I’m splitting this weekend recap into three posts! My friend Jean and her mom Tuy are visiting this weekend so Jean can be a vendor at POP Cats in Chicago on Saturday March 25 and Sunday March 26.

Thursday 

I knew Thursday was going to be busy and I was really proud of myself for getting out of bed early to run before my 7:30 am work call.  But then I was exhausted by the time our guests arrived just after 2:00. Face palm. Maybe I should have slept instead? I was really NOT my best self this weekend and wonder if starting with a lack of sleep (and such a busy social week) was exactly why.

It was Jean and her mom’s first time visiting Illinois! So our first order of business after they got here around 2:00 (and toured the house briefly and had a snack) was leaving Illinois to go to Sip & Purr Cat Café in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (also their first time in Wisconsin!). Hee hee.

There were a lot of cats at the café because of recent rescue trips to Lebanon and Qatar. We enjoyed playing with the cats, and chatting with the owner, Katy. Katy may sell some of Jean’s products in the Sip & Purr gift shop! (I almost forgot to mention, I was so tired I got a latte with actual coffee!)

We walked down Black Cat Alley (right next to Sip & Purr) then went to the River Marker in the Third Ward area for dinner. The River Market is cool because… it’s a market, and there are lots of food options and a few product vendors in there.

I got the Reuben burger and Thin Mint milkshake from On the Bus. They were delicious! While I was waiting for my food I struck up a conversation with someone and it turns out her daughter also works for the federal government, for the agency across the street from me, who is one of my clients! Funny!

We got home around 9:00 and I made tea for everyone and we chatted a bit before going to bed. I fell asleep after 11:00.

Friday

Even though I was up late I got up around 5:30 and fed the cats and walk on the treadmill for a bit. After Jean and Tuy got up and ready, we all went to Wildberry for breakfast. It’s our favorite breakfast place to take people – the food is amazing, the portions are generous, and the customer service is great. Jean and Tuy must have liked it because as I type this, it’s Sunday am and they are on their way there for a second visit!

We went back home for a bit after breakfast – a local rock painting friend wanted to meet Jean and drop off a rock for her. While we were outside chatting, Tywin/Davos came running up to greet everyone, like he’s the mayor or something. Ha. (Then when we all went back inside, Ned was so spooked he “hid” behind the toaster oven. I’ve never seen him there before!)

Jean and Tuy did a bit of prep for the show (while I did a bit of Fake Meats work) then Jean drove us all to the show event for set up. POP Cats was at Artifact Events, a cool venue in the Ravenswood neighborhood in Chicago (the event was in the south areas, as shown here).

We set up for at least three hours! I wasn’t sure if I should go with them for setup, and was glad I was actually helpful. And I got to see several of my vendor friends (Meagan from TacoCats came running and gave me the biggest hug when she got there! I loved it!) while I was there, and meet new vendors! It was cool to walk around after we set up and see everyone else’s product and get a lay of the land before the show opened on Saturday. I felt like I was cheating a bit.

Everyone at the show was talking about the forecast. Chicago was supposed to get an inch of snow, around my house was supposed to get 5-8″, and the Milwaukee area (where some vendors were coming from) was supposed to get 12″+! Bobbi and I had already decided to ride the train to the show the next day, but I was worried about Jean having to drive to Chicago in that – our drive in that day had taken too long with normal weather (gawd, I despise driving to Chicago (and being in Chicago, in general), so much. It’s just such a pain.). We decided we’d just look at the weather in the morning and figure things out.

After setup we drove into the city so Jean and Tuy could see the Bean (Cloud Gate). We were driving in at rush hour, so it took a bit of time, then it was a madhouse (of course) around the Bean. We went to one garage and left because the parking prices were so high, then went to another and the prices were even higher, but we couldn’t get out. Once you were in, you were in. I was so annoyed. Ha. Can you tell my lack of sleep was really starting to catch up with me a this point? (And lack of food – we didn’t have lunch)

We walked over to Millennium Park, where the Bean is, and I was surprised there was a security check to get in. Maybe since they already had it all fenced off for the Shamrock Shuffle today? I asked some of the guards later if it was for a special event and they said it’s always like this, and I thought that was odd, and didn’t buy it, but I also hadn’t been there in 11 months, so maybe it is. ANYWAY.

I got stopped at security because I forgot I had my pepper spray in my bag, so I couldn’t go in. I walked all the way back to the car to leave it there and tried to cool down with how annoyed I was with everything (about the city, not our guests at all).

Such a good host.

I finally got in and we saw the Bean and went back to the car to get it out of that expensive garage ($35 for under an hour) then we went to Lou Malnati’s for dinner so Jean and Tuy could try deep dish pizza. I thought street parking would be cheaper but when I went to pay for it, it made me load $30 into the app to pay for $10 of parking. I will never get that money back. Ha.

Sigh.

The service at Lou’s was great but we were in a super crowded room and I couldn’t hear well, which was frustrating, but also fine at the same time, because we were all beat. They liked the deep dish, and the pasta I got was fine.

We got home a bit after 9:00 and I made tea for everyone again and I think we went to bed after 10:00 and I was asleep just before midnight.