It's a beautiful day....don't let it get away!

That song always strikes a sentimental nerve in me...maybe it's the melody, the lyrics, maybe it's Bono's relentless humanitarianism. I don't know, but after seeing U2 in concert for the first time on Tuesday night, I have an even greater respect for their music and cause. U2 is larger than life and so are their concerts! The energy in Soldier Field was incredible! The concrete  and steel floors were shaking! I think part of the energy was people loving the gorgeous weather and 4th of July holiday. It was my first visit to the stadium and my first U2 concert...what a way to go! U2 at Soldier Field on the 5th of July! The only thing better would be seeing them in Ireland. Wait....I actually had a chance to do that! No kidding.

Side story.....

Two summers ago my mom and I are at the Dublin airport at about 10 at night, waiting for transportation to our hotel. An Irish couple standing with us mentions they have 2 extra tickets to the U2 concert the next day.....seriously?! Mom and I were not in Ireland to see U2...not sure how we missed that in our itinerary. We were there on our Summer 09 Whirlwind European Tour. My brother, who was/is stationed outside Venice was meeting us in Dublin the next day, and we were off on a road trip to see relatives in County Sligo. I knew we couldn't go see "The Boys", as my Irish, 70 something great cousin, Violet affectionately calls U2. But, I felt like I missed a chance of a lifetime. So I resorted to U2 ipod shuffle, gazing out the backseat of our rental, as my mom navigated through the luscious, green countryside of Ireland. By the way...I would never trade visiting Violet and the old farmhouse...that's an experience of a lifetime. Every time I hear U2, I'm taken back to that wonderful trip through Ireland with my mom and brother.

Flash forward two years, where my husband and I have found ourselves living in Chicago, and the 2010 U2 concert was cancelled and rescheduled for 2011! I probably could have bought tickets for another city, but I love when serendipity seems to take over. So, my clever husband took my not so subtle hints and surprised me with U2 tickets for my birthday in March. I can't believe July 5th has come and gone. I wasn't sure summer would ever make it to Chicago, but it was a perfect, warm night for the concert.

We had a bit of trouble getting there though. We decided to take a bus, however, the first one was so full, we decided not to get on. Ten minutes later, another bus cruises past our stop with people squished like sardines. So we decide to get a cab with 4 new friends who were in our same predicament. Mind you, it's 6:45 on Michigan Ave = we got lucky to find an open cab. Then there was the rush hour traffic + U2 concert = standstill. We all finally piled out and hiked the remaining half mile or so. No biggie...we got to see part of the opening act - by the way, really liked Interpol. 

As Justin was driving home from work Tuesday night, he spotted something sticking out of the middle of Soldier Field...that would be the stage/spaceship/giant funky lazer beam that U2 performed on. Crazy, but pretty awesome. I kept wondering what passing airplanes thought of the light beams shooting out of Soldier Field.

Justin managed to snag some pretty awesome "cheap" seats about midway up on one side of the stage. This is the 360 tour, so "the boys" worked the entire stadium. I don't know how to describe the concert. I loved it. They played all the songs I had hoped to hear and put on an incredible show. There were 2 encores of 3 songs each. It was like watching a well-oiled machine, with the fog, lights, camera angles, Bono's iconic silhouette and poses, clips from a Burmese political prisoner, and Gabrielle Giffords' astronaut husband in space. Watching the huge screen was a surreal experience...like I was seeing an edited recording of a live concert...but I was there.

I heard Beautiful Day on the radio this afternoon and got goosebumps. Guess I'm a U2 dork. One of our cab buddies said this was her 4th U2 concert, and I didn't understand the point of seeing the same band so many times....now I do.

And, I have to say, Soldier Field is incredible. The combination of classical against modern architecture is so striking. Love it!

We were pretty wiped out after such an intense show, but it's a good thing we were on a U2 high for our 2 mile walk home. We were not going to sit in traffic again with a sold out crowd, and there were plenty of people hoofing it home with us.

What a concert, what a night! I leave you with a clip (though sloppy) from the concert. (Gabby Giffords' husband, is saying the bridge lyrics.)

Thank you to my wonderful husband!!

Proud to be a Chicagoan!

Considering that we made absolutely no plans for this 4th, the holiday turned out to be wonderful! Justin had planned to work almost all weekend on an approaching deadline. He did put in some time at the office on Saturday, but thanks to his determination and the deadline getting pushed out, we were able to enjoy our 4th of July!

