Final day in Chicago (sad face)

My eyes popped open on Sunday morning after almost 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep in my Arlington House bed of awesomeness. It was 10 am and my last day in Chicago with the girlies. We put on something resembling decent outfits, cleaned up some of the makeup that had streaked down our faces while we slept, and headed off to a place called Duffy's for brunch to help us recover from the last night. $15 for all you can eat and all your can drink. Multiple flavors of champagne drinks. A buffet that is set to impress... it was all that and more. We showed up around 11. It was already a 30 minute wait for a table, but the hostess said we could try our luck at the bar if we wanted. Wouldn't you know, there were 4 seats all together right at the end. Like they were waiting for us. Like it was fate. Well who were we to argue with fate?

We plopped our butts down and introduced ourselves to the cutie bartender who was more than obliging in our attempts to live up the morning/early afternoon. He explained that there was 4 delicious flavors of champagne drink: regular mimosa, mango, passion fruit, and berry and that we could have as many plates off food as we could eat. Guess how many Erin had?


3! How did you know!? Lucky guess, I suppose. So yea she had 3 plates of food! What do you mean, 'what's the big deal?!' That may not seem so ridiculous on the outset, but let me explain. The plates looked something like this:

Fist Course: A bit of everything.

Second Course: Some desert.


Third Course: The leftovers of an excessive amount of crab legs.

As for the champagne drinks, they were delish! Katie J and I were particularly fond of the berry flavor. Erin, of course, loved the mango as she obsesses over all things mango. Julia wasn't really partaking in much because she was being lame-O! We tried to force her to have fun but it was hard.







Gosh, she see how resistant she was! As much as we tried to make her have fun, but she resisted. She was just being Pouty McPouterson. That's ok though. We didn't let her bring the party down.

There was still plenty of dancing in our chairs (a little bit of dancing in the middle of the floor, especially when the perculator came on!) and lots of joking around with the fabulous and super friendly wait staff. O yea and there was maybe a little bit of a mimosa drinking competition between the rest of us who weren't being lame.

We eventually (and I do mean eventually - as in 4 or so hours after we arrived) left Duffy's. Not for lack of a party. The left over kids were just starting to get animated, but we did want to get some shopping done in the neighborhood before we had to leave.

In retrospect shopping after drinking all morning was a terrible idea. I did get some cute stuff while we were out but... well... I also did this...

At our first stop, a consignment shop, I proceeded to buy a skirt that I thought was a shirt (in my defense it was a very deceptive skirt and may have even looked better as a shirt) and 4 pairs of shoes. 1 of which I didn't even like once I woke up from my post-brunch nap. Well good thing all that stuff was only $10 a piece or so, but still there is a lesson to be learned about combining alcohol and retail. It is not safe. Talk to your kids about it. Warn them before they end up with a pair of Charlotte Russe rainbow wedges and don't know how that happened.

Meeting up with more old friends

After a day full of walking and a tummy full of champagne, you can guess what we did: go back to Arlington House and take a nap! The best thing about that hostel was how the beds, despite being lumpy and possibly bug-ridden, lulled you into the deepest sleep possible. It was borderline Cinderella-esque. Here at home in my own bed, I can never make it through the night without waking up a few times, but in Chicago I slept like a rock. It was amazing. I swear there were sedatives in the mattress that seeped into your body through osmosis. Anyways that was just a long way of explaining that none of us woke up from the nap until about 9 o'clock at night. It was a pretty long nap, but at least we had digested the brie and were ready to eat again! And guess where we decided to eat... a pizza place! Duh! It is Chicago after all. We needed the experience of some true Giordano's deep dish. So I called my friend Angela who I had met while studying abroad, and we arranged to meet at the closest Giordano's. It would be just like Italy again! There'd be pizza, wine, and lots of complaining about why Italian men had such a fondness for mullets. (No kidding! It is mullet-city over there. The Itals are not the sex gods you are imagining. Trust us. Angela and I avoided being touched by them at all costs... unless the cost was a free drink. We might have made exceptions for that. Milan was expensive, you know?)

