Fun times...

I've been super swamped with work, school, and my husband's approaching deployment, so I feel like I've had no time to blog, vlog, or really do much of anything.

I blogged about striving to have some sort of social life and making time for friends a priority, and my girlfriend spotted us in this video for the DJ Mick Boogie event that we went to Labor Day weekend. Catch a glimpse of me at the 00:27 mark and my girlfriend @ladylalacpa at the 00:36 mark. Good times.

An actual blog post is in the works lol... but this is just my friendly way of saying hello and thanks for staying subscribed :)

Back in Action

It feels like it's been forever since I sat myself down and wrote a blog. Even my housewives blog was fairly mediocre and that took me over a week to post! I will blame my lack of blog writing on the fact our condo is under construction and my pc has been relocated to the kitchen. On top of having no air circulation, it literally looks like we've been quarantined in our place! I think we have 2-3 more weeks of construction and I can't wait for it to be completed. On a positive note, the construction has required me to be out of the condo from 8a-4p, therefore yours truly has been more than on time to work as of late! I actually like getting out of the house and to work with plenty of time to spare and more notably, it has made for more enjoyable bus rides. I'm not stressed out about how many times we stop, how late we're running, or how quickly I'll have to get from the stop up to my office! I don't know if the "early bird catches the worm", but you sure as hell aren't stressed out about time.

To catch everyone up, last Thursday I did a little club hopping with Sexy and the Chi and had a pretty good time. We started our night off at Griffin Lounge (formerly Climax) and was met with tons of *crickets* and *tumbleweed*. I must say that I love the layout of this venue and know that once people figure out the dj is good, the ac stays on (no sweated out hair) and the staff is friendly it'll fill up in no time. While enjoying a drink we eyed a really tall guy (swag completely off) and I was smiling his direction. Bad move...he mistook my "talking shit about you while keeping a friendly smile on my face" as an invitation to come over and chill out. Since there were only about 30 people in the place it wasn't like we could play his ass to the left w/o looking stuck up so we talked to him. Long story short, he said that Religion was down the street and was better so we decided to be adventurous (though we drove our own car...we aren't stupid) and went to Religion.

Since we met dude there we didn't have to pay... which was a beautiful thing since this club managed to have even FEWER people than Griffin Lounge. We looked at each other and kind of sighed and chuckled at the same time. When clubs are free you can be adventurous and hop around. We sat in the VIP (which meant nothing since there were no people there) and drank our free drinks, vowing to stay at least 20 mins just to be polite. lol. After we downed our drinks it was time to leave and we made our way to Butterfly Social Club.

At this point in the night I was just thrilled to be in a spot that actually had people, but walking into Butterfly Social Club I instantly loved the vibe. The club was small but able to comfortably fit the crowd. The DJ was nice and the fact that there was no cover put a huge smile on my face.Topping my experience off were great shots of patron and watching Purple Rain (one of my favorite movies) get screened on the wall!! I would recommend this spot to anyone that is looking for a laid back, hip hop spot on a Thursday night and wants to be around the 25-32yo crowd.


Thursday Night Spots:

Griffin Lounge
326 W. Chicago Ave.

Religion
720 N. Wells

Butterfly Social Club
722 W. Grand Ave.

Return of the Uni-brow

Last night after we finished up at Carnivale we headed to Griffin Lounge for the Al B Sure album preview party hosted by Uptown Magazine, Chicago Defender newspaper and Hidden Beach Recording.

*sigh* Al B Sure ... where do I even begin! Well, first off he informed the crowd that he had lost 35lbs (he was still a little heavy), his uni-brow was in full effect (he can't get that thing threaded??) and his "thank you" speech was hilarious. I wish I could've taped it so everyone could experience it first hand (and I could submit it to YBF lol)

Al B Sure: First off, I want to thank everyone for coming out. I really appreciate the support and love from the fans and it means so much to me. Thank you George Daniels, you've supported me since I was 18 (makes me wonder how old George is because ABS isn't young) blah blah blah

Crowd: Cheers/Claps

Al B Sure: Secondly, I just want to say that it's very hard when you have family problems that you have to deal with on the internet. I don't care what anyone says, I love my kids. Please pray for my family because there are evil forces around my kids.

*crickets*
*tumbleweed*
*crickets*
*tumbleweed*


Cue an image of Diddy and his "No Bitch Ass Ness" t-shirt. I think it's safe to say that someone has a slight issue with their child (Quincy who looks like Al B Sure cloned himself) claiming Diddy as his "real father" and crediting him with having raised him. It was sad to see this aging star reaching out to a spotty crowd of semi-fans and pouring out his soul (or at least his contempt for Diddy) I think he needed a hug... or maybe Diddy should give him a legitimate record deal.

Between the slowly forming bald spot, uni-brow, and hater ass remarks I didn't know what to think. Add into the mix George Daniels hosting the event and having the audacity to "lean wit it, rock wit it" and C-Walk... well, I was officially done. lol...

Other things that made me laugh:

- The 6'8" glamazon that was dancing in a 1-shoulder top and liquid leggings. For a sec I thought she was Biana from Top Model. lol...


- George Daniels calling Twitter, twEEter. He was like, "I see all you TWEETERS out there". *blank stare*

- The older lady that obviously missed her calling as a groupie in the late 80s and was trying to make up for lost time last night

- The man in the jean fit (ewww) acting like a male groupie.

The highlight of the night was making use of the backdrop and having a mini photo opt with The Sassy Peach.

Tonight...

If you're ready to get your weekend started here are a few options for tonight:



Al B Sure will be hosting his album preview party at Griffin Lounge (formerly Climax) from 9p-2a. I wasn't aware that he was still making music but the event is free and sponsored by Uptown Magazine, Hidden Beach Recording and the Chicago Defender Newspaper. It is sure to be a great networking opportunity at the least.

