Zippidy Do Da :)

LOVE

2012-01-16T22:38:00.000-05:00

"No, no, we are not satisfied...

2012-01-16T22:36:00.001-05:00

and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters

and righteousness like a mighty stream."

May we all continue to work on the content of our character,

and never stop dreaming.

Happy Birthday, Zippidy Do Da!

2012-01-06T00:10:00.011-05:00

1,465 days,

1,195 posts,

and 68,637 (very kind) visitors later,

today you are

Thank you for reminding me on a daily basis

to embrace, record, remember, and to share

all of the awesomeness that life has to offer :)

Picture Perfect

2012-01-05T07:13:00.025-05:00

My sister-in-law is not one for attention

but since we all know that I am (hahaha),

I like to live vicariously through her fabulousness :)

Case.in.point!

Nope, my mom actually did not buy this for me

as a "hint, hint, wink, wink"

She got it for me becaaaaauuse...

Kendra & Stephen are "famous" ;)

LOVE

HAIL! Yessss ;)

2012-01-04T14:51:00.003-05:00

New Year's Resolution [Slash Realization]

2012-01-03T01:14:00.001-05:00

SnOw Pretty

2012-01-03T00:26:00.001-05:00

I'm certain my sentiment will quickly fade,

but there really is something special about
waking up to the first snowfall of the season :)

{insert snow shovel here}

HAAAAPPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS :)

2012-01-02T22:02:00.002-05:00

2011-12-29T23:01:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been a little MIA lately...

The Z-Do-Da is back up and runnin' for the New Year!

Hope you had a WONDERFUL holiday :)

My Christmas Break Motto

2011-12-28T23:43:00.000-05:00

Ever Fortunate

2011-12-28T23:35:00.010-05:00

Not gonna lie,
I had a serious moral hangover for about a week after the
"1st Annual Hall-iday Festivus" party that I hosted for all of my Sandbox co-workers.

Not so surprising with our crew,
things got a "touch" loud and not just one, but
both my above-and-below neighbors called-in noise complaints.
{insert guilty face here}

So admittedly,
my heart felt very full today after receiving this note
my landlord left under my door:

Goes without saying, I'll be working on my "be good to thy neighbor" skills in the New Year :S

Do you see what I see?

2011-12-25T23:34:00.002-05:00

Maybe you're not looking hard enough...

For reals!

I gotta Cookie Monster Lava Lamp

in our "adult" family White Elephant Exchange.

LOVE

Thank you, Dana :)

HAPPY HALL-IDAYS

2011-12-25T22:22:00.001-05:00

A very Merry Christmas, indeed :)

Blessed

2011-12-24T00:47:00.004-05:00

Without question, this December has been the busiest month of my life (to date) on a personal and professional level.

I am blessed with work and more so,

with an incredible amount of

family and friends close by.

However, I'm afraid that the combination of the two has brought the notion of "work hard, play hard" to a whole new height.

So it was really nice to take a breather,
head to my parents house,
and go to church to take a moment
to give thanks for all the above.

I just feel really badly for the woman who had to offer me a Kleenex when I totally burst into tears during "Joy to the World" at the end of the service...

Between the lack of sleep and thinking about how this is our first Christmas without Grandma Stella, I just kinda lost my shit :(

But it sure felt good to cry it out. With all of our lives being as busy as they are, it's important to take time to remember the real reason for the season :)

Lincoln Park Zoo Lights

2011-12-22T23:10:00.005-05:00

Not-So-Secret Confession:

My love for Zoo Lights goes beyond words

Confession...

And it's even better when you go with the fam

and put red wine in your coffee cups ;)

Candy Land

2011-12-16T21:03:00.001-05:00

Was so fun to take a break from work,

to do a lil' manual labor ;)

Sandbox meets Gingerbread Houses...

I was SOOO happy that mine was a winner :)

YAHOOOOOOO!

"Extreme Makeover: HO-HO-HOME! Edition"

2011-12-05T23:06:00.003-05:00

Elf consumerism...

Elf at work...

And what came after :)

Will be such a bummer to take this all down :(

Home Sweet Home

2011-12-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

Not gonna lie,

after traveling all last week for work,

I've never been happier walking through O'Hare

as I was this afternoon :)

Sooo nice to be back in my own place

and to decorate for the Hall-idays.

Many pix to follow tomorrow...

ELF AT WORK!

