Scavenge the City!

What a weekend! There is nothing better than spending some relaxing nights with friends.  

On Saturday afternoon my dorm hosted a scavenger hunt around the city for people in my dorm.  Three of my friends and I participated along with two other people.  It was so much fun! 

We had 4 hours to try and take a picture of our entire group at 35 different places.  We ended up with 21!  Some of the places we did go were:

- The closest Library

- The Cubs stadium

- New Chinatown

- Chicago History Musem

- Lincoln Park Zoo

- Water Tower Place

We were the only team to compete so we won! Haha it was still a lot of fun though! One of my friends has an app that tracks her steps and said that we walked 11.2 miles.  It was crazy how much we walked and sprinted. 

We were all competitive so we wanted to get all of them- which caused us to run and look like crazy people.  Oh, did I mention that we were also wearing all black?  Well, we were.  :) I will add a picture as soon as my friend sends it to me.  

They are going to have another one in the spring so we will definitely be doing that one so we can defend our title.  Maybe next time we will have some competition.

The scavenger hunt showed me how many small places in Chicago there are and how it is up to me to take advantage of all of them.

What are some of your favorite "less popular" places where you live?

Taking Advantage of Chicago- Food Style

I know I talk A LOT about food, but it is so good I want everyone to know about it!  This post is about Ghareeb Nawaz and Thai Spice- both of which are locally owned and delicious.  

Ghareeb Nawaz

Ghareeb Nawaz is an Indian restaurant.  I had chicken biryani and it was delicious.  It was a little too spicy for me because I don't like spice...at all.  But don't get me wrong, it was still good.  

Chicken Biryani

This restaurant is excellent for college students or people on a budget.  The food is very cheap and you get a ton of it.  I had plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.

Thai Spice

This place is seriously amazing.  It is located on Devon Street in Chicago.  The owner is the nicest man and the restaurant has a great atmosphere.  The service is a little slow, but it is just because they are making the food fresh!

I got the Pad Seiw with shrimp and it was delicious! I know I say how good everything is, but I probably wouldn't make such a big deal if it was bad.  The food is more on the expensive side, but once again, there is plenty for left overs.  Two of my friends split a meal and it was the perfect size.

If you are in Chicago, you should definitely check these places out! Any other recommendations?

Hubbard Street and Magnolia Bakery

Wow I am behind on my blogging! Hopefully I can get a few posts written tonight and then post them in the next few days! 

Last Friday night, my friend and I went to see Hubbard Street Dance Company's Fall Series performance.  We both are ballerinas and we need to see two performances for our ballet class so we thought might as well! We decided that day to go and got student rush tickets.  

Laura and I (left) before we left.  

It was so much fun getting dressed up and having a purpose for going downtown! The show was very good! I had not seen many contemporary ballet performances before, besides the occasional Cincinnati Ballet shows, so it was a different experience.  

The dancers can definitely move their bodies.  I was shocked how much control they had of different muscles and body parts.  The show had 4 different pieces- each with their own style.  I think my favorite was a duet between two females because it showcased the strength and beauty each one had.  

After Hubbard we went to Magnolia Bakery.  I love sweets- especially cupcakes.  I got the snow cap cupcake and Laura got the carrot cake cupcake.  

I would suggest both of them, but I really liked the chocolate cake from the snow cap and the frosting of the carrot cake.  I love how many bakeries there are in Chicago.  I will be trying as many as I can.  Any suggestions?

Hubbard Street is definitely something that I will see in the future! Next week I am seeing Joffrey Chicago's La Bayadere, so look for that post next Sunday! 

A Little Bit of Home

So I am from Cincinnati and there are many things unique to Cincinnati- especially food.  The other day I stopped by a grocery store and bought Graeter's Ice Cream.  I had to have a little taste of home as well as tell all of my hall mates how great the ice cream is in Cincinnati! :)

Graeter's

Everyone loved it, of course!  I bought Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip because it is their most popular and most unique flavor!  I could really use some Graeter's right now. 

Another popular food is Skyline Chili.  You either love it or you hate it.  There really is no in between.  Most people who are not from Cincinnati do not like it at all.  I have to be honest- it is not my favorite.  However, it has grown on my a little bit! 

Chicago is home to deep dish pizza and Cincinnati is known for LaRosa's Pizza! It is delicious thin crust pizza.  I will always have a preference for thin crust pizza.  I definitely recommend trying LaRosa's Pizza and then getting Graeter's ice cream afterwards.  It makes the perfect combination.  

What local food would you recommend people try when they are in your city?

Family Weekend and Lincoln Park Conservatory

So as I mentioned in my last post, my family came up to visit me.  It was Family Weekend at Loyola last weekend and this past weekend was my fall break.  But of course none of the craziness stops!

Lincoln Park Conservatory

One of the places my family went before they left on Sunday was the Lincoln Park Conservatory.  It was a gorgeous day! Literally perfect weather.

The Conservatory is in Lincoln Park and there is no enterance fee!  I don't have a picture of the inside but all of the flowers are beautiful! It was a nice to just walk around and enjoy the beautiful flowers.  You can spend as much or as little time as you want there.  I definately recommend checking it out sometime! 

This is one of my favorite pictures from the day.  

I just love Chicago. :)

I loved seeing my family in Chicago and at home in Cincinnati.  

Chicago Food: Giordano's Pizzaria and Crumbs Bakery

So I've realized that I need to tell you more about the places I am going and what I am doing instead of every detail of my weekend. :)  But don't worry, I will still add many details about my week.  I might even do two posts: one describing what I am doing and one describing an awesome thing that you should also do!

Giordano's Pizzaria

You can't go to Chicago without trying Chicago style pizza! One of my favorite places for deep dish is Giordano's Pizzaria.  Their deep dish pizza has topping baked in the middle! So not only do  you get toppings on the top, but also in the middle.  I wish I took a picture to show, but next time I definately will!   My family came up last weekend and they wanted to try Chicago style pizza.  I took them here and they loved it! 

Crumbs Bake Shop

My sisters and I LOVE to bake and eat desserts.  Both sets of grandparents were bakers so you could say it is in our genes. :)  When we were shopping at Watertower Place, we finally decided to try Crumbs.  We had tried many other cupcake stores around Chicago so we thought it was time to try this one.  I bought a Blackbottom Cheesecake Brownie Cupcake and my sisters split a Cannoli Cupcake. 

This is a picture of my cupcake.


One last suggestion: If you are in Water Tower Place and want a meal, I recommend the food court on the first level.  It isn't a traditional food court with restaurants.  When you walk in you get something like a credit card and you can get whatever you want.  There are so many different options to choose from! When you want food you hand them your card and when you are ready to leave you go to the cashier, hand them your card and pay and then you leave.  Fast and Easy!