Erin, Katie J, Julia, and I all put our faces on, dawned some cute little outfits, and hurried over to the bus stop to catch the 22. It didn't come. It rained some more. The wind blew harder. It still didn't come. More rain. More wind. No bus. Finally a bus! Not the 22. I asked the driver if this bus stops at our street (Belmont), though. He says yes, and so we all got on, thinking that it probably followed the same path of the 22, at least until our desired street. We got off at our street, and I called Angela to tell her we're there.

"Where?" she asks.
"At the intersection," I say.
"Of Belmont and Clark?"
"Yea, where are you?"
"No you're not."
"Sure we are. We just got off the bus."
"What bus?"
"Angelaaaaaa, the one that just drove by!"
"I am sitting at the intersection of Belmont and Clark. I have been for the last 5 minutes. There has not been a single bus that has come by. I think you should find a street sign."
Pause.
"O," I say. "We're not at the intersection of Belmont and Clark."
Siiiigh. "Just tell me where you are. I'll come find you."

So the lesson learned was to not get on random buses, but true to her word Angela found us. By the time she did, we all looked a lot like this:


I can't help but imagine how much Angela was giggling at us in her head. Here we were, a gaggle of silly girls in our cute going-out attire and spring jackets with inside out umbrellas and streaked mascara. Here she was, a native of the area in a hooded parka with knee high boots on. You could tell who the tourists were even with your eyes closed. Angela kept us motivated, even though this other bus had dropped us off many blocks out of our way, and we pushed through the misery and made it to Giordano's! When the pizza finally came, it was hard earned and, as such, tasted even more delicious than it otherwise would have. If you have never had Giordano's, it is an experience you should have at least once. I know many people who are thin crust fans poo poo this deepest of deep dishes, and that's fine. You are all entitled to your own opinion.... But I think you're wrong. That's my opinion! Giordano's pizza has so much more toppings and cheese because they bake the pizza like a pie with the toppings on the inside and the sauce layered over the outside. There is just no way to physically pack more flavor into a pizza. I mean just look at all of that yummy goodness oozing out of Julia's piece of pizza! You can't top that anywhere (certainly not on a piece of thin crust pizza)!


After we were sufficiently refueled by the cheesey goodness, we were off to explore more of Chicago's night life. Angela took us to a hooka bar called Sigara which was kind of in the Wicker Park hood. Now the only hooka bar I've been to before is Chi Cha over on the end of U street (which I was actually just at last weekend, so there will be some more DC-oriented Search for J Street adventures about that coming up soon), and so I was expecting Sigara to be like that. In actuality about the only thing they shared in common was dim lighting. Where as Chi Cha is very open, Sigara is very closed. All the seats seem so secretive, nestled back into corners created by temporary walls made out of curtains. Someone could be sitting inches away from you on the other side of the curtain and you would have no idea what they were doing. The lighting was almost no existent, provided only by candles. You felt like you were in an Arabian brothel, in a good way. I tried to snap a few pictures of the experience, but it was to dark to get anything good. Mostly I just captured us looking ghostly by the candles.


I thought we looked so ghostly, that I tried to get everyone to tell actual ghost stories. No one was feeling that. So I started it off with the story of the green ribbon, but I only got about 2 sentences in before Erin said, "O my god, Cara. Not the green ribbon story. Everyone knows that!" That promptly ended the ghost story telling. So we all exchanged crazy stories from studying abroad instead while we sipped on some pretty decent wine. We ended up not getting a hookah because we got there so late, but the lounge was so smokey that we got the experience anyway. All in all, it seemed like too short of a night, and I was sad to see Angela go when the bar closed down. I was happy to get back into my nice warm bed, though, and out of my wet clothes. As soon as my head hit the sedative-laced pillow, I was fast asleep and didn't move an inch until the sun was up the next morning.

