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 245 ain't easy being green

It's the holiday weekend! I want to do as many summery things as possible over the next few days. This includes wearing sundresses, driving with the windows down and eating ice cream. Let's be honest, I'll likely do all of these things after Labor Day, but they just won't feel the same! Tonight I'm having a relaxing evening in before a busy next two days. What better way to spend the night than by painting my nails in summer colors! This green shade (Who the Shrek Are You) is going on my hands. I haven't yet picked a color for my toes. I'll likely settle on something with an equally cheeky name.

Day 234 wants this forever

Another picture-perfect day here in Chicago. Perfect weather for people watching around your neighborhood. This is a shot of Southport looking all pretty under that (almost) clear blue sky. I wasn't the only one out and about enjoying the perfect day, despite how empty this particular street looks.

Also Katie, I think you and I had the same lunch view today! I mean, those clouds look mighty similar if you ask me.

Day 227 is simply beautiful

If I had to describe what I think "perfect weather" is like, I'd say today in Chicago. I mean, just so so perfect. Low 80ºs, cool breeze, sunshine but not too brutal, no rain and no clouds. What could be better? I tried to capture the perfection. This is a pic of the yard that's part of my building. It's so cute and summery, right? I can't wait until 4 months from now when I can give you the "winter" version of this view. But for now, I'll just enjoy being spoiled by this amazing summer weather.

Day 204 has a sweet tooth

From this blog I'm learning that I spend a lot of time talking about (and eating) ice cream in the summers while complaining about the heat. But the two really go hand in hand! What fixes a bit of heat suffering like a few scoops of creamy strawberry ice cream? Nothing. Nothing is the answer.

Day 201 needs to cool off

This summer heat has a sneaky way of causing plans to be cancelled I think. Suddenly not moving while sitting as close as possible to the AC sounds like a much better plan than pizza. Which is crazy, because few things ever really sound like a better plan than pizza, am I right?? Tonight we opted for some chilled wine and brownies over any other plans, and I feel quite happy about it.

Day 199 can't take the heat

I'm pretty excited that I survived this wildly hot day without passing out from heat stroke or dehydration. It took many hours after waking up for Em and I to even work up the energy to make breakfast (happened at noon), and then another few hours to start even thinking about getting ready for our day, which ended up including a trip to the post office. The lady who worked there, also suffering from the heat, was moving at a pace that I have just never experienced before. Sluggish is putting it mildly. Heat just makes everything feel like a work out, even the super tough things in life, like standing up. Tomorrow it's gonna be hotter. I think we're hitting 102º. You'll find me in front of my AC for most of the day. :)

Day 199 has new shades

Check out these fun new nail polish shades! I'm currently rocking the minty green color, creatively called "Light Green." With these options, I'm glad it's summer and I can show off different shades on my toes and fingers.

Day 198 is a hot one!

It was a hot, soupy, humid day in Chicago. Miserably, terribly hot. To add to this joy, the power was out in our apartment for a good chunk of the night so we couldn't use any AC. Ugh!! Thankfully we had a cool place to crash and hang out at until our power went back on. This fantastic (and air conditioned) pad also happened to be the home of my newest best friend. Olive is the sweetest little pup I ever have met and I just love her and want to keep her forever and ever. Isn't she the cutest??

Day 178 LOVES this stuff.

Oh hey there delicious scoop of blueberry ice cream, how YOU doin?? I've honestly never had blueberry ice cream before tonight. I've been on a strawberry ice cream kick since last summer after my nana took me to this farm in MA where they had cows in the fields in front of you, strawberry fields behind you and an ice cream counter right in the middle. So ya know... it was pretty fresh ice cream. And the "kids size" was, no joke, 3 whole scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone. Ridic. But tonight - I got wild and changed it up a bit. And my big gamble was worth it, for the blueberry exceeded my expectations. As you can see I'm taking this "it's officially summer" thing very seriously. Summer is when my I let my ice cream freak flag fly. I hope you all are doing the same.

Day 166 loves summer reading

All that traveling this past week left me with lots of time for reading. Something I used to only really do on subways and long greyhound rides. I loved having an excuse to get back into some books. So much so that I finished 3 books in 3 days. Winning! I truly recommend each of these. All are extraordinary in their own ways. Harry Potter needs no review I believe - just look at how well loved my copy is. The Help has been one I've been meaning to pick up for months and just finally got around to it. Worth it. I devoured this one in just about 6 hours. I may have to read it again cause I loved it that much. And Neverwhere by Gaiman absolutely blew me away from beginning to end. I hope you all pick up at least one of these at some point this summer!