LOVE

2011-12-04T21:03:00.000-05:00

2011-11-23T13:57:00.001-05:00

Why?

2011-11-23T07:48:00.030-05:00

Last night I had the honor to be a guest speaker

at a Medill graduate journalism class

to talk about recent "Insights, Discoveries & Developments"

within the social media market research

and tech-start-up environments.

{insert deep breath here}

All was going really well,

the class seemed super into the presentation,

peeps were asking great questions,

and out of absolutely no where,

I burped!

Like, the loud kind.

Completely totally unexpected.

Surprised the shit out of me, kind.

And I couldn't stop laughing.

The class must have been like,
"Who is this crass woman?!?!"

But thankfully they all laughed too,

so I was able to make a joke of it and move on.

But I still can't believe it happened.

I never burp!!

So whhhyyyy did one sneak up on me like that

in front of all those crazy smart people?!?

Note to self:

Do not chug a Diet Coke to help caffeinate prior to presenting. You are an idiot for thinking this would "enhance" performance. Next time, oh wait, there likely will not be a "next time"... Hahahaha
Oi!

Weekend Highlights

2011-11-21T22:52:00.003-05:00

Day drinking while watching

Michigan womp on Nebraska

Watching Livie show-off her new "hiding" spot :)

Catching up with Jess and hearing all the latest

ha!lariousness that little Miss Harper brings to life :)

The smile on 'Drea's face from this perfect Kodak Moment

that April sent us from Disney World :)

Receiving these two pieces of digital awesomeness

as "Scorin' Soren"

and baby Christian

"prepared" for Da Bears game.

Cracking up at how positively edible Stella is:

Seeing Camille's first "teeths" come in!

And last but not least,

attending Connor's 1st birthday party and

living vicariously through his very first

"cupcake experience"

Priceless!

Although I'm admittedly no where near ready

for the responsibility of a child

(or a dog for that matter),

I absolutely ADORE my little friends

and the wonderful people in my life

who created them :)

To my besties with babes,

please keep the picture texts coming.

I love getting them!

Weekend Warrior

2011-11-17T23:17:00.003-05:00

Walter will be staying with me for the wknd

while his parents are outta town.

Excited to test out this whole "dog owner" idea...

Should a success ensue,

then this might too :)

Fingers crossed

This Month's Reads

2011-11-17T23:09:00.001-05:00

Work Book Club

Mother/Daughter Book Club

No Club -- Just Awesome

Easily Influenced

2011-11-17T23:03:00.006-05:00

Heading home from work tonight

I'd no clue what I wanted for dinner

(all I knew is that I really had to pee).

So after running up to my apartment,

grabbing the mail,
and inadvertently seeing this slice of heaven
on a penny-mailer for Giordano's pizza...

They got me.

There was no resisting the call.

Exactly 40 minutes later a scrumptious deep dish 'za arrived

aaaaand, I remain a firm believer in all-things Advertising.

Note to self:

Do NOT open the Anthropologie catalog

Repeat:

PUT.IT.DOWN.NOW

Vera

2011-11-15T23:55:00.005-05:00

With the snow steadily sneaking-up upon us,
I'm on a mission to keep my calendar filled with
yummy spots to try each and every Winter week
(so not to completely succumb to the temptation to hibernate ;)

First stop:
1023 W. Lake Street

As in vera awesome atmosphere

and even more so,
vera amazing food :)

It's off the beaten path a bit
but the parking is plentiful and
the menu will surely not disappoint!

Next week's stop:

Grange Hall Burger Bar

Stay tuned

2011-11-15T07:27:00.001-05:00

My new co-worker, Clark

2011-11-14T22:16:00.002-05:00

So this is love :)

PS BTW:
If you haven't checked out
DoggyLoot,
do it to it!

Yep, I'm a geek...

2011-11-14T22:12:00.002-05:00

These cracked me up

Answer This!

2011-11-13T22:29:00.001-05:00

We went to see the premier of "Answer This!"

and although the movie was just above average,

the footage of Ann Arbor and Michigan's campus

were truly awesome to see on the big screen :)

One thumbs up goes to...

"Normal"

2011-11-13T22:25:00.001-05:00

Super fun dinner party...

check!

Friendsgiving Dinner

2011-11-10T07:01:00.002-05:00

Tonight I'm having my co-workers over for a team din
and may have gotten a little excited with the decor ;)

Is it 7pm yet?!?

