Potpourri

A few weekend happenings…

I found some adorable Cynthia Rowley stationery/office stuff at TJ Maxx. I think my little cubby will look a lot cheerier and brighter now.

I can’t wait to start filling the loose notes with tweet ideas.

I started working on a little chair re-do but ran out of paint before I could finish the job. I found some really pretty fabric at the antique market last weekend (1.5 yards for $2.99) and used them as my inspiration for livening up a pair of ho-hum chairs.

Before:

Not bad… but not really wowee and I needed them for my dining room table/around the house.

During:

After shots to come.  My intention was to paint the chairs cream to match my dining room table and chairs but after 3 cans, one chair still wasn’t adequately covered. Would it look bad to paint them that sort of robin’s egg blue color in the fabric? Or should I keep persisting with the cream?

Susie and Weezy came for a visit this weekend and Tater and Weezy are just the best of pals now! I took about 5,000 pictures of them sharing Tater’s cozy bed (they like to wad up the pad at the bottom of the bed to make a pillow for head propping.)

So… how was your weekend? Anybody got any fun projects planned?

Necklace Update

Self-Control has never been one of my strong suits. I couldn’t narrow the necklace choices down to just one so… I ordered the peacock and hot air balloon lockets! They should arrive early this week.

Thanks for your input, everybody!

UPDATE: I love these necklaces! Forgive the terrible quality cell phone pictures/weird boob angle. 

Etsy Favorite

When wasting time working diligently last week, I found this Etsy seller, FreshyFig and favorited almost everything in her shop. Her adorable and affordable jewelry is so cute and fun that I could probably spend all $126* in my checking account.

However, in the interest of not being flat @$$ broke, I shall only choose one piece.  Now, dear readers, I need your help choosing which one.

Should I go with the elegant peacock locket?  

The vintage hot air balloon locket?

The vintage copper bumble bee locket?

Fun vintage owl locket?

The vintage cityscape locket?

Or should I go with another necklace I haven’t listed here? I can’t guarantee I’ll pick the one you choose.  What you think this is, a democracy? But your opinion will be greatly appreciated.

*Gross exaggeration… I only have a dollar twenty six.

You call this art?! – Chicago (Day 3)

I bet you thought I would never post days 3 and 4, didn’t you? Well ha! You weren’t going to weasel your way out of looking at more boring vacation slides if I have anything to say about it. :)

Thursday morning, Susie and I got a quick breakfast and took the train to the Gold Coast area of town. The Gold Coast is named such because it’s home to some of the biggest, most magnificent houses in the city. We strolled through the quiet streets and took pictures of some of the pretty homes and luxury apartment buildings.

But every neighborhood has that one family...

Then we took a breather in Lincoln Park before heading to Old Town.

Historical Society in Lincoln Park

Moody Bible Church

When we reached Old Town, we took a few more photos by The Second City then we were off to find some of that Famous Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza!

After waiting in line for a small eternity behind the world’s most annoyingly-voiced girl, (seriously, those Chicago accents kill me!!) we finally enjoyed Gino’s East pizza. It was good but I’m okay with just eating regular ol’ pizza.

After lunch, we hopped on the train and headed towards the Art Institute of Chicago (the museum is free on Thursdays from 5-8 p.m.), the Buckingham Fountain and the Cloud Gate (or the Bean) sculpture.

Susie, reflecting on her life choices by the Art Institute's reflecting pool

Susie couldn't get enough of El Frijole

It was pretty amazing

Robbie Sinclair, chillin in the park

This sculpture was about as useful as tits on a boar

When 5:00 finally rolled around, we joined the other approximately 6 billion people waiting in line to get in the the museum. We opted for the shorter line to the Contemporary wing (you can still see the classic stuff, you just enter a different way.)

 I don’t claim to be an art aficionado in any way, shape or form so I can’t speak intelligently to the artistic value of contemporary art work. That being said, some of that stuff is just pure bull honkey. There is no way you can convince me that painting a canvas with 3 different blocks of gray paint is some sort of genius artistic statement. Honestly, you could record yourself doing seagull impressions, play them over a loud speaker and hang a chair from the ceiling and call it modern art. (Nobody steal that idea, that gold mine belongs to me.)  Needless to say, I was ready to transition to the more classic wing of the museum. Susie, who didn’t appreciate my hilarious commentary on the contemporary art since she is an arteest herself, was eager to see some of her favorite impressionist paintings.

