Relaxation Extraordinare

Now, for more on this... 

I took a day off on Monday to spend with my cousin Jenna before she went back to college on Tuesday. I miss her already; she's all the way in California! Sadness. {Ironically the only other time that I saw her was when we were back in our hometown; so not even in Chicago! But still, miss knowing I can go see her whenever I want to!}

I'm so glad I got to spend the day with her... it was amazing, refreshing, and a ton of fun!

I experienced my first ever drive into Chicago by myself. Huge feat, and while a bit nervous I was also finally ready to do it! And then once I drove in, I didn't want it to stop... so since Jenna knows her way around the city, we drove on Lake Shore Dr, Michigan Ave, part of Wacker Dr, through part of downtown, and literally all over the place for about an hour! It was fabulous! I realized as I was driving that I knew more than I even realized, and felt surprisingly comfortable.

I did have one moment of "Yikes, what is this country girl doing?"

That's when you realize... you're not a country girl anymore. You're a city girl. For real.

I still absolutely love visiting my hometown and the area I grew up in, but this is my home now and I love it.

I love you Chicago!!!

The drive in / love that skyline! {Look closely, I didn't want to do it too close to the city as traffic picks up.}

Their beautiful house where I also have a ton of memories! They've lived in this house for about as long as I can remember. I remember visiting them growing up several times....{and never in a million years thinking I'd join them here!} One of our favorite memories is when a bunch of us cousins were alone in the house on the main floor and my brother was telling one of his ghost stories that he did incredibly well, and he got us all really freaked out. We kept hearing noises upstairs... oh man I still get goosebumps!

Jen enjoying her pedicure

Me loving mine

My pretty new toes. Now my sister-in-law Becca can leave me alone about how badly I needed a new pedicure or needed to remove the polish from my old one two months ago. ;) And aren't the flowers just perfect?! This is the first year I've really gotten into pedicures for the summer. Just two, but they were glorious.

She was loving it but freezing!... {This place was across from her church and every Monday they have a mani/pedi combo for $30!!! Unbelievable. Too good to pass up!}

This was taken at least a half hour after we were done. We sat under the heat to dry your nails for about a half hour because Jenna was so cold, she'd put her elbow under there and anything else she could manage. And we had some really great conversation. I love this girl!

Beauuuutiful Lake Shore Dr, yeah baby!

Passing by Navy Pier because Jen was too busy picture-taking to notice she needed to tell me to turn left here. Doh! Oh well, we weren't sure we wanted to pay to park anywhere anyway so we kept on driving! And, um, turning around a couple times because she'd tell me to turn AS we were driving through the intersection. We had some great laughs as a result!

So glad she loves taking pictures because I sure couldn't multi-task!

She had me laughing so hard I was crying. And of course, she took a picture of it. I love that about her. I look like a dork, but I'm thrilled she was snapping pics left and right of all the fun. It went by in a blur so it's good to have so many pics {like tons!}.

Had to quickly capture her taking pics :)... don't worry, we were stopped at a light!

Absolutely. love. Buckingham. Fountain. Ahhh.

Looking at the pics I think "wow, I drove through this, I cannot believe it!"... And trust me, neither can my parents or brother!! And my brother definitely can't understand why on earth I enjoyed it.

Funny face picture time. Why for me that always means sticking my tongue out, I don't know. It's all I can come up with.

I heart Lake Michigan.

Excellent food I begged for. And I got. Yummmm.

Jenna, Aunt Bev {one of mom's 3 sisters}, and me

3 suitcases going on a plane. Jenna asking for help from her crazy-love-to-pack cousin. Tons of stuff. Suitcases bursting. And she holds out these purses and says "oh, we have to fit all these too." I. about. died. laughing..... And she got everything to fit except 2 purses I made her admit she didn't have to have. Way to go Jen!

Seriously, such a great refreshing day! Thank you Jenna sooo much for such a great day!! I love you so much cous, and I look forward to our next adventure hopefully over Christmas, yay! Be safe and enjoy your senior year of college. You are going to be an awesome teacher when you're done!

~~~

What have you done lately to relax and refresh yourself?