Whit's New Place in the Windy City

I am in shock that it is almost September. Shocked! Where did the rest of summer go? While I am excited for the fall football season, I feel I need more summertime. I've still got to catch you up on my entire summer since our anniversary. In late June, Mom and I made a quick trip to Chicago to visit Whitney's new home in downtown Chicago! She moved into her new apartment the same weekend we moved to Columbia. We thought we'd be spending most of the trip by helping her decorate and organize her new place, but she was so excited about our arrival and hanging out with us that she already had everything mostly complete and put away. This left time to explore the city and have some much needed girl time.

Whitney lives a few blocks from this place, The Chicago Theatre. She lives right in the hustle and bustle of it all. (The sound of the L train is right outside her window to prove it. Whitney finds it soothing. I find it LOUD!)



Her apartment building is the Randolph Tower City Apartments and this is the adorable lobby! It is still in the renovation phases and the building has so much charm!



If the Perry girls are going to get together for a trip, you know we are going to find some delicious places to eat and drink! Mom had been scoping out this deep dish chocolate chip cookie sundae from Pizano's Pizza. It is baked for 10 minutes in a traditional Chicago deep dish pizza pan. Needless to say we all split this one and still couldn't put much of a dent in this delicious monster. The warm cookie crust was outstanding!



Whitney also took us to Orange for brunch on Saturday where we were able to sample "frushi". Don't be fooled, that is all sliced fruit and fruit flavored rice. No seafood involved. Pretty creative, huh? Definitely a fun experience and like nothing I have ever seen or tried before!



Orange also serves a pancake flight for brunch. We had a perfectly sized sampling of their silver dollar pancakes for the three of us to share.
Clockwise from top left:
1) Pancakes topped with blueberry sauce, diced mango, yogurt, and chopped pecans.
2) Strawberry cakes rolled and stuffed with homemade vanilla frosting, topped with sprinkles.
3) Chocolate cakes with strawberry sauce, whipped cream, toasted almonds, and pink sugar.
4) Pancakes with vanilla anglaise topped with whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce.
Which one looks to be your favorite?



We felt the need to walk off brunch, so we spent the afternoon exploring the Lincoln Park Zoo. It has to be one of the best zoos because it is free and open every day of the year. Can you imagine taking an afternoon run through the zoo everyday? Awesome! And clearly there is not a bad view of the Chicago skyline from the zoo! We got there a little late and several animal exhibits were already closed, but we had a beautiful sunset to enjoy over the city.



This lioness was still out to play and perched above this huge rock. She was clearly very close to the public which made me a little nervous! We even got to her her roar.



Thanks, Whitney, for another fabulous trip to Chicago. I can't wait to come back and visit soon!