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!

Birthday Celebrations

Amidst the Christmas season rush, Terry and I took the time to celebrate my birthday, which was on December 21st.

The Sunday before, we went to north Michigan Avenue in Chicago for 5:30 tea at the Peninsula Hotel, our favorite posh place to celebrate! It was a very cold day as we walked the 2 miles from the train station to the hotel.

Tea is held in the Lobby, which was all decked out in its Christmas finery.

The decor is very grand and the atmosphere is formal, but welcoming.

Chamber musicians played softly in the balcony while we sipped our organic Earl Grey.

A 3-tiered serving stand held wonderful gourmet sweets and savories. It's always a surprise to see what the chefs will make for us!

The finger sandwiches were the traditional cucumber and cream cheese, a marinated portobello sandwich, and a marbled rye wrapped around tomato and fresh basil.

Next were ramekins of gourmet pot pies topped with puff pastry.

A basket held both berry and maple scones, served with jam, clotted cream and lemon curd. Finally, a plate full of cookies, cakes, sweet breads, brownie-like cups of chocolate and meringues! And a macaroon, fresh from the oven, was an added bonus!

Everything was scrumptious!

What an elegant and memorable birthday present from my dear husband, Terry!

After tea, we took a brief walk up Michigan Avenue to take in the sights and sounds of the season.

I always say hello to the carriage horses!

___________________________________________

On Tuesday, my actual birthday, Terry took me out for dinner at my favorite nearby restaurant, Olive Garden!

My parents joined us there. It was so nice celebrating with everyone.

Thank you, Terry, for always making my birthday very special.

And thank you, Ma & Pa, for giving me a birthday

and helping us celebrate!