Chicago

Chicago Transit

Hey gurlies. As always I come back to posting days after I have been somewhere or notice that I have neglected the followers that ChimiandCarly has. I never mean to be late at posting but sometimes life happens. Last week, I had the opportunity of visiting Chicago. This was my second time in Chicago but a very different visit. To accompany me, my friend Ky'Osha aka KyWilli came along for the festivities. We had booked this trip WAAAAYYYY in advance and finally would be able to kick back and enjoy the festivities. We booked the flight and hotel for the estimated price of $458, which was a complete steal. The weekend we decided to go happened to be one of the most POPPIN' weekends in Chicago. We went down originally for the Taste of Chicago and to celebrate Ky'Osha's 24th birthday. When we got there we found so much more to do... Chicago Pride, fashion show, and a grand prize.

Chicago Theater

Day 1 (Thursday): When we first got to Chicago, we gathered our belongings and set off to take the train. On my handy dandy Iphone, there is this application I used (HopStop) that made me feel as if I was a native all weekend. I was able to plan trips in advance and save them as a reference. So, from Midway Airport we hopped on the Orange line and got off on Roosevelt, to search for our hotel, Essex Inn. Essex Inn, was in a perfect area. Right in the Loop and across the street from Grant Park, Essex was the perfect pick. When we dropped off our stuff, we set out to find a CVS or a local drug store since I had to throw out my hair oil (8oz.) and my facial wash (4oz.) which were over the limit. When we found the drugstore, we decided to see what else the area had to offer. We walked up one block and ended up on State Street. Finding State Street was like opening up a can of worms. State Street was like retail heaven. It had every store I could imagine on one strip. Zara, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Aldo, Forever 21, and the list goes on. I think we went to every store. About 4 hours later, we finally went to Tamarind, an Asian fusion restaurant to get sushi. The decor in Tamarind was very cute. After our lovely dinner, in a fat girl moment we went next door to Harold's the local chicken spot. Harold's was calling our name when we first went past going to the CVS. When we walked in Harold's there was a sea of men in Black and Gold. Men in suits, ties and bowties filled the establishment. Of course Ky'osha thought she was in heaven. We found out it was the Alpha (A Phi A)convention. We ordered a three piece and left to go back to the hotel. Back at the hotel we had a domestic mishap next door to us that required authorities. I had to be a whistleblower in this situation for safety purposes. Once I called down to the front desk, security came upstairs and knocked on the door. When that was taken care of, we were able to sleep.

Deborah Cox

Northalsted

Day 2 (Friday): On our first official day in Chicago, we ventured out to Wicker Park, which is a funky part of town full of thrift shops and boutiques. Of course ya'll know I seem to spend money like it is going out of style so I had to buy something. We started our journey very early. We left the hotel and got to Wicker Park around 10:30. When we walked around, majority of all the shops was closed. We walked along the main street until we found a thrift store. I cannot remember the name of the store but is was a little rinky dink shop that made Ky'Osha itch. It had furniture and jewelry in one store and clothing in the next. We were able to find a earring set (Ky'Osha) and a funky pin (me). After we purchased our items we went on to another thrift store about a few feet from that store. It was a boutique at the top of the store and in the basement, there were vintage finds. Jewelry was the main objective for shopping for Ky'Osha so we walked over to the jewelry before looking at the clothes. The clothing in the store was very interesting. It was a Miltary thrift that carried pins, buttons, coats, and uniforms. We tried on a few items but I only got a necklace. We went into all the thrift stores on the strip but only made purchases in Buffalo Exchange and another store named Crossroads Trading. When we received our receipts from Crossroads, they also gave us a flier to their fashion show they were having later on that night. We agreed to come and check it out and made our way to Boystown for Chicago Pride to see Deborah Cox sing. Switching from the blue line to the red, we got off the train on Addison and walked about 4 blocks to Northalsted. We paid our suggested donation of $7 and walked through what seemed like a huge block party. There was two huge stages (North and South) and vendors in between. We made our way to a few booths (Magic skirt, Impact, Barefoot wine, pina coladaLOL After about 15 minutes of performing, she left the stage and we made our way back to Wicker Park for the Crossroads fashion show. So we get off the train and walk to a cute spot called Debonair Social Bar for the fashion show. At the fashion show, I was asked if I was a blogger. I do not know why I said No. I guess I was afraid to say I was since I'm a novice. We walked to a comfy booth and drop our finds from our extreme shopping. A waitress by the name of Liz comes over to tell us that the table we were sitting at was usually for VIP bottle service and we would have to move if that service was needed. Of course we sat there the whole entire night. I made a friends with Liz but also a local blogger, Shoe Pornographer who is obsessed with shoes. It was nice to meet her. She carried a Nikon just like me and took our picture. One of the managers came to our table and asked did we sign up for the raffle. We told her no and this time when I was asked if I was a blogger I said Yes. I guess it had something to do with the liquid courage Liz was providing me with. I signed my slip for the raffle and placed it in the box. So around 10:30pm, the fashion show began. It was a two part show that showed Summer fashion for males and females for day (Part 1) and night (Part 2). The cool part of the fashion show was seeing the cost of how much an outfit costed. The fashion show was put together from the items that were sold in the store. The models' outfits ranged from about $50 and close to $200. Throughout the fashion show, the raffles were called for swag bags and gift certificates to the local restaurants. The clothes that were in the fashion show were sold in the corner of the venue along with other items that were from the store. After the fashion show ended, the grand prize raffle winner was being named. They pulled a name out of the bag/box (whatever), called it and waited for the person to claim their prize. When the person did not come, they went on to the next name. They pulled the name out of the box and said my name. I think I was kicking my feet up in down and if I could've did a Nelson (from the Simpson's) HA HA!!, I would've. Random people were patting me on my back to wish me a congratulations. I won by default but I was a winner of a $50 certificate to Club Lucky, a Italian restaurant. That was birthday dinner I did not have to pay for (SCORE). Basking in my winning, I went to the shopping portion of the venue and bout a grey leather jacket and a black fedora. When Chicago's times reached 12am, I made sure to say Happy Birthday to Ky'Osha and bought her a drink for the road. Leaving the venue, I was hungry so I  went to Flash Taco for 2 Chicken tacos. I have to admit these tacos were divine. The best I have ever tasted. Finally after my late night snack we arrive back at the hotel exhausted. We literally passed out and went to sleep.

