Welcome to our World

I like to think this blog gives some insight to our world, and our life. I probably don't really capture it well enough though -- mostly just highlighting the adventures we go on with subsequent photos. Hopefully I can try to capture what real life is like at the Merrill Household.

Like how good it feels to finally feel we have a "home" again-- and that Chicago is home. There are certain moments when I have realized this like walking hand in hand through the loop on our way home from a concert, or baseball game, or any adventure that we go on. Walking into our apartment and knowing that this is our little haven from the world. I also get these moments when I am asked on the street where something is, and I am instantly able to give directions. I am able to navigate easily in this crazy place.

The best feeling, however, is the feeling of Ryan and I being "us" again. After a summer of questions, stress, and change, we were both under a lot of pressure. We tried to be ourselves, but something was different as we were trying to make sense of the recent events and upcoming challenges. Now that we have all of that behind us, I can happily say that we are back to our happy, less-stressed selves. We are able to have a casual date night and enjoy sleeping in on a Saturday or two. We've also been able to take our bikes out for a semi-long ride, something we haven't done in months. We're settling back into life with new challenges but at least the change (for now) has subsided.

I'm excited for this new chapter in our lives and taking advantage of all that this new opportunity offers us.

Labor Day

Who doesn't love a great American Holiday, like Labor Day?? I checked the weather, and it was supposed to be a beautiful day, 80+ degrees and sunny. I convinced Ryan we needed at least 1 more day at the beach lake this summer, so we packed a picnic and headed to a new beach, a little further north of the city. When we got there, we were amazed to find TONS of free parking (when you live in the city this is an AMAZING find). We grabbed our gear and headed to the sand.






To my disappointment, it was really windy and not exactly sunny. We had big plans to kayak on the lake, or even jetski, but the extreme wind conditions forced the kayak rentals to be closed, and we didn't last long enough to stay for our jetski rental time slot. It wasn't that warm, it was super windy (do you see my hair in this picture?). We decided after an hour or so that we had enough of the beach.



This did not end our Labor Day adventures. We decided to explore a neighboring city, Evanston, just a few miles north of where we were, and home to Northwestern University Campus is full of old buildings and churches so we walked around to get a closer look. Check it out:







We finally came across Kellogg. Needless to say, I was not impressed with the building. But you know what they say... its what's on the inside that counts...









I saw a sign for a lighthouse, so we kept driving until we found it:




We put our Dora Explorer caps on and found a path that lead from the lighthouse out to this:


I was definitely out in the lead of this expedition:








We checked out Ryan Field (where their football team plays) and then decided to head home for a classic Labor Day BBQ and college football.





BBQ Chicken, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, watermelon.


And to top it off: Goose Island Root Beer (yes we went to 3 stores until we found it!) So worth it.


We always get to end our days with a beautiful sunset.

Free Concert for Chicago

My new favorite summer activity in Chicago is going to the free concerts held at Millennium park in the Pritzger Pavillion. Nothing can beat gathering with 10,000 other Chicagoans on any given beautiful evening to listen to great music, and picnic on the great lawn.




The concerts run everyday throughout August, and then gradually fade off in September. The last concert of the season was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) on Sunday 9/19/2010. I was determined to go, not really because of CSO, but because I wanted to go to one last concert. The last few times we have gone, the lawn has been packed, but we have always found a way to squeeze ourselves in among the crowd.

not this week

As we were approaching the park, we noticed lots of people walking AWAY from the great lawn. "uh oh" I thought. This is not a good sign!!

As we got closer to the great lawn, we found ourselves amongst the crowds and noticed many people camping out with their lawn chairs and blankets on outlying green space. Soon we found ourselves elbow to elbow with thousands of other Chicagoans trying to get onto the lawn and hear the concert.





See that area underneath the poles? THATS the great lawn. It holds 10,000 people. We counted at least an additional 10,000 people at the concert outside of the great lawn.





This guy was prepared:



Traffic control had already gated off the great lawn and restricted people from entering. WOW. I have never seen so many people at a concert!! It took forever just to navigate through the crowds, and finally we settled on a spot where we could at least sit down and hear the music. Our spot turned out to be a great little find, because Ryan was able to use a tree as a backrest, and I was able to use Ryan as my backrest :)




The music was absolutely gorgeous. I am amazed by the clarity and exquisite sound that this Frank Gehry outdoor concert 'hall' makes. I also reconnected with my passion for classical music. It is so beautiful. I loved watching the other CSO-lovers in the crowd closing their eyes, and nodding their head, in sync with the beat. My favorite song they played was Romeo & Juliet by Tchaikovsky.

This was our view:






During intermission we figured out what the "Festa MUTI" pins were all about. CSO just signed on a new world-famous conductor, MUTI. This performance was his first official performance as the CSO conductor. Apparently he is a big deal-- who knew!


The pavillion is beautiful at night:



As the concert ended, and the crowds started heading toward the street, we heard a loud noise and realized there were fireworks going off all around the park! What a great surprise and great way to celebrate the end of an incredible evening, and the end of an incredible summer.





As we walked home, hand in hand, I found myself excited for next year's concerts in the park, and picnic dinners.
What's your favorite summer activity?

September 10, 2010.
One Year Down and Eternity to look forward to.

My evening started off with a text from Ryan: "Baby, our night is about to begin...but it first must start as one of my fav childhood books "choose your own adventure" Do you prefer French with a view, or 1920's Italian?"

Ryan came home with Flowers (my favorite!) and then we grabbed a cab and headed up to Michigan Ave, where we had a quick stroll before heading up to dinner. It was a gorgeous summer evening, and I was so excited to be out celebrating our One-Year Anniversary with my love.





Ryan took me to NoMi-- a popular french restaurant that looks over the Water Tower on Michigan Ave, with views of the lake. It was a romantic spot, and we enjoyed the most amazing meal. I definitely would have taken pictures of all our food, but it was NOT that kind of place!! Haha. And it was definitely too dark for any real picture-taking. (Below are a few photos I snagged from their website).

View of NoMi from Michigan Avenue.


View of NoMi from the inside-- check out those chandeliers!




View of the water tower and Hancock Tower:



Sample Plate.


Sample Plate:



I did, manage to get a picture of our amazing dessert and our Anniversary treat compliments of the restaurant:



Over dinner we reminisced over the last year and the many great times we enjoyed, as well as the recent challenges. We both agreed that Year One of Marriage was definitely easier than Year One of dating!! Thank goodness that Long-Distance adventure is over!!




After dinner we walked through Chicago to the river and enjoyed the beautiful city skyline views, and the beautiful weather we were able to enjoy. When we got home, we exchanged cards and gifts and watched our wedding video. What better way to end the night?








Thank you for the most romantic One-Year Anniversary, ever, babe!! Here's to many more anniversaries to come.