Masa Azul + Karaoke

Doesn't that title sound so DIVERSE?!

Alright, weekend two of trying to stay up past midnight on the weekend was somewhat of a success.

Friday, my friend and I had planned this dinner date weeks in advance (and if you know me, you know I don't plan ahead... especially THAT far ahead!). That just goes to show how badly we both wanted to try this new restaurant in, of all places, my new 'hood - Logan Square.

Anyway, have you all heard of this place called "Fat Rice"? Well, let's be honest -  I was fairly turned off when my friend first suggested it. I mean... gotta keep the daintiness and ladylike-ness intact as much as possible right? Wrong. This place has gotten SO MUCH HYPE over the recent few weeks that I quickly came on board.

For a place that's had so much hype over the past few weeks, you would think my friend and I would be smarter than thinking there wouldn't be much of a wait for 7:30 PM on a Friday. Clearly, we have our acts together.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by none other than a two-hour wait. And, I mean, yeah right. As much as I want to try a place, I will never wait two hours (well... okay, unless it's for a cupcake). A bit defeated, my friend and I decided to just meander around and find another restaurant - which seemed kind of a long shot considering the area we were in seemed a little scant of restaurants. After a couple of blocks of some SKETCH-looking restaurants, we stumbled upon this place called Masa Azul, that just looked somewhat cute and cozy and... most importantly, had no wait.

After getting seated right away, we got started on some fun little cocktails and then FOOD. I was STARVING by dinnertime since I'd come straight from work and I think I forgot to eat lunch on Friday or something. Anyway, we went to town and ordered four little tacos (pork belly and braised goat?!?!) as well as some shrimp and polenta dish, just to ensure we were full, full, full.

As soon as I bit into my pork belly taco, I knew I'd found a new favorite Mexican place in Chicago. Each and every bite of food just kept on getting better and better! Honestly, if you are in the Logan Square area, you should TOTALLY add Masa Azul to your little checklist of "must-try" places.

Okay, so Friday wasn't the best example of my staying up past midnight on weekends. In fact, I barely (barely) made it to 10:30 PM that night. I was just so TIRED after a long day at work. But whatever - I did try.

At least Saturday made up for it. After accidentally falling asleep after volunteering on Saturday, I woke up at exactly 7:53 PM... and, upon realizing the time, literally jumping off my couch - because, that's right, I was supposed to be meeting friends for dinner and drinks WAY uptown at 8 PM, before we began our (random, but oh so fun) night of karaoke'ing at this secret brothel Korean karaoke bar.

After having a couple of beers and some seriously mediocre food at Atlantic Bar and Grille (sigh, I guess not everything can be Masa Azul status in my book) and a bit of a walk in some annoying drizzle, we ended up at Lincoln Karaoke (way uptown - I can't emphasize how FAR north we were... it was like a foreign land, if you will). Anyway! I hadn't been karaoke'ing in a long while... which is all very surprising since I'm kind of a karaoke rapping machine.

Let's just say - I'm very good at rapping karaoke. I mean, if you can talk as fast as I can, it's only natural that you can spit some rhyme (is that even a phrase? It sounds like it should be, in any event.) karaoke-style, at least.

But I digress.

First stop once we entered this karaoke joint? The bar - obvi.

First up - vanilla rumchata shots... ummm, have you had these before?? They are legitimately the YUMMIEST things EVER (tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, as someone put it).

Next up? Well...

I mean, naturally. If you're going to drink alcohol while karaoke'ing, champagne would be the only natural choice, right? Right. (I defer all questions related to THAT choice of alcohol consumption to the one and only Neha, herself.)

Man, all I have to say is - karaoke night was such a sweet success. We covered all KINDS of songs - from NSync (obviously) to Elvis Presley (I think) to Mariah Carey (some people got overconfident) to Eminem (some people just know what they're clearly good at ---> me).

What fun. We ended up staying there wayy longer than expected. So much longer, in fact, that I would just like to point out (not like I anyone is keeping track), after a full night of fun-filled karaoke, I only ended going to sleep at... wait for it... 3 AM!!!! Damn straight.

