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......

A Smart Phone Year

An idea for my end of year blog has been perplexing me, until I came across a blog on art:21 today. The writer shared his top 10 "smart phone" shots from 2010 and asked others to do the same. I, like him, go nowhere without my iPhone smart phone, and I'm constantly snapping random pics. My husband gave me an iPhone 4 as a belated birthday gift right before we moved from Charlotte to Chicago at the end of last summer. This has ranked in probably the top 10 best gifts anyone has ever given me. My previous phone was purchased in 2005, and was definitely on its last leg. It was just a phone....nothing more, had nothing fancy like a camera, or apps. I didn't even text on that thing because it took forever to enter a simple message. So, I finally joined the 21st century of smart phones and got the mac daddy of them all (in my opinion)!

I have shared a lot of pictures on my blog, which could be a visual story of my life over the past 5 months. Not to discount the first half of my year, but I didn't have my iPhone then. I don't always share the random things I take pictures of, so I thought that might be a good way to end the year, along with a few of my favs. We're always so serious with our resolutions and reflections on what was and what might be. My blog has taken on an overall playful tone, so I'd like to stick with that theme and end on a lighter note. I don't have a year's worth of iPhone pics to choose from, but my total for 2010 (per suggestion of the art:21 blog) is 716 pictures over about 5 months. I estimate a year's worth would amount to roughly 1,718. 

#1: cat on box springs - 8.10.10 - charlotte, nc

the gremlin cat, aka molly, awaiting the movers 

#2: wind turbines - 9.3.10 - somewhere in indiana

on the road from charlotte to chicago

#3: picture in picture - 9.11.10 - the bean

a picture of a reflection of me taking a picture, of a reflection of me taking a picture, 

of a reflection of me taking a picture....to infinity

#4: under the L - 9.27.10 - lake st.

this picture has graced one of my previous blogs, but it's one of my favs, so I had to include it...the joys of navigating chicago!

#5: love this fountain! - 10.5.10 - buckingham fountain

as I've mentioned, one of my favorite places downtown chicago

#6: red and gold - 11.5.10 - the art institute of chicago

love this wall covering...or maybe it's painted?....in a hallway at the art institute

#7: ...and carry a big stick - 11.15.10 - riverwalk

my crazy little aussie cracks me up (along with passersby)

#8: drippy monster thing - 11.17.10 - west town

caught a glimpse of this creature one afternoon on my way to my art studio in west chicago

#9: ice crystals - 12.15.10 - chicago river

beginning to freeze along the riverwalk

#10: in a fog - 12.31.10 - chicago apartment

heavy fog ushering in the new year

So, those might not be my absolute favorite pictures I've taken all year, but they are random and kinda fun. It was difficult choosing just 10, so I had to give myself some boundaries. I hope to include more randomness and spontaneity in the new year and continue to make use of the smartness of my phone. I think that was a resolution! :)

Happy 2011!

Where Am I???

The last week has been a bit of a blur. I have to check my trusty iPhone to see what my week consisted of. I guess that's what happens when you don't really have a daily schedule...not such a good thing. I've been looking for a job, but haven't had any luck. I've also been trying to get to the Groupon yoga classes I bought....again without luck. I've done a bit more driving in circles while people honk at me. Brizzie and I have done a lot of walking along the lakefront trail, which has been so nice with the brisk 60 and 70 degree (real Fall) weather! Oh, and we got a new roommate on Thursday....my brother-in-law Andrew has taken up residence with us for a while. We put him on the Brizz rotation already! :) We all had a great time over the weekend introducing Andrew to the city and showing him the ropes....the ropes we know, anyway.


I have tried twice now to get to the yoga classes in Lincoln Park. The first time, I didn't realize my yoga mat was in my Jeep, which Justin had driven to work so I could use the Honda GPS to get to my yoga class. Today, I left in the Jeep with my mat, but forgot the smartphone, so once I found a parking space about 4 blocks from the yoga studio, I didn't know how to get there.....ugh! I walked around aimlessly for a while until it was too late to get to class. Third time's a charm??


