Chicago Cultural Center

So… I hate bucket lists. I do. I see them on Pinterest and facebook and blogs and I roll my eyes so hard that it hurts.

But, I do have my own little Chicago “bucket list.” Things to do before a move that feels inevitable. On the list? Chicago Cultural Center. I have heard so many wonderful things about it. And shortly after I had made up my mind to see it in the next couple of years, I was invited to a free movie screening there. Fortuitous!

And wow… it really is a work of art. These photos do not do it justice. But if you come to Chicago and happen to be in the Millenium Park area (and who isn’t, when they visit???), take 20 minutes to walk through and ogle this gem.

Urban wanderings.

I love wandering around Chicago. I see quite a few neighborhoods because my clients are all over the place. I was pretty excited to come across a legal wall in an alleyway. One of the artists was walking by and stopped to talk to me about it. Neat!

And this wooden sculpture thing was on the side of someone’s house, just around the corner from the alley. Not sure what it is, but I like it!

 

Urban sanctuary.

For a tropical experience that doesn’t cost a dime, we head to the Garfield Park Conservatory. It’s by far one of my favorite urban havens. We go on weekdays when it’s generally uncrowded (often, we have the whole place to ourselves) and in the winter time especially, it’s a welcome breath of humidity and heat.

Sadly, the showhouse is still not in display after the hailstorm from a couple of years ago. I love the poinsettias in winter, the spring bulbs and showy azaleas in the spring, and the bushy fall chrysanthemums. Maybe next year!

We were pleasantly surprised by the art installation currently in place. Everything is subtle and blended into the greenery and made for a lovely addition to our usual scavenger hunting.

This beautiful earth goddess sculpture greeted us when we entered the palm room.

Nature’s own art.

Field Museum Outting

It’s really a shame that I don’t get the girls to the Chicago museums more often. We used to go more, but now that they are all a bit older and taking more structured activities offered by our homeschool community, it’s hard. I have deliberately protected a couple of days in the week so that we can do other things… and guess what? On those days, we usually want to stay in our pjs and go nowhere.

But! Sometimes we leave the house! And sometimes we go to the Field Museum! My favorite!

If you ever come to Chicago and want to visit this amazing place, we recommend the following exhibits in this order: Ancient Egpyt (we always go here first because it’s by the back door where we come in), Su the dinosaur (try to go when a docent is giving thier spiel), the Ancient Americas, and the dinosaur exhibit upstairs (Evolving Planet). This rotation takes us 3-4 hours. Sometimes we also squeeze in a trip to the family lab, which is great for younger kids and their frazzled parents. The other exhibits we visit if there is more time, but 4 hours tends to be my personal max. After that I really need to dope myself up on Rescue Remedy if I want to survive. Also, we tend to visit in the afternoons to avoid the school field trips, which limits our time.

Be sure to check out the entomology display if you are on the lower floor. It’s on your way to the bathroom!

What kind of doula/ midwife wouldn’t pick this petite statue out the crowd?

Or this one…

Replica of the Mayan calendar. Let’s hope they were wrong and you’re reading this post after the New Year!

Fall(ish)

Ohhh boy! It’s been a while, huh? I am hoping to get a bunch of posts scheduled to catch up the (maybe) two people who read my blog. In the meantime, a picture says a thousand words. So here are a few thousand words about things that have happened since last I wrote.

We did some yoga pretzels.

The Lego catalog arrived.

Unexpected haircuts were attempted.

Rare naps were taken.

There were random living room performances with mixed-seasonal costumes.

Kitty likes to snuggle with yarn.

And with kitty number 2.

There was a run (or ten) along the lakefront.

Stuff got canned.

Helena brought me random gifts.

Eleanor lost her first tooth. And her second. And her third.

I had good luck at the thrift store and my kitchen has seriously benefited.

I had a coffee date… alone.

Emma enjoyed her drawing and painting class and is looking forward to the next session.

Sometimes I enjoy afternoon snacks by the jarful.

Helena decided that my nightstand was the perfect sharpie canvas. #shitmykidsruin