rapture, jumping the broom, blooms and eats..

there are always so many cool bikes, although this year there weren’t as many scooters, which is probably all that i would ever dare ride alone…

my friend tim is always asking me if this is the year that i am going to get one and my answer is usually i don’t know…but my kid is graduating from high school next year, so you never know…

maybe a midlife motorcycle is in order

i also saw one of the most incredible singers of all time, Ms. Anita Baker in concert…

she was fun and feisty and in great voice…

i had lunch with one of my favorite, so grateful to know girlfriends, Chandra of Greer Chicago.

i had my first Greet and Tea there a while back, it is a fantastic shop…

you must check it out!

she is such a fab woman and is that not the most wicked vintage necklace that she is wearing?

i wanted to snatch it and run!!!

we had some good grub

and sat and talked and talked and laughed and laughed..

since this is the first valentines day i have spent without my ex in 13 years, i rocked my favorite red lips and made it a whatever i want day..

i worked for a few hours and made a impromptu macaron run to one of the bakeries in my hood, alliance. 

they were damnlicious and they do the most ridiculous cakes too.

afterwards, i met up with my girl Contessa of Thinking Black Girl at my favorite movie theater, showplace icon and we went to see a screening of Jumping the Broom, a really sweet movie that comes out in may.

it has a really fun and beautiful cast and a great story…

you need to add it to your must see list

amazingly, we did not take any pictures…but here we are a couple of weeks ago at a political fundraiser

i also attended the popsugar public house event but my phone was on zero juice, so i didn’t take many pics

after that event, my girls, mk and tori and i headed over to downtown lounge for a quiet drink and to cool off because public house was hella hot and then we had some dinner at mercadito.

shrimp tacos FTW!!!

thursday was fantastic,

i started the day off with my stylist montgomery of marquin salon who besides being a fabulous stylist, is a really great person and we always have so much fun.

can you tell how excited i was to be getting my hair colored?

LOL

we were just laughing and having a good time…like we always do.

i attended a private dinner at the peninsula hotel restaurant pierrot gourmet and a trip to the top of the john hancock building, a thousand feet up!

a post about all of that fun will drop solo!

the next day i was exhausted…really…this happens…at some point my body is like…ok…i see you don’t know when to quit, so i will just have to show you!!!!

but i once again hung out with my girl, contessa…this time at butterfly sushi and thai

and once again, no pictures….except of this little thank you dessert that they give us…

anyway, the next day i was a total vegetable and chilling out in my flat all day but i eventually forced myself to get up and get in motion around 5pm

and once again that pop of red helped perk me up

i was supposed to go to this live blues band party that billy dec was holding at his restaurant rockit and i somehow, ended up his other restaurant rockit wrigley

like i said…i was really tired..

but since i had gone ALLLLL the way there, i grabbed some dinner 

this mushroom pizza was yummo…i then headed right back to the house and crashed in the bath

oh and i almost forgot, i was at rockit earlier in the week for the rock the vote after party

here i am with a couple of the candidates who are running for mayor of the city of chicago

with miguel del valle

with gery chico

but tired or not, i got up sunday and took a trip to one of my favorite places, the garfield park conservatory