Blizzard Basketball

One of the craziest things I did this month was to go to a Chicago Bulls basketball game on the day it didn’t stop snowing for 18 hours.  There was so much snow accumulation that people had difficulty coming into work.  They pushed back the game to start an hour later so I told my brother we might be ok.  It would give the city some time to clean up the streets.  We rode downtown via Blue Line and then took an Uber the rest of the way.  Needless to say, we won the game and had a blast.  Hey when you live in Chicago you always ride out the storm!

I layered up since it was cold!

Super Bowl Sunday

I’m recapping February events in February!  Lol.  Since we’ve had terrible weather on and off, I kept a low profile so far this month.  The last weekend in January I went to visit my friend in Michigan, and then the following I pretty much stayed in except for Super Bowl Sunday.  The groundhog was right.  We’ve had so much extreme weather that it’s hard to predict what happens next.

I caught up with my chores since I was gone and also my workouts.  I normally don’t eat out at restaurants too much, but since I was celebrating my friend’s birthday, I had to oblige.  On Super Bowl Sunday my brother picked me up early and we headed to my Dad’s.  This has become sort of a tradition for us, which is nice since my Dad is a sports buff like my brothers.  His wife left us alone to watch the game, and brought down dinner for us to feast on.  How did you like Justin Timberlake’s performance?  I thought it was great!  I couldn’t understand what everyone was fussing about.  Oh well.  That’s the internet for ya!

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!

Detroit Institute Of Arts

The weekend I was visiting my friend who moved near Detroit, she warned me her and her husband had tickets to see Sesame Street at the Fox Theater.  Their son absolutely adored Sesame Street and was infatuated with Cookie Monster.  I mean, who wouldn’t be??  Lol.  She suggested dropping me and her friend to the Detroit Institute of Arts museum since it was near the theater.  We could kill some time there while they enjoyed the show.  Her husband made an amazing breakfast for us, and we quickly got ready afterwards.

Me and her friend walked in and were mesmerized by the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry murals.  We were probably in that room for over 30 minutes!  I was completely blown away by its size and detailing.  We slowly made our way around the other exhibits and took our time visiting the artwork of our favorite artists.  I’m glad her friend was just as interested in art as I was.  Sometimes it’s hard to go with a person who isn’t interested in this kind of stuff.

We also refueled at the restaurant/ café located in the museum.  I enjoyed people watching and despite it being a Saturday, was surprised how many people were around.  I think the Institute is a place many locals come to hangout (since it’s free for them).  Regardless, me and her friend had a good time.

When our friends came to pick us up, it was already late in the afternoon.  Her husband took us along a driving tour of their suburb.  We decided to head to a restaurant they’ve been wanting to check out for a while, and see if we could all get in.

Sure enough, there was a line out the door.  We waited for over an hour.  It was a Venezuelan restaurant and had great reviews.  I wanted to try their arepas.  Luckily, we didn’t wait too long for our food and everything was delish.  Unfortunately they did not serve alcohol, and we wanted to get back to their house for some wine they had received as a gift.

We spent the rest of the evening watching movies and drinking wine and catching up.  Her friend had an early morning flight out, but we stayed up past 1am just talking!

Aquarius Season

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!!!  I hope everyone gets to enjoy the lovey-dovey experience today.  I love Valentine’s Day even if I’m single.  I told someone they are my Valentine’s this year and he seemed ok with it, so who knows???  Hahahahaha  A girl can only wish…

Around the middle of January I booked a train ticket to Detroit to visit my friend who moved out there a while back.  Her birthday weekend was coming up and I knew she’s been missing her friends here in Chicago.  Unfortunately when I brought up the idea to visit, everyone was busy that weekend.  I decided to go regardless, and she was excited I was coming down.

I don’t remember the last time I took an Amtrak train.  Since I work downtown, I took a half a day off from work and ran over to Union Station.  I arrived to Detroit 30 minutes later than anticipated.  I still don’t understand how that happened.

My friend and her family were excited to see me.  The best part was another friend of hers fly into Detroit from Baltimore.  He was going to arrive around 9pm.

We decided to head downtown and have a birthday cocktail in the meantime.  Detroit has definitely changed since my last visit over a year ago.  More new restaurants and bars have opened up.  I am excited to see what will be next for this city that has so much potential.

We picked up her friend at the airport and headed back to the burbs where my friend lives.  Luckily they picked a wonderful restaurant that was opened late.  We were having a great time catching up. 

That night we stayed up drinking champagne and munching on Sprinkles cupcakes.  One of the girls had picked some up for her birthday, and I brought them along on my trip.  They were delish!

Happy Galentine’s Day

I’m still recapping the month of January.  Despite its frigid weather, I had to step out for my step brother’s birthday.  My mom wanted to have dinner at her place to celebrate.  That same day my friends wanted to get together to catch up.  They needed some girl time.  I told them I would head over once dinner was over.

In lieu of Galentine’s Day, I wanted to mention how incredibly important my friends are to me.  I can honestly say I have been blessed with an amazing support group.  These girls have seen me at my worse and still wanted to stick around.  I love them very much.  I don’t know what I would do if they weren’t in my life.  Even my friends who live afar are my secret treasures.  I don’t think distance can tear apart the bond and memories we have shared over the years.  I am a lucky woman.

With that in mind, I am also very protective of them, and who I include in my circle.  It’s not easy to share your deepest secrets.  As I have gotten older I pride myself with the girls that I have.  I absolutely HATE drama of any kind, and unfortunately, in an age of self-absorbed personalities, it’s easy to mistaken a foe as a friend.  Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve made the wrong assumptions on people.  It’s all a part of growing into your true self.  Honesty is the best policy, and knowing when to spot the fakes is a process itself.  Just like any other relationship, some friendships grow apart.

My mom made an amazing dinner.  I know she loves her husband’s son very much.  Me and my brothers were goofing off as usual.  It felt like we were little kids again.

Once dinner was over, my brother dropped me off at my friend’s place, and we stayed up all night talking about everything.  Girl time was a blast…    

Clueless vibes 

Le table

Banana bread birthday cake 

Happy Hour at Sunda

In January we had temperatures go up and down.  One particular Thursday the temps touched 60 degrees but then fell back into the 30s the next day.  My friends wanted to take advantage of this warm weather to ge together for happy hour.  A friend of theirs was in town and wanted to meet up.  I brought a pair of jeans to change into after work and made my down to Sunda.  I was in the mood for sushi, but everyone else ordered a bit of everything.  It felt weird being out and about.  I cannot remember the last time I hung out with this set of friends.  I usually hibernate in the winter because I loathe the cold weather but this was a nice break from the norm.  Of course now that I’m recapping this day, Chicago is experiencing a blizzard.  It will snow for 12 hours straight!  I guess winter isn’t done with us yet!

I can’t believe I wore a simple tee and jeans in January!

Cocktails 

And sushi