Chicago Museums (Part 2)

We actually found a stone on the outside of the Freedom Museum from Delaware! (Not that I remember what it was from - some church or something - but I was excited nonetheless to see something from my home state!)


That was good enough for all of us so said goodbye to the Freedom Museum, and went on to... another museum! I know that might seem like quite a lot of museums in one afternoon, but remember that it is a rainy, miserable Chicago day. We welcomed any excuse to be inside, and getting a little culture is as good an excuse as any. So this time we were off to the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was pretty interesting. We saw a Karen Kilimnik exhibit which was infused with lots of Pink Panther and celebrity images. I am not really sure what the significance of any of it was. It was that type of modern art you are only going to understand if you bother to read all of the dissertations that these artists write, but it sure is interesting to look at. After the Kilimnik exhibit, we wandered around looking at the permanent collection. There were these giant clam shells you could play in. That was pretty cool. It's not every day you get to stand on modern art.


We had to vacate the clam shells pretty fast, though, because Katie J got in trouble for taking a picture in the museum, which was ok with me anyway because the kids were being greedy with the clam shell. I didn't want to play with them anymore. We mosied about a little more. We saw some animal cracker art. There was a framed tiger cracker. Then there was a framed elephant cracker, and then there was a framed poacher cracker! Afterwards, I tried to take some pictures that captured both the koi fish in the pond and the ones on my boots, but it was tough. The fish weren't very cooperative. So the pictures didn't come out very well, but you get the idea.
















Well after 2 museums the crew was totally dried off and in no mood to walk around very much outside anymore. So in search of more shelter, we headed to the John Hancock Signature Room. This turned out to be a great idea (after we got through the absurd security which required us to be carded 3 separate times) because the top floor was just below the cloud level. So we sat up there, sipping on champagne, munching on brie, and grinning over how we had a great view of the top of the Sears tower disappearing into the clouds. It made me even more glad that we hadn't shelled out that $15 to go up there.




And then after all day tromping around in the rain, the sun came out. Go figure.

Chicago Museums (Part 1)

Revitalized from The Bean (see post below), the crew set off to conquer the Magnificent Mile. Seeing as Erin and I are complete shopaholics (I mean that's what credit cards and your immature 20's are for right?), I thought that the mile might hold more allure, but in the end all the shops on the mile were a bit boring. They were all chains, and it seemed silly to go all the way to Chicago just to go shopping at H&M. The ones that we don't visit in DC (Gucci, Ralph Lauren, etc...) are all too expensive to be bothered with as well. Skipping over all the shopping left plenty of time for other exploring. That is when we stumbled upon this building with various rocks embedded in the wall.

See there's one from the White House removed from the inner wall during reconstruction in the 50's, and there's one Douglas Hall from the old University of Chicago. Then there's a piece of the Great Wall of China and one from the site of the Kensington Runestone in Minnesota.



After we spent a sufficient time checking out all the stones (there must have been hundreds!) we finally got motivated to figure out what this building actually was. Turns out it was a new museum called the Freedom Museum, which was free! So we went in to check it out. It was pretty small, but there was some interesting facts (all of which I have, of course, forgotten). Then at the end there is a section on the upcoming election. It was very interactive. You can take a video of what freedom means to you, and they'll save it for other people to view. Then they have this podium where you can give your acceptance/concession speeches. I have to admit I give a darn good speech! Erin's speech... eh... not bad, maybe just not appropriate either.






O well, like Julia said, Erin certainly was expressing her freedom, the salty mouthed pirate that she is!

I got a maxi dress. Yay!... And also some more stories from Chicago

I've had this long time (like years long) obsession with maxi dresses. I saw Paris Hilton wearing one in a picture one day, and while I would normally never cite her as a style icon, the dress made her look cute and not whorish! I have been in love with them ever since, but they didn't become popular until recently. So I could never find them before. Then today I left the office, and there was one in the front display at H&M. I had to have it! And so here I am, playing and blogging in my living room, in my brand new maxi dress!


