Wknd Recap

Okay. Weekend recap:

My best friend from home and her husband (and their dog) came up to visit this past weekend.  We bought the guys Blackhawk’s tickets back in December and then ended up selling them and got tickets from a friend (for free!).

We met Ben at Haymarket Brewery downtown before the game.  Our original plan had been to eat there and chill a bit, buuuut taking the bus took forever (thanks to a detour).  So, essentially we got there to an already buzzed Ben, but at least he had some tasty pretzels waiting for us.  We had time for a drink and I ordered an Ommegang Aphrodite beer which was a raspberry pear kind of taste  and was delicious!  Ben said it was a silly choice since it wasn’t something brewed there. Gosh, he’s beer snot. Since none of us had been to a game, we opted to cut it short at the bar and take the first (free) shuttle bus to the United Center to see the National Anthem.  The bus may have been Ben’s favorite part of the game; because there was free craft beer on it. Score!



We got our tickets from will call and realized we were in the upper level; but hey, no complaining to free tickets!  Once we got to our section we realized we were at the top, in the handicap area (which is the top row of the United Center).  The chairs were a little bit more spaced out; but we were on the aisle and again, no complaining for free sits (plus easy access for the bathroom).  The game itself was pretty intriguing and upbeat, although I couldn’t name any of the players who scored. The guy who gave us the tickets came up during first intermission and gave us programs and hats, which was so sweet of him!

After the win (yay!), we hopped on a shuttle bus to West End bar were we had a few drinks and met the guy who’d got us the tickets.  After a while, we hopped in a cab and went up to Wrigleyville for Ian’s Pizza, as requested by our guests. It sounds weird, but they have unique flavors of pizza like macaroni and cheese or bbq French fry.  The original Ian’s is in Madison, WI.  My college room-mate used to go and bring back whole pizza and I thought it was just bizarre…but now I love it.  Ian’s is a great late-night stop.  I always get the mac and cheese and Ben opts for the cheese tortellini.

Saturday we woke up to warm weather and sunshine!  After lounging around during the morning we hopped on a bus and headed to Lincoln Park Zoo. Not only is it free, but it’s a good size and just so pretty now that spring is budding.  We took along the “good” camera (Canon T3 SLR) and had a lot of fun snapping pics.

We watched this pair of monkeys try to figure out how to squeeze the treats out of their toys, which they eventually figured out.

We also watched the apes for a long time.

 There was a male silverback playing with his son that was amazing to watch.  First they played tag and then the dad brought out a blanket and put it over the son.  The son ran around hiding under the blanket and not being able to see.  It was really neat to see their interactions. They were so playful and the dad was so gentle!

It was also really neat to squeeze into a spot upfront and see this female (the mom of the son) come say hi and interact with some kids.  I know it’s kind of creepy, but now cute was this boy in the red?

We saw a variety of animals, including my favorite, the polar bear.

I was bummed he wasn’t swimming because there’s an underwear viewing spot and usually the polar bear will swim right up to you.

After the zoo, we walked over to Molly’s Cupcakes, which I’ve blogged about before.  The store is just so cute!  There are swings at the counter, board games to play and a sprinkler station as well.  I got a caramel butterscotch cupcake that was delish.

 Post-cupcakes, we hopped on the bus with the intent of going up to the Signature Lounge in John Hancock for a drink and a view…but by the time we got there, it was 5:00pm and there was a 30 minute line, so we opted to head back home.  We hung out at our place for a while and few cocktails before heading to Ben’s favorite low-key bar, Toons, for dinner, shuffle board and the rest of the night.

 
Our friends left early Sunday and we enjoyed the day. I took a ton of pics of Oscar, but I’m going to make a separate post for them.  I also stopped in Gap.  Remember I’ve been on a mission for a spring coat?  I ended up picking this up for $60:

It’s no longer on their website.  It much have sold out during the day because it was on this morning!  It is a surprisingly big fit, I needed an XS, but I really like the color.  I’m not totally in love with the fit, so I’m going to stop in Nordstrom Rack after work tonight, but I figured while the Gap coat was 40% off, I’d better buy it than regret it later.