Shopping – College Admission at Loyola

Moms Weekend

By | November 11, 2013

As a senior in college you begin to cherish the time that you still have as an undergrad. My roommates and I realize that we may be living in completely separate parts of the country at this time next year. This has helped us to use our time wisely and do really fun things. One of the fun things that we decided to do this fall was have a “Moms Weekend”. So we all invited our moms out to Chicago to spend the weekend together playing games, shopping, and eating.

For most of the weekend we kept our schedules open and played everything by ear. However the one thing that we did plan was a Paint Nite. This is a two hour long event during which we arrived at a local bar (the event travels to a different bar each night), and were provided with a blank canvas, paint, brushes, and an instructor. The painting for the night was of big flower and essentially we were all expected to paint the same flower. As you can see from the picture below, we had some rebels in our group and our flowers turned out to be pretty different from each others.

It was such a fun event and the rest of the weekend followed suit. We went out to dinner, went shopping, and played a lot of games in our apartment. Sadly the weekend had to come to an end and it is once again Sunday. Surprisingly there is only two and a half weeks until Thanksgiving break, and then only once week until finals week! Time flies when you’re having fun!

A Weekend of Visitors

By | September 21, 2012

As if I wasn’t happy enough living in downtown Chicago and eating three Sprinkle’s cupcakes a day (joking… but it’s possible), my friends from home came to visit me last weekend! We had been planning this trip all summer, and the weekend had finally come. My one friend came from her college in Pennsylvania, and my other one came from just down the street- Columbia College of Chicago.

We picked up my friend from the Megabus at midnight Friday. The Megabus is the best. It’s how I go home to Cleveland because it’s very cheap and very convenient. If you book the bus as soon as the date is available for booking, its as cheap as one dollar! The maximum it can go up to is forty two dollars, so the max round trip is only eighty four! That’s my random tangent about the Megabus, but seriously, its a great deal!

Anyways, Friday night we stayed at my place, Baumhart Hall. I was excited to show it off to my friends, and they were certainly impressed. It was great that we stayed here because it is so close to Michigan Avenue, and we had a long day of shopping the next morning.

On Saturday, we went to a great breakfast place off of State Street called Tempo. Afterwards, we shopped on Michigan Avenue. Both of my friends are familiar with Chicago, so we didn’t do much sightseeing. We also went to Sprinkles and said the secret word to get a free cupcake! You have to follow Sprinkles on Twitter or friend them on Facebook, and there is a few secret words a day that you have to say to the cashier to get your free cupcake. It’s pretty cool for a cupcake enthusiast on a budget like me!

Saturday night we took the Metra to Tinley Park to see our favorite singer, Jason Mraz. This was my third time seeing him (I’m a superfan) and this concert was the best one yet. We had lawn seats, but we had a pretty good view and it was the perfect night for a concert.

My friend left the next day, but even though the stay was short, it was definitely a lot of fun. One of my favorite things is having visitors. I love showing off Chicago and Loyola to friends and family, and I always encourage everyone to make the trip out here. The school and city both have so much to offer, and I love that my visitors get to experience what I experience daily!

Another Reason to Shop at H&M

By | February 23, 2012

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?

Twilight, 2011 Lights Festival and Birthday Fun!

By | November 19, 2011

Every November Chicago’s Lights Festival parades down the Mag Mile to ring in the holiday. Conveniently, the parade has always fallen on my birthday weekend. I was especially anxious to commence this weekend’s activities since I had 3 papers due consecutively Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!

As I’m sure you’re all aware, this was also the opening weekend for Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Don’t judge me!) Friday, my friends and I decided to go to dinner at the Grand Lux Café. It’s basically the same thing as The Cheesecake Factory, except it’s on the corner of Michigan and Ontario, and has an awesome view of the city. The best part of dinner was sharing a basket of beignets for dessert (fried dough rolled in powder sugar with chocolate sauce on the side— yes, please!)

