Day 310 holy. omg. yes. food.

Sunday brunch. One of my favorite things in all the world. I still think that New York does brunch better than anywhere else, but Chicago can often hit it out of the park. This. This... magic is what happened at my most recent brunch. Some kind of french toast smothered in a sweet sauce, covered in granola and fruit. I'm sorry what? Yes please.

Day 303 goes on a bike ride

This is a poor iphone picture of a Halloween bike ride that went down Southport. Costumed bike riders for about a mile, if not longer. My neighborhood is so much fun!

Day 298 isn't from around here

Mom and I went around my hood (obviously my fave thing to do with visitors!) and explored some Wrigley Field a bit. I've never actually seen a game here, but from the outside, it's one of my favorite places. It's so old school and wonderful. The colors and design and setting and everything about it just suggest it doesn't come from a time that I'm familiar with (and it really doesn't), which maybe is why I'm so fascinated by it. But be prepared - if you come to visit me in Chicago and you've never been here, there's a 115% chance we'll take a stroll past Wrigley so you can take it all in for yourself. :)

Day 296 is perfect

Mom and I decided to cap off our very long day of exploring the city with a giant sushi dinner and a movie. It was lovely. After having 2 engagement shoots that day, I was exhausted and it was exactly what I needed. Except really, when is sushi and a quiet night in not exactly what I need? :)

Day 285 can see the stars

The moon tonight is really really great. I don't think it's a full moon, but it's close. It is gigantic in the sky though. Also tonight I just realized you can see the stars in Chicago. The previous two cities I lived in, that didn't happen! NYC - dirty air, pollution, etc... Seattle - clouds, rain, etc... I feel a little spoiled by this new development!

A perfect Day 282 sunset

This was what we were greeted with upon returning to Chicago on Sunday. A gorgeous sunset, clear sky and warm evening. Pretty divine. I really love that I get to call this place home.

Day 273, Go Blackhawks!

On Friday I got lucky enough to get one of the "hottest tickets in town", the Chicago Blackhawks. It was so fun! I was learning about hockey as I was watching (apparently watching a lot of Mighty Ducks doesn't mean you know much about hockey. Who knew?!) The game was awesome, the drinks were plenty, and the company was great. Thanks again, VA!

Day 269 sitting on the Lake

One half of my visiting party left on Monday morning. Twas quite sad. The rest of the day was spent down in the city, walking along the lake, talking to seagulls and watching the sailboats. Pretty splendid. The blue clouds even came out for a minute or two here and there. We managed to avoid the predicted rain for the entire day, which was perfect since umbrellas were forgotten at home. Oops! Worked out well for us though!

Day 268 was the BEST day ever.

This is officially the second (maybe 3rd???) pic of myself in this blog. Rare, but worth it, right? My beauties and I had what we are still calling "the best day ever" in Chicago on Sunday. I mean.... spectacular. What did we do? What didn't we do? We just had one of this marvelous day where nothing was planned, but everything happened perfectly. Somehow we ended up on Lake Michigan, on a rooftop, eating insanely delicious food for all meals, and just being together. Sigh. Best day ever.

Day 263 does it Chicago style

While my sis was here, one of the things she really wanted to try was some deep dish pizza. Ask and you shall receive, I said. We went to what I've been told is the place for Chicago deep dish and made the very touristy mistake of ordering a medium pizza for 2 people. We managed 1.5 slices each. Then were completely full for the rest of the day (ate at 3pm). Crazy pizza! But it was absolutely crazy delicious and if there was room in my stomach, I would have gladly ate that entire pie.

Day 257 tries to stay warm

A cold front done busted on through the midwest you guys! Brrr. Boots and sweaters and my pajama fleece have been my wardrobe and I'm shockingly not mad about it. All good things must come to an end, right? As long as that starbucks across the street is still serving me those yummy chai teas, I'm more than ready for Fall. Bring it.

Day 256 watches the train go by

This is the lovely alley behind my street. It's a nice buffer to keep us safe from the noise of Southport, which can get rowdy on weekends and game nights. It also showcases my most favorite thing - the train that goes right by us. I caught it mid-transit tonight as I was walking home and liked it quite  a lot.

Day 254 pauses.

Today was spent recovering from yesterday. 24 hours later and I'm still not doing any better. Yikes. I was out running an errand tonight and noticed the sunset light was simply gorgeous on Southport, so I stopped and took this pic. This church is so beautiful and fits so well with the somber mood of this day. I'm sorry for all the gushing, but my goodness I simply can't get enough of this town.

Day 253 sees beauty everywhere

Saturday was a better day, in that I actually got out of the house and took a much deserved break from working. I took this pic as I went around the neighborhood exploring, a fave activity of mine that I'm sure I've talked about before. Still loving Chicago so much and especially love finding new beautiful spots everyday.

Day 248 got coooold.

I got a little blindsided by the cold that blew in to Chicago today. Certainly not uncomfortable, but just this past week we were suffering through 94 and it suddenly being 30ºs cooler threw me off a bit. I scrambled to find some jeans and a hoodie as I lamented the end of summer really happening!

Day 247 and the seagulls

One of my dearest and most inspiring NY friends has just moved to Chicago. Woot!! We spent his second day in the city at the beach. Despite it being a bit cooler and windy than we wanted, we still enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and sand for an afternoon, chatting and watching the seagulls go about their business. It was quiet and perfect and just what a Sunday should be sometimes. So much happiness.

Day 246, a rainy-sunshiny day

Saturday started off as sunny as a summers day should be. Then suddenly a wild thunderstorm appeared. Everything got real dark and gloomy and generally bummer-ish. BUT THEN sunshine again!! I caught this moment when the sun was just making a comeback in the late afternoon through some rain clouds. Simply lovely.

ps. Apologies for the late weekend posts, friends! All this Chicago partying and I've not been good about posting on time. SORRY!

Day 244 no entiende

Signage!!?@! Does this stuff make you as happy as it makes me? Homemade signs with a little dash of passive aggressiveness get extra awesome points, for those keeping score. I spotted this tonight in the hallway of a friends building. Maybe don't go with the Spanish sign if you're not feeling comfortable with... ya know... Spanish. Just a thought. I also super enjoy the very, very tiny english translation at the bottom. So much goodness!

Day 240 learns about the neighborhood

I have a sneaky feeling that we're nearing the end of these warm, sunny Chicago days. Sunny might be here for a while, but warm? Sadly not much longer I think. We got down to a nice and cool 58º tonight - that's Fall weather for sure. I was on a mission to be outside for most of the day, enjoying the sunshine and all that good stuff. In my travels, I came across this building. Which is basically a miniature, rounder, browner Flatiron building, right? Or at least that's what I'm seeing when I look at it. Either way, one of my favorite pictures from the day!

Day 235 gets to work

I had to pick up a day job here in Chicago so that I can continue to do fun adult things like pay rent, eat food, have internet, etc... Yay responsibility! It's actually not so bad though. The people are nice, the work is easy and the commute involves me walking 2 minutes across the street. Awesomesauce. This is my part of my view during my work shifts. It seems someone has an affinity for blue pens here. I'm gonna throw in a black one tomorrow to see if anyone notices. Gotta keep myself entertained somehow!