my list of Chicago food recs and other stuff

So after all the drama and controversy (on my LJ if not RL), I ended up going to the Indian dinner after all. LOL. Long story short, K. got a sitter (without ANY prompting from me, I was not reluctant or passive aggressive at all in any of my talks with her about it) so I got to go. I'm really glad I didn't say anything to her now, even though I totally understand why so many people thought I should, because I would have created strife for nothing! I mean, I suppose there's still the fact that she asked me to do it in the first place, which I agree wasn't cool, but I also understood that at the time, she felt that she had no other choice, and she does a lot of cool stuff for me. (Like, say, the Billy Elliot musical!)

Case in point: She was at the farmer's market and one of the vendors was selling their special apple cider balsamic vinegar, which they age for 7 years. It's only sold once a year. She picked up a bottle for me. It is SO RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. It doesn't taste like any vinegar I've ever had. It's so apple-y and flavorful it's almost like a syrup, except it's also got the tang of balsamic vinegar. Delicious.

Currently ropo and I are still homeless in Chicago, lol. I won't start to panic until about a week from now. At the moment I'm still trying to get the best deals on Priceline/Hotwire. I've gotten many awesome suggestions for food places. :D They're in LJ and email, so I'm going to consolidate and have this be my easy reference post.

( Grub in Chicago! )

I introduced K. to The Mortal Instruments series (she liked it) and she in turn introduced it to C., who loved it. Now C. is asking me for more recommendations and I find myself hard pressed to come up with any. I mean... I guess there aren't as many of those types of novels as I thought (she's already read The Hunger Games and Twilight) -- at least, good ones. I don't want to recommend really typical teen lit that has no other plot than the teen angst (like Meg Cabot or Elizabeth Scott). I'll mention A Song of Ice & Fire but I'm not sure that's what she's looking for. She's looking for books like The Mortal Instruments, and to my surprise I don't think there are any others of its ilk that I'd recommend.

I have a new shopping weakness: HauteLook. They sell really high-end designer stuff at steeply discounted prices, but you can't see what the deals are unless you're a member (it's free to join). Every day there's a different set of items/designers on sale that day (about a dozen), from makeup to clothes to rugs to vacation spots. As I said, it's all very high end and discounted. The other day I picked up a couple pairs of designer jeans, just because I couldn't resist! >< It's a brand I've heard of -- Not Your Daughter's Jeans -- but don't know how they actually look on me. This is the danger of HauteLook!! A few weeks ago I also ordered some makeup by Rock & Republic, and I have to say I LOVE it. Really good makeup and the packaging is awesome. I could never justify buying this stuff full price.

music recs and other media type stuff :D

There's a Woot off going on right now, and I've purchased stainless steel water bottles and a vacuum sealer (and missed out on 2 other things that sold out too quickly). WHY are there so many irresistible ways to spend money?! Anyway, I've been wanting a vacuum sealer for awhile. It seems like such a handy item to have. Especially for someone like me, who tends to buy a lot of stuff that I freeze for later use, then totally forget about it. >.>

I'm reading this book called Peony in Love by Lisa See. I actually started it back in December while at Jade's, and recently picked it up again. See wrote Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I loved and can't recommend enough. I don't feel the same way about this book, but I keep reading it because it's beautifully written and I love the cultural stuff. But the protagonist is so stupid and annoying.

I've been watching Carnivale. It took me awhile to get into it, and I still am not at the point of reccing it, but it's caught my interest enough to keep going, at least. It was canceled after two seasons and each season only has 12 episodes, so it's not a huge commitment.

Have I ever mentioned that you guys needs to watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? It's so, so good. Unfortunately it was too expensive to produce so they canceled it after two seasons (I'm sensing a theme...), and it ended in a place where you're dying to know what happens next, but for all that, still worth it. One of the few friends I knew exclusively from WoW that I keep in touch with started it at my recommendation, and he loved it. It's for girls and guys alike!

Music wise, I have a few recs for y'all. Lately I've been wanting to listen to nothing but dance pop, something lacking in substance and has a constant, catchy beat. <g> I've had to turn to K-pop to find the best of what I'm looking for. :D

- Abracadabra by Brown Eyed Girls is seriously BADASS. If you're in a place where you can play some music, click on that link and crank it up loud. It doesn't matter that half of it is spoken in a language I can't understand, because with dance music the beat's what's important, it's not like any of it's conveying anything of significance anyway, lol.

- Can't Nobody by 2NE1 is also quite awesome.

I also read a positive review of Britney Spears's latest album Femme Fatale on Slate, so it made me want to check it out.

- Hold It Against Me is the first single from the album, and I like it OK, but it's not my favorite

- Inside Out is probably the one I dig most

- Though Till the World Ends is also pretty awesome

- (Drop Dead) Beautiful has that dance beat I've been enamored of

- I also like Criminal, which is about as ballady as this album gets

I've been bad about keeping up with my AeroGarden progress on LJ.

( Week 3 )

( Week 4 )

Day by day it doesn't seem like much growth happens, but when you look at the pics it's amazing, the difference.