Happy Hour at Masada

Following up Spring Awakening, I had drinks with a friend later in the week on a Thursday at Masada.  It was nice catching up.  I rarely do things during the week since I try to catch up with my workouts as well as shopping for groceries.  I have limited access to a supermarket in my neighborhood and not having a car does not help.  Plus as I’ve gotten older I hate doing chores on the weekends.  Lol.  Regardless, Masada was a nice treat.  We sat outside in their beautiful patio and had some light bites.

OUTRAGEOUS!

Trying to finish up August events before I fly out!  I’m SO FREAKING NERVOUS!!!  I was doing good yesterday by finishing up a spiritual book on forgiveness.  I’m mostly a self-help book guru but I got this book from my church and figured I’ll do a quick read before I order my next book.  Believe it or not, it did bring up some interesting insights on forgiveness.  I realized that I needed to forgive myself for getting so anxious.  I am human after all.  I also have to have more faith that everything will be alright.  Easier said than done, but I know once I land safely, my new adventure awaits!

The last weekend of August I had dinner with a friend at Masada.  He has been eating a vegetarian diet lately, so this was the perfect spot for some good food!  He loved everything on his plate, and I enjoyed my “Little Village” cocktail.  We also lucked out on the belly dancer performing that evening.  It was a lovely evening.

Earlier that day, my firm held a raffle for a pair of Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey tickets at the Unite Center.  Once I heard they were going to do this, I envisioned me and my mom dancing along to his music.  I couldn’t believe I won!!  I was so excited I texted my mom right away.  She was in Michigan for a few days but was going to return that Saturday for the concert. 

The thing about my mom, she was rushing me a bit so we wouldn’t miss the show.  I explained that we would be fine, but I could tell she was anxious on getting there “on time”.  I realized she was just as excited as I was.  We got to our skybox lounge pretty early and met the other attendees.  It was then when I finally started to relax.  I had to bring my phone charger because I didn’t have time to fully charge it at home!

Needless to say, the show was amazing.  For those who are curious, Mariah did sing those high notes, but Lionel was the star of this show!  He brought everyone “dancing on the ceiling”.  He even performed songs from the Commodores.  The crowd went crazy for “All night long” as well as “we are the world”.  I just love the 80s!

Rooftop Action!

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Weekend!!  I've been M.I.A posting because I've been a little busy.  Plus, it's summertime in the city so you know how that goes.  Time to have some fun in the sun!  lol.  Let's recap:
After my weekend with my friend's holy communion for her daughter and the twins'  Hello Kitty birthday party, softball season officially started.  We finally had no rain!  We made our way out to Grant Park for our first game.  We lost, but by 2 runs.  It was a good time to see how well we played with one another now that there's some new faces.  We will resume playing next week for the rest of the month with a couple of double headers to make up for the two games that got cancelled out.  Can't wait to play ball!
The following weekend I stayed in and did some spring cleaning.  My friend from Italy was making her way to Chicago, so I wanted to run some errands before she got in.  I missed her so much!  We made plans to meet up on Monday after she spent time with some family.  I had no idea we were going to experience a mini heat wave that was coming for us right after!  My friend asked me why didn't I warn her about the heat but I had no idea.  That's the problem with Chicago weather.  Summer hits you out of no where. 
We met up in downtown late afternoon and decided to hit up some roof top bars before the rush hour sets in.  We figured we could get a head start.  The last time my friend was in Chicago was two years ago and a lot has changed since then.  Rooftops were not a thing for us back in the day.  With more opening this summer, it's definitely an added bonus for people to enjoy the outdoors.  We made our way to Loews hotel but unfortunately, the rooftop was set to open Memorial Weekend.  We missed it by a few days.  Oh well.  A worker there suggested we hit up the Sky Terrace at the Ivy boutique hotel by Streeterville.  We made our way up to the 16th floor and checked it out.  We had paid for two hours of parking at a meter, so we wanted to squeeze out as many places as we could before we met up with a friend for dinner.

Catching some rays at the Sky Terrace...

