March Recap 2016

 
      I feel like I begin every one of these posts by saying that I can't believe how fast the month has gone but seriously, I don't know where time goes because March went by in the blink of an eye. March was very balanced between home time and Chicago time. I was trying to be good and stick to my budget. That was working out pretty well until spring clothing came around (haha), but I really hadn't bought any clothes for myself in a really long time, so I don't feel too bad about it. Overall, it was a fun month. So let's see what I've been up to!

Week One

     The highlight of week one was definitely my girl's night with my bestie, Megan. We hadn't had a one-on-one night in quite some time, so it was definitely overdue. We ordered some Indian food, went dancing, had brunch the next morning, and then walked around the city a bit. It was such a great start to my month and I was really glad to spend time with her. It was reminiscent of high school when I would come over to her house and we would just have a girl's night and have girl talk. Our girl talk sessions have always been one of my favorite parts of our relationship because Megan is a really great listener. I tend to be more on the quiet side, and sometimes can feel a bit lost in groups (it really depends, though!), so one-on-one time helps me feel a little more involved. I had such a great time with her and I was so thankful for our time together.

Our yummy dinner (Ps. Naan is seriously life. If you haven't tried it, you need to!)

A pic from our night out! (Sorry about the quality. Club bathrooms aren't well lit lol)

Can you tell brunch is my favorite meal?

Watertower is one of my favorite spots in the city. I used to work in the mall across the street, so coming back there always reminds me of senior year. It's crazy to think that it was only a year ago!

Week Two

     Week two was rather chill. I had been scheduled to work the weekend, so I didn't really make any plans. I had an impromptu meet up with Elida for a quick drink on Saturday, but we didn't really stay out late. Then Sunday, I went to the America's Beauty Show Convention with my sister. It's a convention for stylists that is held every year in Chicago to show off what salon products different brands have to offer and they also have a lot of cool hair demonstrations. My personal favorite part was our lunch spot afterward. We went to Eleven City Diner which was super cool. It is this diner-style restaurant that offers a mixture of diner and deli-esque food. As St. Patrick's Day Celebrations were in the air (St. Patrick's Day is a really big thing in Chicago), I decided to have a green river float in celebration. Green River is a green pop (soda for my non-Midwesterners) that was invented in Chicago and pays homage to our tradition of dying the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's Day. I had a healthy entree so naturally, dessert was a must. I was blown away by how amazing their red velvet cake was. Em and I shared a slice and omg, I would go back to that place just for the cake. If you are ever in Chicago, I highly recommend that you pay them a visit!

My Green River Float!

The cake of all red velvet cakes! It was well worth the food baby.

Week Three

     For week three, the main event that I had planned was to go bowling with some of my college friends. If you've read last month's recap, you've heard me mention Hannah and Alissa before, and they were the one's that I went bowling with. I was talking about my upcoming bowling date with them to Megan, so I asked her to tag along. I was a bit nervous because sometimes friend groups don't always mesh well, but It went rather well. We had a great time and I think everyone got along really well. Bowling is kind of my tradition with Hannah and Alissa because they were the ones that took me bowling for my first time last year so now we try to do it every so often. I need some practice, but I'm not too shabby for a novice.

This is our regular bowling spot. We love to come here because they have cosmic bowling!

A picture of the group!

Week Four

Week four was Easter weekend, so It was mainly spent at home. Earlier in the week, I met up with my friend Chandler for coffee. She was home from Vet School, so It was nice to catch up with her since I don't get to see her quite often. Saturday, I went to the park with my dad in the afternoon. I went for a run and he flew his kites. He has a few really nice stunt kites that he has had ever since I was little and he always gets so excited to fly them when the weather gets nice. It's kind of adorable to hear him geek out about them and It always makes me smile. I had a really good run that day and then I met up with some girls from work for a night out. We didn't really take pictures but don't worry we still had a good time haha. On Sunday, I spent the day with my family. Aside from being Easter Sunday, it was my dad's birthday. So, my mom made a nice dinner and some of my extended family came over. It was rather relaxed, which is the typical tone for our holidays.

My dad with one of his kites

Me with my sister Eme and my cousin Val

Me and Eme

     Overall, March was a blast. It was pretty neat that the last day of the month actually lined up with this post, so it feels more officially and I don't have to leave anything out.

Looking Ahead

     Next month, I have some fun things planned out. It is also my last full month before beginning my pre-mats program. So, I will be trying to enjoy my freedom as best as I can. I've also been on a healthy. I'm trying to get myself in better shape before medical school, so hopefully this next month it goes pretty well. 

I hope you guys enjoyed seeing what I've been up to for the month of March as I always loving sharing my month. I hope you guys had a great month and that next month is even more amazing! talk to you soon!

