Lunch Club at La Ciudad

So it was Scott’s turn and also the last of our first picks for lunch club.  And yes, we still have not come up with a better and less generic name.  We probably won’t.  Simplicity sometimes works well…

Scott took us to a place he heard about from a girl he works with.  Her boyfriend just opened La Ciudad in the Uptown neighborhood (you can read a review about it here).  Cathryn and I were very excited about the guacamole.  mmmm….  So we started out with some of that and queso fundido with chorizo.  I had never tried chorizo.  It was pretty greasy, but good in moderation…   We were all practically full before the meal actually came.  This did not stop us.

I kept it simple with some chicken quesadillas- and they were stuffed! Cathryn ordered off the dinner menu and got the chili rellenos.  I tried a bite of the chili and approved- but I dunno how she was planning on eating all those refried beans… ew.  And yes, I’m aware “ew” is not proper foodie terminology.  But I just really don’t enjoy refried beans and I want to make sure to get my point across…  So… ew.

Jaime also went for a dinner option with the skirt steak and rice.  Scott said the steak was phenomenal.

And finally, Scott tried one of their more interesting options- shrimp that’s deep fried, wrapped in bacon, and stuffed with cheese.  He said it was amazing and it had a real kick to it.  I think it’s a bit of a heart attack on a plate…  whew!

Supposedly, our group was quite entertaining for the guys working.  So they brought out this for us on the house: Funny thing is the girls were all looking to order the flan anyways.  We wanted a bite.  And it was a great way to end the meal!  Whatever we did to deserve the free sugar rush, we need to remember to do it again.  I bet that this had something to do with our lively and upbeat conversations:

The restaurant was BYOB and we decided to keep with the theme of the experience- I had never tried Sol until then.  I approved.

I was pretty stuffed afterwards- I didn’t have breakfast, so I wasn’t holding back.  And cheese just sits in the stomach like a brick…  Unfortunate, because I also had a sushi date with Annie later that night at our fav sushi spot in the ‘burbs- Sushi Ai.  Yes, yesterday was a rough one!  I told you- my kitchen has been collecting dust all week.  Annie and I had a great dinner- I actually chose to go with a half order of salmon and split a veggie roll with her.  Restaurant.com was a savior on that one- I found a $25 gift certificate for just a couple bucks to use towards the bill.  Which was very much needed- we stayed until close drinking wine and saki catching up since the last time we got to hang out was early December when we went to see the Zoolights together.  Afterwards, we went out in Arlington Heights for a few drinks with our guy friends and accidently ended up closing the bar at 3:00.  oops…

Now it’s Sunday.  And I am giving myself a little restaurant detox.  Which is much needed.  I prefer spacing my eating out more so that I’ll be a little more appreciative and enjoy it more (not that I didn’t!).  But I really am looking forward to a week of veggie pitas and scrambles.  It’s the simple things in life…

Today I did a little pilates and half of a yoga workout.  Only half of it because I realized the workout was a much more advanced level than I should be attempting.  This girl had me bending in all sorts of unnatural ways.  Back to yoga fitness fusion tomorrow… I still have a few more workouts until I attempt to step it up again.  I’m not a super bendy person.  I didn’t bother starting another one, because I’m feeling a little something going on in the hip/leg danger zone.  It could be partially from the ice skating fall- one of the points of contact with the ice was that pelvic bone.  No interesting shades of bruising to report just yet.  But just in case I’m over doing it, I guess I should stay off of it more than I have been.  I’m starting to feel really whiney about this whole thing, but whatever.  I guess I’m just a slow healer… did I take my extra calcium today?  I should probably go do that…  and also shower.  I’m watching the Golden Globes later, and I’m already looking forward to sitting on my injured booty as I watch glowing toned bodies waltz across the screen.  No need to make myself feel even grosser by being smelly.  I have my limits. 

Rooftop Seats Are an Amazing Idea

So this was the big weekend!  I got to go to my first Cubs game!  Sort of.  Christy had raced up to me one morning at work and frantically explained that Groupon was selling Rooftop tickets again and asked if I wanted to join.  Of course I said yes.  It’s not my first “in the park” experience, but I’m getting closer!  We were at 3639 Sheffield.  Overall impression?  We would SO go back!!!

But I did do one thing wrong before the day of the game (Cubs vs. Dodgers, by the way…).  I went out the night before with my friend Nicole who had come up for an interview and to start her summer job at a day camp in the area.  And we went out hard… 

I had actually already had a pretty long day.  I had been apartment hunting since 9:00 that morning.  And I had gotten up pretty early for it because I wanted to actually look like someone they would want to rent to.  Eight apartments later I was running out the door again to meet up with Annie for dinner at Sushi Ai- the favorite spot we’ve found so far in the ‘burbs for sushi.  Not that we’ve tried overly hard to find another one- but it’s close for me since it’s in Palatine and it is sort of on Annie’s way home from working at the jewelry store.  Unfortunately, the don’t open nearly as early as we had hoped (we made it an early dinner because we both had plans after).  So we went to Walgreens across the street.  Annie needed some makeup and we couldn’t figure out a better place to kill some time.  We played in the toy aisle until we realized the one guy working was staring at us like we were idiots.  Whatever.  A huge squishy ball that lights up AND has glitter in it is an amazing find.  After we had enough, we went back to be seated at the restaurant.  Neither of us had been there for quite some time, so we made sure to take our time picking some fantastic rolls.  And, we had literally not seen  each other since her bachelorette party- so we took our time and caught up before we parted ways for the night.

