{Book Review} Unbroken

Summary [no spoilers!] - Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, is a true(!) story about Olympic runner and WWII vet Louie Zamperini.  After his bid in the 1936 Olympics, Zamperini was drafted into the Army Air Force and became a bombardier based in Hawaii.  In 1943, Zamperini's plane goes down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and from that point on his life would never be the same.  (Obviously a detailed summary... #sarcasm.)

Pros - First of all, this is the first Laura Hillenbrand book that I have read and I must say that I am quite the fan of her writing style.  This story contains many, many characters and many, many backstories.  Hillenbrand avoids creating confusion by distinguishing each person distinctly so the readers can keep the story straight.  

Also, just the story line itself.  It's intense, insane and definitely eye-opening.  I learned a ton about the United States military system, WWII and human nature and instinct.  

I was engaged through the entire book (I read it in less than a week!).  I never had to take a break because the book was moving too slowly or I was bored with it.  It was more like I had to find out what was going to happen next.

Cons - At some points, the torture that Louie and the other POWs go through was so brutal that I was literally cringing and had tears in my eyes.  The language isn't always the best either.  However, this is a true story and the things that happened were real things.  Expect it to be raw and real.  Just a warning.  

Meaningful Quote - “Without dignity, identity is erased. In its absence, men are defined not by themselves, but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live.” 

Final Thoughts  - I finished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand a few days ago, and I'm still thinking about it.  A lot.  I can't put my finger on exactly what made it stick in my mind.  The way that the story flowed together so perfectly?  Maybe.  The insane torture that the POWs went through? Likely.  The determination, strength, and courage that those men showed? Possibly. A combination of all of those things? That's what I'm thinking.

Unbroken is by far one of my favorite books that I've ever read.  I was hesitant at first to dive in as I'm not a huge war novel fan.  However, this book is more than just a gory war novel.  It has definite meaning and, speaking for myself, has been a huge inspiration.

4.9/5 stars from me!

Have you read Unbroken? What did you think?

If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? Go read!

Chicago + Food

Chicago + Food = so many things.  An empty wallet, a full waistband, and extremely happy tastebuds just to name a few.  So thanks to nearly three days spent in the Windy City, I have plenty of waist expanding, wallet emptying, tastebud watering Chicago food stories for you.

Friday, 6/13: Lunch @ Cafecito - Getting into the city later in the afternoon meant we had lunch at 3:30.  I found a Cuban restaurant within walking distance from our hotel that had great reviews.  The reviews didn't lie; the food was fantastic! 

At Cafecito I ordered the "Exotica Salad" one of their specials for the day.  The salad had shrimp, avocado, corn, red onions, heart of palm and probably something else that I'm missing.  Topped off with a lemon vinaigrette, the flavor was totally unique and so delicious. 

Friday, 6/13: Dinner @ Giordano's - Since we had eaten lunch so late, we figured that the lines at Giordano's might be a tad shorter if we went a bit later.  We were so wrong.  After waiting about 50 minutes to be seated, we waited another hour for our pizza to come. To say that I devoured my food would be an understatement. 

We had the Chicago Style pizza which had green peppers, onions, and once again, some other stuff that I don't remember.  However, although it was good, I must say that "Chicago's best pizza" wasn't really my favorite.  Lou Malnati's takes top honors from me!

Saturday, 6/14: Brunch @ The Bongo Room - This was a late breakfast as we slept in a little bit so when we arrived at here, we found ourselves waiting nearly 45 minutes again.  Once again though, the reviews nailed it (Thanks, Yelp!). The food was so unique and delicious.  

My mom and I both ordered a dish to split with the other.  Her choice was the vegetarian croissant sandwich.  It was pretty darn great, however, the star of the show here are the potatoes.  Do you see those things? Just average breakfast potatoes, right? Wrong!  I can't even explain them but they were beyond amazing.  If you ever find yourself in Chicago around breakfast time, you know what I'm recommending!  