LOVE

2011-11-08T23:29:00.007-05:00

So I may have rented the movie recently and
admittedly find myself completely enamored

with the utter brilliance of A.A Milne.

Talk about a beautiful mind.

The Relationship Status Update by Lab42

2011-11-08T00:37:00.003-05:00

Helloooo from Orlando

2011-11-07T23:53:00.005-05:00

Lab42 is making its first appearance at the Market Research Event this year so work-life has brought us to Florida for a few :)

The insights team from Sesame Street presented earlier today and I admittedly had to hold it together not to totally geek out when speaking with them after. If they only knew...

Hahaha

2011-11-07T23:33:00.000-05:00

Mingle

2011-11-07T23:30:00.001-05:00

$14.99 an issue is crazy steep,

but I couldn't resist...

If you too are a sucker for eclectic, kitschy, random, unique, intriguing, fabulous ways to make any space perfectly awesome for a dinner party, then you're gonna wanna hand over your pretty pennies to this publication.

BEST NEW MAGAZINE EVER!

Chicago Q

2011-11-07T23:24:00.006-05:00

When Brendan, my childhood bestie,

texted to ask if I wanted to try Q,

I couldn't type back fast enough!

I'd been dying to try this urban bbQ gem
and it most definitely did not disappoint.
The food is spectacular but the atmosphere
takes the cake (no pun intended).

Confession:

I dream of the day I can afford to host a dinner party here
for no apparent reason whatsoever :)

{insert longing sigh noise here}

Abruzzo's

2011-11-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

Last week I had dinner with my family at Abruzzo's
Italian restaurant out in Melrose Park and holy hot damn,
can that family cook!

I'm still dreaming about the homemade cavatelli, eggplant parm, grilled calamari, and sausage stuffed peppers...

{insert food coma here}

Definitely worth the visit :)

Welcome to the world, Evie & Zooey Morris!

2011-11-02T08:04:00.002-04:00

Evie Layla & Zooey Madeline Morris

Born 11/1/11...
Best birthday ever :)

CONGRATULATIONS BEN & RIMA!!

I cannot wait to get back to New York

to hug all FOUR of you

xoxoxoxo

Congrats, Lilly!

2011-11-02T07:58:00.000-04:00

Your app is absolutely AWESOME

And this is by far my favorite deal I've seen yet ;)

Way to go, Nick Howard!

2011-11-02T07:50:00.009-04:00

Wooohoooo for
"New & Noteworthy"

on iTunes :)

If you haven't checked out Nick's music yet,
do yourself and your earlobes

a giant favor

Congrats buddy!

Way to go, Team Lab42 :)

2011-11-01T17:37:00.008-04:00

Our latest infographic was cited today on
Mashable and the Huffington Post...

WOOT

Simply It

2011-10-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

Tonight my mom came over to help me clean up my act (literally) and we ordered Vietnamese from Simply It.

I can't say enough great things about this place.

If you live in Chicago --

you should definitely give it a try!

Hallo-week

2011-10-30T23:36:00.002-04:00

Doesn't seem possible that Halloween hasn't actually arrived yet... I can't wait to see all the trick-or-treaters tomorrow :)

In the meantime, I'll be recovering slowly from a super fun week of celebrations:

Hallo-week!

Confession

2011-10-27T19:43:00.004-04:00

Up until 11:45am yesterday,
I had absolutely no clue who Common was.

That is, until we met him in person --
and now I am a fan :)

Location:
The elevator at Leo Burnett

We were heading up to a pitch presentation, while
Common was heading to an endorsement meeting...
FML

My co-worker recognized him immediately.

She is the one smiling while I on the other hand,
was the clueless idiot behind the iPhone
questioning why I was shouting
"SAY CHEESE!"
in a 4x4 upward moving metal box,
taking a pic of Gauri and a good looking stranger ;)

Hahahaha

BOO!

2011-10-27T07:09:00.001-04:00

The other night my buddy Pat organized an outing to hands-down

the most spook-tacular haunted house in town.

I don't do scary,

but holy hell,

this was worth the trip!

If you live in Chicago,

DO IT TO IT

Call Me Betty

2011-10-25T06:56:00.005-04:00

The moment Fall rolls into town

I admittedly become a comfort-food-aholic...

Sweet potato gnocchi, butternut squash ravioli,

pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream,

you get the gist.

