The Day of Bests

So I took 2 days of vacation this past week. 2 days that I really shouldn't have, since everything at work is crumbling around me like a scene from Indiana Jones, but I made a decision. My sister whom I had not seen since Christmas is more important, and I left during the week so Kyle would not have to spend the whole weekend alone with the boys - because I know how much that sucks. It worked out well because Kyle has his first case of the flu that he's had in years and has a temperature, and whines every 2 minutes about how much he hurts, how cold he is, how hot he is, how his joints hurt, etc. Anyways....

I arrived at my sister's around 11am Thursday after driving way too fast. (I always forget that the speed limits in Iowa are 70, but Illinois is only 65.) We took the girls to school, then headed to Woodfield Mall - the Holy Land of Malls. I think we arrived around Noon, and immediately headed to The Cheesecake Factory (one of the BEST restaurants EVER!) for lunch. We sat at the bar and Beth ordered a Miller Lite (she is a woman after my own heart), and we have appetizers for lunch - which in my opinion, is the BEST lunch to have!

We shop at the BEST stores, and find even more AWESOME deals! We stop at another restaurant around 3:30 for a beverage. Beth orders a Strawberry Margarita and I order a Pina Colada! (HOW AWESOME IS THAT! This is the vacation I needed!) I drink mine so fast I get a brain freeze, and we have the BEST conversation/storytelling ever.

We continue shopping until we literally cannot carry all of our bags anymore, and leave the mall to head to our dinner reservations. Beth had made reservations at The Melting Pot, which is THE BEST fondue restaurant ever! Oh My God - every bit was the most incredible bite, and I decided that ranked in my top 3 meals ever. We had cheese fondue for an appetizer, their signature fondue for dinner (which we dunked lobster, shrimp, beef, pork and chicken, in to),then their Turtle Chocolate for dessert. Not to mention the glass of wine, and several Miller Lites that accompanied our dinner! =)

We then headed to Beth's new bar where her and Marc both work - which is the BEST bar in Glendale Heights. We sat in the Piano Bar with the fireplace, then moved into the Sports Bar, where I did my first shot since my bachelorette party.

We ended up at home just talking - me, her and her husband - having a blast!

Got up Friday, and headed to Red Apple Restaurant, which has the BEST breakfast I've ever had! We wrapped up the trip with a visit to TJMaxx - which is the BEST store to shop at, and I literally filled my cart.

I headed home, and it really got warm driving home. I stopped at a gas station for a break, and grabbed a bottle of water and for some reason, tea sounded good too. With my wool sweater I was wearing, I was uncomfortably warm with the sun beating on me in the car. So I get back in the car and start going down the road, and open my iced tea. Okay - this was the BEST iced tea I had ever had! It was so good, if I closed my eyes, I could picture myself sitting on my deck, sunning myself in the middle of July - pure relaxation, warmth and happiness!

We packed this time of BESTS into a 24 hour period. Although I cannot wait to do it again, I'm going to give our bank account a rest now! =)