A quick trip north.

I didn't intend to neglect the blog for so long. There hasn't been much sewing going on around here. Lots of knitting and a little embroidery, but nothing to share just yet. It was 83° here yesterday. On the first day of winter! Ugh!

I did get to enjoy some cold weather on a quick trip I took to Milwaukee this past weekend. The temperature never got above 23° the entire time we were there. One of my best friends is leaving Texas for a job in Milwaukee and I joined her for a weekend of apartment hunting.

I had never been to Wisconsin, and I have to be honest, the only thing that came to mind when I heard the word Milwaukee was Laverne & Shirley. But, Milwaukee is awesome!

She's going to live in the downtown area, which I thought was clean, friendly, and cultural. Fabulous museums, wonderful food (I recommend the new Glorioso's grocery for lunch and the Pasta Tree for dinner), great shopping, and beautiful architecture.

It was the first time in my life I had ever visited a beach where the sand was covered with snow and there was ice at the water's edge. This was at Bradford Beach on Lake Michigan.

We made more than one trip to the Milwaukee Public Market for lunch, coffee, and yummy sweets. Again, highly recommended.

I'm off to finish my Christmas shopping.  I think I put it off intentionally because I actually enjoy that last minute pressure. Shop on!

Trimming the tree

We got the tree decorated today.  I think Shea enjoyed wearing the tree skirt more than decorating.

Our tree doesn't have a theme, color or otherwise.  It's a collection of ornaments from years past with a few glass balls thrown in for sparkle.  A few of my favorites...

Our first Christmas 1993

Paris November 1999

The Eiffel Tower had a large countdown clock that read "only XX days until 2000".

(En Français, bien sûr!)

This was during Thanksgiving 1999, when I was pregnant with Shea.

It was so cold!

Pere Noel

We bought him in Paris one year.

My alma mater.  It's a Horned Frog.

This little book ornament belonged to my Mamaw.

It really has carols inside.

We bought this little guy in Munich, Germany.

The front of our 2006 Christmas card.

I could go on and on.  I love that every ornament has a story.  Even if the story is "I saw this at Target in 2004 and had to have it!"

Hershey's Store

We spent the morning at the Shedd Aquarium after which Shea had us
hunt down the Hershey's store.

We're going in.

Lake Michigan

We took a water taxi from the Field Museum back north to the Navy
Pier. The lake is really pretty; unlike any "lake" I've seen. The
water is a beautiful green blue color.

American Gothic

Shea takes in Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' at the Art Institute of
Chicago.

Beautiful fireworks from the Navy Pier

The fireworks at the Navy Pier tonight were wonderful!

It started to rain afterward and we got drenched waiting

for the trolley, but it was worth it.

Dippin' Dots at the Navy Pier

Passing time waiting for the 9:30 fireworks.

American Girl Place

We've arrived and we are here until dinner. Shea had her photo made
with her doll and now we're passing some time until the show starts at
2:00. We have 5:30 dinner reservations. It's much busier today than
yesterday when we stopped by.

Starbucks anyone?

"I really need some coffee. ChaCha fixes it for me all the time."

Mark Di Suvero's Shang

Shea relaxes on a large swing constructed of I-beams in Millenium Park.

Another pic from Millennium Park

A better view of the big bean...

The Cloud Gate at Millennium Park

Shea in front of a giant reflective bean called the Cloud Gate. 

The park is beautiful...clean and green!

Michigan Avenue

We went walking up and down Michigan this evening after dinner. The
weather was wonderful! Michigan Ave. reminds me of 5th Ave. in New
York with one major exception, it's clean!

The Chicago River

The Chicago River at the Michigan Street Bridge.

Wow, that's a great lake!

Our first look at Lake Michigan. It's 75 degrees and cloudy in
Chicago. The flight was uneventful and that's a good thing.