Lunch and lights in the City

So today I got to meet a dear friend for lunch in the city. He let me pick anywhere I wanted, so of course I picked the Grand Lux Cafe. They're owned by the Cheesecake Factory and pretty touristy, yes, I know. But I can't help it - it's one of my favorite places. There's attention to detail everywhere, the service is fabulous and the menu is huge - you could pick something different every day for a month. We even got to sit in the rotunda, which is right on the corner of Michigan and Ontario, and look down at the crush of shoppers running back and forth every time the light changed. Phil noticed me looking at the women with the American Girl bags and asked if the girls were old enough for one. I said maybe, I wasn't sure yet. I don't want to get either of them a $100 doll if they won't take care of it. But even though I know American Girl Place is basically a temple to parental excess and indulgent children, I can't help but love the whole concept. Historical dolls with tons of dress-up accessories... what's not to love? Oh how I would have wanted one when I was little! Yes, I know the AG people (Mattel now, I think) are fully aware of how people like me think and totally pander to our sense of "I'd have loved that when I was a girl..." Still, whatever works.

So we ate at one of my favorite places, then walked up the street to AG -- he indulged me while I walked through both the bottom and the top floors, looking at all the dolls. Though I'm partial to the historical ones, I know Shannon wants one of the customizable ones, where you can get it with eye/hair/skin color to match your child. I think the Kit doll looks just like her (and she carries an Amelia Earheart doll!!), but what do I know? So I tried to figure out which one would be most like her, talked to the sales girl, and made some mental notes for mom. She's wanted to get the girls one of those dolls ever since they were born, but I've made her hold off. Now that Shannon's going to be 7, Mom wants it for Shannon's birthday gift. *sigh* Excess? Or a nod to a grateful kid? We'll see...

Then after shopping we headed off to Lincoln Park Zoo to see the lights with the animals. It was really pretty but BLOODY FREEZING! So we ducked into the children's center and watched the river otters play for awhile before venturing out again. I adore looking at Xmas light displays - they make me feel like a little kid. And having so much done around the animal displays was really pretty. I hadn't been to the zoo at Xmas in a very long time, usually because it's TOO BLOODY COLD! Oh well, we toughed it out for a good long while before getting back in the car.

With a bit of time left, we drove around through Lincoln Park looking at homes and business that had decorated. Saw the cute window below at the National City Bank along with some fabulous homes (clearly I chose the wrong career path in life). We headed up behind the MOMA and were lucky enough to find a meter near Daley Plaza so we could go into Christmas Village for awhile (this pic with the tree). I used to work just up the street from the Plaza and this time of year a collegue and I would go there for pierogi and potato pancakes and hot cider for lunch. Mmmmmmmmmmm. I miss those days very much. It was lovely to wander through the little kiosks again and feel like for a second you were in Christmas Germany.

Clearly I need to enjoy the city more at the holidays. We had such a wonderful day out.