Events of the Summer:
**Coldplay- Adam scored us All Access passes to Lollapalooza which we used to see Coldplay. They....were....amazing. Such great performers. The lead singer, Chris Martin, was so engaged with the audience. He was working the crowd like I've never seen. It was ridiculously hot and humid but I didn't even notice- I was so caught up in the music, the performance, the fireworks at the end. It was truly glorious. I'd definitely try to see them again....even if I have to pay next time:)
**'Da Bears- One of my colleagues has season passes to the Bears and was nice enough to offer Adam and I two of her tickets to a pre-season game. The way it happened was funny. At the time, our work team was composed of 5 women and 1 man and the guy was a trooper tolerating our incessant girl talk. So one day, I suggested we talk about something manly like football at which point the tickets came up. There's no question I was every bit as enthusiastic as "the man" at the opportunity to see the Bears, so maybe football is more girly than I realized? ;)
In a further blurring of gender stereotypes, I spent much of the game talking to the guys next to me about who Jay Cutler was talking to on the phone. We hypothesized that it was Kristin Cavallari and he was begging to get back together (which they did a few months later). Don't worry- I watched the game too, it's just that the second stringers were in for most of the game, so the big names were on the sidelines easily viewable through my excellent motion control binoculars:)
***Colorado- Last August, Adam and I spent a week in Breckenridge. We hiked, ran, explored and then attended our dear friends' wedding festivities (see below). The weather was simply amazing and the wildflowers were in full bloom. We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary out there as well with a wonderful home cooked meal eaten in full view of the mountains.
***Bonnie and David's Wedding- With all due respect to every other wedding I've attended, this was truly the most spectacular celebration I've ever attended. Bonnie is one of my very closest friends and I am beyond thrilled/happy/relieved that her now husband has become one of my closest friends as well. You know how sometimes one of your closest friends marries someone and you think "Well, it's going to be harder to maintain our friendship now" because you just don't love her man? (Admit it, this has happened to all of you.) Not the case here- David is beyond wonderful.
The wedding was great because of the happy couple, because of their wonderful parents, because of their amazing friends most of whom were already were or have become our friends, because of the beautiful setting on a Colorado mountaintop. It was glorious:) Here's proof:
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| Bonnie and David, the happy couple |
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| After a 20 minute rainstorm, the cool, calm and collected bride and groom were married with a rainbow in the background. Truly stunning. |
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| Adam and I |
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| Adam, me, Mara, Deepa and Rob at the rehearsal dinner. So good to see old friends! |
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| Bonnie and I |
Events of the Fall
***Proof in Louisville, KY- The night after the Louisville Marathon we had dinner at a really cute place in downtown Louisville called Proof. It's actually a hotel, museum and restaurant. We experienced the latter two. The museum was neat- mostly modern. It was nice to have drinks and olives, then wander around the museum, then have a leisurely, multi-course meal surrounded by art to enjoy and discuss.
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| In honor of my cousin, A-L. |
The restaurant was decorated with animals made with interesting materials. For example, the walrus below was made from beetle shells. Then there was the S and M deer which was pretty funny. He's wearing all leather- do you see the zipper? The food was quite good- up to Chicago standards. The grits were truly out of this world. Certainly worth a stop!
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| The Beetle Walrus |
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| S and M Deer |
Events of the Winter:
***Blackhawks Game- Anheuser-Busch has a HUGE penthouse suite in the United Center and we were invited along with some other Goose Island peeps to attend a Blackhawks game. Earlier in the year I tried to get Blackhawks tickets for Jay, Adam and I for Adam's birthday. They were ridiculously expensive and I couldn't even get three seats together. Looking back, I'm glad we went to Second City (comedy club) instead because this Blackhawks experience was far superior that what that one would have been! The view was amazing!
When we got out of the cab at the United Center, the cabbie said "Cheer during the Star Spangled Banner for me!". I had no idea what he was talking about until I heard uproarious cheering and clapping as the singer began the Star Spangled Banner right before the game. Apparently it's a tradition foe everyone to start going nuts right from the start rather than waiting for the last refrain. It was pretty moving- a really powerful show of support for our troops, a communal act of patriotism. (The fact that the crowd was equally uproarious during the first fight during the game did take away from this a bit- I think maybe Blackhawks fans just indiscriminately go nuts??)
***The Goose Gourd- My cousin and my Mom pass back and forth a dressed up ceramic goose every year. So I was quite surprised and pleased to find a gourd shaped like a goose at my in-laws house. Maybe I should up the ante to exchanging goose shaped produce every year?
Here's to more memories in 2012!
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