The Rundown v. 37

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Last month I had the most wonderful time in Tokyo, Singapore, and Indonesia. I was so busy that I didn’t write my usual monthly update, but I have written a series of travel posts instead.

My sister and I traveled from Bali to Kennebunkport so that we could celebrate Thanksgiving with our family. This involved 4 flights in the span of 32 hours and a 2-hour drive, but it was so worth it. Charles met up with us at my parent’s place, the Kilburn House, and we spent our time in Maine hitting the local watering holes and taking part in some Black Friday shopping. It’s been fun to see Charles become increasingly more enthusiastic to partake in an American holiday.

I hit the ground running and went to 5 events the week I returned to Chicago. The first event was my annual Windy City Blogger Collective holiday party, which I wrote all about here.

Two days later I hosted the most fun party with my friends Debi, Jocelyn, and Heidy at DL Loft.

We sipped on champagne cocktails, ate a delicious feast of Mediterranean food from Olive Mediterranean Grill, and indulged in lots of sweet treats.

Debi even put together a doughnut wall and a spread of desserts arranged with festive to-go bags so that guests could bring desserts home with them. (Debi thinks of everything).

My friend Whitney hosted a cookie party, and I was very proud that my cookie won the vote for fan favorite. You can get that recipe right here.

The Windy City Blogger Collective hosted a night of dinner at Max and Leo’s followed by the Holiday Lights Trolley Tour. It was so much fun! I live right by Max and Leo’s and they have really good thin crust pizza, and the lights tour took us to Christkindelmarkt and Zoo Lights – two must-see events of the Chicago holiday season.

Ashlee and I had lunch at Nomi – the restaurant on the 7th floor of the Park Hyatt. The space has a stunning view of the  Water Tower and out to Lake Michigan and the food is exceptional. I had the smoked chicken risotto with aged cheddar and lightly fried mushrooms – it was fantastic!

My friends Maris, Katie, Lauren, and I hosted a cookie decorating party to raise money for Youth Outreach Services. We decorated cookies for the YOS holiday parties, while raising money for their programs, and got to sip on some spiked hot cocoa in the process.

After being away for over three weeks, it has felt so good to get back into my routine. Even though December is so hectic, I have been making a point to go to Flywheel at least 2-3 times a week. I wrote a whole post all about my love of Flywheel and I look forward to going to Flywheel and brunch with Charles on weekends.

One of the highlights of the month was meeting Jeni Britton Bauer, the owner and ice cream genius behind Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. She was so generous with her time and met with me and Ashlee (she works for me over on the Windy City Blogger Collective side of my life) for over an hour, and she had so much entrepreneurial wisdom to share.

Charles and I spent 9 days in Maine over the Christmas holiday. We kicked around Kennebunkport for most of the time, visiting our favorite bars and restaurants including Hurricane, Bandaloop, and the Pilot House.

We also spent a night at my brother’s home in Bath, and a night in Portland. While in Portland we went on an 8 stop food and beer crawl, which I wrote about here.

Charles and I got delayed in Boston for 26 hours on our way home after Christmas, but we made the most of it by exploring the city. Somehow, even though we visit Boston often, I haven’t written much about it on this site, but you can expect a comprehensive blog post all about Boston coming soon!

That’s it! I spent 34 days in November and December traveling, and I plan to relax in January. I have no idea where 2017 will take me, but I am excited for a new year and a fresh start. Have a fun (and safe) New Year’s Eve everyone!