A Day in the Life of a Soul Star...

I have LOTS to post about, but I just wanted to make a quick post before I forgot... My mom came to visit me last week and we had a blast! I'll post something more in-depth a little later this week, but I had to share info about one eatery (yes I said eatery). I've been hearing about this place called Batter and Berries for a minute, and we finally had the chance to go. This cute spot is located in Lincoln Park, so I figured the clientele would be...Lincoln Park-ish. Boy was I wrong. We arrived at about noon on a Saturday. The line was outside the door! That didn't shock me as much as WHO was standing in the line-- NOTHING BUT BLACK PEOPLE. WHHAAAAT....I didn't see that coming. Where did all these people come from?! What a refreshing sight! Anyway, fast forward...the food was amazing. Well, most of it was. I got the French Toast Flight, which was 5 different flavors of french toast...lemon, blueberry, strawberry, caramel, and (the seasonal flavor) pumpkin. AH-MA-ZING....

So here are a few quick lessons I've learned since moving here... 1) Taxes for the city of Chicago are HIGH. When you're taxed, you're taxed in at least 2 different ways. I mention this because I'm the type of person who likes to only bring exact change when I go somewhere (particulary when getting fast food). I like to estimate how much tax would be in my head, figuring "it can't be more than like 9.25%. Somehow, I'm always charged MORE than I estimate. So if you're like me and like to bring just enough, factor in your tax being at least 11%. 2) You MUST check the weather daily--it could be the difference between life and death! Seriously. I've never checked the weather as much as I do here. I check it as soon as I wake up. Before I go home. When I get home. At least twice throughout the night before I go to bed. Repeat. The weather can be quite unpredictable. And now I understand why people always say "dress in layers." This means dou...

So when the homie Marcelle came to visit for my birthday, she insisted that we drive to Hyde Park and see the President's Chicago home. That was pretty exciting. We walked on his street and got pretty close to his huuuuge (gorgeous!) mansion, until... Secret Service stopped us. LOL.  After, we took a drive to one of the many parks in Hyde Park and went to Promontory Point, which I heard was one of the best places to get a view of the city. This is a  view from Hyde Park looking South She made me climb rocks to get to the other side of the Park   And then...the waves started attacking us. By the time we left, I basically had an Afro.

Here are a few pictures I meant to share but haven't had the chance to. These were taken at Millenium Park when I went to the Chicago Jazz Festival on the Sunday before Labor Day. The annual festival is FREE.  One of the many stages at the festival. This is where the larger acts perform. The world famous Cloud Gate, better known as "The Bean"! Check out that view!   I went on the day that ROBERT GLASPER performed. Did I mention it was free? Oh, and as a nice surprise, Lupe Fiasco hopped onstage to perform a song! I forgot he was from Chicago. And look, he has locs now...

I know it's been a while since I've shared any of my experiences. Life happens! School, work and everything has kept me from documenting my time here like I've wanted to. But I'll try to do a little better. I'll start by sharing the AMAZING night I had last night... When I received a promotional email last month letting me that Common--one of my FAVORITE rappers--was coming HOME to do a benefit concert, I knew there was no way I wasn't going. I've heard that Common is very active in his hometown of Chicago, hence why he was doing a benefit concert for his foundation the Common Ground Foundation. I checked to see WHERE the concert would be (unfortunately, I have to base a lot of my decisions on what part of Chicago an event takes place in). River North? House of Blues? I'm in! The original flyer said that there would be "special guests" but didn't say who.... You know me. I figured that these special guests could be anybody! We're i...

The weather this past weekend was absolutely gorgeous—it was in the mid-70s and not humid. It reminded me of a sunny California day. I was stuck inside working overtime from 6:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, so I didn’t get to take full advantage of the weather. If I had more time, I would have gone to the Lincoln Park zoo (free admission!) or explored the Navy Pier. There are so many things I want to do before school starts in mid-September. I know once school starts, and especially once the weather cools down, I won’t want to do ANYTHING! My bestie is SUPPOSED to be visiting me for my birthday next month (ahem), so if she does, the Navy Pier would be the perfect touristy place to visit. I did, however, get to enjoy lunch outside at the Fish Bar, this spot on the corner of Wellington and Sheffield right down the street from my house. The place is exactly what the name says it is—a bar that serves fish. I’ve walked by the light blue building several times and thought that it ...

