For mom

I promised pics of the new haircut. Notice the bangs, and if you look closely...some blonde :) Note: taking pictures of yourself with your laptop camera is awkward.

the wonders of the Netty Pot

Last night at the BBQ, I learned about the wonders of the Netty Pot. Kate is a firm believer and she schooled Tim, Nadia and I on how to use one and the benefits of cleaning out your sinuses. She even broke out her personal netty and demonstrated...well, not completely. We now have plans for some netty pot usage while in the back of Nadia's party mini-van.

Mid-week activity

Mid-week social activity is extremely rare for me. Because I'm a commuter, I often come home and don't have the energy to go back out. Well last night I went to my friend Kate's BBQ, mainly because I knew I'd be working from home today. But I have to say, I got home around 11pm last night, and I still was able to wake up at a decent time this morning. I'm noticing that recently I need less sleep than I used to to be functional, and this makes me very happy!

Forced to see 'Sex'?

Sex and the City comes out on Friday...and, yes, I'm gonna see it. But probably not opening weekend because it will most definitely be sold out. If it wasn't Carrie Bradshaw, in all honesty, I probably would pass...I hate chick flicks. But I have a history with Carrie Bradshaw, and so I'm going to make an exception. So like I do with any movie I'm interested in, I looked up the film on IMDB to read the threads and maybe learn a little bit about some behind the scenes or production info.

Instead I found a thread about men being forced to see the movie...haha! For some reason, I couldn't open it but it got me thinking about the idea of boyfriends being forced to watch a movie they really don't want to see. How does this happen? Do these guys not have the ability to say "no, I'm not really into seeing that movie." That's what I said when Transformers and Indiana Jones came out. It's not hard. And anyways, for the girls doing the forcing..why? Don't you have girlfriends for these sort of occasions?

Memorial Weekend

It was a very busy long weekend indeed.
Friday started out strong with a show at Subterranean where Tim and I met up with Anna Maria to see Colour Revolt. The band members are old friends of hers from college (they were actually the house boys at her sorority). The band was great, with very strong guitars and vocals. They blew away Snowden, who was the headliner. They really sucked, to put it bluntly.

Saturday morning we headed to the Green City Market to enjoy some fresh air and fresh produce. We got here pretty late so everything was picked over. But it was nice just to be outside. Later that night we ate at Rock Bottom Brewery to celebrate Tim's friend Lance's b-day. Tim, Tom, and I eventually broke away from the group and continued having drinks at the Clark Street Bar.

Sunday afternoon we finally saw Iron Man. Overall I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was well done and well acted. Jeff Bridges as the villain was brilliant. With his bald head and beard, he looked like he was plucked straight from the comic books. There was rarely a corny moment of dialog (which is sometimes rare with comic book movies). The things I didn't like were: Tony Stark's character in the beginning. I guess I'm just used to humble comic heroes. He was totally unrelatable to me, which I guess is why I wasn't feeling the movie at first. For me the movie picked up when he became Iron Man the first time. But I also didn't like the scenes that involved the Taliban-like group. Those scenes just seemed a little too real, like the scene where the family is getting separated by gun point and the father almost dies in front of his kid. Guess that wasn't the type of seriousness I thought I was getting myself into with this summer flick. But the more I thought about the movie as a whole, the more I liked it. That said...it's no Batman. :)

Sunday night we made empanadas from my mom's recipe. They turned out surprisingly well considering that I couldn't get the dough disks to roll out like my mom does. So our empanadas came out a little smaller than normal, but they were still delicious. I'll have to ask my mom for help with those disks when she comes to visit next month. To accompany the empanadas, Tim and I enjoyed some Cuba Libres...mmm.

Today involved a lot of exercise walking along Michigan Ave in search of work clothes for Tim. We walked along almost the entire stretch of the city...starting out near the Sears Tower, stopping for lunch at Millennium Park, then continuing shopping near the Water Tower.

I'm sad to see the weekend come to end, but since I'm working from home again on Wednesday, it's not so bad.

Urban Lift

My hair's been lookin' a little boring lately. I was going with the angled bob for a while, but all it took was seeing one soccer mom out in the 'burbs with my haircut for me to want my long hair back...stat. But I still needed to do something so it's not just sitting there. So I looked up salons on Yelp and found a highly rated place right down the street! Plus they were able to see me in a hour. This was awesome to me because I'm no good at planning a haircut 3 weeks in advance.

