Weekend recap

I actually considered blogging all through the weekend. I know some gals prefer to take the two-day break, but I don't suppose I need a break just yet from a blog I started like five minutes ago. I'm still in the excited stage (hope it doesn't fade!) and I want to get as much content out there as possible.

But, eh. I got busy.

I never did tell our buddies about the blog. We didn't end up taking many photos, because we ended up leaving Alex's camera behind, so we weren't suspiciously over-photoing the whole night. We were going to be doing a lot of walking in a crowded place, and the camera bag is just a lot of luggage to tote around. Instead, we relied on my camera phone.

I managed to score some free tickets to a Friday night show at Navy Pier called Cirque Shanghai. I went expecting it to be the poor man's Cirque de Soleil, but since I haven't even seen Cirque de Soleil, I had nothing to compare it to. Let me tell you, I was blown away. These were the teeniest little kids (at least they looked like kids -- I'd be surprised to find out any of them were out of their teens) jumping and tumbling and swinging around like crazy little monkeys. I'm honestly not sure what those folks at the fancier Cirque might do to top the acrobatics I saw Friday. Alex said they probably just have a bigger costume budget (which was true, the Cirque Shanghai costumes were ta-cky).

At Chicago's Navy Pier before the show

This is the only photo I got of the show -- no pics allowed! But at one point,

that thing was filled with dudes zig-zagging around each other on motorcycles.

Danger.

Saturday turned into one of those long, lazy days of leisure that I just love, but those don't make for great blog fodder. It was Sunday that really stole the show. Sunday, beach day.

First, there was Flirt. I call him that because that's what was printed, in sparkly letters, across the boo-tay of his royal blue bikini. Which he accessorized with Ugg boots. In 90-plus degree weather at Hollywood Beach (aka Kathy Osterman Beach aka the Gay Beach, according to the boys that brought us).

Flirt.

Oh what a beach day it was. It was our first beach visit of the summer, and that is huge considering we used to live on an Island where we spent just about every non-working moment at one beach or another. But Chicago doesn't have an ocean. And despite that it's only a couple miles from our apartment, it's a surprisingly large pain in the ass to spend a day at the beaches that line Lake Michigan. Mostly because of parking. So anyway, The last day of July was our first day at the beach.

Flirt spent a lot of time flitting around another much larger boy called Richard, who broke out in song at every new soul tune that played on a nearby radio. When he wasn't singing, he was cursing. Or rather, he was stringing together curse words to form the dirtiest sentences you can imagine. Oh, the spectacle.

I had some awesome drinks for the Richard show, too. Alex and I concocted some strange version of a berry margarita that turned out twice as refreshing and a fraction as calorific as a regular one. I don't know the exact measurements, but here's an educated guess:

• Crystal Light Raspberry Ice drink mix -- mixed with 2 quarts of water
• 1/2 quart of limeade
• 1/2 quart of tequila (we used cheap-o Suaza silver something or other)
• Fresh lime wedge, squeezed

Oh my were they delicious. And really, a tart lime and tequila drink minus most of the sugar and all of the salt? I'll take it.

For dinner, I borrowed this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, and added a couple items of my own. Delicious. I highly recommend it.

I used completely different vegetables than Bridget, and added chicken. Still. So. Good.

But it sure couldn't beat breakfast that morning. Pancakes with Girardelli's bittersweet cacao chocolate chips, topped with real maple syrup and sliced peaches. French press coffee with soy milk on the side. Um, yum.

So how was your weekend?