Girls Trip To Chicago

I spent this past weekend with my friends Alison, Brandi, and Melissa in Chicago and I had a great time!  We stayed with my friend Hanna, we met at Hanover College and were Chi Omega sorority sisters.  Hanna and her husband, Nathan, have a beautiful home and guest beds they willingly offered up.  We drove up on Friday night and after a visit, it was time for bed.

Saturday we started out the day by going to a neighborhood yard sale in another neighborhood.  I think Hanna really just wanted help carrying her purchases home.  The picture below is of Brandi and I carrying back the miniature farmhouse Hanna found.  She also found a side table and the group also brought back a croquet set and chandelier.  I found some Chicago Bears stuff for Daulton.

After a snack break, we headed back out to Andersonville for lunch.  That's Brandi on the left, Hanna in the middle, and me on the right.  We ate at Lady Gregory's and it was so good.  I'm glad I ate a big lunch because next we had to go to Navy Pier.  Brandi and Melissa were running in the Chicago Half Marathon on Sunday and we had to pick up their race packets.

I am the tallest and have the longest legs, you would think I would be able to keep pace with the group.  Turns out my body and mind were on vacation time and I was the slowest walker in the group.  It also didn't help that I was in a new-to-me part of Chicago and was gawking at everything and taking pictures.

Navy Pier was awesome and the weather was perfect.  The Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan were beautiful.  After an Italian dinner, the girls had to load up on carbs, we headed back to the house for a bonfire and girl talk.  It was a relaxing, wonderful day with good friends.

Race morning came and everyone got up, but me.  I was given special dispensation by the group to sleep in.  They said it very sweetly but we all know how unpleasant I am in the morning.  The runners ran their hearts out and I had a leisurely morning with Hanna and Alison.

After the race, Hanna took us to Chinatown for lunch and bubble tea.  Bubble tea is like a smoothie, but with green tea instead of milk.  I got Tapioca balls in mine and I'm going to be honest, its weird.  They are black balls, they look like marbles, at the bottom of your drink but they tasted like gummy bears to me.  I'm glad I tried it but I'm not sure I will get them again.  Add sesame chicken and a taste of what everyone else had and we were stuffed.

After showers for the runners and packing the car, it was time to head back home to Indiana.  I really enjoyed getting away for the weekend with friends.  Something about a new city, that's completely different than what you are used to, is relaxing and stimulating at the same time.  I was excited to try new things but I slowed down to truly experience what was going on around me.

And being away from home for a few days made me miss these guys like crazy.  I mean you can't stay away from these two for long.

All pictures are mine except for the first two which are Alison's.  You can follow me on Instagram, my username is abby_butts.

A Weekend in Lexington

I spent this past weekend in Lexington, KY visiting my sister and her husband with my mom and family friend Beth.  We arrived on Friday night and had dinner at Onizum's and it was delicious.  Bottles of wine were half priced which of course sealed the deal for me.  The food and company were great and it was nice enough we could sit outside.

Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market.  My mom and Beth work in food service and if they aren't working with food, they are talking about food.  They stopped at every booth and bought some spinach and onions.  After the farmer's market, we took a trip out to Irish Acres to check out the antiques and have lunch at The Glitz.

The Glitz is the restaurant in the basement of the school house turned into an antique store.  Its a perfect place for ladies who lunch and the food is great.  There is only one problem, it looks like it was decorated by demented fairies.

The picture on the left does little justice to the decor but you get the hint.

My favorite part of the decor is this fantastic 80's lady riding a horse.  The best part of this painting was the lady in the lower right corner has a strong resemblance to the lady in the painting.

Demented fairies are at work here.













After lunch, we walked around Irish Acres and checked out the antiques.

I feel like someone is watching me.  The dolls were everywhere.

This bedroom suite could be yours for $48,500.  And yes, the comma is in the right
place and that is the correct amount of zeros.

There is my sister Laura showing off one of the antiques.

Why is the dog/horse/whatever so small in the corner of this picture?