The salon is called Urban Lift. I when I walked in I noticed how small the place was, and how friendly all the stylists were with eachother....joking around, grabbing lunch for eachother, etc. It had a really cool vibe. The owner is right there with the junior stylist cutting hair and interacting with customers. I got my hair cut by Natalie, and she was great. She made sure she knew exactly what I wanted before even shampooing my hair. She took my picture of Ashley Simpson and explained how the cut would work on me...how it work with my face, etc. She was very careful with the cut, talking to me step by step to make sure I was happy. Plus she was easy to talk too and friendly. PLUS, i got a 20% discount for being a first time client, in addition to another 10% discount because Natalie is a junior stylist (from Aveda). To top everything off, she told I can get free bang trims whenever I need it. Yay for finding a hairstylist within walking distance! :)

I recommend this place to everyone I know in Chicago. My total came to $35. And guy cuts start at $35. Not bad at all.

more spring pics

daydreaming

Do you ever just want to quit your job and work at Starbucks full-time?

Flight 180

I'm working at home today...sitting in my dining room, working and looking out the window. On days like this I'm holed up in my apartment working for about 10-12 hours. My hair a mess, my teeth unbrushed, wearing sweats. These days are both lonely and extremely productive. If my boss only knew how much more work I get done from home.

Anyways, this song came on my playlist and reminded me how great it is. It's Flight 180 by the band Bishop Allen. I love the lyrics of this song and because I fly home a lot and live far away from my friends, i feel a connection to the lyrics. Anyways, just thought I'd share for anyone who hasn't heard the song. I also love their song, Corazon. It's about a stranded piano left outside a music classroom. The song always reminds me of my friend Brad.

A Day at "Sea"

We finally did the architecture boat tour that runs along the Chicago River through the heart of downtown. Lee, Sarah, Tim and I got very lucky with the sunniest day in a while and beautiful weather...I even got a sunburn! The tour was great, our guide knew everything about Chicago architecture, and we got complimentary muffins, lemonade, and cookies.

Tips & Tricks...For Hungry Chicks

My co-worker came into my office this morning all jumping for joy over this recipe book she bought called Hungry Girl. There's a corresponding website (which is more my style) with healthy recipes, tips, and the cutest illustrations. My favorite tab is "Chew the Right Thing" where she compares two different versions of a dessert or entree. She shows how you can make a delicious dessert healthy (bite it vs. fight it). The recipes sound yum.

Real Relief?

The day has come. Gas prices in Chicago have reached over $4 a gallon...and for the first time, I'm scared. I honestly didn't think this would happen. It frightens me to think that there seems to be no end in sight for how high we will see these prices rise. It blows my mind that, with gas costing $4.20 in some parts of town, it is still cheaper for me to drive 40+ miles a day than to take public transportation! Somethings gotta give, right?!

Well, finally, something is happening to really help relieve us commuters of this increasing adjustment to our budget. I'm talking to our HR woman tomorrow to see if this is something my company would consider. If they did, I'd be riding the train everyday.

What if your employer paid for you to ride to work on the CTA or Metra?

News Flash! Kanye West is full of himself

But it makes me laugh :) Could I get just a small percentage of this man's confidence? Wow. I like that he says he makes art. He makes catchy pop/rap songs that are great for blasting in your car, but fall far short on any lyrical genius. Am I right?

Read the Stereogum article here.

Moments of Clarity

I just learned that something I was really hoping would work out for me, didn't. Instead of getting down on myself, like I so often do, I've decided instead to focus on other parts of my life. This one piece of the pie is really not the most important piece. I know what I'm capable of and someday those capabilities will work out for me. Until then, I'm going to be happy, not negative, and I'm not going to let this define me.

*********

Thank you Lee for inviting me over for Sunday afternoon margaritas. I have a feeling that drink of choice was destined to help me reach this moment of clarity.

really?

Is Sarah Jessica Parker really that unattractive? Last night I was informed that she was #1 on Maxim's top 5 unsexiest women in Hollywood. First of all, that kind of list is just rude...second of all, isn't Rosie O'Donnell in Hollywood? :\

I like Parker's looks. Granted all the the looks she's got are the result of her being successful in Hollywood and having amazing clothes picked out for her, a great hair stylist, and probably a live-in personal trainer. But seriously...she's seems like she's got such a cool personality.

Yesterday something very scary happened to my friend Olivia while she was at work. She had a severe allergic reaction to the allergy medicine Claritin (ironic). She fainted multiple times, her throat closed up, she broke out into hives, and was rushed to the hospital. Last night she called me around 10pm and told all this had happened to her in the past couple of hours...