Griffin Lounge
324 w. Chicago Ave.
9p-2a
No Cover
RSVP to rsvp@richmondgrouponline.com





The same people that bring you Chicago's First Friday events are hosting their usual Thursday night "ButtaSoftSol" at Butterfly Social Club. It's hosted by DJ Mark Fulla Flava and features everything from Afro-Beat to Neo-Soul and Disco.

Butterfly Social Club
722 W. Grand
9p-2a
No Cover


For any fans of "Rock of Love Bus" on VH1, be sure to come out to Enclave tonight and see Mindy (one of the "finalists") from the show. She'll be hosting the night along with rock guitarist Joy Basu. The event is sponsored by Enclave, Surreal Global Adrenaline. There will be complimentary Rock 'n Roses t-shirts, tattoos, and giveaways - - as well as a private cocktail reception from 10p-11p. Be sure to rsvp for free cover before 12a. Click here.

Enclave
220 W. Chicago Ave.
free cover before 12a with rsvp (must rsvp before 8p)

My Weekend...

Friday

I want to thank everyone that came out on Friday for the happy hour at Devon Seafood Grill. Fellow bloggers Awesomely Luvvie, The Fab Giver, Caramel Kisses, The Sassy Peach and Sexy and the Chi as well as a few of my non-blogging friends were able to make the night wonderful. I was extremely impressed with Devon Seafood Grill. Their happy hour selection is nice, the prices were affordable, and the food was delicious. The entire upstairs of the restaurant is designated as the bar and there was plenty of seating, which was one of my main concerns.

After we finished our happy hour most of us went our separate ways, but a few of us social butterflies continued things at Sofitel (after a quick trip to water tower). I love the bar at Sofitel. It has a somewhat sultry feel, complete with numerous drinks to wet your palate. After indulging in their Backyard Blackberry Margarita (it has a light, summery feel with a healthy kick) to my delight some guy from South Carolina decided it was his duty to buy rounds of drinks for my friends. 2 rounds of Patron shots later and we all had smiles on our faces. He really was a sweet guy - - kind of a typical white guy, minimal game, making out at the bar with some chick in between buying our drinks, and insisting that he loved my friend's hair and that we all give him a hug. lol...

Next we went to McCormick & Schmick's across the street for their happy hour. Unfortunately we were a few minutes late and the kitchen had already closed so we partook in some more drinks. The bartenders were funny and the restaurant was nearly empty so we were free to roam and do our own thing. I have been sticking to Patron lately so I ordered a margarita and was more than disappointed when I saw the bartender pull out Pepe Lopez.



"What's that?" I asked slightly horrified and unable to mask my extreme disappointment.

The bartender went into some story about how Pepe was like Jose and I immediately had to cut him off.

"I don't want Jose's cousin Pepe. Give me their Uncle Patron!"

The bartender flashed me a smile and got his mind right, making my drink with Patron and not Pepe. I mean, what the fuck is Pepe? Really... it's so bootleg. I can't believe someone actually called their tequila that. I need to know who authorized that name and speak to their superior STAT!!!

Moving on, after we finished up at McCormick and Schmick's we headed for some late night eats at Bijan's Bistro. This restaurant is a top choice in satisfying your late night cravings. They are open to 4a (kitchen open until 3a) and have a full menu. I was feeling tipsy and adventurous and ordered some escargots along with some pasta. Their food is great and to my surprise the escargots was tasty. I would highly recommend going there and trying it out. As we were wrapping up our meal we noticed a group of women waiting for a table. I kept thinking to myself that this one lady looked familiar but couldn't figure it out. Then it hit me - - that's Kimberly from the Real Housewives of OC. We ended up saying hello and taking a picture. She was really nice and didn't look as plastic as the rest of the housewives in person.


Saturday

After nursing my hangover with Portillo's and relaxing for the better part of the day, I got ready for a friend's birthday celebration later that night. We headed to the opening for Griffin Lounge (formerly Climax) and enjoyed free cover and open bar until 1030p. I had never been to Climax so I obviously didn't notice the change, but the club was nice and let's be honest... free cover and open bar is usually enough to win anyone over. I thought the staff was friendly, the drinks were good and the DJ kept my attention playing a lot of hip hop. As the night went on in started tweaking and switched things over to house but by that time I was already 4 drinks into the night and didn't really care. The layout of this lounge is nice and is easy to navigate. Something funny was the female bathroom attendant... boy oh boy was she a hustler. She kept reminding the hoards of white chicks that she worked off tips and it was humorous to see these girls running back in the bathroom to give her tips. She kept screaming out how she had whatever you needed and she really wasn't lying. Anything from tampons to Mizani hair spray, to candy and condoms... she had it all and it was all for sale. lol...


Sunday

I went to an early morning body works + abs class at LA Fitness and thoroughly got my ass kicked by the instructor. I had buckets of sweat pouring from every crevice on my body. It was a hard but much needed workout. (sidebar: the summer is almost here and I've been getting back into my workout routine. It feels good to have my AZ workout mentality back). After I recuperated from my exercise I went to grab some food at Leona's with friends and had fun convos about what else - - sex and relationships! One of the more interesting things we discussed was whether or not you could date or sleep with an openly bi-sexual man. The verdict was pretty much a big NO across the board. Any thoughts?



Weekend Haunts:
Devon Seafood Grill
39 E. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

Sofitel
20 E. Chestnut St.
Chicago, IL 60611

McCormick & Schmick's
41 E. Chestnut St.
Chicago, IL 60611

Bijan's Bistro
663 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60654

Griffin Lounge
326 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60654

Leona's - Hyde Park
1236 E. 53rd St.
Chicago, IL 60615