Hipstamatic: Lens - Lucas AB2, Film - BlackKeys B&W
I love being a college student. Or, let me rephrase that, I do not miss high school. Having time in between classes is the BEST. My friends Chris, Nathan, Jeff and I venture out into the city on Tuesdays and Thursdays in between our classes downtown and hang out for the two hour time period we have. Today we walked over to Buckingham fountain, and the water actually spit at us! I do not miss high school days sitting in a classroom and only having ten minutes between classes. Adios to that life!
I also noticed today that Chicagoans treat the warmer weather more as a gift rather than the summer. After trudging through a difficult winter (even this winter wasn't as bad as previous Chicago winters), the warm weather is literally a blessing. I'm loving every second of it, and even loving the fact that I fly home to Connecticut in a week and a half. Moving out? Freshman year is almost over? This is so crazy...time really does fly.
-x Hobbit
For anyone who read my Forever Yogurt post (if not, click here), frozen yogurt is not the only dessert that Chicagoans crave. Cupcakes are a HUGE hit here in Chicago, and there are numerous bakeries that boom with business because of them. I mean, why wait for your birthday to have cake when you can have a mini-cake for under $4 at your beck and call?
Since cupcakes are something that I enjoy, I wanted to write an entry about the most popular cupcake joints that college students try around Chicago (I recommend all of them to everyone who visits Chi-town). However, I did not want to rate these cupcakes places myself, so I asked my friends Alex Gavlick and Drew Langen to do a blind vote.
If you want to meet them...
Anyways, after classes today I traveled to Sprinkles, Molly's Cupcakes, Sweet Mandy B's and Swirlz, and asked each cupcake joint what they thought is their best cupcakes. All of them were stumped on what the "best cupcake" would be, so each of these cupcakes are their best sellers. Here are the flavors:
Sprinkles: Pumpkin
Molly's Cupcakes: Ron Bennington
Swirlz: Banana Nutella
Sweet Mandy B's: Red Velvet
So, I gave both of them a piece of the cupcake and had them rate the cupcakes on a scale of 1-5 while placing them in order from first to fourth. Here are their results:
First:
Alex: 5 || Drew: 5
From being the closest cupcake joint on campus, to being the cheapest out of all four of these joints (cupcakes cost $2.81 with tax), Sweet Mandy B's is undeniable. Plus, their cupcakes are devine. The classic Red Velvet cupcakes is a winner with the cream cheese frosting and the moist cake. I've tried making Red Velvet cupcakes myself and getting the actual cake to not be dry is difficult, but Sweet Mandy B's has it DOWN!
Second:
Alex: 4.5 || Drew: 4
The one thing that differentiates a muffin and a cupcake is...um...well I don't exactly know. But, I know for a fact that Sprinkles was able to make the difference very clear with their Pumpkin cupcake. Both Alex and Drew thought the consistency was perfect, and they made several comments about autumn leaves, pumpkin pies and both their mother's cooking.
Third:
Alex: 4 || Drew: 3.5
This is where I'm going to have to disagree with the boys. Sorry guys, but I think Swirlz's Banana Nutella cupcake was phenomenal! And that's telling you something, because I really do not enjoy eating banana flavored things. But, the boys thought differently. They think the icing wasn't thick enough for a cupcake, reminded them of Cool Whip. I guess we all have our differences.
Fourth:
Alex: 3.5 || Drew: 3.5
Molly's may have won Cupcake Wars on television, but it didn't cut if for the Hobbit's cupcake war! Both Alex and Drew thought this cupcake was too decadent! To clarify, the Ron Bennington is a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, a peanut butter filling and Butterfinger topping. For those cupcake lovers that are into rich flavors and decadent toppings, Molly's is the place to go! But being the most expensive (it cost me $4.30), the farthest walk from campus and also melting in the container, Molly's didn't really shine in our books. However, I still recommend it! The Strawberry Shortcake cupcake is DEVINE!
Well, I hope you enjoyed the Hobbit's rendition of Cupcake Wars! This vote was "blinded," so Alex and Drew did not know what shop's cupcake they were trying when critiquing. Thank you Alex and Drew for being the official judges! Any other places you wish to see them judge?
