101 in 1001: #47 Take a Weekend Trip to Chicago.

If I had to pick one major city to spend the rest of my days, it would be Chicago. I love it. All that Midwestern friendliness mixed with skyscrapers and hustle and bustle. I never thought of myself as a city person until I moved to Cincinnati, and ever since then I've just loved all the goings-on of a city. I'm not sure I'd ever want to live in the middle of a concrete jungle, but I like living nearby. Does that still count as being a city person?

Last weekend, my family and I headed to the Windy City to show Paul, my German exchange-student brother a major U.S. city ... other than North Canton, Ohio, of course. Ha! We did the touristy things (walk Michigan Ave., explore Navy Pier, eat deep-dish pizza) and the not-as-touristy things (eat the best breakfast(s) ever at Wildberry Cafe [oh wait, maybe that's still touristy :)], go to a show at Tommy Gun's Garage, attend church at Trinity UCC). It was a good time all around ... especially when Paul got called up on stage at the dinner theater. :D I haven't laughed that hard in a loooong time. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that (we were strictly forbidden to take photos!), but look at the photos I DO have!

It looks like we're bundled up but it was really 60 degrees. In Chicago. In December. Ridiculous!

I think I've eaten at Gino's every, single time I've been to Chicago. So delicious!

101 in 1001: #25 See Niagara Falls and #67 Visit Canada

Two 101 things in one post! Whoo! Nathan and I headed up north for an early anniversary celebration since neither of us had seen Niagara Falls. I had never even been to Canada, and now that we live in Cleveland it's all so close. We stayed at a quaint b&b, took in the falls, did some wine tasting, and enjoyed perfect weather. Some things I learned on this trip:

• Even though Mapquest says it will only take you 3.5 hours to get to St. Catharine's, allow lots (and lots and lots) of extra time for traffic jams and long waits at the border.
• If you think you packed your brush, check five more times. It doesn't always make it into your bag. If my hair looks like a rat's nest in any of these photos, it's because I didn't brush it the whole weekend. Haha! No joke.
• Plan ahead when going to Niagara Falls! Nathan and I just kinda winged it and wished we would have taken into account that it was a Saturday in August when we were visiting one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country (world!). We forewent the Maid of the Mist and walk near the falls because of crazy waiting times.
• Just because the bigger ice cream cone looks amazing when you're standing in line doesn't mean that it's a good idea.
• Getting a picture of a Canadian flag isn't as easy as it seems. That picture up there was taken riiiight before we crossed the border back to the United States. None of the other flags we saw throughout the weekend were blowing quite right!

We stayed at the Springbank House in St. Catharine's and loved it! The owners are so friendly and the house is so cool! Plus, it was away from all the touristy Niagara Falls stuff.

Delicious breakfasts!

Niagara-on-the-Lake is so cute and quaint! Definitely check it out if you're headed that way!

 The end! :)

101 in 1001: #40 Attend a national gymnastics event.

I walked into the arena and memories rushed back. The feel of grips against my calloused hands, the sound of the beam squeaking as I jumped and landed, the smell of chalk as I prepared the bars just the way I like them. It was all there in that place, and I felt like a 14-year-old girl again. I absolutely adore gymnastics. There's something so addicting about the sport that just never leaves you. For me it's the combination of power, grace, focus, and complete and utter strength. Ah! Gives me chills.

Since I've taken a hiatus from coaching for the last year, I've been craving gymnastics. And since the Olympics are coming SO soon, I knew this was the perfect year to try and attend a national, elite-level gymnastics meet (on my 101 list!). Enter Visa National Championships, the precursor to the Olympic Trials.

Anna, one of my coaching friends, and I traveled to St. Louis this past weekend, which was like a mini vacay in and of itself. We got to tour the arch, attend a baseball game, check out an awesome breakfast spot and, duh, spend an entire day watching gymnastics. That's perfection right there.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that you couldn't take a DSLR camera into the meets, so my little iPhone camera had to do the trick for the day. Sad.

Oh you guys. If you're a gymnastics junkie right about the time the Olympics roll around, you're going to have a good time watching these athletes ... both women and men. And don't forget to catch the Olympic Trials in a couple weeks! Should be exciting.

Here's a little of our time in STL.

We were so excited about gymnastics that we did some gymnastics in front of the arch. Slightly dorky, yes, but that's how I roll.

The view from the teeeeeeny, tiny windows in the top of the arch (top) and the view from the stadium. St. Louis is a cool city!

Then we went to this Portland-esque restaurant for breakfast. Check out Plush if you're ever in STL. Right near Saint Louis University. I had buckwheat pancakes with blue cornmeal, granola and cranberries, and Anna had porridge with custard and berries. YUM.

R&R

Nathan and I got some much needed rest and relaxation a couple weekends ago at his family's lake house. We spent time with his family, ate good food and played in the sun. Here's a glimpse into our time at Norris Lake.