Thursday, September 20, 2012

John Hancock, Chinatown, Second City, Oh My!

Last weekend my sister and her fiance came in for my post-birthday celebration weekend... that's what I'm calling it anyway. ;) Yes indeed, I turned the big TWO-SEVEN on September 6th. My oh my, where does the time go??!!

First on our agenda was a Friday night trip to the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock. My sister and I got all dolled up and she and I and the boys headed out on the town. We got to the Hancock shortly after eleven pm, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttt, the line to get a martini was longer than Bill Clinton's nose when he lied about the Lewinsky scandal....

Needless to say we did not wait. Instead, we took in the *free* view of the city lights at night, which I *never* get sick of. It is SO beautiful. *sigh* And then we waited in a 45 minute line (I shit you not. I told you the lines were long.) to ride the elevator back down 96 floors, and head home. We ate some late night greasy food and turned in at about 2:30am.

I can't tell you the last time I stayed up until 2:30am. Seriously.

We slept in late on Saturday morning and instead of eating breakfast at oh, 11:30am, we drove over to Chinatown where we had lunch for breakfast. My sister's fiance was excited to explore Chinatown and huz and I were happy to oblige. We ate lunch for breakfast at a place called Moon Palace which is one of my favorites, and we had SO MUCH good food. Crab rangoon, wonton soup, fried rice, beef lo mein, sesame chicken, sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls.....

After we were stuffed to max capacity we strolled around the shops where my awesome huz bought me this:




It's a money tree which is a type of Bonsai. It has a twisted trunk and star shaped leaves, and it is said to bring good fortune. Our apartment is starting to look a little bit like a jungle with all of our various house plants. I love it. Not gonna lie.



We also got this cute little Buddha statue.



 I made my husband move it away from our cross because it felt a wee bit sacrilegious. Yeah. I know. I'm weird. It's okay. You don't have to say it. I already know. :)


While in Chinatown, we checked out the Nine Dragon Wall which was AWESOME.


This is a close up shot of one of the dragons on the wall. Really beautiful.

When we were done strolling around Chinatown we headed home to get prettied up for another fun night out.  Later that evening we had dinner at an adorable Italian place in Old Town, right across from Second City. The restaurant was called Dinotto's and we sat out in their little courtyard area which was super charming. It had cobblestone floors, an old fountain, little white lights strung up, and flowers EVERYWHERE. I felt like I was in Italy for sure. Ellie and I shared a lovely bottle of Prosecco and all of our entrees were fantastic. Unfortunately we didn't leave room for dessert, but I will definitely eat there again.

I can't say enough about Second City. The show we saw was called "Who Do We Think We Are?" and it was hysterical. The seating inside the theatre was cramped, but servers were efficient, drinks were flowing, the actors were brilliant, and everyone was having a great time. Both the skits and the improv were hilarious. I can't recommend it highly enough. I look forward to going back soon.

It was such a FUN weekend, and huz and I always enjoy myself when we get to get together with family. We're so blessed to have sisters, brothers, brothers-in-law, and parents that love us so much and happen to be genuinely wonderful people!

We're also so blessed to live in a city that offers us so much beauty, and so many cultural, art and entertainment treasures. I can't believe I was ever afraid to move into the city. At this moment in my life I really can't image being happier anywhere else!

til we meet again,
Emme


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