Girls' Weekend

My sister and I enjoyed a girls' weekend with our mom in honor of her 54th birthday. Rather than giving her another item that she doesn't need (or even want), we took her to Chicago for an overnight and used every bit of energy we had to soak in as much as we could. The highlights of our trip included the Chicago Antique Market, shopping downtown, our awesome hotel on the Chicago River, a late night dinner at the loudest restaurant ever, the historical boat tour, and lots more shopping the next day (Outlet Malls, Folk Art Festival, etc...). We had lots of laughs, scored some great deals (even from a street vendor who probably shouldn't have been selling his wares), and enjoyed our time away in the big city. The weather was unbeatable-who would have guessed it would be 82 and sunny at the end of September? It was perfect weather for walking around, both day and night! Overall, it was nice to be together and mom said it was her best birthday ever. Thanks also to dad, who was a financial contributor, but opted out of the weekend adventure-good call dad! We love you mom and are grateful for another year with you in our lives!

Julie trying on some items at the Antique Market-she bought the funky belt!

After the Market, with a few of our buys. I scored this amazing wall piece made of recycled tin ceiling tiles-very cool and I love the idea of re-purposing old things

A shot from a bridge with great architecture as a backdrop

Mom cracking up in the hotel room with her birthday dessert-Happy 54th!

A shot of our gorgeous day from our boat tour!