London House!

After the devastating news that surrounded us last week, I was grateful my friends wanted to meet up for drinks.  I've been very sensitive lately, and I knew in my heart I wanted to see familiar faces.  My friends are definitely the close family I wish I had.  They know how to make me feel better.  I'm nervous about my upcoming trip, and getting together was just what I needed.
I made my way down there before anyone else.  I noticed there was a pretty intense line.  I figured I would wait it out until my friends arrived.  If the line wouldn't move up much, I would assume we would go somewhere else.  Don't get me wrong, people did leave.  I understand not wanting to wait 45 minutes to get inside a venue.  But the host insisted it would be worth the wait, and she was right!
I finally walked in and I fell in love!  What a beautiful view!  People couldn't help themselves with their selfie posts.  My friends were finally on their way and I gave them a heads up.  I made some new friends myself waiting in line and we all walked over to the bar.  This place gave us a rush.  We were living for the moment!
I had a wonderful night with everyone.  It made me love my friends even more.  I wish I can keep everyone close to me, but I know deep down that's impossible.  No matter where our paths lead us, they will always be in my heart.  I wish things would get better in our world.  I've never felt an uncertainty about where things are going in this lifetime than I do now.  I will never give up on wanting a better life for ourselves, free of hate and violence.  It's moments like these that make it feel possible for peace...

London House!

It's gorgeous at night!

Couldn't help myself for a selfie...

Seafood platter...

My new friends.  They're from Guatemala!

What I wore to London House.  My shoes are new from Stuart Weitzman...

They made it!  lol

Rooftop Action Part 2!

The next day, me and my friend decided to run some errands before she headed back to the suburbs.  She was going to fly out the next day and wanted to spend one more night with family.  My friend insists that American skin and makeup products cost 3x more in Italy, so she wanted to stock up.  We drove and shopped in Wicker Park before we settled back in downtown.  We visited Saks 5th avenue and did some shopping there.  I suggested we have lunch at the Godfrey Hotel's rooftop since she's never been.  She really enjoyed it!  The sun was beating hard but we didn't mind.  I was sad when our night had to end, but we made plans when she got back from her short trip.  Time surely flies when you're having fun!

Goodies at the Godfrey!

Good times!

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!!!

A Little Tea Party!!!

Back in August I attended a tea party at the Drake Hotel for my friend's bridal shower.  I had no idea what was going on, since my invitation was lost in the mail.  I ended up finding out at the last minute.  Apparently there was a dress code for this event.  "Think pastels and florals; like the English countryside", someone said.  Umm.  What?  I live in Chicago.  I have no idea how the English dress.  There was also a no MAXI DRESS rule too.  Now this is getting tricky.  Since I found out the night before, I had no time to shop around.  Hence, I found a day dress in my closet that I had worn to a work function before.  This will have to do.  My friends cringed when I mentioned it was brown.  Whatever.  I can't imagine them taking this too serious over there. 
Me and my friend arrived fashionably late (20 mins), but we beat out our other friends and the bride-to-be-herself.  So technically, we were on time.  lol.  They seated us and handed us a glass of champagne.  So far me likey!  There were finger sandwiches to munch on as well as different variations of teas for us to try.  I have to admit it was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be.  The bride-to-be arrived in her very Kate Middleton attire along with a matching pink hat.  Afterwards we headed down to the Lincoln Hotel for some rooftop action.  It was an eventful Saturday indeed.  It got my mind off my upcoming trip to Paris and Italy.  2 weeks prior to my trip I was having very bad anxiety.  I HATE FLYING.  I'm glad this tea party fell on my lap.  It's what I needed for the moment.  My next post will be about PARIS!!!  I can't wait to tell you all about it!     

A photo of the invitation that was lost in the mail...

My brown day dress.  At least it's a light colored brown...

Munchies!



Pastels and florals; lol

We had a great time...

English countryside...

Check out baby Zoe's pose!  She's a pro!

October Blues

One of the things that drive me CRAZY about seasons changing is the fact that Chicago is never consistent.  It's never a gradual thing, that's why I feel I don't get to enjoy fall altogether because it jumps right into winter.  Not to mention, we are the windy city and it plays a major role in our weather forecast.  Right now it's been pretty gloomy and we've had mist/ rain all weekend.  I'm beginning to miss the sun terribly.  Looking back on July's events isn't helping either, but at least it makes me smile knowing I tried my best to enjoy my summer.
First up, July 4th!  Since this year it fell on a Saturday, Chicago was pretty empty by Thursday.  Lots of people travel back home for the holidays, so for the most part, things seem pretty quiet around here.  I went to a rooftop party to watch the neighborhood fireworks go off.   I LOVED IT!!  Neighborhoods were battling with each other on who threw the best show.  At one point, you didn't know where to look for some firework action!  I had a great time catching up with my friends...
The following weekend I headed out on a boat for a birthday party.  Everybody brought something to munch on.  We headed out to the Playpen on Lake Michigan.  For those who don't know, the "Playpen" is a spot right in front of the Chicago skyline where boats meet up and chain themselves together in order to have a huge party out on the lake.  There's music and dancing plus you get to make new friends.  The water was pretty choppy that day, and we didn't get a chance to stay out there too long due to the weather, but we had a blast regardless.  So far July was alright... 

Watching the fireworks go off on a rooftop party.  Are you excited about the new Star Wars movie?

My friend's baby is wearing her red, white and blue ensemble!

Poor baby looks tired here; but she was a trooper!

Boat party action the following weekend!

Too bad the water was to choppy and it started to rain on us.  It was my only time on the boat this summer...