Chicago happens to be one of our very favorite cities.
And conveniently it also an easy 4.5 hour drive from our current home.
So after a delicious post-tax-busy-season celebratory dinner Thursday night
and a short day of work Friday, we made a return trip to the place that brought us so many laughs and fun memories just over a year ago.
And it was just as fabulous as we remembered.
This time instead of staying in the heart of downtown off of Michigan Avenue, we stayed at the home of a friend doing her residency at Northwestern. She was going out of town, so we took care of her pups and had the opportunity to feel less like tourists in this great city and more like residents as we crashed at her beautiful condo in the heart of Lincoln Park. Somehow in all of my photographing I managed to forget to capture her neighborhood, but it was fabulous. For the weekend Walker and I got to live a much trendier life than we are accustomed to here in Cincy!
After arriving in town we were reunited with one of our all-time favorite meals, the Chicago deep-dish pizza. Of all the cheesy foods we love, this tops our list. We pushed aside any thoughts of caloric content and ate it twice during our short weekend stay.
Saturday we joined the Chicago Auburn club for the day and watched the tigers with fellow mid-western alum and fans.
The outcome of the game was less than desirable, but it was still a blast to have the entire second story of a restaurant filled with Auburn attire and cheering fans singing the fight song.
Next we took in our second Second City show and it was just as hilarious as remembered. If you are ever in Chicago don't miss out on this gem!
We took in a delicious Italian dinner downtown, walked the city streets, and wished the weekend hadn't flown by so quickly.
We bid this great city farewell, and will no doubt be taking advantage of our close proximity again in the future!

3 of us may have been fighting upper respiratory infections, but we pushed through and had an amazing weekend. Beautiful views, delicious food, Fall clothes shopping (my favorite!), exciting football, amazing ice cream, great conversation.
I came home from work Monday to a clean house decorated with fresh flowers and delicious homemade potato soup simmering in the crock pot. I may be a working married woman, but it feels darn good to be so well taken care of my parents. Thanks mom and dad - we had a blast!
Today marks Walker's big deadline, and tax accountants everywhere will be grateful for its passing. Hurrah for the end of another busy season!

The surprise.
This weekend was one for the (personal) record books. It was a laughter-filled, conversation-packed reunion that none of us will soon forget.
My flight was booked as soon as ML and I found a weekend that we both had off (a rarity in residency world). Walker's presence was up in the air, as this week finds him in the throes of corporate tax busy season with a looming deadline next week. Around Tuesday he felt like he had gotten ahead enough to make the trip, and we (secretly) booked his flight. We told these two flights were just too expensive but that he would try to fly stand-by at the airport, then about 30 minutes before my flight took off sent a "airport crazy with Labor Day travelers, Walk is a no-go :(" text. A couple hours later when they picked me up at Union Station, they were met with a Walker-sized surprise. Their reactions were priceless, and had Union Station not been teeming with angry cab drivers I would have attempted to capture it on camera. The tone for the weekend was set, and wouldn't disappoint.

Breakfast of champions.
Saturday morning we were introduced to the Florida Avenue Grill. Think Auburn's BBQ House with DC-style-multiculturalism. Amazing.

War Eagle?!
It was painful, but was enjoyed in good company. And hey, a win is a win in my book.
DC welcomed us with a heat wave, but the outdoor deck of this restaurant had a strong breeze and made for perfect game-watching. War eagle folks.

Arlington Cemetery.
Beautiful. Peaceful. Overwhelming.

Iwo Jima.

On the rooftop.
Check out the view from the top of ML and Michael's apartment building.

Coffee like old times.
While the boys worked one morning, ML and I enjoyed a catch-up date reminiscent of so many we shared during our four years together in B'ham.
Gotta love coffee and good conversation. Trendy DC coffee-shop scenery is just an added bonus.

the Mall.
The last time Walker and I were in DC was in 8th grade for a class field trip. So out-of-the-loop are we on the DC area, that when ML and Michael kept talking about taking us to the Mall, I was picturing Macy's and Anthropologie (and also maybe questioning their judgment a bit when it came to choosing activities during our trip). We picked up Five Guys, took the Metro, and picnicked to the sounds of a tone-deaf woman singing cultural songs during a festival (ML took video, it was amazing).

Unfortunately the reflecting pool between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument (think Forrest and Jenny) is undergoing renovation. If I had PhotoShop and any idea how to use it, I would add some water back in, but for now this lovely dirt background will have to do.
Turns out DC can be appreciated much more as an adult than a young teen. We felt so much pride for our country seeing the beautiful reminders of our nation's history through the monuments.

Farewell.
Until next time Neel's! Thanks for showing us the best of times.