New Year's Goal: Stay Up Past Midnight on Weekends

It's been so long! The end of the year simply got away from me (and/or I got lazy... one of the two) but still... over a MONTH without a blog post is simply unacceptable from my perspective. Oh well - it's a new year! One of my new year's goals can be to blog at least once a week this year... we'll see how this goes.

Anyway! After a holiday break filled with some serious bumming around relaxing, I realized how much I need structure in my life. I mean, honestly, the amount I slept during those last few weeks of the year (when I had nothing planned to do) could be considered alarming by some. If you know me at all, you know that sleeping is one of my absolute favorite things. But still. Going to bed by 9 PM (on weekdays and weekends)? A little unacceptable, according to some of my peers.

As such, one of my new year's goals involve staying up until at least 10 PM on weekdays and midnight on weekends.

I dream big, I know.

To help me really kick off my first weekend of the new year during which I had to stay up until at least midnight, I coerced invited a couple of friends to join me in experiencing the Map Room on Friday night. I've been wanting to check out this bar for years (literally) because I'd heard it's known for having beers from around the globe (hence, its name) and the ambiance is similar to another bar that I absolutely love (Hopleaf). Because it's located in a faraway land called Bucktown (read: hipster central), I'd kept on putting off this dream of mine... Bucktown is FAR from Lincoln Park, thank you very much.

Well, folks, I'm happy to say... as soon as I walked into the place, I knew I'd found one of my new favorite Chicago spots.

Very few bars have achieved the level of coziness that the Map Room achieved. First of all, it's pretty small... which could make it a bit of a wait to find a table, but we didn't have all too much of a problem (thankfully). We actually snagged a table at the very back corner which was absolutely PERFECT for me and my stellar people-watching skills.

Second of all... OMG, this bar has lines and lines of BOOKSHELVES!!!! And not just filled with books of any kind... sure there're SOME books, but there are mostly shelves and shelves of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICS!!!!!

Oh!! And the DECOR!!! The tabletops alone were SO fun and filled with character.

And the walls are LINED with different countries' flags and maps from around the world... and would you look at where we ended up sitting? RIGHT under my Canadian roots!! Oh, Canada. Oh... Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (doesn't flow as smoothly but it IS my birth place... and, well, doesn't it just SOUND magical?!).

I was excited, can you tell? Oh! And do you like those glasses? How hipster am I?? ;)

But I digress.

Finally, as with any place that I learn to grow and love, it's the people that make the difference. And I have to say, the crowd at the Map Room was top notch. I mean, everyone was just so CHILL and ready to have a nice, relaxing time over a beer or two. And the instant I spotted someone wearing a sweatshirt at the table next to ours... well, that's when I knew that Map Room was going to be on my list of regularly-frequented places. Any place that allows sweatshirts into its establishment on a Friday night totally has my seal of approval.

Oh! And I guess I should mention the beers as well. I mean, they were good.

I guess that sounds like I was underwhelmed. But I really wasn't! I did truly enjoy the kind that I'd gotten... it's just that I'm not a beer connoisseur so my opinion on beers really should be taken with a grain of salt. What I will say is this... the beer I had chosen was only $5!!! And it wasn't like a Bud Light or anything!!! I mean, that's CHEAP for good beer, right?!?! Oh happiness, if you will.

I have to say - time literally flew by at the Map Room. It was 2 AM, before I knew it! (Well, okay, this may be a slight exaggeration as there was one point where I looked at the time, saw that it was 11:24 PM and had to will myself to stay out for at least another thirty-six minutes.)

In any event, it was such a fun night! Special thanks to a couple of my friends that I coerced invited to join me at Map Room and help me start off my new year's goal on the right foot.

You Can Never Be Too Old for Beer Pong

As this post's title suggests, this weekend, I learned that you can never be too old for some good ol-fashioned beer pong.

Over the past few weeks, my coworker Phil (and his roommates) have been working their hearts out to plan this ginormous BBQ bash, to celebrate their roommate's "emancipation" from tax season. Let's just say, I was a firm supporter of the purpose of this event... trust me, I still remember those hours we were putting in during my Winter quarter tax accounting internship.