-x Hobbit
photo credit
"The Great Gatsby does not proclaim the nobility of the human spirit, it is not politically correct, it delivers no fashionable or comforting messages, it does not reveal how to solve the problems of life, it is just a Masterpiece"
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Reading has always been my source of entertainment during free time, especially when waiting for the L every day, and my favorite book of all time is The Great Gatsby. The 1920's has always been a heart-throb time era of mine, and if I were ever asked to hop in a time machine I would travel to Paris during the Lost Generation, all because of this novel. I read it my sophomore year of high school, and since then I have bought my own copy and mark it page after page. It is, and will always be, an all time favorite.
If you haven't already heard, Baz Luhrmann is adapting the novel into a new movies starring Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby), Carey Mulligan (Daisy Buchanan) and Tobey McGuire (Nick Carraway). Personally, I think this upcoming adaption of The Great Gatsby looks a little too flashy for my taste, but I might be proven wrong. Check it out for yourself - for the trailer, click here.
photo credit
photo credit
Personally, I am thrilled to see Tobey McGuire in the role of Nick Carraway. He really will be able to pull of Nick's shy behavior as he hides under the wing of Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. However, I am curious to see how DiCaprio is with the role of Gatsby. I really enjoy Toby Stephens as Gatsby in the novel's movie adaption created in 2000, so I am interested to see who will be the better fit.
I thought I would share with the world my obsession with The Great Gatsby and the 1920's. Last year our high school's drama club put on the musical The Drowsy Chaperone, and it was a hit with the rest of the community. Our class became obsessed with this era, so I figured it was appropiate to theme my graduation party to our obsession.
Do I really have to wait until Christmas for this movie though?
-x Hobbit
Out of all the hairstyles I have tried in my life, the bangs worked for me the best. I tried pulling off this side-sweep bang look for a while, but realized how frustrated it made me rather than me actually liking the cut. So, I ventured over to Salon V today and had my hairdresser Julio fix up my hair right before summer is to start. Now I think I'm completely ready!
Today has been a day of planning. I have big plans for Little Hobbit In Chicago, which will be presented to my readers very soon. I've been evaluating past entries of this blog, and I realized the entries that I'm rather into: journaling about the city. But before I give away details, stay tuned for more about what I have planned.
I also spent the day fulfilling a dream that I've had all year. Drumroll please...I registered DePaul's first Dance Company. I'm starting this club in order to reach out to students around campus that are not dancing with the Dance Team, and have experience in Tap, Jazz, Ballet/Lyrical and Hip-Hop. I have choreographers, and 40 members will be invited in after a series of auditions held in September. There will be ten members for each team, and at the end of each quarter DDC will be putting on a dance show free for the public. I AM SO EXCITED! Not only have I gone through the process of starting a student organization and actually survived it, but I'm also super excited to step back into those dance shoes and perform on a stage once again. I thought this dream was swiped from underneath my feet, but I maintained to keep it there!
Lastly, my family is coming this weekend along with my best friend Monica, and after that, I am packing and moving out! Where did freshman year go? On the other hand, sophomore year is already looking to be that much better. :)
-x Hobbit
If it wasn't already known, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization conferences (otherwise known as NATO) is in Chicago this weekend. Literally, the city has been brought to a halt in between E. Jackson and 35th. The conferences are being held at the McCormick center in Chicago, and protestors marched between these two streets shouting chants to the THOUSANDS of police around the city. Literally, they are all over the place.
I met with a professor of mine, Michael Moore, downtown and we walked with the march until we reached 14th. We were able to take many pictures, and to be honost, the news is making NATO protestors rowdier than they actually are. These people just want peace, and the ones that are literally flashing on WGN right now as I sit in Chicago Bagel Authority are the protestors that are more than passionate about it. Like they said, "this is what democracy looks like."
I think my favorite chant of the day was, "you're sexy, you're cute, take off that riot suit!" I found myself chanting along and laughing at the same time.
People have a certain item they turn to when it comes to making them look fashionable. For me, my new item is this pair of shoes. I couldn't help but buy them when I found them at Urban Outfitters, I mean, they're platform, super comfy and RED! I'm thinking summer beach days and bonfire nights :) Ah, less than three weeks away until Summer! DePaul runs on a quarter system, so we don't get out of school until June 5. No complaints, I'm loving every second of this warm Chicago weather!
-x Hobbit
