A Chicago Update

I realized I have not blogged in over a month. Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been adventuring, I swear. 

My lack of updates is due to the 12 hour work days. The bakery has moved to a new location that is much bigger and suites the needs of every employee. The freezers are bigger than my room. Each person has a large table to his or her self. We have four large mixers and four ovens. This space is a bakers dream. For reals. 

The holiday season at Vanille has been hectic, but I'm powering through the next 10 days. Almost every work day has been 12 hours. There have even been a couple of thirteen hour days. Somehow I'm still seeing Chicago.

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For Christmas Eve, I made the short trek to Skokie to have dinner with Paul Hahn and his family. Cheesey potatoes rule. 

The snow melted last week, but I woke up to this beautiful site this morning. 

I plan to watch Futurama, eat Chinese, finish homework and pack my room. 

Merry Christmas and see you soon California. 

My First Snow!

Snow is magical!

Madeline took me to Ed Debevic's. The waiters are rude and they dance on the bar. 

We are cupcakes at Molly's, a bakery that won Cupcake Wars. 

I am obviously the only person who is excited about the snow.

I love snow!

Madeline drove us around town. We went to Hyde Park, where Obama's house is located. Sadly, the street is blocked by Secret Service signs. Well, we tried. 

I'm staying warm and hoping for more snow. 

Well...

Tim and I are engaged!

The proposal was spontaneous and could not have come at a better time. Tim spent the day sitting in the airport. His flight was delayed 4 hours. I had a stressful day at work. Tim finally arrived in Chicago around 6pm. We had dinner and spent time with Tim's parents. I gave Tim the grand tour. He prepared to propose while I was in the other room.

Tim made sure to record my reaction.

He didn't have a ring at the time, but the next night I received my future mother-in-law's engagement ring. 

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Tim's parents flew in on Sunday. That evening we walked down Michigan Avenue to the John Hancock Center. An elevator takes you to the 94th floor to see a complete view of the city.

The next night we ate Chicago deep dish pizza af Giordono's.

We went on the Arcitecture River Boat tour. The tour was amazing, but we definitely froze.

On Wednesday, Tim and I adventured around town. 

I took Tm to my favorite doughnut shop, Glazed and Infused.

We had drinks and dinner at Local Option, my new favorite bar.

Oh tator tots, I have been waiting for you for so long.

On Halloween, we ate breakfast at Wild Berry and ventured through Millennium Park. 

The Jun Kaneko statue exhibit.

Cloud Gate or "the bean."

The Art Institute of Chicago. We spent 4 hours wandering around the museum and saw very little of the exhibit. I could have been in there all day! Here are a few of  my favorite pieces. 

The very famous American Gothic.

Stained glass. 

Finally, a tiny cup for my espresso.

We are dinner and drank at Revolution, the local brewery.

Tim's last day in town! I took him to my favorite coffee shop, Star Lounge. The owner gave us free coffee and a poster.