learn something new about chicago today

did you know chicago is home to the most moveable bridges in the world for any city? it's true - the guide on the seadog architectural boat tour said it (and i've been on the tour TWICE, so i could practically run the tour myself). as cool as it is (hello batman begins!!) it can be prettyyyy (please channel larry david while reading that in your head, thanks) annoying when you actually have somewhere to go and the bridges go up for a couple sailing the river on a wednesday at NOON...

AWESOME image via flickr

stuck.

inquire within for more fun chicago trivia! i've got LOTS.

pretty, random

i took this yesterday whilst waiting for the bus.

my life during finals is so exciting i could scream.

whoa.

jacey chae shutter speed bag, on modcloth

grad gift? anybody? anybody??

what is new orleans?*

last summer when i was living in new orleans i saw this interesting little display (for lack of a better term) on the mailbox down the street. the first time i saw it was speeding past on my bike and couldn't stop. later i went back to investigate and pay a past-due cable bill. ANYWAYS... attached to the mailbox were handmade postcards, stamped and addressed to some place in minnesota. the postcards featured scenes of new orleans, some jubilant (a parade, a jazz funeral) and some not so (katrina damage), and on the back were the words "what is new orleans?"

i have to admit that i took a postcard to work on at home and never mailed it in - i just didn't know how to put in so few words and in so little space what new orleans meant to me. i went back just a couple days later and the display/call to action/public art was gone - either all of the postcards had been sent by proud new orleanians with something to say, or they'd been taken down. i still don't know what happened. i thought this might be a type of postsecret to empower a city and unite its residents, and maybe it is... but when you google "what is new orleans," the first link that comes up is the city's wiki page.

to the anonymous postcard posters - i hope your project is going well! although you might want to think about creating a website, just sayin...

*small update: check out this npr article my sister found about a different social experiment along the same lines

girl crush

the soft spot in my heart for redheads aside... how beautiful is christina hendricks? she's smart, she's a foodie, and most importantly, she's confident: "this is the way i'm built, and i feel beautiful." i must start watching mad men asap. read the rest of the esquire article about the most beautiful woman in america* here.

well, maybe except for her.

images via perez and esquire.

south american nostalgia

on thursday night my friends and i went out for our final birthday celebration of the week to celebrate my roommate maggie's 25th. maggie, a foodie if there ever was one, chose al primo canto in the river north area of chicago. because i've really let myself go on my restaurant resolution, i was really excited to try a new place. as luck would have it, this location just opened on monday so it was new for us all.

i went in with no expectations because i couldn't get the fancy menu to work on my computer, and i was greeted with a hearty, woodsy smell and a serious dose of nostalgia. the place looked, smelled and felt like a restaurant you would find in south america. the summer before i started law school, three friends and i took a trip to argentina, uruguay and brazil - 13 cities in 21 days - it was a whirlwind adventure. after enjoying a delicious churrasco at al primo canto, i gave myself a study break and went through all of memories from the trip and picked out some mvp's (most valuable pictures)

in front of the law school in buenos aires

in the "la boca" neighborhood of b.a.

almost every meal we ate looked like this. al primo canto, take note*

from b.a. we took a ferry to colonia, uruguay

and then to montevideo by bus...

there was a lot of travel by bus

we traveled back into argentina to visit some ruins...

the complete group of travel buddies, fallon, myself, magdalen and missy

iguazu falls was an incredible place

missy was dragged onstage to dance with some brazilians

fallon and magdalen shared a romantic moment on horseback while i was almost thrown and had to ride back with a ranch hand

this is in curitiba, brazil:

and here is paraty:

it was july in the southern hemisphere, so the weather didn't always agree with us...

but at least we can say we were there.

i hope you enjoyed looking through these! i really miss this trip.

abu dhabi, anyone?

i found some incredible images of the sex and the city girls on their "trip to abu dhabi" in the new film (which was actually shot in morocco, i believe) and they're really inspiring. i love the bright colors, the beautiful accents and rich details (and the CAMELS! they're so cool!) - it all reminds me of the little studio i posted a while back and absolutely loved. these images are definitely going in the inspiration folder for my new place...

images via perez (who else?)

you know it's getting gorgeous in chicago when...

...the sun's shining so bright that all your pictures turn out like this

...and it's still this bright when you're walking around the city at 6 pm

...you cross the river and 3 rowing teams are just floating by

i love warm weather!

"texlahoma, transylvania and other states that never made it"

i read today in time out chicago that evanston-based author michael trinklein has a new book called "lost states" and it sounds really cool. it consists of 50 stories of 50 states that never made it, like "forgottonia," a slice of western illinois residents who declared themselves a separate state (and even appointed a governor!) in an attempt to get congress to build an interstate highway connecting the area to chicago. the state never made it, but the interstate was built.

wouldn't this book make the best gift for a u.s. history buff? i already have a few people in mind!

what i like best about the whole idea is trinklein's message at the end of the time out article: "there are always going to be dissatisfied people. i'm just glad i live in a country where people would rather redraw a map than go to war with each other."

images via lost states

healthy obsession with bubble tea

there's nothing i love more on a warm, sunny day than an icy bubble tea and a walk through the neighborhood. i popped into simply it, a vietnamese restaurant a few blocks from my apartment, and got myself a fresh mango smoothie. while i was waiting (they literally peal the fruit while you wait!) i amused myself by taking some pictures.

i never noticed how cute this place was (probably because every time i'm there, i'm too busy stuffing my face with delicious food)

it's right on lincoln, surrounded by a plethora of bars and restaurants

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s! who's headed for the beach?