Our next stop was Cerise at the Virgin Hotel.  We walked all the way over there by the river walk and settled in there for a bit.  At that time, a rush of people walked in since it was close to 5pm.  It was nice catching up with my friend.  So much has happened since I last saw her in Italy last summer.  We obviously lost track of time and had to run out of there to get the car.
By now we were hungry and found our friends on State Street once they got off of work.  We decided to eat at Bar Takito in West Loop for dinner for a change of scenery.  It is patio season after all.  Our friends are getting married and it was interesting to hear how the wedding was coming along.  They are going to be super busy since it's a few months away.  Me and my friend finished up and headed back north to my place.

I ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon at Cerise on top of the Virgin Hotel...

Bar Takito's coconut shrimp and octopus ceviche...

 

Fish tacos!!

Pork belly tacos...

Bar Takito is located in the West Loop off  the Morgan stop on the Green Line...

Good times with the lucky couple!!  I wish them well on their upcoming wedding nuptials...

We freshened up and decided to head out since I requested the following day off.  I wanted to spend more time with my friend.  We headed towards Logan to Masada.  They had a rooftop as well.  It was a beautiful night and we had so much fun.  I miss her right now.  I hope to see her again soon...



Masada's rooftop is so pretty!!!

Time for Masada!

We've officially moved on to December events!!  I'm so close to catching up to real life!  lol.  I can't believe I'm almost there.  I promise to be more consistent with blogging because I have a ton of ideas circling in my brain.  Looking back to the holidays I can see how caught up socializing can get.  It can also be pretty costly.  UGH!  Regardless, I think by the end of this month I will be able to catch up with my bills a little.  I absolutely HATE being in debt.  To think I'll be able to finish off this big one that's been a menace to me for the past 10 years is encouraging me to stay on track.  I cannot wait!
The first Friday in December my friend held her birthday at Masada restaurant in Logan.  She's been there a couple of times and it slowly evolved to be one of her favorite hangouts.  I've been there before, but not to an event.  We both checked it out over the summer and she knew right away she wanted to throw her birthday party here.  6 months later, here we are!  It is pretty spacious with a dance area downstairs.  They even have a rooftop area in the summertime.  This night they had a belly dancer and a live band afterwards.  I LOVED IT!  I felt as if I was somewhere else and I love that feeling!  Plus it drew a great crowd inside which made everything electric!  My friend had a great time and we did too...

Great live music with a middle eastern flair!

SHE WAS GOOD!  The crowd absolutely loved her!

Group shot with the birthday girl!

CHEESE!

Masada restaurant in Logan Square.  Definitely an experience you'll enjoy!

I wore an off the shoulder top with black faded bootcut jeans.  I couldn't figure out what to wear, so I went with all black.

A weekend with my friend..

Back in August, one of my friends came over to hangout.  We talked and caught up with what's going on, but we were having a hard time figuring out what to do.  We could have easily stayed in, especially since it started to rain when she came over.  But after a glass of wine, and when the rain stopped, we decided to head down to Logan Square to check out my friend's restaurant.  It opened last summer, and I felt TERRIBLE I haven't been able to check it out.  Hence, here was my opportunity to see how things were going for him.
Masada is a middle eastern restaurant which features live music and dancing.  I loved the décor when I walked in!  I felt I was in a far away destination!  We found the owner and chatted with him on how things have been.  It was a pretty cool evening.  We smoked hookah and danced the night away.  I love surprise evenings...
The next day my friend invited me to the Cuban Festival in Reis Park.  I've never been before and was excited to see what all the hype was about.  Of course, there was plenty of salsa music, and food galore.  Luckily it didn't rain on us.  I loved seeing people dance!  I'm a terrible salsa dancer, but watching everyone gave me the itch to try to learn.  I ended up taking lessons after softball season was over.  I didn't have the guts to show off my moves, but it definitely made me want to improve on my skills.  Practice makes perfect!
Afterwards we headed back to Masada for more Arabic fun!  My friend wanted to show her boyfriend the new place we discovered, and he loved it as well.  In a weird sense, that weekend felt like a mini getaway.  It's nice to feel "away" sometimes...

With the owner of Masada restaurant...

Having fun with the hookah!

Dancing the night away...

The next day checking out the Cuban Festival in Reis Park,

Hanging out in the cigar section...

I love these two...

Good times

LOVED the live music! 

Back at Masada after the festival...