Two Leos On A Date: Chicago Botanical Garden Night Lights

At the moment I am classifying Two Leos And A Gypsy as a Love Blog. A huge part of why I started this blog is because I am in love with my life right now. It is imperfect, silly and chaotic, but I wouldn't have it any other way. An important piece of our relationship is spending quality time together throughout the week. We rarely just come home after work and spend the night there. Many days we go straight to the park to feed the ducks, grab a bite to eat or go shopping together. On the weekends we enjoy spending as much time as possible with Gypsy. The Chicago Botanical Gardens has a Night Lights event during the spring. They light up over 3,000 candles in the dark to illuminate the garden. Esteban asked if I wanted to go to this event on a Friday Night and I couldn't resist. Walking in an enchanted garden illuminated by fire is exactly my element.

This was my first time going to the Chicago Botanical Garden. After seeing how beautiful the ground looked illuminated by the candles, I cannot wait to go back in the day time! #CBGNightLights

Because I am still trying to find the perfect look for my blog, please let me know in the comments what format you like the pictures. In the last posts I use smaller images so you can capture the entire idea in one glance. For these pictures located in the Chicago Botanical Garden, I used the larger format because there is so much detail in them I want you to search and find all of the components. The pictures in this post are a bit dark since we walked around at night. Hopefully the picture will give the event justice.

Leo's rule by the the Sun as our planet and fire as our element. We are brave and playful leaders. Once two leos are in a relationship their heated passion and commitment will keep them going. Although leos are also not the ideal partners for each other (because of the constant need for attention and authority), their love for one another can burn as bright as the sun once they put their egos aside. From the day I met Esteban, the light inside of me has craved him and floating around this garden was the perfect representation of our love.

When we arrived on the grounds, the night was breathtaking, but I wondered how the Botanical Gardens lit all of the 3,000 candles. Did they pick up each candle and place them after they were lit? Or did they place all of the lanterns and then light them? About fifteen minutes later, it started to drizzle. Now I (and many other classic films) believe that walking in the rain is quite romantic. As my heart started to flutter for my husband, my question was answered. Some of the workers in the garden, dressed in black from head-to-toe, came out of the night with torches and started relighting the few flames that had disappeared. Honestly, before it started raining, I didn't even notice any of these workers. The drops fizzled out and flames took over the night again. I was impressed by the amount of effort the botanical gardens had to make this event so special. Before the rain I did not notice one lantern out of light.

We both could feel the magic in the air and then warmth in our hearts walking down this path. The trees were cut so perfectly straight that I felt like we were in a storybook. Date night doesn't always have to be somewhere expensive or elaborate. A stroll around the park holding hands or even simply at home cooking together can be a great time to enjoy each other's company. We try to remember to put our phones away and focus on one another once we go on our date night. Let me know if you want to hear about some of the other "rules" we follow for date night.

I love this picture Esteban took of me ( a little red eye never hurt, nobody). But because there were so many folks enjoying the garden as we were, they waited to walk in front of us until the picture was taken. How do you guys feel when there are others waiting for you to take a picture in a public place? Has social media made this more common?

We are almost half way through the year and once I saw this reflection of the tree in the water, appearing so vividly like a mirror that I wanted to dive into, I realized I should reflect on the past five months of 2019. In the beginning of this year my husband and I wanted to switch up our lifestyles. We stopped taking Gypsy to the local park and started driving to the neighborhood over to walk her. We researched new restaurants and wine/beer to try out. We rented new cds from the library to listen to in the car to switch up the sounds playing in our heads. Changing small items from your daily routine can make you feel like a new person and help you learn about yourself.

Please tell me in the comments how the first half of 2019 has been for you. Are you still working towards those resolutions or do you have new ones for the next 6 months?

All of the small changes we made helped us get out of a routine. We also thought we would get a new car as well as an apartment this year. When we applied for our dream apartment last month we were declined and to top if off our current apartment mentioned the date we planned to move out was a month too soon and our lease wasn't over yet. Moving into our dream apartment was a huge motivation to me throughout the beginning of the year and once it didn't pan out I was devastated (still am a bit). I plan on making an entire post about this, but starting Two Leos And A Gypsy is helping me sculpt a brighter future and analyze my current lifestyle. I am so proud to have started this blog, something that is mine. From this day forward I am taking control of my life. So saddle up, darlings, this is Two Leos And A Gypsy.