So, no plans on the 4th...not to worry! There is always plenty to do in Chicago, even if it's not a national holiday. Saturday afternoon we headed back to the Taste of Chicago with our remaining food tickets. We enjoyed some live music, baklava, Polish sausage, and a frozen banana dipped in chocolate, covered with nuts! Yum! I think the size of the crowd doubled since the weekend before. That, combined with the smoke from cooking, all different food smells, and temps in the 90's, we definitely had our fill of the Taste!

Tourists flock here in droves on the 4th. I had noticed an increase in camera and map toting sightseers since summer hit, but holy hordes of tourists!! We live right in the middle of the tourist attractions, and after the Taste, we honestly didn't even want to venture out into the masses. So, we decided to head North where most of the non-Chicagoans don't go.

If you're a baseball fan, you may have heard of the Crosstown Classic. It's the series between the North and the South sides of Chicago - the Cubs and the White Sox. Over the 4th weekend they were playing at Wrigley. Although we didn't have tickets to the game on Sunday, we heard of a block party outside the stadium and thought we'd check it out.

The game was still going on when we got to Wrigleyville, and the so-called block party was not exactly happening. So, we hopped on a bus and headed to Lincoln Park to grab a bite and do a little shopping. I absolutely love Lincoln Park. There are so many cute restaurants and shops. We spent a gorgeous afternoon just strolling around following our whims. We stopped for a beer at an Irish pub, and sat outside on a quiet, tree-lined side street. While enjoying our beverages we noticed someone take their dog into the bar. Sure enough there were 4 dogs inside! We had found a quaint little dog-friendly Irish bar that's been around since the 40's! How awesome is that! We had a late lunch outside at another restaurant we happened upon. The afternoon turned out wonderfully and we hadn't planned a thing....I just love days like that!

Clear blue skies continued on the 4th, which prompted us to head to the beach! Yes, there are "beaches" in Chicago complete with sand, but no shells and other seaside critters. I have been very jealous of non-stop Facebook posts boasting Carolina beach vacations all summer. Especially over the 4th, when the Lichty's get together at Justin's parents' house in Myrtle Beach. We couldn't make it last summer because we were in the middle of moving, and this summer it just didn't work out. So, we made a family beach day of our own...at the dog beach of course! This is again, out of tourist radar, but still packed with lots of beach loving Chicagoans and their furry friends! We circled for half and hour looking for parking and then ended up walking about half a mile to get to the actual dog beach....but the trek was well worth it!

Other than the random dogs running across our towels, trying to get in our cooler, and one rude K-9 actually taking a whizz on our cooler....it was an awesome afternoon! We stopped on our walk back to eat lunch under a tree along the lake (don't worry the cooler was closed during the whizz incident!). People had set up tents and were grilling everywhere. 

We are very fortunate to have a fabulous view of Navy Pier from the top of our building. The city cancelled the huge fireworks show in Grant Park this year, but Navy Pier put on a smaller scale show. They actually shoot off fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday night during the summer, so we already get 2 fireworks shows per week...guess I can't complain about the city's decision! Justin and I used one of the community grills on the roof to cook up some burgers, sweet potato fries, and corn on the cob! We staked out a prime spot for dinner and hung out there until the fireworks. Watching all the people packed into and around Navy Pier, we felt especially thankful for our bird's eye view! Boats started filling up the harbor early and afterwards all honked their horns in approval of the show!

What an awesome holiday weekend it turned out to be! It's amazing to actually live in a city that people from all over our nation visit to celebrate the 4th of July. Chicago is an all-American city and we are excited to be a part of it!

Happy 4th!!

The Taste

The Taste of Chicago started this past week and runs for 2 weeks in Grant Park. It's not just food....it's tons of music, cooking demos from famous chefs, and even a 5K to burn off all those extra calories. With our windows open and from our balcony, we can hear the music from the main stage in our apartment, which adds another layer to the array of city sounds we hear on a regular basis. Music from the festivals in Grant Park is a little more pleasing than the jackhammers and fire trucks.

I have really been looking forward to "the taste", because we are always trying new restaurants. Almost every time we go out to dinner, it's a new place. I hate to eat at the same restaurant twice because Chicago is chock full of great eats. We always have trouble deciding where to go, so I figured the taste was the perfect way to try a bunch of different restaurants at once. 