So when I asked my mom for her famous pulled pork recipe, she not only dished over the handwritten note-card from her rolodex of secret awesomeness -- she also gave me her crock-pot...
TO KEEP!

Baaaaah :)

Ya see, this is one of those kitchen contraptions that I would never buy on my own but have always been highly intrigued by.
More of a registry thing, if ya know what I mean...

But now that I have one,
(and an actual recipe to boot!)
I felt it was a must to buy an apron for my new-found repertoire of domestic doo-dads :)

And now I kinda want to be Betty Crocker for Halloween

Or maybe just the Pillsbury Dough Boy...

Likely the latter of the two ;)

CONGRATULATIONS KATHERINE & BRIAN!

2011-10-23T23:30:00.006-04:00

Allow me to brag for a moment about "KP" because
holy wow, talk about a stunning bride :)

I could go on about the dress (because it was AWESOME)

but the woman inside was what made it a masterpiece.

Katherine has not only worked her tail off to become a fire fighter, but is now completing her paramedic degree. All while turning 30, getting married, and buying a beautiful home with Brian.
Could you be more inspiring?!?
Seriously, badass!

I'm so proud of you, KP -- and the reasons above
are just a glimpse as to you why.

Thank you for such a fun night!
While Sven & I hitched a ride home from your parents (post dance party), I was reminded once again how incredibly lucky and thankful I am for all of our "Glenview girls".

CHEERS & WE LOVE YOU!

Mother Daughter Book Group

2011-10-23T23:14:00.004-04:00

In honor of this months book

Mrs. Kearney went with a French themed dinner

and rocked our tastebuds with her incredible

Beef Bourguignon recipe...
Goodnight sweet Prince!

So now I not only want to have her dining room,

but I not so secretly want to have her Beef Bourguignon

for dinner every single night for the rest of my life!

THANKS FOR BEING THE HOSTESS

WITH THE MOSTEST, MRS. K :)

"Where Good Ideas Come From"

2011-10-20T23:40:00.004-04:00

"The Story of Stuff" Project

2011-10-19T09:57:00.002-04:00

Reason 2,537,914 Why I Love Chicago

2011-10-18T07:53:00.001-04:00

Full of Awesome

2011-10-17T00:30:00.007-04:00

Thank you, Lilly & Jess for sharing :)
I loved this post

Waking Up Full of Awesome

There was a time when you were five years old,

and you woke up full of awesome.

You knew you were awesome.

You loved yourself.

You thought you were beautiful,

even with missing teeth and messy hair and mismatched socks inside your grubby sneakers.

You loved your body, and the things it could do.

You thought you were strong.

You knew you were smart.

Do you still have it?

The awesome.

Did someone take it from you?

Did you let them?

Did you hand it over, because someone told you weren’t beautiful enough, thin enough, smart enough, good enough?

Why the hell would you listen to them?

Did you consider they might be full of shit?

Wouldn’t that be nuts, to tell my little girl below that in another five or ten years she might hate herself because she doesn’t look like a starving and Photoshopped fashion model?

Or even more bizarre, that she should be sexy over smart, beautiful over bold?

Are you freaking kidding me?
Look at her. She is full of awesome.

You were, once.
Maybe you still are.
Maybe you are in the process of getting it back.

All I know is that if you aren’t waking up feeling like this about yourself, you are really missing out.

Cornucopia

2011-10-17T00:01:00.004-04:00

Next step:

Learn how to cook a turkey...

Details, details ;)

Back!

2011-10-16T22:26:00.003-04:00

Have I mentioned that I actually love being 30?!

Welp, likely not as there hasn't been a minute to blog over these last several weeks. So much to share :)

First and foremost,
CONGRATULATIONS

TO THE NEW MR. & MRS.

KENNY & KATE SHIRLEY!!

Loads of pix below from their incredible wedding.

Second most,

Ireland is even more beautiful than the movies and pictures convey. If/when life brings you the opportunity to visit,
GO!!

Lastly,

the final and best of my bday celebrations is now behind,

completing the most fun five week birthday bender

I could have ever wished for...

THANK YOU

to my friends and family!

