Anniversary Trip to Chicago!

We went to Chicago for the weekend of our 5th anniversary. We found dirt cheap flights through Frontier Airlines! Friday night we got in and headed to my friend Savannah's apartment in Old Town. She has an awesome studio apartment on the 30th floor, this is the view at night:

Her view during the day:

We stayed with her Friday night and got a hotel along the "Magnificent Mile" Saturday. 

Brunch at Hash House a Go Go on Saturday before heading to the Cubs Game

Wrigley Field!

After the game we went out to a few bars in Wrigleyville. It was the first really nice day out in April, an afternoon game and they won... needless to say it was a madhouse! Chicago is a very young, party type crowd. 

Saturday night we took an architecture boat tour that went along the river and then out via the lock system and on to Lake Michigan. It was a little chilly but was a really cool tour. I would definitely recommend it. We got to see the buildings when it was still light out, then dusk and then with the lights on at night. And learned about the history and architecture too!

Buildings along the river

Waiting on the locks to open

On Lake Michigan!

We had breakfast in the hotel Sunday morning then headed out to do some shopping along the Magnificent Mile

We had to try real Chicago deep dish pizza and we heard that Lou Malnati's was the place to go. It was good, but I'm really more of a NY style pizza fan. 

We met Savannah and her friends at the Happy Camper bar to watch the Black Hawks in the playoffs and enjoy the awesome weather.

We went up for the view of the Willis Tower. We checked out the view but headed back down to find a more reasonably priced dinner before heading for the airport.

It's such a pretty view walking along the river as we headed towards the train for the airport. 

Sweet Potato Casserole in the Crock Pot

My coworker found this recipe. It is delicious and easy to just throw in the crockpot and not worry about it! It called for pecans, but I didn't use them. Also my topping was pretty thick and didn't spread as nicely as the pictures on the original recipe, but it still tasted good!

What You Need:
2 29 oz cans of sweet potatoes, drained
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp white sugar
pinch of salt
2.5 tbsp brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

topping:
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter melted

What You Do:
Spray the crock pot with non-stick spray
Put the sweet potatoes, butter, sugar and salt in the crock pot. 
Pour in the eggs, milk and vanilla. 
Beat until smooth. 
Smooth the mixture with a spatula
In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. 
Spread the topping evenly over the sweet potatoes. 
Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 2.5 - 4 hours. 

Cruise Day 6 & 7 - Cozumel, Mexico + cruising home

Our last stop was in Cozumel, Mexico. We got off the ship at the port without any real plan. We got a pamphlet that had a coupon it in for a day at an All-Inclusive Resort. It was all you can eat and drink on a beach (there was a pool too) and you could go kayaking or snorkeling (although we were lazy and did neither, but it was a pretty windy day for that). The resort was gorgeous and our waiter kept bringing us drink after drink. 

We spent most of our day on this bed thing over the water. 

In between each group of beds there were steps down into the water. 

It was a gorgeous day, a little windy though. It was so nice to just lounge around. This was such a relaxing trip. I finished my book while we laid around on Friday. 

We had lunch at the seafood shack on the beach. 

Saturday was at sea as we cruised back to Florida. We lounged by the pool and went to see the show that night which was a musical compilation of a lot of fairy tales. 

We finished off the week with tons of desserts!

Sunday :( Time to get off the  boat and head home. They changed the day of the week in the elevators each day, just in case you lose track of what day it is