16/52 Dates: Haunted Chicago
So this brings us to date 16! I called John to let him know we would go downtown together and that I wouldn’t tell him about our date night until we caught this:
A two hour tour of Chicago’s haunted spots! We’d love this little touristy bus driving by and always said we couldn’t wait to do it one day - perfect date night activity! :)
I wanted to do my 52 Dates in 52 Weeks because I took it for granted that John planned awesome date nights week after week while he was in law school and after when he started working 60 hour work weeks. Somehow, the special occasions were super special and the date nights were always fun. I never appreciated how tough this was and took a lot of our courtship for granted.
I admit I thought, “this will be easy as cupcakes.” Well, Tumblr peeps, it’s the end of October and I’m only up to date 16. I don’t know how John always found a “new perfect restaurant” or a “new perfect activity.” And finding the time! Sometimes, I just wanted to sit at home in my pj’s but hey, John always found a time somehow and yes, he has outpaced me even this year!
Date 16!
John was scared. Scared skeptical. :) He’s not a believer and he doesn’t have a superstitious side but we both love the history of Chicago and our ghost tour was a fun way to experience it.
Like any good city, we have a great lady ghost in Resurrection Mary and three of the country’s worst public disasters during that era: the great Chicago fire, the Iroquois Theatre Fire (now the Oriental), and the Eastland Ship disaster.
What the major stories shared in common is the reality that bodies are unaccounted for which might create discontented spirits. During the Chicago fire, bodies were completely cremated and entire families burned in their homes and hundreds would have died in congested communities and supposedly not entered into the final totals of the disaster count.
For the Iroquois Theatre Fire (about 600 killed) and the Eastland Ship disaster (about 800 killed in a shocking 20 feet of water), large amounts of women and children were killed as a result of negligence and again, both disasters are shrouded in accusations that officials hid bodies away because the public outcry would have been even worse than it inevitably was.
{The alley next to the Iroquois, now Oriental theatre. People jumped from the sixth floor and sadly jumped to their deaths.}
{The windows of Hull House - the complex supposedly once housed a “devil baby,” the inspiration behind Rosemary’s Baby. This great article on the devil baby in the Atlantic Magazine is authored by Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House and is a real slice of social history of the immigrant communities and the rise of the social work system in Chicago.
{The Couch Mausoleum - this little building is private property located on a full public park. We’ve seen it for four years and now we know it belonged to Ira Couch, whose family fought to keep their tomb there even though the cemetery was being relocated. Even creepier? Bodies are still found in the nearby land and in fancy homes nearby when during construction project.}
{The site of the Eastland ship disaster - see any ghosts? No, but my city is beautiful!}
{Resurrection Mehnaz! ;D Sadly, my camera caught no ghostly activity, didn’t sight Resurrection Mary, nor did I experience any ghosts, cold spots, hands, or eerie feelings. Maybe next time?}
John loved this date night and I had to give myself a pat on the back for a fun night. I can’t wait to plan our next date adventure! :)
SEXY POST-RUN DINNER DATE
That’s right. I finished a ten miler in 1 hour and 55 minutes and then headed over in my sexy post-run glory to meet John for our dinner date at Zapatistas, a Mexican place we enjoy. SWEAT IS SEXY. Yes, it is.
I demolished this guacamole and salsa and the waiter made sure to make them extra spicy for me with an extra kick of lime. I hope there is guacamole in heaven.
John and I shared the vegetarian enchiladas which were stuffed with spinach and mushrooms - I ate one and most of the black beans.
The best part of the meal was this shared appetizer because of my love for plantains. It’s a caramelized plantain with guacamole, queso fresco, sour cream, and mole poblano - so fun and tasty!
Hope you are having a great Friday and see you all tomorrow!
Date 15: Double Date!
Reverdy: “There is no love; there are only proofs of love.”
Rubin, Gretchen (2009-12-29). The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun (p. 55).
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I love Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project - one of her major points is that couples need to do stuff for each other they don’t like to do (unless it conflicts with their values or causes harm). I was really excited about this weekend because I had hoped to watch the first Notre Dame game with John and try to make it a special event for him because he had to work.
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Even though John has a an enviably awesome and huge t.v. I decided that we should go to a sports bar, an environment as natural to me as the dessert would be for a goldfish. We love dining outside at Hackney’s and it’s one of our favorite spots in the South Loop.
