Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Road Trip: Day Two (Is That You In There?).

I left Chelsea at the crack of 10, and pointed my car towards Chicago. It was a fairly easy drive, except for my full bladder and the unexpected traffic right at the end. Oof! If I was a guy, I would have totally peed in my vitamin water bottle. Thankfully for the folks stalled in traffic next to me, I'm not and I didn't. Once I located my desired target - Quiltology - I suddenly realized that I was really hungry, and still needed to go to the washroom. Lucky for me, Edwardo's Natural Pizza Restaurant was close by, and being in Chicago, there is a certain expectation that one is going to have pizza, right? I asked my friendly waiter Mike what was so famous about their pizza, and he informed me that it was the stuffed crust. Turns out, you can get it stuffed with cheese, spinach or sausage, but Mike's favourite was spinach, topped with sausage and mushroom. Done and done. And a beer please and thank you. Hey, it was hot out and I was thirsty! Mike and I shot the shit about health care, the pros and cons of the Canadian system, and then my pizza came. And it was magnificent. I ate all of it.
Once I was done stuffing my face, I headed down the street to Quiltology, a quilting shop I have been wanting to visit for ages (actually, for about 5 days - that's when I started researching my trip). All I can really say is it is a good thing that I don't live in Chicago, because I would have to harass the owners night and day until they hired me to work there. The fabrics are stunning, prices are great, and the kits...the kits make me want to hole up with my sewing machine and piece until my sewing machine bites the dust. Susan, who works at Quiltology, helped me pick out fabric for the 3 baby boy quilts I have on my roster. She has a great eye for colour and was enthusiastic about my requests for fun and bright fabrics. I don't think she wanted me to take her picture, but she relented (reluctantly).
Look at the front window! Don't you just want to get a cup of tea and a good magazine and sit and people watch all day? Me too...
While Susan cut my fabric for me I wandered around and lusted after all of the patterns, books, kits and quilts on display. I behaved myself though, reminding myself that if I bought too much fabric I wouldn't have an excuse to come back for a long time. That's no good - Jennifer and my mom definitely need me to personally introduce them to this shop!
I didn't get a very clear picture of this pink and red lion they had on display, but it vibrates when you squeeze its paw and it is super soft. Unfortunately it wasn't for sale. Not even when I told her how much Max would like it. Ah well.
Once I was done at Quiltology, I hopped back into my car for what I thought would be an easy drive to the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. Turns out that all those bridges and tall skyscrapers are not so GPS friendly. As in, my tomtom was telling me to drive the wrong way on one way streets and had me driving in circles. I had to kick it old school and pull over and get directions. Yay communicating with real human beings (#technology #fail)! Thank gawd I didn't have screaming kids in the car! I finally checked in, had a bath, and then headed out to Trader Joe's. Getting my America on full throttle!!
Upon my return to my room, stocked up with my favourite lavendar hand wash, I flipped the tv on and low and behold, the movie Sex In the City was on! Except it's the 4:3 version forced into widescreen mode, so all those skinny bitches look like they have fat arms. Hah! Love it. Time for another bath, and then sleep.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:04 a.m.

    the whole trip is perfect for slow down movie about small town america, where it slowly turns out our main character is depressed and dealing with some serious shit (flash backs perhaps), but of course she returns home to her loving family, we learn life is life and not always easy, and our protagonist learns to handle herself, her family, and .....
    -- japaja

    (was this a cool comment or truly offensive one. i hope you don't take it that way, living in eastern europe and reading your blog even though i don't know you does sound like a movie. i wish you continuing strength and some calmness and lots of luck. respek).

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  2. That pizza looks outstanding. I don't imagine it was gluten free though :( Sounds like you are having a lot of fun. Enjoy!

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