Ruts and stuff

Sometimes I forget all the super excellent things there are to do in this city. I get stuck in a rut and eat only at El Tapitio, Village Tap and Waterhouse, buy my groceries at Walgreens and get my coffee at Starbucks. Because I get lazy, I disregard all the wonderful things there are to do in this city and just choose what's easiest. However, this weekend, thanks to my fabulous friends, I got out of my rut.

Saturday night, the boys went off and did a "Beer and Bacon" tasting (yeah, seriously), while Lauren, Kim, Amanda and I had a ladies night. We tested out Purple Pig (downtown, tapas, good pork shoulder and squash) and then brought bottles of wine over to Millenium Park and sat on the lawn listening to Jewel close out the Chicago Country Music Festival. We made our way through three bottles, watched the fireworks over the lake and then went back to Amanda's to have (more) wine and whiskey on her balcony and smoke cigars. Okay, the guys did the last part, but I had a puff, so it counts.

Sunday we visited a new bar, Ten Cat Tavern, which was a kitschy combination of grandma's house, the Bulldog Inn and any townie bar in Kansas. It had free wi-fi, so Kim helped me with homework while we sat in the back patio and drank. Beer + homework = A+.

So I got out of my rut for the weekend. I think I need to make sure I spend at least one night a week somewhere new, doing something I haven't done before. The beauty of this city is in the layers of opportunity. I need to be daring and take a closer look.