The Places You're Surprised You Loved

Being the "learn by the school of hard knocks" kid that I am (well, according to my mother anyway) when I graduated college I decided that it was unfathomable to subject myself to the "failure" of moving home and limiting myself to finding a job in the city that I had grown up in. I kept telling myself that if I never left and branched out I would stay in Chicago forever. Now, don't get me wrong, Chicago is an amazing city that I feel blessed to live/work in, but I saw so many of my peers going off in new paths and didn't want to be the only one not stepping out of my comfort zone. So, my senior year, I started the inevitable job search and decided that I was only going to consider Chicago as an afterthought, focusing on other major metropolitan areas for my search. Well, funny thing about that is whenever I was given a great lead/opportunity/job offer in another city I found something "wrong" with it. I think the real thing "wrong" was probably my unrealistic expectations and unwillingness to lose the safety net of being within driving distance of my parents house (just in case). But anyway, long, super drawn out story later, I ended up taking a post-grad internship in Ann Arbor, Michigan - a safe four hour drive from Chicago.

I didn't really know what to expect when I moved to Ann Arbor. It was nothing like Chicago. The people were different, the culture was different and even the pace was different. I took a big leap of faith by moving there considering I had limited resources in terms of friends nearby. Oh and did I mention that I had never been there before? But cares to the wind I made my way up north, subleased an apartment from a more than a little questionable character and set off to test myself in the city of blue and yellow.

Soon enough I became accustomed to the great little cultural nuiances that make up Ann Arbor, and even now I find myself missing many of the things/places I took for granted while living there - most notably the AMAZING restaurant scene that comprises Ann Arbor.

If you're even in Ann Arbor, there are several AMAZING restaurants that you must try:
DISCLAIMER: I use the word "restaurants" in terms of really really good cheap food that I could afford on an intern salary. I'm sure their are a ton of great high-end culinary stops in A2 that I would have loved to try given a different financial situation.

For one, Le Dog was my go-to lunch stop at least once a week I'd say. It's a little homemade soup/hot dog joint that boasts some of the best quick-food around and (don't kill me Chicagoans) it could easily beat out many Chicago hot dog stops. Not to mention, their lobster bisque is hands down the best I've ever had. The only problem is that they only offer it on Thursday's and Friday's.

Zingermans, a sandwich shop/deli revolution in Ann Arbor's KerryTown District has garnered national press for their wide variety of specialty sandwich options and unique eclectic culture. It's a little on the pricey side for a deli in my opinion, but worth the occasional splurge.

Blimpie Burger...need I say more? If you haven't seen Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on The Food Network you may not know what I'm talking about so I'll cue you in. Blimpie is your average hole-in-the-wall burger joint with no-so-average tastes. Their burgers are HUGE, delicious and fairly priced. The best part though is how you order. It kind of reminded me of "the soup nazi" episode on Seinfeld. They have a very specific way for you to order your burger and if you don't abide by their rules...well, just do me a favor, follow the rules. :)

Ashley's was my favorite libation stop at the end of a hard day of work. The bar (with pretty decent pub food) offers over 60 beers on tap and a number of themed beer flights like Fruit Beers...I'm still convinced that the pear beer I tried there had to be juice.

Do you remember?

Do you remember all those simple things you loved when you were growing up? Back before the days of deadlines and student loans? Well, lately I've been getting pretty caught up in everything that I have to do day-to-day (clearly shown by my lack of blogging) that I haven't taken time to appreciate the little things as much. So, I decided to make a point of doing some things that bring me joy this week and that got me thinking about all the things I loved to do as a child. As it turns out, childhood memories serve as a great source for inspiration. I decided to reinstate some of these pastimes into my days and have found a lot of joy in activities I was sure I had outgrown at the age of twelve.

Here's a list of some of my favorite childhood activities that are still just as fun today as they were when I was little - oh and as a side note - they're all free, which always helps when it come's to those grown-up budgets :)

1. Playing childhood games with close friends i.e. MASH - Yes, it is still fun to see what job you will have when you "grow up" even though you already have a job. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that you can still put down Leonardo DiCaprio as your future husband even though we all know that's not happening anytime (but just in case you're reading this Leo, the weather in Chicago is starting to get nice, so you should consider a visit when you get a chance).

2. Petting every dog that walks by - It's annoying to the owner but, come on they are so darn cute!

3. Coloring - Okay, I know adults still "doodle" on their meeting notes but when's the last time you legit broke out some crayons/markers/colored pencils and actually colored? I took a stab at it with my friend Erin recently and it was a lot of fun (see image of still unfinished, coloring project that will probably take me until I'm 30 below)

4. Listening to music that was "cool" 10 years ago - The fact that I used to think (10 years ago) that "Tearing Up My Heart" by The Backstreet Boys was a metaphor for my love life is laughable...

5. Playing in the rain - Nowadays people are so grumpy whenever it rains. I get it, commuting in the rain stinks, but going home, throwing on some old clothes while running out to play in the rain is one of the most satisfyingly innocent acts you can partake in.

Please feel free to share any great ideas/memories you have. I'm always looking for more to LOVE. :)