Brunch for an Aries

Last weekend I attended a birthday brunch in River North for a friend of ours.  It was held at Troquet.  I have never been there before.  The weather was beautiful that day!  Unfortunately that also meant the traffic was awful.  I was 20 minutes late and felt terrible about it.  Oh well.

Regardless I wasn’t the only one who was late.  Lol.  Needless to say, once everyone arrived we ordered away.  It was nice catching up to everyone.  The birthday girl had just returned from the Philipines and her stories were amazing.  We finished up and decided to go down the street to Rocks bar.  There we had the bar to ourselves.  We played a couple of games of skee ball.  I think the birthday girl enjoyed her day.  She had to leave early to pack for a work trip. 

Someone in our group suggested going to a bbq she was invited to, and we happily agreed to go with her.  Even the traffic back that way was bad enough.  We picked up a few items and headed over to the address.  Luckily, these guys were cool enough for us to crash their bbq.  They ended up cooking some awesome tacos.  It felt nice being outside on the porch.

Today is my trip!  Needless to say I am very nervous.  First stop Paris and then I’m off to Istanbul.  I will report back when I return!  Until next time…

Halloween Weekend 2018

On Halloween Saturday, (even though Halloween was technically on Wednesday this year), our friend had a house party at her boyfriend’s place.  I luckily had a costume on time.  I had ordered it two weeks earlier and was relieved when it was delivered.  Talk about cutting it close!

Our friend from California was in town that weekend as well.  She wanted to meet up with us beforehand and we decided brunch was the way to go.  I made my way to Café con Leche and the girls already had a table waiting.  It was fun catching up with everyone.  We laughed a lot.  Our other friend brought her two kids and it was fun seeing them play around.  They’re growing up so fast!

Afterwards, one of the girls still needed some accessories for her costume.  We went to Party City to see what they had.  It was crazy packed in there!  Everyone was doing the same thing!  We waited a bit in line but that’s a reminder to everyone who procrastinates about things like this.

We all hung out at our friend’s place for a bit.  I went home and decided at the last minute that I had time to get my leg workout in.  I rushed to the gym and did my thing.  What I didn’t realize was how much time and preparation took place to get my costume ready.  Since it was in the package I had to iron it out but it was in bad shape.  My friends picked up me at a later time and we made our way over there.  They had on face paint and were also rushing to get their costumes ready.

Once inside, it was a hoot seeing everyone!  I love Halloween for that reason only!  

North Halsted Market Days 2018

I needed to do so much before my trip, but of course that did not happen.  Not only did I go out the night before, but my friends woke me up early to go for brunch.  I haven’t seen my friends in a while since they are busy due to their schedules and motherhood.  I miss them very much so I agreed to tag along.  The joke has always been that I never eat and just normally pick at my food.  I ordered a light breakfast from a restaurant that we settled in on Roscoe Village.  We happened to show up during Retro on Roscoe fest, so that was fun.  Afterwards we spent some time at Buy Buy Baby since one of our friends is expecting her 2^nd child.  I had a great afternoon with The Ladies.

They dropped me off so I could get ready for my hair appointment.  I wanted to get a trim before my trip.  Since my salon is at Boystown, I was going to meet my co-worker there for North Halsted Market Days.  I ran out the door luckily made it on time!  We decided to leave my hair curly since it was very hot that day.  I usually get a blow-out but it would have been pointless.  I met my friend at the fest since he already made his way to the stage where Crystal Waters was going to perform.  I was cutting it close!  I found him right away and we saw her performance.  It was amazing!

We made our way to the other stage and stopped along the way to grab some drinks.  Up next was Ultra Nate and she was electrifying!  I love 90s dance music! 

The big headliner this year was Martha Wash.  It was packed at the stage but luckily we got as close we could.  Everyone was so excited to see her!  She blew the crowd away!

I decided not to do anything afterwards because I was just too tired.  I had some friends out that wanted me to meet up with them but I declined.  I spent the day Sunday doing laundry and getting ready for my trip.  I was super anxious too and didn’t want to miss out any details on packing.  Sometimes you need some time alone to focus.

Baby Shower Brunch

I’m still recapping February’s events.  I’m getting nervous about my upcoming trip because everything is happening so fast.  Of course, there’s a ton of things I have to do.  Namely, getting my seasonal haircut which I will be doing tonight.  I can’t wait to chop off these winter ends!

