A Taste of Chicago...in more ways than one!

So Chicago. This place is actually really nice! I'm not really sure why...but I had always pictured this place to be dirty and grungy. It's not! It's absolutely beautiful (at least the parts that I've seen)

We were walking in this place called Nay pier the other day, and we decided to do something spontaneous. We took this little boat ride on the Tall Ship Windy. See there was this super-dooper fast boat right next to it. It was like a thrill ride for 30 minutes. I really liked the idea until I thought of the aftermath of that decision. Vomit Train. Yeah, so we went the sissy route. But, it was absolutely beautiful and a great way to start the afternoon off. There we are up there on the little boat. It was precious.

Now, I know I'm swirving from my theme of Miss Cupcake a little...but hold on..I'll get back to food in approximately 1.23 seconds. But, just look at this lighthouse. It's beautiful. It's one of those pictures that you just snap and fall absolutely in love with. Ok, now back to the important stuff.

Now, if you know me...then you know that I'm indecisive. Escpecially when it comes to restaurants. THis is due to the fact that I want to ensure the most pleasurable dining experiene possible...and there are so many options. But, my dad told me about this amazing Italian place that served ridiculously big portions. Now I'm not going to lie and say that I'm a big eater. But, I'm what they call a "food pusher." Basically I eat bicariously through other people. It's terrible, I know...but I find a wonderful sense of pleasure in seeing people stuff there face....even better if it's my cooking....this is why Jared is so good for me ;) (because he loves my food)

So the moral of that sweet little story is...I was excited. Lots of Italian food everywhere sounded like a great plan to be. So Maggiano's it was! Let me just say.....................I can't even use words to describe my wonderful feelings of deliciousness radiating from this restaurant. It's a life changer.

This is what my mom got to eat. I kind of pressured her into it beause I wanted a bite (a really big bite) I'm not sure if that was the correct spelling...but close enough. Basically the name of it should have been Chicken from God. Because, it was perfect. I would kill a chicken by hand if I knew how to prepare that chicken dish. It was crusted with parmesan and sitting in a light white wine sauce with arugula and crispy sauteed potatos. Ridiculous. Thats what it was.

And then, there where these. Crispy herbed onion straws. About 6x the normal serving size. Yeah, those were mine..and I wasn't about to share. They were for my salad...because I decided that would be good. My salad had arugula, chicken, apples, grapes, candied walnuts, and blue cheese vingarette. Amazing...fantastic.

So, "May the straws be with you." Go to Chicago. Eat these, and enjoy the bliss that will follow.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you about dessert....I guess you can guess what I had....hehe. I had about 40 pounds to choose from...and I'm not even exaggerating.

Then, we came back to the hotel last night, and looked out our window to see this. Absolutely beautiful. It was warm, lovely, and I was ready for yet another fun-filled day.

Oh and PS, I slept in the bathroom the past two nights. Why you may ask? Well, not because I like close access to the toliet or the shower or toothpaste....but because of this persistent noise that was not covered by music, hot pink earplugs (although they were mighty fashionable), or the fan turned on high. Take a gander at what that might be.