Chicago Recap

About a week and a half ago, I went to Chicago for the long weekend to visit my boyfriend, Dan. I always have the best time when I go there - the city is so full of life, culture, good food, fun shops, lively bars, and so on. Dan has lived there for the past 6 years, and he has become very familiar with all the hotspots in the city.

I arrived to Chicago on a Thursday evening around 6:30 pm. I was hungry for dinner, and so was Dan, and he instantly knew where we should go eat: Bird's Nest Bar in Lincoln Park. On Thursdays, they have 45 cent chicken wings, so it was perfect. Dan and I love chicken wings, and since we only eat them on occasion, we knew we had to go! :) The wings tasted so yummy (we got 2 flavors to split: hot and BBQ). They also had a pitchers of Bud Light for $8, so we split one of those as well.

Friday was the day we decided we were going to have a "day date," since Dan had taken off work that day. We went to Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Wicker Park for lunch. Dan had been dying to try this place, and we had both been wanting to explore the Wicker Park neighborhood. The pizza was thin crust (which I personally prefer) and super huge! We ordered a salad to split while our pizza was cooking and then split a medium pizza with sausage, pepperoni, banana peppers, and green peppers. We were so stuffed and we had plenty of leftovers too (which lasted us the rest of the weekend). We walked a little further from Piece and ran into a donut shop called Stan's Donuts. We each got a donut and I got a latte. It was such a neat little trendy donut shop. After lunch, we were planning on going to see American Sniper, however, it was all sold out. So we went home instead and watched The Lego Movie.

Dan works for a university in Chicago in their athletic department, and he works almost every home sporting event. On Saturday, we attended the home opener for Men's Volleyball. It was such a blast! There was so much spirit in the arena and the team is so fun to watch. They played Harvard and ended up winning! After the game, Dan and I went to Chipotle for a quick bite, and then went over to a bar right by campus for a Men's Volleyball event. It was a blast hanging out with Dan's co-workers. We went to a bar in Lincoln Park after that with some of his co-workers, and then called it a night. We had so much fun, and like I said, it is such a blast to be out in Chicago.

On Sunday morning, Dan and I went to church at Saint Mary of the Lake in Lakeview. We followed up that with a visit to Dollop Coffee Company. I ordered a Nutella mocha (YUM, I know) and it was the first time I had ever ordered a drink with a design in it. The drink was not overpoweringly sweet (in my mind, a good thing) and it had the perfect touch of Nutella. Dan had to work another game that afternoon so we headed in that direction in the early afternoon. I was so excited because one of my closest friends, Karen, was meeting me at the game. I hadn't seen her in about a year and it was so great to be reunited. Karen is also a pharmacy student (she graduates next year!), so we always have so much to talk about when we see each other. I have known her for almost 6 years and the progression of our knowledge of anything pharmacy is incredible to see. It's amazing being able to talk on that level with her about certain pharmacy-related topics, as well as non-pharmacy stuff obviously! She's a great listener and we both have a ton in common. I love you Karen!

Monday was the day I was planning on leaving, so Dan and I decided to do one more special thing before the weekend was over - and that was in the form of going out to breakfast! We went to Waffles Cafe (home of the famous "wonut"). I ordered the Huevos Rancheros (I love Mexican food) and Dan ordered the Chicken & Bacon (essentially, just fried chicken and waffles). Dan had always been wanting to try chicken and waffles together and he was very excited about it. I forgot to get a picture of my dish but I did get one of his. We both really enjoyed our meals! After breakfast, it was time for me to head back home. I really enjoyed this trip to Chicago and I cannot wait to be back.