We discovered that Dominick's (grocery store) has a free parking deck. So, today, Andrew and I decided to attempt driving there so we could load up on groceries. Andrew brought a Garmin from home, which we have discovered is about as helpful than the Honda GPS. Once again, the crazy stacked streets of Chicago foiled our plans. We did ok getting to Dominick's, but drove in circles getting back. At one point we drove under the L (eLevated train), which kinda freaked me out.

photo courtesy of Andrew Lichty

After one of my driving adventures, I can always count on a walk along the lakefront trail with the Brizz dog to cheer me up. The weather has been fabulous! It's only been in the 90's (low 90's) 3 days since I've been here, and I am loving it! This is what Fall is supposed to be like! Now, hopefully we won't have snow on halloween.....that's just not right. Anyway, Brizz and I have taken to the lakefront trail quite a few times now. It's all good until we hit the goose poop, and then it's all I can do to keep her away from it....yuck. "Leave it!" just doesn't work when it comes to goose poop. Other than that, it's a great place for an afternoon stroll.

 

brizz checking out the boats

It's great having Andrew here. He's cooking, cleaning, carrying my groceries, taking Brizz to the dog park....what more could I ask for in a brother-in-law/roomie? We're both on the job hunt, so it's also nice to have a person here during the day. I get tired of speaking only "woof" and "meow". To get Andrew acquainted with Chicago, we took him to one of the best spots for  Chicago style pizza in town, Lou Malnati's. It was packed of course, but we didn't mind waiting for the yummy deep dish deliciousness. Afterwards, we ended up at another Chicago legend, Harry Caray's, for drinks. I was pleased to spot a NC license plate used as decoration behind the bar saying:  C U B S M A N

We couldn't sleep in long Saturday morning, because we had tickets to the Cubs/Cardinals game! Andrew is a die hard Cardinals fan. So of course he was completely offended when I mentioned that I needed a cubs t-shirt for the game. I ended up needing a sweatshirt because it was soooooo cold! The wind is just brutal.....they weren't kidding about the wind here!!! Despite the wind, we had a great time riding the L and experiencing Wrigley Field. Cubs fan or not, that's a special place to be. We had awesome seats, which greatly surprised us, considering it's easy to have a view of nothing but a metal column in that place. I of course had to splurge on not only the Cubs hoodie, but also the $8.50 infamous Italian meat sandwich from concessions.....might be better than the pizza....might be. 

Awesome seat: $60

Cozy Cubs hoodie: $50

Italian meat sandwich: $8.50

Watching Andrew freeze in his Cardinals t-shirt because he "refuses to buy a long sleeve shirt and support the Cubs":  priceless

Final score:  Cubs - 7, Cardinals - 3

 

Now it's time to watch some Monday Night Football:  Packers vs. Bears at Soldier Field!

Luckily Justin left work early today and isn't sitting in traffic on Lakeshore Dr.

D A  B E A R S.

(I must be in Chicago)

Figuring it Out

Justin has safely returned from his adventures in the great beyond and is starting his first full week of commuting to work. He's lucky to only have a 20-40 minute drive (depending on traffic), considering the average commute is about an hour one way! His office is in Burr Ridge, a suburb of Chicago, which is also close to IKEA, Meijer, and other big box stores. Lucky for me, he can make quick stops at lunch or on the way home (maybe not at IKEA), so I don't have to drive aimlessly around the city with people honking at me....precisely what I did last Thursday.

I decided that we needed a bookcase for our random books and tchotchkes that have been sitting in boxes for about four years now, since we don't have room in storage (which the perpetrators finally cleaned out). So I found a bookcase at World Market that was a pretty good deal, and decided to go for a drive. I put the address in GPS and headed out. For some reason the Honda GPS likes to take me right through the middle of the city....not such a good idea for me. GPS also doesn't recognize the stacked streets here. There is an upper, lower, and dungeon level of several streets in Chicago. I tried my best to keep my cool and not panic with cars whizzing around and honking every 30 seconds. I've got it in my head that every time I hear a honk, it's at me....whether it is or not...I've turned into a very paranoid driver. At one point, I was turning left at a light (no arrow), the car behind me honked, then went around me and turned left right in front of me! Geeze....I'm sorry I didn't want to risk getting plowed so you could make the light!! My NC plate makes me a target for impatient drivers. Wonder if I'll get less honks once I get an Illinois plate....probably not. After getting very turned around, even with the GPS, and taking about half an hour to go 4 miles, I finally made it to the shopping center. I secured my bookcase and got out of there as quickly as I could so as not to get stuck in 5:00 traffic. I checked the map and figured out my own way home instead of following the GPS, which took much less time and was much less stressful.