Nicole got to my house that evening and was asking if I had planned on doing anything.  A.k.a. she wanted to go out.  I was really tired, but figured I might as well.  I needed a couple drinks to celebrate my finding a place and also to destress from the week.  I texted a few people and soon enough Nicole and I were sitting at Gatsby’s waiting for the boys to arrive.  They’re always so late at finally getting it together to go out somewhere.  It’s kind of ridiculous.  We showered, sat around, stopped by the ATM, drove further, AND sat for 30 minutes before I got a text saying they were on their way.  Way to blow our fashionably late entrance…  And yes, Gatsby’s again.  The place that I’ll be living at in a month is that much closer.  Scary.  I should probably introduce myself to the staff. 

Three or four jaeger bombs later (thanks boys!), we were all having a good time.  I wasn’t tired anymore- probably had to have something to do with the fact I never consume Red Bull.  (Which I heard has cocaine in it- can we say “duh”?  Red Bull banned after testing positive for cocaine)  Anyways, I think Nicole got a pretty good idea of how ridiculous we get in the suburbs from time to time… and I also think she’s more ok with the idea of crashing at my place often after working in Lake Forest all day vs. driving back to Lincoln Park everyday.  We made the cab driver go through McDonald’s again.  And yet again, it wasn’t my idea.  But I did enjoy myself a small order of fries… with ranch.  Yum…  Nicole took down an entire #8.  Which would freak you out too if you saw how small she is.  And I don’t know what her deal is with orange soda after a night of drinking.  Gross.  I also need to find a new taxi service.  This driver (after Justin had a “serious” talk with him about taking care of us girls through the window of the cab- ha ha) was even creepier than the last.  And it was me and another girl- instead of four other boys like it had been previously.  This guy spent half the ride talking about how excited  he was that bikini weather was almost here.  Do what you want with that information.  And imagine it coming from the mouth of a guy with a mullet.  Putting my life in this guys hands was just a bad idea.  Again- finding a new cab service has become a top priority.

Sunday morning came and it sucked.  We didn’t go to bed until at least 3:30 and my natural alarm clock gets me up by 8:00.  Lame.  I took a walk.  There were already alot of people out on the trail running.  I considered it.  But then I realized vomiting would be a likely consequence.  No thanks, I think I’ll walk.  I jumped on the 3:30ish metra and took it down to Clybourn to meet up with Christy and her friend that afternoon.  Didn’t have to deal with nearly the crowds as I had a couple Sundays earlier before a Cubs game.  The train schedule was at a bad time for this night game.  It worked out well for me.  I got to tour Christy and her sister’s new place in Bucktown and we hit the Rooftop early.  The clubhouse we had access to was really nice.  I guess I was kind of expecting a shitty and run-down place?  And instead of bleachers, we had actual seats on the rooftop.  That was nice.  And there was food everywhere.  And beer everywhere.  And even wine!  Everywhere…  Just imagine the possibilities!  If only I didn’t have to worry about those damn Monday mornings! 

The game was not the best- I mean, the Cubs kind of sucked it up all night.  But I still had alot of fun.  We met some characters.  We got a decent buzz.  And we snuck out halfway through the 9th inning to catch a cab before everyone left the ballpark.  What?  It’s not like the Cubs were going to win anyways- otherwise we would have stayed.

Wearing our Cubbie Blue!

Because the train schedule was off, the first train I could reasonably catch was the 11:30.  THAT is what did me in.  The entire ride home was me forcing myself to stay awake.  Unfortunately, not many people were up to text me at that time.  Which I also figured would mean they wouldn’t enjoy a call to chat, either…  I was terrified of missing my stop and then what would I have done?  I think it was one of the last trains of the night… I would have been screwed.  I strolled into the apartment at 12:45 and was easily asleep by 1:00. 

Monday morning still came way too fast.  And I have been issues sleeping.  So this morning came way too fast as well.  I think it’s the move- all night I sit and think about what I need to get for the new place and where I’m going to put it all and what it’s going to look like.  And then I force myself to stop thinking about that.  Which leads to me thinking about what all will need an address change and how much I can spend on certain things and when I’m going to get it all done by.  Lame.  I hate being grown up.  Why can’t I just lay there and think about boys all night?  I’d almost prefer stressing out over that instead of stupid grown-up things.  Blah…