BCBG: Bonne Caroline, Bonne Gamine

Envieux Style Update!

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Back in October, I was super excited to go to another fashion show for which my friend Christianne Lefebvre, of Envieux Style, was the stylist. Just as expected from her first show, it was a huge hit. I was in love with nearly all of the looks (there are some looks that I would never in a million years look good in so I'll just leave those out, haha).

Apparently, I wasn't the only one impressed by Steve Curd's designs for Garic Stephens. This follow-up article by Chicago Racked has some great photography and amazing praise for the collection that was shown at Lumen, in Chicago's West Loop.

Simply put, I couldn't get enough of the patterns on both the men and the women. Also, the cut of the clothes was both vintage and forward-looking at the same time. I was so proud that these fashions all came from one of Chicago's own.

Many of the outfits seemed 70s inspired, which was fine by me. But there weren't any bell-bottoms in this show (thank God). The colors were earthy and the prints were large. There were some very interesting and androgynous silhouettes for both the male and female models, which made this show extremely interesting and more than satisfying.

I'll let you enjoy the rest of the photos that I managed to snap during the event. He does tailor to clients but his designs are not located in any boutiques at this time. To get in touch, the best way I know how is to use his Facebook page: Garic Stephens

For wardrobe consulting and a personal shopping expert, be sure to contact Christianne at http://www.envieuxstyle.com/.

I Love Chromeo

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

So back in October, I snagged some Chromeo tickets from Gilt City and it turned out to be one of the best concerts I've seen in a long time. Sure, Lollapalooza was awesome. And I'm sure Coachella 2012 is going to kick ass (tickets on sale tomorrow 10AM PST!!!). But Chromeo rocked my world for 2+ hours and I just want to say that, if you want to go to a show where you're guaranteed a sweaty, 80s-inspired time with talk box and some sexy French Canadian dudes, you should buy Chromeo tickets without hesitation. Their songs make you want to get on your feet and stay there "night by night". They also open the show with en epilepsy-inducing light show. Don't believe me? Check out this video taken the night after my concert at the House of Blues:

Let's just say that I hope Chromeo come back every year cuz I will keep going back! Satisfaction guaranteed!

I Love Foster the People and the Do Good Bus!

2011-11-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

Back in October, I took a day off to volunteer with the Do Good Bus, an awesome nonprofit that toured the US along with the band, Foster the People. The bus was the brainchild of Rebecca Pontius and friends. Rebecca is not only a friend of my good friend Rachel, she is also the sister of FTP's drummer!

I met the bus at noon in front of the Riv Theater in Chicago, where FTP would be performing later that night. There were about 20 of us altogether on the bus and we set off for an unknown destination for a few hours of volunteering and general "doing good". When we stopped, we were at the Gaia Movement, a nonprofit that collects used clothing, toys, and other goods for people in need.

The nonprofit was located in the South Side of Chicago and when we arrived, we were met by some pretty awesome employees. They assigned us to a few different tasks. I was sorting through books, putting them in piles to throw away, keep for kids, or keep for adults. There were some pretty funny romance book titles that we saved for the ladies who love to read them. And we had to throw out most of the encyclopedias because those things are just too outdated!

The other volunteers sorted through some toys and cleaned them up in preparation for Christmas. And some worked int he community garden they were planning on setting up in the back of the building. They did a lot of work! It looked great by the end of the day.

When we finally arrived back at the Riv after our few quick hours of work, we were greeted by the members of Foster the People, which was a really cool treat! Mark Foster, Mark Pontius, and Cubbie Fink all came out for a few minutes to take pictures and chat before their show.

I also met some great people on the bus, one of whom had an extra ticket for the concert that night (for $80 I could have bought one online but that was way too expensive, so luckily I only got to pay face value!) I met up with the people from the bus for the show and we rocked out to The Cults, (we missed Reptar), and an awesome set by FTP. They performed their entire album plus debuted another couple of songs.

Basically, it was a super day and we were able to do good in the process! What's cooler than that?

I Love Two With Water

2011-11-20T12:34:00.001-06:00

Back in November, my friend Delphine Pontvieux invited me to a book reading in which she would be participating. I had already read her book (and LOVED it) so I thought, "What the heck. Let's do this!" Coincidentally (serendipitously?) the reading was hosted by the "Two With Water" group that one of my Boston University friends has been inviting me to for years!

I'm not sure why I never went to one of the readings before. I guess it was a fear of the unknown and a general lack of interest. But now I'm kicking myself. The event was really fun and intellectually stimulating.

It was held at Chicago's Beauty Bar on a Sunday night and it was a free event. The other readers had some really great short stories. One guy shared a story he had written without using any adjectives. I was riveted.

Another girl wrote a story about meeting Bob Marley in his hospital room as he passed away from cancer. Sad, strange, and oddly addictive. I didn't want her story to end!

There was a great open mic performance by a rapper as well. I'm not much of a prolific writer but this series makes me want to bust out my paper, pens (old school!) and put my thoughts down. Could this be my 2012 goal? Get my butt in gear to present a story at the TWW Reading Series! The next one is January 22nd. Anyone want to come with me?

I Love Downtown Dash

2011-11-20T12:24:00.001-06:00

Wow I cannot believe I haven't uploaded this blog post yet! Well, I have to share my experience doing the Downtown Dash on 9/10/11, sponsored by ING Direct. It's where I met my LOVELY partner, DuShaun Branch, and had a great but exhausting time traipsing around Chicago on a social media scavenger hunt!

The event began long before 9/10/11. DuShaun and I met through Twitter (the best place to meet new friends if you ask me!) She is a kindred spirit, one of the nicest people I've ever met, and had a GREAT competitive attitude on the day of the event! Luckily, for two people who barely knew each other, we worked really well together. So before the hunt began, we had some preliminary challenges to get through together and we did all of them. They included:

ING DIRECT Challenge (Check in at ING DIRECT Café)

Equinox Fitness Clubs Three-Day Challenge (3-day intensive gym membership at the NICEST gym in Chicago!)

Metropolis Coffee Challenge (We went to the King Cafe in the Gold Coast shops)

SKo-Fit Challenge (Involved going to the Green City Market and buying any prepared food item that uses at least 3 ingredients from the farmers’ market. I had an amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwich)

Eventbrite “The Event of Your Dreams” Video Challenge

Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen (Visit either of the two Dawali restaurant locations)

Culture Truck (Visit the Culture yogurt food truck)

We won for our video and are currently in the process of planning our Marilyn Monroe event!

Now, only 2 of these challenges had to be completed, but we did them ALL!!!! And it was difficult but really fun to get to see new places in Chicago that I'd been meaning to go to all along!

On the day of the event, DuShaun and I met at the ING Direct Cafe dressed in our matching T-shirts, purchased at Strange Cargo (thank you!) and black leggings. We had also drawn on fake Marilyn Monroe moles and wore bright red lipstick. We had some lavish cubic zirconias to wear for the woman who said that "diamonds are a girl's best friend".

It was a bit hectic but, due to the fact that we completed the pre-event challenges, we got to leave with a 10 minute head start. We were given an envelope of clues, so we immediately found a table outside where we could come up with our game plan. It was clear that the 4 hours to complete the scavenger hunt might not be enough. But we were determined to get to as many places as we could!

Unfortunately, I don't quite remember the exact order of places we went. I'm pretty sure we started off by going as far away as we could so that we could work our way back toward the final destination:

Public House.

So first we started at the Equinox gym in the Loop. We had to do some "strenuous" exercises that turned out to be pretty fun. I almost sweat off all of my makeup! But once we got through that, we high-tailed it over to one of our firehouse destinations to thank the guys for their service and remember the ones we all lost on 9.11.01.

We went to a total of 3 Engine companies that day. All of the firemen were super nice (even when I was really awkward bringing up 9.11). One of the Engine companies (near Water Tower) let us try on their fire fightin' gear and I must say, we looked GOOOOOOOD.

We also got to stand on one of the trucks and that fireman was strong because he lifted me off of the truck! I definitely feel safe in the arms of Chicago's finest.

To get from the West Loop area back to the center of town, we took a Chicago River Boat and asked some people to perform some yoga moves so we could get some extra points!

I also scored the "I'm on a Boat" badge for this Foursquare checkin! Natch!

Our next two stops were the Whiskey Sky Lounge, where we recorded a slightly inappropriate video featuring me as a stripper with black fur handcuffs and DuShaun as a T-Pain troubadour making it rain on my dance moves. See for yourselves:

For this video, we won gift certificates to the Whiskey Sky Lounge at the W Hotel. I can't wait to go back and enjoy a drink at the top of Chicago (without having to wear handcuffs)!

Next, we went over to the Hancock tower to take a picture from each side. Too bad they're pretty shadowy. But we also got some more people to do another yoga pose, including a pregnant woman! That counts for extra points, doesn't it?

Finally, even though we had some extra challenges to complete (like kayaking), we decided to play it safe and head back to the final meeting point so we wouldn't get points deducted for being late. All along the way, we stopped at 7-11s to take pictures with their ATM machines. They all belong to the same network that ING belongs to so we wanted to support our sponsors!

The After Party at Public House was a great place to recap, unwind, and relax. There was some great food (so I hear, I was Dukan-ing at the time) and everyone was really pumped to find out who the winners were.

DuShaun and I were so excited to learn that we won the Eventbrite Challenge. We have a total of $1000 to spend on some very deserving young girls and we'll be planning our party very soon. I'll be sure to post a recap of our Marilyn Monroe themed evening!

The whole experience was really fun, required a ton of energy, and made us love and discover so much about Chicago. I will definitely be signing up for this even again next year, if DuShaun will have me as her partner again!

I Love Prosecco and Popcorn

2011-11-20T10:58:00.001-06:00

A couple of months ago, right before starting the Dukan Diet, I had a last minute diet binge for free at the Music Box Theater in Chicago. The event? A night of Prosecco and popcorn while watching Roman Holiday, one of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies. But this wasn't just any Prosecco and popcorn. The Prosecco was provided by Santa Margherita vineyards and they gave us some mini bottles to try out their wares. It was delicious and intoxicating, literally! The popcorn was also very special because it was prepared with exotic ingredients like truffle oil and parmesan, bacon and caramel, lemon and pepper. All three flavors were amazing and I couldn't get enough. The best part was that before the movie started, Top Chef Season 5 contestant Fabio Viviani was in a little video explaining how to make each type of popcorn. He's adorable and I love his Italian accent. The movie was just as good as I remembered it and it was a great night all around!

I love @ZocDoc and my Healthiest Day!

2011-09-27T22:08:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited to tell you about the amazing Saturday that I just had. It all started back in May when I had to make an appointment at an ENT because of a sore throat. I Googled a new doctor in Chicago and...lo and behold...ZocDoc came up in my search results! The website allowed me to make an appointment online really easily and I've been a fan ever since. I tweeted them right away to let them know how impressed with the service I was. Recently, they chose me as a winner for their healthiest day in Chicago. I could not wait to see what they had in store. So here is what my roommate and I were able to accomplish in pursuit of health and happiness in Chicago on September 24th.

OK so we were supposed to start with breakfast at The Chicago Diner. But sadly, they didn't open until 10AM and we were up and out in Boystown by 8AM. So, instead, we stopped at Saugatuck Coffee across the street! So cute, friendly, and warm. I had my 3rd cup of coffee of the day and Kim enjoyed a chocolate zucchini muffin. It wasn't the healthiest breakfast but it got us ready for yoga at the zoo! (By the way, I had already eaten breakfast at home so that was lucky.)

Next we went to Lincoln Park Zoo for 9AM yoga. I can't even begin to explain how cool this was. The skyline spread out before us and there was a cool breeze and a little mist of rain. We did an hour of Hatha yoga with Julie Snyder of Self Centered Yoga. We stretched and breathed to get us ready for the day.

After yoga, we decided to take a walk through the zoo and visit the Green City Market. Although it was a bit rainy that day, we still had a great time checking out some of the animals. There was a HUGE bunny, some cows getting milked, and some black and white monkeys grooming each other. And at the Green City Market, I picked up a big bag of delicious mushrooms. Excellent!

The Lincoln Park Zoo was so green and lush this time of year!

Fresh produce at the Green City Market

Big bunny and some milked cows!

Monkeys grooming

For lunch, we went over to Wicker Park for some grub at Birchwood Kitchen. The small little shop was another cozy place to get out of the rain and check out their home-cooked goodness. In keeping with the Dukan Diet, I chose the seasonal Green Salad (fresh and pickled vegetables, greens, turkey, and a citrus chive vinaigrette). I also ordered a side of sesame and pepper with eggplant. Everything was yummy. Kim chose the Grilled Goat Cheese sandwich with butternut squash on sourdough bread. It looked amazing! I would love to go back when I'm not on the Dukan Diet so I can order some of the cookies on the front counter. They were gigantic and looked scrumptious.

After lunch, we walked around Lincoln Park for a bit and visited Quimby's Book Store as well as used book store, Myopic Books. Then we went to the Lou Conte Dance Studio in the West Loop for a beginner hip hop class. You can check out our video at the end of this post to see how "good" we were at dancing to Janet Jackson's "If". Then you can watch the instructor and the good people do it to see what the dance was supposed to look like! The instructor's name is Dome Lorusso and he was SO FREAKIN' FIERCE! We had such a good time, we even stayed late to practice our moves. And we'll probably both be back next weekend.

For dinner, we went over to the Green Zebra for some delicious vegetarian fare. I was a little worried about it because I wanted to stay in my diet. But there were some great options. Oh I should also mention that when we got to Green Zebra, it wasn't yet open. So we went next door to Leopold where I ordered some oysters (with an amazing mignonette sauce of red wine vinegar, framboise beer, and shallots). Kim also got a glass of poire cider. Delicious! We're both planning on going back to try some more of their fancy delicious dishes.

When we got to Green Zebra, we were both excited to try some unique vegetarian cuisine. They gave us a nice amuse bouche of butternut squash soup that was so warm and buttery. Then for starters, I chose the Salade Lyonnaise: 'perfect' farm egg (cooked for over 4 hours so it was solid and runny at the same time!), shitake 'bacon', bitter greens, and dijon vinaigrette). Kim chose the Fresh Zingerman's Burrata: almond carrot-top pesto, pickled Hakurei turnip, red quinoa. The burrata was a soft cheese like mozzarella but had so much flavor. I definitely had more than one bite of that! For our second course, I chose the Caramelized Onion Soup with sauteed ramp bulbs, Vidalia onion, leeks and sherry. Kim chose the other soup: Chilled Canteloupe and Salted Cucumber with homemade yogurt, mint, radish, and arugula. It was weird but good, a nice chilled soup for summer. For our third and final course, I chose the Roasted Eggplant with braised artichokes, olives, Romesco sauce, toasted almonds, and ricotta. It was full of flavor and very wholesome. Kim ordered the Anson Mills Farro Risotto with roasted eggplant, patty pan squash, and cherry tomatoes. It was so buttery, I couldn't resist stealing a bunch of bites! We were definitely full after the meal but not too full. And all of the flavors went together so well. I will definitely be back and I highly recommend Green Zebra to everyone, vegetarians or carnivores!

Amuse Bouche
Salade Lyonnaise
Farro Risotto
Roasted Eggplant

After dinner, Kim and I took a cab over to Kayak Chicago for the last Fireworks Paddle of the summer! Our lower bodies were aching from hip hop class, so it was time to give our upper bodies a workout. We paddled for about 3 hours to get to the lake and back only to watch 15 minutes of fireworks. But it was a cool experience to kayak at night. We were with a big group of UIC students, which made things a little obnoxious and a lot interesting. The fireworks were beautiful but my arms and butt were aching by the end!

All in all, we had the best day of our summer, and also the healthiest! We just want to thank ZocDoc for offering us this opportunity. I'm going to book my next doctor's appointment soon and I'll be happy to do so using ZocDoc.

I love the Whole Foods Lincoln Park Wellness Center

2011-09-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret, which shouldn't be a secret anymore! There is a new place for yoga, pilates, nutrition, and health awareness all in your backyard, Chicagoans! These past two weeks, I had the privilege of checking out the new Wellness Center at the Lincoln Park Whole Foods! Here's the description about the new wellness center, one of only a few in the country!

