After I calmed down, the weekend went by unexpectedly and pleasantly slow. Friday night was a strange and chilly night at Ravinia with the Hub's workmates. Cold weather and cold food do not a happy emily make...unless you add about 5 glasses of free wine. And pizza bites upon returning home. Gourmet sandwiches, salads, cheeses and cakes are no match for toaster oven snack foods.

Saturday we went to an early dinner to Las Palmas, a local mexican restaurant we had been meaning to try and finally had the chance to. Hub had tickets to an outdoor event that started at 5:30, so at 4:00 we left to eat. We arrived to an empty restaurant, which didn't surprise us as much as the waitstaff's casual motion for us to enter the back patio, into what we immediately decided was a private party but ended up being an opening for the murals recently painted on the side of the building. A nice mellow band was playing, and all kinds of artsy characters were mingling and drinking. We sat down and were greeted by a waitress who asked us to help ourselves to the free buffet and asked which flavor of free sangria we would like. Free is always my favorite price, so we imbibed and ate the most amazing appetizers in the spirit of art. We also ordered some dinner, but got away completely stuffed and a wee bit tipsy (ok, a wee bit drunk) for about $21. Now that's a fantastic introduction to a delicious restaurant! Yay art! And yay free sangria!

Sunday, with long overdue gorgeous weather, Hub and I headed out on a two wheeled tour of our neighborhood. We rode around looking at the apartments we didn't rent, feeling confident that we live on the best street in Wicker Park. It felt good to get on the bike I bought a year ago and have ridden twice. I'm slowly losing my fear of getting hit by a speeding bus or running into an old lady trying to cross the street. We came home after two hours with no injuries to report. We decided to make bike rides weekly dates. That is, until winter gets here...

Something finally caught up with me, maybe it's the work, the caffeine, the alcohol, but my stomach is not in a good place today, so I came home early to nap and relax. It's going well so far, and I'm enjoying the quiet and absence of a "to do" list. My god I need a vacation.