And with that,

Zippidy Do Da is officially back in session :)

Northwestern/Michigan Game

2011-10-16T20:27:00.001-04:00

Thanks so much to everyone who came to cheer on the Wildcats & Wolverines and to ring-in my big 3-0 tailgate style. If it wasn't ever apparent, I had an awesome time :)

Michigan NU Tailgate

IRELAND

2011-10-16T19:31:00.001-04:00

Kinda hard to put 10 days of awesomeness into one post. So I'm gonna need to noodle this one for a while... In the meantime, here's the PG-13 album in hopes it can brighten your day with even just a glimpse of how insanely gorgeous Ireland is :)

{Kate & Lesley -- I promise there will be many more posts about the trip!}

IRELAND

CONGRATULATIONS KATE & KENNY!!

2011-10-16T18:55:00.007-04:00

Oh me oh my oh me... I think it's difficult to write about Ireland in one post, and the same goes for Kate & Kenny's absolutely beyond spectacular wedding :)

I may or may not have been the party guest to say aloud,
"This is the happiest day of my life!"
To which everyone replied,
"Well that would make three of you."
Hahahahahaha

For real though, it was such an honor to be a part of this celebration on behalf of both the bride and the groom. Kate & Kenny are genuinely two of the most incredibly intelligent, kind, caring, and beautiful friends that I have the fortune to know. And to think about how they found each other in a city the size of Manhattan, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!

There was so much love in the room it was impossible not to smile throughout the entire evening :)

Kate & Kenny, you are radiant! I adore you both and cannot thank you, and your families, enough for the overly generous weekend of events.

When can we do it all over again?!?!

Cheers and please don't forget that you ALWAYS have a place to stay in Chicago :)

All my love and bestest,
~Your unofficial photographer

PS: Not to fear! Knowing it would not be cool to publish all ~200 pix from my real paparazzi album, I've scaled it back a bit for the blog ;) XOXO

Kate and Kennys BRILLIANT Wedding

Lost Crates - September

2011-10-16T16:38:00.002-04:00

Without question,
the funniest scavenger hunt I've ever been sent on.
Still catching myself laughing about Nick's
(slightly illegible) clues ;)

If you haven't checked out Lost Crates yet,

do it to it!

Thank you for all the laughs, Lost Crates!

Delay of Game

2011-10-02T20:29:00.003-04:00

Just landed back from Ireland
{insert deep sigh here}
and can hardly keep my eyes open to type.
Pix and funnies from the whole last month
(how is it October??)
to follow super soon!

Majorly Behind...

2011-09-20T00:37:00.002-04:00

The past week has gone by in a blur

and my good buddy, Mr. Z Do Da

has gone to the way side. Woops!

SOO many great pix and posts to share...

Hoping to get back above water after work tomorrow :)

In the meantime,
hope all's going great on your end!

Way to go, Nick Howard!

2011-09-14T09:45:00.000-04:00

It's Great. To Be. A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!

2011-09-11T23:52:00.004-04:00

AH-MAIZE-ING

One Unbelievable Birthday Week :)

2011-09-11T23:49:00.003-04:00

Whatever I did right in my last life,

I sure am thankful for now...

My 30th birth"week" was everything and more!

Calls, texts, loads of pix of my bestie's adorable children,

emails, Facebook posts, snail-mail cards...

and the absolutely unnecessary

(but entirely appreciated!)

gesture of gifts...

Talk about the best birthday ever!!

Can't say THANKS enough to my friends & family

(and to the Michigan football team for the cherry on top ;)

WHAT A WONDERFUL WEEK

2011-09-08T10:18:00.002-04:00

Apparently I'm the new LOL ;)

2011-09-07T08:14:00.002-04:00

Brilliant

Bits of Truth

2011-09-06T20:18:00.003-04:00

Sometimes this city just gets ya...

2011-09-05T22:21:00.004-04:00

Tonight I went for a run along the lake and
had to stop to snap this pick en route home.

The temp has dropped 30 degrees over the past 3 days
so I fully plan to enjoy every ounce of Fall
before the inevitable arrives...
{insert head shaking here}

The Circus Meets the Zoo

2011-09-05T22:10:00.005-04:00

Recipe for a perfect day:

Fam
Friends

Fall weather

Some sunny sun sun

and of course, the Lincoln Park Zoo :)

I loved meeting baby Colleen and spending time with my cousins, Timmy & Shannon this weekend. And I couldn't have said "YES!" faster when Maggie needed a friend to watch Soren.
Was truly an awesome afternoon spending time
with people I simply adore.

Fissssssh!

