A Birthday (Trip to Milwaukee)

Today is A.P.'s 32nd birthday. As I told him last week, there's no turning back. He's officially in his thirties. To celebrate his birthday, I surprised him with an overnight trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I made a fake travel brochure for him outlining all the things we would do while we were there. I made arrangements for my nephew to stay at our place and watch the animals. And then I lied. I lied my ass off all week and made him think that we were doing something Saturday and then something else on Sunday. This way he didn't make any plans, but he didn't know we were going out of town. I was worried though that we might have had to cancel since it snowed about five inches the night before. I decided, though, that weather, in this area anyway, is always going to be an issue. So I bit the bullet and decided we'd just go. Saturday, I packed a bag with clothes and told him we needed "supplies" for our "activity." It was pretty funny. Then when we got in the car, I gave him the brochure. He told me he better run upstairs and pack some clothes and I told him everything had been taken care of. I revealed the house sitter, the game plan, and then we were off!

Milwaukee is only about an hour and a half away from Chicago, so the drive goes by pretty quickly. Before know it, you're in another state and then another city with another view of the lake. I've been to Milwaukee a few times before, but not for a while and not enough to know what's cool or where to go, so it was a lot of fun to plan the trip.

We started out at the art museum, which is located right on the lakefront and is housed in the beautiful Quadracci Pavillion. Surprisingly, the museum houses some amazing works of art, including one of my favorites (the Josef Albers Homage to the Square - Early Rising seen below)

From there, we checked into our ultra-modern hotel room at Aloft Milwaukee Downtown. We checked out the room and rested up a bit.

Then, we took a short walk from our hotel on the River Walkway and headed to the one rad place I remember from my last visit: The Safe House. The Safe House is a spy bar and to get in, you have to know the secret password. And guess what? I didn't know it! I thought I did, but I didn't. No worries, though, if you don't know the password, they just make you do silly stuff, which the whole bar watches on a closed-circuit TV. We had to do one of those Russian-style high kick dance moves and go, "Hey!" at the end. Once inside, you find a bar and restaurant covered in spy paraphernalia and collectibles. It's so awesome. A.P. and I were lucky enough to sit in a little private room. There, we had a drink and took in the atmosphere. We even took some nice shots together using my Gorilla Pod (one of my kickass photography Christmas gifts). I also snuck into the women's bathroom, which has what looks like a stall but is actually a viewing area with a two-way glass. You can see people walking around outside, but they can't see you at all. So rad!

(View from inside the two way mirror room)

After The Safe House, we headed to The Rumpus Room, a gastropub in downtown Milwaukee. The food was delicious and according to A.P., so was the beer. Since we had plans to see a movie after and I was driving, I had the root beer, which was also delicious.

After dinner, we headed to Wauwatosa to the Rosebud Cinema to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Formerly the Tosa Theater, the Rosebud now offers super comfy seating in the form of various reclining chairs and love seats and sofas. It's awesome. It was like watching a movie on a huge screen from your living room. We curled up and enjoyed the late show. So fun!

The next day, we slept in and then headed down to the famous Brady Street for brunch at Balzac, a little French wine bar. Brunch was delicious! And after, walked around a bit. It was so fun, albeit a bit cold and rainy. We had plans to go to a lighthouse, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so after, we just headed home.

(Like my tilt-shift? I've been working on this a little lately in Photoshop. More on that later!)

It was such a fun little getaway and so very needed. We decided we're going to try to do some more mini-trips this year. They're a fun way to get away, but they don't cost a lot. And since we can't take a real, long vacation until the spring, it's nice to be able to still get out of town. Thanks for letting me share my photos with you! And please join me in wishing my wonderful husband a very, happy birthday!

(Photos by me!)

Marriage Mondays: Sometimes You Just Need a Break

Hi all! Thanks for letting me take a break from blogging. It was much needed! I also wanted to thank you all for your nice comments. I'm glad there are people who like reading this blog. I sometimes get discouraged by little things and forget that there are still lots of people who do come here all the time and read what I have to write. And that's no small feat. Thanks for caring enough to swing by. It's really flattering and I sometimes forget how lucky I am that I have you. : )

That being said, today's post is all about how sometimes you just need a break...from anything and everything. Last week, I needed a break from everything and I felt like I can never seem to take one. I can never take vacations unless it's a slow time of year at my job. And so I just pound away at life and every once in a while, I just need a break.

