Early yesterday morning, I started a busy day sprinting to the train, and didn’t notice as I zoned out that I was the only one in this particular car until a few stops had passed. This has never happened before. The sun was shining in, the train rocked back and forth and it was a totally peaceful few minutes watching the city go by:
Relaxing, zen moments smack dab in the middle of the hustle = delightful.
The polls are open!
Honda has just posted on their Facebook page about the Blue Lollipop Road September Adventure. Check it out here. Whoop whoop!
Time to start spreading the news and getting your explore on with me. I will be tracking votes and asking for feedback regularly, so come on back and keep making suggestions!
Only 27 days to go until I pick up the car. Oh how fun this is going to be…
I might be borderline obsessed with delicious and pretty food. Even this, my simple veggie quesadilla from a patio dinner at Moonshine a couple weeks ago was beautiful to me:
Good food coupled by good company is like the best thing ever.
I leave Chicago in 9 days.
Even though I am jumping out of my skin excited for my annual Finger Lakes trip/big Honda Adventure and all the opportunities my next several weeks will bring, I will miss the incredible energy and love this city has offered me these past months until I can come back. Chicago started out as; How fast can you get here to start work? (I assumed/intended on it to be temporary only)- and has turned into; How in the heck have I never lived here before?! I love this place and every last thing about it.
I’ve been a nomad for years, I’ve found and lived in some fabulous places, and had a lot of love for several of these spots. For whatever reason, Chicago has captivated me during this time, wholly- heart and soul, and I have simply never had this overwhelming feeling of overall goodness and clarity. As much as I believe we can all make a “home” anywhere, I think there is something to be said for a place you just feel like yourself, like you belong, like it just works. (I feel like I need a t-shirt that says “I found myself and my mojo in Chicago!”) Whether this feeling only lasts for a few months, a few years, or the rest of my life- I doesn’t matter. For a girl who’s searched, run, explored, and looked, the feeling I have now is one that is a first in almost 33 years and I am relishing in every second of it.
Here’s to plugging away, working, working, working and following what feels right even if it seems like it’s taking forever to find your little spot to nuzzle into in the world. Life really does get better with age.
A few random Downtown Chicago snapshots from the wandering I have done this summer:
I heart The Windy City.
…I pick up the 2012 Hybrid Honda Civic and hit the road to Maine to kick off the Blue Lollipop Road Fall 2011 Adventure! Whoop whoop!
Who out there has some serious scoop on what’s not to be missed in the whoopee pie-lovin’, lobstah-eatin’, costal-filled gorgeous state of the Vacationland?
Please post comments here, send me an email to: diane (@) blue lollipop road.com, visit me on Facebook and drop a note here, or post a tweet to my Twitter account here.
Want to head down the Blue Lollipop Road with me? Stay tuned for some news on the possibility of jumping on the bandwagon!
A Cubs game at Wrigley Field in the Bleacher Seats is one of those bucket list/must-do’s, especially if you’re ever lucky enough to be able to live in Chicago during the summer. I had been to a couple of games almost 10 years ago, but got to go for another round last weekend with a friend who was in town. In no particular order, here’s a montage of the sweaty, sunburned, blast of festivities. (And these are just the photos from the first 3 hours of the full-day marathoning party around Wrigleyville!):
The game begins a bit cloudy:
The blue lollipop gives a major league thumbs up:
Yay, tickets for the Bud Light Bleachers:
…the only place to be at Wrigley. The stadium was packed to my right:
…and my left:
We got some free hats and stocked up on peanuts and beer of course:
…which I enjoyed thoroughly as the sun came out:
Every last person was branded with some kind of Cubs gear or color. I liked these two tees in front of us:
(I made sure to follow their rules.)
We all sang and swayed together:
I had to have a hot dog:
…and laugh at myself at how I have failed painfully at being a vegetarian lately:
We made friends with all the people around us. You somehow become insta-buddies after sweating on each other. I shared one of our double-chocolate delish Sprinkles cupcakes with these friendly fun gals behind us. (I had noticed one of them had a pregnant belly, so naturally it was just the right thing to do.):
As the game wrapped up, the carnage was everywhere:
Before we were booted out, I managed to snap a couple of clear pix of these great signs:
You’ve gotta love before, during and after game razzing and trash talking (which there was plenty of.) These Cubs fans were selling water outside the stadium:
If you can imagine the perfect All-American baseball game time, this was it. It was a total blast and couldn’t have gone more perfectly if we had planned every detail.
…buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back…