Punctured

On the way back from picking up some sugar cookies from Xoco for a friend's birthday, I saw this cluster of balloons forlornly caught high in the branches of a tree. It made me wonder about the circumstances that brought them there and how I'd react if my HUGE bunch of balloons sailed aloft.

Art or Mystery?

After attending an artist lecture at school I came across what I believe are two art installations near the Harold Washington Library... a street lamp that throws out orange light and a projection on the side of a law building that combined the words 'heart beat' with dance/rock to the beat. Need to do some research into who's responsible for the pieces.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

I usually go to the Intelligentsia Coffee Shop in the Moadnock building several times a week as it's conveniently on the way from the blue line to school/work. This location is always packed with professionals in suits that work in the nearby financial district so I was surprised to find this more bohemian woman seated at the counter with the longest hair I've ever seen. It reminded me of the time when I was 10 and decided to grow my hair out to waist-length, that's the longest my hair's ever been (now it's shoulder length).

Window Shopping

Dovetail, a vintage boutique on Chicago Avenue, always has the most innovative and adorable window displays--currently they have an homage to Alice & Wonderland, including these wonderful stuffed toad stools and clock. Looks like they might be getting some competition soon from Seek Vintage, a shop that's set to open soon (bringing the total of vintage shops on Chicago Avenue to four!).

Mad Mondays

Mondays always seem to sneak up on me, not sure why the weekends are flying by this time of year. Several of my co-workers brought into Valentine's Day treats, including this HUGE heart box of chocolates and iced cupcakes. If you're wondering, that's my carpetbag purse hanging on a row of hooks in a storeroom at work.

chocolate & vanilla

A chilly yet clear Valentine's Day that started at the new movie theater on Roosevelt and ended with coffee and treats at the Bourgeois Pig cafe in Lincoln Park.

Grafitti Hearts & Upside Down Signs

Just another typical Saturday-- it was sunny again today so I decided to walk the mile or so up to Wicker Park, did some window shopping and stopped in Lovely, A Bakeshop on Milwaukee for an iced coffee & some cookies. Just discovered they now have French macarons and for Valentine's Day they had three types of cupcakes on offer (sadly still haven't tried one from them yet).

Harwood Heights Adventure

Adventured out to Harwood Heights today, a community/suburb (?) just outside Chicago. While there I encountered rows upon rows of neat brick bungalows, Midcentury architecture in the form of signage and condos and an authentic Italian deli & imported foods store, Rex's Italian Deli. At Rex's it took me a while to settle upon my lunch choice-- I ended up getting an eggplant parmesan sandwich with a cannoli and lemon knot cookie for dessert. Quite tasty and I wish it was closer as I'd stop by once a week for the baked goods, lasagna and classic Italian subs.

Orphan Scarves & Pizza Crusts

Unfortunately woke up with an eye infection today so had to take a morning visit to the doctor. The day improved, however, after using some medicated drops and I managed to walk around a bit in the South Loop and take these pictures. Later in the evening I met some friends for $5 thin crust pizza, quite good and it's what I call 'authentic' style as it had fresh ingredients and featured toppings like mozzarella, prosciutto and basil. Yum! The last photo, of the carved heart, was found carved in a post at an El (subway) stop-- urban romance at its finest?

Waiting for the Bus

This is typical of what I see on the way home-- remnants of the 'blizzard', piles of slush and a longer wait than usual for my always-packed bus. Due to recent CTA cuts the buses run less often, especially at night. Instead of a 5-10 minute wait it can be long as 20 minutes in the cold!

SNOW DAY!

Scenes from the 'blizzard' Chicago experienced today... there really isn't as much snow on the ground as I expected though there is more forecast for tonight. I didn't think six inches of snow would shake up Chicago like it has but it's probably more of the fear of what could happen than really what occurs. I'm not going to argue though as my school declared a SNOW DAY today. Okay, it was a little wimpy because they decided only night class and activities (so after 5pm) would be canceled but fortunately on Tuesdays I have a night class (6-10) and I TA for a class that goes from 3:30-6. As soon as the school activated our emergency warning (pretty much a glorified phone tree system), I started getting calls and emails from my students, wondering if we would still have class (for an hour or so). The answer was 'no' so that meant I was free to go frolic in the snow!

Never thought I'd get a Snow Day in graduate school, the last one I had was nearly six years ago in high school. To take full advantage of the snow I decided to do something a little crazy, I walked the mile from my El stop rather than taking the bus like I normally do. While my hair and coat ended up getting soaked from the snow I had a good time taking pictures with my iphone, crunching through the fresh snow and watching other Chicagoans out playing with their kids or dogs. Have to savor the 'pure' snow while it lasts as it will quickly turn into treacherous ice, piles of grimy blackness and the worst for shoes-- slush puddles of death that wait for you on the curbs of sidewalks. Have ruined more than one pair of boots by going through a slush puddle that had disguised itself to look like the surface of the road. :(