so here i am an extreme novice at new year's resolutions. i think this is the first year i've been pretty serious about it ... ever. so i'm going to check-in every month and reflect back to how i'm doing.
museums
i started my new year's resolution: see more of chicago out strong: January 2nd
first stop the art institute for their ballplayers, gods & rainmaker kings: masterpieces from ancient mexico (jugadores de pelots, dioses y ritos reales de renovación: obras maestras del méxico antiguo)
"seventeen sculptures-many of which have never been shown in the US-offer insight into the indigenous Mexican civilizations that flourished between 900 bc & ad 1521. The Art Institute collaborated on this exhibition with the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City & the Museo Arqueológico de Xalapa." an exhibit commemorating Mexico's bicentennial
There wasn't a lot to see, which is kind-of perfect for me. I got in free with my Adler id! Yipee! Then I didn't feel the least bit bad about making my way to the one, small gallery & making my way out. I get overwhelmed with museums, especially large ones.
I loved looking at everything. It gave just enough for me to say I've been there & smile or there were so many items from the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, which I was able to see while living in Mexico city. Everything is just scaled back. Perfect. Perfect memory of Mexico. I made it on the last day so I'm glad I got my butt in gear & went.
While I was there I checked out the Arms & Armor Collection that I keep hearing about.
I saw the HUGE mistletoe & checked out a step exhibit. I'm not sure I completely understood it, but I think that was part of the point. so i of course liked it. There was one line I particularly liked, "different places all mingle their water in the sea"
“Finding Vivian Maier: Chicago Street Photographer" I got to check out this exhibit with Emily at the Cultural Center before the DePaul Alumni event. It was everyday photos, which i really like. The DePaul alumni event gets mentioned too, it was my first alumni event as an actual alum. i got to see the much talked about stained glass dome in the cultural center.
i checked out the shedd for a few hours. that was fun. especially since the last time i went was freshman year. it was a little sad looking at all the animals in such small spaces, but i'm sure they're treated like queens and kings...(?).
fun fact of the day: Dolphins slow down at night. Instead of sleeping, a dolphin swims in slow motion and closes one eye to rest half its brain.
food/coffee/bars
paradise empanadas just opened! i didn't know what an empanada was so i was intrigued but sill didn't go in. Then they put up breakfast signs. cheap breakfast! and i was in. i had a better breakfast than i've had at the trendy brunch places for 1/3 or 1/4 of the price. i was very happy. and they wanted me to be happy. they're new. they want me to come back...i get it. but it was great! and i learned what an empanado is: it's a food from chile. (i also enjoyed understanding the owner & workers communicating in spanish).
they also have delicious coffee. i went for black, but when i went with karen she got somethin fancy and loved it. the next time i go, i'm gettin mango juice. ummmm... can't wait!
i found a new coffee place that i love: kickstand. it has all local stuff, meaning everything they sell is local. which i love. i went for cafe au lait and it was very pretty in addition to tasting delicious. i tried it once and even ended up there with kel about a week later too. just a fun place.
i also finally visited coffee & tea exchange (it's on my corner) and fell in love too! it was even featured in time out chicago.
skoozi kel picked this one out for a fun dinner with sarah, kel, & kel's mom (nancy). it was a fun atmosphere, with good service and delicious food. i swear no matter the the specials are they always make them sound so good. that was a fun night out. the bathrooms were even individuals. by that i mean you opened the batroom door to a hallway with a bunch of separate doors, each with it's own toilet & sink in each one.
i hit up a new happy hour with my friend emily at sidebar downtown. that was fun. i really think that i enjoy whatever i do with that girl. we don't get to see each other enough by any means so when we do we always have lots to catch up on. she got a pop rocks drink and a pumpkin martini (i got boring stuff that doesn't deserve mentioning) i think the guy at the next table was using the pop rocks drink to hit on her, but it didn't work. oh well. we had fun anyway. and i shook rahm's hand after seeing him at an el stop for the second time. obviously this was while he was still running for mayor.
privét is the new le passage on rush street downtown. le passage was a super exclusivey clubish place and it seems to me that's exactly what privét is too. so i'm not really sure why they redid it...but they did. so my friend sarah had her work party there and invited everyone to the karaoke part. maybe i'm just weird, but i don't like the little alley way that you have to know to look for or else you'll have no idea where the entrance is. which by the way, i found that ok, but once i went down the alley (blah) i went down the wrong set of stairs and arrived at a completely locked door so i had to turn back around, go up, and back down the other way. i have no idea why it must be so complicated just to get inside.
i went to wilde really on a whim. my friend marianne was in town from ohio and she was staying with my friend inez (who lives in the same neighborhood as me). anyway karen arrived with her friends, lori and jason, so we were deciding where to go when nez called at the same time so the 6 of us ended up at wilde. it was good, but i was most impressed by their beer list.
my friends took me to green zebra for my bday. which was very nice, but super over the top. the place was super cute and intimate. it was also very expensive for very small portions. so it was definitely a classy entrance to 24, but i probably won't be visiting again.
well, i think i did pretty well in that category.
i'm adding one...cooking
this may be influenced by the fact that i read julie & julia this month, but i'm getting into it more and more. my favorite creation this month was my mexican fiesta. spanish rice with spinach and mushroom quesadillas. i liked it so much when i made it the first time, i made it again when karen came to visit. i made a couple delicious frittatas, even the time i was running short on eggs it was heavy on the veggies. just the way i like it. i made some delicious stir-fry. bread is next on the list. hot and sour soup i already talked about that adventure.
i have this awesome vegetarian student cookbook (meaning they're small serving sizes) that chrissy, one of my old roommates, gave me i think sophomore or junior year. i want to make some serious dents on it this year. 
i haven't started the spanish thing yet. although i have started searching. step 1.
i haven't tried hot yoga yet, although i'm thinking next week might be a good time to delve in there. and i'm becoming addicted to yoga in general so that's good. i'm not good at all, but i feel so darn good every time i leave a class.
oh cleaning out the closet i started! i've been making a pile of clothes as i come across some, but haven't gone through them all yet. but shoes i did! i went through all my shoes and made a bag of ones to donate. i was actually looking for a pair i misplaced and i figured no better time than the present so i went for it. (and was late meeting my friend) now when i look on the floor of my closet i love it. it's so organized and neat.
reading. i've been reading a lot so that's good. i think i'm on my 4th or 5th book of the month. (commuting gives me lots of time to read)
keeping control of the clutter. not going so well. i'll have to work on that.
my commute got much better this month when i tried a new route. it's much less stressful and i'm enjoying myself more than the last route. which isn't saying much i guess. i just wish it was bike riding season already.
this was a little intense. maybe i should break this up throughout the month?
so i hear we're supposed to get bunches of snow tonight into tomorrow into tomorrow night or something like that. i only know this information from my group fitness instructors this morning. one of them said it's supposed to be the most snow in a century. i don't have tv service anymore. is it illegal for them to take away the basic channels? it vanished on my bday (so last weekish). i called around and basically no one knew anything and they were making stuff up. i could just tell. so i'm just trying to decide what to do?
anyway. cheers to february.
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