After Irish Acres, The Glitz and a quick trip to the garden and home show we went to the Lexington Cemetery.  I know, a trip to the cemetery sounded creepy to me too but the tulips we saw were worth it.  If we would have visited a week later, we would have missed the opportunity to see the tulips in full bloom.

My sister, me and my mom

It was a good weekend and the weather was beautiful.  It was also great to see my sister and to catch up.  It always amazes me how different Lexington feels compared to Indianapolis.  It has a southern charm to it and things are a bit slower (or at least they feel that way to me).  Its not good or bad, just different and sometimes different is nice.

A Trip to Louisville

Matt and I spent this past weekend in Louisville, KY.  We haven't taken a trip for just the two of us since our honeymoon last year.  We chose Louisville because it was close by and we thought the weather in Louisville would be nicer than the weather in Chicago.

I worked a half day on Friday and after packing our bags, we were out the door and in the car.  We had scoped out the Hyatt in downtown Louisville before we left and headed there first.  The problem with last minute trip decisions is that you do not have time to research.  Imagine our surprise that there was a national archery tournament and several conventions going on when we arrived at the Hyatt.  We got lucky and were able to get the last room in the Hyatt.

After we settled into our room, we made our way back downstairs to find a place to eat.  We had made a friend, Daniel, who worked at the front desk and he suggested we go to the Bluegrass Brewing Company, also known as the BBC.

The BBC was fantastic!  I had a cheeseburger and the Altbier and Matt had a Jerk Chicken sandwich and a Purple Nurple beer.  Matt fell in love with his sandwich and declared it the best sandwich he has ever had.  I think all future sandwiches will be compared to this sandwich.  We had a nice stroll back to the hotel where we relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning rolled around and we had a lazy morning and enjoyed the views of downtown Louisville from our hotel room.  We then packed our bags and checked out as the hotel was completely booked for Saturday night and they had no room for us. 

After I was somewhat caffeinated and had some breakfast, we hit the road to go back to Indiana to visit the Horseshoe Casino in Southern Indiana.

Matt won $25 at the craps table.   When I say won, I mean he walked out with $25 more than what he came in with.  I don't gamble, so I stood by and watched him play craps.  I know that there are rules to craps, but I don't understand them and it looks like they are making up the rules as they go. 

check out the fish in the table

After leaving the casino, we stopped at a McDonalds for a snack and to use the free wifi.  We then booked our next hotel room at the Galt House.  So, we checked into our room at the Galt House and relaxed for a few hours.  Do you notice a theme of relaxing?  It was wonderful.

We went to the hotel's martini bar, Al J's, for a few drinks and they had the most interesting bar I've ever seen.  The bar was actually a huge fish tank and the fish would just swim around as we enjoyed our martinis (Flirtini for me, Bloody Mary martini for Matt and then a beer).

After drinks we hopped in a cab (it was raining outside) and went to 4th Street Live to see a comedy show we had tickets for.   If you have never been to 4th Street Live, its an outdoor area in the middle of downtown Louisville with bars and restaurants.  David Koechner was the headliner we saw at the Improv Comedy Club.  He has most recently appeared as Todd Packer on The Office and was Champ in Anchorman.  Overall, his show was disappointing.  It had funny moments and was not as good as we expected.

After the show, we walked out of the club to see snowflakes the size of quarters falling from the sky.  We were starving and decided to head back to the BBC since we had loved it so much the night before.  So we walked several blocks through the snow to get there and we were not disappointed.

wine + beer = Raspberry Meade

Matt decided to get the Purple Nurple again and I tried the Raspberry Meade.  Let me tell you about the Raspberry Meade.  If wine and beer got married and had a baby, that child would be Raspberry Meade.  It was delicious but has a very high alcohol content (7.82%), so they serve it in smaller glasses.  Lucky for me, we just had another short walk to our hotel so it was two Raspberry Meades for me.

Overall, it was a great weekend.  I am so happy we made the decision to go and spend the weekend together.  I know we are together all the time at home, but this was different.  We had time to talk and explore the city together.  And since next month is our 1 year wedding anniversary (I know, its crazy to me too that it has been a year already), this was a nice way to celebrate our first year of marriage.

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