I've been trying to turn Ali 25 for 3 years now.
[this entry is post dated.... ]
I don't know why it always seemed fitting to wish her a
Happy 25th, on her 22nd, 23rd
and 24th, but this year I can say it legitimately. Twenty-five for the win!
The birthday weekend started yesterday, when Damanji and I arrived in from the STL & Cinci Metros, respectively. Today was the
real start of our Chicagoland weekend to celebrate one of our best friends.
1 | BREAKFAST!
.: Eggs. We went to Eggs. No, seriously, the place is called [just]
Eggs. It sounds like a broken sentence, but that's the name and that's the place and it was fun. I don't, however, recommend that you order the Georgia Peach Crepe, unless you like the combination of sourdough, cottage cheese and canned peaches... warm... together.
Otherwise, it was definitely a fresh little vibe and I'd go back and try something else on the rather extensive menu.
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metiiiculously unfolding the carry out bag
#militarybagfolding ;) |
2| NAPERVILLE
.: Ali's job as a live-in nanny has her living here, so she's become acquainted with several of the local shopping spots, etc. etc.
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| on our way! |
The highlights of this outing include but are most definitely not limited to:
DAVIDsTEA. Who do I talk to about getting one - or more - of these in Cincinnati, like.. yesterday?! Sorry, but..
Teavana, who? Cincinnati, you need a DAVIDsTEA, and that is that.
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davids tea | naperville, il
so. much. yesssss. |
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| yesssssss! |
We hit the NVille outlets, as well; the birthday girl was loaded down with giftcards to use, and the plunder was bountiful: Sephora, Kate Spade and Pac Sun on the top hit list. We even managed to spot an interesting story parked in the lot outside:
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| shark attack? |
3 | NANNY LIFE
.: We stopped at Ali's "house" after our downtown Naperville tour, where she lives as a nanny. It should come as no surprise that it's practically a castle in a neighborhood of other castles, that has heated floors, awesome decor, a retractable cover and a fluffy dog named Lola:
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| oh ya know... |
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| if this was my house, i'd live in this room alone. |
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ya'll already know.. where there's a dog, there's cori.
#sheissofluffffyyyyyyy |
4 | BUBBLE TEA
.: This makes the list because I haven't had bubble tea since I lived in Illinois, which, if you've been counting, was over 3 years ago. I think the universe was savvy to this fact as I ordered [and paid for]
one "taro
with lychee," but received a taro
and a lychee. Was I mad about this?
No. Was I probably over-hydrated?
Yes.
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| twofer.. and asian for the win! |
5 | CHICAGO!
.: After our adventures in Naperville, we made our weekend ascent into Chicago, where the city lay waiting for 3 more tourists to take advantage of all is has to offer within a 3-day span. We checked into the hotel, and within half an hour, Ali's friend Lindsay rendezvoused with us to start the city celebration.
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| 'ello, chi!! |
Our first stop: Happy hour at Howells & Hood!
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| quick stop before dinner! |
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| calamari.. yes please... |
The meat of the evening was dinner at Bar Siena, where our reservation awaited us. We changed, put on our evening faces and made our way out to an incredible dinner to thank Ali's parents for her existence :).
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| happy 25th birthday, beautiful friend! |
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| damanji! |
Things on the menu that we ordered:
Kale & cranberry salad
Roasted peppers
Corn ravioli
BAKED POTATO SOUP + MAC&CHEESE:
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| leave me alone i need a moment....... *drool. |
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cori. ali. lindsay. shawn.
♥♥♥♥ |
6 | CHICAGO AFTER HOURS :)
.: Ali only turns 25
once, at least legitimately... so naturally it was off in search of some spirited fun. We're in Chicago, so it wasn't hard. Thanks to Lindsay's guidance, Uber and a stellar tender at HVAC, we made the evening shine in special honor of Ali!
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| stop #1 |
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| stop #2 |
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| stop #3, with candid faces.. kinda ♥ |
A lot more of the pictures I have from tonight are blurry... but I suppose that's bound to happen when standing still is less fun than dancing until your feet want to remove themselves from your body entirely [current mood].
Good night, Chicago. You're beautiful. See you tomorrow!
xo | cmd
