One year ago, one of my very best friends Jennifer had a baby, my sweet, smiley goddaughter, Cece! Which meant that this year, right before Christmas, Cece had her first birthday and a big party filled with friends, family, lots of love, and of course, dinosaurs.
The birthday party was in Chicago, so Jennifer thought it'd be a great time to show me around the city! I have been there before, but she had some special tourist-y things to share with me.
One of our first big events was seeing The Nutcracker at the famous Auditorium Theatre. I'm not normally a ballet person, but it was incredible, and time just flew. Once intermission hit, I was surprised they would have one so early, but then I realized it had nearly 45 minutes.
The next day, we went to the Christkindlmarket! It was chilly, but we got some mulled wine in the cutest little commemorative mugs. I got the most amazing sugared cashews from a stand, and we walked around and pet the blankets in all the alpaca stands.
On the way to dinner, we walked through the lively streets of downtown Chicago. My favorite part was watching a group of street performers drumming. Cece loved the music, and the performers started playing a percussion version of the Itsy Bitsy Spider for her. It was so sweet.
Dinner was actually a chocolate bar from The Peninsula, a beautiful hotel. I'm a choco-holic, but it was even too rich for me! Amazing, though. Freshly melted hot chocolate and every chocolate treat you could imagine.
The next day, we went on the Chicago crime bus tour, a great way to see the city without having to walk too much!
We followed that up with a deep dish pizza lunch at Gino's East, where the pizza is great, and you can graffiti on the walls.
Pretty soon, it was time for Cece's birthday! The brand new one year old had a blast with her friends, family, and the smash cake (despite some stony-face pictures).
The next morning was filled with snuggles from the sweetest little birthday girl and a trip to the Baha'i Temple. The inside was pretty typical for a religious institution, but the outside was spectacular.
Thank you to everyone who made this trip so incredible!
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