Day 196 and a view from the top

I took an unexpected ride on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier last night. My fear of heights and general uncomfortableness with being that far up off the ground prevented me from taking more than one pic, but I did manage to take some deep breaths and get this shot. It was actually nice up there when I wasn't focused on being scared out of my mind.

Day 196 and blue skies

It's Friday! Finally! And could this weather be any better? I'm always grateful for blue skies and sun. After a long week, I'm very excited to celebrate a friend's birthday tonight. Drinks, food, laughs? Yes please.

A magical Day 195

I debated between this picture or one of my Gryffindor scarf, which I pretty much started wearing 7 hours before the movie and just never took off. This post is late because I was all wrapped up in HP magic last night and when I finally got to bed at 4am (adrenaline + we found a bug in my room... eeek!) I just didn't have it in me to post. But here you are at last. I hope you all already have plans to see this movie, if not... please make them. Thank you :)

ps. I'm seeing it again tonight in all it's 3D goodness, because that's just the kind of HP fan I am.

Day 195 in a shoe box

I own too much stuff, including shoes. Usually when I get home from work I kick my shoes off near the front door. They tend to pile up. In an effort to be more tidy, I threw them in a box until I find more appropriate storage. In the meantime they will remain in this ridiculous shoe box.

Day 194 is so so so happy!!

My sweet, sweet Emily is here in Chicago! My very first visitor and I couldn't be happier. And look at this fancy bag and jewelry she brought with her. Love. Tomorrow we're throwing on our Dumbledore's Army shirts and rocking the HP midnight showing in total geek fashion, cause we're just that awesome. Yayay!

Day 194 predicts the future

This fortune was in my fortune cookie at dinner tonight. "Your help will be needed in an embarassing situation." I'm just hoping I'm not the one who will be embarassed.

All signs point to Day 193

I went on a bit of a walk tonight for dinner. It seems you have to work to get your Chipotle in this town. (Totally worth it, of course). On the way, I spotted this sign. Which is perfect because I'm pretty sure I had just started complaining that I wished the Chipotle would just deliver to me directly, to matter where I am. That's not a crazy thing to want, right? Right??

Day 193 is not a hoarder

This sweet print is on a paper shopping bag I got the other weekend when I went to the shore. It has been sitting in my room, staring at me ever since. I want to keep it and reuse it for something or other. Part of this instinct probably comes from growing up with an art teacher mother. Obviously this paper bag is an art project waiting to happen! However, I am also an avid watcher of Hoarders. One day I'm saving paper bags, the next I'm finding 36 dead cats in my garage. Who am I kidding, I'm keeping the bag.

Day 192 has a drink

The apartment set up has been slow going. What with all this Harry Potter movie watching I've been doing. But the roomie and I did manage to decide on a cabinet where our booze will live. It's a small collection right now, but we're working on it. Chicago friends, feel free to contribute! :)

Day 192 saw stars

How cute are these ice cubes? They don't really serve any purpose, other than cheering up my beverage. Did I ever mention I won Most Patriotic in 8th grade? I'm still trying to figure that one out. I guess these star ice cubes are just further proof that I love America.

Day 191 is almost there...

Harry Potter week is upon us, friends!! My series re-read has not been going as fast as I'd like, but I still think I'm gonna make it before midnight on Thursday. One of the nice things about not working right now is plenty of reading time.

Day 191 shines a little light

This afternoon my mom and I ate lunch outside on our patio. To keep away the bugs, she lit some citronella candles and put them in these pretty votive holders. It felt like we were at a nice cafe, but cheaper and more convenient!

Day 190 had an oops

In the midst of moving furniture into our apartment, it seems the power went out on a few restaurants on the street next to ours. We all commented that the 5 minutes it took electric crews to arrive was the fastest we had ever seen any city employees work ever in the history of... ya know... the world. Then later on I passed this sign - the victims of the power outage = Potbellys. But at least they were still serving ice cream!

Day 190 digs for treasure

Today my friend and I spent the afternoon at the beach in Belmar. It was absolutely perfect. Though, I did skin my leg nicely while fighting some strong waves. No pictures of that. You're welcome. While sunbathing, my friend and I saw this lady with a metal detector. We were pretty amused. She was really intense. After doing a little unsuccessful digging she disappeared into the horizon. I'm convinced she found a 1978 Cutlass Supreme and drove it home. If you get that reference, I will love you forever.

Day 189 is mesmerized

My new (not yet furnished) Chicago pad is quite close to a train. Sometimes we can hear the train go by, and it's just about my favorite thing ever. I stood under the tracks today to get this picture. The early morning shadows caused some very cool patterns that I was totally digging. ps. I love transit. Can you tell?

Day 189 is back in time

Tonight I went to Nifty Fifty's for dinner. It's exactly what you're picturing - milkshakes, 50s music, greasy food. I suppose it felt authentic. Our waitress' nose ring, however, didn't.

Day 188 the explorer

The Chicago exploring continues today! I've just been doing a lot of unpacking and waiting to hear back about some jobs, so to take a break from such things the only thing to do is go around and get to know my new city. This is a shot from downtown Chicago (you can see the Law School building on the left).

Day 188 loves lamp

I'm having some serious photographers block as of late. A part of me still feels self-conscious taking pictures when I'm out and about - the main reason I'll never be a paparazzi. I hate waiting until the end of the day to take a photo. So for the sake of me getting to bed at a reasonable time, here is a shot of my favorite lampshade. It's from Anthropologie and I love it.

Day 187 heeds this warning

I had to take the train into downtown Chicago today for some meetings and errands and such. It was fantastic. I absolutely fell in love with mass transit in NY and the system they have in Chicago seems to be just as impressive as the MTA. Today I spotted this sign on the train platform. It's fantastic in a quirky "did you really need to remind people of this?" kind of way. I adore it.

Day 187 is a lame tank top

Part of my new gym routine includes figuring out my work-out wardrobe. Typically I wear yoga pants and a tank top. I got this ridiculous little number from Salvation Army a while back for 49 cents. Why would anyone get rid of this Universal Studios Orlando tank top? More importantly, why would anyone buy this Universal Studios Orlando tank top? I feel like this is something Zach Morris or AC Slater would've worn. Maybe that's why I like it.