Late night coffee break

Last night I went to my favorite European coffee house, Iguana Cafe (you must try their rasberry mocha lattes). Anyway, we decided to walk home instead of take the train, and I saw this random painting or I guess a picture of a wolf plastered on the wall underneath a bridge close to Milwaukee and Hubbard. I need to walk more so I can run into more sightings like this.

The Harvest

This past weekend, instead of rushing to the crowds at the beach for the Air and Water show, I decided to leave the city and visit my parents instead in Michigan. My dad has two huge gardens, and he has just started harvesting. I was able to cut my grocery bill in half just from the bags and bags of fresh produce that my parents gave me. I left with green beans, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and even a container full of blueberries they had just picked at a blueberry farm earlier that day. With all of the food that they're able to grow, they are pretty self-sufficient, and have canned tons of tomatoes and frozen vegetables to last them for a year, or until the next harvest. Vegetables that have just been harvested from the garden are the best. I stuffed myself with egg rolls, curry, and other foods that were all made with vegetables from my parents garden.

The Seven Year Itch

In July, an artist by the name of Seward Johnson began setting up this Marilyn Monroe statue in Pioneer Court right downtown. On my way back from a movie, I actually saw them setting just the legs up at night, and I knew right away what it was going to be. I kind of liked how it looked with just the legs set up. Last year, the same artist did an homage to American Gothic, which I thought was great. I love seeing this statue everyday when commuting to work. Though, not everyone is pleased with the statue, and some think it's rather vulgar. I don't see anything vulgar about it (other than her granny panties).

Beach

I went biking to 12th street beach last night. It's one of my favorite spots at night or during the day because there are not a lot of people that go there, so it's pretty quiet.

State Street

I took this while I was resting at Jamba Juice after shopping at Macy's right on State Street. Macy's has sadly become a routine stop every Saturday after breakfast since they have ridiculous sales every weekend. I have bought everything from pots and pans and clothes to my new couch that will be arriving next Friday.

Work

Doesn't this hallway look like it should be in a Steven King movie or other horror film? It's actually the hallway on the floor where I work and the building itself is the oldest building on the hospital campus. It's creepy when I have to come in after hours for work and supposedly the building is haunted. The floor used to be the old ICU ward so I'm sure there are plenty of "ghosts" wandering around.

Chinatown

Due to the abnormally long winter we had here in Chicago, it had really discouraged me from venturing outside to find any inspiration in taking new photos. Now that it's abnormally warm, I have that longing again to capture different snapshots while I'm out in the city.

This was taken at the Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown. This is one of my favorite parks to go to in the city because it's right by the river and not a lot of people are usually there. I usually bike here, but I just found out that's where the Chicago River Boat Taxi drops you off.