Chicago 2 of 6: Walking and the Theatuh

Wednesday morning I woke up to my alarm clock set for eight. Annalisa had been up for quite a while. I felt like what I would imagine hangover would feel like. Me no likey. But the sun was shining. It was such a gorgeous day! So I went downstairs where Addie was laying on the couch watching her “show.” She was shy. And she was scared of me at first. The BFF was busying herself in the kitchen making the most delicious German Pancakes. It was like eating fluffy heaven. The BFF and her family have a cooking blog: McConkie Menu. The homemade stuff she made while I was there is all on there. If you want to spice things up in your dinner and food and dessert life, you should go there. She is an amazing cook. I practically had to be rolled out of her house when she was taking me back to the airport…

Well, The BFF, and her name is Annalisa for those of you who don’t know that, had an appointment that morning so we decided to walk. Seriously, the weather was absolutely perfect. And the neighborhoods we walked through were downright charming. They weren’t the cookie cutter neighborhoods we get out here. Each house has its own unique character. It made me want to keep walking and walking. Not only that, we got some great conversation in, and that made me want to keep on walking.

Everyone knows I’m a bit of a klutz. I tripped over a huge tree limb, okay it was a good size branch that went catapulting into Annalisa’s ankle when I was done with it. Don’t worry. She could still walk, though I think it left a good sized bruise. But she forgave me, it’s just her nature. Which is good, because it is my nature to be clumsy and hurt people.

Addie started warming up to me after the appointment. She even held my hand while she was sitting in the stroller while I was walking beside it. It made my heart melt. She wasn’t shy after that. We went to the library and then passed by a donut shop. How can you walk past a donut shop? I can’t. So we went in. And we got fresh donuts. I honestly don’t know what is better than a freshly made donut.

We got home and were pretty tired. We had stayed up way too late and we had just taken a really lovely long walk. So we collapsed on the couches and Addie kept poking the BFF in the eyes. “Don’t close your eyes! Don’t go to sleep mommy!” We put on one of her shows and she snuggled up with me on the couch so The BFF could take a bit of a nap. She deserved it. Plus, I love Anastasia. Who doesn’t love that Demetrie? I know I do. Then Addie kept poking me in the eyes. “Manda. Don’t close your eyes. No sleeping.” But I was tired. And everyone knows what happens when I watch movies…

We got cleaned up and dropped Miss Addie off at a friend’s and we headed downtown. Chicago is such a cool city! I loved it!

We ate dinner at a place called Corner Bakery. Oodallaly. Delicious sandwich and great salad. I love both of those two things and I love it when they are sold together. It really makes for a perfect combo. Then we passed by Garret’s Popcorn. Oh. My. Heck. If I could marry any popcorn, I would marry that popcorn. It was amazing. I got the caramel macadamia nut. That was like eating sweet crunchy heaven. We continued walking and finally came to H&M. I absolutely am in love with H&M. I would marry that store too. Sad thing was, I wasn’t really feeling the shopping spirit. But it was so fun to look around, even if I wasn’t going to buy anything. I miss H&M. Darn Utah won’t be getting one anytime soon I don’t think.

Then we went to the Theater District and stopped on the way to get some more popcorn to take home. So many theaters! It was so fun! And I loved all the hustle and bustle of people walking around and looking around too. I might like it in a big city for a little while sometime in my life. It just seems so fabulous and different from my slower paced suburban life. And then we were there, The Cadillac Palace Theater.

I had my hands full. One with an empty water bottle and the tickets, the other with my empty popcorn bag (I was walking and eating. That’s dangerous too). Anyway, I emptied one hand and then realized I had thrown the tickets away. “Oh no! Oh no!” Then the BFF realized what happened. So typically me. Hil-arious. I started rummaging through the trash, which was hard, because when I laugh really hard, I close my eyes. Going through the garbage with your eyes closed isn’t the best idea. Gross. I finally found one of them but the other had vanished. And then some genius reached around me and threw some trash in the can. HELLO! Can’t you see I’m digging around in here?! I finally found it. It was relatively clean, as clean as it could be after being chucked in a trash can.

So we headed for the bathroom and I looked around and saw just how beautiful the theater was. It was amazing! Chandeliers and medallions on the ceiling. Lovely gold leafing and amazing plaster work all over. Red Velvet chairs. I loved it.


I washed my hands and we took our seats. I was giddy as a school girl. I love the Theatuh. Beauty and the Beast started playing. It was great! I can’t believe the talent some people have. Oh, to be able to sing. What would I give? We thoroughly enjoyed the play. The music and dancing were great, though I was rather disappointed at some of the sexuality they sneaked in there. I mean really? Beauty and The Beast sells itself. It doesn’t need the “help” of sex appeal.

The play ended and we headed back to the car. It’s a good thing the BFF isn’t directionally challenged like I am. Or we might still be looking for the car. We drove around the city and looked at some of downtown. We saw the huge fountain and Lake Michigan and some famous buildings and Millenium Park. We tried to find Oprah’s house, but we didn’t try very hard.

Since Annalisa left on her mission, we have compared ourselves to Oprah and her BFF Gayle. Annalisa is Oprah because she is fabulous and can pull of great parties and things. She has this great sense of style and what is glamorous. And I am Gayle, the awesome loyal BFF. And we do awesome things together, like drive around Chicago and go to the Theatuh. And that is why I said something about Oprah.

Then we drove home from the city and talked some more. Somehow, we never run out of things to say. That’s what is so great about the BFF. I just have so much to tell her. I’m pretty lucky that the BFF is my BFF. Not everybody is lucky enough to have that kind of relationship with someone. It gets me though a lot. She gets me through a lot. We kept talking and went to bed late again. But I think it was worth it, I didn’t want to run out of time to tell her everything I wanted, or hear everything she wanted to tell me.