The Otters Do Chicago: Part 1

Our wedding day was over. With lots of laughs, posing, and sparklers, the day had come to an end way faster than I ever thought it would. The next morning, we taxied a ton of stuff back to our apartment and met a few of Mr. O's family members for a quick, early (like, 8AM early...) breakfast before we headed off to Chicago.

Hive, I'm gonna be honest with you: I don't remember if I ever talked about how upset I was about not going on a honeymoon. Usually it only got to me when I was already down, but it was definitely in the back of my mind throughout planning. We talked about taking a short trip to New York City or Ann Arbor (two of our favorite cities!), but for various reasons, they just didn't work out. 

I'm not sure exactly how it came about, since it was a surprise to me, but FIL and MIL Otter gifted us a mini-moon to Chicago! They put us in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria in Chicago, and can I just say - holy wow? They'd never been, but looking at reviews, they thought it would be a good place for us. Good place? By the time we left, we were referring to it as our apartment. 

Driving up to see a Marc Jacobs IN THE SAME BUILDING? Yes.

Entering the suite: the hallways leading to the living area and the bedroom, and a great closet!

The bathroom speaks for itself, talk about luxurious!

And then I discovered the built in TV... yes, yes, we will happily move in, thank you very much. (And could there be anything more fitting to turn on than Kim Kardashian? I think not.)

The bedroom, plus the living area of the suite which had a fireplace, bar, and half bath.

My exact quote was "okay smile! Okay, now can you get up so I can take more pictures?" Poor Mr. O! ;)

We made it!

The view from our balcony.

Once we we had settled in (obviously no one had to twist our arms, we were so incredibly excited to be there!) we started looking at the map the front desk had shared with us of what was nearby. In one word: everything. As we had driven up, I had already seen about fifteen places that we JUST HAD TO GO, so we changed, got ready, and out we went!

Missed a recap? Catch up here!

• Otterly in Love: The Girls Get Pampered
• Otterly in Love: We Rehearse
• Otterly in Love: A Reverse Shower
• Otterly in Love: I’m Awake, Now What?
• Otterly in Love: The Girls Get Pretty
• Otterly in Love: The Guys Get Ready
• Otterly in Love: I Become a Bride
• Otterly in Love: We Exchange Gifts
• Otterly in Love: The First Look
• Otterly in Love: We Pose
• Otterly in Love: The Wedding Party
• Otterly in Love: Two Families, Lots of Faces
• Otterly in Love: We Finally Get Married!
• Otterly in Love: The Middle Part
• Otterly in Love: Craving You More
• Otterly in Love: Daddy Otter’s Speech
• Otterly in Love: The Toasts and The Dances
• Otterly in Love: The Surprises
• Otterly in Love: Let the Party Begin!
• Otterly in Love: Some Traditional Stuff
• Otterly in Love: We Snuck Off
• Otterly in Love: The Girls Steal The Show
• Otterly in Love: Stand Very, Very Still
• Otterly in Love: The Last Songs
• Otterly in Love: The Sparkler Send Off