Hung Chow, the constipated Chinaman

A stylish museum patron

Susie doing her best Cameron Frye impression

Day 4 to come…

Oh, girls!

After Martin Kaymer’s win in Wisconsin yesterday, my blog counter was abuzz. Apparently I’m not the only one who finds the 25-year-old German gut looking.

Glad to see Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson also got shout outs.   There’s good news, girls… they’re all three unmarried. I’m sure we all have a really good chance with them. ;)

photo from here

Many Restaurants Deliver Until 3 a.m. (Chicago – Days 1-2)

We’re back from Chicago and I could sleep for another week! What a fun and busy trip! I think I’ll post in snippets. Otherwise, you’d be waiting on a post until the Cubs won a game. (Badumpchee)

We arrived in Chicago’s Midway airport via AirTran (aka the Peasant Express) on Tuesday morning and wasted no time. We took the L train to our first hotel, The Inn of Chicago, took quick showers and set out to explore our surroundings.

E Ohio entrance of the Inn of Chicago

Double room in the Inn of Chicago

We stopped for a yummy lunch at Potbelly where they had this fun vintage wallpaper that happened to match Susie’s shirt perfectly.

Susie models her Potbelly cup

Susie’s necklace is from this Etsy seller.

We ran across the Chicago Tribune building, the Chicago River and the Corn Cob buildings (anybody know their real name?)

The Chicago Tribune

Chicago Skyline

Corn Cob Buildings

Chicago River

Cool/Scary

More Chicago buildings

 I was completely amazed by the beautiful architecture around the city. I was sort of expecting the city to look industrial and cold but it was absolutely beautiful! I snapped over 400 pictures, many of which are just of buildings.

Susie poses by the Chicago Riverwalk

Bridge over Chicago Waters

We couldn’t pass up the fantastic shopping on the Magnificent Mile! I think our favorite store was Jonathan Adler – every single thing (aside from the boob vase) was ADORABLE! The wallpaper, furniture, rugs, upholstery, accessories lamps and art all killed me!  I only took cell phone pictures there though, I was afraid I’d get in trouble for snapping real pictures.

Jonathan Adler sofa and pillows

Jonathan Adler upholstery

Jonathan Adler giraffe lamp

How adorable would that be in a child’s room?! However, at this price, I wouldn’t trust it to a youngin.

One of the most impressive stores in the Mag Mile area was the Bloomingdale’s Home Store. The four floors of china, crystal, silver, furniture, bedding, towels and rugs are housed in the former Shriner’s building. It’s quite a sight to behold. I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of the exterior. This is the only shot I have inside… I was afraid that I’d give up my identity as a shameless tourist if I took any more. Here’s a snapshot of the exterior (not by me).

Ceiling of Bloomingdale's Home

However, I was not too ashamed to take a picture of the carrera marble changing table and sink in the Bloomies’ bathroom.

Marble Changing Table at Bloomingdale's Home

After we’d tired of shopping, we headed back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes before hopping on the L to Old Town. We had tickets to the Second City e.t.c.’s “The Absolute Best Friggin Time of Your Life.”  We got great seats – 3rd row- and the show was pretty hilarious. Warning: this show is not for the faint of heart, easily offended or extremely conservative, click here for a review.

Poster for the Revue

Some Second City Alums

The e.t.c. Stage

After the show, we took a cab back to the hotel and got some much needed sleep.

Wednesday met us with some light rain as we headed towards the Navy Pier and Lake Michigan.  The shower provided us with some pretty light for pictures around the lake and pier.

Park beside Lake Michigan

Navy Pier

Lighthouse and ship in the mist

Navy Pier

Navy Pier

Susie at Navy Pier

Navy Pier

Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier

The city from Navy Pier

Chicago from Navy Pier

After we exhausted our photo opps at Navy Pier, we walked to Macy’s.

Chicago River on the way to Macy's

The Chicago Theatre

Macy’s was overwhelming to say the least. You could take the Macy’s in the Augusta Mall, lay the top floor beside the bottom floor and multiply it by 9. This picture of the entrance barely does it justice. You could spend an entire day in that store and still not see every piece of merchandise!

Macy's foyer

We stopped for lunch and Susie got a Chicago Hot Dog. I was not really in the mood so I didn’t try the city’s classic treat. I hear that it was my loss. The rain had picked up a little at this point so we took a cab to the Sears Tower in the hopes of recreating the scene from Ferris Bueller. Sadly, the SkyDeck visibility was at zero due to the rain so we didn’t get any cool city-wide pictures.