I was actually quite interested to see how this event panned out... I mean, over the past couple of weeks, it was quite apparent that Phil (and his roommates) had this party planning down to an absolute science.

Firstly, the sheer AMOUNT of meat that I was told was going to be readily available should have kind of grossed me out... after all, they had to be prepared to feed at least 60 people (the projected number of attendees, last I spoke with Phil). However, I have to admit, it didn't gross me out in the least... what can I say?

I. Love. Meat.

Spoken like the true dainty and ladylike individual that I am... ;)

Anyway, my friend/twin, Joyce, and I arrived a couple of hours after the party was set to begin... and my God, Phil's projections of attendees was no exaggeration. I wish I could've snapped a picture of what greeted us when we entered his apartment... people were packed from end to end... there was literally NO space for people to move around. I have to say, I'm not good with estimations and all that, but there had to have been more than 60 people squeezed into that place.

I don't even want to think about the number of safety violations we were in the midst of encountering.

It was like a college frat party in its finest sense. Complete with ginormous TVs...

(No, seriously. Can you TELL just how LARGE that TV IS?!?!? What. The...)

And, of course, a keg...

To be honest, I can't even remember the last time I've THOUGHT about a keg... let alone actually seen one.

And finally...

Okay, so to be fair, I knew well in advance that there was going to be some elaborate beer pong tournament going on. And to be fair (again), I'd mentally prepared myself for this fact in order to temper my excitement levels because, quite frankly...

I. Love. Beer Pong.

Fine, fine, fine. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not the biggest fan of any sort of alcohol, beer or otherwise. But I love games! And I (used to) love ping pong! It only makes complete and logical sense that I would fully appreciate the finer joys of beer pong, right? Damn straight.

Well, except for the fact that... if you think about it... my GOD, is it unsanitary or WHAT?!? Like, those ping pong balls are flying all over the place... and sure, you're rinsing them off after each turn but... well, really? Really. Let's be honest here, how clean are these things actually getting?

But I digress. Phil's apartment had two separate beer pong tables set up, to enhance the timeliness and efficiency of the beer pong tournament (if you know Phil, you know this is pretty much... well, par for the course). As we parked it in front of one of the tables, I noticed the special props that were being used to aid the tournament...

I actually never asked, but am still quite curious... why in heaven's name was a coffee pot being used to pour the beer into each cup? I wasn't sure if there was some scientific reasoning behind this or if it was just because... but knowing Phil (and the master orchestration of the rest of this party), I figure there MUST be some scientific explanation behind this.

Ohhhh welllll. Apparently I need no reason to just jump right on that bandwagon...

When in Rome and all that.

After much anticipation, we finally got around to playing our turn... to be honest, I can't remember the last time I PLAYED beer pong... and let's be real here, coordination isn't exactly my forte. But who would've thought?!?! Joyce and I actually made quite a few in!! It was all very exciting. Unfortunately, no pictures were snapped in the height of the action because, I mean, come ON, people! Full concentration here!!

Okay, in all things full disclosure, Joyce and I lost in the first round, but in our deFENSE... it was a really close game! Both teams were down to one cup by the end of it, before Alex (the girl on the opposing team) made the winning shot.

All in all- good times. Honestly, once you just force yourself to forget about the whole unsanitary component of the game, beer pong is quite possibly one of the most entertaining of games. I mean, the adrenaline, the camaraderie, the friendly competition... God, I am such an avid supporter and fan.

You know what else I'm an avid supporter and fan of? Any and every BBQ/beer potluck/beer pong tournament that Phil and his roommates plan in the future... just a friendly FYI (gotta secure my invite for the next bash at some point, right?! Right ;)).

A Road Trip in the Name of Alllll Things Good and Fallll!

I'm baaaack!! After traveling for five weeks, I am back where I belong... CHICAGO!!!! Needless to say, I was so ready, set, PUMPED to be back home. What better way to really express my renewed appreciation for the grand city of Chicago than... to peace outta Chicago and head to Milwaukee the day after my grand return? Oh, the irony.

