December Weekend, Chicago Style

I spend a fair amount of my life daydreaming about what I would do if I had a weekend to kick around Chicago.  This past weekend, my daydreams came true.  With nothing definite scheduled, we decided to actually do some of the things we have talked about all year.  On Friday, my sister Katherine, Sean and Mags and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Christmas trees from around the world.  I hadn't been there since I was a little girl.  I remember going there with my parents--it almost felt the same...The good news is, the exhibit is still going strong.  Some of the trees were downright decked to the gills, dressed to the nines and chock full of ornaments, flags, and in some cases, framed pictures of pasta (that was the Italian tree, by the way).  I am not sure if we're supposed to assume that Italians really do put framed pasta pictures on their tree. My Italian grandma certainly did not.   Anyway, we had a great time looking at the trees and an even better time being together.

And, now that I carry a camera EVERY where I go (it's a little embarrassing...) I could not resist taking some pictures of non-Christmas related things.  Some of these would make for interesting quilt inspiration...I know we're mostly square and rectangle girls at Blue Underground Studios but I have some imminent plans to try some other shapes.

The fun did not end on Friday!  We unexpectedly got tickets to the Straight No Chaser concert at the Chicago Theater on Saturday night.  Woo Hoo!  Sean randomly found this a cappella men's group in this video on youtube last year (along with about a million other people.) 

And now they're making CD's and touring and all that good stuff.  And they are so great live!

We were having a serious flashback to our dating days when going out was a regular occurrence for us.  After the concert, we decided to really live on the edge and go for a drink at the Gale Street Inn.


On Sunday, we had company for dinner and decorated our tree.  It was a perfect way to end our perfect weekend.  Maggie hung most of the non-breakable ornaments at the bottom of the tree and we hung all of the breakable ornaments at the top.  

 I am getting a little tired of our tree skirt so I wrapped our Around the Block sample around the tree stand instead.  I actually think it looks kind of cute!

I love how the living room looks with the tree up.  And I love non-traditional uses for quilts.  Someday, I'll make a real tree skirt.  But in the meantime, I think this is a pretty good substitute.