Long Holiday Weekend

Ahhhhh....I am thoroughly relaxed after our extra-long holiday break.  Both of us were off Wednesday thru yesterday (Sunday). 

Wednesday, we lounged as long as we could before heading out to our spa appointments at Phaze 1 in Highland.  The salon itself could certainly use a visit from Tabatha (Tabatha's Salon Takeover), but our services were pretty superb!  Chris enjoyed his massage and I had a fantastic facial with a chemical peel.  The only downside: I was taken about 30 minutes late and Chris was taken about 15 minutes early, so what I wanted to avoid by booking our appointments simultaneously happened....we both ended up playing the waiting game.  (I got the better end of the wait, tho, b/c it was before my service.  Poor Chris, after being totally chill following his full-body massage, lost some of his euphoria during the boredom.)  I think we would both return to this particular salon/spa IF it were closer to our home or our jobs.  I will check out the pricing (we had Groupon deals) and compare with places closer, but we both need to regularly "indulge" ourselves ~~ it is definitely a health booster! 

As soon as we got home, I began making my 3 dishes.  Within a couple hours, everything was done and cooling or chilling. 

Thanksgiving began for me with a grueling boxing class at the gym ~ ~ perfect way to jumpstart this day where there is usually over-eating!  While I was gone, Chris took off on a walk, to include some new trails around us.  When I got home, he joined me for a walk to and along the beach.  It was going to be a balmy 60-degree day and I wasn't going to let it go by without spending part of the holiday at the water!  We even took off our shoes and waded into COLD Lake Michigan to stand on a small sandbar. 

The rest of our day was spent in a couple places for me and a few for Chris.  We started at my aunt's.  Chris left shortly after eating our meal, so he could visit his parents & have dessert.  I remained to chat and relax.  Chris came back to my aunt's, I ate my Pumpkin Pie Brownie, we made plates of leftovers for the next day and we headed to his aunt's.  So many of Chris's extended family gather at his aunt's, so we spent several hours catching up with many of them.  

Altho we were going from place to place this year, we both enjoyed the entire Thanksgiving day!

Friday found us doing absolutely nothing!  We stayed in our PJs, watched Christmas movies on Lifetime or Hallmark, ate our leftovers.  It was a super windy day, there was nothing pressing that needed our attention and we just felt like taking it easy!  LOVED it!!  We eventually threw on some clothes, made ourselves somewhat presentable and ran to the grocery store to buy a few items and get some cash for the next day's trip to Chicago.  We also stopped for a Powerball ticket (didn't win...darn!) ~~ the whole trip took, probably, 30 minutes.

We took our first train ride from Ogden Dunes to Chicago on Saturday...and our first time on the South Shore doubledecker cars!!!  What fun!  It was so cool to see everything along the way from up high!

We knew it was going to be COLD (temps in the 30's with wind chills much lower ~ BRRRRRR!!), so our first stop was a Starbucks for some warm drinks!  We then made our way to the German market & to see the windows at Macy's (something to do with fashion...not very holiday, in my opinion...I miss Marshall Fields).  We did plenty of walking, had a late lunch/early dinner at Lou Malnati's (yum...pizza!) and found our way to Old Town.  We got back to the Theatre District just after 5, where we got in line at Garrett's to snag our large bags of Chicago Mix, before heading into Macy's to check out the Christmas shoppe.  Then, it was off to the train with no time to spare.  (Unfortunately, no double decker for the ride home.)

Sunday, November 25, 2012, was our 20th anniversary!  We started our morning with mimosas and a smorgasboard of foods.  We cleaned and Chris started laundry, we read one of the papers and then we started watching the Bears game at noon.  After halftime, however, the Christmas decorating began...with our tree.

We hadn't put up a Christmas tree at our old house on Willow for many years, even after getting a slim one, b/c there just wasn't really enough room.  We would have needed to completely block our front door, which would make getting the paper Sunday mornings a real chore, especially in winter with snow. 

The tree is in the 3-seasons room, in the corner adjacent to the slider that leads from the house out.  It is so cozy out there with the lights and the electric fireplace!!  

Chris put out our wooden sled decoration, which is alongside the old wooden skis ~~ like they were made for one another...as a winter display on Ski Hill Road!

We also did most of the indoor decorating.  All that is left is hanging garland from the loft and, maybe, from the valance above the front windows.  This morning, before work, I decorated the valance above the dining room windows with boxes, my shiny pink tree, our Christmas tray, votive holders, a picture of a stocking and a squatty stuffed snowman.  (It is going to look so very bare up there when the holidays are over...)

We didn't exchange any anniversary gifts, but we did buy one another a mushy card!  Chris always writes the best stuff in the ones he gives me, too!!

We finished our day by watching one of our favorite Christmas movies, Scrooge, starring Albert Finney.  So much of it we know by heart and both recite the lines and sing the songs!  If you haven't caught this version of the Dickens' classic, you really should. 

We enjoyed a full, yet still relaxing weekend ~~ exactly as we wanted!  The upcoming weekend is expected to be in the 50's, so I will get out there to transform the flower box and the birdbath from fall to winter, while also putting the finishing touches on my pots full of evergreen branches.  It will truly be a Winter Wonderland at the Loveshack!