 Day 3 (Saturday): We woke up a little late for our adventure to the Taste. In our lateness, we were still able to make it and eat some of the best grub we ever had. We walked from our hotel to Grant Park, purchased $24 worth of tickets meal tickets (12 for $8), and looked at the different stands to see what they offered. We had and array of food. Red velvet cupcake, chicken gyro, corn on the cob, jerk chicken, plantains and peas and rice, spring roll and a Jamaican icee. We walked off our food and got on the train for Day 2 at Boystown to see Mya perform.
We were very early for her 2:30pm performance but were entertained by the woman impersonators.
They put on an awesome show. High heels and bomb make-up set them apart as they sashayed across the stage. Finally a late Mya came on stage and did her thing. She performed her hits and new material. I took great pictures of her because we were able to get front standing room to see her. After seeing Mya, we went back to the hotel to prepare for our dinner at Club Lucky. My nap seemed so minimal but it was worth it. We got dolled up and made our way to Club Lucky for our 9pm reservation. We were late by six minutes because we got lost.

My trusty Iphone was not exactly trusty when it came to finding Lucky which was in Bucktown very close to Wicker Park. When we finally went in, we were asked have we been there before. Since we had not, we were seated inside so we could get the whole feel of the establishment. We were served bread with butter and asked for our drink preference. I got a root beer and the birthday girl had water with lemon. We order calamari as our appetizer and after eating it wished we hadn't ordered our entrees. The calamari was a huge dish.

We ate them all in their fried goodness with marinara sauce. When the entrees (eggplant parm- Ky, chicken parm-me) came out, we ate our food and had girl talk. Ky'Osha's eyes were bigger than her stomach because she couldn't finish her plate. I on the other hand, ate the whole thing. To wish her a Happy Birthday, the waitress brought out tiramisu with a candle in it. She didn't eat that either because she was so stuffed. When it was time to pay, I gave the waitress my certificate and only had to pay the balance of $9. We walked out of Lucky and tried to make arrangements to go to a club. A friend that I have said he would take us out. We hopped on the blue line to the red and found out that the red was single tracking. It took us longer than usual to get to our destination. When we finally got there, I called to see where he was and he told me that his car had broke down. Needless to say, we did not make it clubbing that night. Instead we went back to the hotel to get on our extremely early flight.

Looks of the Night

Birthday Girl

Day 4 (Sunday): I woke up at like 6:30am to prepare for our 10:35am flight back to DC. When Ky'Osha got up and ready, we checked out and left the hotel at 8:30am. We walked back to the orange line at Roosevelt and made our way to Midway. Upon arrival we checked in our bags (free with Southwest) and made our way to Potbelly for a morning sandwich and Nuts on Clark. As we made our way to our gate, I couldn't help but think of the next time I come to Chicago. I know what things I want to do differently and much more to explore. We touched down in DC at 1:05pm and were brought to my home by the dude.