After my long night when my friends were in town, I had to get up early the next day to go to a baby shower.  I was exhausted so I skipped church to get more zzzz’s.  Trust me I didn’t have time to feel guilty about it.  My friends were assuming I was at service so I got ready as fast as I could.  Since church was over at 12pm, I knew they were on their way to pick me up.  Luckily,  I wrapped my present a few days earlier.

We made our way downtown, but traffic was terrible.  I was worried that we were going to run into the mom-to-be before we had a chance to set up.  We luckily found parking at a lot in front and ran inside the restaurant.  A friend of ours offered up space at his restaurant.  He had our section ready for us.  We quickly decorated and waited patiently.  I guess it didn’t matter rushing down there because the mom-to-be got there an hour late!  Oh well.  What can you do?  She was very pleased with her shower and the lunch was delish.  I love it when things fall into place!

Allons en ville!

I’m still recapping February’s events!  We’re still experiencing frigid weather here in Chicago, and most of the East coast are getting snow.  So technically, winter is going strong.  Lol.

The last weekend in February was pretty crazy.  I knew I should rest up because me and my friends were going to throw a baby shower for someone.  But that didn’t stop me from stepping out on the town.  Saturday morningme and the girls got together for brunch to discuss the details of the shower.  We quickly picked up a few things to make sure we had everything we needed.  The shower was being held on Sunday, so we were crunched for time.  I knew some friends were in town from North Carolina and they wanted to meet up in the evening for dinner.  I told them I would skip dinner since I had brunch earlier.  I’m a light eater and eating out twice would not benefit my tummy.  I worked out after hanging with the girls and then got ready. 

Brunch at Dapper’s East

I met up with everyone at Sunda.  My out-of-town-friends really love that restaurant and always try to book a reservation whenever they’re in Chicago.  I had my cocktails and caught up with them afterwards.  I knew it was supposed to rain and was skeptical about going out at all, but here I was.  Sure enough, it started to pour while we were inside.  WHEW!  But of course, the rain wouldn’t give up, and we grew tired of sitting around.  We decided to try to go to a wine bar around the corner.  I was being a baby because I had on my black suede ankle boots.  Suede and rain don’t mix, but luckily it wasn’t raining heavily as it was earlier.

We settled at Public House for a round of drinks.  Since we didn’t know what to do next, we decided to go to their favorite nightclub Disco.  They were hoping to bar hop for a bit but the weather was too annoying to walk in the rain.

Luckily, we got in right away and headed upstairs.  Disco is a lot of fun and my out-of-town-friends absolutely love it.  We practically closed the place down before heading to an afterhours spot.  I probably should have been home hours earlier but I ended up checking in at 6am!  YIKES! 

Lunch in Windsor!

On my last day of my weekend getaway in Michigan, my friends woke up early to drop off their friend at the airport.  My train was set to deport at 6pm, so I had plenty of time to hangout.  Since we all went to bed so late, I didn’t hear them leave in the morning at all.  I had some crazy nightmares, too.  I woke up around 10am and could tell they were still sleeping.  I didn’t disturb them.  I jumped in the shower and got ready on my own.  I went downstairs and watched some good old cable (since I don’t have it myself) and waited for them to get up.  They eventually did, and we decided to have head to Windsor for brunch.

Windsor is right across the bridge from downtown Detroit.  We noticed there were a lot of people around and realized the Detroit Auto Show was taking place.  We finally made it to the tunnel to cross over and ended in Windsor.  This was my first time there, but it was pretty dead.  I guess a lot of businesses are closed on Sundays.

We made it to the restaurant and I ordered Pho.  It was delish!!  I couldn’t believe I almost had the whole bowl!  I barely eat my whole plate, but this was good. 

After lunch we went to a market so they could pick up some groceries for home.  My friend’s husband worried that we shouldn’t stay out too long since there’s always traffic at the border.  We decided to head back so we could enjoy downtown Detroit before I left out.

It was nice walking around.  There was some outdoor fest going on and we enjoyed it for a bit.  The drive to the train station wasn’t too bad.  I made a promise to my friend that I will be back in the summer to enjoy Michigan some more.  What a great little getaway!

Cafe-ba-ba-reeba and the beach!

I'm still recapping Memorial Weekend!!  My bad!

On Memorial Monday, we had a friend visit from out of town.  He was stationed away for 6 months and was finally finished with his assignment.  We were glad to have him back.  We decided to have brunch in Lincoln Park at Café-Ba-Ba-Reeba.  It was another perfect day in the weather department.  Lol.  I was glad I was getting my rays.  We all met up around 1pm and ordered away!  Tapas galore!!  I’m feeling a little guilty but Memorial Weekend should be about food.  Plus I really don’t have anything else coming up.  Afterwards, a small group of us headed down to Fullerton Beach to meet up with more of his friends.  It was pretty windy, but hey, this IS the Windy City after all.