FUN

Aaaand that's a wrap ;)

I'd repeat today one hundred times over :)

Obsessed

2011-09-02T16:59:00.001-04:00

Now I know what to do on Monday :)

HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!

DA BEARS DA BEARS DA BEARS

2011-09-02T07:47:00.003-04:00

Thank you, Spy for the field passes!!

Thank you, Rebekah for the birthday tickets :)

HO.LY AWESOMENESS

DA BEARS

Excelerate Labs Demo Day

2011-09-01T08:46:00.011-04:00

Yesterday I had the absolute privilege to attend
the Excelerate Labs Demo Day at the House of Blues.

I just wish I could put into words how inspiring it was
to listen to the INCREDIBLE pitches of the
10 selected Excelerate start-ups for 2011.

Sandbox works hand-in-hand with this phenomenal brainchild so we got to sit alongside 300+ investors,
Chicago community leaders, mentors, family & friends
to support their awesomeness in all it's glory :)

Even the Mayor (Rahm Emanuel) was there to celebrate!

I couldn't contain my laughter when opened up with,

"So you think you all have 'funding' problems, eh?"
Hahahahaha
LOVE

If/when you have the time,

be sure to check out these rising stars:

Cookitfor.us: The FTD of Food. Cookitforus.com will make, and deliver, your favorite recipe. Hungry? Crave your favorite recipe today.

Power2Switch: Compare electricity providers and save money on your next electric bill. It is a painless solution to a very painful problem.

Goshi: Re-inventing the window shopping experience. An app which allows you to experience the store front shopping experience in a virtual, and social, marketplace.

Shortlist (formerly A Space Apart): The best solution for attendees, exhibitors and conference planners to gain the most value from each conference. Now, all the vendors who pay $$$$ for booths can derive serious value from their investment.

FoodGenius: Yelp, look out. FoodGenius is driving individuals to their favorite restaurant based on the dish they wish to consume, not the restaurant. Common sense, right?

BabbaCo: Announced the launch of the first "Babba Box" for parents, nannies and grandparents to provide creative, stimulating and age-appropriate activities to children on a monthly basis. Sign up today for a monthly subscription. Working parents, the perfect solution for spending quality time with your kids after a long day.

Joystickers: Joystickers' accessories will soon be sold at Target, BestBuy, Walmart and other stores. The next time you jump rope, skateboard or play baseball you may be purchasing a Joysticker infused model which is linked to an app allowing you to count jumps, measure the speed of your pitch, compete w/friends, exercise to your favorite tunes, etc.

Exchangery: A unique approach to starting a commodities exchange. What's next? Organic corn exchange?

Introfly: Helping passionate individuals find their passion in life. Stuck in a corporate job with a hidden passion? Not sure how/where to pursue the right contacts? Introfly to the rescue.

BuzzReferrals: Can help you turn "ordinary customers into extraordinary promoters". Identify, engage and reward your best customers. Your value will only increase with buzzzzz...contact them today.

Shot to the heart :(

2011-09-01T07:24:00.000-04:00

Last night I got the news that a month at the museum is unfortunately not in my future. But thankfully my sister-in-law invited me to crash her dinner plans so I had great peeps to dine with and to raise a glass for at least trying :)

Onward and upward to figure out my next adventure!

In the meantime,

my brother's note of "condolence" still has me cracking up ;)

Hubbard Street Public Art

2011-08-31T08:17:00.010-04:00

I adore walking past this mural project everyday

when we grab lunch at Bari or Vinnie's sub shop.

Thought I'd pass along the eye candy :)

Book Reco

2011-08-31T07:49:00.004-04:00

For work book club this month we're reading

and I very much love it.

Seth Godin keeps it simple,

as teaching-literature should be,

and along the way he makes ya laugh...

Check out Seth's blog by clicking on his mind :)

Pint Sized Gesture

2011-08-30T20:35:00.007-04:00

Today I went over to RUSH to donate blood and
to score myself some Keebler cookies, obvs ;)

After passing the iron test on the first prick,
I had to LOL remembering the
"best" advice I've EVER received :)

Then after it was all said and done

and I'd loaded up on sugar and juice,
the nurse gave me the "ok" to go home

(as it was clear I wouldn't pass out).

Problem being,

I proceeded to use the restroom

and walked straight into the MENS!