When Justin and I joined the thousands of people in Grant Park on Sunday to get a taste of Chicago, I hate to say, I was a bit disappointed. I don't consider myself to be a food snob, it's just that none of the fabulous restaurants I hear rave reviews about were there. I'd even say that the Taste of Charlotte beats of the Taste of Chicago. You read that right....in a battle of the tastes, Charlotte wins! That doesn't mean that I don't love the restaurants in Chicago overall....I absolutely do. Chi-town just doesn't have a good selection of top notch food at the festival. Two weeks is a long time for restaurants to participate, and I suppose all the well-known places don't need to lure people in. Many of the neighborhoods in Chicago have their own taste fest, so I'm guessing that's where I'll find the drool worthy grub I'm looking for. 


Nevertheless, it was a gorgeous Sunday, which we haven't had in a while, and a perfect day to be out and about. I am a people watcher, and the taste definitely provided plenty of that, as well as plenty of freebies. I was tempted to jump in the Ocean Spray cranberries to cool off my tootsies!

I also got to pose with a ginormous Case tractor (the company Justin works for)....while sitting on a bale of hay, eating watermelon. Justin was so proud! :)

I do want to check out some of the cooking demos this week as well as some of the free music. We still have tickets left over, so we'll be heading back next weekend to give the Taste of Chicago another shot.

City Living...it's not all it's cracked up to be

Today there have been jackhammers going non-stop outside our building....seriously all day hammering. I woke up a little after 7:00, it's 5:30 as I'm writing this, and they're still hammering. Some days city living really grates on my nerves. 

Anyone who reads my blog and/or Facebook page regularly, knows that driving in Chicago also drives me crazy. I literally try to drive as little as possible, but some days it can't be avoided. I swear, since the weather finally got warm the traffic has doubled. Especially on really sunny, hot days. That's when it seems like everyone in the city comes out of hibernation and hits the beaches....making Lake Shore Drive a parking lot. I usually love driving LSD because of the striking combination of city and lake views, and it's an easy shot North and South from where we live. However, lately I've been weighing the option of navigating through the city, taking on honking cabs, pedestrians, bikers, and one way streets instead.

I've started a part-time nanny job in Lincoln Park, which is why I can't avoid driving. The family is great and the 9 year old girl is fun to take care of, super smart, and talented. My job includes picking up Alexandra from school, taking her to after-school activities, grocery shopping, and running general errands. I'm getting to know my way around Lincoln Park. I'm also getting some much needed practice at parallel parking. It's a good thing the Liberty is kinda squatty...as SUV's go! I swear some days the hardest thing about my job is finding a parking spot where I won't get towed. Although I'm getting into the routine now and becoming more familiar with the parking situation, it has been a little stressful.

When I'm not working I don't feel like driving anywhere, which I can usually accomplish thanks to the CTA...love public transportation. I'm also trying to relax and take advantage of my down time before grad school hits. Brizz and I have gotten back into our long walks along the lake and through Grant Park. We didn't venture out as much during the Winter, for obvious reasons, but now I really look forward to our walks together. Poor Brizz, with her thick fur can't make it too far before she seeks the shade of one of the beautiful trees along the trail. We both happily plop down in the grass to watch the boats and passersby.

Today was one of those days when a lake front stroll was much needed. Even though there is still the rush of cars from Lake Shore Drive, I can somehow escape the craziness of the city with the lake in front of me. Now....if those jackhammers would just take a break......

Festival Time!

It seems my blogs are few and far between, yet lengthy lately. So, I'm going to make an effort to post more and keep them short and sweet! Festival season has begun in Chicago, and I am loving it! One of my soon-to-be professors at SAIC gave me the excellent advice to enjoy my Chicago summer and the wonderful festivals....I certainly intend to do just that! I added all the festivals I could to my Google calendar to keep them straight. 

We got started last weekend at the Old Town Art Festival. Almost an entire neighborhood was taken over by hundreds of art booths, food, and live music. It was packed in amidst the vintage town homes of Old Town....so cute! I'd love to live in a neighborhood like that or Lincoln Park one day....we'll see. Anyway, we had a nice relaxing stroll browsing all different kinds of art. (Unfortunately my phone battery was low so I didn't get to take any pics.)

The following day we headed to the Blues Festival in Grant Park. That Sunday was absolutely gorgeous, and people were just chilling in the park BYOB style. There was lots of food and 3 stages of music. 

We people watched, and just hung out with everyone else...such a great afternoon. I love this kind of relaxed atmosphere right in the middle of the city. It's an awesome energy.....awesome city!