Spending the weekend with Amanda was like a breath of fresh air. While I haven't exactly been depressed, I haven't been loving life lately, either. But when you're around Amanda, it's impossible to be in a funk.
We began the weekend on Thursday night with falafel at Sultan's Palace and drinks at The Violet Hour. "This is the coolest place I've ever been to," Amanda said in awe as we emerged on the other side of the curtain. I remember feeling the same way the first time I went there. I love its aura of mysterious elegance. We sipped our drinks slowly, catching up on life and love and everything in between. It was wonderful.
There was a "deadly snowstorm" Thursday night, which was less than thrilling for me, but Amanda was happy to see snow. She even felt it was necessary to document the mundane task of brushing off my car since it isn't something she sees every day.
We took the L downtown on Friday. Our first stop was lunch at Noodles and Co., where a random woman asked if we were sisters. We were thrilled by this idea and realized we do have just a few similarities.
Next on the agenda was a stroll through Millennium Park, which just isn't quite the same in the winter. The Bean, however, never loses its charm.
The Art Institute was fun because I realized that, if Amanda and I have such similar taste, she'd probably love the same things I love. This proved true as we marveled at the peaceful beauty of the Chagall windows, puzzled over modern art, sighed over the Impressionists, and made snarky comments about the religious renaissance paintings. The best was when Amanda approached a painting and said, "Ugh... There's something wrong with that baby... Wait a minute, who is that? Is that Jesus? Did I just insult baby Jesus???" I loved that when I showed Amanda my favorite painting that I've been visiting for 15 years, she immediately knew the story behind it.
After the Art Institute, Amanda finally got to experience the infamous Bang Bang Pie Shop, where we felt the Citrus MelangeMeringue (orange, blood orange, and lemon) was blissful, but the Shaker Lemon was just a bit too tart.
Then we went home and watched Pitch Perfect (which wasn't that funny!), ordered Giordano's pizza (the phone number for Lou Malnati's wasn't working), and talked talked talked. We never get tired of talking to each other; it's crazy.
Saturday was an action-packed day, beginning with lunch with Whitney at Chicago Diner. The best part of this was realizing that I hardly had to participate in the conversation; Amanda and Whitney got along so well. This worked out great, since I was suffering from a sinus infection and was pretty miserable. After lunch, I decided I needed to take care of that, so Whitney and Amanda grabbed coffee while I endured a horrific experience at the Take Care clinic in Rogers Park. The two came back the best of friends. I'm so glad they got to know each other.
Then it was time to meet Joe, who had graciously offered to be our tour guide for the remainder of the day. He was SO good at this! He could seriously make a little cash on the side giving tours of the city he loves so much. We took Halsted from Boystown all the way down to Pilsen with stops at Vosges, Art Effect (OMG, I could have easily spent a fortune in that store), and Iguana Cafe, where Joe treated us to dinner and I discovered another spot for great crepes. Perhaps the highlight of this time was the sing alongs in the car- Amanda dazzled us with her rendition of "I'll Make Love to You," and Joe literally fogged up the windows spitting the rhymes of Sir Mix-A-Lot.
Our final activity of the day was seeing Psalm One, a female rapper, perform at the Empty Bottle. Nina and Adam joined us for this excursion. We loved Psalm One and her ridiculous sidekick, Fluffy, who had green hair and was dressed in a parka and mini skirt. Quite entertaining. Our favorite song was something about how "dreams do come true... thugs need love, too."
Sunday began with church at Soul City, lunch at Portillos, and then the realization of one of Amanda's dreams- a trip to the Home Alone house in Winnetka. We filmed this little video... My favorite part is when we're walking up to the house and Amanda says, "This has always been my dream, and now it's happening." You would think we were on a reality show, about to do something really important, like meet a long-lost relative. This is how Amanda always talks, and it is one of the things I love about her.
Finally, it was time to take Amanda to the airport, which I was reluctant to do. Normally I like time to myself, but Amanda could have stayed forever and I would have been happy. It's so hard to say goodbye to someone when you don't know when you'll see them again! But overall I was just so thankful for this time with her. Everyone needs an Amanda in their lives!