So swirly and fun! Yayayayay! I can't wait to wear it to work.... Ok obsessing over. More stories from the law school trip! I can't believe I am only on our second day in Chicago. So we woke up on day 2, and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Much worse. It was cold and windy and raining, which was especially hard to deal with considering it was 80 degrees back in DC that day, but the whole crew was good sports about it. Erin and I put on our new galoshes. Katie J and Julia bundled up in raincoats, and we all headed downtown to see the sights. Before we saw anything, though, we got side tracked by a little cafe with a big sign on it about being featured on the Food Network. Erin being the Food Network junkie that she is squealed with delight as we went in to check it out.





Turns out we had stumbled upon the Bourgeois Pig Cafe. It was lovely inside with an amazing selection of food and teas. I really wanted to try a new tea, but the girl who waited on me seemed totally uninterested in giving me any sort of recommendation. So I chickened out and just got English breakfast. We all enjoyed our food a great deal, though, and were thoroughly entertained with all the books and games lying about. The place is just a haven for wasting time. I think it would be very dangerous on my productivity levels to live near it! If I did, I would probably spend most of my days doing crap life this:







We finally managed to get off our butts (not before buying cookie for the road, though) and first on the list of actual tourist attractions to check out was the Sears Tower. Now last time I came to Chicago there was 0% visibility from the top, and wouldn't you know it? There was 0% visibility again. So this is the most we ended up actually seeing of the tower:


Yep, that would be the good ole leg model in the lobby which doesn't cost $15 to see. I could feel the crew getting a bit downtrodden at this point. The weather and the disappointment of skipping over one of Chicago's most famous attractions was starting to wear on them. So I did what any good tour guide would do. I took them to The Bean. I wouldn't tell anyone beforehand what The Bean was except that is was amazing. I knew once we got there and they beheld the magic of The Bean, that they would be transformed by The Bean's mystical powers of happiness. Sure enough, smiles spread all over there previously pouty faces once the spied this masterpiece:


That's right. It's a giant, reflective bean. I know those of you who have never seen The Bean were doubting that anything called the The Bean would really be as awesome as I built it up to be, but now you see the flaw in your thinking because the The Bean truly is one of man's most awesome creations. First of all, it shielded us from the rain while we played below it. Second of all, taking pictures with it entertained us for a good half hour. It was just what the crew needed.


O such good times. After this, we were all revived (See! The Bean's mystical powers! I'm telling you! It's like we were brought back to life. Like in Mario when you eat the magic mushroom and it makes you all lively. Not that we were eating any magic mushrooms on this trip. It was just an analogy. Stop thinking bad thoughts! The Bean's powers have nothing to do with magic mushrooms. I was using a simile. Sheeeeesh.), and ready to conquer the city some more!

Chicago - Night 1

Ok I'm back on track. No Lost tonight so I am going to stay on topic: our first night in Chicago! Katie J, Erin, and I headed back to the Arlington House, our hostel, to find Julia now that she had finally arrived.

To say that Arlington House was a lovely institution would be a bit of an over statement. It certainly had its benefits. It was cheaper than anything else we could find by a great deal. In fact it only cost us $100 per person for 3 nights. It was in a great neighborhood. We were in the middle of Lincoln Park and easy walking distance from lots of yummy stuff to eat and pretty things to buy, but then there were the downsides. There was the no heat in the room. Well actually no heat only in Katie J's and Erin's room. Then there were the hand towels they gave us under the pretense that they were full towels for showering. Come to think of it, only Katie J and Erin got the mini towels. (They thought the idea of trying to cover themselves with said towels after showering was so funny that they put on quite the towel fashion show after we settled into our rooms.) Hmmm... So in retrospect the hostel was only uncomfortable for Katie J and Erin, but Julia and I did have to listen to them complain. So indirectly that was uncomfortable for us as well.

