Tag: Baumhart

My New Home for the Year

My New Home for the Year

This is the view from my bedroom!

This year I will be living in Baumhart Hall, which is located at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower campus. It is my first time living in this residence hall, so I am excited to see how different the dynamic will be from living on the Lake Shore campus for two years.

Baumhart Hall is apartment style housing, just like Fordham Hall on the Lake Shore campus. This allows me to cook for myself again with a fully furnished kitchen and dining area! I cannot wait to try more of my mother’s recipes this year! I am living with one other person this year in a double, but Baumhart houses quads and singles as well.

Living on Water Tower campus also allows me to take more classes required for my journalism major. The School of Communication is right across the street! It will save me ample travel time as well as give me more opportunities to get to know my professors down here better. I am still taking two courses at Lake Shore, so the shuttle service will be just as convenient, along with the train and the bus stops that are nearby.

My favorite grocery stores, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, are only a couple blocks away, along with Argo Tea and other ample eateries too. There are so many new places for me to explore while I am living down here by just walking around!

Living in this new environment will definitely help with my growth as a third year student at Loyola. I am excited and prepared to see what else is in store for me this year!

Reason I Love Chicago #3: Celebrity Sightings

Reason I Love Chicago #3: Celebrity Sightings

I’ve lived downtown in Loyola’s Baumhart residence hall for almost nine months now. I have loved being on the Water Tower Campus right in the heart of the best city in the world.

There are always glamorous people around and fun things going on downtown. Yesterday, however, I had my first celebrity siting EVER– some friends and I casually bumped into actor Vince Vaughn and his family strolling down Michigan Avenue late Saturday morning.

I am embarrassed to say that I was more than a little starstruck. A friend and I were mid-conversation when I saw him and his wife pushing a stroller. My first thought was “hey, that guy looks an awful lot like Vince Vaughn.” It took me half a second to realize it was actually him, at which point I punched my friend in the arm, pointed and stared.

I did probably the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to do when you want to remain cool in front of somebody famous. We made eye contact, he saw me gawking and uttered a casual “Hey, how ya doing,” and continued walking. The poor man probably can’t even walk down the street with his wife and child without being gawked at, and I just made it worse. I felt terrible!

Vince pictured with Reese Witherspoon in the movie Four Christmases. What a stud! (Photo via TRF_Mr_Hyde/Flickr)

Junior Housing= Downtown Living

Junior Housing= Downtown Living

I’m currently trying to find housing for next year.  I thought it would be tough being abroad, but that is not the case at all. Loyola’s ResLife has helped me a lot through this process, and thankfully, I have gotten the housing I want for next year!

It was a big debate on whether I would live on campus or off campus.  I know a lot of my friends wanted to live off campus, but I actually had no problem living on campus.  I have always wanted to live downtown, so I decided to try and get into the amazing residence hall off of Michigan Avenue, Baumhart.

I applied for housing late, as I thought I was going to get an apartment.  I talked to Reslife and they told me there was a waiting list of about 1oo people.  It seemed hopeless, but I got an email from the director of ResLife today who told me I definitely got in and would be getting my living arrangement Friday.

I am so thankful that I got into Baumhart for next semester.  Baumhart is a beautiful high rise building, just steps away from Water Tower Place and all of Mag Mile.  It has a dining hall in the building, as well as the library right across the street.  I’m grateful because all of my classes are downtown next semester, so being right across the street is very convenient.

This news made my day, so I had to blog about it.  This has made me so much more excited for next year and very grateful for ResLife!

Busy Days in the Windy City

Busy Days in the Windy City

It’s crunch time here at Loyola, time to begin the countdown to the final weeks of the semester. I’ve been super busy with school and running around trying to get things done before heading home for a quick Easter trip. I’ve been working, fundraising for my mission trip that I’m taking in May, completing assignments, taking exams in my classes and trying to plan out my class schedule for next semester.

I’ve also been working on plans with a few friends to live in an apartment off campus together for the next school year. At Loyola, students are required to live in campus residence halls for their first two years, so next year will be my first opportunity to move off campus and get my own place! I’m super stoked!

I’m going to miss living on the Water Tower Campus in Baumhart, but it will be nice to move back up north and be a part of the beautiful Lake Shore Campus again. My future roommates and I have been conversing with a potential landlord about leases and credit checks and adult stuff that I know nothing about. It’s definitely been a learning experience. I think we’re on the right track so far to move in to a place on the south side of campus near the Granville Red Line station, Metropolis Coffee and Pete’s Pizza. Can’t wait! Cross your fingers for me that everything goes as planned!

I was able to take a break from crossing things off my to-do list this weekend to see some awesome concerts with some awesome people. On Friday, I had plans to meet up with some friends from Illinois Statue University and Northwestern University to see a show by a band called Lovedrug. On Friday afternoon before the show, I knew the band was scheduled to do an interview with Fearless Radio, a really cool internet radio station in Chicago. I tuned in to the interview and actually tweeted to both the band and the radio station on Twitter— and the band gave me a shootout on the radio! I was ecstatic! The concert was later that evening at the Beat Kitchen on Belmont, a venue that I had never been to before. It was pretty small— more like a bar or a restaurant— but it was so intimate that I was able to walk right up and meet the band right after the show. Very cool!

We were able to get right up against the stage for the show at the Beat Kitchen. This is my friend Evan just before Lovedrug is about to start their set; as you can see he’s super excited to be so close!—

Saturday night I saw a little bit bigger of a show at the Riviera Theatre. One of my favorite bands, Needtobreathe, played a sold out show, and it was awesome! It was PACKED, but the energy in the place was really cool. Needtobreathe was so great live. And I always love shows at the Riviera!

My friend Erin and I at the venue after the show!—

Another Reason to Shop at H&M

Another Reason to Shop at H&M

I’ve been super busy as of late, especially with upcoming midterms and papers.  All this chaos calls for some stress free activities– like shopping!  Weeknights are optimal for retail therapy as there aren’t as many shoppers out and about.  The weekend can get absolutely crazy and it really detracts from experience.

Tonight I dropped in H&M, a short walk from Baumhart, to escape the slightly crazy day I’ve had.  After finding some seriously cute pants that I decided I couldn’t live without, I made my way to the cashier.  I would have been satisfied with just my pants, but what happened next will definitely bring me back to H&M soon.  The cashier handed me the coolest bag ever with David Beckham‘s picture on it!

Some call the David Beckham campaign at H&M a little scandalous.  I prefer artistic.  What do you think?