Long Lost Brunch Club

A couple of years ago, some friends and I started a brunch group, and we rotated who got to pick the location for our monthly brunch date. Brunch Club, as we called it, has sort of fallen by the wayside. I honestly can't remember the last time we all got together for brunch. But yesterday we rekindled the club in honor of Sarah's upcoming birthday. We went to M. Henry in Andersonville. It was delicious and worth the nearly one hour wait. Maybe once spring and summer come (and thus outdoor seating), Brunch Club will make a comeback.

RENT!

Last night we went to see Rent at the Oriental Theater downtown. We've seen Rent four or five times, but this production was waayyy different: it starred Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, the original Roger and Mark. One word describes the production: Unbelievable. I can't even begin to describe how last night's performance blows all past performances out of the water. Those two were meant to play those roles.

I first fell in love with Rent in high school. My best friend at the time, Alli, and I would drive around in her Lebaron convertible and sing along to the soundtrack at the top of our lungs. Naturally, that activity was very cool (or at least we thought it was). Since then, Rent has always held a very special place in my heart (and iPod), and I still listen to it, even though I have pretty much worn out disc one of the two disc set.

After the performance, the cast did a little auction to solicit money for an AIDS charity, since living with AIDS is one of the musical's central themes. The item up for bidding was an evening backstage with the cast and crew, getting ready for the show. It ended up going to two different bidders for a total of $5,000. John and I are really working at being fiscally responsible, but had he not been there to hold me accountable, I would definitely have been tempted to put in a bid (especially since they took Visa--aka "free money").

To Add or Not to Add

My mom has recently joined the stalking tool otherwise known as Facebook. John and I have had profiles for about a year or so, but recently the "parent generation" has discovered Facebook and all sorts of friends' parents, long-lost teachers, etc. have come out of the woodwork and become my Facebook friends. When my mom created her profile, I told her that I absolutely would not be her friend. However, the folks at Facebook have a different idea. Every time I log on, the "People You May Know" tool on the side of the home page is always suggesting that I befriend my mom! It's sort of sad, seeing her little picture there in the corner, and ignoring the possibility of Facebook friendship. I'm still on the fence: should I add her?

Spring in the City

It's a gorgeous Saturday in Chicago -- the complete opposite of last weekend. We just returned from the Lake: John hit some golf balls at the Diversey driving range, and I ran five miles on the lakefront path. Lots of other people were out enjoying the weather, and we were reminded of why spring and summer makes this city a great place to live. The running path was packed with other joggers, walkers, bike riders and rollerbladers who had just come out of hibernation. In looking at the forecast, I don't think this weather is here to stay (I saw the dreaded s-word), but we are going to take advantage of it while it's here!

Pizza Art Cafe

Last Friday John and I visited Pizza Art Cafe, a delicious pizza spot in our neighborhood. We first visited this little spot a year ago, and we were one of two couples dining at the time. The food was so delicious that we were a bit worried that the place wouldn't survive. Well, we didn't need to worry. When we walked in shortly before 7 p.m., the place was packed and booked with reservations for the rest of the night. The only seating option was at a shared table with another couple. We were hungry, so we didn't mind sharing space if that meant pizza for us (plus it was too cold to walk to our other fave pizza spot, I Monelli). Oddly enough, Pizza Art is owned by a Bosnian family, but the pizza tastes just like the pizza that we enjoyed too much during our semester abroad in Italy. I had an amazing salame (basically pepperoni) pizza, and John had this calzone-ish thing with smoked beef inside of it. I thought his was a little gross - sort of a brisket pizza pocket - but he liked it. Another good thing about this place: it's BYOB with no corkage fee! Unfortunately, we did not come armed with wine, but we will have to remember it for next time. That, and to make a reservation.

Beer Time!!

Megan and I had dinner with a friend at RJ Grunts, a restaurant in Lincoln Park that has not changed since the 70s. They claim to have invented the salad bar; I'm not too sure about that. But, they did have Bell's Hopslam, one of the best beers I've ever had. If you ever happen upon the chance to try any of Bell's beer, I recommend it.

Knit One, Purl Two

John's sister, Stephanie, and I have been taking knitting classes at a neat little knitting shop in North Center called Knit 1. The idea of knitting came to me while one vacation in Mexico. I wanted to come up with activities in which to fill my evenings. That way, if I had a commitment, I would also have the perfect excuse to leave work and do something for myself rather than stay chained to my desk.

We have mastered most of the basic stuff -- knit stitch, purl stitch, casting on, binding off -- but I recently started working on my first real "project": a scarf. I am not a crafty person, so the fact that I have nearly knitted a scarf is a big deal (at least to me). It's made of alpaca, and I'm knitting it on size 15 needles, so it's going to be sort of chunky. I only have a few classes left, but I think this is something I will continue.

My magnum opus