Pride and Sunshine

We started the weekend off on the right fot! Friday we met up with a couple high school friends at Jane's in Boys Town for dinner. It was so fun to catch up with these two ladies. We go way way back (6th grade!) and now we're all grown up. I can't help but get a little nostalgic whenever we get together.

Last weekend was also Pride Fest, the predecessor to the Pride parade which is tis weekend! WOOT! Kayla and I made the small venture over to Boys Town to join in on the festivities. It was a really fun festival; full of music, food, and free stuff. You know the kinds of things you never use/ need (i.e. key chains, coupons, among other random inanimate objects), that's what we got. It was finally nice out (we've had a col/rainy summer so far) so we soaked up the sun and had a great time chatting with vendors and walking down the populated street.

These were the cheerleaders and they were absolutely fantastic. You can't help but smile from ear-to-ear when watching them, such great performers!

Kayla with her many stickers supporting the LGTB community! 

I'm on the right Kayla is on the left.

On Sunday it was finally hot enough to enjoy some sunshine on the beach! We made the long hike to the beach with a few friends and just soaked up the sun. I tried getting in the water but it was way too cold. As in my legs were numb after 30 seconds cold. It was nice to relax and get a little color. Keep in mind when I say color, I mean lobster red, but color nonetheless. It was a great way to end a weekend!

I'm on the Left, Kayla is on the right.

Fro-yo and Fun Food

After last weekend, we couldn't help but return to Wicker Park this weekend. It's a bit of a hike for us, but it was totally worth it. We found this inexpensive gyro place on yelp, Covo! This si the inside of Covo, it was so modern looking. The order line is set up like a Qdoba. You can choose between beef, lamb, and chicken, a ton of fresh toppings, and tasty tasty sauces!

I ended up getting two chicken gyros with different toppings and Kayla got one lamb and one chicken. They were so delicious and inexpensive!

I'm on the Left, and Kayla is on the right.

After lunch, we got in a long line that ended in free fro-yo. Yes, you read that right FREE fro-yo and toppings. If you know me, you know there are three things I will never say no to: petting puppies, shopping, and fro-yo. My ultimate weaknesses for sure. So when we saw a Red Mango grand opening we had to get in line and get a tasty treat for ourselves! And tasty they were, check these beuts out!

Kayla was definitely enjoying her free fro-yo. I forgot to mention they also had a photo booth out front! It was such a fun little day trip.

A Day at the Park

Today we took an adventure to Wicker Park. Neither of us had ever been there and it was so much fun! It's the epicenter of hipsters.

It was the first beautiful day after a week of unseasonably cold weather; so it was the perfect day to go exploring. It only took us a short bus ride to make it to our destination.

We set out specifically for The Buffalo Exchange, a cool second hand store, but we stumbled upon a few other gems in the neighborhood (not to mention awesome street art!).

Kayla rifling through the many adorable blouses housed at Buffalo Exchange

 We also walked by a lot of amazing restaurants. The whole area has a very modern feeling, and because of the nice weather, all of the restaurants had their windows wide open making it easy for us to feel envious of anyone eating the delicious food. Above is a picture of me (Shannon) in front of Glazed & Infused (different location from previous post).

A coffee shop had some really cool interactive street art. This was a sign that passer-bys filled out with chalk that was provided. How fun!

We had so much fun and can't wait to go back to this area to try out some good eats!

Trekking Around Little Italy

Yesterday, Kayla and I decided to go on a small adventure. I wanted to make sure I could find the building where I have my internship this summer; so we did a little trial run and after getting a little turned around a few times, we finally made it to the building that will be my second home for the summer. We also wanted to check out this little sandwich shop and bakery in little Italy. So to a bus stop we went and waited with growling stomachs!

We don't have much experience with the bus system in Chicago, and it's a little hard to navigate if you ask me. We boarded the right bus, going the right way, but managed to miss our stop (I'm still convinced the bus driver never actually announced/ stopped at the one we needed). We got off the bus about a mile and a half from our destination, so we had to backtrack down Grand Avenue with very angry stomachs.

After a good twenty minute walk, we arrived at our long-awaited destination, Bari! It's this little Italian grocery store with a sandwich place in the back. I got the Caprese sub and Kayla got the Roast Beef. The best thing about this place is how much food you get for so little. My 9" sub was only $5! And enough to fill me up for lunch and save the other half for dinner, I love a good deal. The people running this store were so nice and attentive.

After eating our delicious subs, we had to get a couple cannolis (one of my absolute, favorite desserts on this planet) at the little bakery next door. They had so many tasty looking treats, it was hard to just get the two cannolis, but we didn't have much of a choice as we had to pay in cash. Needless to say, much of our bill was paid with spare change...

We had so much fun in Little Italy, regardless of our little bus mishap. More adventures to come!

Glazed & Infused

We went on a little adventure to a doughnut place we had been dying to try. It's called Glazed & Infused, and those of you in the Chicago area should definitely try it out! This location is right by the Armitage stop off the L. I got the creme brûlée doughnut (left) and Kayla got an Apple Fritter (right). They were both fantastic and the people there are so nice. We should have taken some more pictures of what it looks like inside, because it's absolutely adorable.