After the towel fashion show/booty dance, we all met up with my friend Kylene who I waitressed with when I lived in Richmond. Kylene is fabulous. She has big eyes like one of those creepy kewpie dolls (except Kylene is not creepy), and she is going to cosmetology school (which is perfect for her because she was the kind of person who had different color hair every shift). Most of all she loves loves loves to just chat with anyone. Everyone from under age stoner boys who don't wear underwear and fill their time with only jazz, Jack Kerouac, and chess to older, self-absorbed accountants nicknamed after emotions. I don't even have time to get into the story about how Kylene ended up in the hotel room of the Wu-Tang Clan last summer. I mean seriously, she'll talk to anyone! (Although meeting up with the Wu-Tang Clan might have also had something to do with her curvy bottom.) Her gift for gab went over well with Julie, Erin, and Katie J, though, and we all ended up getting along splendidly at a tapas dinner.

Plus the pitchers of flavored margaritas might have helped the conversation flow a wee bit. Maybe. Just a tad. I mean, of course, good company was the best part of the dinner, but if I had to pick a second best part of dinner? Yep, Kylene's got it right. It would be the berry flavored marg.


It was great to see Kylene and I wish we could have spent more time together, but she had school (boring). So she had leave us to go home and get in bed. We were far from done our night, though. Our next stop was Baby Wants Candy, the musical improv show that an improv buff from home had encouraged us to go see. It randomly turned out to be about a 10 minute walk from Arlington House. We got there just in time to double fist some drinks and run into the theater before the show started.


I was able to snap a video of the group. The video does them no justice in showing how funny they were. We were peeing ourselves the whole time (obviously except for this scene that i am about to show you. Although there was some giggling going.)



So, what'd you think? Amusing at all? Bad camera work you say? Yes I know. Thanks for bringing it up. Some of us are having to make do with the video function on our crappy digi's. Anyways even if you didn't crack a smile during that video, I ensure you that you would love them in person. If you are ever in Chicago, and especially if you are staying at Arlington House, do yourself a favor and go see Baby Wants Candy.

The theater was right around the corner from DePaul University. So despite our attempts to avoid a college bar, we ended up hitting up a college bar after the show. Despite DePaul being the largest Catholic University in the nation (which I just learned when I googled it to make sure I was spelling it correctly) those kids throw down like drinking excessively is the new proven way to make it into heaven.


I came back from the bathroom at point and this tall, dark, and intoxicated man had moved in on my friends. We "hit it off" immediately, and by that I mean that within 5 minutes he had asked if I had a husband a half dozen times and asked me out on a date for the following night. He never did end up calling. I would have been pretty surprised if he even remembered being at that bar, but I decided that night that I could love any town which has good margaritas, hysterical improv, and men who ask you out within 24 hours of your arrival. Chicago seems like my kind of place. Maybe I will have to convert Search for J Street into Search for Arlington Street one day. (Although there is actually an Arlington St. in Chicago so that might not be as effective of a title, but I've got time to work on something better.)

I got distracted

So I was going to post about the final part of my first day in Chicago, but I got tied up at work. Then by the time I got home, I was half starved. So making some dinner took precedence, and then Lost came on. Lost is like my kryptonite. I am totally incapable or doing anything escape stare at the TV for that one hour of the week.

Tonight's episode was not a disappointment. Jack's (and Claire's, for that matter) dead dad is back. Remember how he was always walking around when they first got to the island? Way back in season 1. Then one day, he just stopped showing up, and you always thought to yourself: "what was the deal with Jack's dead dad?" (Of course at this time, you didn't realize he was Claire's dad too.) Well maybe this time we'll get an answer....

Ha! Yea right! Lost is the TV embodiment of the Socratic method. They are just going to keep answering their questions with more questions, but gosh I love it. I keep coming back for more. Anyways since Lost distracted me from writing even a halfway decent post, I will try to appease you with some Lost eye candy and a promise to write something better tomorrow!


(Ok I know that was a shameless ploy to amuse you with attractive celebrities rather than witty and insightful writing. You, dear readers, deserve better, but to be perfectly honest, I can't promise you'll get any better on Thursday nights for the rest of the season. Sorry! I'm addicted!)