Frozen River Waves

Definitely felt like a gawking tourist when I was taking these photographs of the semi-frozen Chicago River from the Michigan Avenue bridge but it's fun to play the 'resident tourist' of your own city sometimes. Surprisingly my old fear of heights flared up when I was leaning over the rail, wasn't that high up but there wasn't much separating me from the icy water below either.

Old World Influence & Southern Pride

My morning was spent exploring the Kenwood/Hyde Park neighborhoods of Chicago-- the architecture down there is pretty fascinating, lots of Roman and Greek influence as evidenced by all the porticos and columns. Most of the homes are from the turn-of-the-century and are still being lived in, others have sadly fallen into disrepair with the wood warping and paint flaking off though they still retain a chippy charm.

For lunch I checked out Istria Cafe in the Hyde Park Art Center (had a tasty iced vanilla latte & roast beef panini) and for dinner headed out to Irving Park to see what super-hyped bbq restaurant, Smoque was all about... being a Southern girl I was skeptical, especially after having to wait in line for 30 minutes, but I give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5... the pluses are the iced sweet tea, savory yet sweet corn bread and creamy rich mac 'n cheese. The pulled pork sandwich was tender but needed some cole slaw for acidity. Also, the packed-in-tight cafeteria ambiance of the joint left much to be desired. Don't come later than 8 as they often sell out of items, as evidenced by the sign above!

Lost Loves, Newly Found

The sun decided to make an appearance today... photographs are so much better with natural light--this is by far my favorite set of images in the project to date.

I started off my Friday at my long, lost love: Filter coffee house, newly re-opened after a 2 1/2 year hiatus. I'd discovered Filter shortly after I'd moved to Chicago from LA in 2007, it was my haven when I knew few people in the city-- it offered quality coffee, good food, comfy chairs & late hours. Then the Bank of America pushed it out and I'd never truly recovered, never found a replacement for my first love. All summer I heard murmurings of a re-opening, but then the date was pushed back to October, December, then finally (!) early January. But it was like the boy who cried wolf, the grand opening date came and went with no word. Then I got a press release two days ago that Filter would be BACK in a new location & opening today! Seemed too good to believe, but it was real, it's even better than the original (with an expanded menu and larger space!).

The rows of shoes were seen at the cobbler where I dropped off my newly thrifted leather riding boots (yay), there's some architectural details of Wicker Park in there and my favorite, an orange Ford Falcon. Speaking of lost loves, it seems a lifetime ago that I was close to a boy who drove a white Falcon...

Cabin Fever

Sadly the more interesting pictures/larger posts will be done on Friday, Saturday and Sunday when I have time to roam the city. The rest of the week I'm cooped up in classes and work, with very little time inbetween to take photos! Will have to get more creative... took the above photos yesterday & today around my apartment. Boring, I know. I'll be happy when the sun sets later in the day...

Antiquated Technology

It's the beginning of my last semester of school EVER (I'm in a 3-year MFA program and I'm thankful there is no such thing as a PhD in photography). This semester the professor I TA for used Polaroid film (yes, the two packs of film are probably worth more than $50) to document the students in our class. I suggested using digital but he was adamant on using up his last packs of precious film--some habits are hard to break I suppose.

P.O.S.H.

I mentioned the store, P.O.S.H., in an earlier post and how it was always closed when I walked by... well today on the way to Trader Joes after work it was open! While it's a small store, it's packed floor to ceiling with vintage & vintage inspired home goods from the U.S. and abroad (France! Belgium!).

They have lots more available online, the store is just a small sampling of what they have-- hotel silverware, diner coffee mugs & dishware and one-of-a-kind trinkets found in Paris flea markets by the store's owner.

While I was enamored with the European goods, I ended up making an All-American purchase, a white coffee mug emblazoned with a blue anchor, part of a deadstock supply found in an East Coast china warehouse. It was originally manufactured for the U.S. Navy probably back in the '60s.

Abstract Mistakes

Sometimes my iphone has a mind of its own, as evidenced by the above images. From time to time a blurry, abstract photo will pop up in my camera roll-- a result of my iphone deciding to take a picture, usually in my (red) coat pocket but sometimes when I'm holding my phone and walking along (so there's probably snow and a hallway in the above pictures too).

It's interesting how these 'mistakes' remind me of Minimalist abstract paintings from the 1950s-70s, like the work by Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler & Barnett Newman.

Chicagoland Junking

Sorry for the blurriness of these photos... the iphone does not like low light conditions! Today I met up with fellow vintage blogger, Lara, who lives down in Frankfurt, IL which is about an hour ride south on the Metra. She took me to lots of little antique shops, where we both felt a little overwhelmed by all the goodies we saw! It was hard not to spend a lot of $$, I ended up taking photos of things I liked to try and stop myself from buying so much (a pretty good strategy actually). Lots more photos of the meetup will be up at my other blog, thriftaholic, soon!

Gotham City & Old Chicago

It's on days like these (low-lying fog) that I realize why Chicago was chosen to be the fictional 'Gotham City' of Batman fame... our dark skyscrapers combined with the mistyness make our city mysterious and a little bit ominous.

I explored North Michigan Ave. today after a lunch meeting... I usually avoid this stretch as it's usually packed with Suburbanites headed to the American Girl store but one of my favorite places in Chicago is located just north of H & M... the 4th Presbyterian Church. While I'm not religious, there's something about the ivy and old stone amongst the temples of consumerism that really intrigues me. Built in 1917, the church feels like a slice of the old city, it's actually just across the street from the Hancock Tower, it makes me wonder what the area was like 90+ years ago when the church was built.

The last photo is actually from a Catholic church in the area undergoing construction. It was odd seeing the statue of the bishop (?) with the contemporary steel supports surrounding him.