Good Weekend

And it was. On Friday night Ben, Poppy and I got dinner at a new and fabulous sushi place in Logan Square, and then Ben and I hung out at Mike's playing cards. Mike is moving away today, which is a super bummer especially for Ben, since he's Ben's best friend in Chicago. We had a good time drinking Newcastles and just hanging around.

Saturday Ben made a tasty breakfast fit for kings, and then we went to the Hideout Block Party. It's less than a mile from our house and we saw some of our favorite bands: Art Brut and Mucca Pazza were the best, and we also saw Poppy and friends in the Blue Ribbon Glee Club, and The Frames. (Side note to everyone I know: please make a point of seeing Mucca Pazza, someday, somehow. Your life will be a little more amazing.) We didn't make it all the way to the end to see Andrew Bird, since we were hungry and a little festivaled out. Still, it was a cool event, in a big urban warehousey kind of space, perfect weather, kids watching the bands from nearby rooftops, good people watching. We biked to the Silver Palm, a diner in an old train car. It's not far from our house but we'd never been there. What a find! We had burgers and split a molten chocolatey cake for dessert. Since we always find ourselves saying, "Where can we get a good burger in this neighborhood?" and "Where can we go for a good dessert in this neighborhood?" and "Where's a good nearby place to sit outside?" and "Where can we go for a little cocktail kind of drink but that isn't full of yuppies?", we are thrilled to have found the Silver Palm, which answers all of these questions. Plus it's inside a neat train car and is the classy kind of dive with pin-up girls on the walls. Love it. Came home and watched The Illusionist. Remember when that movie and The Prestige came out at the same time and looked like the same movie? We picked the Prestige to see in the theater, which was pretty good and creepy, but we picked wrong. The Illusionist was way better.

Sunday Ben went to watch football at Delilah's with Mike, as has been their custom the past 3 years. I went for a long bike ride and enjoyed the gorgeous day with beautiful Lake Michigan. There's something about those warm days in September where you are still comfortable in short sleeves, but there is a breeze to let you know that fall is coming. It was a perfect day. Ben and I later had dinner at Earwax before my show at Duke's. Earwax is a long-time staple of the Wicker Park artist scene, and is already in its second location. However, it is one of the few remaining hipster venues in the neighborhood, as everything keeps getting squeezed out and replaced by banks, expensive restaurants and expensive bars/clubs with bouncers and dress codes. In the three years we've lived in the hood, we've seen many beloved places go (R.I.P. Leos Lunchroom) and many, many places move in; there has not been a single new place that Ben or I have liked at all. When we left Earwax at 6pm on Sunday night, it was about half full of interesting looking young people with hip clothing and tattoos. The place next door, Bin Wine Cafe, was jam packed with Gucci purse-toting makeupped women with straightened highlighted hair and men with gelled do's above their vertical stripes, cargo shorts and flip flops. Rent is going up, boutiques are taking over and there's nowhere to get a sandwich for less than $8. This neighborhood was in flux when we moved here, which is part of what made it attractive, but it is becoming rapidly unbearable. Bummer.

In other news, my usually reliable body seems to be falling apart. I've been walking with a gimpy limp due to the attempted removal of some plantars warts, and this morning I woke up with my right under-eye swollen to the point of obstructing my vision. Here is a picture of me. I have no idea what caused this, and while my eye is slightly better than earlier this morning, I still see a giant lump when I glance down. And the inner top of my cheek is starting to look red. Maybe it was something in the (not my usual) eyeshadow I wore yesterday? Maybe the smoke at Duke's? Something in Earwax's sesame slaw? A mid-dream punch in the face? I don't know. I called the doctor but haven't been able to get a hold of anyone. I'm hoping that tomorrow it will be magically better.