I also made it to Target last week and discovered the shelves stocked with heavy duty winter boots....in mid September? Our cabbie Friday night did say that we could see snow in October, so I had better get prepared! I see a long puffy coat in my near future....but where am I going to put it? We are going to need another closet just for our winter gear!

this isn't charlotte target for sure!

We had our first thunderstorm, which isn't really a big deal, but it was very cool watching the raindrops stream down the side of our windows and hearing the thunder echoing in the buildings. I can just imagine seeing snow swirling in the wind 25 floors up...it will be pretty the first time, but I'm sure the thought of a blizzard won't put a smile on my face halfway through the winter!

clouds setting in over buildings

Once Justin made it home from work in the Friday afternoon traffic, we grabbed a couple beers, and some chips and salsa for a little appetizer on our roof. It was such a gorgeous day, and the scenery is just amazing from up there!

  

check out those boats!                           view of the chicago river 

                                                                        thru the buildings

lakeshore dr. and navy pier

Friday night we decided to hit the town....party animals that we are. We blindly picked a restaurant/bar called Hub 51. Ok, Hub 51 must be the place, or one of the places, for all the young, beautiful 20 somethings to congregate. It's hard to know what to expect going out here. I was definitely under dressed....or over dressed, depending on how you look at it....my heels needed to be about 4" higher, and we were missing our entourage. Surprisingly the food was really good, but we couldn't hear each other or the waitress over the girls behind us screeching about their ex-boyfriends. I sound like an old stick-in-the mud....it would definitely be a fun place to go with a group, and at least now we know. After dinner, we walked down the street a little ways to a much lower key Irish bar and had a couple drinks. I think we'll be checking out more of the Irish bars in prep for Justin's St. Patty's Day b-day! On a side note....one thing that is great about going out in the city....cabs on every corner. Although we have yet to meet a cab driver who actually knows how to get to where we live because it's so new....you're asking us for directions??

We woke up Saturday morning to the sound of a helicopter hovering above a building across from ours, and streets blocked off all around our block. Maybe this is a common occurrence in a big city, but it's certainly not one we are used to. We speculated what it could be:   Obama's in town, prep for a movie scene, police training, maybe they're just changing out an HVAC unit. We never discovered the reason for a helicopter landing Saturday at 8:00 a.m., but it was entertaining for a while at least. It was also funny to see other people appearing on their balconies in PJ's to see what was going on.

 

Saturday night we took advantage of some Groupons and Living Social deals I bought. We hit up Navy Pier (dubbed by Justin as the Myrtle Beach of Chicago) for some hotdogs at America's Dog and then caught an Imax 3D showing of Avatar, which I have to admit was awesome! Although I think seeing it 2D wouldn't be half as good. We took a stroll to the end of Navy Pier between our hotdogs and the movie, and saw some awesome views of the city.

our building is the squatty one in the middle 

in front of the big white one

Animal update:  we are learning to get along in close quarters....sort of. More like, we are establishing our territories in the apartment. Once in a while, I let Brizzie in our bedroom (deemed the kitties' room) which doesn't please Molly and Annabell. I still have faith we will one day all get along peacefully.....

  

         happy sunbathing kitties              how dare you let that mutt in here

I sense something evil lurking behind me

Lessons of the Week:

1.  don't trust the GPS

2. If they're honking, it's at you

3.  get some winter gear

4.  take advantage of the nice weather while you can

5.  enhance the party wardrobe

6. cabs are fab...sometimes

7. Groupon is great!

8. hovering helicopters are normal