Halloween Party

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love having parties, especially for Halloween. This year I was excited to break in our new condo with a full spread of Halloween decorations, candy, and treats. My friends from work, Jenna and Sarah, came as Ann and Leslie from the T.V. show Parks and Recreation, whose characters at one time dressed up as Rosie the Riveter and Gabby Douglas. I was Paul Bunyan and John was a scary teddy bear. Neighbors Deon and Paul joined us later, as well as my good friend Anna, who came in from New York. We had lots of champagne, cake, and good conversation. I love this time of year, especially since it's nice to spend time getting to know new and old friends.

Open House Chicago

In October, John and I were able to check out the Open House Chicago, which is a program that opens many historic and important architectural sites locations around the city. It's free and it allows people to access spaces usually closed off to the public. Buildings can range from historic theaters, skyscrapers, and even train stations. We decided to check out the Aon Center, which luckily didn't have a line to get in, but it did have remarkable views of the city. The Aon Center was originally coated in pink marble, but because of the harsh winter weather and cold temperatures here in Chicago, chunks of the stone were known to have fallen off the side. To my knowledge, no one was injured from the falling stone. The building was resurfaced, the pink marble was re-purposed, and today it is still on the tallest buildings in the city.