The Wellness Club provides an inviting environment to empower people to make educated and positive lifestyle choices that promote their long-term health and wellbeing. Services include a comprehensive series of nutrition classes, delicious breakfast and supper clubs, yoga, fitness classes, group support meetings and cooking classes. Members receive a 10% discount on many healthy foods throughout the store! Members also have exclusive access to local partners that offer discounted services such as massage, fitness club memberships, fitness apparel and healthy restaurants.

I've been able to check out a pilates class and a yoga class. Both have been very enjoyable and small. My pilates class had one other person besides me and the instructor, Gene Dalais. Gene is an awesome South African woman who usually teaches at FFC around the corner. Follow her on Twitter at @Pilates4Africa! I took a yoga class at 8AM on Wednesday morning and it was a one-on-one with the instructor! I received valuable help in the positions that I've found difficult in the past (standing bow, rabbit) and it was so helpful.

There are meal clubs, small nutrition classes, cooking demonstrations, and fitness classes in this shiny new wellness center. I'm so happy that I have the chance to check this out. I don't necessarily want the student-to-teacher ratio to go up but I just can't resist sharing this experience with everyone!

I love Envieux Style

2011-08-30T16:33:00.006-05:00

Below are the pictures I took at my friend, Christianne's, runway show at Evil Olive in Wicker Park last Thursday night. She does the styling for Envieux Style and she's awesome at it. The event was sponsored by RAW: Natural Born Artists and featured many artists from all different media and genres. There was a filmmaker, many photographers, and other artists. The styles that she put together for this event definitely left me feeling "envious". They were all very wearable and got me excited for Fall!!! Like her Facebook page here. And follow herTwitter feed here.

"Clothing is one of the greatest forms of expression, and having a great eye for mixing patterns, colors, textures, and accessories to complete a look is our mission."

For Wardrobe Consultations/Personal Shopping:

We want to make the most out of your styling experience by getting to know you and your personal style first--then help organize, create new looks, and add new pieces to your wardrobe, keeping in mind your likes and budget. No pressure, no judgement. Just a revamped style!

For Commercial Wardrobe Styling and Production:

Whether you have a concept or need one, we will add the right style to your shoot or fashion show--and also offer production as well to execute the concept. Keeping the teams vision in mind we work with you to make the project a success! In keeping up with latest trends and having professional relationships with many Chicago designers, shops, and boutiques we can contribute to editorial, commercial, television, and film wardrobe styling.

I love the Diner en Blanc Chicago!

2011-08-30T15:58:00.006-05:00

This past Saturday night, my friend Mick and I were lucky enough to enjoy the inaugural White Dinner flash picnic in Chicago! Having lived in Paris for a year, of course I had heard of the event in the city of lights, and I was super excited to score some seats in the windy city! It wasn't easy. When tickets went on sale about a month ago, the website's server crashed due to a crazy demand. By the time I figured out where to get the tickets on Eventbrite, they were gone! So I was attached to my computer earlier last week when they offered a final set of seats via their Facebook page.

So now here are some of the pictures I took during the event. Of course, there was an accordion player to lend the event a certain je ne sais quoi. He was marvelous!

As you can see, the event was held at Chicago's Daley Plaza. We found out at 7PM when we met at our respective harmonization points around Chicago. Thanks to Hannah and Mike for being awesome leaders and organizing the people at the Belmont Red Line stop.

Mick and I set ourselves up next to a table of chefs who work at Kendall College. Although we felt a little under-prepared compared to those connaisseurs, we enjoyed our meal all the same. We had a dip of goat cheese mixed with cream cheese and a fig/date/pomegranate chutney that we ate with some savory crackers. Mick was obsessed with that! Then Mick made a breaded pork chop with a brown mushroom sauce, brown rice, and corn. It was splendid! For dessert, I made a plum tart with plums that I had purchased from the Green City Market. It was delicious. **Pat myself on the back**!

Here we were at the harmonization point at 7PM, anxiously awaiting the announcement of the location of the flash picnic. People kept coming up to us to ask us what was going on. Apparently, the French respond with something cheeky (when don't they?) but most of us just told the truth. A couple of things we would have liked to say:

1. We're going to Oprah/Diddy Dirty Money's birthday party

2. We're the members of a purity cult

What would you have said???

The festivities started promptly at 8PM once everyone had set up their tables, chairs (with white chair covers), and meals. Overall I think there were about 1000 people on Daley Plaza so it was an impressive site. The building across the street blazed its spotlight on us so we could see what we were eating. The dinner got off to an official start when everyone waved their white napkins in the air! Bon appetit!

I was able to see some social media friends like Lisa Pugliese and The Local Tourist, Theresa Carter.

Here, Mick and I enjoy our satisfying meal with lemonade (no alcohol allowed). I had purchased a white candle and fake white roses to adorn the table earlier that day.

Would love to hear from anyone else who experienced the Diner en Blanc. It was a fantastic time and I'll definitely be looking forward to attending next year. It was sort of a pain to bring the table and chairs on the L. But ultimately, it was worth it for the awesome evening!

I love Food Genius (@getfoodgenius)

2011-08-23T12:28:00.003-05:00

I recently had the chance to chat with Justin Massa, one of the founders of Food Genius, a new food application that lets you rate your favorite dishes at local restaurants and share them with friends and other users on the site. Once you log in, you can easily see which dishes are the most popular and which ones are recently recommended. The “genius” part of Food Genius is that, based on how you rate dishes, the app can give you pointers on dishes you would probably want to order from places around your location! The more you rate, the better the app gets at guessing what you’d like to eat. Intuitive technology? That’s so cool!

Food Genius already has a native Android app and their website is compatible with iPhone use for when you want to use it on the go. Oherwise, you can sign right in to their website on your desktop. The app searches your location for the best dishes and also prompts you to rate and recommend your favorite dishes so it can get a feel for what you like to eat. Food Genius does this by examining your “food DNA”. It’s kind of like the Pandora of the food world! By looking at the trends in your rating history, it can start to suggest your favorite dishes.

The site has been live for about a month in Chicago and there are already 4000 dishes rated and 700 recommended! That’s a ton of traffic. And things are only going to get better! As Food Genius adds more restaurant menus, they’ll be able to sort through dishes and categorize things, making it easier for you to make a decision when you’re ready to find something to eat.

The founders envision at least three main ways that the app can be of use:

1: You can use it to make recommendations. You have a fantastic dish and you want to share the news with the world, so you search for it on Food Genius and you tell as many people as you can!

2: You use the app for food discovery. What dishes are great? Just look through the app to find suggestions and try some new things you are guaranteed to love!

3: Want to find out what you should try in your neighborhood? Put in your location and start exploring all the highest rated dishes in the area! It's more specific than just a restaurant recommendation on Yelp. Now you’ll actually know what to order.

The app is quickly evolving and is sure to be a success. They’ve added 1,350 people in just 5 weeks and you will soon be able to post photos of the dishes you love. So start using Food Genius today!

I love Morso

2011-08-23T11:08:00.007-05:00

On Friday, I was extremely lucky and got to experience a free preview dinner at Morso, one of Chicago's newest restaurants which opens today! Located at 340 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park, Morso's head chef is Matt Maroni, the genius behind the Gaztro Wagon food truck. How did I snag these seats, you may ask? Easy...by completing the #hunt4morso scavenger hunt a few weeks ago.I found out about it through Twitter and completed the 5 tasks by visiting locations around Chicago and Tweeting out pictures with the #hunt4morso hashtag. I also had a little help from my roommate, who visited the Green City Market when I was unable.

Our first choice: ANTELOPE “TONNATO” CAPERBERRY .

FOCCACCIA . DANDELION . LEMON

Here's how the scavenger hunt went down:

Complete these four steps in any order…

1) Head to Green City Market and take a picture of a Hawks Hill Elk Ranch elk stick. Post it to twitter with the following phrase: “Yeah, I got @morsochicago game. Doing it up with elk at @GreenCityMarket to get in on the #hunt4morso.”

2) Now head to Falafill, whom Gaztro Wagon has teamed up with to raise money next month for Meals on Wheels. Take a picture of anything on their salad bar and post it to twitter with the following: “What’s up @morsochicago! Making progress in the #hunt4morso with a little @Falafill love.”

3) Now you’re heading to Fritz Pastry. Post a picture to twitter of anything in the pastry case. Anything. This is the message you’ll post it with: “Can’t talk right now,@morsochicago. Mouth full of @FRITZPASTRY. Trying to win the #hunt4morso!”

4) Next up is Ethyl’s Beer and Wine Dive. We love their yellow chairs. Feel free to have a beer. Or don’t. But do post a picture of a yellow chair to twitter with the following: “The #hunt4morso continues at Ethyl's, a friend to @morsochicago and@chicagofoodtrux. And yellow chairs.”

Step 5 must be finished last…

5) This is it. The last one. And you’re heading up to Edgewater—to a little shop called the Gaztro Wagon. Come to the storefront and post a picture of the chalkboard menu with the following. “Hey @morsochicago—congratulations to me! I finished the #hunt4morso! Now to stuff my face with some @wherezthewagon.”

Complete all five and you just might win the following…

First 5 to finish: You score two all-access seats to Morso before it opens to the public for three different services. Dinner, brunch, and the upstairs lounge. On us.

Finish 6-10: You score two seats to our preview dinner. On us.

Finish 11-15: You score two seats to our preview brunch. On us.

Finish 16-20: Two seats to our lounge preview party are yours. On us.

So when the day came to visit the restaurant, I took my friend Sarah (my roommate was unavailable). We had 9PM reservations and we couldn't wait to check things out. We got to order as much food for free as we wanted and all we had to do was pay for drinks! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the food. There are no words for how delicious it was and yet so simple! But I'm going to try to describe the flavors. First I will say that I started off with The Elixir: Pisco, Pineapple, Clove, Lime, and Prosecco. It was divine and all of the other cocktails sounded amazing as well. I will definitely be back to try them. Also had a very nice Syrah so their wine and beer list is worth checking out!

Second course: SPATZELE

MUSHROOM . GOUDA . BREAD CRUMBS

So Sarah and I started with the Antelope. The menu is broken down into different protein choices (raw, veg, shellfish, fish, game, offal) instead of by apps and entrees. I really liked this innovative way of choosing courses. None of the menu items were so risky that they would scare away timid eaters. And everything we tried was positively delicious. The raw Antelope dish was like a carpaccio but with a smokier flavor. The foccaccia was crisp and full of savory flavor and the slightly bitter dandelion leaves complimented the sour lemon dressing really nicely!

Third course: DUCK LIVER PARFAIT

BRIOCHE . GINGER . RADISH

For the second and third courses, we had the Spatzele, which was probably my favorite thing on the menu. Pasta, mushrooms, gouda cheese, and bread crumbs: I was addicted after the first bite. Literally, I wanted to stick my tongue in the bowl and get every last drop. I strongly urge you to order this dish. It is so warm and comforting and the serving size is perfect (of course, I could have used a lot more of it!) Then we had the duck liver parfait. This, too, melted in your mouth. It was shmeared onto some light brioche toast and just acted like liquid butter in your mouth. The ginger gave it a little bite for some high definition flavor. Excellent.

Fourth Course: BRONZINI

CRAWFISH . CABBAGE . LOBSTER NAGE

Fifth course: CLAMS .TORTELLINI . CHIVE

. MARSCARPONE . GARLIC .

ANCHOVY BUTTER . BREAD CRUMBS

For the last couple of courses, we ordered the clams dish which had a fantastically rich blend of cheese, garlic, butter, and bread crumbs. The clams tasted fresh and still retained their flavor in that sauce. There were definitely enough clams for 2 people as well, unlike another restaurant I went to recently that served enough food in each small plate portion for 1/2 a person to eat. That's right, I'm calling 'em out right here, right now! And finally, we had the Bronzini white fish dish which was very light and flavorful, a perfect way to end our gastro-journey. We were full but very satisfied after such an incredible meal.

Dessert: I don't remember, I was already in a dream-like state after my immensely satisfying meal.

Me and Chef Matt

As I said before, this place comes highly recommended by me. I was supposed to go to events on Saturday and Sunday for free as well but life got in the way. I will be checking out their brunch menu soon, however, because they have carrot cake french toast, and that just sounds too decadent to pass up! Let me know if you make it here and what you think!

I love Silvrspoon

2011-08-04T21:38:00.004-05:00

Tonight, I met some new people and got to try out an AWESOME new tech trend at Moonshine in Wicker Park. I'm sure by now you've all heard of Foursquare as a checkin service when you arrive at locations around the world. You can check in to restaurants and let your friends know where you are. But have you ever wished that the restaurant knew who you were and where you were sitting? Well you don't have to wait anymore. SILVRSPOON is here!

Check out the founders (above): Nick, Patrick, and Eugene. They've come up with a great way to help your waitress out while you're at the restaurant. All you need to do is open up the app, now available on iTunes for FREE and scan the QR code at your table. This alerts the restaurant to your presence and narrows it down to your exact table! Like magic.

Here's Brant, another one of the AMAZING developers, celebrating this successful launch with a well-deserved (and delicious) Moonshine beer. Looking toward the future greatness of Silvrspoon, I'm sure.

Nick and Patrick were all smiles as they realized that the app was doing just what it should. For example, when I sat down and scanned the code, I notified the waitress that I wanted to order the French Gimlet. I could check out the food and drink menu right from the app! I placed my order, she confirmed it, and boom...my drink was brought to the table. A little while later, I wanted some chips and ceviche (avocado, fire roasted jalapeño and peppers with fresh tortilla chips). She brought those out without a hassle as well. It was so cool! She also came by the table to see if we needed anything else. At that point, I ordered a drink directly from her. So you can either choose to use the app or order from the waitress. The point isn't to get rid of wait staff. It just helps to personalize service and work at your pace! It was really cool to see everything in action.

Here is a sample of our table's QR code. When it was time to settle up and move along, I told the waitress that I wanted to pay and she was able to itemize my bill with only the things I ordered. Very convenient. I had gone to the party alone so I was sharing a table with some new friends of Silvrspoon (first picture). We had a great time talking about how Silvrspoon is clearly going to become the next best thing. One of the guys I ate with, Keenan, was the graphic designer for the product, so that was pretty cool. You can alert the wait staff to modifications on your order (for example if you have a food allergy), you can search menu items by your preferred tastes, and you can even rate the meal at the end and post directly to Facebook and Twitter! Silvrspoon even includes the restaurant's Twitter handle for when you post there, so the restaurant knows if you like them or not. Very cool. I am obsessed with social media. And I'm definitely going to follow Silvrspoon's success. They're currently at Mad River and Moonshine. Next launch will be at Sunda Sushi. Now that will be a really cool party too!

I love Kayaking!

2011-07-22T14:53:00.003-05:00

So last Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining some French (or Francophile) friends for a lovely canoe trip along the Chicago River for 3+hours. It was a tour led by Wateriders. Most of us had bought YouSwoop deals earlier in the year to be able to enjoy the trip at a discount ($30 for a $65 tour). When we ran into a little SNAFU because someone had purchased the wrong YouSwoop deal, the manager didn't exactly handle it very well, but we didn't have much of a choice so my friend paid the difference without complaining and we were soon on our merry way.

I would have to say that a certain level or proficiency at kayaking would be advisable for a tour like this. We were out on the river for over 3 hours, with small stops here and there to hear about Chicago's fascinating history. However, by the end my arms were really screaming. None of us fell into the river (Thank God, we would have come out with a disease!) but kayaking can be a little tricky the first time around. Luckily, I had had prior experience when I went on an adventure weekend with the BU crew back in January 2009 in Wales. Now that was some awesome kayaking!
This time was much calmer and very pleasant. We started behind the Montgomery Ward building, my prior office space at 600 W. Chicago and paddled down to the Kinzie Street bridge. Along the way, we saw some beautiful weddings taking place and were able to experience Chicago from a totally different perspective! When we arrived, we all held on to each other's boats as our guide told us about the DMB dumping incident a few summers ago while driving across the bridge. We also heard about Chicago's first condo and it's humble beginnings as an ice house, as well as the Great Chicago Flood/Leak, depending on your perspective.

