That time my cousin visited Chicago and I took her to all the best places

It all started with a long over due trip to O'hare to pick up my cousin.
The "we haven't seen each other in 8 years" selfie on the L.
Then we got the best Ramen ever at Umai. The next morning we took the L to go to brunch...
A delicious brunch at Little Goat was had.
Then we went to La Colombe for the best coffee ever.
And then we walked to Millennium park to burn off some of that delicious brunch.
And we did touristy things like see the bean.
And take photos with the bean.
And admire the reflective properties of the bean.
Then we continued our walk to the Hancock tower.
And we saw the best views of Chicago.
*Pro Tip* If you want your photos from above Chicago to come out good, use a flash.
We continued to admire beautiful Chicagoland from all angles. 360 degrees, in fact. HA

And then we continued our walk around Chicago.
We took more "iconic" Chicago photos.
We went to dinner at Porkchop which was DELICIOUS. And had yummy mixed drinks. *but not my cousin because she is not 21.
Saturday morning we went back to Millennium park and admired more statues.
And were one of the first people to visit the bean for the day.
We did yoga in Millennium park and it was so fun!
So fun, that we needed a "jumping bean" photo.
We also needed a group shot at the bean photo.
Millennium park is beautiful.
Later on we watched the Brasil game. It was nerve wracking watching the game go into penalty kicks.
The big surprise of the trip was taking my cousin to Bottle and Bottega to paint a chicago themed picture. She is an excellent artist and I knew she would enjoy this part of the trip.
My blank canvas + wine. The Brasil game drove me to drink 3/4 bottle while painting...
Painting was fun and we were happy with our finished products!
Then we went to the Terrace for dinner.
But the sky had other plans for us.So we had to eat inside.
We went to Eataly for some Nutela crepes for dessert and they were DELICIOUS. *Surprising since I dislike nutela so much.
Saturday night we went out to the Planetarium for the best view of the skyline.

And we watched the weekly firework show.
It was beautiful.
Sunday we went to Chinatown.
And had fun exploring the shops and drinking bubble milk tea.
Chinatown is so cool.
We went to the Potsticker House for lunch. It is one of my favorite places in Chicago. We had Wontons in chili oil.
And steamed pork dumplings. And more foods which were all yummy.
Soon it was time to head back and get ready to go to O'hare.
CB made a new friend. **We also went to a TON of boutique stores where my cousin finally bought that white shirt. It's like an exact replica of her dog. How could she pass up something like that?!?
And just like that... the weekend was over and my cousin had to go home.
It was so fun showing her around Chicago and catching up on the past 8 years.
I know we won't go 8 years ever again without seeing each other.

Mother's Day 5K

24:36 (Another Personal Favorite to add to the collection)
4th AG out of 100
31st female of 724
69th finisher of 1006

3 words to describe this race:

Holy fuc$&*%# Hills

Kim and I signed up for this race a few weeks ago because we wanted to punish ourselves run a 5k together and have fun.

I woke up super early, and even convinced L to join me as we drove 45 minutes into the unknown Barrington, IL which is full of super posh houses and hills (which no one told us about)

Smiling because we were completely oblivious to the course profile and because we were cold.

We did a march of death warmup mile and the realization began to set in that this course would be nothing but (up)hills.

We positioned ourselves behind all the pre teens and badass runners and soon we were off, huffing and puffing up one steep hill after another. OMG


If you're wondering by now if we coordinated our outfits the answer is NO. It was just one hell of a coincidence we showed up wearing Exactly the SAME thing.**


So yada yada yada, blah blah blah hills cold and freaking headwinds, one foot in front of the other and all that jazz.(and not enough downhills.)


I even channeled my inner Emmers for some spastic photo pose inspiration.


So happy to be done with that course! But sad that running with Kim was done for the day :(


We got "finisher" roses for completing this beast of a 5k. I will display my rose proudly as a reminder of how this course kicked our asses.(and how I need to practice hills more)

And a HUGE thanks to L for being our official course photographer today. I LOVE you for supporting me with this hobby!

Today was a day to enjoy running and being healthy (and moms too, duh) but also to enjoy family and good friends. Every race need not be a PR attempt- the minute this hobby stops being fun for me is the day I pick up something else to do.