I sometimes dream of running away, just me and nobody else, not even A.P., and going to a cabin in the woods or a house on a beach or lake. I dream of bringing a stack of books and some fun craft projects. I dream of taking walks and photographing everything and reading and cooking good meals and being alone with only myself. My whole life I've always felt this small, strange part of myself that feels the need to run. Does everyone have this or is this just me? When I read books like The Patron Saint of Liars or The Hours (a fantastic movie, too!), I relate to those women who have to escape. Sometimes everything just seems like too much and it makes me wonder if women of every generation have felt this way. I feel like we are so overwhelmed with life these days...work, relationships, kids, etc...that I feel like we never have time for just ourselves. We never have moments to breathe and be alone.

I lived alone for so many years and I feel like I'm never alone now. It's so understated how important it is to be alone in a marriage. I love A.P., but he is here all the time. When he moved here, he was friends with his ex's friends. Then he started dating me. Now he's friends with my friends. What this means is he doesn't have a ton of friends of his own. I mean, he's not friendless, but he rarely hangs out with his friends. I never get a break. He used to travel for work and I would get some time alone once in a while, but now his trips are just day trips. I also feel like because my work schedule is so much heavier now and I work such late hours all the time that I don't get a break. I used to come home a couple of hours before A.P. and get some down time to myself. Now, I'm lucky if I'm here an hour before him. Usually, it's just about a half hour or so and most of that time I'm cleaning up Ollie's room, picking shit up, working some more or whatever other non-relaxing crap I'm doing.

Then there's work. Try as I might, I am constantly working. During the week, after hours, later, on the weekends. In so many ways, my life is ruled by work. It's simultaneously infuriating and exhausting. I am lucky if I have a whole weekend to relax. Often, I work on Sundays and though I've tried to cut back on these hours, I just can't seem to do it. I imagine a future, possibly with kids, and I wonder how that will look and how much more tired I will be, because as is, I barely function now.

And the weather and family and all that seems to pile up without end makes me...well, tired. I feel like I need to escape. As much as I'd like to run away and have a week to myself, these days I'll settle for any kind of trip. So, lately, I've been dreaming of taking vacations with A.P. Because sometimes you need a break from life, even if it's not the complete solitude you long for. Sometimes you need a vacation, even if it's only for a day. Some time away from your grueling life. If you remember, I was complaining to A.P. how we needed a vacation badly. And it's on my list for 2012 to take at least two this year.

Well, this past weekend, as a surprise for his birthday tomorrow, I took A.P. for a quick overnight getaway to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (more later!). It was nice to get away and take a break from our apartment and our pets and our routine. Not just nice, but necessary. And it made me realize how much I needed a break. Sure, I still long for a week by myself with my stack of books, but I'll settle for an overnight getaway to Milwaukee because for at least one day, it wasn't my exhausting, stressful life. I didn't deal with dog poop or cat poop or laundry piling up or cooking dinner or piles of work that I feel guilty about not doing even though I've worked 80% of my waking day. I brought work with me so I wouldn't feel guilty, but I ended up not doing any and, you know what, not feeling bad about it! And most of all, I got to hang with my best friend, which, all things considering, isn't the worst thing in the world. In fact, I'd say it's pretty damn great.

Do you dream of taking a break alone? Or just a break in general?

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Some Pictures from Leland

I would love to share some pictures of my weekend camping trip with you. Leland was beautiful and except for the rain on Friday, we had great weather. I was so happy to be able to share this special place with some new friends and make another memory with A.P. We cooked a bunch of great meals, laughed, ate s'mores, walked around town a bit, and most of all, relaxed. Most of all, though, we enjoyed the amazing scenery! I love the city but it always is nice to be able to see stars and gorgeous sunsets. Enjoy!


(Photos by me and Rev/Rach)