Searching for inspiration in The Second City...

With temperature in the 40's for the first time since early December, Chicago was reborn yesterday.

The Wrigley Building

Under this staggeringly blue sky, Chicagoans cast off their many layers of clothing; some even wore shorts. And smiled. And talked to each other.

This reawakening is a great phenomenon. We know it's only temporary, these few warm mid-winter days -- it's a little gift of sorts to cushion the blow that the groundhog at the Lincoln Park Zoo did, indeed, see his shadow earlier this week...and we're in for at least six more weeks of bone-chilling madness. Days like this at least give us hope.

Michigan Avenue reflected in The Bean

I've been in a rut ever since I sorted through and cleaned up my stash. Part of me likes it all organized and contained and feels triumphant for having conquered the mess; the other part likes it all haphazard and unruly.

I think I was more creative when it was flung all over the place.

Anyway, in an effort to get the creative juices flowing again, I turned to my camera -- it always gets me looking at things differently. I had an early dentist appointment downtown, and afterward headed to Millennium Park to play tourist in my own city on my way home. And found a lot of very neat things in the process.

The "Frozen Fun Fest" was in full swing on the plaza. Kind of bad timing for them, there was two inches of water everywhere from all the exhibits melting.

Ice Maze

At 83 stories tall, the Aon Center used to be the largest marble-faced building in the world. Until the marble started buckling. Now it's the largest granite-but-used-to-be-marble-faced building in the world. It's at its best during the day, before the lights go on and start delineating the floors.

Aon Center, the third tallest building in Chicago

Walls of Frank Gehry's Pritzker Pavilion

East Randolph, overlooking the park

Harris Theater Entrance

If you ever visit Chicago, go to the Cultural Center at Washington and Michigan Avenue. Take 30 seconds and just step into the lobby. It's all Carrara marble and inlaid Tiffany glass. Incredible.

When I first moved here, this was the main library. Some of the mosaics in the arches have the names of great writers in them (Homer, Keats, Plato, to name a few). There's a dome at the head of the grand staircase that'll knock your socks off. There was a children's concert going on, so I didn't go up to take pictures.

Next stop: Sugar Bliss. And they're not kidding. I had one of these cupcakes for breakfast this morning with an ice cold glass of milk. Is that bad?

There are quilt motifs everywhere, like this stained glass at the Elephant & Castle Pub. I'm thinking jewel-toned Moda Marbles...

And detail. Which becomes apparent when you enlarge this shot of the Jewelers' Building at 35 East Wacker, which, in 1925, was the tallest building in the country outsite of New York City. When it was originally built, it had a parking garage on the first 20 floors so the jewelers, who comprised the majority of tenants, could drive in and bring their inventory in securely. Today, the dome at the top houses the offices of Helmut Jahn. They also used it for some shots in "Batman Begins."

I love knowing stuff like that.

This reminds me of some quilts by Robbi Joy Elkow. It's on Wacker Tower, a Holibaird & Root building that's probably one of the most amazing examples of Art Deco ornament in architecture in the city. It originally housed the Chicago Motor Club, then AAA. The two-story lobby has a mural/map of the US that I used to drag my friends in to see.

There were plans to convert this building to condos, so the building was cleared of tenants a few years ago. It's been empty ever since. And, unfortunately, the great decoration on its facade is falling into disrepair.

Across the street, at the corner of South Water and Michigan, stands the Carbide and Carbon Building, another great Art Deco masterpiece, which was recently renovated into The Hard Rock Hotel.

I was working in the building across the street when the hotel opened. Note to visitors: don't pull the shade up in the bathroom when you're showering so you can see out. Unless you want us to see you. ALL of you.

The base of a Michigan Avenue lamp post

Then I started noticing more details. Subtle decorations along the base of a building or on the Michigan Avenue Bridge tower. Very cool. See any quilts in there yet?

And then there's the Chicago River itself, which was looking like a crazy quilt...or, as my friend Matthew says, the end of a box of peanut brittle.

This "American Gothic" sculpture is on a plaza overlooking the river. It's a full-body piece, and the artist has placed a suitcase covered in travel stickers at their feet. From far away, she looks like she's looking at him with contempt because he'd fogotten to pack their winter coats; today, in warmer weather, she just looks worried about the economy.

Because of the way it's been painted (flat paint? definitely no gloss), it looks two-dimensional from every angle. These two had been on exhibit down in Key West -- and traded places with the piece by the same artist that used to be here, King Lear (bottom video).

I think King Lear got the better end of the deal this winter.

Windows on the Tribune Tower

I stopped at Starbuck's at my half-way home mark, and ended up sitting in the window just people-watching. When the weather's warm, the people come out.

The building across the street from Starbucks didn't have an address (it's attached to Nordstrom's), but man, does it have detail. More Art Deco-ness:

There are also carvings of Diana, Atlas, and Helios up along the second floor. I walk by this building almost every day, and never really studied it. I have been shamed.

Further north, the Hotel Sofitel is said to lean out and "kiss" the buildings down the street. It kind of does. I only had one free hand, because by now I was carrying my coat, so my camera angles got a little "creative."

It's down the street from my favorite deli, L'Appetito, another must-visit. And don't go to the one at the foot of the Hancock Center; walk the six blocks to the corner of Huron and Wabash.

It's an Italian meat and cheese fest! They make my greatest guilty pleasure, il Parma: proscuitto, fresh mozarella, tomatoes, fresh basil, and olive oil on a wonderful soft sesame roll. You've never tasted anything like it. With two pignoli for dessert, it's heaven.

I got into a fun conversation while waiting for my sandwich with one of the priests from the cathedral across the street about the camera opening my eyes and seeing things in a new light. I wonder if I'll end up being part of a sermon someday?

Yes, I talk willingly to strangers. And if you're standing on a corner with a map looking lost, I will also stop and give you directions. That are about 90% right. I'm usually good for getting you within two blocks of your destination.

St. James Cathedral

This neighborhood also contains my all-time favorite residence in the City of Chicago, the Ransom R. Cable House. It was built for a railway bigwig in 1886, and the ornament on this building is amazing.

Though there's really only one other mansion left in the neighborhood, you really get a feel for how gracious the area must have been around the turn of the century.

Mansion wall, Erie & Wabash

Synagogue stairs, Delaware & State Street

And for those of you who read "The Time Traveler's Wife," here's the entrance to the Newberry Library, where Henry worked.

'Round about here, I got hungry and was running out of room on my memory card, so I sat on the library steps and ate half my sandwich in the sun, watching dogs romp unleashed and illegally around Washington Square Park.

I don't know yet if I found any successful inspiration for my quilts, but I do know I found that noticing the details makes you look at the Big Picture from a whole new angle.

It was a great day.