For good reason though! A couple of friends (Emily and Jay) and I had planned a road trip this weekend to visit another couple of good friends (Scott and Missy) who live in Milwaukee... and were gracious enough to host us during only like the grandest weekend of all time... the weekend of the local FALL FESTIVAL!!!!

OMGDSfkjjdsflaksjfdlkj!!! If you know me at ALL, you KNOW that Fall is my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!!!! The crisp, cool air, the beautiful foliage colors, the flavors of PUMPKIN and APPLE... dude, seriously. It canNOT get any BETTER. So you better BELIEVE I basically LEAPED on this opportunity to celebrate Fallll in allll its grandeur at this Fall Festival.

And, BOY, did it SO not disappoint.

The road trip started off... well, kind of anticlimactically. Of course, there were hugs GALORE when I first reunited with Emily... I mean, who are we kidding? It was like giddiness central. We made a quick pit stop at Walgreens since Emily wanted to pick up some iced tea and chips...

Then, we picked up Jay (reunion central again!) and were all ready, set to get on our WAY...

Except that I decided that I now wanted some water and chips as well... so we stopped at our second Walgreens in the course of... well, about ten minutes.

But THEN, we were ready, set and on our WAY! Milwaukee, here we come!!

After nothing short of a FABULOUS reunion with Missy and Scott (GOD, they are some of the best people ever invented), you better believe we wasted NO time in heading STRAIGHT for that Fall Festival! (I initially was doing my best to maintain a somewhat reserved, laid-back demeanor when Missy was asking us about thoughts on the afternoon's activities but... well, that lasted about five minutes. Hello!! A Fall Festival was a'CALLING! There was no TIME for beating around the bush, here!)

As soon as we arrived, I just knew, knew, KNEW I was not going to be disappointed.



And the FLAVORS of Fall!! GOD, it's been so long since I've had anything pumpkin flavored... well, minus the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte I had last week. But whatever. I haven't experienced total and complete pumpkin OVERLOAD just yet... and BOY, was I ready for it.

From pumpkin gelato...


To pumpkin beer...


To pumpkin pancakes...


To, well, pumpkins THEMSELVES...

Sigh. Let's just have a moment here, people. Let's just have a moment to rela-

Oh, screw it. lakjroewijulfkddjsajflksjdflkjlkJ!lkjlksjdflksjdf lkjfalksjfoiewrlkj! lskdjfoieurlwkjlkj! lkjkfasdjowielrkjlkjsdlkfhoiyvidhvlwkjl!jlkjfsaoiewlkjflksjd!! The grandest season of ALL is REALLY AND TRULY UPON US ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!lkfjdslkfjasdlkj!J!lkjlkajfdlkdsj! Seriously, just LOOKING at those pictures and RELIVING THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND PUMPKIN is making me so squeal-worthy HAPPY, I can barely STAND IT!!!!

You would think that would be the end of it, but I mean, please. It's just plain not. Amidst all the pumpkin-y goodness, we were also graced with the delight of only the second grandest flavor of alllll the season of Fallll... APPLE!!!


What better way to doll up this fine fruit than to... well, dump it in a bunch of chocolatey/caramely/sugary GOODNESS? I mean, will you LOOK at these things?!


God, can life really get any better? Really?

Well, I guess it can. Because, quite frankly, the best part about this weekend was just hanging out with some of my favorite people.


(Unfortunately, I didn't snap a photo of Missy and Scott, but that would OBVIOUSLY have gone here as well.)

After all the (mostly self-inflicted) chaos and delightfulness of the Fall Festival, Saturday night ended up being pretty chill, with a visit to a ping-pong bar:


And eating lots (and lots and lots) of good FOOD. For heaven's sake, Missy and Scott just do things so RIGHT. It had been a while since I've had a nice, home-cooked meal (let alone any fruits or veggies, in general)...


And quite frankly, Scott is a LEGIT master chef. Homemade pizza? I will TAKE it.


(The pancakes Scott whipped up the next morning only further corroborated the aforementioned FACT that he is a legit master chef.)

Add that to the SIXTY* donuts we consumed after the ping-pong bar on Saturday night, and I can safely say our bellies left the grand state of Wisconsin MORE than satisfied.