Next we moved onto Wolf Point and then the Civic Opera House, which was actually designed to look like a throne. Chicagoans wanted to turn their back on the East Coast and be a bridge to the West. So the back of the throne is on the East side while the "chair" looks to the West. Pretty cool! I can't believe I never noticed that. We then rowed over to a point on the main branch of the river to discuss a tragedy that had occurred back in 1915. It was pretty fascinating and even had effects on Oprah's staff years later! It was the story of the SS Eastland.

Our last stop before the long haul back to base was right in front of Trump tower. There, we heard about Al Capone and his kick ass hangout with a car elevator at the Jeweler's Building. We also heard about a tragic story at the Tribune building after someone was fired from his job. Very strange.

Anyway, then began our journey back to the beginning. I had to hustle in order to get to Harry Potter that evening. But I had a great time and I'd love to do the fireworks tour soon! I think I'll do it next summer.

Here's all of us: Maria, Julie, Mick, me, and Etienne.

I love some more pop up restaurants!

2011-06-29T16:01:00.002-05:00

On Monday night, after being pleasantly surprised by a Glen Hansard free concert at Millennium park, I ventured on over to The Gage/Henri with my friend, Lisa, to check out their latest venture: Downstairs. Downstairs was a free pop-up restaurant for people who RSVPed early. They will also mostly likely be hosting more pop up events like this in the coming months. I found out about it thanks to 312 Dining Diva's fabulous blog. That girl has so many connections! The night was a great success thanks to amazing food and a really cool tour of the place. So let me get to it:

Lisa and I were thrilled to go on a tour of the restaurant, led by Terry McNeese, the very well-dressed manager. He brought us through Henri's kitchen first. It was pristine and the oven had special properties. I was a little overwhelmed to remember exactly what they were but it sure did look nice!

Quite possibly one of my favorite parts of the night was drinking the special gin-based punch that was available for only $6. I should probably have had a jello shot as well but the punch was just so good! I will update on what was in it as soon as Lisa gets back to me!

The ribs were covered in peanuts and had been braised in a mustard sauce before being cooked. They were tangy and the pretzels provided a nice crunch. Plus they were lying on a bed of the best cole slaw I've ever had. And I don't even like cole slaw so that's saying a lot!

Ooh one of my fave parts of the dinner was the potato salad. It was really flavorful and wrapped in leeks. The potatoes were cooked just right and the flavoring had a really nice bite. I'll try to find out what was in the salad.

The corn on the cob, another thing I usually shy away from, was also great. I only had a quick bite because I'm not big on getting the kernels stuck in my teeth, but I liked what I did have! There was also some barbecued chicken.

The whole experience, from the free food to the restaurant tour, was so cool. I can't wait to go back again and check out the bar at the Gage, the food at Henri, and another pop-up restaurant Downstairs!

I love Modern Conversation

2011-06-22T13:19:00.003-05:00

So lately I've been helping out (just selling T-shirts for now!) with this band, Modern Conversation. My friends Maggie and Melanie are the new backup singers and I was blown away by their first concert at Jerry's Sandwiches in Wicker Park last weekend! The lead singer, David Courtenay is a California transplant who fits right in in Chicago. He's mellow and produces some tunes with catchy melodies and fun reggae/rock beats! The rest of the band is great too. There is Jackie Rada on Keyboards. I have a girl crush on her for her awesome curly hair and fun stage persona. She rocks on her solos too. And Janet Cramer on drums. She looks more hard edge but has tons of fun along with the rest of the band, likening her to the audience! I really hope I can get more involved in promoting this band. They're great to listen to on an easy summer night out in Chicago. They play all over the place so I'll try to post when I know some upcoming dates! Also check out their Facebook page. I'm a fan already!

https://www.facebook.com/modernconversation?sk=info

I love gay marriage!

2011-06-21T16:03:00.007-05:00

John Hancock Observatory is celebrating Pride month and giving away a civil union ceremony to one lucky couple. Included is a one-night stay in a luxury suite at the Essex Inn and $1000 towards the purchase of civil union bands.

From the website:
At John Hancock Observatory, we've always been pumped about special celebrations. So, when a couple approached us about having a civil union ceremony more than a thousand feet up, we were almost as excited as they were to say yes. I mean, can you be happier than the couple-to-be?

June 1, 2011 marked the first day in Illinois history that couples, regardless of orientation, could commit to one another through a civil union. June 2, 2011 marked the first day in the state's history that civil unions could take place. And, June 25, 2011 (link to the Chicago Sun-Times story), will mark the first time in history that a civil union will take place 94 stories above Chicago.

Heck, we've even designed a new logo to commemorate Pride month and show how we stand tall for the new civil unions law (and at 100 stories tall...that's saying a lot).

In celebration of historic steps toward equality, we're taking Pride month to a whole new level by giving away a civil union ceremony for one lucky couple.

We'll pick the top three couple stories, post them to our Facebook page on Tuesday, June 21 and let the voting begin! We may call the couple to confirm their selection as a top three finalist -- some surprises are better than others...

The story with the most votes by Monday, June 27, 2011, will be the lucky couple to celebrate their union sky high above Chicago.

Looking for details about planning your own special celebration? We'd love to talk!
Jo-El Lacy
Event Producer
P: 1.312.654.5019
E: jlacy@jhochicago.com

Visit the Facebook page to start voting on your favorite story tomorrow!

https://www.facebook.com/hancockobservatory

I love Chicago Gastropubs and The Local Tourist

2011-05-05T10:32:00.005-05:00

This was my week for trying out gastropubs, finally!!! On Tuesday night, I went to Longman & Eagle on a date. I got there pretty early so I started things off right with a shot of Buffalo Trace whiskey (diluted with water, of course). Spent some time talking to the bartender, Derrick, who was very nice and charming. I followed up my whiskey with Belgian Tripel Karmeliet on tap. Again, very light and refreshing.When my date finally arrived, I was sufficiently tipsy and luckily, the hosting staff found a table for us pretty quickly. Everyone who works there is just as friendly as can be. They're not pretentious or uppity. It's soooo refreshing and made the experience that much better. My date and I started off by splitting a glass of cava, in celebration of my new job! We also each ordered a bottle of the Bell's Cherry Stout, which ended up complimenting our dinner very well. We started off with the meatball small plate: goat meatballs served over polenta with a red sauce and pesto. It was surprisingly light and the polenta, which I usually shy away from because of texture, was really creamy and full of flavor. I devoured that dish, no problem. For the entree, we decided to share the daily special, which turned out to be beef tenderloin served over polenta with mushrooms (possibly chanterelle?) and ramps. The beef was cooked to perfection. It was pink in the middle and nicely browned on the outside. It was tender, full of flavor, and the earthy mushrooms and ramps were sinfully good. Basically, L&E could become my new favorite bar in Chicago. I have a feeling that all of the other dishes are just as wonderful, if not better, than the amazing food we had on Tuesday. Oh I almost forgot to mention that they served an amuse bouche as we sat down. It consisted of foie gras (AHHHH so yummy!) with a small piece a candied/poached pear. Everything was perfection. I can't wait to go back.

Then on Wednesday, I went to the Wrigleyville bar, Blokes & Birds. I was sooo excited to hear about a chef's tasting evening organized by The Local Tourist. For only $25 per person, you got an evening of booze and food that would impress even the most staunchly British expat.
We started off with local brew Two Brothers Cain and Ebel, a fantastic ale. In fact, I was very impressed with all of the beers and cocktails served last night. We didn't get entire pints of each beer but it was enough to give us enough libation for each course. The first food to come out? Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with their house sausage. Holy mother of God...color me impressed. The bacon was crispy in the right places and fatty in the other places. Not soggy or too greasy. The dates weren't too sweet to overpower the savory bacon and sausage. We had two each. I could have eaten the entire serving platter.
Then came a cocktail. The 'Choke Hold: Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon, Cynar (artichoke liqueur!!!), Pama Liqueur, and Benedictine. It was strong, sweet, and powerful. Very yummy and a nice way to showcase the bourbon.
Moving on. Next we had a light green and herbs salad served with a Pimms vinaigrette. What an awesome way to use Pimms!!! My last memory of Pims was sipping it mixed with lemonade and cucumber/strawberry slices sitting on the Hill at Wimbledon two summers ago. Ahh a delightful summer treat. Fruity and refreshing. On a salad? Even better, perhaps.
Our next beer and cocktail selections were the Metropolitan Krankshaft Kolsch and Mind the Bollocks: Evan Williams Bourbon, Navan liqueur, Peter Heering Cherry Heering, Perfect Puree Sour Cherry Puree, lime juice, demarera syrup, and egg white. This cocktail was pretty dang tasty. The cherry puree was dark and rich and brought out the intensity of the bourbon.
But then the food kept on coming! Next was a British classic: fish and chips. But this was seriously unlike any fish and chips I'd ever had in a dreary (yet charming) London pub. B&B kicked it up a notch! The breading on the hallibut was so light and almost sweet! It reminded the people at our table of a fried dough kind of taste, which was definitely a good thing. It was served with malt vinegar aioli and thick-cut tartar sauce. The chips were also good, tossed with a bit of curry powder which brought out some spicy!
I believe the final beer that was served was one of the Stone Brewery's ales, perhaps Levitation? I was a bit "forgetful" by the time. In fact, I was so forgetful that I didn't feed the meter and walked out of the restaurant to find a ticket on my car! Eh...it was worth it for all this amazingness. The last cocktail was by far my favorite. It tasted like blueberry pie. Called The B-Cup, it had fresh blueberries, Pimms No. 1 Cup, Aperol, Tito's Vodka, Absolut Blueberry, St. Germain, Simple Syrup, and lemon juice. To. Die. For.
And then we got another course: pork tenderloin: Now, I love bacon and many pork products. But I've never been a pork steak kind of person. Until now. The meat was moist, cooked well, tender, and full of flavor. The meat came from Compart Farms and was served with rumbledthumps (mashed potatoes mixed with bits of kale). The potatoes were placed over an blood orange balsamic reduction sauce and the meat was paired with a mango chutney. Seriously, it was perfect. I'm now a pork believer!!!
As if all of this wasn't enough, we were able to enjoy some tasty cheeses as the final course. There was a sheep's milk bleu cheese, very light and creamy; a light cheddar, not sharp at all, almost like manchego; and another kind which I'm forgetting right now. There were slices of membrillo and dates to accompany the cheese.
Gahhhhhhhh I am having fantasies of another meal of this caliber! I urge you all to run to B&B to try even one of these dishes! The rest have to be wonderful as well. Excellent beer, wine, and cocktail selection. Can't wait to go back!

I love "I Wish Lessons"

2011-04-28T08:09:00.006-05:00

Ahhh, whiskey (or whisky if you prefer), the ultimate MAN drink, or at least that's how I always thought of it! Until Monday night, that is. Monday night is when I finally just had to discover the joys of whiskey for myself and see why this corn concoction was really so enchanting.

Enter I Wish Lessons. I first heard about this innovative new website/startup from a French friend new to Chicago. Basically, IWL offers "courses" in subjects that you've always wanted to learn but never got around to doing by yourself. There is way more than just whiskey! Some other examples of classes include: Introduction to Wine, Sushi Rolling, Beer Bootcamp, Filipino Culture and Cuisine, Bourbon, Sake, Ethiopian Culture and Cuisine, Whiskey and Cupcakes, Mixology, Chocolate...the list goes on and on!!! I would LOVE to try them all. And if anyone wants to join me, just tell me when and I'll sign us up!

The whiskey tasting session I went to was hosted by the Irving Park bar, Pitchfork. I was pretty hungry when I got there so I had to have some food along with my whiskey. I chose the Chopped Chicken Salad: Mixed greens with marinated chicken, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, cucumber, and feta cheese, tossed in a tangy house vinaigrette. It was delicious and didn't detract from my 4 mini whiskey shots at all.

The bar staff quickly doled out 4 tasting portions of whiskey to all of the "wishers". I would guess that there were about 12-15 of us. So the group was small and manageable. There wasn't much socializing that went on between us because a lot of people came as a couple or group. As for me, I was all by my lonesome. But IWL has a trained whiskey expert, Chuck Cowdery, that comes to the events to lead us through the tasting. We started off with a traditional Kentucky bourbon (higher percentage of corn-based alcohol) to get an initial taste of American whiskey. It was Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. I had to dilute mine with a little water to make it palatable. I'll say this: whiskey is definitely more of an acquired taste. Next we moved on to a Scotch Whisky (Dewars White Blended Scotch Whisky), which had a very smokey taste. The expert explained all of the nuances characteristic of American/Canadian/Scotch/Irish whiskey, which was pretty dang interesting! There is a lot of history and culture behind the different variations, and learning about it made the experience that much richer.

Following the American and Scotch versions, we moved on to the much milder Canadian whisky (Canadian Mist Canadian Blended Whisky), which I enjoyed the most, because I feel like I could ease into enjoying whiskey by drinking the stuff. And finally, we had an Irish blended whiskey (Jameson's), which wasn't too shabby.

The class was informal but went really smoothly. I'd love to go for another IWL in the future. And Pitchfork was a very gracious host!

I love running!

2011-04-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

And here's why:

10 Reasons Running Is Good for You Active.com

Anyone up to do a half marathon or 10K with me anytime soon?

I love contests

2011-04-15T09:37:00.000-05:00

I love this website! Super cute. And they're giving away prizes for their 1st anniversary. They will send prizes to anywhere in the world! What are you waiting for? Sign up, it's super easy!!! Better Raw: Healthy Hamper Blog's Birthday Competition: "Guess who is turning 1 soon!... You are looking at it right now :) On 16th April my little baby Better Raw Blog is going to be not so littl..."

I love Pop-up Restaurants!

2011-04-04T10:23:00.005-05:00

This Saturday, I went to the pop-up restaurant, Khuin, run by Fred Noinaj and his Washburn Culinary Institute colleagues, Brian Hoffman and Chris Pedziwiatr. I have been hearing a lot about this pop-up concept and couldn't wait to try it out for myself! The experience was really fun. Basically, a pop-up restaurant, according to Noinaj's definition, is a temporary restaurant that can be open anywhere from a few hours to a couple of months. This one was open for one evening at the Delicious restaurant location in the Loop. Noinaj and associates cooked up some great Thai-inspired food for the evening. My date ordered the taco platter, although he preferred to have all three tacos be the "carnitas" variety. Although he didn't LOVE the plantains on there, I gladly ate them up because they are one of my favorite starchy fruits. The combination of the sweet plantains, the meat, and the sour shallots was awesome. I would have loved to try the other variations (rabbit and roasted corn) but was content that I got to try the carnitas.

I ordered the sandwich plate, which had a classic Asian Banh Mi, a Philly Cheese Steak, and a Doner Kebab. They were all fantastic and the bread was so soft and fresh. The Philly Cheese Steak also had mushrooms which gave it a very earthy, hearty flavor. My favorite was probably the Banh Mi, just because I love the bright flavors of cilantro, jalapeno, and pickled carrots.

One other great aspect of the pop-up was the fact that it had a very well-stocked bar. I was able to enjoy a Bell's Two Hearted Ale with my meal, which is one of my favorite IPAs out there. My date could also enjoy his drink of choice: the rum and coke.

I was so happy not to be disappointed by this whole pop-up restaurant concept. It is really cool to think that only you and a few other people get to experience this unique restaurant for one night only. If you hear of some pop-up dinners coming to a city near you, I would definitely encourage you to check them out. I will keep my eyes open for the next one in Chicago! I believe Noinaj and friends will be opening another one soon. Can't wait to give it another shot!

Other write-ups on Khuin here:

Huffington Post

TimeOut Chicago

Red Eye/Chicago Tribune

Eater Chicago

I (don't know that I) love Date & Dash

2011-03-23T11:25:00.005-05:00

So last night, I finally got to experience Speed Dating for the first time. I have to say that I wasn't floored by the selection of men at the Date & Dash event last night. But I did discover that I can actually talk to ANYONE for 5 minutes, which validated my well-honed social skills. Hey, I network all the time, so I hope I can carry on a 5-minute conversation by now!

I found a deal for $25 for speed dating on Poggled back in February. Poggled is like Groupon, but for bars only. I begged/convinced my friend to join me on the experience and thankfully she agreed.

So my friend, let's call her "Friend X", joined me at the Dana Hotel & Spa in Chicago at around 7PM last night. We ordered some cocktails and observed the participants as they entered the bar and lounge area. It seemed to be a young group of women, generally in their mid-20s. The age range for this particular event was 24-34. The women seemed to be on the lower end of that spectrum. The men spanned the age range and all were very polite. There were about 14 girls and 10 guys. Not bad.

