pi day for the century

Except I missed both 9:26's because I was driving to and from Chicago yesterday.

Spontaneous day trip down to St. Patty's in Chi Town.  Less for the green cluster fuck that I got caught in downtown and more for a day without having nightmares about work.

We officially started the day with mimosas and brunch at Beatrix, which happened to be connected to Aloft.  I like seeing familiar things when I return to the places I've been.  It's reassuring to know things don't change as drastically as I feel.

So red (strawberry) and blue (blueberry, grape, basil) mimosas because we were feeling non-traditional.

And then pot roast and egg sammich with jalepeno relish.  Nothing is more satisfying for breakfast than a dressed up egg sandwich.

And I was basically ready for bed.  Or for a jug of pure caffeine.  But neither of those things were made available to me.

So mall time.  Because why not?  Because commercialism.  Because $20 VS sports bra to encourage me to work out.  Because Marbles where its their job to play mind games with you.
We caught a glimpse of the green river that looked like lime jell-o.  I had to fight the impulse to jump in to see if I'd bounce back a little.

Found these kids, drunk and happy and then exhausted at Taco Joint, where I had delicious Mexican food in the form of duck and cheesy poblano tacos for the first time since moving to the Midwest.  I don't know if it was worth the stain on my skirt, but it was still a satisfyingly delicious dinner.
Speaking of seeing familiar things, it was too great finally seeing Nivs and Bernard again.  Missed you guys soo much; come play in Madison, please!

It was an ambitious day, and we accomplished all but one thing on our list.  Or two, if you count the fact that I didn't make it home in time for Maddy's swanky birthday celebration.
But an added bonus was these super alternative coffees at Osmium, which I would have been all over if I had a grinder at my desk.  Barrel-aged coffee is the greatest thing I've ever heard of.
Thumbs up for keeping me awake during the drive home and not tasting stale and too sour, Stu.