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The storm was coming down pretty hard at this point, but the game was on a bunch of t.v.’s including one with subtitles. We snagged a cute little two seater - and yes, John is rocking a new shirt I bought for him. We enjoyed a plate of nachos and skipped the drinks since we already enjoyed those last night! ;)
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John was pretty happy munching away on veggie nachos and guac and watching his game. And I made a bigger effort to be interested in what he loves…
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See this is my interested and engaged face! I’m saying, “Hmmm… that’s fascinating,” and meaning it. (Ignore the wet hair, the rain caught me). All joking aside, I was glad to be interested in college football for John. It didn’t make it more fun for me, but it’s fun to be engaged in something totally different. Also, the best advice about love comes from the move Chloe: I try to find something to love in everybody. Even if it’s a small thing. Something about the way someone smiles. There’s always something, there has to be. I try to make myself generous. I do things I don’t want to do. I…I think about what not to criticize. We forget to be generous with everyone we take for granted, and date nights like this one remind me to treasure the spark we have.
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John’s date night? To endure and try to enjoy Guillermo Del Toro’s remake of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. I have a love for Del Toro’s scary movies like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone - but poor John suffers through all things scary. He just doesn’t like seeing people get hurt. :) [We did get to see the new trailer for Daniel Radcliffe’s movie, The Women in Black, also a remake, and I nearly died watching it - it looks spooky.]
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I got him a fro-yo for his anxiety and we clung to each other clinging through some of the harder to watch parts (I cover my eyes - you can’t unsee anything so you might as not see what you can’t handle is my rule). The movie was good, but nothing like this earlier two scary movies - and even though I enjoyed watching it, I wouldn’t recommend it. My favorite part about the day was our double date and how we tried to enjoy something for the other person, even if it isn’t our favorite activity.
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Happy Saturday night - hope it’s drier where you are!
Football Date
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I went to a hot yoga class (Candle Light Hot Fusion) and I was exhausted - a seven miler and hot yoga? I’m getting there:) I asked John to move date night till Saturday but he still wanted to go for a long walk with Nigel and me and grab a quick drink. I’m so glad we still had a mini-date because we needed the little romantic break:)
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And yes ladies, I went to dinner wearing my yoga cover up dress, no make-up, and not having showered from hot yoga. Hey sexy! :)
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And can you tell what this means? Football season is here! I don’t like college ball at all - I love the pros. But I do love how happy football makes John - all that extra testosterone when his team scores. Sadly, John is a Notre Dame boy so… Let’s talk about other things.
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We were good and only ate two apps, my favorite pretzels and a spinach artichoke dip and I enjoyed two cranberry cocktails. We also enjoyed some ice cream later - it’s like food doesn’t stick when I run and do hot yoga, I’m always hungry. :)
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I’m such a planner, and I need to let loose some more! Hope you had a great Friday night!
Date 14: The Wizarding Hour
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We went to see the final Harry Potter movie last night and it was so fun! John loves 3D movies and I decided to surprise him with tickets to a 3D show. I’m still getting used to the glasses! :) I’ve never read the books and I loved not knowing the ending - I was truly surprised to see where the plot went. John has read the books and loves them and it’s fun to see that perspective too - the entire theatre was packed with devoted fans. On my way our I snapped this picture of a little wizard girl. So cute! Have you seen the movie? Are you a die-hard fan? I can’t believe that most of us grew up with the books!
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Dinner was a shared medium popcorn, some diet coke, and a bag of M&M pretzels. And yes, I bring my own candy to the theatre - the bags they sell there are way too big for me and I like to buy the smallest bag available with decadent treats.
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Hope you are having a great night!
Date 13: Johnny and the Chocolate Factory
I’m behind on my 52 Dates, 52 Weeks resolution but I was pretty excited when I met John after date night for our 13th date! We headed out for sushi at our favorite downtown place because John had to attend a work event but after that we headed over to a special little chocolate shop we have been wanting to try forever! We had a lovely sushi dinner and I overloaded us on vegetarian roll since I was going to be so decadent with out dessert! We enjoyed a shitake mushroom, sweet potato, asparagus, and vegetarian roll - so yummy as always!
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After our lovely dinner, the real fun started! We headed over to a gourmet chocolate shop, Canady Le Chocolatier! John has the cutest little sweet tooth and this place was perfect for a date night. They make beautiful chocolates, desserts, and gelato on site in an open-to-view kitchen and you can even take classes on gelato and chocolate making. I might have to “surprise” John with some other date nights here.:D We shared a lovely peanut butter gelato that tasted like heaven and my first dark chocolate turtle - salty and sweet at the same time!
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I hope you had a sweet Friday!