The girls all sat at a spot around the lounge that corresponded to their "dater" number. The boys were the ones to rotate. Most of the men were from outside the US from places like Romania, Ukraine, and India. Many of them had engineering jobs and were new transplants to Chicago. There was definitely plenty to talk about but I can't say that I had a whole lot in common with many of the men. Nevertheless, the event went well and I didn't downright hate anyone. So that's a plus, right?

Friend X had an altogether different experience. Even though we were at the same table and met the same men, she didn't feel good enough about any of them to want to meet them again. She's probably just more realistic than I am. I said yes to a few not because I thought there could actually be something there, but because I like to be open minded and give something a try. We'll see what they say about me, though. I haven't gotten the results back yet! One con that I have to mention is the fact that an overwhelming majority of the men were short. That's not a bad thing in general, but for a girl who is 5'9", that's not exactly ideal. But even if I don't find my next boyfriend from this event (and I'm 99.9% sure I won't), I am still glad I took the chance to do it and maybe there could be a beer drinking or swing dancing date in my future! Who knows?

So all in all, I give this experience a mixed review. It was fun to try and I got to visit a very nice hotel and lounge. But I'm not so sure this will lead to my next romance. A word of advice, though. If you do try a speed dating event, try to go in with no expectations and an open mind. At the very least, you can talk about yourself all night and no one will fault you for it!

I love Sheila Kelley S Factor (POLE DANCING!)

2011-03-06T17:22:00.000-06:00

Today was an eye-opener. I've always wanted to try pole dancing because it seemed very sensual and fun. My friends who know me best know that I used to try some very amateur moves in my basement before the poles were covered when it was finished. Let's just say I was a precocious child.

So anyway, about 3 months ago, I bought the Gilt City deal for a free class at the Sheila Kelley S Factor studio in Chicago. It basically allowed me to try out the 2-hour introductory class and decide if I wanted to continue with an entire Level series (level 1-6). I definitely want to as soon as I move into the city.

The class started out with a long gyrating warmup involving a lot of hip thrusts, stretching, and butts in the air. It was awesome. They turn down the lights and encourage you to let your hair down, literally. You're always supposed to have your hands on your curves while you're moving so you really get in touch with your body. Only women are allowed and there are no mirrors in the studio in order for you to be completely comfortable.

When it came time to actually try out a pole move, the Firefly, I was really nervous. This didn't exactly help because my hands always sweat A LOT when I'm nervous. I faltered the first few times doing the move but one of the teachers took me aside and helped me, personally, to get the confidence to keep trying. It was awesome.

Finally, the two teachers put on a sexy song (Goldfrapp's Strict Machine) and did their sexy dancing around the room and on all of the poles. It was incredible and totally made me want to sign up then and there! I didn't yet, but I will probably be checking out one of their free-standing lap dancing classes when they're offered, hopefully in the summer.

I would strongly urge you to check out the S Factor studio! By the way, S stands for the S curve of a women's body, made up of our boobs, hips, and butt. I love that the class was so empowering!

I (didn't) love The Roommate

2011-03-04T13:49:00.002-06:00

So last night I went to see The Roommate with my friend, Beth, before she pops out another baby in the next couple of weeks. We always choose to see laughably bad movies partly because it allows us to chat during the film. We like to make fun of things together. That's why we bonded.

Well last night we had plenty to mock. Neither of us were expecting a cinematic masterpiece, thank God. What we actually got was the latest effort by the CW to take over the world, one bad teen scary movie at a time! Seriously, I'm pretty sure everyone in that movie is on the CW's payroll. Let's see, we've got: Leighton Meester, Nina Dobrev, Matt Lanter, Alyson Michalka, Cam Gigandet, and Katerina Graham. That's more than half the cast! Oh and we can't forget to mention that BILLY ZANE, the coolest guy in Zoolander, played a dirty old man professor in the film.

The movie was certainly good for some laughs and predictability. Minka Kelly is just so dang adorable, I can't really blame any of this horrendous movie on her. But the relationships between the characters are so contrived and fake, it made the movie very hard to watch. Luckily, Beth and I benefited from Living Social's Fandango deal in which I bought 2 tickets for only $9. Not bad!!! I'm sure there are very few people left out there who don't know about Living Social. But just in case, I'm posting the link to the deal-a-day site here.

Anyway, don't worry, I didn't have high expectations for this film. And I had a great time with Beth feeling her alien baby kicking from inside her womb. I'm now taking suggestions for the next BAD film that Beth and I go to. I could make this a regular feature! Beth and Carolyn Go To The Shitty Movies!

I love Second City in Chicago!

2011-02-25T20:46:00.006-06:00

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Upload Music

I went to another BU Alumni event last night at Wells on Wells in Old Town, followed by Second City. First off, Wells on Wells was great! I seem to remember going there for a dirty impromptu pub crawl years ago. But it's a really classy place now! At least to my untrained eye. Bravo for the swan-like transformation, WoW!!! (Oops, not World of Warcraft! I don't play that.)

Following my yummy bar dinner, about 30 of us went over to Second City to watch the performance on Second City's ETC Stage, The Absolute Best Friggin Time of Your Life. For about 2 hours, I didn't stop laughing, except during Intermission. The 6 actors were hilarious, and my favorite part of the night was when the 3 curvy ladies sang the song posted on here.

I was very delighted to see the new host of Cash Cab Chicago, Beth Melewski, up on the stage! I've seen one episode of the show and it was great. But she is clearly in her element when performing at SC.

I'm ashamed to say that it took me 17 years to get to SC, but now that I've gone, I can't wait to go back! I hope I don't make myself wait another 17 years. Go out now to check out the shows at Second City! I'm very glad I did.

Check out Rubenesque below!

I love free movies

2011-02-16T21:18:00.004-06:00

So lately I've been able to see a bunch of movies for free. And by bunch, I mean two. But that seems like a bunch when you usually have to pay $10 per film! I've already saved $20 now! The first movie I saw was No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for Ashton Kutcher movies. I don't care that they're entirely predictable and highly unrealistic. I think he has the hottest body and the cutest smile. I will continue to pay to see his movies as long as he keeps making them! The film was really good, too. It made me crack up. Especially this line: "It looks like a crime scene in my pants!" Referring of course to a woman's monthly visit. I died. They both had great chemistry with each other and it just made me feel good! I was able to see this movie for free thanks to Gilt City (I love rhyming sentences!). They always have great ideas for discounted/free things to do in the city! And they're not boring old restaurant coupons either. Gilt prides itself on being pretty elite. I've written about them before when referring to purchasing designer duds. Think of their City site as designer excursions! They really spared no expense at this advanced screening back in January. There were free cocktails and appetizers served at the Showplace Icon on Roosevelt! Free booze and food? Free movie? Holla! I'm there.

Next, I saw Unknown this week. I belong to the Warner Brothers points program thing you can find in many BluRay discs nowadays. The best part of their rewards (actually, the only rewards I use) are the offers to attend advanced movie screenings for free. Since I'm in Ohio this week, I decided to sign up for the film showing in Cleveland. It was still an hour and a half drive away, but hey, it was something to do! The movie had a great twist and I thought the cast did an amazing job. Liam Neeson may overact in all of his recent films, but ever since I saw Taken (and was terrified to travel to Paris as a result), I just think he kicks ass. He can still throw a convincing punch, and he throws a lot in this movie. January Jones looks amazing, as does Diane Kruger! The whole movie really kept me on the edge of my seat and I would definitely recommend it when it comes out. It's getting harder and harder to produce movies with really unpredictable endings. Although this plot line might have borrowed some tricks from its predecessors, I still liked it.

So that's how I get to see free movies a lot. I love sites like Gilt City and Warner Brothers because they always help me fill up my week with something to do!

I (don't) love this week

2011-02-14T19:05:00.001-06:00

I'm in Fremont, Ohio. I'll write if I find anything interesting here. But don't hold your breath. Gotta catch up on all my recent adventures too! I promise to be back soon!

I love near death experiences

2011-01-31T11:56:00.001-06:00

Thanks to a tweet by my friend @Solangefrancois, I found out about a travel story contest on the website of the Wandering Trader. I submitted the following story about my harrowing experience in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and I am happy to report that it got 3rd place!!! Now...for your reading titillation.

BEST TRAVEL TALE - FINALIST #3 - NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE

January 24th, 2011

NEAR DEATH TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
Back in March 2009, I was a grad student at the London School of Economics and my friends, KK and Jessica, came to visit me for a week. During their stay, we decided to hop on a Ryanair flight to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. On the morning that we left, we awoke SUPER EARLY to get our bus to Victoria station so we could get another bus to Stansted airport for our flight to Tenerife. We arrived on the island and it was sunny and warm.

We had decided to rent a car but my friend Jessica had to drive because it was a manual transmission and she was the only one who knew how. We also thought it would be a good idea to rent a Garmin to give us directions to the hostel on the northern side of the island. WRONG. That stupid GPS sent us up and over the volcano in the middle of the island so we could get to our hostel in La Orotava. Instead, we could have taken the easy highways and saved 2 hours but NOOO. When we got near the top of the mountain, we saw a car that had nearly driven off a cliff!

Then, our fate seemed to be the same when the GPS sent us down this REALLY steep hill close to the hostel. I’m talking about a 180° degree straight drop. At the bottom was what appeared to be a dead end. Our stomachs dropped as we all looked back up the hill from whence we had just come and realized that there was absolutely no way Jessica would be able to make it up the hill driving stick. Before panicking, I got out of the car and checked to see if there was a ramp leading down to the street below, just beyond the “dead end”.
There was. The turn onto the ramp was really tight, though, and the car couldn’t make it. So as Jessica inched forward, with KK’s blessing from outside the car (she wanted no part in the ramp experiment), the front right tire actually slipped off the ramp and Jessica immediately put the car in park. If she had tried to back up, we were afraid that it would still roll forward and the car would flip off the side of the ramp. Luckily, God sent angels from above in the form of 10 giant Spanish men. They all pulled over and jumped out of their cars. One man came to Jessica’s rescue and reached over her to put on the emergency brake. She squeezed out of the driver’s seat as he slid in.
The rest of the men actually LIFTED OUR CAR while the new “driver” steered back onto the ramp. He got the car onto the street below and turned around to pick us up. It was one of the most terrifying experiences ever and I’m sure Jessica will never drive in a foreign country again. But these men were amazing. We thanked them in Spanish and they just seemed to shrug it off and go about their business.

Maybe lifting cars is an everyday occurrence for them. When we finally arrived at the street that our hostel was on (after driving around in circles for another 30 minutes), we needed to find a parking spot. The only one we found was on a downward sloping road (again, 180°). Jessica tried to get it in the spot but we began slipping forward and nearly hit the car in front of us. Finally, she had had enough and we all walked away from the car thinking we would move it later when the person in front of us had left.
It was still parked in the middle of the road, about 2 feet from the curb. I even wrote a note in Spanish, using eye liner, asking the owner of the car in front of us to call my cell phone when he left. But just as we were walking away, this old woman who was watching us told us we couldn’t leave the car there because it would block the buses coming down the hill. I tried to explain that it was too difficult and we couldn’t park it without hitting the car in front of us.
So she calmly handed her purse to her husband, took our keys, marched over to our car, got in, parked it like an expert, and left without a word. So awesome!!! We didn’t touch the car for the rest of the trip. And when we had to head back to the airport, we made sure to ask for directions to the highway. I’ll never forget our near-death experience on the Tenerife volcano.

I love teetotaling (well not really, just trying to convince myself)

2011-01-31T11:44:00.002-06:00

I'm officially declaring that I will be participating in FebFast 2011. No, I'm not Australian, but I do feel a kinship with the people from Down Under, since I spent a semester studying in New Zealand back in 2004. Plus, the message is very important: too many young people drink and drive. The FebFast campaign helps raise money to combat youth drinking and substance abuse. What a great cause! Do any of my readers want to participate with me? I've already kicked cigarettes. Drinking is next!!!

You can also help the FebFast cause by helping me raise money for Foundations that combat youth substance abuse. How about giving me $1 per day of no drinking? Please use the link below to help:
http://www.febfastfundraising.com.au/carolyn_breit

Maybe we should get one of these started in the US next year! Who's with me?!?!

Read up on the impact of FebFast here:
Australia’s “FebFast” – No Drinking For The Month
by Caren on February 1, 2010

Australia has a drinking problem, reports an article in the The Sydney Morning Herald. And the Australian government is quite worried about alcohol consumption among its young people, and cites shocking statistics revealing that in an average week, four people under 25 die due to alcohol-related injuries.

In an effort to raise awareness and curb the drinking tide, a number of no-booze campaigns and fund-raisers–FebFast, Dry July and Ocsober–have surfaced in recent years.
Tomorrow begins the third annual FebFast, a charity challenge inviting participants to “give up the grog” for the next 28 days. Through their national education, awareness and fundraising campaign, FebFast organizers are aiming to lessen the impact of alcohol and drugs by inviting people to kick their drinking habit during February, simultaneously raising money to support youth alcohol and other drug services.

Over the last two years, FebFast has inspired more than 3,500 people to take up the month-long challenge. And collectively, they have raised more than $700,000 to support their cause. The money raised from the last two campaigns has been shared by 13 organizations around Australia. Proceeds from the 2010 registration and fundraising efforts will be shared amongst the Australian Drug Foundation (that operates nationally), YSAS (the Youth Substance Abuse Service) in Victoria, The Ted Noffs Foundation in NSW and the ACT, Mater Hospital’s Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Service in Queensland and FebFast’s grants program for smaller grass-roots organizations.

I still love the Bears! (But not so much Jay Cutler)

2011-01-24T15:06:00.002-06:00

Congrats to Caleb Hanie, the 3rd string QB who brought us to 2 touchdowns in yesterday's game against our ARCH-NEMESIS, the Green Bay Packers. Although we lost, I still wanna give props to Hanie's valiant efforts. And I'd also like to cuss out Cutler for being a chump. Sorry you tore your MCL. Now please leave Chicago and go make babies with Kristin Cavalieri. That might be all you're good for at this point.

My readers know that I almost never get negative. But it was just embarassing to watch how poorly we played against the Packers, another so-so team. They'll lose in the Superbowl. And then I'll be happy. In the meantime, I guess there's always next year! Now give Hanie some more money and let him show his adorable face on the field some more!

I love Los Angeles!

2011-01-23T12:44:00.007-06:00

OK so I'm finally getting around to writing about my latest mini-vacay to Los Angeles. I left on January 13th on the 6:43 flight to La La Land. When I landed, my friend Rachel picked me up at the airport and we went straight to Library Ale House on Main St in Santa Monica. I had really been looking forward to going there because of its large selection of beers. I finally got to try the Trappistes Rochefort 10 (voted the best beer in the world!) and it lived up to its reputation. I could have had about 15 of them. But besides that, I also had the Maui Brewing Company's Coconut Porter. It was really good, too. But not as good as the Rochefort! Later in the evening, we went to The Daily Pint on Pico. They had a great selection of beer as well so I was in heaven all evening. And Rachel's friend (another Carolyn...obviously cool) and boyfriend, Adam, were with us. It was such a fun evening even though I was totally exhausted. I was happy to get some sleep once I got back to Rachel's cute little place!

On Friday morning, I woke up early to enjoy a workout in the nearby Clover Park. Then, I went to Rachel's to get ready and start my vacation in the sun! It was 75-80 degrees all weekend. I never wanted to leave. When I finally got myself put together, I called a cab to bring me to lunch. Thanks to a recommendation from one of my Tweeps (thanks @hey_itsTRIX), I went to Fritto Misto on Colorado and 6th. They had the most fantastic Italian food! Before I went in, I walkd around the block a bit and stopped into Fred Segal. They had some beautiful clothes and shoes but of course they were a little out of my price range. So I picked up a small candle holder with Marilyn Monroe's image decoupaged onto it. So kitsch and so cute! At lunch, I ate some gnocchi with asparagus and mascarpone cheese in the middle. It was so light and flavorful. The white cream sauce had basil and sage. I nearly died of goodness!!! It was a great recommendation.