After a nice long brunch with Kim, L and I went to hell IKEA to buy some stuff and also went to Dicks Sporting goods where I got the coolest Capri pants ever. YAY NIKE THANK YOU FOR READING MY MIND ABOUT CRAZY PRINT BOTTOMS!!!

*I got $10 off this entry because of the Chi-Town 10K snafu back in March from All Community Events.
- The race was extremely well organized.
- It incorporated ALL the hills in Barrington, and somehow avoided decent downhills.
-We wore super cool singlets by Hind. ($10 at TJ Maxx i think...)
-Saucony A5 Racing flats.
-Stupid too long of a wait at Wildberry Cafe.. I really wanted to go there for brunch!
-Thank you volunteers!

**And yes, we did coordinate our singlets, shorts, and arm warmers on purpose. :)




- xaar

4 years

4 years ago L and I walked and ran 12 miles from Campbell, CA to Los gatos to get a coffee and back. Little did we know that day was the beginning of what would turn into a grand adventure spanning many cities and countries, many ups (with a few downs) and so many freaking fantastic memories (hot air ballooning, a drive across route 66, Mexican pyramids, Napa Wine tastings, many running events, and an amazing trip to Brasil just to name a few) along the way. We are 2 peas in a pod- well 3 with the CB dog.


Last night he surprised me with dinner at Takashi. You might remember Chef Takashi from Top Chef Masters fame. we've also been to his "Noodles by Takashi" which has some of the best ramen I've ever had (located in Macy's on State St.) we had the tasting menu + wine/sake pairings which was absolutely divine. I can't stop thinking about the incredible food and the red wine blend from Valencia which was one of the best wines I've ever tasted.


Today L is celebrating with CB, because 4 years ago today was their first meeting. For CB, it was love at first sight which was awesome because he usually doesn't like new people, especially men. Seeing CB jump up on L like he was an old friend and interact like they were lifelong buddies that day made me realize almost instantly that L was going to be in our life for a long long time.


After our walk to the Campbell dog park on the Los gatos trail for CBs first date with L, we hit up the Campbell farmers market for some food, and CB went with us. The signs said no animals, but no one said anything to us. CB had on his backpack and people thought he was a service dog!


Modeling our pretzel necklaces at the Chicago beer festival last weekend. We are truly craft beer connoisseurs.

We thrive on experiences instead of things. Because things get broken, used up, or out of style and forgotten. Experiences last forever in our memories. (And in the awesome Blurb photo books we create)


Last Saturday we sampled 43+ unique beers at the Chicago Beer festival.

For Easter we had brunch at Aria in the Fairmont hotel.


Crab cake Benedict at Aria.

This weekend we are both running the Shamrock Shuffle 8k.


This will be my 3rd go at this race and barring catastrophe, should be a huge PR day for me yet again. I'm decently trained and finally in a healthy state. I love this race because it goes through downtown Chicago (a block from our apartment!) which only the Rock n Roll Chicago half and Chicago marathons can boast. All other Chicago races are held on the beautiful lakefront.


Late winter run on the lakefront with CB.

The funny thing is, I don't really care about the PR I'm going to get at Shamrock. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing improvement just like anyone else- but I really love the experience of it all more.

Waking up and walking with L to grant park a few blocks from our place, the electricity in the air when 40,000 people are all congregated in Grant Park on Columbus Ave waiting for their turn to own the streets of Chicago, the sound of the gun going off as our corral slowly moves to the start, that moment when you know it's "go time" as you start your watch and begin to run. That feeling you get, the goosebumps on your arms while running through the city you call home while you struggle to catch your breath from the shot of adrenaline turning onto Michigan ave where the huge crowds are cheering so loud just before the finish. And that final straight shot towards the finish on Columbus Ave, where you're giving it everything you've got to finish strong while the crowds are deafening with cheering and cowbells and excitement for the runners. And then you finish, with a huge smile on your face, knowing you couldn't have given anymore.

Yeah, I really could care less about the PR & number on the clock as I stop my watch- to me, it's about a lot more than that.


- xaar