Thirty doesn't have to be dirty, does it?

Welcome 30, let's do this gracefully, shall we?

It's been almost a month now since I've turned 30, but we had a grand celebration, so it deserves a blog post for sure!

The good thing about being born the week after Christmas is that usually people already plan to take off work, and everyone is already in celebration mode. This was no exception for my folks who were already off on Dec 29 and offered to keep Owen (overnight!) so that Mike and I could quick trip it up to the Windy City. Chicago is one of my favorite towns by far, and an entire date day with my wonderful hubby in a great city = the perfect birthday present.

We took the 6:30 am train out of STL and arrived in Chicago around 12:30. We dropped our bag off at the Schusters' amazing downtown condo (so swanky!), and hit Michigan Ave. I got to pick the way we spent the afternoon, and Mike & my folks had the evening planned.

View from the Schusters' Condo.. Thanks again for letting us stay!

Love this city!

It was an absolutely gorgeous winter day, especially by Chicago standards! It was probably 40 degrees, and sunny! Lindsey had given me a real winter coat (not usually needed in Seattle), with matching accessories, but the wind was just too much for my hair and I had to wear a hat.

So since the weather was so nice, I picked to walk down Michigan Ave. I'm sure you're shocked. We mostly shopped for Owen.. bought baby boy Gray Converse shoes (oh.my.goodness), and a few things on sale @ Gap Baby =)

Well, hello, Marilyn!

 

I love walking over the river. Some day I'll be there on St. Patty's day... would love to see it green!

So handsome =)

I've never been in Chicago in December (I don't think...), and I thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas decor.

Mike planned dinner which was at the Signature Lounge @ the top of the Hancock! It was such a wonderful and memorable meal. The views were gorgeous... especially at night!

We were super impressed with our camera's night time photo work!

My cup runneth over....

AND, if that wasn't enough, my folks surprised us with tickets to Second City (Britt's Alma Mater). The show, of course, did not disappoint. We laughed and laughed.

What a full day! We caught the 7:00 am train the next morning so we could get back to that sweet baby boy. Thanks so my love, and Grandma and Papa Cooper for allowing the day to be so memorable! 

I am thrilled to see what God has in store for this next decade!