so windy

I went to visit one of my favorite cities last weekend - Chicago. I get such great vibes from it and never want to come back home when I go to visit.

I love everything about it - the neighborhoods, public transportation, shopping, restaurants, drinking establishments, the people. The only thing I could live without is all the honking.

I stayed with my friend Matt, from Iowa City. One of his roomates has a cat and I'm very allergic, so every morning it felt like the cat slept on my face. It was sick.

On Saturday evening I stayed with Ann and Franz at the W. I've always wanted to stay at one and now I don't think I'll stay at anything else. They're amazing - like nothing else I've stayed in. You walk in and the lights are dimmed low, candles lit everywhere. It's sort of like a swank jazz night club.

That same evening they took us (Ann's sister and cousin were along) to Pane Caldo. It was delicious and quite the experience.

A group of us men were playing a dice game, which involved a lot of drinking. So much drinking that I only remember the walk to the bars and the walk back home from them - nothing in between.

This is Ryan and I. I look like I should go hunting or something.

Hollie's fierce shoes.

She came to Matt's - I was so happy to see her. She always makes me smile and have great times. She, as always, was looking like a stunning starlet.

I'm not sure who this is. But I did have a long conversation with her. I hear she is a lawyer. And I remember eating a lot of salty popcorn. I think we talked about boys. Because really, who doesn't?

Brian told me the next morning that they had cut me off from drinking, and gave me Shirley Temples.


Hollie and I doing the robot...I think.

Brian likes to pop his collar. I like to pop it back down. (For some strange reason that doesn't look like it would be my hand, but it is.)

One morning I met up with my friends Megan and Kevin at the Bongo Room in Wicker Park. You know me - I love breakfast food and chocolate. So what could be better than putting the two together. I had Chocolate Tower French Toast (Bittersweet chocolate chunk bread stuffed with maple mascarpone, banana creme brulee sauce, bananas and shaved chocolate). I could only eat half of it.