Following dinner, we then headed over to River East 21 to catch the movie. I’m still not sure how I feel about it…

Saturday, my friend and I decided to hit up some vintage thrift stores in Andersonville. One really cool store is the Woolly Mammoth. Its more oddities and weird art collaborations, but they have vintage stuff too. They also have a taxidermy section, but it’s not all that creepy since they as they dress the animals up. One of the deer heads on the wall was wearing a tie and glasses! It’s definitely worth checking out.

Saturday evening was the parade. My friends and I basically missed the beginning as we were stuck under Michigan Ave. trying to find stairs that were not blocked off. After heading north a couple of blocks, we successfully managed to get street level, just in time to catch Mickey waving to the crowds.

All in all, it was a fun weekend!

All photos by: Raven Icaza

Surprise!

By | November 17, 2011

Last Friday night, after a long shift babysitting, I was exhausted from the week and was glad to finally have the chance to lay down and watch some TV. I was in my friends apartment watching “The Grinch” when all of a sudden I had people jumping on me!

It turned out to be three of my best friends from home who came to Chicago to surprise me for my birthday! I had no idea they were coming so when I realized who it was that was jumping on me I was pretty much speechless. It was great timing because another friend, Tyler, was in town for a Skrillex concert. And his dad has an awesome apartment right down on Michigan Ave where we got to hang out Friday night. His dad’s apartment is on the 13th floor and has a balcony! Being in the middle of downtown Chicago on a balcony at night is an amazing experience. All of the lights and city noises made me feel like I was in a movie. I loved it!

I wasn’t sure how my friends managed to surprise me, but apparently they had been in contact with my roommate for weeks. Even though they all go to different colleges they were able to meet up in Michigan City, Indiana and take the Metra all the way into the city for only $8.50! My roommate even told them how to take the ‘L’ up to Loyola. Once they got downtown, they easily made it to my room without me ever expecting it.

Saturday we woke up and went downtown to shop. We ate at a great food court in the Water Tower mall called Food Life for lunch and had Giordano’s pizza for dinner. Yum!

The best part about our Saturday shopping trip was that I got to see the Occupy Chicago protesters for the first time. I have to be honest, they were not as big and noticeable as I expected them to be. I did not even see them until my friend pointed them out as we walked by. Their message Saturday was that “Occupy Chicago stands behind Egypt.” Even though they were not the big presence I was expecting, it was still cool to see protesters for such a big movement in person.

The Occupy Chicago movement on Saturday, November 12

Getting around the city with my friends was so easy with Chicago’s public transportation. I had the season pass (called the Upass) that Loyola provides for their students. And my friends each paid under $15 for a weekend pass. Once we had our passes in hand we were off to explore and conquer the city.

It was a great weekend. With the holiday parade this just around the corner and Thanksgiving break next week, it is shaping up to be a great November.

A Little About Me

By | November 3, 2011

Hey everyone! My name’s Kaia and I am a sophomore here at Loyola. I’m from a small town about fifteen minutes out of Cleveland, Ohio. By small, I mean graduated from high school with 60 kids small. I would see the same people every day, from kindergarten all the way to twelfth grade. You could say it was quite the transition when I came to Loyola and saw hundreds of new faces every day!

I’m planning to get my bachelor’s degree in Social Work with a minor in Psychology. I hope to go on to law school and become some kind of child advocacy attorney or divorce attorney.

I am absolutely obsessed with the city of Chicago. How awesome to spend your college years in one of the greatest cities in America? You are never at a loss for things to do! I’m not gonna lie… I can definitely do some damage on Michigan Avenue. It’s fantastic for my wardrobe, but not so much for my wallet…

Other than shopping, I love sports, specifically Cleveland sports. The Cavs are my absolute favorite, but unfortunately the NBA lockout is keeping them from me right now, and to say I’m a little sad is an understatement. I’m slowly getting converted into a Chicago sports fan, though.

I also am a huge foodie; I’d go out to eat every day if I could. Two of my Chicago faves would have to be Giordano’s pizza and a small restaurant a block from my residence hall, Thai Grill. Delicious!

I love to volunteer, as well. I currently volunteer with developmentally disabled adults as well as at risk students in the inner city. It’s incredibly rewarding and a great experience!

So that’s a little about me… I’m loving Loyola and the city of Chicago, and it can only get better!