The doctor I walked in on was so nice about it

but I couldn't have been more flustered :S

Thankfully the juvenile in me had oh-so-maturely
collected a ~half dozen Red Cross stickers so he was all,

"Don't worry -- I see you just gave blood!"

And I was all,

"Yeeeaah - and I now apparently

can't read stick figure symbols..."

Next time I'm bringing a chaperon.

Seriously

Thoughts on "Enough"

2011-08-29T22:38:00.000-04:00

I'll be the first to admit that I'm my own worst critic.

But with just 10 days to the big 3-0,

I've decided to cut myself a little slack this week

(so not to jump off a bridge ;)

As prepared as I was for a big meeting this afternoon,

I unfortunately entirely botched it :(

But instead of leaving work after

(to dig myself a hole to China)

I decided to take the high road.

Ya see the thing is,

I'm fully aware that if you can't hang with the big dogs,
you gotta stay on the porch.

But as I sit here all curled up with Chinese take-out,
a Coastal Living mag and a pay-per-view movie --
I gotta admit that even my "porch" these days,
really isn't such a bad place :)

I find myself in these "twits" a lot lately but
have come to realize that it's not that I'm failing by any means,
it's just that I've created a life, both personally and professionally,
where I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by incredibly smart,
talented, hard-working, and therefore successful people.

So on this upward journey,
I've decided to stop being so hard on myself,
under a few conditions:
So long as I know that I'm always playing to my highest intelligence and that while I'm in this world to do well, that I continue to remember that I'm truly in this world to do good.

And with that,
the new almost 30 year old version of me
has decided that at the end of the day,
I'm fortunate for every experience I have to fail --
and these "off nights" will end tomorrow so I should just enjoy the Pad Thai and a Jennifer Aniston flick in the meantime, because every now and again,

it's ok for this very moment to simply be "enough" :)

Time Flies...

2011-08-29T22:35:00.002-04:00

and apparently, so do my besties ;)

Was such a fun weekend in Cleveland

visiting these two fabulous friends

and this was the only picture I took...

Sunday came too soon :(

Excerpts Me Likey from "Bits O' Truth"

2011-08-24T08:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Big 3-0, Dustin :)

2011-08-24T08:22:00.005-04:00

Can't wait to see the final video project --

what an absolute BLAST of a night!

Dustin 30th Birthday Party Invite

For all the digital awesomeness, click here

Happy Birthday, KP!

2011-08-24T07:40:00.002-04:00

Was so fun to celebrate with you :)

Counting down the days to your wedding!

LOVE

2011-08-23T08:02:00.002-04:00

Over the weekend I had the absolute pleasure

to see Peter Pan at the 360 Theater :)

Oh me oh my oh me,

I truly cannot say enough wonderful things

about this production!

If/when this traveling awesomeness
tours in your city, do yourself a favor
and go! I might fly in to join you ;)

In the meantime, just thought I'd share
a few of my favorite "Pan-isms"...

"Typical Friday"

2011-08-19T18:37:00.002-04:00

Never a dull moment...

SHUDDER ;)

WOOOHOOOO... There's Still Hope!

2011-08-19T14:02:00.003-04:00

Lost Crates - Take Two

2011-08-19T08:17:00.002-04:00

Similar to the last shipment,

my crate arrived to Sandbox

and the scavenger hunt ensued :)

Clue #1

Clue 2

Outside we go, for Clue 3...

Teeheee, getting closer!!

JACKPOT :)

Now it's simply time to...

HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!

2011-08-17T14:26:00.000-04:00

A Watched Pot Never Boils

2011-08-15T22:57:00.018-04:00

I've always been the type of person that has a lot of "pots" going at once. That way I know in life that when one door closes,

I can at least crack a window ;)

But not gonna lie, I've never had so much hopeful-slash-nervous anxiety as I do now wondering and actively waiting to see which element of my life is about to go from a simmer to a boil!

Today we had a great meeting at work so I was certain that my "career pot" was about to move in to a burnin' ring of fire (said in the voice of Johnny Cash, obvs). And just then, a friend texted to ask if I've heard back from the Museum yet. My heart physically sank... it's somehow "mid August" and I not-so-secretly SO hope to be picked as a top 20 finalist. Eeeeeek! Fingers remain crossed.

Saturday was Stephen & Kendra's Chicago wedding reception and like five sets of mothers said that I should meet their sons... Normally I'd brush this off (because let's be real, it's kinda weird), but with the 30th birthday looming, I feel like I kinda do need to start igniting my "love" life (or lack thereof).

