of taking the el & the bus or taking a bus. Instead of heading toward the el with Dominique, I thought the bus would be faster. After getting in touch with Sara (It had been awhile.), and talking to her for about 30 mins, I realized that the express was not picking up at that stop. As I started walking I discovered that my toes were very, very cold. I came home, had a quick hot chocolate break and set off for Ellie, Vannch and Delaney's place. Caitlin opened the door, and it made me realize just how much I had missed her! Her visit brought along a good group of people: we ended up staying at the apartment for awhile. Cait, Ema, Anique and I headed to Prost, only to learn that everyone had relocated to Grand Central. I think we had about 30 mins til bar close, but at least we got out for a little bit.

I did not wake up until noonish on Saturday- hadn't done that in awhile. I lazed about until I decided to go workout. I learned that poor Ellie got food poisoning, and Cait was going to chill with her for awhile. Later that afternoon I met Dominique downtown to watch the "Magnificent Mile Disney Light Parade." It wasn't anything extremely long or exciting, but it definitely helped put me in the Christmas spirit. Being downtown with all of the Christmas lights is pretty magical to me. :) How ironic is this?! I stopped into Borders with Dominique and ended up running into Charlie briefly. In regards to location, it would have made more sense to stay downtown and head over to Marissa's (to celebrate her birthday), but my phone was low on battery, and I was a little hungry. 

Marissa lives in a beautiful apartment in Old Town; she looked fabulous, and the Birthday (aka Deloitte) Party was so much fun. I call it a "Deloitte Party" because primarily everyone in attendance was one of her co-workers. She kept apologizing to me, but everyone was really nice, and I enjoyed meeting new people. I was really enjoying myself but also wanted to get over to Ya Chin's going away party at Citizen Bar. Ya Chin and I are in the same sorority. She is one year older than me and was one of my New Member Educators. She recently landed a job working for China's equivalent of the NBA. She and I were never incredibly close, but it was crazy for me to think that I have a lot less likely of a chance to meet up with her. I got a little choked up as I said good bye, and she left me with, "I know I don't have to worry about you. You're a good one. Now go and do something important with your life." I really appreciate the kind words and expect nothing but success from her. :) 

I got a nice workout in Sunday morning before I had a little baking fun. I made a granola I had been eyeing (Molasses Crunch) followed by some chocolate chip cookies with pecans. I had been craving cookies, and these definitely satisfied my sweet tooth. The granola had I unique flavor; the recipe included some lemon zest, which served as a nice compliment to the molasses. After a good amount of clean up, I made my first ever, quick stop in  thrift store. What a fun experience?! There was some old school stuff in there, but I bet you can find some great stuff if you go in a lot. I found a cute,$2  brown lace shirt from Express. Some people don't like to think that these items were somewhere else first, but I think it makes the shopping even more interesting. Caitlin arrived to stay with me around 4:30. We hung out and caught up at my place and then went to dinner with Lindsay at Frasca Pizzeria/Wine Bar. Caitlin and I shared a flight of bruschetta, and the olive oil that came with the bread had a unique flavor to it. Caitlin ordered the prosciutto (olive oil, fresh mozzarella, arugula and prosciutto) pizza; I chose the caponata (tomato sauce, eggplant, red peppers, mushrooms and artichokes). The night concluded by watching the American Music Awards. 

From my long post, you can tell that it was quite the "social butterfly" weekend for me, and it continued into last night. Caitlin wanted to meet some of my students, so she came around 5. They totally showed off for her. Then, Caitlin had told me that she was up for trying some vegan food. I had heard good things about Karyn's Cooked (www.karynraw.com). We headed over to Wells after work and started the meal with a spiced apple cider wine served in a coffee mug. It was delicious and hit the spot on  cold night. We shared a mixed basket of cauliflower, zucchini and mushrooms dusted and deep fried in olive oil. It was delicious! Then we ordered two entrees to share: Classic Lasagna (homemade classic with smoke spinach and tofu ricotta) and a "steak" wrap (thinly sliced tofu/seitan grilled with onion sand peppers with romaine lettuce and chipotle sauce, wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla). The lasagna tasted very similar to a recipe I followed recently. The wrap was not quite what I had expected. The chipotle sauce was incredibly spicy! I liked the "grilled" flavor," but it felt like a lunch sandwich. By the end of the meal, I was stuffed, but we couldn't not order dessert. We split an enormous piece of German chocolate cake. The coconut topping and fudge on the sides was decadent, but the cake itself was not as soft as I would have liked it. I would describe it as dense and dry. That may explain why I just ate the really rich topping. I felt like the service/our waitress was okay- not the best. 

According to Mr. Scott Carr, Cait's Dad, a shot of espresso is the key to re-energizing after a large meal. I don't know about her, but I wish it would have worked a little better for me. We went to State Restaurant to visit Ellie. Then, Anique and Ema stopped by. Ema had a lot of work to do, but despite my very tired, heavy eyes, Anique, Cait and I headed to Guthrie's Tavern. Anique had been raving about it, and now I know why: I felt very comfortable in the small space with painted ceiling tiles. There the three of us played an amusing game of balderdash. If you haven't played it, you definitely should! With the walk home, and a bit more talking before bed, my head finally hit the pillow around 3AM.

I was out solid until my alarm went off at 7AM. The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday was enough motivation to get me out of bed. I definitely felt a bit out of it once the day started though; I don't know how some people do it. After I got home from work there was laundry to be done, dinner to be made, things to be packed and a Large grocery list to be made. I embarked on a large endeavor of planning to cook my first Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. The tentative lineup includes tofurkey, "mighty miso gravy," mashed garlic potatoes with kale, "maple glazed sweet potatoes," green bean casserole and a pumpkin cheesecake with a homemade pecan crust. I hope it all tuns out well! Now it's time to fold some laundry and get to bed.