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!).

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).

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?

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. :(

Window Still Life

Mondays are always tough for taking photographs-- I work all day so only have my lunch break to take a few snaps (and I'm getting tired of taking random shots in my office building). The natural light coming through the massive windows in our shared studio space at school inspired these vignettes. Knowing the age of our building and judging by those layers of peeled paint, the ledge is probably 100 years old.

The shells & stones were collected by a classmate during a vacation and I picked up the little souvenir bracelet at the Randolph Street Market last weekend. It's probably from the 1960s and features monuments of Paris including the Eiffel Tower. I can just imagine a young girl on her 'Grand Tour' of Europe buying it at a little stall in Paris.

Sunday Morning in Chinatown

My first summer in Chicago I lived in Chinatown in an apartment on Wentworth. It was definitely an experience and while I much prefer my current neighborhood of Ukrainian Village I definitely miss getting iced milk tea with boba on my way to the El every morning and getting $3 pan fried noodles for dinner. It's an odd area to live as it's a mix of older Chinese families and tourists-- I never knew which I'd encounter when I stepped outside my door each day.

It'd been a while since I stopped by so on this sunny day my friend and I met up for late morning dim sum-- steamed shrimp dumplings, fried turnip cakes and bbq pork buns, yum! We also poked through the local market where the sweets tempted me as usual. This week is Chinese New Year so hope all that celebrate have a good holiday!