When is it time to grow up?

On the train I saw a woman a few years older than me with a care bare back pack. I rolled my eyes until I realized I was holding a Hello Kitty coffee mug.
I'll be the first to admit that I probably like Hello Kitty more than I should. As a little girl I wasn't full on obsessed. In fact, I rarely bought (or asked for) Hello Kitty accessories. People knew I liked it and gave me things. They still do and I don't have a problem with it.

But should I? Should I phase that part of my childhood out of my life? Should I grow up? Will people not take me seriously if I show up with a Hello Kitty notebook? I shouldn't have judged care bare backpack lady because someone probably had the same reaction to my coffee mug.

I'm 21 years old. Does that make me an adult? I sure as hell don't feel like one; mainly because I'm still in college. I go to class and see people with Disney Princess notebooks and pink glitter pens. Maybe it's a girl thing; maybe we're still clinging to our childhood

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My Chicago Bucket List

This I want to accomplish while living in Chicago

• Go to Kuma's Corner for a burger
• Go to the Planetarium
• Ride the Yellow Line (the one cta line I haven't ridden)
• Attend a performance at the Joffery Ballet
• Go to some swanky place in River North
• Volunteer for the Chicago Marathon
• Go see a film at the Chicago Film Festival in October
• Go to the St. Patrick's Day parade (that may happen this weekend)
• TBOX
• See a performance at Steppenwolf
• Go to a Bulls game
• Go to a White Sox game
• Go to a Blackhawks game
• See a show at the Metro

I'm sure I'll think of some more later, but this is a pretty decent list so far :-) Maybe I'll get to some of these over Spring Break

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Spring

I unintentionally took a blogging hiatus. We're entering finals week at DePaul and of course the weather decides to be lovely. I love winter because I throw on jeans and a sweater & I'm out the door. I've been stuck in this routine for so long it's weird to have to change it now. No heavy coat? A skirt? I forgot what life was like without those (though we did have a fairly mild winter). 

A few highlights since I've been gone

• Finally went to the Music Box Theater
• Never going back to Clarke's diner on Lincoln because I'm always disappointed with the bad service
• Went to Hartford, CT & New York City for the Big East basketball tournaments with pep band
• I'm going to make an actual "Chicago bucket list" of places/things I want to do in the city that I haven't

Tomorrow is "Selection Monday" for DePaul women's basketball. This year is exciting because DePaul/Chicago is hosting the first 2 rounds at All State Arena! Unfortunately, it's not a vacation anywhere (no chartered flight), but my parents are coming to visit so hopefully I'll have some more exciting things to blog about.

I might post my editing project here after I finish it. Topic: White Girl Problems

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Food Snob

I think Chicago's turned me into a food snob. This may be a good thing, but can come off as a bad thing.

Food snob might not be the best term, but I'm not sure how else to phrase it. I expect better quality foods after living in a place that has expanded my tasebuds. I now like starfruit, coconut, and basil. I cook with spices and try new recipes.

The food snob doesn't really come out unless I'm dining out. In high school I had a love for Denny's. I would usually get french toast saturated in frozen strawberries and sugary strawberry syrup. After experiencing Toast's (in the LP) french toast with fresh berries I don't think I could bring myself to eat anything else. I didn't like pancakes as a child because they were so... processed. Made in bulk and heated in one of those cafeteria trays. Now I've had the best chocolate chip pancakes from Earwax (no longer around in Wicker Park) that have been made with love and quality ingredients.

I used to live on a Subway sandwhich diet (not the official Jared diet, but I probably ate there at least once a week) but now I've discovered other places and rarely eat Subway. Hannah's Bretzel is a little expensive, but sooo amazing (especially with the pretzel bread). Potbelly's is pretty good too :-)

Chicago has some pretty good food. I'm lucky to experience it and maybe it's for the best that I have high food standards.

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HC Quest: Austrian Bakery

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by all of the opportunities in Chicago.
And I love it, even though I'm on my third year of living here.
When it snowed the weekend of January 20th I was the subject for my friend's photography assignment. We hiked to the lake and then visited one of my favorite places in LP: Austrian Bakery. I love everything there! Their strudels, their red velvet white chocolate chip cookies, and the shortbread cookies with the raspberry in between dipped in chocolate on the side. But I also love their hot chocolate!
It's like drinking a hug. It's warm, creamy, chocolatey, and delicious. Feeling blue? Get a mug of this and a red velvet cookie (or 2 or 3) and your sorrows will melt away. You'll forget how cold it is outside and never want to get hot chocolate anywhere else. Sorry, Caribou, but Austrian Bakery knocked you out of #1.
I forgot to take a picture of my HC, but here's my favorite picture from our "photoshoot"

1. Austrian Bakery
2. Caribou Coffee
3. The Pig
4. the Bean
5. Citygrounds
6. Einstein

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