We began the weekend on Thursday night with falafel at Sultan's Palace and drinks at The Violet Hour. "This is the coolest place I've ever been to," Amanda said in awe as we emerged on the other side of the curtain. I remember feeling the same way the first time I went there. I love its aura of mysterious elegance. We sipped our drinks slowly, catching up on life and love and everything in between. It was wonderful.
There was a "deadly snowstorm" Thursday night, which was less than thrilling for me, but Amanda was happy to see snow. She even felt it was necessary to document the mundane task of brushing off my car since it isn't something she sees every day.
We took the L downtown on Friday. Our first stop was lunch at Noodles and Co., where a random woman asked if we were sisters. We were thrilled by this idea and realized we do have just a few similarities.
Next on the agenda was a stroll through Millennium Park, which just isn't quite the same in the winter. The Bean, however, never loses its charm.
The Art Institute was fun because I realized that, if Amanda and I have such similar taste, she'd probably love the same things I love. This proved true as we marveled at the peaceful beauty of the Chagall windows, puzzled over modern art, sighed over the Impressionists, and made snarky comments about the religious renaissance paintings. The best was when Amanda approached a painting and said, "Ugh... There's something wrong with that baby... Wait a minute, who is that? Is that Jesus? Did I just insult baby Jesus???" I loved that when I showed Amanda my favorite painting that I've been visiting for 15 years, she immediately knew the story behind it.
After the Art Institute, Amanda finally got to experience the infamous Bang Bang Pie Shop, where we felt the Citrus MelangeMeringue (orange, blood orange, and lemon) was blissful, but the Shaker Lemon was just a bit too tart.
Then we went home and watched Pitch Perfect (which wasn't that funny!), ordered Giordano's pizza (the phone number for Lou Malnati's wasn't working), and talked talked talked. We never get tired of talking to each other; it's crazy.
Saturday was an action-packed day, beginning with lunch with Whitney at Chicago Diner. The best part of this was realizing that I hardly had to participate in the conversation; Amanda and Whitney got along so well. This worked out great, since I was suffering from a sinus infection and was pretty miserable. After lunch, I decided I needed to take care of that, so Whitney and Amanda grabbed coffee while I endured a horrific experience at the Take Care clinic in Rogers Park. The two came back the best of friends. I'm so glad they got to know each other.
Then it was time to meet Joe, who had graciously offered to be our tour guide for the remainder of the day. He was SO good at this! He could seriously make a little cash on the side giving tours of the city he loves so much. We took Halsted from Boystown all the way down to Pilsen with stops at Vosges, Art Effect (OMG, I could have easily spent a fortune in that store), and Iguana Cafe, where Joe treated us to dinner and I discovered another spot for great crepes. Perhaps the highlight of this time was the sing alongs in the car- Amanda dazzled us with her rendition of "I'll Make Love to You," and Joe literally fogged up the windows spitting the rhymes of Sir Mix-A-Lot.
Our final activity of the day was seeing Psalm One, a female rapper, perform at the Empty Bottle. Nina and Adam joined us for this excursion. We loved Psalm One and her ridiculous sidekick, Fluffy, who had green hair and was dressed in a parka and mini skirt. Quite entertaining. Our favorite song was something about how "dreams do come true... thugs need love, too."
Sunday began with church at Soul City, lunch at Portillos, and then the realization of one of Amanda's dreams- a trip to the Home Alone house in Winnetka. We filmed this little video... My favorite part is when we're walking up to the house and Amanda says, "This has always been my dream, and now it's happening." You would think we were on a reality show, about to do something really important, like meet a long-lost relative. This is how Amanda always talks, and it is one of the things I love about her.
Finally, it was time to take Amanda to the airport, which I was reluctant to do. Normally I like time to myself, but Amanda could have stayed forever and I would have been happy. It's so hard to say goodbye to someone when you don't know when you'll see them again! But overall I was just so thankful for this time with her. Everyone needs an Amanda in their lives!
Comments