A Full Few Days in Chicago

I’m so grateful that I got to spend a few days in Chicago this week.  I caught up with friends, hung out with my sister a ton, saw, spent time with coworkers I only see a few times a year, made major progress on one of my projects, and ate some delicious food.  AND the weather was absolutely perfect!  What a week! 

When I got in on Tuesday, I went straight to my hotel to get ready for dinner.  A couple of my friends (Ankita and Rena), Aekta, and I had reservations at Gilt Bar, an unassuming restaurant with delicious food and drinks!  I took zero pics of the food itself because the lighting was horrible, but trust me when I say it was delicious.  My favorites of the night included the roasted garlic, the ricotta gnocci (so soft and creamy), and the brownies + ice cream + fudge.  I will be back!

Aek stayed with me all week, so after dinner, we headed back to the hotel and passed out.  I was exhausted!

The next morning I headed to my company’s brand new building!  The space is absolutely gorgeous – open concept, airy, filled with sunshine, etc.  Really looking forward to calling it home next year!

After a three hour workshop, a few of us headed downstairs to pick up lunch from Freshii.  Love that there are so many healthy options nearby.

Later in the evening, my immediate team met up for a family dinner (we all brought one or more family members with us!) at Flat Top Grill.  I was so excited to introduce Aek to my team.  It was so fun catching up outside of the office! 

Immediately after dinner, Aek and I zipped over to the Loft on Michigan Avenue for a little late night shopping.  There was a 50% off the entire store sale going on, and we wanted to check it out.  Let’s just say we both walked out with a few items!  

We woke up a early on Thursday to work out.  I needed a little treadmill time to offset all the food I was consuming!

After getting ready for the day, I headed out and met a friend (who is someone I now consider my friend!) of my coworker/friend Thea for breakfast and GREAT conversation.  Bekki and I sat and talked for over an hour about all things HR and blogging!  Such a great and refreshing way to start the day.

The work day was actually super packed.  One of the projects I’ve been leading over the past few months is in the final stages.  My entire day was consumed by this one project, but I didn’t mind because I was able to make some major progress.  I did, however, break for lunch.  My coworker/friend Erin and I headed to Cosi where I had the best salad!

I wanted to show my sister the new office, so she came by at the end of the day.  The best part of that was introducing her to some of my other coworkers and seeing their reactions.  One person in particular was absolutely blown away by how similar we look and act! 

After touring the office, we headed to the hotel to drop off our stuff.  Next stop…Pequods for some deep dish pizza!  This particular dining experience was interesting for a few different reasons, but the (now) funniest one involved my slice of pizza and the container of red pepper flakes.  Let’s just say the top wasn’t screwed on super tightly which resulted in red pepper chaos.  I mean, everything was covered – me, the table, and my slice!  Out waitress was awesome and offered to give us a personal pan pizza for free (which we didn’t end up eating).  Instead, we swung by the hospital afterwards to see Adarsh and deliver some delicious pizza.  It all worked out!

My sister and I watched the latest episode of The Mindy Project before bed and called it a night.  I was overcome with exhaustion! 

And now I’m home and ready for the weekend (and to see my hubby)!  Our friends Jenny and Jimi will be here tonight, and we can’t wait to spend time with them!

Chicago, you were great (as always)!  I can’t wait to see you again in a few weeks!  Try not to get all cold on me please!

Have a great weekend!