We Went Exploring

Last weekend we decided to go see some bit of the city we had never seen before. We ended up walking around on Division Street, near Ashland and Damen etc. It was a sort of gentrifying quasi-hipster neighborhood, but there were interesting things to see. We had a fairly mediocre lunch at Moonshine Chicago (really it was just kind of a bar, which we didn't realize because it had such nice outdoor seating): the food was expensive and the quality was merely okay; also though the service was attentive enough, it took forever for us to get our food. However, it was all up from there. After we finally had got fed, we went walking on down the street.

There was a stationary store called Paper Doll that actually we had heard of before. It had a lot of cute little stationary related things, but what had really caught our eye was their wedding invitation stuff, which was extensive. Unfortunately, we couldn't look really carefully or talk to the lady who worked there because there was a scary bride to be going all nuts. Well, we'll go back sometime soon.

We passed a chocolatier that looked quite interesting but unfortunately we were too full to go in. We passed several bakeries (same problem). And then we came to this Architecturally Important Church. I have already forgotten what it is called, but I took a couple of cell phone camera pictures of it. Can you imagine? I've gotten so much out of the habit of taking real pictures, I rarely do anything but quick cell phone snaps anymore.

Here are two more, which I took at an abandoned-looking storefront. There didn't seem to be an actual business there, but this sculpture of wood-shaving curls was prominently displayed in the window. I thought it was pretty cool.



We also saw a French kitchen store, in which nearly everything was out of our price range. Yet somehow we still thought it was a very cool place. Everything had a very French sort of niceness to it, all elegant and well made and looking like it would be pleasant to use. Bright, but not garish, happy colors. It was very fun. Also the proprietor was nice to us even though we were obviously not the target audience for the place.

Eventually we walked up Damen to and through Wicker Park, got up to North Avenue and looked at a scary "indie" clothing store called untitled. It was standard non-conformist stuff, if that's not an oxymoron, but almost completely too small for both of us. Not to mention too pricey, of course. We also went into a bookstore so hip it was almost surreal. Repository of independently published little magazines and pamphlets, and extensive "Goth and Death-core" section, any sort of perversion imaginable, and generally everything you wouldn't find at Borders. Sandman was the most mainstream thing there.

To recover, we took the bus to North and Halsted where there's a Borders and a CB2. All we wanted was some Faulkner and maybe a cookbook, you know? Also we got a carafe and a kick-ass bathmat, which we love. We don't spend a lot of time shopping or buying things, so it's fun to do it now and then.

That was our Saturday afternoon. Lots of walking! But a fun adventure.