In typical LLP world, Kara and I discuss recipes we want to try or ideas we’ve thought up during the week and we continuously add to our to-do list. Then on Saturday mornings, the 3 of us get together and make 4-5 recipes. As other bloggers who delegate weekends to blogging might understand, it can be tiring. This Saturday, however, didn’t go as planned.
I was getting ready to head over to Kara and Cliff’s house when I got a text from Kara saying that she wasn’t up to it that day. We agreed that instead of blogging we would go to Nordstrom and Jamba Juice. I think that’s a fair compromise. 🙂
At the last minute we decided to skip Nordstrom (I didn’t think those words would ever come out of my mouth) because the weather was too beautiful to be inside. Fall can turn into winter way too fast in Chicago so we really wanted to take advantage. Instead of Nordy, we drove 20 minutes away to Glencoe, Illinois to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Here are a few of the pics from our adventure.
These are the Bonsai Gardens. The miniature trees are beautiful and weird at the same time. I read that the Chicago Botanic Gardens has one of the best Bonsai collections in the world.
After walking through the English Gardens, we worked our way to the Japanese Gardens. The Japanese Gardens are my favorite – the trees, curvy paths, water and bridge make for a serene and tranquil outdoor area. We sat on a bench for awhile and relaxed.
I also snapped a cute family photo. Winnie wore her Cubby blue…but it didn’t bring them a W.
We headed to the fruits and vegetables next. Look at these pumpkins! We also saw an apple orchard, watermelon, kale, chard, cauliflower, peppers, figs, herbs, grapes, beets and LOTS more. We even saw bee hives. So cool! Never wanting to leave empty-handed, they were giving away heirloom lettuce and we grabbed one to plant at home. Apparently they grown until the first frost, and even longer if you keep them covered.
Isn’t the winding staircase in the conservatory so cool?
All in all, our day away from the kitchen and into the sunshine was exactly what we needed!
