-I heart Wicker Park
-DIRECTV in my bedroom means Wednesday is still Project Runway night. Woo hoo!
-Button from the Reckless Records Button-O-Matic
-Dinner at Hot Chocolate - pinot grigio + cheddar melt on pumpernickel + milk chocolate/peanut butter terrine with molten caramel center
-Cute girl: "Which way is American Apparel?" Me: "I'm not sure, I'm sorry. And actually I hate them." Cute girl: "Good to know!"
-Rainy Chicago
-Sunny Chicago
-Lee Balterman's photographs of '50s and '60s Chicago at Stephen Daiter
-Photos of petri dishes, dungeon mistresses, and bad habits at Daiter Comtemporary
-Michael Kenna's serene pictures of Hokkaido's seascapes and snowy fields at Catherine Edelman
-Elizabeth Shreve's creepy/cute carnival-of-life paintings at Carl Hammer
-Lunch at Pizzeria Due - deep-dish pepperoni with black olives
-Gifties from Bloomie's
-Josh Mannis's dizzying National Geographic photomontages at 40000
-Laura Mosquera's beautifully melancholy paintings and drawings at moniquemeloche
-Magazines from Quimby's
-Dinner at Il Novo - mascarpone ravioli in a minted butter sauce + vanilla pannacotta drizzled with grappa + limoncello
-People are so nice! And boys look at me! And talk to me! And flirt with me!
-Adorable young metalheads, Pleistocene metal, and a rather terrifying mosh pit at the Mastodon show at the Metro
-Sleepy sea otters, leaping dolphins, gorgeous lizards, sharks and rays, and a 2-month-old baby beluga at the Shedd Aquarium
-Lunch at Kopi - tuna pesto melt + lemonade with shaved coconut
-Early to Bed's anniversary celebration - fresh cookies, 15% off everything in the store, and a free tote bag (embossed with Nikki McClure-designed logo) with a $50 purchase
-Above-mentioned bag will be perfect for toting my records to KALX...
-Dinner at Mirai - broiled cod cheeks + spicy octopus/tuna roll + tuna tuna salmon roll + cold sake
-French Kicks soundcheck seeping out of the Double Door
-Electrolytes! I need electrolytes!
-Piles of amazingly awesome stuff at the Wicker Park Renegade Craft Fair, including beautiful hand-dyed and silkscreened tees from maryink and anthropomorphized stuffed desserts by My Paper Crane
-Lunch at Milk and Honey - grilled chicken sandwich with bacon, plum tomatoes, and blue cheese spread
-Anniversary exhibition at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, including a Henry Darger and a gorgeous banner of Cleo Moon Girl
-Dinner at Pacific Cafe - miso + teriyaki + hot sake
-Aw Mountain Goats sold out
-Mint ice cream mixed with Oreos and hot fudge
-Gael Garcia Bernal in Almodovar's Bad Education at the Music Box. Did I mention Gael Garcia Bernal?
-Wicker Park Inn = awesome
-"The Department of Homeland Security encourages you to travel light."