Birthday Bash for Pop

I’m still recapping events in March.  I can’t believe I’m going to be traveling again in a few weeks.  In the meantime, to keep myself busy (and not spend money on nonsense) I’ve started some weekend projects in my apartment.  The sun is finally shining here in Chicago, and I’ve been in a cleaning frenzy ever since.  It’s amazing how much dust is around when you do not have good lighting at hand.  For now, I’ve decided to tackle my cube bookshelf little by little.  I have so many papers, magazines and catalogs I need to clear out.  It’s ridiculous, but I’m excited to see how much neater my shelf will look.

Once I returned from Paris, the following day I had a dinner to go to for my dad.  We were celebrating his birthday at Tequila CJ Grill restaurant on Archer Ave.  It happened to land on the weekend for March Madness.  My brother asked if I could accompany him earlier so he could watch the game nearby at a bar.  I was fine with it, but as luck would have it, our dinner was pushed back an hour later.  Oh well. 

Me and my brother decided to go to the restaurant once the game was finished and hangout at the bar until everyone arrives.  We were not aware of how packed the restaurant could get!  The line to get inside was out the door!  It was cold outside too, so me and my brother waited in the car until the rest of the family showed up.  I couldn’t believe it, but our 7pm dinner was now reaching to 9pm and my dad and his wife was nowhere in sight.  They finally showed up when the restaurant was clearing up and we all grabbed a table by the stage.  There was a live performance that night.

My dad recently suffered an accident at work and was currently not working at the time.  I’m glad we had the chance to celebrate his birthday outside of the house.  I hope he enjoyed himself.  He’s hard to read sometimes.

July 4th Weekend Part 4

On the day of July 4^th my dad wanted us to stop by for a bbq.  As a product of divorce,  I want to be there for both my parents but during holidays it could be difficult.  I spent the early part of the day reading outside on my balcony.  I love being out there.  It’s my tranquility during my most sociable times.

I wore red, white and distressed blue jeans for the bbq.  The weather was perfect to wear jeans since I knew we would be outside.  Mosquitos love me so I wanted my legs covered up. 

My dad is insisting on going to Puerto Rico this Christmas.  I will have to see this to believe it.  In the meantime, I’m sticking to my budget in case he is really serious. 

Birthday Weekend!

This has been a busy week to say the least!  I can officially say as of now I'm done planning my 2 day trip to Athens.  Just booked the hotel and now I'm looking into where to stay when I arrive at the islands.  Since I knew what my points of interests were in Athens, I booked the hotel near the center of attractions within walking distance.  I am not sure yet when my friend in Italy will arrive to meet me so I opted for a hotel for safety concerns.  In trip planning, you have to keep in mind that you will get lost.  I don't think people schedule enough time for that part.  I understand that there are people who just show up and go with the flow.  I am NOT one of those people.  I look into everything!  Transportation; points of interests; reviews from various sites.  I need to know if it's worth the effort to visit certain places.  You could be disappointed so it's good to read reviews.  At the same time, you know yourself more than anyone.  People do complain a lot and you need to read between the lines.  What may be bothersome for one may not be a  big deal to you, so pay attention to what people are saying.  That's my travel tip for the day!


Last weekend, my birthday came upon me with no planning whatsoever on how to celebrate.  I didn't think too much about it since it fell on Father's Day Sunday this year.  Saturday I deep cleaned my apartment because I had a spider wandering around.  He bit me 4x during the week!  I knew I had to wait till the weekend to thoroughly vacuum.  I also had to visit my brother briefly because he had surgery and I wanted to check up on him.  My mother has been worried sick about him and I had to see for myself on how he was handling his recovery.  Luckily he's doing a lot better and was up and about when I came over.  I felt good about his health, so I left his place late in the afternoon to see what was happening in the city.


I was making my way over to Diversy harbor to visit a friend who recently purchased a small boat.  I am terrified of boating in general, but I knew they were still doing maintenance work on it.  I felt I wouldn't be put on a compromised position if they were to set sail.  We sat around with his partners and enjoyed the rest of the day catching up.  I had a great time plus there's so much action going on at the dock.  I saw an eyeful...

Chilling at Diversy Harbor...

Loud music blasting away.  I can't believe each boat were playing their own music out loud.  It sounded terrible!!

The next day was Father's Day and I kept it low key for the first half of the day.  I went to church, then later on to the gym, when my friend texted me to see what's up.  We wondered if we could have a birthday cocktail somewhere.  I called my dad once he got off work and we chatted for a bit.  I knew he was going to watch the basketball championship game with my brother so I didn't feel too bad not passing by to visit him.  I am not into sports so I opted to pass on this important game and join my friends instead.
We settled for Cindy's Rooftop at the Chicago Athletic Club and I absolutely LOVED the view!!  It's beautiful!!  We just talked and had some margaritas up there but I was blown away!

Good times at Cindy's

We decided to check out their game room downstairs and munch on some snacks before we headed  to another spot.  We went back towards Randolph area at Beer Bistro and ended up watching the rest of the game there.  Again, not my thing, but at least we did chat up a storm.

So much for the game.  I was not rooting for Lebron btw...

We walked around the corner afterwards and found Federals.  The roof was open, so it was nice to sit at a restaurant and look up to the sky.  Despite everything that is happening in the world, it's a wonderful thing when you get a chance to make some memories with friends.  It's important to hold on to them tight... 

FUN FILLED WEEKEND part 3

The following day was Easter Sunday.  I tried my best to get to church a little bit earlier so I could find a seat, but you know how that goes.  Despite what people say, I'm glad church is packed on Easter.  Whether you are a devoted catholic or not, I'd like to assume you're making your way towards a higher power, and what better way to do it than to celebrate his resurrection.  I decided to wear a pantsuit to church since I knew the weather had warmed up.  It was nice not wearing a coat for once.  Lately Chicago weather gives us one nice day a week, and then it's back to frigid temperatures.  What can you do? 
After church I made my way downtown to catch a college basketball game for March Madness.  Congratulations Villanova Wildcats on winning it all!  Even though I didn't get a chance to watch the winning game, the process itself is pretty interesting.  Maybe next year I'll do a bracket...
I made my way towards my Dad's place back in the north side.  We were going to celebrate my Dad's birthday since it fell in the middle of the week.  My mom and dad divorced when I was 8 years old.  They both eventually remarried.  Even though my Dad came back into my life in my 20s, I'm still getting to know him.  There's so much that me and my brothers missed out.  I try to take advantage of the time we do share with him since we lost so much when we were kids.  At one point I asked to take a photo with him and he leaned his head towards me.  It's sad to say I don't remember my Dad being affectionate towards me, but here we are now.  This is a moment I will definitely remember.

Spring pantsuit for Easter Sunday!

Topped it off with my Alexander McQueen scarf.  It was nice not wearing a coat.

Home cooking at Dad's consisted of bbq ribs with rice and beans.

Tres leches birthday cake!



I'm glad my brother captured this moment with my camera.

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