I was able to spend this past week in Detroit for Christmas. It was great to relax and not worry about anything. Typically when I go back home, I have to hit all my favorite restaurants. This time wasn’t any different. I flew into to Detroit on Saturday morning and went to breakfast at my favorite greasy spoon, Ram’s Horn, with my cousins Michelle, Brian, and Meghan. Afterward, Meghan and I went shopping for bridesmaid dresses. It is amazing how exhausting it can be to shop. Saturday evening, I went to Rodel and Meghan's house and we ordered Chinese take-out from my favorite restaurant, Canton Express. It isn’t gourmet Chinese food, but they have the best egg rolls and Almond Boneless Chicken. (My mouth is salivating just typing about it!!!) For those of you who don't know, Rodel is my cousin who married my best friend from high school. So eating Canton Express with them is like traveling back to 1998! After stuffing our faces, we drove out to the ritzy part of town to look at Christmas lights. This picture does not do justice to the obnoxious house that we saw. Every year this home puts Clark Griswold to shame. The people had to use two generators to keep all the lights lit. It was ridiculous. I wish I could express to you all the sheer ludicrousness of this home.On Sunday (Christmas Eve) I had to run to the mall to pick up my gift for my parents. Since the only vehicle that I had access to us a small Chevy Prism and a Kenmore Stainless Steel Grill wouldn't fit in it, I called Rodel to the rescue. He and I braved what we thought would be a crazy mall. It actually wasn't too bad. We quickly browsed around the mall for 30 minutes and went on a wild goose chase for some Bowmore Scotch as a gift for my dad from my brother. For lunch, we stopped at National Coney Island which is a diner that I would frequent in high school after dances and football games. It is a place that brings back nostalgic memories, but also has the best Hani Deluxe. Mmmmmm… On 
Sunday night, my mom, dad, brother, and I all went over to my aunt’s house for our Christmas tradition. As a kid, all my aunts, uncles, and cousins would get together for Christmas Eve dinner. It was excruciating to eat dinner and then look at all the gifts, but we were forced to wait until after we all came home from Midnight Mass to open the pretty packages. Now that we are all older, we still continue the tradition. Here is my dad giving my little cousins his Christmas presents to them, CASH. But once the adults figured out what was going on, they lined up behind the kids to see if Dad would notice. We visited with the extended family for a few hours and heading home (@ 3AM!!)
On Christmas morning, I cooked some yummy biscuits and gravy and exchanged presents with my immediate family. I got an awesome Louis Vutton purse from my mom and a Cuisinart coffee grinder/brewer from my brother. The rest of the day was spent watching TV on the couch.
The rest of the week was spent with friend and family. Scott drove in for Dubuque to spend time
with my family. He helped my dad paint my parents’ kitchen. The color is a really deep maroon/brown; completely different from the stark white walls that I grew up with.
On Saturday, Dec 30th, Scott and I started our drive back to St. Louis (or so I thought). He said that we had to drive through Chicago and stop at his sister, Amy’s house. Little did I know, at the time, that we were stopping there to drop of our dog, Bomber, for the weekend. Scott had a New Year’s Eve weekend planned in Chicago. We spent Saturday afternoon shopping on Michigan Ave. We went to Navy Pier for dinner where we ran into my cousins, Michelle and Marcy. (Michelle was visiting Marcy from Detroit for the weekend. How random!!) On Sunday, we headed back out to stores and did A LOT of walking. We went into Crate & Barrel and started to get excited about registering for our wedding gifts. In keeping with the excitement, we went to Macy’s to find our china. We decided on our china pattern and crystal stemware. I’m excited!!
On New Year’s Eve, Scott had dinner reservations for the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building. The view was spectacular and the food was delicious. During dinner, the guy behind me proposed to his girlfriend… I love witnessing magically moments. (I know, I am a dork!) After dinner, Scott and I went the Redhead Piano Bar. The place was packed so we couldn’t find a seat. We spent the next 3 hours waiting to get some stools at the bar. My feet were KILLING me. Just before the countdown began, a couple got up to leave and we scored their seats. I was elated that I could spend the countdown on my butt.
It was a great week and I have struggled to get this posted all week long. Scott and I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2007!
Sunday night, my mom, dad, brother, and I all went over to my aunt’s house for our Christmas tradition. As a kid, all my aunts, uncles, and cousins would get together for Christmas Eve dinner. It was excruciating to eat dinner and then look at all the gifts, but we were forced to wait until after we all came home from Midnight Mass to open the pretty packages. Now that we are all older, we still continue the tradition. Here is my dad giving my little cousins his Christmas presents to them, CASH. But once the adults figured out what was going on, they lined up behind the kids to see if Dad would notice. We visited with the extended family for a few hours and heading home (@ 3AM!!)On Christmas morning, I cooked some yummy biscuits and gravy and exchanged presents with my immediate family. I got an awesome Louis Vutton purse from my mom and a Cuisinart coffee grinder/brewer from my brother. The rest of the day was spent watching TV on the couch.
The rest of the week was spent with friend and family. Scott drove in for Dubuque to spend time
with my family. He helped my dad paint my parents’ kitchen. The color is a really deep maroon/brown; completely different from the stark white walls that I grew up with.On Saturday, Dec 30th, Scott and I started our drive back to St. Louis (or so I thought). He said that we had to drive through Chicago and stop at his sister, Amy’s house. Little did I know, at the time, that we were stopping there to drop of our dog, Bomber, for the weekend. Scott had a New Year’s Eve weekend planned in Chicago. We spent Saturday afternoon shopping on Michigan Ave. We went to Navy Pier for dinner where we ran into my cousins, Michelle and Marcy. (Michelle was visiting Marcy from Detroit for the weekend. How random!!) On Sunday, we headed back out to stores and did A LOT of walking. We went into Crate & Barrel and started to get excited about registering for our wedding gifts. In keeping with the excitement, we went to Macy’s to find our china. We decided on our china pattern and crystal stemware. I’m excited!!
On New Year’s Eve, Scott had dinner reservations for the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building. The view was spectacular and the food was delicious. During dinner, the guy behind me proposed to his girlfriend… I love witnessing magically moments. (I know, I am a dork!) After dinner, Scott and I went the Redhead Piano Bar. The place was packed so we couldn’t find a seat. We spent the next 3 hours waiting to get some stools at the bar. My feet were KILLING me. Just before the countdown began, a couple got up to leave and we scored their seats. I was elated that I could spend the countdown on my butt.
It was a great week and I have struggled to get this posted all week long. Scott and I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2007!
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