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i.

it's a hot one out there today, chicagoland.
actually, it feels like it's been unbearably, insufferably hot for days... the humidity has been INSANE and every time you step outside, you may as well have jumped into a swimming pool! i just keep remind myself that days like today are what i was thinking of back in february, during the blizzard when it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get home from work (almost an hour longer than usual) and people stranded their vehicles on lake shore drive.

...alright, really i was dreaming of 70 degree sunshine and slight breezes. i'm grateful for protection from this heat, don't get me wrong, but what about a little trip to the middle ground? i guess they don't call these the "dog days of summer" for nothing!

ii.
so early last week, the husband and i found ourselves with the same two days off of work, completely by chance. sometimes we're lucky to get at least one, but the very same two days? we decided to take advantage of it and booked a room at the days in dubuque, iowa, simply because we could.

it was an awesome little mini-vacation. we stayed in dubuque for the night, then the next day, we drove around southwestern wisconsin, getting lost on long country roads. it was exactly what we needed and we definitely found a few places to explore further in the future.