Going running on a beautiful not-so-summer morning is a great way to begin celebrating my second favorite holiday. Mainly, I decided to run because I had too much popcorn and soda yesterday, and I’ve been skipping my boxing classes for two weeks. Don’t tell anyone. To appreciate this monumental day, I’ve written a little poem for you all:
Roses are multicolored
Violets are violet
Happy Fourth Of July
Nothing rhymes with violet.
And I’m perfectly ok with that.
This entire past week has been a debacle of failed plans. It only seems fitting that I finish the week with yet another lonely night in my room, cramming italian style meatballs into my mouth one by one. Of course I’m making sure to drink an excessive amount of water to prevent the imminent bloating that would otherwise surface tomorrow.
Not the Bloating! Please, Anything but Bloating!!
For tomorrow starts a new week, and I have very special plans to go to my very first Gay Pride Parade! Not only is this essentially my first Pride event I’ll have ever attended, but I could not be in a better city to experience it. Luckily my boss was very understanding and gave me this Sunday off. I even went and bought a new shirt (well it’s actually a tank top..ooh so fancy), and new shoes after work earlier today. And believe me, I refuse to give meatball bloatage the chance to ruin the effectiveness of my outfit.
*If you are thinking to yourself, Hmm, effectiveness is a strange word to associate with an outfit, then you are correct. But then again you have probably never seen me work a crowd in my “lobster shorts” as my friends like to refer to them (due to their having lobs….eh nevermind) Y’all will most likely seem them in pictures eventually.
Enough about pride though. I will be doing another post documenting it entirely, sometime in the near.. or hopefully near future.
What I want to talk about now is Molly’s Cupcakes. (Click for the site! ooh hyperlink…also so fancy)
Remember my friend Annette from my previous post? Well this is where we went after our trip to the zoo. She’s been a fan for some time and insisted I try it. And boy, am I happy I did. It’s a quaint, little bakery with cute decorations lining the walls and awesome furniture including swing seats. Yes swing seats. How cool is that? For those who are balance challenged, or just plain uncoordinated, do not fret. There are regular seats for you too. So, don’t mind me while I shove you out of the way to grab a swing.
The menu was very colorful and inviting, and the cupcake choices were endless. Take note of the water container standing alone so that you may pour yourself as much water as you need. This is perfect for me since I am one of those weirdos who much prefers water over milk to drink with my sweets.
After some careful decision making, Annette and I agreed on the Wildberry cupcake. Before I could protest, Annette even insisted to treat me to the cupcake. Years of living as a human vulture and picking food from others plates, I learned that nothing tastes better than when it’s free. And this piece of wisdom, from yours truly, proved true in this instant. In fact, the cupcake was deliriously delicious. It was light and yet so sweet. It was fruity while still satisfying our dessert craving. It wasn’t large, and yet it filled both of us quite nicely. It was even filled with an unbelievable raspberry filling. I love raspberry.
I highly recommend trying this place out if you are ever in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
It is on Clark street.
Hey Readers! Sorry to get your hopes up with the title. Unfortunately, I don’t make nearly enough money as a massage therapist to purchase a zoo. However, if I ever do have that much money, my first purchase will definitely be a zoo for all the little children of the world to frolic around.
This post is really about my recent trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo!
My friend Annette, who you will see in my follow up blog post, joined me in this adventure! We know each other from college, and I am lucky enough to be able to hang out with her while she is back home in Chicago for her Summer vacation. Which means… that I have a personal tour guide of Chicago! Muahahaha.
For those of you who have yet to visit this zoo and plan on it — Don’t worry, I am not going to ruin the experience of the zoo for you. I will not be posting any of the 80 pictures of animals and scenery that we took during our three hour expedition into the Chicago wilderness.
Except For This ONE!!:
The zoo is completely FREE to the public, but offers donation stands all around in case you wish to offer some money. As the name implies, it is located in the most beautiful (my opinion only) of the Chicago neighborhoods, Lincoln Park. I would love to go into a full discussion on why I love Lincoln Park so much as compared to the main downtown area, however I will save that for its own post one day so as not to bore you all now.
As soon as you enter the zoo, there are multitude of paths to choose from to start exploring. Obviously, so we would not get lost, we took pictures with the map of the zoo.:
Warning: If you have a terrific fear of spiders or cockroaches, I do not recommend you visit those two exhibits. Trust me.
There are also tons of places to eat situated all over, although the food can be a bit pricey. However, that is expected from an amazing, free zoo. The zoo kind of sits wide open to the rest of the neighborhood, and runners jog right through the area. It is a very welcoming area. There is also a boardwalk that leads you to Lake Shore Drive, which holds the beaches.
Next time I go to the zoo, which will most likely be very soon, I want to order food from this guy:
Phil'nFree 