10 years

It's weird to think about the person that you wanted to be when you were a kid.

A few months ago, I found my old Livejournal and got to reminiscing.  I'm pretty sure that when I was 16, I imagined that in 10 years time I'd be living in California (see: Hibiscus tattoo), having graduated from USC with a major in Psychology and working as a clinical Psychologist. Duh.

But I'd be so cool. And so alternative.  I'd go to shows all the time and have so many people who finally "got me".  Not like high school where I was just the weirdo with 2 friends who came to her birthday parties.

If you know me at all, you know that's not what happened at all.  And thank jeebus that's not what happened to me!

I think that if I could go back 10 years and talk to 16 year old me (and btw 16 year old me totally got along with adults and would be fine with this conversation) I'd tell myself to stop worrying about doing things I think should make me happy and focus on doing things that do make me happy.

Don't worry about what people think of you or how many friends you have.  Who cares?  You're super weird.  And super hilarious, btw.  Eventually, you'll figure out what you love (nerdy stuff, movies, tv, baking, close friends, your dog) and the rest of the stuff melts away.

Do you still worry about how you look and what people think? Of course.  But it doesn't effect who you are at your core.  At your core you're the same 16 year old.  But now you can drink (because you're not in SADD) and you can spend money (because you have a job) and you get to live with a boy (because one finally asked you out).  It's so cool!

Oh! And you live in Chicago!  Fuck California!  You miss your family enough only being 5 hours away.
Imagine that.  You actually miss your brothers!  It's insane. But it turns out that at their cores they're total weirdos too.  You're gonna love it.

I guess I'm nothing like I expected I'd be when I was a kid.  But I'm also exactly who I always was.

Local Flavor: Black Rock Bar & Kitchen

Bon Jour!  I wanted to start a fun new feature here on the blog where I share my genius opinions on various places that I visit and dine at.

Nobody likes a Debbie Downer, so I wanted to start somewhere great.  And this specific 'somewhere great' is Black Rock Pub & Kitchen.

This past weekend, John's sister was in town and we wanted to be accommodating so I looked for places to eat near where she and her beau were staying.  That's what led me to the Yelp reviews for Black Rock.  This place sounded good and it was right off the Brown line so we figured we'd give it a try.

Guys.  This place is legit.  It's a dark small bar on Damen Ave. that wasn't super packed but was busy enough to give us the idea that people knew it was good.  And then they gave me a menu.

Umm. They serve TOTCHOS.  Which I've recently become obsessed with since they're a combination of Tater Tots and Nachos.  Which sounds like a great idea.  Granted, Black Rock is really missing a good opportunity to use the word 'totchos' by using the phrase 'megataters' but I'll let it slide.  And who wouldn't let things slide when the next item on the menu is Pulled Pork Fries.  YUM!!!!

Other than the great food, they had a nice bartender and good drink specials.  Not to mention they have good specials every night of the week.  And PBR on draught.  Along with a ton of craft beers.  So it was reasonably priced and plenty gluttonous.  So I was sold.

I mean, come on.  Look at these fries.

They were so good that I had to run them through a filter to make them stand out EVEN MORE.

God. I need to go back here ASAP for dinner.  And totchos.

Info:
Black Rock Pub & Kitchen
3614 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60618

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes on Michigan Made

I'm sure there's a lot of cross readership here but did you know that I write on another blog once aweek?  It's called Michigan Made and it's great.

Anyway. this week, I'm sharing a recipe for Snickerdoodle Cupcakes.  You're gonna love them.

Check it out!

Oh, and disregard the fact that they're not frosted yet.  I forgot to take a picture post icing.

But check out dem domes!

January : currently

loving this new iPhone app - TimerCam.  It's awesome! I just learned that I can set my phone on it's side and take photos on a timer. It's going to come in handy for Project Life.

listening to my new 'Summer Feels' playlist on Spotify and longing for warmer weather.

craving margaritas! (see above)  John and I made a pitcher of them and watched Silver Linings Playbook on Saturday night.  It was pretty perfect.

wishing for time to go faster so it will be February and time to go on vacation!  We're going to the Florida Keys and it's going to be so amazing.

waiting for the weekend and John's birthday party.  We get to go bowling and play darts, what could be better?

missing Michigan and everyone there.  I've been watching a lot of 'Parenthood' lately and it makes me want to have big family dinners every week!



Just wanted to share a little tidbit into my mind mid week here!  I really can't wait til the weekend gets here.  But I'll bide my time by reorganizing and cleaning the apartment. :)

Hope your January is going swimmingly!

Back to basics.

Guys. I redid my blog design...again.

It was a spur of the moment decision I made a few hours ago and decided to act on it.

But come on, you have to admit that there's something about a new year that inspires you to make changes to your on line presence.  No? That's just me that thinks about myself as an entity? Huh. Weird.

Either way, I realized I hated my previous design and wanted to give this year a clean slate.  So I started with a blank template and built it from the ground up.

It's extremely basic and simplistic and I LOVE it.  All the white space? Killer.  The colors? Loving them.

Maybe I'll feel more inspired to visit this corner of the internet that I've claimed for myself now.  I'm not holding myself to it but it's definitely more inviting.

Anyway, just wanted to give you a little insight into the change in appearances.

<3