Thankfully, I'm not usually on the receiving end of calls like this and the experience made me realize something. Last summer when I was in and out of the hospital, Olivia offered many times to come visit and entertainment me to make the stay a little easier. I would usually decline the offer because I didn't want to burden anyone by me being sick. But last night I realized that when friends offer to do things like this...they really mean it, they want to be a good friend to you, and you are not burdening them. At the same time, after discussing the whole incident over brunch this morning, Olivia said that she now understood why I sometimes wouldn't tell my friends if I was in the hospital...I think it's safe to say that the next time one of us is holed up in the hospital, we'll call each other!

Spring colors

I love all the colors that emerge during this time of the year. Spring is the earth's way of rewarding you for winter. I noticed this tree out in front of our office building. I asked our landscape architect for the name. It's an Eastern Red Bud.

RAAAADDDDIOHEAAAAD!

UPDATE: The rumors are true! On Pitchfork Media they have a list of tour dates showing Radiohead will be playing Lolla on Aug. 1! They have a show in Indiana on Aug. 3. This is very good news :D

The Radiohead concert last night was perfect. Anthony and I had a comfortable spot on the lawn with a great view. The stage set up was beautiful with long, floor to ceiling florescent tubing that provide quite the light show. Behind the band was a horizontal screen with a montage of video footage focused on each band member. With the binoculars Anthony and I shared throughout the show, we had a close up view of Thom York's crazy possessed dance moves. We couldn't help but laugh at his spastic movements.

I kept track of the setlist (yes I'm a dork):
All I Need
Bodysnatchers
There There
Reckoner
The Gloaming
Morning Bell
Nude
15 Step
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Idioteque
Bullet Proof
Where I End And You Begin
Airbag
Everything In It's Right Place
National Anthem
Videotape
Optimistic
Just
Faust Arp
Exit Music for a Film
Bangers & Mash
House of Cards
Fade Out
and How to Disappear Completely was somewhere in there...


They played for 2 hours! I'm so happy I decided to make a trip to FL for this show. I had a great time hanging out with my little bro. The weather was perfect, and I was outdoors watching my favorite band. What else could you ask for? I'm so happy my friends will get the chance to see them at Lolla this year. I've got my fingers crossed that the rumor is true and they will play Friday night.

I found some videos of last nights show on YouTube. Clearly these people had better seats than I. Check out Thom's moves in the first one.

Day 2

Day two of my south Florida vacation included going to the Coral Square mall with my mom to do a little shopping. I got some work clothes and a cute summer dress.

Afterwards we all hoped in the car for a drive to the beach. We drove up the coast from Pompano to Deerfield. Along the way we saw mansions, jet skis, yachts, rollerblades, palm trees, thin tan people, surfers, and lots of flip flops. The ocean was a beautiful blue and the clear sky matched. Why did I move again? ;)

We wrapped up our "joyride" with dinner at Smokey Bones. I had a 7 oz steak...and it was wonderful :)

After dinner my friend Adam came over to pick me up so we could share a few pints at little British pub called The Frog & Toad. They had the best jukebox ever!

Winston & Oreo

Guess which one's Oreo.

home

I'm home in south Florida for a couple days to spend time with the fam and to enjoy the sun. My parents and I went to this awesome little Cuban restaurant called Mangos for dinner. I got the Ropa Vieja (mmm) and we all three shared a piece of Tres Leche. During dinner, my parents helped me plan a menu for an upcoming Cuban dinner party I'd like to throw. Arroz con pollo, tostanos, empanadas, and tres leche. Sorry Tim, my mom suggested not to make ropa vieja because it's kind of complicated :)

After dinner we visited my grandma, Nini. I mentioned that I liked her candy dish and she let me have it. It's a delicate little porcelain vintage dish with flowers and butterflies on it. The kind you could expect to pay about $25 for at Urban Outfitters or Anthropology...

Tomorrow plans include visiting my other grandma, Nana; some shopping with my mom; hopefully a little tanning time (god I'm so pale here); and another delicious dinner out somewhere.

Awesome or Awful?

Ripped from Julia's blog...




Discuss amongst yourselves.

world's biggest dog

photoshop?
I hope so.

So this the Miley Cyrus picture I keep hearing about ad nauseum? Um ok, is it really a big deal? To me it looks like a Caravaggio painting...the way the fabric is draped, her bare back, the lighting. She's only 15 but she sure doesn't look it. I do wonder one thing...Why was this the way Annie Lebowitz decided to portray her? She looks kind of greasy and not her usual young, fresh self. I feel like Cyrus was probably intimidated into taking these photos. Annie Lebowitz is kind of a big deal.

Hey, at least she wasn't photographed bare back, awkwardly hunched over, and wearing jean shorts.