~Genesis<3

February Recap 2016

     February has really flown by, but I'd say that it had a lot to do with how busy I've been for the month. February has definitely been the month of friends, as I've had the chance to catch up with many of my different friend groups. It has also been a month of changing routines, as I've become more of a morning person ( shocking I know). I think the latest I've gotten up all month has been 9:00 A.M. and that is pretty incredible for me. I also challenged myself to take way more pictures this month so that this post would be a bit more exciting than the last one (sorry!) and I think I did a pretty good job. Overall, I really enjoyed how February felt, as I felt incredibly loved and I couldn't have spent the month better than to have spent it with the people that I love<3

Highlights

     -The month began pretty chill and one of the first things that I did was have a paint night with some of the girls from work. We met at one of the girls' houses and then we just drank and painted. I have never really been an artist (although I do make some pretty sweet stick figures) but it was just fun to pursue my creative side and see what I could come up with. I found a quote that I loved on Pinterest and decided to paint that. I wanted to go for a Kate Spade inspired piece so naturally, the gold dots were a must have. I traced out the larger dots and I kind of regret doing that as I couldn't completely erase the pencil marks, but I still love how the piece turned out.

My masterpiece;)

     My friend Crystal really kicked butt, though. She painted a Blackhawks inspired piece and I absolutely loved it! 

- February also held quite a few trips to the fabric store with my mom. There's this one up in Evanston ( For my non-Chicagoans, It's a town slightly north of Chicago) that has a huge selection of fabrics, so on a few of my days off, we took a little road trip up there. I picked out a couple fabrics as well, and my mom is going to make me some skirts. I love spending time with my momma so of course, the trip was just great in itself. 

- My Best Friend, Elida, came back from her trip to Mexico at the end of January, so I had to see her. We met up for dinner and then just went exploring. We found a cute pet shop that we popped into. She's a big animal lover. so she was in heaven. Afterwards, we just roamed the mall. She's a spontaneous person, so she decided she wanted to get her ears double pierced. Of course, I was there for moral support, but when I snapped the pic below, the fear in her face was pretty priceless. She said it didn't hurt too much, but it was still pretty funny. 

- Then, on Superbowl Sunday, I got the chance to catch up with two of my really good friends from college. My friend Hannah (pictured in the center) threw a little party at her apartment so I got to catch up with her and my friend Alissa (also pictured) who is in medical school. There was so much food and it was really great to be able to see them both, as our busy scheduled had prevented us from seeing each other since I believe October.

- The first two weekends of the month were relatively tame, but then Valentine's weekend hit and that's where I got incredibly busy. On Thursday, I went to the Blackhawks vs. Dallas game with my friend, Allison. It had been quite some time since I had been to a game (the tickets have been crazy expensive since they won the past Stanley Cups), so it was so awesome to just go and support the boys. We had really great seats right behind the home goal, so it was super cool. One of our other friends was also at the game, so during intermission, we would head out and catch up with her. Unfortunately, the boys lost, but it was a great time nonetheless.

Me and Allison

Our friend Sarah and Allison holding the delicious Big Star nachos I had for dinner

- Friday, I went to a burlesque show with my friend Crystal. It was a really great time, but I didn't take any pictures, so I apologize for that.

- Saturday, we celebrated my bestie Gianna's 22nd birthday. We started out the afternoon with high tea at The Drake hotel downtown. The room, palm court, where they hold tea is absolutely stunning and the whole experience was pretty great. It felt very elegant and the environment was very relaxing, so it was a fantastic way to wind down before heading out for a night of drinks and dancing. I had such a great time that I definitely want to go back. If you've never had tea like this before, I highly recommend it.

SN: All of the food was incredible

The Birthday Girl

Chicago Squad plus two

- Sunday was my little cousin Valentine's 18th birthday. She was born on Valentine's day, so every year we hold a little get together for her. I headed back from the city and over to my Aunt's house. We had dinner and hung out. I was pretty happy about having a low-key day after an eventful couple of days. It also snowed like crazy that day, so it was pretty great to be inside.

Me and the Birthday girl

 - February also marked the third complete month that I've been blogging. I am super proud of the fact that I've stuck with it, and each time I see the number of views (made it past 1,000 views) or social media followers grow it warms my heart. I started this blog to share my journey to, through, and after medical school and to think people might actually be interested is super cool. If you take the time to read what I have to say, I greatly appreciate it. You don't know how much it means to me<3

Looking Forward

    For March, I already have a couple of things that I am planning to do. I also know I'll be hearing more about things for school, so that's pretty exciting. I'll be trying to enjoy my last couple months of freedom (May will definitely be here sooner than I will imagine), and working on getting healthier as I had quite a bit of fun in February. 

I hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into my life. I really enjoy sharing it with you! Have a fantastic rest of the week and an even better weekend. I'll talk to you soon!

~Genesis<3

Sister Tag!

     This Thursday's post is about a sister tag I filmed with my sister, Eme. Fair warning, the video is filled with lots of giggling as we were just have a great time and being silly with the questions. We had such a great time filming and as you can probably tell from the video, we get along really well!

     Just to let you know, this video is a two-part video. Eme will be posting the first half on her channel (it will be linked in the description of my video) and I posted the second half. Something people might not know is that I am a huge fan of youtube. I have been following many YouTubers for quite a few years now and I've always wanted to make my own videos, so now that I've actually started posting my own videos, I am super thrilled. I really hope you enjoy them, as I had a fun time making them:)

     I hope you guys have a great week and definitely check back on Tuesday as I am planning some new stuff for next week! As always, if there is anything you guys would like me to blog about, leave me a comment. Talk to you guys soon!

~Genesis<3