All in all, I can safely say that this weekend road trip was nothing short of a sweet success. Missy and Scott, THANK YOU for yet another pretty darn perfect weekend in Wisconsin. :)

*Yes. That's right. Sixty donuts. This is what happens when Scott rolls through a drive-thru donut stand (Sil's) at midnight and orders... not one donut per person, not half a dozen donuts, not even a dozen donuts. No, no. This is what happens when Scott orders... an OFFICE PACK of donuts. 60 donuts... for 5 people. Oh whatever, you better be keeping your judgmental thoughts to yourselves until you actually TRY these things. Melt. In your. MOUTH. DELICIOUSNESS. (I wish I'd snapped a picture but, quite frankly, we devoured those things before my camera even had a chance.)

Why I am Stuck in the WRONG Age-Span

Do you ever feel like you don't act your age? I think it would be the coolest thing if we were just born into one age-span and stayed there for our entire lives.

If that were the case, I would most certainly choose to be born into... hmm... the 50-60 year old age-span.

I know this sounds a little weird to want to shoot right on up into the golden years, but I really believe that, after the age of 18, I could have just bumped my way on up to the 50-60 year age-span and been perfectly content for the rest of my days.

With such a grandiose (not to mention completely off the wall) statement, I've taken the liberty of detailing exactly WHY I believe my 20s are lost on me. I narrowed it down to three primary points (all of which have the same general theme, let's face it), but trust me. The list could go on and on...

Why I am Stuck in the WRONG Age-Span

1. I don't really understand the POINT of "going out"... I mean, when I'm out with my friends, I'm hanging out with my friends- why go to some loud, bumpin' bar/club when we could just hang out at someone's apartment or even a low-key (read: quiet) bar?

How on earth are people supposed to enjoy the art of conversation (I guess thinking that people WANT to enjoy the art of conversation when frolicking out and about is my first misstep here...) when people are jam PACKED into a club (to the point where one is more than likely partaking in a SIGNIFICANT fire hazard violation) where the music is so loud you really can't even hear the person next to whom you are jam-packed?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I do love me the merry little tune every now and then... but again, in MODERATION! I don't understand this whole "louder is better" theme that some of these clubs apparently seem to have going on.

I think this point is only further supported by the fact that the one bar that I am dying to try in Chicago is... well, a board game bar. WHAT? Who doesn't like a good board game?!

2. I am NOT a nightowl, so these wild and crazy nights out till 4 AM are few and far between (if not nonexistent, at this point). I swear, if I make it to midnight without a yawn, I am doing WELL for the evening. Let's just say that is more the anomaly than the norm.

I can't help it! I've NEVER been a nightowl... rather, I tend to be an extreme of a morning person! Who are we kidding, I likely awaken earlier than most 50-60 year olds... we can totally just forget about people who are in my ACTUAL age-span. But what can I say? I'm a sucker for the peace and quiet that only a luxurious early morning can bring.

3. This whole excessive alcohol consumption is NOT interesting to me anymore. I really don't understand how people my age are still going strong. I mean, for the most part, we've been doing this since we were in our teens... that's a DECADE PLUS, people! Having a story about how hung over we are the next day after a raging night out really does NOT provide the entertainment that it used to... in my opinion, of course. I'm sure there are plenty out there that beg to differ.

I think my whole thing with this topic is that I really have tried oh so many times to find alcoholic beverages that I actually ENJOY drinking. After a decade plus of experimentation, I have come to the conclusion... that there is none (for me).

I think I'm just super sensitive to the tase of alcohol or something. But honestly... when someone is like "This beer is JUST the dessert I was craving", I swear I have a VERY hard time holding back a somewhat judgmental stare. Seriously? Beer=dessert? I do NOT think so.

While I will not turn any beverage down (Can I help it that I succumb to societal socializing norms? Or that I take weird pride in how well I can take a shot?), I can 100% assure you that IF I had to choose ONE alcoholic beverage to down, it would be a mudslide... which, let's be honest, is pretty much a milkshake.