Now that the insanely hot and humid weather has subsided (for now, at least), the winds have started to pick up. It’s only August and I’m already getting a small taste of the gusty winds that this city is known for. Although the winds have introduced a nice breeze, they have also brought on something else—my allergies. I have been feeling sick for the past 30 hours and MISERABLE for the past 24 hours. It kind of hit me all of a sudden. I have been sneezing for the past week, but I didn’t think anything of it. Then, effective yesterday afternoon, I began feeling pressure around my sinus area and felt the onset of a migraine. By the time I left work at 5:00 p.m., I was feeling fatigued, achy, and cold. I figured I was coming down with a cold. I definitely can’t afford to be sick right now, so I headed to Walgreens to pick up some cold/ flu medicine so I can knock out this sickness immediately. Upon further research, however, I realized that my symptoms were more of an allergy/ sinus in...

The view from my job in the West Loop.

Stuffed mushroom pizza from Giordano's in the Loop....pretty good but verrrry cheesy. Maybe I should have tried the thin crust. So far, my favorite pizza is still Pequod's.

I have a random observation/ statement that I want to make sure I mention before I forget... When I tell Chicagoans that I'm from California, the first question they always ask me is... WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO MOVE TO CHICAGO?! Seriously, EVERYONE has asked me that question. Even people who have never been to California. Is California really perceived as the best state in this great big country? Great enough that if you're from there, you're supposed to stay there, work there, raise a family there, and never leave? Maybe it is. But I'm not accepting that theory without doing my own research.

Happy Friday, everyone! Anyone that knows me knows that I can be EXTREMELY picky when it comes to hair stylists. If you're late within my first 3 appointments with you, I will NOT come back. If I feel like you're not concerned about the health of my hair, I won't come back. If I feel like you don't style it any better than I would, I won't come back. If I'm not comfortable in the shop, I won't come back. My admitted "pickiness" is the reason that I usually go through at least 4 or 5 stylists (in each city that I live) before I find my go-to stylist. Since I've been in Chicago, I've been rocking my curly fro. It's pretty easy to maintain and most importantly, it can withstand the humidity, winds or unexpected showers that I'm starting to become accustom to in this city. The fro is fine, but I'm ready to try something new. And thus begins the process of finding a stylist in a brand new city. Not only a stylist, but a stylist t...

Congratulations to me—I just had my first “I love Chicago” moment. My life has forever been changed…by a red velvet truffle from Mariano’s on South Halsted in the West Loop. I’ve been in Chicago for exactly 2 weeks. I haven’t done as much as I would have liked yet, but I’ll get there. Today at lunchtime, 2 of my coworkers asked me if I wanted to go to Mariano’s. I asked what Mariano’s was and one replied, “it’s like a supermarket.” The idea didn’t sound too appealing, so I hesitated and fumbled through a couple of excuses as to why I was too busy. After she blatantly informed me that I “got nothing better to do,” (how did she know?!) I reluctantly decided to tag along. I pass by this supermarket every day on my way to work—the Number 8 bus drops me off right in front of the gray building every morning. It looks large and has fancy lettering, but that’s how you can describe several buildings in downtown Chicago. Upon entering the 2-story building, I soon realized that this was not ...

Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE music documentaries, so of course TV One’s “Unsung” is one of my favorite shows of all time. For those who have never seen the show, you’re missing out! Each episode of the show documents an “unsung” R&B/soul singer/group/band or rapper from the past. Many of these artists are still performing today. I’ve had several debates with my friends and family on what exactly it means to be “unsung” and we still haven’t reached a unanimous decision. My loose definition of an unsung artist is: an artist(s) that was extremely talented, reached moderate commercial success, but for some reason didn’t reach the heights that they should/could have. I guess that’s part of the beauty of the show—you’re free to interpret the definition of “unsung” in any way you please. Last night’s episode featured Mint Condition, one of the greatest bands of my generation (the BEST band, in my opinion). Five of the six members hailed from St. Paul, Minnesota, so they were ...