Following lunch, I walked down Colorado to the Santa Monica Pier. It was such a beautiful day and I was waiting for Barbara and Cedric to arrive. I took a few pictures on the pier and then checked out the Third Street Promenade. I bought some cute gifts at the Kitson outlet and had some bloog orange fro yo from Pinkberry! Barbara picked me up to go over to the hotel. Cedric was just arriving at that point, too, so it was great timing! We waited for him to make it to the airport and then drove over to pick him up. We drove over to the Santa Monica Pier again and watched the sunset at Mariasol at the end of the pier. It was beautiful and we had some great margaritas! Following the setting of the sun, we drove back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, which was to be at Xino, an Asian fusion restaurant near the Third Street Promenade. The food was so good but just too much! The cocktails were awesome, too.

Once dinner was over, Barbara took us on a little tour of Venice and dropped us off at James Beach where I met up with my big sister, Laura Schreffler! She was there with some hot English dudes and everyone was so nice. It was a great place to people watch and meet some hot California dudes (I met an Argentinian named Pedro...yummy!) We also hit up hot spots Nikki's and Townhouse during the course of the night. It was a crazy fun time! My highlight was drinking Bitch Bubbly Sparkling, a bubbly red wine at James Beach.

The next day was amazing fun. Since it was Golden Globes weekend, the stars were out in full force in LA last weekend! So we woke up early for a run through the Santa Monica farmer's market. The vegetables looked huge and amazing. I tried lots of samples of things and I just wished I could buy it all!!! But alas, I didn't have any room in my suitcase. So we grabbed some coffee/tea at Le Pain Quotidien and drove up to Mulholland. The scenic drive was simply fantastic! We could see into the Valley on one side and all the way out to the sea on the other. When we finished our drive, we arrived at the Beverly Hills Hotel for some brunch. We sat out by the pool to enjoy some overpriced cocktails (mimosa and mango bellini for me!) and breakfast. Jessica Simpson, her fiance, Ashley Simpson, and her son Bronx all came down to the pool area. As did Bill Paxton and his family! AWESOME!

Once breakfast was over, we continued driving around Beverly Hills and got to Rodeo Drive and Sunset Blvd. Then, I took a bus back into Santa Monica to hang out with Laura. We grabbed some fro yo at Tutti Frutti and walked back to her place. We grabbed some sushi at La Grande Orange along with some excellent sangria. Then I saw John Locke from Lost walk by!!! Soon, we were beckoned to Venice Ale House for some more drinks and people watching. I met two more of Laura's friends, who have written a book about penis names :) We saw the actor who plays the title character in the new show, The Cape. So that was cool! He was a pretty hot Australian.

Once our drinks were done, I went back to the hotel to meet up with Cedric and Barbara. Cedric and I got ready to go out to West Hollywood for a gay night out. We took the bus over to Santa Monica Blvd and Robertson...The Abbey! It's the perfect place for gays and their straight friends. The crowd was so yummy. We saw Joe the bartender from Grey's Anatomy as well as a few up and coming stars, namely from Ashton Kutcher's failed show, The Beautiful Life. It was great! Drinks were strong, bartenders were hot, and we met a nice gay couple who brought us over to Micky's for some dancing!

We stayed there until about 1:30 or 2AM, but then I really had to get back to the hotel for some sleep because my flight left at 9:30AM on Sunday morning. So we took the bus back and got some zzzzzzzzzzs. In the morning, I grabbed my first drink from The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which was excellent. Then I had to say goodbye to my mates and get in the security line at the airport. It was a bittersweet goodbye. I had such a great time in LA visiting friends and checking out a new place! I can't wait to go back, possibly permanently! It was that good.

I love the Blackhawks

2011-01-19T09:54:00.003-06:00

So on January 7th, I finally got to see a Blackhawks game for the first time since 5th grade!!! And I broke my streak of seeing Chicago teams lose whenever I'm present. Well, that isn't entirely true. Usually when I go to Red Sox vs White Sox games, the White Sox win. Boo. But in the times I've seen the Cubs and the Bears, it hasn't been pretty for Chicago. So I was VERY happy when we got a close game that led to a victorious shootout against the Ottawa Senators!!! (Carrie Underwood's husband's team). Not only did we win, Channing Tatum was also at the game so we got to see a nice screen shot of him making out with his beautiful wife, Jenna Dewan. Lucky girl. It was a fun game with friends and it renewed my interest in hockey!

After the game, we all went over to Westend for some post-game drinks. The place/crowd was so-so but they did have a great beer selection!

I love Celeb sightings!

2011-01-16T22:28:00.004-06:00

I'll definitely write more this week about my trip to Los Angeles. But for now, I'm gonna do a bit of bragging and post pics of the celebs I spotted out and about in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Venice!

Jessica Simpson and her fiance, Eric Johnson (Beverly Hills Hotel)
Ashley Simpson, who also had adorable son Bronx with her! (Beverly Hills Hotel)

Sara Paxton, from Ashton Kutcher's short-lived series The Beautiful Life (The Abbey)

Nico Tortorella, also from The Beautiful Life, out with Sara (The Abbey)

Terry O'Quinn aka John Locke!!! Spotted in Santa Monica

Steven W. Bailey, Joe the bartender from Grey's Anatomy (The Abbey)

The beautiful Dianna Agron! Glee-tastic (Beverly Hills Hotel)

David Lyons from NBC's new show, The Cape. Also naked guy in Eat Pray Love (Venice Ale House)

Bill Paxton of Big Love and, my personal fave, Twister (Beverly Hills Hotel)

I love Pinstripes

2011-01-12T13:51:00.005-06:00

This weekend, I went to Pinstripes Bowling and Bocce with a friend because I had a Groupon worth $40 and it was burning a hole in my pocket! I didn't quite know what to expect but I ended up have a really great time and enjoying some delicious food! First, we had to put our names down because I didn't realize that you should make reservations for a bowling lane. My bad. The girls who were working at the reception area were very nice and friendly, though, so I didn't mind waiting awhile. And it was awhile: 2 hours to be exact.

In the meantime, my friend and I sat at the bar having dinner and drinks. The food and drinks were OUTSTANDING. I had the crab cakes and we split the chicken & avocado flatbread. The crab cake was chock full of juicy crab bits and had a perfect light sauce on the plate. The outsides were just crispy enough. Delicious. The flatbread had very fresh looking ingredients and was quite generous in terms of size. More than that, the service was great and very attentive. There was also a nice wine list. although it was a bit pricey. I started with a 312 but then moved on to the Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon and wasn't disappointed. Even though our check stated that the final cost was a little over $40, the Groupon seemed to cover it all! Bonus!

The other patrons at Pinstripes all seemed to be suburbanites so they were pleasant and friendly. I was very happy to see that the bowling shoes were all well-maintained as well. Very upscale. I was really surprised by how much fun I had! Maybe it has to do with the fact that I beat Mick 2-0. Better luck next time, Mick!

Oh and our waiter was super hot. That always helps!

I love author Delphine Pontvieux

2011-01-08T16:32:00.003-06:00

I just finished the excellent book, Estimated Time of Arrest, by French author Delphine Pontvieux. The book is written wonderfully in English and tells the thrilling story of a Basque separatist group's terrorist plot in southwestern France. But in the middle of the edge-of-your-seat action, there is a passionate and unexpected romance involving a young man, who was falsely accused of being a member of the separatist group, and a beautiful young French girl living on a pacifist commune. I literally could not put the book down and I was educated in the process of reading the whole thing! I learned a lot about the Basque culture and its near demise during the Franquist regime. I learned about the long struggle for the Basque people to have their own country and keep their language/culture despite the odds. I just loved everything about this book. And the best part is: Delphine is a local author and a member of the Meetup group, French in Chicago! She is a fascinating woman with a huge heart. Not only is she a successful author and publisher, she is a SCUBA instructor and actress. She will be in the next Demi Moore/Miley Cyrus film this summer! Keep writing, Delphine!

I love The King's Speech

2011-01-05T11:43:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, I spent an afternoon with my parents at the movie theater. Obviously we needed to choose something that we would all enjoy. The King's Speech was an excellent decision. I'm sure everyone knows that it is a feel good movie (despite taking place during the lead up to WWII). The acting was outstanding. I have loved Colin Firth since his days as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. I'm pretty sure that watching the miniseries is a rite of passage for the majority of teenage girls. Helena Bonham Carter also shed her often bizarre character image in order to play a very dignified and sympathetic Queen Mother, stoically urging her husband to overcome his difficulties. She was motherly, supportive, and regal, a perfect combination for the wife of a King and the mother of the future Queen Elizabeth II. The film mixed humor in with childhood trauma, and Colin Firth was simply mesmerizing as a man trying desperately to be heard and taken seriously. Needless to say, I really enjoyed the film. The only thing I could criticize is the actress chosen to play twice-divorced American socialite, Wallis Simpson. She was the woman who stole King Edward VII's heart, forcing him to abdicate his throne in favor of Colin Firth's King George VI. In real life, Simpson was 2 years younger than David. In the film, she looks about 20 years older than Guy Pierce's David. I felt like this wasn't the best casting decision. Regardless, it didn't spoil the film and I'm actually really excited to rent it when it comes out on video so I can get all emotional again!

2011-01-04T10:09:00.002-06:00

More music! Just had to throw in another concert reference, this time from NYE! My friends and I went up to Milwaukee to see the Girl Talk concert at the Rave/Eagles Ballroom. We were lucky to get a Queen Suite at the newly-renovated Ambassador Hotel, located directly accross the street. And with the weather actually cooperating, it turned out to be a great night! I brought my alcoholic whipped cream along for the ride, along with a cooler full of beer and champagne for everyone. We enjoyed getting ready in our large room, preparing for the midnight celebrations! We headed off to the club at around 9PM. Once inside, all 9 of us were immediately separated. That place is like a black hole where you just spin around until you happen to find your friends again! The ground floor had two bars and a stage. The next two floors up had a stage, bars, and balcony. That is where we were waiting for Girl Talk to come on. However, we soon realized that about half of the group was still missing and we began getting texts to go a further two floors up. WHAT?! How is it possible that the club had ANOTHER two floors. We walked around trying to find the stairs leading up to the mysterious top room. As my one friend said, "That place is like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter. It just keeps expanding and hiding all of its secrets". On the top two floors of the building was an actual ballroom. Girl Talk was going full blast with his trademark mashups and people on stage. I was pulled into the crowd and up to the front barrier. We wanted to jump over but the guards in front of us blocked our way. I had a great time in the mosh pit though!

Somewhere in the middle of all of this craziness, the clock struck 12. I think I was in a foul mood because I had lost my friends and had no one to kiss. But all in all, the night was a great success. We all reunited in our VIP section to finish up the evening. I think I left at around 1 or 1:30. And passed out. Needed all day on Saturday to recover. Resolution #1: No more binge drinking in 2011.

I love Yeasayer

2011-01-03T16:49:00.003-06:00

Last Thursday, I got to check out the Yeasayer concert at Metro near Wrigleyville. I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't really listened to them before I bought my ticket or went to the concert. But I listened to my friend's advice and went to the show with no expectations. I'm pleased to say that, even had I expected a lot, I wouldn't have been disappointed. Metro was the perfect spot to host Yeasayer for two nights in a row. I even really enjoyed the opening band, LA-based HEALTH. They were pretty psychadelically awesome. There are more concert reviews to come, but in the meantime, enjoy this Yeasayer video and check them out!!! If you use them as a Pandora station, it can also turn you on to some great new stuff on the neo-punk synthesizer scene. (Please don't hate me for using the term "neo-punk". I didn't make it up)

I love The Goddess and Grocer

2010-12-29T12:12:00.004-06:00

Last night, I made an impromptu visit to the Bucktown Goddess and Grocer restaurant for a bottle of wine to bring to dinner. It was so convenient to pop in and out with a tasty and affordable Italian red! I wish I could have had more time to choose one of their many food dishes or desserts but now I just have an excuse to go back another time. The wine paired perfectly with our scrumptious dinner of pulled pork, french fries, and potato salad. Maybe we were trying to conjure up some summer weather with our barbeque eats! Either way, The Goddess and Grocer saved the day and I can't wait to go back!

Last night, I had to make a quick stop at The Goddess and Grocer in Wicker Park

I love Mondo Guerra of Project Runway!

2010-12-20T09:36:00.003-06:00

Thank you again to my ingenious friend, Hilary, for providing the amazing video of Thursday night (that's her doing her makeup at the beginning of the film). Last week, despite a very early flight on Friday, I met Hilary downtown for a night at Berlin with Mondo Guerra! The event was called Vogue for Tots. We each brought a gift for a child to the notorious Chicago gay club (a gift ensured discounted entry, even though we arrived WAY before they start charging a cover). We enjoyed some highly alcoholic shots of Rumplemintz and $2 PBR while waiting for Mondo to arrive. We just happened to be outside when he walked up in his signature knee socks. On top, he was wearing a very debonair tuxedo jacket, bow tie, and head phones. I thought he was going to act like a diva, but he was anything but! Once inside, he greeted all of his fans warmly and didn't show any annoyance at our incessant photo requests. The other people at the bar were all there to have fun and strut their cross-dressing stuff. It was a very jovial occasion and I'm pretty sure I even got Mondo to motorboat me. It's a moment that will live in infamy (at least on my blog!)

I love The Tiki Terrace in Des Plaines!

2010-12-14T19:22:00.002-06:00

I went there last night thanks to the groupon offer on Friday, December 10. My friend and I had an EXCELLENT time, the best Monday I can remember for a long time! Luckily, we happened to go on a night when there was a company party so we got to enjoy the Pacific-themed show for free. There was also a slight little problem with my coconut chicken, so they didn't charge me for it. I just found the service and overall experience to be very impressive and worth every penny. I arrived a bit ahead of my friend so I ordered the pina colada with strawberry and banana puree. Brought me back to my days on a cruise! It was so wonderful considering the temperature is about 9 degree F here in Chicago! Then my friend and I shared the taro chips with pineapple salsa appetizer. Mmmm starchy taro, makes me long for the good ol' days in New Zealand. Next I ordered the Coconut chicken and my friend had the spicy vegetable pasta. Both dishes were very tasty. The pasta was nice and spicy. While the show was on (featuring 3 dancers that did everything from hula to the haka), we shared the Zombie, a nice alcoholic fruity concoction. All in all, I was very surprised by this place! I had no idea it even existed and it's tucked away in a little strip mall off Lee St in Des Plaines. Three brothers run the place, but they're not Hawaiian. The waitress informed me that they're Polish-Japanese. Their wood carving skills were very impressive as they had carved most of the decor. Ahh I just can't gush enough about my surprising Monday night!

I love the Bears (even when they lose)

2010-12-13T14:00:00.003-06:00

Despite the apocalyptic weather (as my friend called it), 4 of us girls went out to the Bears vs. Patriots game yesterday and watched in embarassment and shame as our home team, the Monsters of the Midway, lost pathetically to Tom Brady and the Patriots. It was a sad day for Bears fans. BUT, we are still loyal and we still love them. I wouldn't venture outside in 35mph winds and 15 degree temps for any other team. Ironically, we are going to be at an ICE hockey game (Go Blackhawks!) in January but we will probably be much warmer sitting in an ice bowl than we were last night. The head on our beers would freeze before we could even take the first sip. It was craziness! The chance to see the Bears just overpowered our common sense, though, so we had to go. We managed to stay warm with many layers of clothing, some hand/feet warmers, and blankets. Oh and the beer...lots and lots of beer. And hey, at least the Packers lost too so we didn't have to give up our first place position in the division!

I love December in Chicago

2010-12-06T11:02:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I went to RL Cafe for brunch right when it opened at 11AM. I had quite possibly the best Bellini I've ever tasted. It was just the right mix of peach puree and champagne. Then I ordered the Gold Coast omelet (potato latke, egg, salmon, sour cream with chives) and it was delicious. My friends ordered a very tasty salad (this coming from someone who almost never orders salads!) and the quiche of the day, made with brocolli and cheese. Everything was great and brought out quickly. The service at RL is never disappointing. They always put on a personal touch. You'll never feel out of place. It's quite pricey but worth every penny!