Trust me, while there are plenty of other reasons why I believe my 20s are truly lost on me, I think you pretty much get the gist of this, right? Right. And, let's be honest, this blog post has gone on long enough. (What? I like to fully SUPPORT my arguments, thank you very much!)

Off to knitting class! Hahaha... just KIDDING. Geeeeez.

SunCHIne and Summertime: Festivals, Brew Tours and GRAETERS!

Finally. After last week's DISASTROUS weather (I mean, how can you ring in summertime with 57 degrees, gloom doom clouds, and torrential DOWNPOURS? Wtf- I totally KNOW!), I had pretty much given up hope on summertime in Chicago.

I love giving up hope. You can never really be disappointed, if so. Man, talk about glass-half-full kinda thinking at its FINEST. It's a gift, really.

Irony of ironies, as soon as I had completely written off summertime in Chicago this year... well, the weather somehow magically skyrocketed 40 degrees in a 24 hour time period (no joke- it was in the 50s on Sunday, 90s on Monday... again, wtf, I know)... and the sun finally decided to grace us with her magical rays... ALL WEEK LONG!!!!lkjasldkfjlds!

Now, summertime in Chicago is pretty well-known as an unbeatable kinda wonderland. The city really just comes ALIVE... the streets are suddenly flowing with people coming out of hibernation, street festivals are all OVER the place, and everyone just seems that darn happier. Sigh. I love this place. Can you tell at all? ;)

This first summer weekend (that actually FELT like summer) was no exception. From MayFest in Lincoln Square (a German summertime festival? Sigh. Pitter patter goes my heart.) to outdoor drinks at Zella's to a Goose Island brew tour...



...to the Chicago Tribune's LitFest (where I attended a social media lecture... MAN, I can just listen/talk/discuss the wonders and glories of social media FOREVER, really)...


Well... a perfect inaugural summertime weekend it has been.

And yet. All I want to focus this blog entry on is my recent discovery that...

Weeeeee!!!! My neighborhood grocery store now carries... GRAETERS ICE CREAM Lfdflkjsdklj!

Sweet heavens. I wish each and every one of you had been there to see my jaw fall to the ground and my heart do some SERIOUS pitter pattering when I walked by my lovely little neighborhood grocery store earlier.

Pandemonium, at its finest, if you will. Internal pandemonium, that is (I mean, I do have SOME discretion!).

If you are from Cincinnati, you will clearly understand why this news is cause for such jubilee. If you are not from Cincinnati... well, get ready. Because you are totally about to hear ALL about how/why this is cause for such merriment/jubilee/sunshine - you know, all things "sunCHIne and summertime". (Like that? I thought of it all on my own, thank you very much.)

Okay, so Graeters is this ice cream shop that has its roots in the beloved 'Nati. GOD, it is the best thing ever. I'm not the biggest ice cream fan, but that rule is TOTALLY null and void when it comes to Graeters. I mean, it's just so rich and creamy and flavorful and... well, all that is good and right in the world today.

Okay, maybe I'm getting a little carried away.

Nah. I never get carried away. (Haha) It is just that good.

AND it was on SALE?!?!?!

Yeah, okay, I know. $3.99 for a dinky pint of ice cream? A little steep for my frugal little self.

But seriously- you just need to taste it. Then, and only then, will you wholly and completely understand why this thing is worth every single penny. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. GOD, it's taking some serious willpower to not just waltz on over to my freezer right now for a little spoonful (or bowlful.. potayto, potahto, really) at this very moment.

While their signature flavor is Black Raspberry Chip, you really just can't go wrong with anything you get there. And the best part about Graeters is, while they have skyrocketed in popularity (they are TOTALLY known nationwide... I'm beaming in pride, naturally), they still maintain their down-home charm. It's totally one of its more endearing qualities, if you will. Whenever I go home, you better believe this is one of my pit stops... in addition to Skyline... LaRosas... UDF... well, okay, so kill me. It's not my problem that Cincinnati has some darn good food.

Sooo... summertime festivals? Summertime drinks? SunCHIne? I'm all about them- I mean, don't get me wrong. But they simply don't hold a candle to... well, hometown ice cream, apparently. What can I say? I'm a down-home gal at heart.