To Madison

One of the best views of the capital that I've ever experienced, despite the cold

Though the proposal was a blur, and we couldn’t sleep at all throughout that night (adrenaline and nerves can do that to you), we managed to summon the energy for a day trip to Madison the next morning. I love the city and have been there many times, though I can’t recall another visit in the throes of winter. It was definitely an experience enhanced by the warmth of the Olbrich BotanicalGardens.

A forest of sparkly Evergleam trees at the Wisconsin Historical Museum

Mouth-watering root beers and cheese curds, served curbside

Pretty pink things at Olbrich Gardens, aka the warmest place in the state of Wisconsin

A gorgeous welcome back to the hotel in Oconomowoc after a long day of sight-seeing

Playing it by Hair

via

I enter this weekend with no concrete plans, and a strong desire to do a bunch of Christmas-y things. I’ll see where the holiday spirit leads me, and I’ll look forward to seeing you back here next week!

May your weekend be filled with gift wrap, freshly baked cookies, carols, sappy movies, faux fur blankets, mugs brimming with hot chocolate, knee socks and card writing....

Shivery Shopping

Decorated rafters at the Pulaski Field House

My boyfriend Mike is definitely not a shopper, but he’s always willing to indulge me one weekend a year, when we make a day of it and go to the Renegade Craft Fair (last year’s visit depicted here) and somewhere new for lunch. Usually, I can even talk him into making a few extra stops to help round out some of the gifts that I’m slowly starting to put together for family and friends. While out, we hit zero degrees with the wind chill, so by the time we finished up the last errand, I was happy to head home and settle in to watch the snow fall and the (digital) fire crackle from the comfort of my couch. 

Chalk art wall at Hoosier Mama Pie Co.

Browsing at the Spice House in anticipation of holiday baking....more on that tomorrow

Quick peek through the blinds at one of the first real snows of the season

Pretending our TV is a fireplace with the crackling "Yule Log" recording

November No Longer

Early morning drive into Indiana

The four-day Thanksgiving weekend is a work of genius. It’s just enough time to allow you to fully indulge and then get back on track. And, it serves as a nice and slow intro to the holiday season. Having learned a number of traffic nightmare-related lessons in years past, we held off on driving from Chicago until early Thanksgiving morning, at which point the highways were blissfully free of panicked drivers.

We got into Cincinnati with plenty of time to make festive cocktails before family arrived, and later we feasted on turkey with all of the trimmings and played a few rounds of our new favorite board game. Friday entailed a good deal of lounging around the house, and then a spontaneous trip to see the Bearcats play in the afternoon. By the time we got back into Chicago on Saturday, we had just enough energy left to unpack a few Christmas decorations and start sprucing up the condo. 

Fresh cranberries for muddling in our "Old Fashioned Thanksgivings"

Our up-close view from the Student Section 

An afternoon drive through Clifton that culminated in this view of Eden Park

The newest addition to our tinsel tree collection

Bring it On

Breakfast in bed and sugar overload with jumbo cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate

I love it when I manage to schedule consecutive events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and I still feel somewhat rested at the end of it all. The weekend started off with a quick stop at a local art and wine show, followed by some early holiday shopping and a dinner at my favorite chain restaurant of all time. Saturday included a manicure and a retirement dinner party, and Sunday was capped off with an annual trip to Randolph Street’s Vintage and Antiques Market. I’d say it’s official: the holiday season has begun!

Walls of colorful landscape impressions at the Art and Wine Fair

My version of the ideal retirement

Battling hordes of vintage seekers at Plumbers Hall

My weekend uniform: bright colors, glitter flats, lots of plaid and bold statement jewelry