whatever

way back in june, mr. duerksen & i caught a flight super early in the morning and hit chicago for the weekend – no kids!
our airport is pretty small but we DO have a dunkin’ donuts so i make sure to start a flight off right!

our first stop was brunch at Hutch American Bistro.
we were just walking by and it was packed so we figured it must be good.
9 times out of 10 if the weather is even halfway decent we choose to sit outside to eat.
and i always choose sweet and he chooses savory.
i ordered the Strawberry Croissant French Toast filled with mascarpone cheese and an Iced Macchiato with vanilla & carmel vodka – YUMMMM!
i have wished for this meal again so many times since!

on the flight that morning we decided to go to a Cubs game.
it had been probably 15 or more years since the last time i’d been to one!
we walked from brunch to Wrigley Field and it was as wonderful as i remembered.
it was a perfect day for a baseball game!
and the Cubs won!
it was such a fun environment – everyone was so happy out in the streets afterwards!

the rest of our day was spent wandering around the city.
we did some sight seeing, some shopping and lots of people watching.  🙂


on sunday we met up with old friends for lunch which was relaxing and sweet.
and the best guac i’ve ever had!
i’m so glad they had time to see us!

and then we finally got to the whole reason for our trip…
the U2 concert at Soldier Field!

we did the math and figured out that this was our 7th U2 concert with our chicago friends dave & jenny.
we’ve been doing this together for a long time!
i remember bring pregnant for at least one concert and it wasn’t with annie.
so many memories from all those years!
we had such a good night!!
the best weather…hanging with our besties all day… the lumineers opened…  and then U2!

before we left the city we were sure to get some chicago style pizza too.

i love any time that i get to escape with craig.
he’s my favorite.
🙂

my computer is dying a slow painful death.
i am currently using the desktop and it’s hard to remember how everything works.
and i don’t want to spend money on a laptop right now!!!
i have flowers to buy for the yard/graduation party.
not laptops!
blerg.

so i am going to blog quick (and hopefully) more often.
wish me luck.

last week Mr. Duerksen had a birthday.
he got tickets for Mumford & Sons only 3 hours away on a monday night.
so we figured out all the details and went.
and here’s the deal…. it is WORK to make time to get away.
it is never easy!
it was only for one overnight and honestly i kept thinking “why are we doing this? it’s not even worth it for just one night.”

but i was so wrong!
one night is SOOOOO worth it!
we had the best time!!!

the food was good… the concert was wonderful of course… the hotel was fine…
(and we even got to enjoy their fire alarms going off twice in the middle of the night!)
but what was so important was the time away from the normal roles of mom& dad
and just getting to be craig & meg.

craig & meg are so much more fun than “mom & dad”!

we needed it.

i know i tell you every few months after i am reminded myself so here i go again – getting away with your husband is so good!
if you think it’s too much work – i disagree.
do what you need to do to make it happen.
hire a sitter… ask your family to help… swap babysitting with a friend…
even if it’s only one night!

it’s so good for you & your husband… and for your kids to see that you are in love!

🙂

it feels like a long time ago already but my super-fun-week-of-no-mom-business continued after the beach with my girlfriends.  I got home at 11:00 pm on a tuesday night and left again at 11 am the next day with the Mr. for Chicago.
we had gotten U2 concert tickets waaay back in the fall with our chicago besties & the date had finally arrived!
i love going anywhere with craig and a U2 concert is icing.

he used priceline and got us a hotel room right in the middle of the city.  🙂
we are fancy like that.
i tried not to push for it (staying downtown) but it was definitely what i wanted.

i felt like the art work in our hotel was surely an original and hung just that day for me.
hee hee hee
i did really love it and made myself believe that no other rooms in that hotel had the same painting as mine.

i could sit and watch this view for hours.
and at night… ummm people don’t close their curtains.
so i got to watch all kinds of stuff in all those apartments… HA!
the city is so awesome!  🙂

we wandered around pretty much every where in chicago.
we looked at buildings and fancy cars and i people watched every second.
at one point i said to craig “can you PLEASE pay more attention to the people?! i have no one to share my thoughts with if you don’t see anything that i see.”  🙂  we look at different stuff.  he’s noticing architure and i am thinking “where would a dress like that even be sold? it’s so interesting!”

and then it was TIME!!! (worst picture ever but the only one of all 4 of us)
dave & jenny took the train into chicago from the suburbs and met us for dinner before the concert.
this is at least our fourth U2 concert together!
our love runs deep.

i didn’t mean to cover Adam.
or did i?
he’s not favorite.
although i have never actually heard him speak… so that is probably why.
silent people make me slightly nervous.
like maybe i talk too much??
not like he was actually standing there… or ever going to talk to me anyway… just saying why he is my least favorite of the four.
and i promise i would talk to him if we were ever together.
he would probably end up being my top favorite because i am usually wrong about the quiet guy.

you guys… this is how close we were.
that is bono.
he walked right past us.
and then climbed up on the stage right in front of us and it felt so surreal.
we had floor tickets for the first time in all the concerts we’ve been to (which is more than 4 because we have been without dave & jenny too) someone figured out that where the best place to be was and we did that.  we were against the wall in front of the stage!
FRONT ROW.
it was amaaaaaaazing!


