Park Place

It's hard to believe, but we've been in our house for a year! That's another post for another time. Like when I have more time to pull together pictures and craft a big 'ole recap post. Until then, I'd like to share with how we're coping with driving into Chicago now that we live in the 'burbs. Mainly, the cost of parking....ugh.

As expected, parking costs an arm and a leg. Yes, we take public transportation, but sometimes logistics require we drive. For instance, I drove downtown after work last week for the Chase Corporate Challenge. Traffic was lovely, as usual, but I was really dreading shelling out $20-30 to park for a few hours.

That is, until I decided to Google "Chicago parking rates" and found this awesome website: Chicago Best Parking!

It's a freakin' search engine containing all the parking lots and garages in your selected area of Chicago! For this post, I searched for parking near Millenium Park (to see the Bean, obviously). Without thinking, I would probably park in the garages beneath Millenium Park, setting me back $23 for 3 hours on a Wednesday night. But now that I can see the other parking rates, I could only pay $13 by parking in the Prudential or Aon garages.

What's even cooler is that you can click on each garage or lot and check out their hourly rates throughout the week and if there are any other specials. When I drove in for the Corporate Challenge, I found an evening special ($6!) at the Aon garage if I was in by 6pm. Plus, you can change the dates and times to give you a better estimate of your parking costs. Though only some of the garages have guaranteed rates.

Don't worry if you don't live in Chicago, the bestparking website is available for several major metropolitan areas and airports. Even Cleveland and a few cities in Canada!

How do you save a few bucks when travelling?

PS - I wasn't compensated by bestparking, I just thought this was a cool tool to share. All opinions are my own.
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One Year in Chicago

This past weekend was my one year anniversary in Chicago. As luck would have it, both weekends marked the first real snowfall of the year. Although I grew up in Cleveland with my fair share of lake effect snow, the past seven years in St. Louis were pretty mild in comparison. So I wasn't ready for the brutal wind, snow, and ice. Here's what I need to survive a Chicago winter. Also known as: "things I wish I had or knew before moving to Chicago." See also: "things you can give people for Christmas that live in the arctic tundra."

Super poof

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My first recommendation is a long, warm puffer coat. Or what I fondly refer to as my "super poof." (My puffer vest is "mini poof") When the wind is blowing, it's not about being fashionable. It's about keeping warm! And I have no shame in looking like Randy from "A Christmas Story." (Favorite Christmas movie ever! It was filmed in Cleveland) Fortunately, there are some stylish coats out there. I have last year's version of this coat from Eddie Bauer. $199, but I bought mine at their after-Christmas sale last year for less.

Hunter boots, welly socks, and Lush foot powder


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welly socks

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Since I do a fair share of walking through the snow, slush, and muck in the city, winter boots are a must. For now, I only have a pair of Hunter boots with the fleece welly sock liners. You might be thinking to yourself, "Cathy, do I really need a pair of Hunter boots? They cost twice as much as a normal pair of rain boots." And I will say, "Yes, loyal reader, Hunter boots are the best thing since sliced bread. I first had a pair of generic rain boots and the rubber split within a month. I returned them and used the credit to buy Hunter boots. Buy the quality piece and you won't have to buy another for several years." Fleece welly socks will keep you extra warm and Lush's "T for Toes" foot powder will keep your feet and boots stink- and bacteria-free. Boots $125, Socks $30, Powder $10.95

180's

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Fact: I don't enjoy blow drying and 'doing' my hair. I'd rather spend the extra time sleeping in the morning. So I generally pull it back. Blame it on the years of swim practice before school. Anyways, hats can be a little awkward and too small if my hair's pulled back. Enter, the 180's. Like earmuffs, but a little warmer, adjustable, and more secure. I lost my pair from last year, so I'm hoping Santa will bring me some new ones.

Pedway

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Did you know that Chicago has a maze of underground tunnels connecting a good portion of the Loop? I didn't before moving here. While not a big as Minneapolis/St. Paul's Skyway system, the Pedway will help you avoid some of the weather (cold, heat, rain) and pedestrian traffic.

Crack coffee

Nothing's better than a warm cup of coffee in the morning. Especially while waiting for the L. Or on the weekend. Or during brunch. Or....you get the point. I profess my love for The Coffee & Tea Exchange here. Get your own crack coffee there. Beans start at $9.99/pound.

Slips with the fur

While I don't own Ugg boots, I am a proud owner of some Ugg Dakota slippers. Hardwood floors make for chilly walking in the mornings. I've had mine for 2 years and they're holding up just fine (except for a seam that I had to sew up). I made a believer out of John and bought him a pair for Christmas last year. This is another high quality piece totally worth the $100. Find your perfect pair here.

Alpaca throw blanket

Here's a random fact about my family. We own alpacas. No, I didn't grow up on a farm. Yes, they're relatives of llamas. And their fleece makes killer scarves, socks, sweaters, and throw blankets. My sister knit one for us for Christmas last year and it's the warmest.thing.ever! John and I may or may not fight over who gets to use the blanket. So sis, would you mind making us another???

