Falling in Love with Chicago

It's been about two and a half months since I moved to Chicago and I finally feel like in the past few weeks the warmer temperatures have allowed me to explore some of the city I'm now calling home.

I love Memorial Day Weekend because it signals the unofficial start of summer and summer is hands down my favorite season, I mean there are so many great things to enjoy - who couldn't love summer?

I've been trying to get into the habit of becoming a more consistent runner. I mean, I am signed up for a Warrior Dash and the BIG10 10K so I guess I have to. But learning more about my neighborhood is also great motivation to get out and run a couple of mornings a week.

(And who doesn't love to see the sunrise over Lake Michigan?)

(View behind the Lincoln Park Conservatory)

(Lydia had told me about this lily pond/prairie pagoda and I made it a mission one morning to find it. So serene in the middle of the city.)

On my way home from work last weekend I decided to take a bit of a scenic route and strolled down Michigan Ave. before catching the bus. My office is in such a great location, right in the heart of so much great shopping, food and tourist traps. There was an old church that has always caught my eye on my bus ride to and from work and the weather allowed for the perfect opportunity for some exploring of it. I love that this old architecture is mixed right in with Chicago's skyscrapers.

(Can you see the little bird drinking from the fountain?)

I spent sometime meandering through Lincoln Park as well. I always knew that Lincoln Park was a gem in Chicago but didn't know much about it overall. But after doing some reading on it (#historynerd) I was so eager to see it all. You could spend a day exploring Lincoln Park and I'm not sure you would see it all. There's a zoo, a petting zoo, several ponds, beaches, restaurants, the conservatory and plenty of open green spaces and gardens just to name a few things. Plus, the views of the city were stunning.

Sunday, I talked Lydia into joining me on a trip to the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The conservatory, like everything else in Lincoln Park, is free and features four rooms of stunning exotic plants. I wish I had taken a few more pictures while we were there but I guess it means I'll just have to go back!

We explored a bit more of the park and watched what I'm sure will be stunning wedding photos be taken. As we started to walk back towards my apartment we felt the first drop of rain which very quickly turned into a torrential downpour. Lydia had the great idea to hide under the prairie pagoda I mentioned earlier to wait out the storm.

Unfortunately, the roof of the pagoda was not solid and we ended up trying to position ourselves between the slats to avoid the sheets of rain falling outside. Eventually, we gave up and made a mad dash to La Fournette Bakery & Cafe for some tea and macaroons.

So excited for more summer in Chicago adventures!

Thought Catalog: 5 Things Everyone Feels When Moving To A New City

It’s fair to say that I’ve moved around quite a bit. Four states, seven cities and nine different addresses before the age of 25. Moving is something I’ve become a bit of a pro at, as well as starting over in a new location.

Here are the five things everyone feels when moving to a new city.

The Sun is Shining on Chicago

Yesterday was the first truly warm day of year and I celebrated it by spending the day rowing, drinking iced coffee, laying out on my Mary's roof deck, wearing shorts and sandals for the first time and drinking Oberon's outside. It was wonderful and almost made me forget the terrible, no good, very bad winter we just experienced.

Being back in the Midwest this summer there are a lot of things I'm looking forward to enjoying this summer.

Doesn't the city just look so much better with a bit of color and sun?

Washington, D.C.
I'll be visiting my friend Marissa in D.C. in June and am looking forward to recreating some of the greatness of our Boston and Cape Cod vacations last summer. (Perhaps we'll unintentionally match again?) I've never been to D.C. before and can't wait to do all of the stereotypical tourist stuff. My best friend since fifth grade lives in Baltimore and I'm also hoping to be able to meet up with her. Any suggestions on any D.C. musts? Tips for seeing the city? Any great restaurants?

Trips to Michigan
Michigan is my favorite in the summer. It truly is a hidden gem. Between the Great Lakes, all of the inland lakes, cities like Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, and the UP, Michigan has so much to offer. I'm hoping to be able to spend some time in Grand Haven this summer and would love to plan a trip up north to either the UP or Mackinac Island since I've never been.

Lake Michigan
My new apartment in Chicago is literally blocks from the Lakeshore and I can't wait to spend my weekends sprawled out on the beach with a good book.

Summer Concerts & Events
One of the many benefits of living in a big city is the number of cultural events and concerts that take place. I'm excited to take advantage of some of these events and already have tickets to Lollapalooza in August.

Spontaneous Trips
I feel like the warm weather makes people much more inclined for adventure and spontaneity. Last year, Laurissa and I took a couple of fairly spontaneous trips to Maine and the beach and I can't wait to embark on some in the Chicago area. Whether is a quick road trip or a trip downtown, everything seems so much better in the summer.

Homemade Ramen

I have a love-hate relationship with cooking, and having a miniature kitchen with virtually no counter space has only strengthened that relationship. But I recently felt inspired to try my hand at cooking again outside of the realm of pasta and frozen pizza.

I had been craving ramen. Not your college cup-of-noodle ramen but the real deal. I've only had real ramen once during Head of the Charles weekend last year in Boston so I would not consider myself an expert on the topic and wasn't sure what to look for in recipes. A lot of the recipes I came across seemed really involved, using a lot of ingredients I'd likely never use again and I hate that.

I finally stumbled across a recipe on my new favorite site for recipes, Damn Delicious. I really like this site because all of the recipes are unique but easy to make. I've so far made variations of their ramen recipe and their pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and I've been pleasantly pleased with both.

But back to the ramen.

I liked this recipe because I already had a handful of the ingredients on hand and I was able to use most up in making this dish. The other big selling point for me was it only called for one pot to cook in - an almost must for me now that I've got a kitchen that resembles the play kitchen I had when I was five. A few variations I made:

• I used bella mushrooms because that's what I had on hand and I think it was just fine.
• I used low sodium chicken broth and I think it helped the dish stay light and not too salty.
• The pictures for this recipe show a soft boiled egg but its not included in the ingredients, I added one to my dish for a bit more protein and flavor.

The recipe made about 3 1/2 servings - enough for dinner and two lunches at work which was wonderful. I'm looking forward to trying more recipes on this site - tonight's menu will likely be the quinoa enchilada casserole!