Wicker Park Fun

The past couple years I have started to really get to know the city of Chicago and more recently the neighborhoods of Wicker Park and Bucktown. The neighborhoods are so cute, with a lot of young families living there. During the summertime, a lot of the restaurants have outdoor seating and people are always bringing their pups and their kids in strollers to have a nice bite to eat. Anyway, I thought I would share with you some of the places we frequent and new places I experienced these past couple days.


Restaurants

• Jerry's Sandwiches
• Adobo Grill
• Letizia Natural Bakery
• Caffe Gelato
• Crust: Organic Eatery & Lounge
• Milk and Honey Cafe

Bars

• Border Line Tap
• The Fifty/50
• Cans
  

Shops

• Renegade Handmade
• Beadniks
• Cattails

New Places I went to the past 3 days...

• Feast Restaurant & Bar

...This place was AHmazing. I ordered the fish tacos, which were probably the best fish tacos I have ever had. Lisa ordered goat cheese stuffed roasted chicken served with spinach and gnocchi. Laura ordered panko-crusted chicken served over a delicious salad. Lauren ordered macaroni and cheese, which wasn't bad, but nothing to rave over. The ambiance was intimate, yet fun. The food was delicious and I have heard from my friend, Ed, that their breakfast is to-die-for. Definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone.

• Cafe de Lucca

...This place had an Italian-theme to its decor, but the food options were very random. I ordered Eggs Florentine with crab meat, potatoes, and fruit... amazingly delicious. Ed ordered the breakfast burrito, which he raved about. Lisa ordered a turkey sandwich which she also said was delicious. The place is very cute and small and yummy. I recommend this place too!

• Evil Olive

...After going out to Cans for a couple drinks, we went to Evil Olive for 'after hours' since it was open til 4am. The places was super dark, super crowded, super hot, super sweaty, super everything. The music was really good, they placed some amazing old school hip hop, but overall my experience was just 'eh'. I had a blast, but it was definitely not due to the crowded atmosphere and 3 bathroom stalls for women, that's for sure. I had a blast, because I was with a bunch of people I knew and they made my night fun.

• Tshirt Deli

...This place has such a cool concept. When you walk in, the place is set up like a deli, but they do not serve food, they serve shirts. They have all different kinds of t shirts and tank tops. You can flip through their book or bring in an image and they will print it on the piece of clothing of your choice. Then, they give it to you wrapped in a sandwich and served with a bag of chips. It's such a cute little shop, with a fun twist.


... Sweet Home Chicago.

logical love

So I watched The Invention of Lying last night. Even though the movie is quite simple, it still got me thinking. The movie is set in a world where no one is able to lie, the concept has never even been thought of before. In the movie, finding a mate and procreating is all a logical process. The purpose of procreating is to find your best possible genetic match, in order to give your children the best possible chance in the world. It makes sense, because dating is a series of lying (small white lies usually), but if everyone had to tell the brutal truth, the dating process would be cut short. The only point of dating in this fictional world is to find your mate, which I guess is one of the main reasons people date in our world, they are looking for someone to love for the rest of their lives, right? To provide them with a wonderful future.

Anyway, I took a step back from emotional love for a second and thought about relationships like they do in this movie... in a logical way. Logically what do I want my life with my husband to be like in the future?

I want a husband who is...

• trustworthy
  
• easy to talk to
  
• loyal
  
• secure
  
• confident
  
• financially stable
  

Yes, love is a huge part of find a "mate", but you can't marry just for love, you have to think about it logically, too. I think that even people who passionately love each other at first can run dry, because if the logical reasons to marry someone are not there, then marriages can fall through due to mistrust, insecurity, financial issues, betrayal, and most of all a downfall in the communication process.

On the other hand, the emotional part of love is hard to resist. It is difficult to see the reasons not to love someone logically, when your mind and heart are clouded with the love fog. You want someone who loves you more than anyone can, someone who is always on your side, someone who just makes you warm inside and out.

Luckily, after three years of dating Jay, I have come to the absolute conclusion that we are lucky and we have the best of both worlds.

I probably should introduce Jay...