Aveda's Hand Relief

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Hands down, Aveda's Hand Relief is the best hand lotion ever! And yes, pun intended :) Aveda's not lying when they say, "revitalizing vitamin formula for stressed skin." Between the cold weather and hand washing, I can keep my hands as smooth as a baby's bottom with this lotion. I keep one tube at work and another one at home. Yes, $19 is a little steep for hand lotion, but a little bit goes a long way and it's totally worth it.

What are your winter essentials? Anyone know of a good face lotion? I think my face is going to fall off from the wind. If you live somewhere warm, please don't tell me.

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Vacationing in Chicago

In keeping with my mini-vacation week, I thought I would share a few things to do around Chicago. This is no way going to be an all-encompassing list of things to do. Simply a few suggestions based on things we did with friends a few weekends ago.


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Go out to brunch. Restaurants all over Chicago serve brunch and it's pretty hard to mess up breakfast. Everyone has their favorite spot and our go-to place is Ann Sather. The cinnamon rolls are a good enough reason to go. All egg entrees come with two sides and you should always pick the cinnamon rolls (yes, plural!) as one of your sides. Everything is already reasonably priced, but feel free to split your order. Your waistline and wallet will thank you.

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Have a drink at the Signature Lounge. Why pay $15 dollars for a ticket to the observation deck on the 94th floor of the Hancock Building when you can have drinks on the 96th? Go at night when the city is all lit up. Keep in mind that there is a one item minimum (drink, dessert, appetizer, etc.) and there may be a line to get a table. But the views (of the city and the people) is definitely worth it! And don't forget to check out the city from the women's restroom.


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See an improv show. From The Second City to the iO Theater, there are all sorts of theaters around the city to enjoy a few laughs. Two actors from The Second City were recently called up to Saturday Night Live. Though you should get your tickets early, especially if there are more than two of you going. We tried to get tickets for two different shows about 10 minutes before show time and they had already sold out.

Go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. It's free! And if you plan your trip right, you could go to the Green City Market on Saturday morning and then hit up the zoo later in the day. My favorite animals are the penguins, but if you're lucky, they might be feeding the bears.

Eat at your favorite BYOB restaurant. As I said before, there are all sorts of restaurants that let you bring your own drinks.

And if you're planning your trip to Chicago in advance, sign up Chicago Groupons. They've posted offers for rental cars, architectural boat tours, museum passes, restaurants, and hotels.

What else would you recommend? Do you have favorite places to eat or take visitors?
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BYOBargain

Hi! How was your week? Mine was a little crazy at work, so I only managed to get two posts up instead of three. Three a week is my goal, but two might be a little more realistic at times. So that's why you get a weekend post. Plus, I have an exciting update that couldn't wait until Monday. Without further ado, this post was brought to you by the letter "C" which stands for the caffeine found in my tasty cup of Streudal Cake coffee from the Coffee and Tea Exchange. It's like a bakery poured itself into my coffee cup and I loooove it :) I keep telling John that it's my crack coffee. I'm addicted.

OK, so back to the post at hand.....One of the cool things about Chicago is the plethora of BYOB restaurants. I never saw those in St. Louis or Cleveland. They're mainly sushi, Thai, or some other type of Asian restaurant, which is alright by me. Every so often I need to fulfill my craving for pad thai or rainbow rolls.

Usually you can bring whatever you want, but some places only let you bring wine. I haven't been to Chilam Balam yet (a BYOB Mexican/tapas restaurant), but apparently they'll make sangria using a bottle of wine you bring. And beware that certain places charge a corkage fee, but that's still a steal since you're bringing your own drinks. Some of the places we've enjoyed include Joy's and Duck Walk for Thai and Lips ($1 corkage fee per person), Red Bambuu, and Ukai for sushi.

If you use a $10 off coupon, like we did last night at Ukai, or a restaurant.com gift certificate, like we used for our anniversary dinner at Lips, you can have a pretty stellar night out for a fraction of the cost. We also used a Groupon for Red Bambuu.

Ukai (source)

What would I recommend bringing? Your very own homebrew, of course! (Or a cheap bottle of wine from Trader Joe's or Binny's) Recently I told you that we bottled the beer that we lovingly brewed six weeks ago. After two weeks of bottle conditioning/fermentation we were able to enjoy it....yay!!! Not to brag or anything, but I think it's pretty awesome. We made an IPA, generally a pretty hoppy beer. This one still has the hops, but it's also slightly darker, and tastes a bit fruity. Like how a wheat beer can be a little fruity. John doesn't agree with my fruity analysis, but that's besides the point.

I present to you Bear Shark Brewing Company's Hammer Head IPA! John's buddy designed the labels, and yes there's a spelling error. He's in the process of fixing it, but I was too excited to show you to wait until we got the new ones. And the name is courtesy of a joke John had with some friends in college. We still haven't purchased the kit to start brewing at home, but that will happen soon enough.

Thanks for stopping by this week. How was your week? Super crazy that you couldn't wait to enjoy the weekend? We're going to see "Rock of Ages" tonight and I'm really excited. It's a musical set to 80's music. Plus, it's the final weekend of tapering before the Chicago marathon. Only 8 miles!
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