A Staycation in Chicagoland

The Little Cuter and SIR spent the long weekend on a Chicago stay-cation. SIR planned the whole thing; all she had to do was pack. Here's her review of the experience --- my guest post for Friday:

Wednesday & Thursday- Harrah’s

HILARIOUS and good times at the casino… except it ate all my money…. Damn slot machines! I gave up on the slots after I lost $40 and then gained 10 back playing roulette. I’ve decided I’m no longer intimidated by the tables.... We stuck out like sore thumbs being the only under 60 year olds in the place, but we had a great time nonetheless. I also learned that winning a free dinner buffet might sound like a huge score, but using the coupon after having a few rounds of beers will leave one so uncomfortably bloated that one must retire to the room for an hour and unbutton one’s pants whilst groaning. Hint: never eat pizza AND mashed potatoes from one plate.

Friday—Bulls Game

The NBA is difficult to watch nowadays. The first half is a giant throwaway and feels like you’re sitting in a live commercial break. When the game finally ticks down to the final minutes you can see actual talent on the court and things get interesting. This is why it is important to bring a (hidden from the security guards) flask of whiskey to the game— it numbs the feeling that you’re being ripped off. However, we did end up getting our money’s worth as the game went in to DOUBLE OT!!!! And we got to witness Derrick Rose’s highest scoring NBA game yet. I kept asking SIR if he thought Rose would score more points this year than his faked score on the SATs. My humor was not appreciated…

Saturday—Free night at the Wyndham

Nothing quite compares to having a boy in your life who people throw freebies at … it is delightful. I kept telling SIR that I LOVED being the beneficiary of his charms. We got a corner suite at the Wyndham, and a free bottle of champagne and a cheese plate that we ate in pj’s on the GIANT fluffy bed while we watched the Saints game. I was basically in heaven.

Then we went to the Signature Room where we had two very overpriced Long Island Iced Teas and cursed our luck at going up there on the ONE foggy night of the year. Couldn’t see squat. I took some ironic “view pictures” though.

We woke up in the morning to our check-out sheet slipped under the door and attached? Two free breakfast buffet tickets!! TWO FREE BUFFETS in one week!

Sunday- Blue Man Group

YOU MUST SEE THIS SHOW. It knocked my socks off. We are totally going next time you are in the city.

Monday- Chinatown (my idea!)

I’d never been to Chinatown here in the Chi as I’ve heard it was superdupercalifragilistiexpial-idociously lame, but the whole point of the stay-cay was to do things in the city that we’d never otherwise make time for. So we went. Took the train and it dropped us off RIGHT there (gotta love the city!) and it’s true, the town itself is a little sad—only one street.

But it was perfect because SIR is nothing if not a VERY THOROUGH TOURIST. We walked in and out of every shop on the street and bought silly trinkets for a dollar and a Sake set and saw the world’s fanciest Menorah shop (what is a Judaica shop doing in Chinatown? I’m not sure…. But they felt they had the right to charge $500 for a menorah, so poo on me!).

Then we ate dim sum and split the world’s most delicious Mongolian Beef. We decided that we would declare the day “ASIA DAY!” and on the way home stopped and bought some sake at Jewel (only in Chicago do they have sake in the grocery store). Then we went home and giggled while we unpacked our goodies and SIR planted the three bamboo stalks he bought and turned our apartment into Asia for the night. We googled “how to drink sake” and followed all of the traditional heating and pouring techniques until the liquor got the better of us and we gave up.

Seriously, a blast was had by all. I felt like I was off work for a MONTH and was actually looking forward to coming back and getting back in to my routine. The gluttony was a bit out of control with 2 (TWO!!) buffets in one week, so I decided to double the workouts this week and I woke up this morning and drank a cup of DETOXIFICATION tea (thank you, Chinatown!).

(And thank you Little Cuter for this post!)