Comfort & Joy

Merry Christmas! I can't believe how time flies. It's been three weeks since my last post!

I'm just getting over a nasty cold/sinus infection that's kept me down for the count for several weeks. 'Tis the season to get sick!

I finally sat down last weekend and wrote out my Christmas cards.

I put on some Christmas music, and fixed a delicious mug of cappuccino and some chocolate almond biscotti to get myself in the Christmas spirit.

Terry bought me this Old Country Roses mug years ago for Christmas. He didn't know it was one of my favorite patterns, but he instinctively knew it would make me happy.

My taste buds had started to come back! Yay!

I usually set up the Christmas tree and decorate it, but this year, Terry did it for me! He did a wonderful job. It looks beautiful!

Ordering gifts online is a joy, especially when you're too sick to go to the mall.

2011 was not a good year for us. This past June, our sweet little cat Penny died suddenly. It was a shock, and saddened us for many months. So many of my blogging friends also were writing about losing pets, and I stayed away from blogging so as not to read about any more sadness.

But time does heal, and life goes on.

I wish you all a beautiful holiday season.

Cherish your loved ones. Celebrate life and make merry!

And, in my next post, I'll tell a much happier tale!

An Early Birthday Present

This weekend, my sweet husband Terry took me out for an early

birthday present! We hopped on a train to downtown Chicago...

We passed through the Christkindlmarket for a quick

glance at all the pretty things for sale...

The food smelled SO GOOD!

But there was no time to eat anything today...

We had a little time to kill,

so we walked around the mall awhile...

Oh, the Apple Store! But no, that wasn't in today's plan...

The Allsaints Store! Oh, I just HAD to stop and gaze at

the wall of antique sewing machines!

I mean WALLS of sewing machines!

Steampunkers would absolutely love this store! Pricey, but fun!

I had to make a stop to visit with my pals, the carriage horses!

And gaze upon the famous Chicago Water Tower...

Finally! We're here!

The Peninsula Hotel!

I paused to pose by the piano...

Then climbed the grand staircase to...

Afternoon Tea in the lobby!

Doesn't Terry look dapper?

We love that the Peninsula serves a vegetarian tea on request.

We both ordered a pot of Earl Grey decaffeinated.

Then our 3-tiered server was placed on the table,

along with a basket of scones and the jam,

lemon curd and Devonshire cream!

We enjoyed our finger sandwiches first...

Followed by these scrumptious three cheese and leek quiches...

And finally the scones and the sweets!

A warm chocolate chai moelleux was a delicious bonus!

We sipped, and ate, and sipped some more...

Until everything was gone.

The darkness fell over our view from the window.

We took one last look at the tree, and were on our way back home.

Thank you, Terry, for the elegant and delicious birthday present!

______________________

If you've never walked down the streets of Chicago at night,

come along with us as we leave the Peninsula and

walk back to our train. We cross the Chicago River in two

spots, pass the Christkindl Market at Daley Plaza, and

happened upon PuppetBike.com... and I gave the puppets

a dollar bill!