Leah & Steve in Chicagoland!

For Steve's work he was required to attend the Annual 4 day NIC Conference in Chicago where they were going to put him up at a really nice hotel and feed him really well!! So I thought to myself, hey I need a nice vacation like that! And promptly asked if I could go too. Of course my sweet kind and smart husband smiled at me and said I could, he was initially worried that I would get bored while he was busy during the day and on a few nights...I breifly thought about that...
I would be able to wake up at my leisure, feed only myself, read, exercise, read, nap, watch what I want on TV shop, shop, and shop (he was scheduled to stay at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on the River...only 3 blocks from the Magnificent Mile..oh and it IS magnificent!)
The answer was CLEAR...I was going if he had to pack me in his luggage!!! Over the next few days we worked out the details for babysitters, transportation, and activities since we were going to go ahead and stay through the weekend! Everything went wonderfully! We had a SPLENDID time!
We left for Chicago by car (4 hour drive) on Tuesday morning and arrived at the Hyatt, Checked in and Steve scurried off to a meeting and I took a nap then hit "the mile" I only made it to the Nordstrom's Mall building where I fell in love with a coat! (it is now mine!) Then Steve and I met up, grabbed a Taxi and went to meed clients at a White Sox game where we learned that you really should only ever eat a hot dog at the ball park...most everything else was so grody!

The next few days encompassed much of my previous list, as Steve was off working/socializing with clients...basically it was WONDERFUL...not that it was wonderful not to have Steve with me just so wonderful to do only what I wanted when I wanted it done!

Friday was the last day of the Conference and the day we were to swap hotels...I found a darling boutique hotel that we got for a steal online: it was called the Allegro (it's a Kimpton hotel) it was 2.5 blocks from the Oriental Theatre where we had GREAT tickets (thankyou craigslist) to see WICKED (perhaps my FAVORITE musical)

One shot of our hotel room...It was a rennovated (40 million) old hotel so it had all the charm but was updated in a hip, smooth, classy style...lots of velvet!

I lOVE this show!! It was rainy as we walked to and from the theater but it couldn't get us down!

Before the play we were determined to check the Chicago Temple off our list of temples we've attended together and we had the luxury of not having to worry about a babysitter! We drove up there and had a wonderful afternoon! That night we went to the play and walked back to our darling hotel (the pic does NOT do it justice...) Then we slept in, got Jamba Juices in the morning and headed back to meet up at Matt's new place in Ann Arbor for the BYU game!

It was a perfect ending to a Fabulous week!

...on one of my reconnaissance walks around our first hotel I found the Theatre District and the Wicked marquis!

What's a real shopping outting without trying on stuff you'll never be able to afford?? A sad one! but other than that I had a blast trying on over $20k worth of stuff at Escada...this is the other coat I loved..but $3000 wasn't in our budget..rats...again the picture DOES NOT do it justice...I will copy and remake this coat one day! I had the most amazing standing ruff collar, off center buttons, a side slit vent and the back seam work was AMAZING...plus it felt like a million dollars on!

...this picture was for the boys...I took it at the LEGOLAND store...it was amazing the whole thing is out of legos...

I just thought this was so funny... all the pigeons sitting here as people walked up and down and by them...the didn't even budge!