Date 12: Happy Belated Memorial Day
Hi Folks, I’ve been a bad, bad Tumblie. We were in Louisville, KY for a wedding this weekend and I didn’t get too many moments to blog. Nigel is becoming a well-traveled pup and was loved by everyone we met down there - Southerners really love their bulldogs and I love Southerners because they are awesome. We returned in time for Memorial Day in Chicago and because of the holiday, John and I got to have an awesome lunch date!
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As you may know from previous editions of 52 Dates, 52 Weeks, John and I love Hackney’s because of the outdoor seating and because dogs are welcome as long as they don’t bother people. We decided though because of heat, to leave the pup at home - poor little guy was panting up a storm! - but we did see a 3 month old English bully being walked. It was chubtachularly wonderful. John and I shared a guac-n-chips appetizer which sadly came with fried tortilla chips. I’m not a fan of fried chips and we left a good portion of that and our french fries on the table - with marathon training coming up, we are being smarter about fueling up.
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I did indulge in a mango margarita but couldn’t finish more than a quarter of it and that was after I thinned it out with water. My sorority days are behind me because I will admit it - the drink was too strong for me. I prefer more mix than “dancing juice.” ;) We shared a black bean burger on a pretzel bun with provolone and carmelized onions - so yumm! For dessert, we strolled over to the movie theatre and watched Pirates of the Caribbean and enjoyed a plain mixed berry frozen yogurt. A lovely and super-hot Memorial Day date!
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Photos and updates from this weekend coming soon!
Date 11: A Lovely Night at Home
Well, actually, first we went to yoga! I called John and said our awesome Friday date night was going to be a quiet night at home. We’d both had a long week and sometimes a night cuddling at home is what the doctor ordered. John especially loves being able to spend time with Nigel since he doesn’t see him much during the day!
{Poor Nigel, even a month later all he wants to do is throw around the football with his dad and all I want to do is cuddle him to death!}
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{You cannot escape my love Nigel!}
But first, I got him to a yoga class (Core Power 1.5 Heated) to help him relax and stretch out the muscles. We skipped Nigel’s mile long walk because of the rain -like John, Nigel hates the rain;D Then we relaxed at home and enjoyed some treats!
I had a crazy craving - hot dogs, or veggie dogs to be exact! I picked up some Smart Dogs and used Arnold’s Wheat Thins as buns since I prefer them to regular hot dog buns. With a little Dijon mustard for fanciness, these two dogs hit the spot!
Dessert was extra awesome - salt and pepper soy crisps, my favorite junk food! I love soy crisps more than regular crisps. As you can tell, John’s the sweet tooth in the family and I’m the salt tongue, so all my treats are usually savory!
Although John did give me a few tastes of his Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter. Seriously Tumblies, if you can get your hands on a jar, any jar - grab as many as you can carry. These will elevate your PB cravings to heaven.
We’re going to grab some blankets, our pupper and watch a fun movie!
Hope you guys have a great Friday!
Date 8: Tocco
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One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to plan my own date nights - John always surprises me with wonderful dates and I wanted to show him how much I appreciated all his hard work!
A few weeks ago, I took John to an awesome new restaurant I found through Gilt City. Tocco, Italian for touch, is Bruno Abate’s second restaurant and takes going out for pizza to a completely new level. Abate and his wife are former modeling company heads and the restaurant is chic and luxurious. There are bright colors, plush leather seats, and mannequins behind glass. But no matter how pretty the surroundings, the only thing that matters is the food. And Tocco delivers! The pizzas are on thinnest crust I have ever tasted outside of Europe, the topping simple and delicious, and the gelato smooth and creamy.
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We ended up getting extra drinks and a second pizza because I always want Nigel to get something with meat on it for himself - and they made a half anchovy/half mushroom pizza so we could both enjoy it. A few glasses of champagne and a lovely dessert to cap the evening. It was the perfect date night!
Carmen at the Lyric Opera & Fancy Nancy
A few weeks ago John called me saying he had bad news. He had planned a great date but he would be out of town for business. I didn’t even know what the date was but I was pretty sad about it. This weekend, John got great news - his trip was postponed and the date? The final performance of Carmen at the Lyric Opera - and the biggest surprise? He had gotten us box seats. I felt like Fancy Nancy since we usually sit on the main floor :D
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I love opera and one of the best parts of living in Chicago is having an awesome opera company like the Lyric here.
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Yes, I have an awesome boyfriend who is willing to sit through operas and The Bachelor for me. So I am going to make him tortilla chips with melty cheese and guac when we go home. :D
