You guys gave me the bug to want to go and now you have created a monster!!! I can't wait to go back!
(And since I'm in Florida, that's no easy feat!)

First off I want to say that the whole Personal Shopper thing is WONDERFUL. I asked for Rita and I believe I met an angel. She is an absolutely lovely person who has now become my daughter's adopted Grandma! She helped us shop the 2 days we were there and was always wisking away our packages to free up our arms. She even managed to keep my daughter's purchases seperate from my own, which will be Christmas gifts.
She even helped calm me when I lost my digital camera and rejoiced with me when someone turned it in! She was like one of Santa's elves...just popping in out of nowhere and suddenly appearing by our side. She absolutely made my daughter's birthday so incredibly special, by the little things she did and surprised her with. I am forever indebted to her and can't wait to see her again.

The birthday luncheon - OH MY GOODNESS is the BIRTHDAY CAKE OUT OF THIS WORLD OR WHAT??????? How, I mean, HOW did they make that icing!?!?!?! I can't wait to go back just for that! The lunch was great too, our view was awesome as we had a window seat.

The Felicity Meet dress that my daughter wore - You all were right, she was the HIT of the whole place. Mom's were asking me right and left how and where I got the dress. People were taking her picture, some people even thought she was the girl in the movie and play! Megan felt SO special.

Marisol - LOTS of Marisols there. I don't have one and didn't get one, but there was hardly NO one at the Marisol display each time we walked by.

The Play - the theatre was great, my daughter got to meet some of the actresses afterwards and got their autographs. Sweet girls!

Nellie's Birthday Party and Tea - This was fun, as the actresses from the play were there and played old fashioned games with the girls, such as pick up sticks, cards etc... and made a gingerbread house. I was hoping that there would be traditional Irish music there for Nellie's birthday, but they had the harp player there again, which seems to be at each of the birthday parties.
The Tea - well, this was OK. The food was eh, so so. I never thought I would eat a cucumber sandwich, but it was actually good! We didn't want the salmon spread or the hard and crumbly scones. Did I mention hard? pretty tasteless too.
They did a craft at each dining table which was cute, making a potpourri sachet.

Chicago itself - We got a kick out of all the panhandlers on the corner and felt a little nervous to venture away from the AG Store. We saw a Corvette limo who couldn't make it around the corner so he caused a big traffic jam. A limo pulled up and a bride and groom got out across the street, that was neat to see.

Shopping? My DD had earned and saved $421 and spent $419.65 of it! She bought Felicity and Elizabeth, their tea gowns, Elizabeth's bed, Samantha's bridesmaid dress.

Tips - If it's your birthday, get a birthday pin from the concierge desk! If you have a young man along, who will no doubt hate the trip, you can get a Game Boy from the concierge desk by just leaving your drivers license. My son got to play The Incredibles for a few hours.

Where to eat outside of Chicago?
Oh My GOODNESS if you like MEXICAN food then this place is worth the drive - it's about 35 min. west of Chicago and it's called LA CAMPANA in the town of Bloomingdale. We actually stayed there at the Indian Lakes Resort. THE BEST MEXICAN FOOD I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE - and I have tried tons of restaurants!

I think that's it. I THINK. I will get the pictures onto an album soon and share them with you all!

Thanks for letting me share my (our) trip!
Julie