Weekend Update!

Hello and happy Monday!  Boy, am I tired.  It's been pretty frigid here in the Midwest, and I have not taken well to the change.  I love fall, but winter is definitely invading its' territory.  Oh, well.  Guess I better get used to it, because if history repeats itself, it's going to be a long, cold winter.

Anyway, on with the update!  Joel and I went to another concert that was a blast from the past.  Michael Bolton!  His show was great, and he sang for nearly two and a half hours.  He sang some Christmas songs, which even though I'm not a scrooge I hate Christmas music, but I guess they were tolerable in MB's voice.  Since it was a small-ish show, he agreed to stay after and sign some autographs, but he was a little Diva about the whole thing.  We waited over an hour for him to come out, and then when we got close (and 6ft was the closest we were allowed), we handed our CD to a security guard who handed it to MB, then back to a different security guard to hand to us.  He didn't talk a lot, but since I got him to at least acknowledge me, probably because I was one of the few women under 50 there.

This weekend, we made the drive up to Chicago to go to their annual Christkindel Markt, which is a traditional German Christmas Market.  I've been missing Germany quite a bit lately, so Joel and I, and a friend of ours, decided to check it out.  First off, we used AirBnB to book a room, which was an astounding success.  I mean, look at our view from our room!

Amazing.  Pugsley wasn't very excited about the room, though.  He was either afraid of heights or wanted out the whole time, because he just sat at the windows and cried.

Yes, that is a crap ton of snow, BTW.

Then, we set off for the market.  I'm glad we went early and bypassed the snow that the rest of the weekend had in store.  It was great!  It had gluhwein, stollen, gingerbread, and crepes.  It even had spaetzle and curry wurst!  I am so glad that we went.  It really did "scratch the German itch."  Well, for now at least.

I also have some food reviews!  We tried a new breakfast place in Streeterville that was amazing.  It's called Yolk, and it has a few different locations.  It was packed, and luckily we only had about a 30 minute wait because we went early.  When we left, it had to be up to at least an hour.  My advice?  Go early!  Here's the scoop on what we had.  Joel and I shared two savory items.  He had red velvet french toast, and I had the cinnamon bun french toast.  Both were divine, but I have to say I liked Joel's a little better.

Red Velvety goodness in the back.

Yum, yum...

We also ate at our favorite Italian spot in Lincoln Park.  It's called Sapori Trattoria, and they take reservations, which at least on the weekend are a must.  We both order the same thing: rigatoni bolognese.  It is a must try.  Best pasta we've had outside of Italy.  Their tiramisu is also pretty tasty.  They do valet for 10$, but we found street parking for 2$ an hour, and opted for that.  But believe me when I say if you like Italian food, eat here.

Bellisimo!

Our Chicago trip was amazing, and even though it was bitter cold and snowing, we enjoyed our big city life for the weekend.  Until next time, Chi-Town!