My choice to split was the Citrus Gingersnap Pancakes. They sounded so unique, I couldn't not order them.  OH. MY. GOSH. You guys, just look at them!  So, so, so, so good! You don't know how hard it was to take a picture before digging in.  Just . . .wow. 

Saturday, 6/14: Dinner @ Medici's - I don't have pictures of anything from this Hyde Park restaurant, but I'll leave my comments.  I ordered a summer salad and split that with my mom's California wrap.  The food was good, not great.  The smoothie that I had ordered with the rest of the drinks came after we had gotten our food by about 15 minutes and after everyone else's shakes by about 25 minutes.  They are really known for their pizza, however.  We didn't try any of that, but it looked pretty good! 

Sunday, 6/15: Brunch @ Yolk - I didn't get any pictures of the food, but I'll recommend the salmon scramble to you! Super delicious - especially if you top it with the capers that come on the side.  

After eating here, I was so full.  We walked it off by strolling down Navy Pier which was right down the street.  

And that's the end of my Chicago food stories! Just looking at all of the pictures (especially those pancakes!) make me want to hop in the car and head back.

Have you ever eaten at any of these places? What did you think? 

What are some of your favorite Chi-town restaurants? 

P.S. Check out my new signature! Yay or nay? 

Six Times That Pinterest Nailed It

Ahhh, Pinterest.  It's the #1 thing that helps me procrastinate but it's just so darn useful at the same time. Thanks to said magical world inside of the internet, I have baked delicious pumpkin bread, discovered the Color Run and found a place to order mounted stuffed animal heads (I'm still trying to figure that one out too . . .).

However, there are just some times that Pinterest absolutely nails it.  For proof, just keep scrolling (and reading of course).

I made this by myself and I'm really proud of it.

1) When Pinterest accurately describes how post-vacation life works for me.  Once I bought new deodorant because I had lost mine only to find out it was at the bottom of the suitcase that I had been in the process of unpacking for a solid month and a half.  Yep. Nailed it.  

2) When Pinterest brings back memories of the nightmarish months that led up to my middle school science fairs.  Nailed it. 

3) Just cross out tacos and insert brownies, shakes, pies, cupcakes and whatever other sugary substance comes to mind. Unless it's watermelon Oreos because those are just nasty.  Nailed it.  

4) When the pandas know what's up.  Nailed it.  

5) When Pinterest understands my vampire problems.  #WhiteGirl. Nailed it.  

6) You know that you want a card like this.  Nailed it.  

Does Pinterest nail it for you? 

Love, 

Allison

P.S. find all of these on my Pinterest boards! 

Graduation Crasher

This weekend I gained a new title.  Get ready for this, it's a good one:  Graduation Crasher.  Allow me to explain.

Yesterday I got home from a great family weekend in Chicago where we did a ton of eating, walking, more eating, more walking and even more eating.  On Saturday, we figured out the Metra train system just in time to catch the next departure to Hyde Park.

For those of you who don't know, Hyde Park is home to the prestigious University of Chicago-my dream college-and I was beyond anxious to check out the gorgeous campus. However, campus was a little occupied. . .

Occupied by hundreds of graduates and their hundreds and hundreds of closest family, friends and whoever else attends graduations, that is.  But if you thought that that would stop me from taking a self guided tour, then you're wrong.

Between the collared shirts and summery dresses, my family and I, in our jeans and tank tops, stuck out like random tourists at a graduation ceremony . . . oh wait, we were.  We didn't let it bother us though, greeting the weird glances with smiles and even making use of the water station set up for the graduation attendees like we belonged.  We tried to avoid being in the way of people who obviously had better reason to be on campus than we did, but I'm sure a few lucky people will find a random family dressed in street clothes hanging out in the background of their pictures.

Even though I didn't get to see campus as I had hoped, I did get a great story out of it.  And further confirmation that Hogwarts the University of Chicago is the place I want to be.

Any party crashing stories?

Love,
Allison