Following brunch, my friends and I went over to the Museum of Science and Industry to marvel at the beautiful Christmas trees on display. They highlight the decorations and traditions of different countries around the world. The trees were beautiful and they really helped us to get into the holiday spirit! We also enjoyed seeing the U-505 Submarine exhibit and I would have loved to check out the Muppet World part, but ran out of time. It had been ages since my last trip to the museum so there were some very impressive changes. Because it is the holiday season, I also saw a performance of some Lithuanian dancers and singers. One of the young girls had a FANTASTIC voice. It was very impressive! Kudos to the museum for helping to keep local cultures and traditions alive!

I love alcohol, in all of it's forms

2010-12-01T11:09:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, I just happened to catch a snippit on the News which was talking about the latest "controversy" in the alcohol world. We've already completed the witch-hunt for Four Loko and Joose, so now the authorities need to complain about something else: Alcohol-infused Whipped Cream.

There are two brands of the whipped cream - Canisters of Cream and Whipped Lightning – and it comes in a variety of flavors including Caramel Pecan, Chocolate, Hazelnut Espresso and more, depending on the brand. Canisters of Cream is 30 proof while Whipped Lightning is 36 proof - and is cheaper than most liquor. Read more here. Basically, I had to try the stuff, before it's taken off the shelves. So I bought some from Teddy's Liquors in Palatine and took it home to enjoy on top of strawberries, with a bit of brown sugar added. Delicious. My mother also put some on a cup of coffee. We're now eagerly looking forward to making a Bailey's with Coffee and adding the Caramel-flavored whipped cream on top. I'm sure it will be delightful.

I also managed to add to my cache of Dogfish Head Brewery's Raison D'Etre Ale. Just on a side note, I am absolutely thrilled to watch Sam Calagione, DFH's owner, talk about his innovative and tasty brews each week on the Discovery Channel's Brew Masters. It looks like a really fun place to work and I love all of the passion and dedication he and his employees have for beer!!! Clearly, it pays off because their stuff sells like hotcakes. Pity I never got to try Bitches Brew, though!

I love Laura Schreffler and Lovetrekker

2010-11-29T14:13:00.004-06:00

I urge everyone to check out my big sister's new blog, Lovetrekker. Over the next days, weeks, months, and hopefully years, Laura will be traveling around the world, offering up her wisdom on love in all the right (if not strange) places!

Here is a little info about Laura:

"Once upon a time…I worked in the wild and crazy world of gossip. I lived, breathed, and ate celebrities (not literally, of course). One day, I woke up. I realized that it was time to pursue my dream of becoming a travel writer — and my ambition to find the perfect man. I’m not sure if one exists, but, as a die-hard romantic, I refuse to believe that finding true love is impossible. Hence, my quest to explore love, romance and dating around the world — or what I like to call ‘looking for love in all the right places.’ Won’t you join me?"

I'm so excited to "join" Laura in her travels and I'm super proud of my friend! Laura and I met in Boston 4 years ago and formed an instant bond when we realized that we shared the same birthday, October 12. Although we haven't often been in the same place at the same time over the past 4 years, we still manage to see each other in different spots around the US (New York!)and the world (London) and I wish her the best of luck as she pursues a very successful travel/romance blog!!! Congratulations, love!

I love Bijan's Bistro

2010-11-16T14:00:00.004-06:00

On Saturday morning, I went for a lovely ladies' brunch at Bijan's Bistro on State Street in Chicago's Near North Side. The service was great, the food was delicious, and my favorite part was probably the coffee. (Or the paycheck!) To start, I thought I would avoid my usual brunch indulgence of a mamosa and instead opt for a latte. Whatever espresso they used was rich, not burnt, exactly what I needed. It was the perfect temperature and served in a clear Italian-style mug. Delightful!
When it came time to order food, I had no trouble deciding on the Brioche French toast. The other girls at the table all ordered an egg variety...scrambled, over-easy, omelettes, and they all looked delicious for sure. But I was so hungry that I was happy to have ordered the giant plate of French toast. And I ate every last bite. It was light and fluffy, four thick slices of perfectly golden brioche covered with strawberry slices and syrup.

The bacon wasn't bad (nothing will ever compare to my mother's homemade bacon with brown sugar so it isn't fair to rate it) and the home-style potatoes were very yummy. When we split the check 5 ways, it came to about $16 each, including tax and tip. I think that's pretty reasonable considering the amount of food and the neighborhood! It was a very nice way to escape the cold gray wintumn (winter+autumn?) morning.

I Like/Love Tango Sur

2010-11-15T15:47:00.003-06:00

On Saturday night, I went out with three girlfriends to Tango Sur, the famed Argentinean restaurant in Wrigleyville on Southport Ave. For steak lovers, it's like dying and going to heaven. However, before you can get into heaven, you're gonna have to wait more than 2 hours. I will only say this once...GO EARLY. If you have less than 8 people in your party, you cannot make reservations, and the restaurant fills up very quickly. This fact in itself accounts for my mixed review. We arrived at 7:30PM and put our names on the list. After being told that we would have to wait for 2 hours, we walked down the road to Hye Bar for some pre-dinner drinking. Tango Sur is BYOB so I wasn't really bothered by spending money down the street.

Once we were finally able to sit down and order, it was about 10PM and we were starving. Now, I don't know if it's because I was wearing over-the-knee black boots, but I seemed to get a lot of attention from the waiters at the restaurant, who are all male. I would also venture to say that 99% of them are from South America, which definitely adds to the authentic feeling of the place! Of course, I didn't mind the attention, and I might have even managed to get a date out of it! Saucy. Speaking of sauce, the first thing we ordered was a plate of empanadas on which we smeared delicious chimichurri sauce. It's a concoction of olive oil, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, and probably a few other things. But Tango Sur is one of the few places that does not add any vinegar. It was to-die-for! We ordered two spinach and cheese empanadas and two chicken empanadas. They were the perfect appetizer.

For the main meal, the hit at the table was the birthday girl's Vacio for two (shown above the empanadas). A grilled steak with sweet potatoes and a tantalizing sauce, it was big and meaty and delicious. I ordered the Bife Vesuvio, a well-done steak stuffed with spinach and cheese, marinated in a white wine sauce. I will say here that it was delicious. But I'm a rare steak kind of girl and I found my meat a little hard to chew. I kept the leftovers, though, so I still enjoyed it! Jessica got the best thing of all, in my opinion: El Filet, filet mignon with a red onion wine sauce. I managed to snag half of hers to take home in my leftovers. It was perfectly cooked and sooooo tender. Although it was annoying to wait until 10PM to sit down and eat, the staff were efficient and fun. They gave us flan with delicious dulce de leche on top for my friend's birthday, and their flirtation added to the sexy ambience. I would for sure go back, but maybe I'd try getting there at 5:30 instead of 7:30.

Steaks tend to run about $20-$25 for one person, $35 for a two-person meal. Empanadas are $1.75 each. Run to the restaurant just to try the chimichurri sauce!!!

I love Bye Bye Liver

2010-11-08T17:40:00.000-06:00

On Saturday night, I went to see Bye Bye Liver for my friend's 27th birthday (shout out to Compton!!!) What is Bye Bye Liver, you may ask? It is a HILARIOUS interactive drinking play performed at Fizz Bar in Chicago. Once the play started at 8PM, I didn't stop laughing for the entirety of the performance. The clip you see here was actually reproduced on Saturday but "young Padawan" was played by someone else, as was the creepy guy behind the bar. The cast regularly writes new material, but clearly they'll stick with the skits that get a great reaction, and this one did. After each show, the members come down the stairs to the regular part of Fizz and speak with audience members. We were lucky enough to chat with Danielle Wheeler, one of the show's beauties, about her unfortunate dating past (I could definitely sympathize). The cast members drink right along with the audience; Danielle informed us that they don't know which bottles contain alcohol until the play is underway so those liquor-faces after doing shots don't require much acting at all! I was very happy to see this play, especially since it involved drinking, and because the birthday girl bought the tickets off of Groupon! Ours were each $12.50 and regular priced tickets are $20. But now that I know the quality of the jokes and how much I laughed, I'd venture to say that I would go back, even if I have to pay full price!

I love District Bar

2010-11-05T12:52:00.005-05:00

Last night, I was chilling with the BU Alumni crowd again at District Bar in Chicago. The BU Alumni group had graciously reserved the side lounge at District Bar for a Young Alumni Happy Hour, where about 20-25 of us had a chance to meet and network or simply reconnect. Although drinks were slightly above average in terms of price, they did have a great selection of beers on tap and the prices are in line with the upscale bars in the surrounding area. Located at 170 W. Ontario in the heart of downtown, the bar was easy to find and had a friendly staff. They also served us delicious seasoned fries, some lemony-garlic hummus, and clever little flatbread pizzas (buffalo chicken and margherita). District is definitely an Ohio State bar so I'm sure you can catch college games there, if that's your thing. For information, check out their facebook page here. Otherwise, they're playing the Bulls vs Celtics basketball game tonight, 11/5, which is oddly appropriate and ironic considering we were a bunch of Chicago-Bostonians there last night. As I was leaving, I also noted that they had live music which was pleasant and entertaining. I'd definitely try this place again!

I love Piece Pizza

2010-11-04T09:16:00.005-05:00

Last night I went to Piece Pizza for a Boston University Alumni planning meeting. It was probably my 4th or 5th time at Piece since I have lived in Chicago and it seriously never disappoints. They have a crazy good selection of their own micro-brewed brewskies and classy stylish imports. For old times' sake, I started off the night with a Strongbow cider but then moved on to the Top Heavy Hefeweizen, a beer that brought me back to my beer-filled days in glorious Munchen, Germany. The restaurant is at a great location in Wicker Park, at the corner of the Damen/Milwaukee/North Aves intersection. I arrived at around 6PM to a nearly empty place but by 8PM, the whole room was full and bustling. BU Alumni events are often held there because of the owner's own alumnus status. Winters are for watching the BU Terriers kill their competition in the Bean Pot, a phenomenon not usually experienced by midwesterners. The ambience is convivial, the pizza is out of this world, and the beer...oh the beer. They do sell growlers of their home brews and it seems that next time, I'll have to buy my own supply of the Top Heavy. I might be down soon to catch one of the Bears games they play every weekend!

I love Mulberry for Target

2010-10-21T09:53:00.004-05:00

It's that time again, time for me to rave about Target's latest designer collection: Mulberry for Target. I apologize for writing this so late because by now I'm sure most of the bags are gone. However, I was lucky enough to receive one for my birthday recently from a very close friend. She gave me the Large Denim Satchel (similar to the pink leopard one above but in blue denim and navy blue patent leather). I also purchased the teeny tiny cross-body in black for nights out when all I want to carry is my phone, my money, and my ID. Trust me, not much more can fit in the little thing. But it's perfect because I really dislike having to have my hand around a clutch all the time, especially when I want to hold a drink and dance the night away! I can't say enough good things about the bags. They're easy to open, to transport, and they hold a LOT, which is good for me because I'm always looking for a Mary Poppins carryall (and I do mean "carry all"). They are also moderately priced, with the largest bags under $50. Thank God because the luxury Mulberry brand can cost you upwards of $500-$2000 depending on its size, material, and design. As the brand is originally English, I first discovered the bags when living in London. Brit DJ, model, and former MTV host Alexa Chung has inspired her very own bag for the Mulberry collection. Hurry to stores and get one now before it's too late!

I love The Baton

2010-10-18T15:02:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, I went out to enjoy the lovely city of Chicago for part 2 of my friend's bachelorette party. We chose to start the evening at The Baton, featuring some hot and talented lip-synching drag queens! I'm surprised to say that it was my first drag show. But I hope it will not be my last. When we walked in for the 8:30 performance, there were three ladies on stage performing the Wonder Girls song, "Nobody But You". (Check out an adorable video of a little boy dancing to the K-pop song here). The cost to get in was $15 plus a 2-drink minimum policy. I went for the hard stuff (of course) and ordered a Cosmopolitan and a Dirty Martini. They definitely didn't skimp on the alcohol. The shows seem to last about 1.5 hours so the early one gave us a great start to the rest of the night (we went to Mad River, in case you were wondering). It was a classy, glittery night of intimate entertainment (the place is pretty small and cramped, reservations are a must)! If you are looking for a place to celebrate a birthday or bachelorette party (for men or women), this place is unique and fun!

I love The Social Network

2010-10-11T22:07:00.005-05:00

Because

A) I love facebook and was lucky enough to be at one of the first schools outside of Harvard to get it

B) It showed the real pussy nature of Harvard "gentlemen". I'm looking at you, Winklevi!

And C) Trent Reznor provided an AMAZING score of forboding and earthy electronic sound that made the movie even more compelling. Find free downloads of the music here. Thanks, Trent!

I am really happy that Erica Albright stood up for us BU girls. It's true that we can be bitches, but at least we're real and we tell the truth! Unlike some people (now I'm giving you the stink eye, Mark Zuckerberg). But I will give credit where credit is due: Mark, you are truly an evil genius and I can't imagine life without people writing on my wall or poking me. I just hope you've managed to make some real friends along the way. Maybe the best part of the film was seeing how facebook (aka "thefacebook") has evolved since 2004. It was like a walk down memory lane seeing the old layout!

I love The Town

2010-09-26T08:44:00.003-05:00

On Friday night, my friend and I went out to have our quasi-usual Friday night movie date. This time, we decided to go for a drama (as opposed to the last movie we saw, Grown Ups). I was really looking forward to seeing The Town for a variety of reasons: Ben Affleck doing shirtless pull-ups, Blake Lively in a complete reversal from her role as Serena Van der Woodsen, John Hamm as someone slightly more like-able than Don Draper, etc. Not only did all of these aspects exceed my expectations, but the Boston filming location also brought back some great memories (although I was never brave enough as a young collegian to venture into neighborhoods like Charlestown or Southie, except for the Irish Parade). The movie ran about 2 hours and and was extremely intense. Some of the dialogue was difficult to follow and we couldn't figure out if it was because of the strong Boston accent, their use of "bank robber terms", or because they were talking too fast. Nevertheless, you understand the general gist of the movie, but I would like to rent it when it's out on DVD and watch it using subtitles! John Hamm and Rebecca Hall were very talented in the film, which ultimately makes you question whether people can redeem themselves after continuously making the same mistake. All in all, the movie was very enjoyable if you prepare yourself for a serious and dark drama.

I love Mumford and Sons

2010-09-16T22:00:00.002-05:00

Please take a listen to the first song on the blog because it is my current song of choice! I simply cannot stop listening to it, especially while running miles and miles (yeah right) at the gym. The band is Mumford and Sons and they're hopefully going to be the next big thing to hit the States from London. The rest of the music on their album, Sigh No More, has a very folky intimate vibe and I'm loving it. The four gents are clearly extremely talented and have been known to exchange instruments during performances. The music has a somewhat organic Kings of Leon vibe, but I'm hoping that the guys stay a bit more down-to-earth than the Followill brothers as they take on the US and the rest of the world!

I love Christian Siriano for Payless (again!)

2010-09-12T21:17:00.004-05:00

I checked out the Fall 2010 collection designed by Christian Siriano for Payless last week. I bought these very cute new pairs of shoes for my new job! I think he has tried to add a little more width in the shoes since the last pairs I bought were designed for extremely narrow feet. The shoes are still a bit narrow but I think they can be broken in after a couple of days of wear. The flats are the perfect eggplant color for fall and the black ones, while really tall, are also really sexy! I love wearing the flats with some skinny-leg jeans, a blouse, and a preppy blazer. The gold insignia adds a touch of "rich" flair even though the shoes are only about $35 each! And with Payless' ongoing BOGO offer, why not go out and grab yourself a couple of pairs!?

I love Cyrano's Cafe on the Riverwalk

2010-08-29T16:07:00.003-05:00

In the past two months, I've had the pleasure of visiting Cyrano's Cafe on the Chicago Riverwalk (between Michigan and Columbus Ave) twice for Sunday brunch. During the summer, chef Didier Durand opens this little French gem as an offshoot to his traditional French cafe, Cyrano's Bistrot Wine Bar & Cabaret. The cafe is located right on the river with beautiful views of the Chicago skyline and passing tour boats. The food is traditional French and there is an excellent bar drink selection (I had a glass of the red Bordeaux and it was delicious). In the two times I've visited, I tried the duck rillettes with herbed bread and the quiche with leeks and caramelized onions. Both options were fantastic. But I do sort of regret not ordering the Hungry Man brunch, an omelette chock full of all the veggie fixins (and chorizo)! I think the best reason to visit this place in the summer is probably the fact that, at 11AM at any other restaurant that serves brunch in the city, you would find yourself in a queue that lasts at least 45 minutes. But here, there are tables aplenty and friendly service (although I do have to say, the service isn't that quick). If you want to enjoy a lazy Sunday morning/afternoon in the glorious summer sunshine, Cyrano's is the place to be!

