West Fest 2018

This year I went with my friends on a Sunday for West Fest.  Normally this festival runs all weekend, but over the years, we noticed the crowd was usually significantly better on Sundays.  Again, Chicago was battling hot temperatures.  I laid low the rest of the weekend and was ready for my friends to pick me up after church that day.  We luckily found parking and decided to have a late lunch at the infamous Tecalitlan Restaurant right by the corner of Wood street.  Believe it or not we also lucked out getting a table.  Again, we had a great time catching up with everyone as little by little more people joined in our group.  We spent a good amount a time at the restaurant and decided to join in on the fun by finding a spot not too far from the stage.  There we listened to some good old house music before heading home early.  We didn’t want to stay out once the festival was over since it would be hectic to get an uber.

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.

Leña Brava

I am still recapping the weekend my friend was here to attend a funeral.  I stayed low key that Saturday, but we made plans on Sunday to have dinner downtown.  She picked me up and we drove down to Randolph street where we going to meet another friend of ours.  This friend, too, happened to be in Chicago to attend a wedding.  It was nice seeing her as well.  For a brief moment, it felt like everything was normal again.  Until we realized that the last time we all saw each, our circumstances were different.  It was hard to catch up to where we are today.  Yet I couldn’t help but feel fortunate that we were sharing things that were very difficult for us.  I truly believe we need to strengthen our relationships when life is going well.  Because the reality is Life will be completely unfair sometimes, and it will knock you down.  We need to cherish our friendships as much as we can.  No drama should separate the bond that you share with your loved ones. 

Since red is in this season, I wore my vintage Dooney & Burke.

Frida at Leña Brava.

Love them TREMENDOUSLY!!