A Disco Birthday Party

I had a dentist appointment on a Friday so I took the day off from work since I had to travel to the suburbs.  I finished my workouts earlier in the week and had nothing to do when I got back.  My friend who works at Disco in River North invited me to her birthday party.  I haven’t seen her in a while and wondered how she’s been doing.  I made up my mind that I was going to meet her downtown.

Luckily the weather was in the high 50s.  I opted to wear my fleece bomber with my new graphic t-shirt since I could get away from not wearing a coat.  I made my way to see her but she warned me to get there a bit later since it was still empty inside.  I have not been out in a while and it was interesting to watch people walk around in the area.  Once inside I made my way upstairs and found her table.  She looked beautiful in her sequined two piece.  Her other friends arrived and I recognized one of them from our trip to Las Vegas years ago.  We were goofing around and had a blast that night.  I miss dancing…

Tao Birthday Party

I’m back from my weekend in New York.  Of course I still had to settle in, but traveling to me is exhausting.  I know it has to do with my nerves more than anything, and like most of my trips, it was all over the place.  Regardless, I learned so much and can’t wait to share my experience!

Back to recapping October events.  My friend had her second baby recently, and we were surprised she wanted to do something for her birthday.  She wanted a night out with the girls.  That was fine by us!  We wanted to do something different and made reservations for Tao Chicago.  Ever since its grand opening, this restaurant has been hot in the scene.  We settled on a Sunday night since it was hard to accommodate everyone’s time and schedule.  I got a chance to wear my kimono dress I bought months ago for my birthday.  For a brief moment I thought I should wear it for my birthday but then changed my mind.  Oh well what can you do?

We met at the restaurant in groups.  Our friend in Michigan happened to be in town that weekend and we knew this would be a special surprise for her.  It was nice catching up with them in the meantime.  We goofed around taking pictures.

Once the 2^nd group showed up, we hid our Michigan friend at the back bar and were seated at our table.  The birthday girl had no clue.  She cried when she saw her pop out!  What a moment!

We decided to order a tasting menu which suited everyone since we wanted to know how the food tasted.  Everything was DELISH!  I would definitely be coming back to Tao in the near future.

Drews’s On Halsted

Back in September I had a doctor’s appointment on a Saturday.  I hate having to leave the house when it’s my usual chore day, but this was a must.  I got up, had my breakfast, and got ready to head out.  I messaged my friend whom recently booked a trip to Egypt.  I was excited for him, and since I’m a sucker for a good travel story, I wanted to know the details about his upcoming trip.  We decided to meet up for lunch after my appointment.  

He wanted to meet at our spot in his Lakeview neighborhood.  I found him waiting for me at the bar, and that’s where we parked all night.  We talked for hours and caught up with one another.  It was a chill Saturday night and I loved every minute of it.  I’m beginning to enjoy more one-on-one interactions than a night in a club.  There’s so much going on and you never get to enjoy the conversation because of the distractions.  Maybe I’m just growing out of things…

Hamilton The Musical

I was trying to come up with some ideas for what to do for my mom’s birthday this year.  I wanted to take her to the movies since we haven’t gone in months.  I was looking into “Crazy Rich Asians” when another idea popped up.  I wondered if I could get tickets for Hamilton.  Hamilton has been in Chicago for over a year, with tickets still being high on demand.  My friend convinced me it might be easier to score some now since time has passed.  I looked into but was shocked at the prices!  I have not seen a play in years, but some tickets were close to $400!  I looked and looked and found some seating available on her birthday but we would be seated in two separate rows.  Whenever I tried to purchase something together the prices would skyrocket.  My friend suggested I look at other dates and surprise her with tickets on her birthday inside a card.  I thought about it, but then opted not to since I would still have to come up with something to do on her actual birthday.  I texted my mom right away to see if she had any plans with anyone first before I went ahead to purchase them.  Once she replied no, I got on it and bought the single seated tickets in two different rows.  I told my friend I hope she doesn’t mind sitting in front of me since this is the best that I could do.  Luckily she got very excited when I texted her what I had done.  I had no idea she really wanted to see this show!