I love the French Market at Ogilvie

2010-08-20T18:33:00.002-05:00

I apologize for my long absence. There is no good excuse but I can tell you that in the last 2 weeks, I managed to land a job at Rexam, the international consumer packaging company! So that is very exciting. I was also excited to make another visit to the French Market at Chicago's Ogilvie Transportation Center this week. I made a couple of stops on Wednesday afternoon to some of the different merchants and walked away with some delicious loot! First, I had to buy some macarons. Vanille Patisserie, located at the train terminal entrance, is the only place in Chicago that I've found that can make macarons the way they are supposed to taste. Light, crunchy, flavorful, and unique, these macarons could even rival the ones that I covet from La Durée! There is also a Vanille Patisserie on Clybourn. Now all I crave is an Ispahan from a Pierre Hermé or La Durée boutique in Paris. Looks like I might have to wait a bit longer for one of those, though! Next, I walked to the opposite corner of the market to the Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread, and Wine merchant. Their selection of cheeses is almost unrivaled. The best part is that many of them are so unique that I've never found them anywhere else! For example, I purchased a chunk of manchego cheese with a rosemary wrap around the outside. I also bought a goat cheese infused with anise and lavender. The flavors are light and fresh, perfect for summer. I'm in love. Although the prices are quite expensive, it's just a joy to treat yourself to some delicious summer fare once in awhile. Also in my grocery bag was a 1/2 lb. of Venetian Calamari linguini from Pappardelle's Pasta (I made sure to steer clear of the Habanero pasta so as not to repeat a dinnertime drama from last week). I'm planning on checking out Pappardelle's suggested recipes to see how to prepare the pasta. But if all else fails, I can always make a sauce with cream, butter, shallots, garlic, and perhaps some clams/clam juice? If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears! I'd definitely implore you all to check out this little slice of France in Chicago. It's pretty damn great!

I love D&J Bistro

2010-08-07T12:34:00.003-05:00

There is a fantastic French restaurant in Lake Zurich that you can always count on to please your palate. D&J Bistro has been around since 1987 serving wonderful classic French cuisine with some modern twists. The other day, for my second visit, I decided to try the special dish of Prince Edward Island mussels in a coconut curry sauce with angel hair pasta. The portion size was just right and the sauce, although not something I would typically find in France, was perfectly seasoned and scrumptious. The mussels were fresh and abundant. My mother and I had already split the chicken liver mousse paté as an appetizer with garlic toasted baguette. That's always our chosen hors d'oeuvre. For her main dish, she had a bowl of the day's corn chowder, which was also delicious. The wine list is long and impressive; we each had a glass of the Vouvray Domaine Pichot Loire white wine, described as having an "off-dry and flattering taste with quince, fig, and pear flavors". The Daily Herald recently wrote a story about the uber-talented head chef, Chinese-Japanese Masato Suzuki. As long as D&J Bistro keeps producing French cuisine at this caliber, I'm sure they will be around for another 20+ years! Check out their facebook page and visit the restaurant! Je vous en supplie!!!

I love Rent The Runway

2010-07-31T10:38:00.005-05:00

For the wedding last weekend, I got to experience Rent the Runway for the first time! And it was awesome. OK well I have to preface that by saying that I only got to wear my dress for about 10 minutes before I realized that it wasn't exactly made for busty girls. BUT, I did find that the whole experience was really easy and enjoyable. I arranged for the dresses (in size 10 and 12, they send you the second size for free!) to arrive on July 23rd. They came in a nice garment bag that I got to keep! RTR sent a free sample of the Cover Girl dual eye color stick for smoky eyes. They also included helpful products like double sided tape and lint removing pads! I rented the dresses for 4 days (you can also choose to rent for 8 days for slightly more money) and upon returning to the States on Monday, I put the dresses in the prepaid envelope that RTR provided and just dropped it in a blue mailbox before 12PM! Any later, and I would have risked getting late fee charges. I also purchased $5 insurance so that any minor rips or stains would be taken care of. Dress rental can cost anywhere from $50 to $350 and you can also choose to rent jewelry with the dress. They suggest styles depending on which designers you like (ranging from Badgley Mischka to Prabal Gurung to Christian Siriano, etc) and what kind of event you are planning on attending (summer weddings, cocktail party, work party, etc). The founders of the website, Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss, are currently in the lead in Inc.com's 30 Under 30 Entrepreneur List! I strongly encourage you to vote and to check out RTR for any future events. If you do, ask me to give you a joiner's code so I can get a discount on my next dress rental. Enjoy the experience!

I love Ontario!

2010-07-26T17:56:00.004-05:00

I just had an awesome weekend in Toronto and Brighton, Ontario. Our neighbors to the North really know how to make people feel welcome and I'm looking forward to exploring more of Canada in the near future! First of all, I had to survive a harrowing trip to the airport at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning (flash floods in the dark are NOT FUN, trust me on that one). But once I made it to the parking garage (Midway EZ Parking), the men put me at ease and provided a quick, affordable, and professional service for guarding my car and providing transportation to/from the airport. Second, I have to give major props to the people at Porter Airlines. The petite company really knows how to treat its guests with style. The planes are small but the trip to Toronto was quick and easy. I landed at the Toronto City Airport (a little island airport right downtown!) and Porter provides both a free ferry to the mainland and a shuttle bus to the middle of the city. Free is for me. Toronto is Porter's hub airport and provides connecting flights to places like Montreal, St. John's, Ottawa, etc. and I cannot recommend the airline enough! Prices are low and the customer service is outstanding. On the way back to Chicago, the Toronto airport has a large comfy lounge with free beverages and snacks in a kitchen area. Plus, they offer free food and WINE during the flight!!! Very impressive as not many airlines do that anymore.
Next stop in Toronto was the Hertz rental car agency. It was quick and painless. I had a 2-hour trip ahead of me to the quaint town of Brighton to the East. I even went old-school style with printed out Google Map directions! I made it in plenty of time and I was able to enjoy one of the cutest weddings I have ever seen. Congratulations again, Jon and Karen Wiesenthal! The other guests at the wedding were genuinely friendly, open, and totally welcoming. Not once did I feel awkward for going to the wedding alone and without knowing anyone (besides the groom, that is). I made a late trip back to Toronto on Saturday night after the wedding to spend the night with another LSE friend. Her apartment was beautiful and I just loved driving through the city at night. I really want to go back some time when I can take advantage of the night life! On Sunday morning, we went to Le Select Bistro after dropping off my rental car. Although some foodie writers seem to think that authentic French food left France and can now only be found in North America and Asia (I strongly beg to differ), they would make a good argument by featuring the dishes at Le Select. I really wanted to order the Foie Gras dish but they were OUT OF FOIE GRAS!!! Now I should have just left right then and there, but I decided to give them a second chance and ordered the Bison meat steak tartare. I do not regret my choice. It was fabulous. Flavorful and fresh, I ate every bite! My beautiful friend ordered the confit de canard (Duck confit) and it was also delicious. For dessert, I enjoyed a strong double espresso and stole a few bites of said friend's chocolate cake. I just couldn't resist. I also have to interject here and mention that I am a big fan of Canada's twist on the Bloody Mary: the Caeser. Just as spicy and tomato-y, the Caeser features Clamato juice instead of plain Tomato Juice. The secret ingredient? Clam juice. AWESOME.
So that about sums up my really enjoyable trip to the North. I've heard that Toronto has the biggest gay pride week in the world (complete with major shopping sales!). So, I might just have to head back next June! Who's coming with me?

I love Flying Pig Soapworks

2010-07-19T08:40:00.002-05:00

I love supporting local artists/artisans so when I found out that my coworker's wife makes soap, I just had to try some out! The company is called Flying Pig Soapworks and I recently purchased 5 bars for $20. There is also a special deal that if you get 5 of your friends to "like" their facebook page, you get one bar for free! I'm working on getting my friends to check it out. I was hoping to buy the bars as gifts for friends but now that I've smelled them all, I want to keep them all for myself! Soaps come in the following scents: Goldfish-in-a-bag; Loofah soap; Oatmeal, Milk, & Honey; Hungarian Lavender (bought that one); Solar Flare (bought that one); Carbon (bought that one); Olive You!; Pine Tar; Jewelweed; Zing! (bought that one); Lemon Twist; Gardener's Bar; Blackberry Sage (bought that one); Green Man; Sea Salt Spa Bar; and Summer Snow. I just read on facebook that they're going to try making a beer soap bar soon! I can't wait to try it. Please check out Flying Pig Soapworks and make sure to tell them that I sent you!

I Love Sunda New Asian

2010-07-18T14:02:00.005-05:00

On Friday night, I met up with a friend at Sunda New Asian at 110 W. Illinois on the corner of Lasalle downtown. I was expecting fabulousness after reading about the restaurant on Perez Hilton (Jeremy Piven apparently dropped his phone into the toilet there and made a waiter fish it out!) Well I decided that if it was good enough for Jeremy, then it was good enough for me! The restaurant did not disappoint AT ALL. Luckily, my friend went to the restaurant while I was driving into the city so, by the time I arrived and gave my car to the valet, our table was ready (a 30-40 minute wait because we failed to make reservations in time). The crowd was very well-dressed, young, and fun. Our waiter came over to us right away and was very open and attentive. He told us about the specials for the evening and I was sold right away on the lobster roll with avocado, mango, and jalapeno inside with bacon and tempura on the top. Oh. My. God. It was the best sushi I've ever had. My friend bought the spicy tuna roll and it was equally delicious. We also shared an appetizer of oxtail pot stickers that were meaty and flavorful. The other highlights (let's face it...what was NOT a highlight???) were the drinks and dessert. They had a beautiful list of cocktails from which I ordered the Rising Sun (Ty Ku Soju, Macadamia Nut Liqueur, Pineapple juice, Black Cherry Brandy) and the Blushing Geisha (Tequila, Pama, Domain de Canton, Guava Juice, Calamansi Soda). My friend ordered the Go Go Berry (strawberries with Absolut Mango, St. Germain, Triple Sec, and Mango Juice). They were all superb. We also chose the Mochi ice cream dessert. It came with the following flavors of mochi (ice cream wrapped in rice paste): green tea, mango, vanilla, red bean, and strawberry. The green tea ice cream was the best green tea flavored food I've ever tasted. The flavors were clean and bright and just plain delicious. The prices at Sunda are not cheap. But the quality of the service and the food were well worth what we paid and I would definitely go there again! Maybe next time, I'll see some celebrities! I think I'll steer clear of Jeremy Piven, though. I wouldn't want him to ask me to fish his cell phone out of the toilet.

Correction: Tim from Rockit Ranch Productions just left a comment and let me know that Jeremy Piven actually fished the phone out himself. I hope he washed his hands after!

For further information, check out this W Magazine article about the American founders of Ty Ku Sake!

I love Bastille Day in Chicago

2010-07-15T10:14:00.002-05:00

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Bastille Day festivities at Kiki's Bistro in Chicago. Upon arriving at the restaurant on 900 N Franklin, I was greeted with Kiki's 2CV classic French voiture in front of the place. In the street next door, there was a street fest with a French singer in the style of Edith Piaf accompanied by an accordion and base player. I wandered around to find my French and Francophile friends and realized that there were many people there that I had never seen at any of the French In Chicago meetings or FACC cocktail hours! I enjoyed a couple glasses of some sparkling rosé and also watched a couple of street performers who played with fire! It was very reminiscent of the teenagers who play with fire sticks on the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower in the summer evenings.

The restaurant itself was founded by Kiki (Georges Kiki Cuisance). He is a native of Eastern France and has been in the restaurant business for 50+ years. He even worked at the Closerie des Lilas in Paris (Montparnasse area) which was frequented by Hemingway. In the 1960s, he came to Chicago as the sommelier for Maxim's de Chicago. He also opened Le Bordeaux restaurant on both Madison and Michigan before eventually moving north to Kiki's Bistro. I didn't get to taste the food this time but I'm sure I'll be back to get some fine French fare! Vive la France!

I love Galena!

2010-07-12T11:17:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, my friends and I had a blast in Galena, Illinois! We decided to rent some canoes and go from Buckhill to Ferry Landing, a 10 mile trip that was supposed to take 4.5 hours. Yeah right. What really happened was more of a float trip and we only made it half way, to the Galena landing. Thankfully, the staff at Fever River Outfitters were very laid back and had a great sense of humor! They let us put all of our coolers full of beer and food into the canoes. It was very "interesting" when the canoes flipped over. Some of our things were lost in the fray but we all made it back to shore alive, although with very bruised limbs and aching arms.
Galena showed us even more of its charms at night! The local taxi company, Grandpa's Taxi, has only 2 drivers! So we got to know our female driver very well. She was a sweetheart. We tried to get into Gobbies for dinner but it was very full. So we ended up at local bar, Almost Paradise, instead. Almost paradise, indeed. The food was pretty good, although it did take awhile to reach us. The beers kept on flowing, though! After that, we finished the night with some excellent karaoke at Benjamins! There were some really annoying bachelorette/baby shower parties there but we ruled the night, anyway. Karaoke just cannot be beat! All of the places we visited were on Galena's Main Street. The area has changed in the past 10 years to feature more expensive boutiques that attract more tourists than townies. I didn't have much time to do any shopping and I was a bit disappointed by the disappearance of the antique stores that Galena used to be known for! But all in all, if you're looking for a great canoe/kayak trip, the Fever River Outfitters have a great deal, worry-free!

I love new fashion websites

2010-07-09T09:29:00.004-05:00

This morning, Caroline sent me a link to an article in the New York Times dealing with online fashion websites that allow you to post pictures of yourself and have other people rate your outfits! Weirdly, Caroline and I had just been discussing the new trend of taking pictures of yourself and sending them to friends for "honest" input. This is something that I do ALL THE TIME (Thanks, Mallory!) Yes, I'm vain and I like to be well-dressed. So the websites covered in this article are really fun and innovative! Basically, instead of just sending your self-taken photograph to one person, you can send it over the world wide web for instant feedback from brutally honest strangers! The best sites are: Fashism and Go Try It On. Both sites are less than a year old! The article also spoke about Fashion Stake, which is launching soon, and Catwalk Genius, which allows you to finance new talent and take part in their success! There is LookBook, a website that lets you "hype" new designers via Twitter and Facebook. Social Media at its best! And finally, I Like My Style is perfect for new designers who want to generate buzz for their products. I posted Dzmitry Samal's eyeglasses today. They should be ready in stores soon! Anyway, I hope you guys try out some of these sites. They seem very fun and perfect for when you're in the fitting room but unsure of whether or not you should buy your outfit! Check them out.

I love Linda Ellerbee

2010-07-05T21:21:00.002-05:00

I just recently finished Linda Ellerbee's book Take Big Bites. For all the people of my generation who might not remember who she is, she was the host of Nick News on Nickelodeon when we were little. She was also a journalist and anchorwoman on some of the major networks and was a host of several shows including NBC News Overnight and Good Morning America. This is her third book and the only one that I've read so far. But after zipping through it, I've determined that I will have to read the rest soon. I don't know, perhaps I loved the book because she wrote about her extensive travel adventures. Or maybe it was our mutual love for trying the cuisine of each country she visited. I just found myself completely enthralled with her stories. It felt like each chapter was written as if I had pulled up a chair next to Linda Jane at a faraway restaurant for her to tell me how she arrived there and where she was going. At the end of each chapter, there was a recipe (or 2) for the food she had just sublimely written about. I can't wait to try the cream of tomato watermelon soup this summer. It sounded fresh, cool, and perfect for this hot weather. You're all invited to try it out! In the meantime, please read the book if you need to be transported somewhere but your funds are limited (like mine)!