Which brings me to the 30th birthday countdown

(t-minus 3 weeks, ufffff!) and Kate and I literally haven't planned a single thing for our Ireland trip yet. HA! Guess we'll just be letting the Guinness guide us to the goodness ;)

But these are the times that I honestly love the most.

When life is so full of curve balls that the only constant is

waking up in my own bed and the rest of the day is,

well the rest of the day is just a whole lotta

Zippidy Do Da :)

Stephen & Kendra's Wedding -- Part Deux

2011-08-15T21:12:00.000-04:00

Boat Party and Kendras Belated Bday Dinner

2011-08-10T08:44:00.001-04:00

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

2011-08-09T08:23:00.004-04:00

For our work book club this month we read

and invited the ever talented, Chicago based author

to join us for lunch during our discussions...

And she said YESSS!

I loved every second of meeting Amy KR and very much hope to do so again in the future. She's been a literary idol of mine for several years now and I definitely geeked out a little when asking her questions about her writing process. Woops!

Such an inspiring hour :)

Welcome to the world, Christian Edward!

2011-08-09T08:07:00.007-04:00

Life was made all the better this week by welcoming

the incredibly adorable Christian Edward Thomas :)

Congratulations, Katie & Ryan!

I love you both so very much and cannot WAIT
to meet your future star. As R.T put it best,
"may he throw strikes and love his mother."

XOXOXOXO

Nice Little Sunday

2011-08-07T21:19:00.004-04:00

LP Zoo + Chicago Botanical Gardens +
Museum of Science & Industry Body Worlds exhibit +
the Hyde Park Osaka Garden walk = :)

For Reals?

2011-08-07T21:06:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I walk around aimlessly just to
drool over my neighbors houses in the Lincoln Park hood.
I've zero complaints of my current living sitch,
but can we please chat for a sec about
the grass-is-greener alternatives?

Seriously,

What.Do.You.People.Do?!?!

I want to go to there...

Friends With Benefits

2011-08-07T20:39:00.001-04:00

Over the wknd I saw the new Mila Kunis/Justin Timberlake flick,

or as my mom would call it, "that Sex Friends movie".

Tomato tomatoe...

I'm a glutton for all things romantic comedy,
so I of course loved it but what I most adored
was that the main take away (in my opinion)
is that it's ok to

Something I do quite a lot these days ;)

Fish Bar

2011-08-06T08:41:00.037-04:00

I recently went on a date (shocking, I know)

and he chose Fish Bar which was music to my earlobes!

Can't say enough great things
about the restaurant that is...

I'll spare ya the deets on my "love" life ;)

It didn't even matter that it was Louis Armstrong's birthday
and the trumpet player rocked a sweet tribute
(although it was an awesome unexpected extra);
the atmosphere in this place is second to none.

And holy taste buds!

Positively the best lobster roll I've ever laid my lips on :)

Craft beers and sweet tea vodka in mason jars,

oysters, ceviche, white fish and key lime pie to boot?!

YES.PLEASE.THANK YOU!

Look out King Crab,

I think I've found a new "lover" :)

Cloud Nine

2011-08-04T08:20:00.011-04:00

Sometimes I go through my camera at random

and find that there are a few photos that just

instantly, without fail, evoke a smile :)

Here are a few from recent evenings in Chicago

when I had to pinch myself to actually believe

what was right in front of my very own eyes.

Thank You

2011-08-03T07:57:00.015-04:00

Doesn't seem possible that it's already Wednesday...

on Sunday night I had every intention to write personal (gushingly appreciative) thank you cards to every single wonderful friend and family member that attended

my Grandma Stella's service.

But instead, after the last guest left our house,

I found myself zoned out on the couch with my mom,

with our feet up and Bud Lights in hand.

Was such a bittersweet day --

I'm still catching myself smiling and

simultaneously choked up just thinking about it.

Yesterday I received an unexpected sympathy note from my landlord which for whatever reason, was the icing on the cake.

I am so entirely grateful to be back in Chicago

surrounded by such an overwhelming support system of love :)

Incredibly thankful = me

"And so it is"

2011-08-01T17:10:00.007-04:00

Happy Weekend Friends

2011-07-29T17:45:00.006-04:00

Hope you enjoy these last few days of July