I didn’t call up my mom these past two days.  It got too late once I got carried away with the festivities.  Since summer is right around the corner, I have to let her know that I might be busy if I end up doing something.  Since she is hard of hearing, it would be impossible to have a conversation if I’m at a party.  I just have to be more aware of what I get into this summer.

Some people can't handle a puppy

The first weekend of February was pretty tame.  On Friday I met up with my friend after work at Ceres café at the Board of Trade.  That place is a popular spot in downtown, and during a heated discussion, I found it was impossible to talk in there.  Just a side note:  it’s not a café to have a conversation.  Lol.  Although I did enjoy my pre evening cocktail, it was very cold in Chicago that night.  I couldn’t wait to get home to my warm, comfy couch.

The following day my friends wanted to get together again for brunch.  I couldn’t wait to tell them what I encountered earlier in the week.  I had worked late and was almost home when I noticed a man across the street walking his little dog.  The dog was black and super fluffy, but I really couldn’t tell what kind of dog it was since it was nighttime.  I would have guessed the dog was a couple of months old.  It was definitely a puppy, and by the way he was walking with his owner, was still new to being walked and couldn’t help himself but jump up and down a lot.

Well the owner looked frustrated.  I had my headphones blasting and was minding my own business until I noticed the owner of the dog started to yank on his lease.  From my eyes, the owner started to wrapped the lease around the dog’s neck 3x and then got down and pinned the dog on the ground with his knee.  At that moment I felt he started to pull on the lease, hence choking the dog (?).  I freaked out and screamed out loud, “HEY!!!  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING???”   I rushed over but still kept my distance from him by staying put across the street.  My adrenaline kicked in and I continued to yell out, “IS THAT YOUR DOG???  IS THAT YOUR DOG???”  The owner looked frustrated and sighed out loud and said, “Yes it is.”  He got off the puppy and I kept looking around but no one else was on the street.

Now I don’t have to tell you about our crime in Chicago right now.  It’s ridiculous.  There is a surge of violence taking place everyday.  I was in a awkward position.  I didn’t want to get close to the guy, since he was trying to choke his dog after all.  Not to mention I was nervous what he might do to me if I did approach him.  I couldn’t get a good look at the guy either since he, too, was wearing all black.  By the time I got to the end of my street I looked back to see where the man was going but he was gone.  It makes me think that he was indeed doing something wrong since he didn’t stick around .

I feel bad that I couldn’t do more to help the dog.  This man obviously has no patience in training his puppy.  I question the state of his mind, but not only that, people in general.  Since our crime rates have skyrocketed, people are losing it altogether and snapping.  I feel drained with the news media, our new presidency, what’s happening at work, and life in general.  I miss the old me.

Seeing my friends at brunch and talking about what happened felt like we went back in time for a bit.  I miss my friends very much.  But with their new families, our time together has suffered.  Even my new found mommy friends are having a hard time adjusting to motherhood.  They seemed a little frustrated, but I am convinced they are still trying to figure out how to balance everything. 

Later on that evening, one of my friends from brunch called me up to see if I wanted to paint the town red.  I laughed because it was still pretty cold, plus I figured I would stay in again.  She convinced me that it was going to be a girls night out and that her boyfriend was going to go out with his friends.  I don’t have a problem being the 3^rd wheel, but I think she wanted more girls for the "girls night out".  Lol.

I agreed and told her I would meet her up later on after my workout.  Once I met up for some pre-cocktails at her place, we were brainstorming on where we should go.  We threw some ideas around and settled for a club on Lake Street.  We took an uber there and waited in line to get inside.  It was freezing outside and the door guys had their hands full with a limo that pulled up in front.  They must have had 15 people crawl out of there!  Regardless, once they let that party in, we still had to wait in line since they were reaching capacity.  Once it was our turn, we didn't have the "text" to get in (since we didn't know that's how you get in for free) and decided to go somewhere else.  I convinced my friends to head to Bar Siena since we were in the neighborhood.  Plus we could warm up inside and figure out where to go to next. 

The good news was, the dj started to play some good music.  We joked around and took a ton of pictures, and the next thing you know, we were itching to go somewhere else.  We took a chance on Estate, and luckily, stayed there until the end of the night.  My friend thought we should live it up and order a bottle of champagne, (which we did), but next time I might opt out and get my drinks at the bar.  It's pricey getting bottle service!  lol