Jay and I met in Ecology Lab at the University of Illinois (I know... NERDS). This class was amazing, because we were outside all the time, doing studies on different habitats: forests, streams, fields. Anyway, Jay was pretty quiet and I enjoy bugging quiet people so I started talking to him. I thought he was cute, so I often asked him for help with homework (like I actually needed it, haha). We started to do work together for the class and after a couple times of hanging out, we both realized it was heading towards more than a friendship. Three years later... here we are :)


Jay is the epitome of every mother's dream (and every girl's for that matter). He is funny and sometimes hilarious, but I won't let his head get too big. We are very honest with each other, something that I think a lot of people struggle with. My friends think we are too honest sometimes, but it works for us, because then there is no bullshit. He is always confident in himself, in me, and in our relationship. Jay is loyal and you can see that in his tight-knit family and friends he has had since grade school. He is also, super smart (he is getting his PhD in Immunophysiology and behavior... huh? what does that even mean?). With his almost PhD we can hopefully assume that he will be financially stable in the future, and even if not, my future job as a nurse practitioner will allow us to be financially stable by itself. He is goal oriented and very driven towards his goals. Jay loves to cook and is really good at it... probably one of my top 5 favorite things about him. He even loves to garden... and he's good at that, too! He is neat, tidy and organized (his closet is spotless). He is also a craftsman, he can build things with his hands and power tools... oh so sexy [insert Tim Allen grunt here].

So... both logically and emotionally I think we are going to last. We love each other through and through.. so we have the emotional love covered. He is also logically going to be a great "mate" as well. I think I found myself a keeper. :)


...maybe I should hide this blog from him... if he stumbles upon it his head might burst. hee hee.


****
on a side note....
I find it kind of odd to write in a blog. I am still trying to get used to this idea. It almost seems vain to me, writing to attempt to get others attention... right? Isn't that what blogs are partially for? I mean, I know blogs are beneficial to spread knowledge, interact with others, to help with self-realization of certain things, but the point is also to acquire more and more readers/followers. I used to have blogs back in the day, but they were for our friends in college to read, so we could keep in touch and know what was happening in each others lives without having to repeat the stories 20 times over. Either way, vain or not, I am going to continue on with my blog. :)
****

Random Rachelle...
- i work tonight 7pm - 7am.
- i wore jeggings yesterday... and loved them... i wore them with boots. dont hate.
- i have eaten 5 clementines in the last 12 hours.

itchy and scratchy... no not the cartoon from the Simpsons.

So... my boyfriend has shingles. Gross. (that pic is not of Jay... I stole it off the internet... and his is NOT this bad)

I asked my lovely boyfriend if I could write about this and with his permission, I felt it important to educate the public on this horrid viral infection.

I get a phone call from Jay, my boyfriend, the other day and he is describing this skin rash he has suddenly noticed on the right side of his mid-back. I was scared he had bed bugs or something, because bed bugs are awfully difficult to get rid of (washable items you have to wash in super hot water and non washables have to be bagged up and put in a really hot car or in a freezer... or if its a bad infestation an exterminator will have to blast your house). He is a PhD student at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, so he went to the on-campus student health center and a nurse practitioner (yay for NPs) told him it was shingles.


Important things to understand:

• You can only get shingles if you have had chicken pox
• You do not get shingles from someone else, it just sprouts up if your body/immune system is "stressed".
• If you have had chicken pox you cannot get shingles from someone with shingles.
• You can get chicken pox if you have not had them from someone with shingles.

...did that make sense? Overall... had chicken pox (or the vaccine)...You can hug Jay all you want!! Have not had chicken pox (or the vaccine)... Stay away from Jay's back!


Shingles is a very painful and itchy rash that will appear in one dermatome (the nerves in your spine innervate certain sections of the body and each is called a "dermatome"). So, in Jay's case the shingles are invading the right side of his torso. Usually this infection will sprout up in people who have weakened immune systems, but in Jay's case it is most likely due to the stress he is under with his PhD program. His body was weakened and the virus that has been lying dormant in his body since he had chicken pox when he was a wee lad has sprouted up and attacked his nerve roots.

At first he felt kind of sick, which is common, before the rash appears, people get flu-like symptoms or a fever. Then, the rash appears and it itches, tingles, and is painful. Sometimes the rash turns into blisters and the blisters have to pop and crust over (ugh!). Thankfully he has not seen this with his rash.

