Christkindlmart and the Freezing cold!!!

The weather in Chicago this weekend was pure evil!!! On Saturday I thought it wasn't going to be to bad. I had a friend bring me downtown, so that I could check out the wonderful Decorations and the Christmas atmosphere.

I check my luggage into Nordstrom and then walked around Michigan Ave. I loved looking at the wreaths, the lights, and ornaments all around. I thought It interesting that signs were posted all over the sidewalks that said watch out for falling Ice. That was scary and always had me looking up.


I then walked over to the German Christmas market at Daley Plaza. There was a light snow, but the weather was pleasant. When I got to the Plaza it was completely packed with people. There were huge lines to get into the few shops that were indoors. I quickly walked over to look through the rows of outdoor shops and found that I couldn't use my credit card. I had to use cash to buy food.


I quickly assessed my funds and found it not to be enough to buy hardly anything. If I wanted to make purchases at other little shops I had to spend over 20 dollars. That wouldn't have been bad, except most of the things I wanted were in different shops. I had a problem. My debit card was having issues and I couldn’t get out more cash. I finally bought some kindergluwein, a spiced cider, stood at a table out of the way and called my bank. The weather quickly started to turn worse. By the time I got off the phone, the air was wet and started to become bitter cold. The bank told me, the only thing to do was to find a bank that would let me use my credit card and get money directly from them. My bank isn't in Chicago. I wandered the streets for awhile. I locating a few banks which were closed. I then realized it was Saturday and I was probably out of luck!

By that time my feet and hands were frozen and my nose was beyond that. I went back to the market, watch a cute little band play and wandered in a few of the shops, before I decided to go back to the mall and warm up.

I was supposed to go to a couple of different friends houses that night, but because of my debit card problems, no way to get money and the thought of having to walk around in the cold weather. I decided it wasn't worth it. I grabbed my bags, took my couple of dollars left to my name and bought a CTA pass back to the airport and caught the next plane home. I'll go back when it’s just a bit warmer and I actually have money to get from point A to point B.

I had a good time though. There is nothing better than a good old German Christmas Market to Celebrate the Holidays!!! Next I’ll remember to bring more cash so I can get some potato pancakes and applesauce, lebkuchen, Brats and sauerkraut….mmmm

A Christmas Carol and A Birthday Party

I just can't seem to stay away from Chicago. My old roommate, the theater and the Christmas season excited to return. I bought tickets online to attend a production of A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theater. My old roommate Chelsea came with me. The weather was less than pleasant as was the traffic situation. We quickly parked the car and took the train into the city.

We were an hour early and didn't know it, so we settled our hunger with 3 dollar Sugar bomb cookies and hot cocoa thick as mud. I thought I was going to go into shock.
The Play was wonderful. It kind of scared me in a few places, when Jacob Marley came in and also the Ghost of Christmas Future. It was really kind of creepy. I decided things are creepier in person than on TV. Anyway this is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I love seeing the transformation of Scrooge and seeing how having the spirit of giving can change people’s lives.

The next day was my friend Lauren's Birthday. We had a party for her at night and a bunch of friends got together to go watch a band play. We had lots of fun. The only bad thing was the weather. I was so glad that I had warn a sweater with a hood. When we came out of the place, it was a blizzard. I threw on my hood, linked arms with a friend and ran slip sliding out to our car, which we couldn't find, because it was covered in snow. We finally made it home unscathed, Thank goodness.

Lauren,Chelsea and I

Dave and Melissa's Wedding

It's wonderful when two great people find that perfect person for them. In this case it was my friends Dave and Melissa. They are so cute and made for each other. They were married at the end of November and I loved the reception. I was a little late to it because they were married the Day after the reception and I got confused, but I made it.

They had it downtown Salt Lake City at the Gallivan Center Plaza. It was Beautiful all decked out in Black, red and White and Christmas Decorations through the plaza. There were glass plates filled with delicious cookies and little ceramic cups for the hot cocoa.

After my Friend Jen and I went in to give our Congrats, Dave gave us tickets to go Ice Skating. We all went outside and gathered around little fire pits and waited for the Ice to be cleared. Then an announcement was made For Mr. and Mrs. Dave Toronto and they were given the first turn on the Ice. It was so cute and clever to have their first skate instead of a first dance. I loved it. Everyone clapped for them as they went around the outdoor rink. It was perfect.