Tag Archives: visit

Forever visiting

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Today is a big day for me; my friends from home are coming to visit!

393995_1454827043783_973997250_nHarriett, me, Jodi and Laura Ann over Christmas break.

I’ve been really lucky to have some incredible friends from home that I have stayed close to through the almost three years since I’ve moved to college. We talk every day; I come to visit them; they come to visit me. It’s not easy knowing that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives having to make visits to see each other rather than being in the same place, but it’s what we’ve got to do. 

This week is one of those visits, and I couldn’t be more excited! It’s a rare occurrence for them to get to come visit me in Evanston, although a few have gotten to make the trek up here at one point or another.

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Christa and Laura Ann came to visit last year and met my best friend here, Jonny.

I love getting to show them a slice of my Northwestern life, even if it is glorified (I definitely don’t go into Chicago as often as we’re about to), and introduce them to all of my friends here. It’s really cool seeing my worlds collide. My friend Jonny even came to visit me in Little Rock this summer and got to see what my home life was like (again glorified – we went to the lake!). He has really connected with my friends from home, and they’re excited to see each other!

ImageHarriett, Addi and I stayed in Evanston last summer to go to Lollapalooza.

These visits make me feel like an adult and a teenager at the same time. We’re having a blast and acting like we always have around each other, but the circumstances are much more “grown-up.” One day, this is what we’re going to be doing with our kids!

If I know anything about this week, it’s that it will go too fast. Before we know it, they’ll be packing their bags and leaving for the next big break between seeing each other. It’s the nature of visits. But I also know that there will be more to come. Although the gaps between seeing each other can drag on, the trips themselves are some of the best days of our lives.

I can’t wait to see you guys.

Mom’s visit

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My mom just left yesterday from a four-day visit, allowing me to get to do a lot of the things I normally wouldn’t, like eating at Friends Sushi and seeing Book of Mormon! And, of course, I got to spend time with my mom and pretend like I didn’t have a ton of work to get done… Work that I should be doing right now…

Anyways here’s a rundown of some of the stuff we did:

Day 1: Downtown

Pretty much the second mom got here, we headed downtown to eat at our all-time favorite restaurant, Friends Sushi. If you haven’t been there before, you haven’t been living. Their fusion sushi rolls are extremely creative and flavorful. The first time I had their Friends Maki, I tasted a familiar yet mysterious tartness only to realize that there was thinly sliced green apple in it. Hopefully that gives you an idea of the kind of sushi you can expect to enjoy here. 

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We tried the Fire Cracker appetizer, which were basically Asian-fusion nachos. Raw tuna and salmon, avocado, red tobiko (fish eggs), and creamy wasabi sauce on shrimp crackers. Also known as RIDICULOUS.

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We ordered the Fujiyama Maki for the first and definitely not last time. Crab meat, imitation crab, shrimp, and spicy mayo topped with king crab, red tobiko, and tempura crumbs. Totally decadent.

We made our way to go shopping, because what else is there to do downtown when it’s freezing? Oh yeah – I forgot to mention that after a nice, 50° Monday, it decided to drop to 15° when mom came. So of course she vowed never to come back in February. It’s definitely the month in Chicago to skip if there is one. The stores had some good sales, but it didn’t take a lot of un-layering and relayering and carrying huge coats around before we were ready to head back to Evanston.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to see Argo, which was as good as I expected it to be. Ben Affleck was snubbed from the Oscar nom AND WE ALL KNOW IT!

Day 2: BOOK OF MORMON

I had class all day on Wednesday, so we were only able to grab breakfast at Le Peep during the day. After class ended, mom and I headed downtown again to see Book of Mormon. I made my mom take the el there and back so she would see how we cheap college students do it (and save like $100). 

Book of Mormon was the best musical I have ever seen (well maybe tied with Avenue Q). I was thrashing with laughter the entire time. It was so funny that halfway through the first act, I stopped laughing because literally everything was funny. I’d actually become habituated to the humor – and then it got funnier. Performances, script, and production were all top notch. Definitely go see it. It’s a blast.

Day 3: Pajama Game

Mom and I had lunch at Bat 17 before I went off to class until 5. We had dinner at Bravo and then went to see Jonny’s show, The Pajama Game. I’m always so impressed with how talented the students at our school are!

Day 4: Saying goodbye

Friday was short and sweet. We had lunch at Chipotle and then said our goodbyes. I’m hopefully going home in April to visit again and see everyone, because I probably won’t get to go home this summer. It’s always nice to see my mom, but it was time for me to get back to work – homework and more internship applications are on the horizon!