They often give people anti-viral medicines to help the body rid of the disease faster, but there is no real cure. So, my poor baby has to suffer. :(

The poor guy has been itching and in pain for a week now and this will most likely continue for at least 2 more weeks. It kills me, because I cannot do anything about it, not only because our relationship is a long distance one (he lives down at school and I am three hours away in the suburbs), but also because there really is nothing you can do to help it.

Wish him luck in a speedy recovery!

Anyway, I hope that was interesting to someone out there.



Random Rachelle...
- i think all auto shops rip me off not only because i am a girl... but because i am an asian girl
- most of the phones i have owned have been green or i have put a green cover on them
- my ipod is also green
- i love the color green

Pick Chahs

I have finally decided to make the big jump. I am going to buy a camera. I real camera.

I have been through a plethora of point and shoot cameras, due to my clumsiness and my years of bar hopping in college ("Oh no, has anyone seen my camera? Oh wait... its on the floor in the puddle of beer... ruh roh."). So I currently own a crappy red Kodak something or other. I will continue to capture silly moments with my point and shoot, but I am a big girl now with a big girl job so I want a big girl camera for my big girl adventures! (as I throw a tantrum on the floor... stomping my feet, crossing my arms, and pouting)

After consulting my brother- my younger, but more electronically savvy brother- I have come to the conclusion that I am possibly going to buy a Cannon Rebel XSi. I am calling out to anyone who knows about cameras or who may possibly own this camera to please let me know if I am making the right choice. I am going to continue to look at reviews, because spending $600-ish on something is not something I do at the drop of a hat, so this will take me awhile... March or April will be my month of purchase.

I have been wanting to make this leap for awhile now, but with my Ireland trip coming up, I have finally found motivation to purchase. I cannot wait to capture the cobblestone streets, the cute pubs and coffee shops I imagine Dublin has. I know there are magnificent castles and all sorts of old architecture to see. I am giddy with excitement. I also plan on continuing my pattern of travel that my awesome parents have instilled in me (we have traveled somewhere every summer and sometimes also in the spring for almost every year of my life). Now I have the travel bug and I just have to keep on seeing and experiencing new places and cultures.

Hopefully in the future, I will be able to glitter this blog with pictures of my travels.

So any advice I can receive on camera buying from anyone who may possibly read this... please do let me know. Thank you!

Random Rachelle...
- today I slept a lot... it was fantastic.
- I am about to take my mom to the probably crappy Valentine's Day movie
- I love cardigans... I own them in So So many colors.

Number Two

Random thoughts in my head...

I work. I play. I work. I play.
That is all I do... its quite odd to me.
I have been a student for all my life... and realizing that I could choose to never take a class ever again... is weirding me out.

I work as a nurse on an Ortho/Neuro unit... our focus is on patients recovering from ortho surgeries and patients recovering from strokes or other neurological deficits. I am starting to really get into the groove at my job, so its feeling more comfortable, but I do not want to become too comfortable. My big goal is to have a masters or doctorate in nursing, but my dilemma is that I have no clue in which direction to head. I am kind of going between three professions... nursing educator... women's health nurse practitioner... or family practice nurse practitioner. I dread the idea of going back to school and having to do clinical practice over again, but... I also dread the idea of not furthering my career.

For now... for right now... I am going to just work and play. I worked last night... and now I get to play tonight. A friend from high school and his wife just bought a house last month so I am going to attend their housewarming party. Unfortunately, since I worked last night I am exhausted and did not have the time to both sleep and make a home cooked appetizer for the party. So I cheated and I am bringing hummus and crackers... and organic vodka! I was going to make meatballs. A friend from worked suggested the easiest recipe ever.. MEATBALLS! Another time...

I love my friends from home. They are and always will be my bestest friends. I have six solid girlfriends who are my nearest and dearest and then a bunch of other friends who I remain very very close with... all from high school. We just work so well together and we have so much in common, but we all understand our differences and celebrate them at the same time. It's really a beautiful thing. I am about to go hang out with a bunch of them... so... ta ta! Time to make myself look pretties!




Picture above: a man I wanted to befriend... but did not... Syndney, Australia.




Random Rachelle...
-I love to do makeup.. on me... on others... love it.
-I love shrimp... I could eat it every day.
-My cat's meow has changed... it sounds lower... like he went through puberty.