Exterior of the Sears Tower

Moving sculptures in the Sears (Willis) Tower

Sculptures in the Sears (Willis) Tower

At this point, our feet hurt, we were tired, crabby and damp so we took the train back to the hotel to shower, rest and change clothes for supper.

Just a block and a half from our hotel sat the delicious Volare restaurant. Susie and I enjoyed arguably the best meal of our trip. She had the gnocchi with fresh pesto and I had a delicious risotto with mushrooms, peas and sausage. The salad and bread we enjoyed just before the meal were a treat in and of themselves but the main courses were absolutely delicious! Our authentically Italian server was so sweet and helpful and convinced us to take a chocolate marjolaine (crunchy chocolate meringue layers with white toblerone – Swiss chocolate- mousse) to go.

With full tummies and tired feet, we slept another full night to rest up for the next day’s activities…

Days 3 and 4 coming soon.

Good Grief

Posts like these make me want to give up on writing. Jules is such a talented writer and I don’t think I could ever come up with anything this brilliant no matter how many times I edited.

Too lazy to click over? It’s okay, I’ve posted her post below.

Mario Giacomazzi wasn’t always a Trader Joe’s checker.  He is older than most by around 30 years and whatever he did before checking my groceries, it required a back straight like a plank with pulled back shoulders to match.  The short gray hair so perfectly pomaded atop his utilitarian head is probably only a requirement for Mr. Giacomazzi, but I trust his former employer appreciated the effort.  A good countenance counts in business.  Or the military and engineering, which are the other professions I like to imagine Mr. Giacomazzi steadfastly pursuing for 40 odd years before life landed him shocked but dignified on an OSHA approved rubber mat in front of a register.

He is slow and methodical, which allows me time to size him up while my fingers somersault the debit card on the counter in front of me.  I keep time with the groceries as they inch their way across the scanner.  Long side of the debit card, bananas.  Short side of the debit card, cereal.  Long, short, long, short.  The orchid presents a problem (where to put it! where to put it!), but eventually we hit the yogurt.  I am officially scanned.

Now, the packing.

His eyes take in the groceries in front of him and I can see him plotting the most efficient way to bag them.  He opens a bag, takes a deep breath (much like a high diver before a great jump) and begins.  I am not surprised, but I am impressed.  He excels at bagging.  Second to none.  The very, very best.  Only once, towards the end, did he fumble.  He bagged the bananas when clearly, to Mr. Giacomazzi, the bread should have gone in first.  He regroups, takes out the bananas, and bags the bread with the bananas on top.  Everything is going to be okay.

Definitely an engineer.

I walk out of Trader Joe’s with two bags that hold a box of cereal, a pint of sour cream, a large can of tomatoes, a pound of dried beans, two eggplants, 2 cartons of vegetable stock, one bag of lettuce, a jar of saffron, a large jar of applesauce, several pounds of oat bran, a large tub of yogurt, sushi, corn tortillas, a loaf of bread, two dozen eggs, and a bunch of bananas.  The orchid remains safely nestled in the cart, flanked by one bag and my purse. Mr. Giacomazzi prefers it that way.

Brilliant. Pardon me while I stop trying.

Want to read another brilliant and talented blog? Read this one.

Pictures

New blog post about Chicago in the works… in the meantime, check out pictures from our trip here and here.

Chicago, Chicago that toddlin town

Susie and I are headed for Chicago tomorrow morning and I’m super excited to spend 4 days in the Windy City! There is so much to do and see there, I’m sure we’ll be going non-stop.

One of our first stops is The Second City.

We’ll swing by the Art Institute.

We’ll catch a Cubs game.

We’ll take our picture in The Bean.

We’ll tour some of the cool neighborhoods like the Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park (hopefully we won’t run into Linkin Park, their music is insufferable) and Armitage.

We’ll swing by the Sears Tower and maybe take an architectural tour.

We’ll gawk at the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier (we are tourists, after all.)

We’ll take a look at Lake Michigan.

We might even stop in and jump on Oprah’s couch.

And we’ll definitely eat Chicago-style pizza and hot dogs.

What are we missing? What must-sees must we see? Where do the mobsters hang out? What will we just die if we don’t do?