The Siberian American: Life Update: Seven Months in Chicago

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Life Update: Seven Months in Chicago

I loved December in Chicago and (almost) wish we could do it all over again. The city was beautifully decorated for Christmas and really got me in the Christmas spirit this year.


We thought we wouldn’t have many Christmas decorations this year since we left them back in Texas, but Christopher’s parents bought us a tree when they were here for Thanksgiving. He and I had a wonderful time listening to Christmas music while decorating the tree.


On a personal note, Christopher had to spend the first half of December studying for the Step 3 after work, so we were relieved when it was over.


One of my favorite Christmas dates was when we went to see the ZooLights at the Lincoln Park Zoo. I loved walking around with a cup of mulled wine, enjoying all the gorgeous light displays.


They even had ice sculptors showing us how they make snowflakes, Christmas trees, and reindeer. I am always so impressed watching ice sculptors make beautiful displays out of a block of ice!


Christopher firmly believes you can’t visit the zoo without seeing the monkeys, so we stopped by the indoor exhibit on our way out and got to see the baby gorilla making his bed.

One of the highlights of December was Christopher’s work party at the Navy Pier Ballroom…where we got to visit with 700 of our closest friends. Kidding aside, it was fun to get to know some of the interns Christopher works with better. On a side note, I was sad because the invitation said it was a business casual event, so I felt like I couldn’t dress up. Turns out, there were people in ball gowns, so I definitely could have worn something fancier.

On one of Christopher’s golden weekends, we decided to it was worth it to wait four hours to sit by a Christmas tree at The Walnut Room. You can read more about it here, but it was definitely an unforgettable experience, and I’m glad we decided to do it.


My in-laws flew in on Christmas Eve, and we had the best time together. We went to a candlelight Christmas Eve service at The Moody Church, ate plenty of delicious food, and visited the Driehaus Muesum, a gorgeous palatial house from the Gilded Age.


We topped off December and 2016 by seeing my family! My parents were visiting friends in Milwaukee for New Year’s Eve, so we headed to Milwaukee to bring in the new year, Russian style. I will talk more about that in my January recap, but I loved being able to see my parents and younger brother (who I hadn’t seen since we moved!).

24 comments:

  1. I feel like that has been true about every hospital event...no matter what the invitation says, there are going to be some people in what they wore to work, and some people in floor-length gowns!

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  2. Seems like a fun holiday in the city!! I laways love the candlelight service.
    www.amemoryofus.com

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  3. oh i'm sorry you didn't get to dress up fancier, at least you'll know for next time (if there is a next time?). sounds like 2015 ended well :)

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  4. The zoo lights are amazing! I would love to go see something like that. Sounds like a fantastic December in the windy city!

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  5. You had such an exciting December filled with lots of Chicago adventures! I love that y'all waited to eat at the Walnut Room because it's totally something that not everybody has the chance to do! The Zoo Lights sounds like so much fun, I want to make sure that we do that next year in Houston! And that sucks that people didn't follow what the invitation said about being business casual for Chris's Christmas Party. At least y'all still had fun!

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  6. Christmas time was always my favorite time in the city! Everything is just so festive and magical :) So glad you guys were able to get over to The Walnut Room and Zoo Lights!

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  7. Those ice sculptures are pretty dang cool. I've never been to a big city around Christmas & I really should, it looks beautiful & festive. :)

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  8. I would love to visit Chicago for Christmas. I bet it's gorgeous!

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  9. Such a beautiful city especially all dolled up for Christmas! So sweet of your in-laws to make sure you guys had a tree and some decorations this year <3

    Green Fashionista

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  10. I have never been to Chicago, but hope to get there soon! Your in-laws sound so thoughtful!

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  11. You had such an awesome December! I have to get to Chicago!

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  12. I absolutely love how the art museum decorated the lions for the holidays! SO CUTE.

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  13. What a wonderful month! I just love the holidays and it sounds like Chicago really does it right. Going to zoo lights is one of my favorite things to do back home.

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    1. I had never been to ZooLights before! Now I want to see if they have one in Texas! :)

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  14. A truly memorable December!! Zoolights definitively looked like a lot of fun! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  15. love hearing about your memories--what a magical month! i love the lights--my fave!

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  16. You had such an awesome month!! The zoo lights sounds like so much fun. I'm dying of cuteness picturing a baby gorilla making his bed.

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  17. Your holidays sound amazing! So many good ways to celebrate. The Walnut Room sounds so worth the wait!

    What does a Russian New Year's Even entail? I love hearing about different customs and traditions!

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  18. Such a great month, Olya. Walking around looking at the lights with mulled wine sounds like a perfect December evening to me. Those ice sculptures are fantastic. Too bad you didn't get to dress a little fancier. I always jump at every opportunity to do so too. That tree in The Walnut Room looks worth the wait. :-)

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  19. ah, it all sounds and looks so perfect (especially a baby gorilla making his bed! My heart is pitter-pattering at the thought of that). And bummer about the played-down dress description for the party! You deserved to be in a ball gown too :) Glad Chicago is treating you well, it's the best city in the country I think.

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  20. What a fun holiday! Chicago is a fun city

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    1. We love Chicago so much, and Christmas here was so fun! :)

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