Chapter 38

This year Candace was turning 38 and just like every year I wanted to do something special and unique for her. While mindlessly scrolling Instagram, I saw an ad for Jacks Big City Ranch and thats when the ideas started flowing. Jacks Big City Ranch is Chicago’s largest Summer pop-up and it consists of Mini Golf, Go Karts, Axe Throwing, and Bull Riding. I saw a few event pictures and I knew that this could be really fun.

From there I proceeded to go to Amazon and started to order a few of the items I thought were must have’s. These items consisted of a Cowgirl hat, Cowgirl Boots, and a big belt buckle. Since her birthday was on a Wednesday this year, I decided to not tell her ahead of time what I had planned because I wanted to surprise her.

I decided to call off on her birthday so I could spend the day with her. I started the day like any other day but with one clear goal, act as if it was an ordinary day. I woke the kids up and told them, “Do not make a big deal out of moms birthday. Act like its a regular day.” I am hear to tell you my kids delivered, they should get an Academy Award or something. After dropping the kids off, I let Candace know I wasnt going to work and instead we had an “errand to run.”

There was this breakfast spot that I discovered on Instagram called the Honey Bear Cafe . The pictures of their French Toast is what initially caught my eye but then I found out that they had a BYOB Mimosa Flight and that was all I needed to see. Tucked away in the trunk was a bottle of La Marca Prosecco, I keyed the address into Waze and we were off. When we arrived my stomach sanked. The pictures on Instagram were so glamorous but the exterior of the restaurant was very lack lustor. Thankfully we decided to still go in and boy was I glad we did.

As soon as we entered the threshold of the restaurant we were immediately blown away by all of the thought that they put into the decor that made for the most amazing atmospher. There was this little nook type table with live Sunflowers on it and this little sign that displayed “yum.” When we made it to the interior of the restuarant, there was this cool 3ft Teddy Bear (Honey Bear) and a sign that said the “Hostess Will Seat You,” there was even a grasswall for Instagrammable photos. All around the resturant were fresh cut sunflowers we were in total bliss lol.

Once our waitress greeted us, I could hardly wait to tell her we wanted the Mimosa Flight and that I have my own bottle of champagne. She let me know that they do not have a fee for bottle service and that we get to pick the flavor of juices we want in our flight, FOR THE WIN!!!! After carefully reviewing the menu, we decided on our orders and they did not disappoint. The food was delicious, the portions were large, and most importantly, the birthday girl was enjoying herself. We both left with leftovers :-D. Now to get all of the amazing pictures to capture the moment, only one problem, we were bloated and no longer felt like we could get flattering pictures but we said f*** it, Facebook and Instagram are going to get these pictures lol. Operation 38 Special was off to a great start.

Later in the day it was the kids turn to shower mom with love and affection. We did cake, ice cream, and we serenaded her. Now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for the gifts. The kids have been impatiently waiting to give mommy her gifts. I was so proud of them of the way they went about selecting the gifts. Madison gave her a Starbucks gift card because she drinks coffee everyday. Monroe got her a Amazon gift card because she always has amazon packages delivered. Midas got her some scented candles from Bath and Body Works. And last but not least, I gave her the Cowgirl Starter Kit wifey edition. At first she started cracking up laughing, then she was instantly overcome by the curiousity to know what the items meant because neither of us has ever expressed an intrest in cowboy boots, the rodeo, ect.

I told her that she got those gifts because Im taking her to Jacks Big City Ranch, Chicago’s largest summer popup over the weekend and that she needed to pack a bag. I also told her to be sure to pack a formal dress as well because I had something else special planned.

When Friday came around, we ended up going out to dinner at Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse in Oakbrook. One of the things I enjoyed is that they had free parking and complimentary valet. This is was a big deal to me because we started to go to the location in Downtown Chicago and we would have had to pay for parking there. Anyway, when we arrived, we had dinner reservations and were presented with the option to dine on the patio or inside. We opted to dine inside but hindsight, I think we should have chosen the patio as I think it would have made for a more romantic experience. We are big on ambiance and decor and in my opinion this location lacked both. It gave old money vibes which can be cool but we prefer a more modern upscale feel as opposed to a vintage feel. The entire night all we did was compare everything to Ruth Chris and in my opinion Ruth Chris is better. Our meal was delicious but the plating was regular. Normally we take pictures of all our meals but the plating wasn’t flattering so we opted to put our phones down and enjoy the meal. The food was definitely good but overall it was an experience to say that we did it but we agree that we will probably not return.

