Chi-Town here I come!

Do people actually call Chicago "Chi-Town", or is that just my husband??

Either way, I'm heading there Monday for a business trip for a few days.

I'm not a city person at all, and I spent a few days in Chicago as a teenager for the Jazz Dance World Congress when I was a teenager. I really enjoyed the feel of Chicago as opposed to other cities.  It somehow didn't feel quite as overwhelming.

So I'll be headed there for a few days, staying right on Michigan Avenue, which will be sweet, but there are a few things I'm worried about:
1 - Taking the subway from the airport.  I've never taken a subway before, and I am in fear that I will get off at the wrong place and be totally lost...pulling my suitcase behind me wandering around a strange city.
2 - What should I wear??!?!  This is a work event but the first night is a Casino Night and one night we have a summer dinner party on the Navy Pier.  How does one dress for such events???

Guess I have 2 more days to figure it out.

Fireworks, hot dogs, and tin barrels?

Happy week after the 4th of July!

We had some company for the 4th, even though we were only off for the day to enjoy time with them.

My parents, sister, and our 2-year-old nephew came up to visit!  My sister and her little boy (and her husband who wasn't able to join us) live in South Carolina so we don't get to see them as frequently as we would like, but when we do, that little man keeps us intrigued every second.

It was his first experience with fireworks, and at first he was a little confused/afraid and after about 2 minutes he wanted in his own chair and stared up at that sky repeating "ooooooh, Wow, Pretty" over and over again until the show ended.  It was really fun to watch (watch him that is, I hardly saw the fireworks at all because I couldn't stop watching his reaction).

 During the day, we played in the yard, drew with chalk on the sidewalk, ate plenty of food, and drank delicious Arnold Palmers that I mixed up in my red drink barrel from At Home America.  Similar to the one below, but mine is red and doesn't have the wooden handles.

http://www.athome.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID=3296&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=422&iSubCat=467&iProductID=3296
Link if you wanna check out the deets.

I didn't worry about keeping the drink too cold, since that never works in 95 degree heat without completely watering down your drink.  I just kept a small bowl of plastic ice cubes next to it, and refilled as necessary with cold ones.

On the menu for the day was:

Watermelon

Blueberries

Hot dogs

Hamburgers

Broccoli salad

Crack potatoes (new recipe from Pinterest...amazing)

Cake batter dip (also via Pinterest)

Corn on the cob

Trix treats (just like Rice Crispy treats only with Trix...obviously)

We also had a coconut cream pie (thanks Mom!) and a blueberry/raspberry pie that I made, yep, my first berry pie was a success!

Thanks to my sister, a week later I discovered the Jelly Belly flavored freeze pops she brought and left in my freezer...sorry kid, Aunt Kristen is eating all your popsicles :)

Favorite outdoor entertaining ideas for hot days?  Great cookout recipes?  Please share.