On the day of, we met at the train station and rode downtown.  It was pretty cold that day, but it gave me the chance to wear my over the knee boots and new sweater dress I had bought months earlier.  My mom could not stop smiling while we waited in line to get in.  Once inside I decided to order a glass of wine since I didn’t want to miss any of the performance.  My mom was looking over curiously at the concession stand.  I asked her to pick out what she wanted, but she settled on the tour book.  I bought a souvenir t-shirt for myself before we were seated.

The show, as you have heard, is absolutely amazing!  I loved every minute of it and my mom was practically glowing from the whole experience.  I would recommend this to anyone visiting Chicago to check it out.  The music alone gives you chills!

Hispanic Heritage Breakfast

I am fortunate to work in an environment that recognizes diversity in the workplace.  For this year’s Hispanic Heritage Breakfast, we did our usual pastries and coffees from various parts of Latin America.  It’s been a hit over the years and people seem to enjoy the coffee tasting.  I wore my silver Aztec calendar necklace my mom got for me from her trip to Mexico.  It went with the theme and people loved it!  What a fun event!

Happy Hour Birthday Party

I’m still trying to catch up on my posts!  Let’s get to it!

Back in September one of my friends wanted to meet up for drinks during happy hour for her birthday.  It fell on a Monday and she wanted to see if she could pull this off at the last minute.  I had already made plans with my other friends and cancelled on them at the last minute.  Luckily they were understanding.  I wanted to catch up with the birthday girl since I haven’t seen her in a while.  I feel bad when I can’t remember when we last spoke.

The good news is she has re-located and had changed jobs as well.  I’m so proud of her and at the direction her life is going.  She’s a wonderful person and deserves all the success she’s worked hard for!  

The birthday girl wanted to go to the new Hampton Social in Streeterville.  This new location just opened up that day, and we were expecting a huge turnout.  We waited at the bar until a few more friends showed up and then got a table.  On this night in particular they had a singer playing the guitar for entertainment.  He was really good!

We started ordering away appetizers since it was dinnertime.  I ordered some avocado toast.  We were enjoying our night when our server introduced us to the manager.  He brought over a large punch bowl for the birthday girl to share with others.  Now that’s hospitality!

University Club of Chicago

I’m back to recapping September events!  I need to catch up since it’s already November!  Yikes! After that long holiday weekend, I worked an event at the University Club of Chicago.  We helped check guests in with their badges and greeted them as well.  It turned out to be a great turn out for us and we even got a chance to sample their appetizers.  I’ve never been there before so it was a treat to step inside this private social club that has lasted over a 100 years.  I was impressed by the history and enjoyed working that evening.

Labor Day Weekend Monday

I did not go out in the end.  I went home after my mom’s dinner.  My friend went out and had fun with her new friend.  I’m glad.  I bummed out in the morning until I received a text from my other friend who lives down the street from me.  She wanted to throw a mini BBQ at her place.  Nothing big.  I loved that idea!  Grilling on Labor Day!

I got ready since she mentioned to get to her place by 12:30pm.  But once I was ready, I heard something outside.  Yup.  You guessed it.  It started storming again.  These sneaky scattered storms have been playing tricks on us all weekend.  I texted her to let her know I will be over once the storm passes through.  Once it did, I walked over to 7-11 to grab some prosecco for the BBQ. 

She had a friend over who also has kids.  Her twins were playing with my friend’s daughter.  It was fun watching them interact with one another.  My friend would run outside to check on the grill, but at one point she came back drenched.  It was pouring again, and this time it was heavy.  Unfortunately her husband came home from work and found flooding in the basement.  We felt bad because we had no idea something was happening downstairs.  Once the rain passed by me and her friend decided to leave.  We knew they had more important issues to deal with and we didn’t want to be in the way.  This rain was something else!  Regardless, I loved my chicken sandwich!  Lol