After eating I decided it was time for us to keep the party going. The plan was to check into our hotel, shower, change clothes and head out to to Putt Shack. We ended up staying at the Double Tree by Hilton Lisle Naperville location. One of the things we love most about this property is that you get the most delicious cookies at check in. Since the property was nearly at capacity and we were celebrating a special occasion, we Front Desk Agent upgraded us. We had all the best intentions to kick it until the sun came up but in the end, we ended up checking in and falling right to sleep.

I intentionally sought out a property that was near Morton Arboretum because this was one of the headline birthday activities. Historically when it comes to being anywhere first thing in the morning, my Pooka (Candace) is guaranteed to be on CP time. I wanted her to fully enjoy this experience so we stayed 5 minutes for the Arboretum. We went for the Daniel Popper exhibit and it did not disappoint. The exhibit reminds you of Tulum when you see the pictures but to be there in person, I almost can’t put the experience in words. I can tell you that we have plans to return again once with the kids and once with us again and who knows when after that.

After all the posing, walking, and picture taking, we were hungry so we decided to get some lunch. We decided to go to Downtown Naperville to this cool as spot called Jojos Shakebar. They had a ton of instagramable photo opportunities but we did not take advantage of most of them because we were kind of bummed out. We ended up ordering one of the yummiest Chicken Sandwiches with perfectly seasoned fries. I opted to add some shredded cheese to my fries which gave it a nice extra kick. People around us order the most decorative shakes and boy did I want to try it but not as bad as we wanted to try the Patron Tree! Overall this spot was a hit, we wanted to stay a tad longer but we had to venture off to the main attraction.

Now it was time for us to head back to the hotel to get ready for to go to Jack Big City Ranch. I didn’t know how things were going to go over but we both were willing to step outside of our comfort zone and try something new. The moment we arrived we knew we were going to have a good time. As we looked for street parking we saw a nice amount of people dressed to the Cowboy and Cowgirl theme. In our older age, we dont care too much for big crowds and it appeared we were kind of early. This was great because it allowed us the ability to get some great pictures without a bunch of random folks in the background. After getting the pictures we wanted we had a couple of drinks and decided we would have fun with the activities on site. Candace rode the Mechanical Bull and boy did I get a good laugh out of that. I took a picture under a sign that read, Kiss me Imma Cowboy or so I thought smh. The sign actually read kiss me Cowboy so the picture will never see the light of day lol.

To end the night we headed to Benihana’s for dinner. Because I didn’t have the foresight to make reservations, we had to wait over an hour. Upon being seated we sat near skin folks. This experience let me know that in my older age i’ve become a bit boogie and judgy. I thought each of the couples were rough around the edges. We ordered our meals similar to how we order when we go to other Hibachi spots but we definitely ordered wrong. We did not know that the meals do not come with the butter noodles with EXTRA garlic butter. Needless to say we were dissatisfied and ended the day on a sour note. We decided to not get any pictures here either as we were also under whelmed.

To bring the weekend to an end, we closed out with one of the coolest, tastiest breakfast spots, Buttermilk! The hosted was WHACK, I wish we would’ve gotten her name. We almost left because she had really bad energy and we felt she played us on the seating. Our waitress however came thru. She saw our seating arrangement and moved us without us asking, her energy was AMAZING. She was super nice, very knowledgeable about the menu, and gave some dope recommendations. I loved the attention to detail this restaurant owner has from menu design to water glasses, you name it. The food was very delicious, had a nice healthy portion so you will have left overs, and it was a quick turnaround. We will definitely be making another trip to Naperville just for this restaurant. This was the perfect way to bring a dope weekend to an end.