I love Jesse Shaw: Spiral Design

2010-07-03T12:34:00.003-05:00

Another Savannah College of Art and Design student, Jesse R. Shaw showed this Swan Chair at the NeoCon Expo in 2010. Shaw uses the foundation of traditional building methods in his contemporary designs. In 2006, he completed his training in the art of traditional wooden furniture building at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Since 2008, he has been working on his MFA in Furniture Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. His thesis project explores the utility and function of spiral forms found in nature. His work includes tables, couches, lamps, and all of the pieces include some facet of the spiral design. Shaw incorporates a degree of traditional construction and painstakingly assesses each aspect of the creation process, down to the type of wood and a room's visual setup to ensure strength and longevity of the furniture.

I love Timothy Luscher

2010-07-02T09:59:00.003-05:00

I saw this chair at the 2010 Neocon Expo hosted yearly by the Chicago Merchandise Mart. The artist is Timothy Luscher, an American designer and student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. The chair was first exhibited at the 2009 Neocon Expo. The artist has spent the last 10 years in the design field first with his own furniture company specializing in corporate commissions and most recently as a professional retail and visual designer. His designs focus on unusual uses of materials and construction with an emphasis on fluid forms. No word yet on whether or not it can be purchased but feel free to visit Timothy at his website if you're interested in getting more information.

I love Roberto Costa-Maria Zureta jewelry

2010-07-01T09:19:00.005-05:00

Ah, Roberto Costa. How can you miss the incredibly attractive Brazilian sitting amongst his magnificent jewelry pieces in London's Brick Lane market every Sunday? I was introduced to him in April 2009 by my friend, Alexandre, and immediately fell in love with his recycled bijoux. The line, appropriately titled Maria Zureta, is inspired by a fearless, outrageous and brazen libertine. "She was living a life devoid of restraint or composure. She was labeled amoral and depraved for her provacative clothing and was condemned to wander the streets forever, able to gain salvation only by providing protection for the mortals who invoke her name." What a namesake to live up to! Costa takes chains and charms that he receives from jewelry dealers and combines them in the spirit of adaptation and reuse, proving that, sometimes, the final product is worth more than the sum of its parts. Although Costa's website is not developed yet, his Facebook page features photos and information on where to buy his jewelry. It is currently available in the UK, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, NYC, San Fran, and Japan. But the best option, by far, is to see him in person at the Brick Lane market on a Sunday afternoon so you can meet this charming, humble, and talented man.

Check out this facebook page for some fashion shoot photos of Maria Zureta jewelry! Faboosh.

I love Felicia Ferrone

2010-06-30T08:17:00.004-05:00

Felicia Ferrone has been called one of the hot "Young Americans" in architecture and design by Wallpaper Magazine (Apr. '10). Her innovative use of space and design allows her to products to be both functional and fanciful. Ferrone completed her study of architecture in the United States before working under influential architects and product designers in Milan. Most recently, Ferrone has been invited to teach the studio course Designed Objects 2 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, from where she hails.

I recently discovered Ferrone's work thanks to a full-page write-up in Details Magazine (May '10). The article featured Ferrone's Revolution Collection (pictured). It is an award-winning glassware design that plays tricks on your senses. Constructed to make liquids appear as if they are floating in mid air, this glassware features a pitcher, glasses, and bowls that are hot and cold resistant as well as dishwasher/microwave safe. Basically, the glassware is made by placing two glasses together so if you want to serve two different drinks at the same meal, you could even just turn the glasses over and reduce your wash load!

Imagine yourself entertaining guests while serving a deep Burgundy red in one of these glasses. Or how about a vibrant bowl of gazpacho chilled to perfection on a hot summer day? This glassware will help you experience every taste with a visual enhancement. At $84 for a set of two wine glasses, the set does not come cheap. But for the host(ess) with the most(est), having a built-in conversation starter to your evening could prove to be priceless!

I love Rodarte for Target

2010-06-29T09:33:00.006-05:00

As you all know, my fascination and appreciation for Target know no bounds. Last fall, Target paired up with fashion designer sisters, Rodarte (Laura and Kate Mulleavy), for another low-cost lign of clothing, much like the subsequent lines by Zac Posen and Liberty of London. Rodarte was also given exclusive access to space at Colette in Paris, during fashion week. The sisters come from California and have been designing goth inspired pieces since 2005. I, unfortunately, missed the incredible opportunity to shop their Target line when it came out but, luckily, the world has developed ebay! So I searched and searched and finally purchased the navy blue and white striped shirt that you see here. It pairs perfectly with my new tan trousers and white blazer from Ann Taylor Loft (which is having a 40% off everything sale right now!) for the summer sailor look. Happy shopping!

I love food fests (part 2)

2010-06-28T08:42:00.002-05:00

On Saturday morning, I went to Long Grove's Strawberry Festival, which ran all weekend. Despite the large crowd, we found a great parking spot and our dog, Oliver, was even welcome! I always love to go to the Strawberry Fest for the chocolate covered strawberries from Long Grove Confectionery and strawberry donuts from Long Grove Apple Haus. They didn't disappoint this year! Although the chocolate covered strawberries were slightly overpriced (6 for $21), the combination of dark chocolate and juicy in-season strawberries made them worth the price. The weather was beautiful and the event was very kid-friendly. Make sure to check it out next summer! In the meantime, we can still enjoy Apple Fest in October (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd). And Chocolate Fest is traditionally in May. I'm just hoping now that I can make it to the Taste of Chicago on the 4th of July so I can complete my summer food fest trifecta!

I love food festivals (part 1)

2010-06-26T09:29:00.003-05:00

Last night, I got to experience the joy of Greek food after a long hiatus. Since we were wrapping up our current operation at the Census, our generous supervisor treated us to dinner from the St. Nectarios Greek Fest (June 25-27) in Palatine. They even have a drive through so that I could run and pick up some delicious pastitsio (lasagna) and gyros. The food was amazingly delicious. I had been to the Greek Fest many years ago but, in the years since, I've always missed hearing about the weekend until it was too late! I'm so glad that I got to enjoy it this year. During the weekend, you can also go to check out some traditional Greek dancing, live bands, and kiddie rides. They are expecting 15,000 visitors this year! Now, as you can see from the pastitsio pictured above, it may be a good idea for me to hit the gym now. So that's where I'm off to. But on my way home, I'm going to hit up the Long Grove Strawberry Fest for some chocolate covered strawberries and strawberry donuts! Hence the "part 1" in the title. There will be a "part 2" to follow.

I love iPad cases...which one do you love?

2010-06-24T11:40:00.005-05:00

Dzmitry has asked me to ask you which design for his new iPad cases you all prefer! The cases will most likely be priced at $29.99-49.99 and will go into production shortly. But first, he'd like to know if there is one design that outshines the rest. Please post your preferences in the comments or email me directly. Your input is very much appreciated!

I love Candace Bushnell

2010-06-23T11:07:00.003-05:00

I just finished Candace Bushnell's latest book, One Fifth Avenue, and I could not put it down! It has everything you want from a beach read...fashion, sex, intrigue, Manhattan, money. Well, maybe that's everything I want from a beach read. The female characters range from dowdy to manipulative to glamorous, but I found that I could relate to something in all of them. As usual for Bushnell, the male characters are not nearly as strong, intelligent, or driven as the female ones but they do provide many of the plot lines that drive the book. A couple of my favorite ladies from the novel were Lola Fabrikant, a 22-year-old feisty vixen determined to make it in Manhattan without realizing what it takes; Annalisa Rice, a Washingtonian transplanted in NYC with her newly rich husband; and Schiffer Diamond, a legendary actress back to film a new series in NYC after having lived most of her life in LA. Although the book is long (the paperback version has 564 pages), I guarantee that you will finish it quickly. If anyone wants to borrow it, let me know! It will brighten up your summer.

I love down-to-earth Designers

2010-06-22T14:00:00.008-05:00

Cedric & Manix of La Clos
Cedric and Barnabé Hardy

Well I'm not living in Paris anymore, but I still have my sources (thank you, Cedric)! And my sources have been going to a lot of ventes privées lately. So I thought I would profile a couple of the hot young designers that he's been speaking to because I love to support the fashion arts. First off: Manix Wong. He's a graduate of Central Saint Martins College in London (the English equivalent of Parsons). He's won many design awards including some judged by Kenzo and Galliano. Currently, he is designing for La Clos , a French brand dedicated to "the romantic, gentle, and sensual man". You can currently find La Clos boutiques in New York, London, Paris, Russia, Italy, and Spain!

Secondly, there is the beyond-attractive and stylish Barnabé Hardy. He was formerly a designer at Balenciaga, where he launched their menswear line in 1999. Today, he is a freelance designer and a consultant for several fashion houses. He aims to create luxurious but comfortable clothes for men (Cedric got an excellent deal on a fabulous chocolate brown leather jacket). So anyway, keep an eye out for these two men around town in Paris. And if you see them, maybe you can convince one of them to give my dad a stylish makeover???

I love summer!!!

2010-06-21T09:37:00.003-05:00

In honor of the first day of summer, I've decided to post this picture of my new bathing suit from Modcloth. I absolutely adore the Esther Williams look. It is so flattering on curvy girls (like me)! It's exciting to see this classic vintage style coming back. Of course, I love bikinis as well. Last summer, I managed to find two pieces in London, a bottom from H&M and a white bikini top from Marks & Spencers. The bottoms are blue with white dots and have 4 white buttoms to make them look sailor-ish. The bottoms are quite large, which is fine with me because they cover my entire butt. The white bikini top has a gold circle in the front holding the boob portions together. It ties behind the neck and in back. Both pieces are very tasteful and fun. Now I just have to get up to the lake house as often as possible this summer so I can enjoy the bathing suits. They already served me well in Mexico! Here's hoping you have a great summer as well, just don't forget the sunblock!

I love lamp!

2010-06-17T09:35:00.006-05:00

I'm back to proclaim my love for Dzmitry Samal's work and to let you all know that I will be joining forces with him on a new design blog: RETROandFUTURE.com. We will be focusing on how our past experience and heritage influence the future of Design and Fashion. I'm so excited to start writing! The first few posts will be profiling the amazing things I saw at the NeoCon Design Conference at Merchandise Mart on Tuesday, June 15th. In the meantime, I want to draw your attention to this Karl Lagerfeld lamp, which is actually the product that first put Dzmitry on my radar. Thanks to a random post of this lamp on Coco Perez, I tracked down Dzmitry to find out where to buy it (it's still in the concept stage so it's not on sale yet) and eventually we started developing the idea for our new blog. We should be posting articles starting this weekend or next week so please come back to check us out! In the meantime, I will be awaiting the day when this lamp is available for purchase. I just can't wait to put it on my nightstand!

I Love a Cabaret

2010-06-13T21:24:00.002-05:00

Last night, I went to my friend's concert at Davenport's Piano Bar in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. The venue is known for intimate cabaret shows and Tommy really knew how to deliver. He was accompanied by Dan Stetzel and often welcomed his friend, guest performer Chessie, to the stage. Tom performed about an hour of music consisting of showtunes, Kristin Chenoweth pieces, and his perfect comedic timing! The whole night was arranged to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an organization that is, unfortunately, too close to Tom and his family. They arranged to collect $700 in raffle ticket sales for the AFSP, the winner of the raffle ultimately choosing to donate his own prize winnings. The evening reminded me of a night in London not so long ago that I spent with friends at Cellar Door. Cellar Door is a teeny tiny Cabaret club located in Aldwych (right near the London School of Economics at the end of The Strand) in an underground bar that used to be a men's public toilet! Indeed, the space is so small, you're lucky to elbow your way up to the bar for some fancy delicious cocktails and snuff. I went to Cellar Door to see a Burlesque performer à la Dita von Teese and she was fabulous. The bar also used to offer weekly teas/brunch with a different theme according to the placement of the weekend during the month! I'm not sure if they still do, but it's worth checking out!

I Love "I Love Funky's"

2010-06-13T12:54:00.007-05:00

Sometimes, my dad and I take a motorcycle ride up to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on Sundays just to stop at Starbucks and grab some coffee. Nothing really changes around the area except for a few store closings in this terrible economy.

But much to my delight and surprise this morning, I discovered the store, I Love Funkys, right across the street from Starbucks! I don't know how long it's been there but I'm glad it arrived. It totally blew me away. Not only are there beautiful, if slightly high-end clothes, there are AMAZING home goods that I just have to go back and purchase soon! The store has two floors of antique furniture, some dating from the 1880s. There are old Wurlitzer jukeboxes and arcade games waiting to be restored. They have vintage jewelry and irreverent oddities (a lamp on which the on/off switch is a woman's nipples that you must turn, a sippy cup whose spout is also a woman's nipple, etc). The piece that I'm craving and obsessing over is pictured at right: a three-ceramic-revolver centerpiece which can be used to hold flowers or whatever else you want, I suppose. The piece reminds me a lot of another artist with whom I have become obsessed since my time in Paris: Pierre Blanc. I used to walk by the store, Paul and Joe, everyday after class at Sciences Po and I always saw a serving platter in the window with an image of a revolver surrounded by flowers. The gun/flower motif is an oxymoron that I just adore. So I finally stopped in one day to check on the price. At 1000 euros, I had to say no. But I still dream of owning a Pierre Blanc piece someday. In the meantime, I will definitely be going back to pick up the revolver flower-holder the next time we're in Lake Geneva.

I love the Blackhawks (when they win, of course)

2010-06-10T07:45:00.004-05:00

So yes, I am a fairweather fan. And proud of it. I mean, there are already enough things in my life that don't go right ALL THE TIME. Why would I like to follow teams that lose ALL THE TIME? I learned my lesson after the Red Sox. When they kept losing and failing to get into the World Series pre-2004, it was just soooo depressing! This is basically the case with the Blackhawks for the past 49 years. The games just weren't worth watching! But now that the players are young, fresh, fun, and victorious, of course I'm going to watch the games and be excited for them. I'm also planning on going to the parade in Chicago tomorrow morning (Friday June 11th, 2010) because I never got to celebrate for the Sox in 2004 in Boston or the Sox in 2005 in Chicago. So for all the haters out there who claim that fairweather fans have no right to cheer for the winning team, I say, "Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da (in the tune of Chelsea Dagger)" because I'm a Blackhawks fan now, bitches!!!

I love Hermès scarves

2010-06-09T14:30:00.006-05:00

So this scarf isn't exactly new. I bought it about a year ago from One of A Kind vintage on Portobello Road in London. The store is totally worth checking out. And if you get along well with the owner/manager, he will take you into the back room! Trust me, you definitely want to go back there. They have a large Chanel quilted bag that is one of only 50 ever made. They have Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags in outrageous fabrics (think: alligator)! They have designer duds that celebrities borrow for awards shows. It is completely over the top, which is just how I like it.
So this scarf is another one of my "collector's items" although I really do wear this often, while still trying to make sure that it's well taken care of. I keep it in its orange Hermès box while not using it because I want to maintain its shape and color. The piece is actually from 1987, and it celebrates Hermès' 150th anniversary! I will not divulge the price, because it's definitely one of the most expensive accessories I've ever purchased. But I love the glamour and chic-ness of it. My friend Mallory always told me that if you're going to buy an Hermès scarf, you should buy one with horses on it. I love the whimsical carousel theme on this scarf. I often roll it and loosely tie it around my neck as you would a man's tie. Otherwise, I fold it diagonally and wear it around my shoulders. The colors are still quite vivid and I just love the boldness of the purples and blues. This is one scarf that I will pass on to someone special when I'm no longer around. But it will have to be someone who knows the value of such a beautiful and indulgent item!

I love free concerts in Chicago

2010-06-08T08:21:00.001-05:00

Last night, I joined some French friends for a free concert at Millennium Park in Chicago. The band was She and Him, headed by Zooey Deschanel. The weather was perfect, the wine/beer was flowing, and everyone was having a great time. What better way is there to spend a beautiful Monday night in Chicago than to enjoy a peace-and-love concert on the Jay Pritzker Amphitheater lawn? Although many of the songs sounded very similar, it didn't really matter. Their indie folk music drew a crowd of young hipsters, young families, and young professionals. Everyone found a way to relax. The concert was sponsored by the Chicago Independent Radio Project, CHIRP. For now, the radio station is only broadcasting online, but they're hoping to apply fora low-power FM broadcast license. It's community-run so that means no commercials! CHIRP did a great job with the set-up and helped to get the summer off to a great start!