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i'm so relieved that the weekend is here! no interesting plans this weekend for me, even though i am sure that my fiance will want to take me out somewhere tonight or tomorrow... but... i think this picture sums up my feelings right now:

as much as i love to go out and spend time with friends, sometimes a girl needs a night in. a netflix sort of night in.  :)

wedding venue? check!

i finally signed the contract today. the one that guarantees a beautiful ballroom at a luxurious hotel in downtown chicago for our wedding on december 11th. and i'm e-c-s-t-a-t-i-c. securing a wedding venue is a pretty big deal, and i'm so glad it all worked out.

it's a block away from the willis tower (formerly the sears tower), and the place where we'll exchange our vows. yup, we're having our ceremony here too. it's really the perfect spot for an interfaith and multicultural wedding. very neutral.

i'm counting the days.

lovely oils

one of the many reasons i started blogging is because i felt like i needed another creative outlet. at work, my creative outlet is my newsletter. outside of work? other than dining at some of the top rated restaurants in the city and checking out cool live music from time to time, nothing immediately comes to mind. i love to paint, but the cold weather makes it tough since i cannot open any windows to air out the paint fumes. and painting without proper ventilation gives me headaches, so it's really not an option this time of the year. 

even though blogging is delightful, i sure do miss my oils. 

one type of oil that i use year round is of the olive variety.  :) ever since i can remember, i've heard all about the health and beauty benefits of olive oil. most of us know that it's a tasty, healthy fat that helps prevent heart disease, and it makes your hair look really shiny and soft (after a single hair conditioning!). but there are other really interesting benefits too...

got an earache or excess wax? apply warm olive oil to your ear. cat developing a hairball? put some olive oil in his food to help it clear easily. hubby's snoring out of control? have him drink a tiny bit of olive oil-- it will soothe the throat muscles and prevent the snoring. wild, huh?

i heart my mommy

my mom had heart surgery yesterday, and everything went incredibly well. for months she'd been telling me about her heart beating irregularly any time she would workout or feel stressed. she finally went to a cardiologist for a diagnosis after a scary trip to the ER, and here we are a few weeks later. my mom and i are really close, and i feel like our relationship is even stronger after spending the day at the hospital with her. she means the world to me. 

i'm so thankful that she seems to be recovering quickly.

bloggers and their bags

i have no idea who started this trend, but it's interesting enough, so i've hopped on the blogging bandwagon (really, i can't wait to see what i would carry around ten years from now). all you do is dump everything out of your purse, take a photo of its contents, briefly describe everything you've got in it, and into the blogosphere it goes! 

the contents of my bag haven't changed very much since i graduated college. anywho, here they are:

1. pocket mirror - i rarely use this, but it comes in handy from time to time. and this is my newest pocket mirror-- from paris, and tres cute, if i may say so.

2. business cards - when i first started working in the real world, i would go back and forth about keeping these in my purse (cons: they will get all over my bag, it seems a tad presumptuous, etc). but, since people will randomly ask me for them, i keep them-- mainly because it saves me time and effort-- it's just much easier for me to pull one out of my purse versus scrawling my information on a piece of scrap paper.

3. hand sanitizer - always. always.

4. burt's bees lip balm - it's rosy and silky. smells great, too.

5. eye drops - i wear contact lenses and blinking isn't my thing so much.

6. blackberry curve - my favorite berry.

7. wallet - found this in a boutique shop in rogers park, and i get lots of compliments on it.

8. iTouch - soon i will upgrade its boring skin.

9. notebook - for anything. but mainly foreign language notes. :)

10. the economist - i'm a closet geek. if this isn't in my bag, then a good book is in there for sure.

a couple of other things you might find in my purse depend on my health (tissues/meds) and the weather (sunglasses/gloves).

poppity pop pop

the first time i read about pop-up shops, it was in reference to their growing popularity in Asian countries, where (especially luxury) consumerism is arguably more ubiquitous than in the US. for those unfamiliar with pop-up retail, you've probably seen them in the form of Halloween costume shops or any other seasonal storefront or kiosk. but there are much cooler sorts of pop-up stores: antique shops, jewelry shops, clothing shops, shoe shops, art shops, music shops-- you name it, and it's probably been out there, promoting it's no-name self somewhere in the states. sometimes they pop-up for a day, sometimes a few weeks.

there are also pop-up shops that really surprise you. vitamin water, anybody?

or, the one that recently surprised me the most:

i guess now that sex and the city isn't advertising for them, they are taking matters into their own hands. :)

chicago needs to be hit with some fun pop-up shops, and with so many empty storefronts, i'm sure most landlords would be happy to rent out their space. so, chicago? get to work. creative and unique small businesses only (nothing mainstream, please). k. thx. bye.

a post about a post

don't you just hate it when you lose a glove? even if you've got other pairs sitting in your closet, it still stings a little to lose one. and it especially stings to lose your absolute favorite pair of bright yellow, convertible glove mitts that have a. prevented frostbite, b. given you such easy access to texting your little fingers away on your blackberry, and c. matched your bright yellow knit hat so well. two mornings ago, i was certain i had lost my favorite yellow glove-- the one without a missing button. but, as always, i was hopeful that i'd find it either on my way home or in my apartment. sure enough, my yellow glove was cheerfully sitting on a silver platter stair post in my building corridor, waiting to be reunited with its owner.

now, this isn't a first. i happen to believe that there is a lost-and-found fairy in our apartment who places missing items on this very stair post. in the past year, i've been reunited with my missing lip balm, an earring, and even a rent check! my conscious would be delighted if this do-gooder revealed herself because i would really like to thank her. i've decided the fairy is a woman-- most men wouldn't notice a missing anything if it hit them in the head. :)

anywho, since i can't send her my appreciation directly, i'm going to put it out there in the web world: thank you so much, dear lost-and-found fairy!

on second thought, i think i'll thank her via post-it instead.