Monday, May 16, 2011

making the best of a gross "spring" weekend

If you're in the midwest, you know that the weather has been brutal the last few days-- blustery wind, rain/sleet/hail, and nearly freezing temps. I'm pretty sure Chicago only has two seasons-- we've alternated between air conditioning and heat probably four times this month. Outside activities were sort of out of the question!

On Friday, a few girls from my class and I went to the annual Northwestern University Library book sale. I love library discard sales, because I love the kinds of books people no longer want! I scored a book on textual studies and one on politics & culture in the 17th century. It's times like this that make being a huge nerd awfully convenient. :)

 And the campus is beautiful too (although it was really too cold to walk around).

Saturday was rainy and windy ALL day, but I went out to Wrigleyville to see some college friends (one of whom was my maid of honor) and have a drink before they went to the Cubs game. They were so brave, they even stayed until the game was called in the 7th inning! While they were freezing their butts off, I was busy tidying the apartment, since my father-in-law was coming. He had driven the hubs's sister and her fiance from Michigan to their new place in Memphis. They are so lucky to be in an area of Memphis that isn't flooded; my heart really goes out to everyone who has been affected by the Mississippi.

For dinner we went to Folklore, an Argentine steak house. I love Folklore and its owners' other restaurant, Tango Sur (although Folklore isn't BYO like Tango Sur). Argentinians know how to cook!


 Folklore has a beautiful interior, but the acoustics are terrible-- all you could hear was people shouting over each other. The hubs is from a small town, and his dad isn't too comfortable in the city. At one point he literally had to get up and stand outside for a minute, it was so loud! I felt pretty bad, but I'm pretty sure the bacon-wrapped scallops and meat-tastic para dos (a platter covered with 7 or 8 kinds of meat, including chorizo, steak, sweetbread, ribs, and black sausage-- my favorite) made up for the uncomfortable atmosphere.
                                                                 (photos from metromix)

On Sunday, the hubs and I saw his dad off, and headed off to the Art Institute of Chicago. I love that my teacher ID gets me into all the Chicago museums for free! I don't go as often as I'd like, but there was an exhibit I really wanted to see-- Kings, Queens & Courtiers: Art in Renaissance France. It was great-- statues, a video on chateau architecture, tapestries, and early books.
 

I learned that I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures inside the exhibit, but here are some of the photos I snapped before I got busted:


After seeing the main exhibit, we spotted another special exhibit that I didn't even know was there: Altered and Adorned: Using Renaissance Prints in Daily Life.
I was pretty excited-- they had prints from books of hours, woodcuts, bestiaries, and this really cool pop-up book!

 
It was for educational purposes; anatomy students could lift the flaps and explore the organs within.
After the exhibits, we walked around the rest of the museum for a bit....


...and after heading out to brave the sleet (again), we warmed up with oatmeal pancakes for dinner. I hope everyone has had a great weekend. Now it's time to be productive and find a summer job. Have a great Monday, and wish me luck on the job front!


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