another horrible picture but showing that the only space between Bono and me was that security guard.
and that really is bono – not a hologram all lit up.
i clearly needed to change my camera settings but i was too into the concert.

they had two ends of the stage and went back and forth the entire time.
the screen was HUGE and went up and down and from see through to full screen.

they pulled this girl up on stage and sang “Mysterious Ways”
she was totally shocked to be up there but not shy at all.
i always joked that i wanted it to be me up on stage but once i saw her… young and wearing the U2 t-shirt and dancing SO FREE!
she was perfect!
i kept thinking what an amazing memory this is for her.
i felt like a mom.
and she reminded me of my Lauren.

THEN Bono gave her a cell phone and it was hooked up to the huge screen and had her film them to the song California.
and she knew every word!
she moved all around and was singing her heart out the whole time.
he asked her name and she said “Katelyn.”
and asked her about chicago and she said “i actually came from mississippi for this concert tonight”
i mean… what could be better?!

you can see bono’s huge face on the screen above… bono loves the close ups.
that piano came OUT OF THE FLOOR!
the floor just opened up and the piano came up from a laying down position!
like it hinged up.
it was CRAZY!!!

best craziest most awesome night!!
so glad we came and got to experience it all again with jenny & dave!

one thing we do on our no-kid trips is get dessert to go.
we are never hungry for dessert after a meal anyway but at midnight… YES!
so if we see a dessert we like somewhere we get it to-go and enjoy it as late as we want.

we explored ALL over (walking in flimsy glittery flip flops – poor planning on my part) the city the next day.
we walked for about 8 hours straight.
craig never loses energy.
i do.

we had lunch at Quartino.
we had walked by it the day before and it looked perfect so we came back…  and it was!

if you go to chicago… you should eat there!
we sat outside because i LOVE sitting outside on a nice day especially with the city as the back drop.
but then i went inside for the bathroom and it was by far my favorite restaurant bathroom EVER.
i am a weirdo – i know.
but it was beautiful!  i would like duplicate all of it at my own house!

that is craig’s favorite building… it is very creative!

we walked and walked and walked.

and ate and ate and ate.

i never get to go inside a Blick Art Supply store so when i saw it i was all over that!
we found these faux vintage anatomy posters for lauren.
she was so excited when i texted and asked if she’d like these.

so craig got his exercise and architure fix and i got to look at paint and color.
win-win!

as the sun was going down we searched for a spot to eat (outside again)
and we found Streeterville Social because it was literally the building right in front of us.
ha!
it was a really beautiful place… and it was brand new!

we have been married for 20 years.
it doesn’t feel like that.
i love getting away with him… no kids and no work.
it’s truly different.
being at home with the kids & regular life is good too but something changes when we can be all alone together for more than an evening.
we have been doing little trips every few months for a few years now.
a big long trip would be wonderful but for right now this is so good too.
i love these trips.
and him.
🙂

we left town for three nights and four days last week.
it was so good.
it’s ALWAYS so good to get away!
we stayed at The Ambassador in Oklahoma City.
it was a beautiful building… beautiful rooms… i was even loving the hallways!
craig said we had to eat local the whole time and it was a delicious decision.
we slept LATE.
we ate dessert.
we rocked out with the Avett Brothers… there was NO ONE there?!
they were A M A Z I N G.  🙂
there were drunk 30 somethings wanting to fist fight because other drunk 30 somethings were being too noisy at the concert…  really?
and they were belching.
REALLY?  it always baffles me when grown ups act like that.
isn’t it written on my face that i am desperate for time away from child like behavior and have no patience for that nonsense?!
isn’t EVERYONE who is at a concert in the middle of nowhere on a thursday night?
isn’t that the thing?
and what adult belches in a crowd?
any who….
we saw movies.
he watched all the golf he wanted while i enjoyed pinterest and IG or crazy long showers.
we shopped.
we ate from food trucks.
we went to a street festival.
we worked out.
it was perfect.
another year we will go far away but for now ANY WHERE is good.
any where that i can have him all to myself to be able to have uninterrupted conversations.
and the sleep… ohhhh the sleep.
if you don’t get away often… YOU SHOULD for the sleep alone.
because you can become a different person when you get more than one full nights sleep at a time.
you BOTH can!
sleep does amazing things for our brains and our bodies!
you can BE a better mom and wife with sleep and rest!
if you have littles and it’s been more than 6 months since you’ve left them overnight… get planning.
if you have young kids who love to talk to you every waking moment…get planning.
if you have teenagers who talk back to you about anything and everything… get planning!
call your mom to watch your kids.  ask your friends.  find a college girl.  hire a nanny!
you need it.
i don’t know you but i know you need it.
as a mom…  as a wife… i know it.
and I KNOW without a doubt your husband needs “time  alone” with just his wife… not his kids’ mom.

🙂

thanks Mr. D for a fabulous restful time together.
and for getting the strawberry cake.