I'm BACK!!

Well it's been about 4 months. My plan to post a few times a week didn't work out but hopefully I'll be posting more now that I've settled in to my new job.

Oh, what's my new job? I'm an event planner! Yay! The event planning bug bit me about a year ago and when I left my last "real" job, I told them I was hoping to become an event planner. It took about 7 months to find a job. I was originally hired on to be an account executive for daily catering but on my 3rd day I was asked to take on an event planning position. You can probably imagine what my response was...

Anyways, I'm back and it's time to post and get this baby organized! Watch out blog world!!!!

It's the Next Big Thing: Review Chicago

Review Chicago is a Chicago based information blog. Created by Scott Sweeney in April of 2008, Review Chicago strives to be an informational and entertaining blog. Everyday, we will post articles and information pertaining to anything Chicago. Included will be daily reviews of music venues, Chicago related websites, bands, movies, and basically anything else. In addition, we will have write ups Bar of the Month, Band/Artists of the Week and more. There will also be weekly giveaways including tickets to sporting events, gift certificates, and other prizes. Welcome to Review Chicago!

Please check out the site and support my friend! I think it's only a matter of time till this thing blows up and becomes something huge!

Cinners

Image from Cinners Website

There's a new food spot opening in Chicago on Friday and by the looks of the website, it looks like a good time! Cinners is described as "chili parlour and cocktail lounge". The menu is simple but unique. I can't wait to try to Cinner Dip: cream cheese, Cincinnati Chili, onions, and shredded mild cheddar cheese served with tortilla chips. I'm used to being served that dip at parties with canned chili so it will be a nice change. I love the combination of chili and cocktails, there's something old school and kinda off about it, but still, it tempts me in ways I cannot describe. The prices seem reasonable and the drinks sound unique. Am I the only person who's getting sick of going to different restaurants and seeing the same ingredients in drinks except their names are different?

Cinners is located at 4757 N. Talman in Chicago 60625 from 4pm to around 2am 7 days a week.

Who wants to go for the grand opening on Friday?!?!

The Price is Right

Image from Cbs.com

Has anyone else been watching The Price is Right? Drew Carey is actually a pretty good host. Everyday I am drawn to the tv at 10am to watch it.


p.s. hopefully I get a full-time job soon so I stop making posts on daytime game shows.

My Ebay Items...

Click here to see all of the items I currently have for sale on Ebay. If you see something you like, please bid on the item. I'm offering a discount for E'CLEC readers depending on the item (message me for more info). Thanks!! =)

The Ricky Gervais Show

I stumbled upon this podcast about a month ago and didn't listen to it until Saturday night when I needed to listen to something other than my same playlist while I cleaned. I ended up walking around my room laughing out loud like an idiot while I cleaned.

The show features Ricky Gervais, Steve Merchant and Karl Pilkington. A lot of the show features odd stories from Karl while Ricky and Steve try to figure out if Karl is in fact an orange headed moron. Karl's stories are ridiculously entertaining, as is his popular Chimpanzee News feature. I do feel it's very important that we know about a monkey who stole his zookeeper's wife.

For information on downloading the podcasts, visit the podcast page of Ricky Gervais' site.

Shrinky Dinks

Photo from The Curiosity Shoppe

They're called Shrinky Dinks right? I hope I'm not the only one who called um that. $12 for 4 sheets here.

Sublime Stitching Craft Pad

Image from Amazon

The patterns from Sublime Stitching are are so adorable. I bought the Stitch-It Kit last year and it kept me entertained for a while (I used one of the patterns to create this). I've been meaning to do some more embroidery and this may be the kick in the butt I need.

Sublime Stitching Craft Pad has more than 75 patterns! I can't wait to get my hand on one of these. According to Amazon, the release date is March 26 but they appear to be available now on the Sublime Stitching Website.

Click here to purchase from my Amazon store. Happy Stitching to you!

Gocco

Do you know what a Gocco is?? I seriously just discovered it and I am in looooooove. I want one, like right now. Check out the website for more info.


I also found a great description of how to print with a Gocco from a blogger and there's even a Gocco photo set on Flickr.

Cloud Hangers

Check out these adorable cloud hangers available from Fred Flare.

A set of 3 is now on sale for $3.99!!!

Cupcake Holder

Check out this cute cupcake holder on sale at Crate and Barrel. It holds 23 cupcakes and it's only $16.95!!! I really think you should buy one...

Image from Crate & Barrel

More Fabulous Blogs

Your Heart Out really makes me wish I lived in Salt Lake City. Do you think the blogger would show me around if I visited? She obviously knows the best places to go so I think I should book a trip there soon!

I don't know how I stumbled upon All Things Cupcake but I sure am glad I did. If you love to look for unique cupcake items but don't have the time to check a bunch of websites, head over to this blog because it does the work for you!

I adore Oh Happy Day! Jordan manages to work in cute personal posts among great fashion finds, recipes and lots of other great posts. Be sure to check out her post on the open house she had for her adorable baby boy! So talented!

Bake & Destroy is so fantastic, I can't even find words to describe it! You really must visit the blog yourself. I love love love her homemade cupcake picks! Can I follow you around for a few days and see how you do it??

Ode to My Hair

So I thought I would be selfish and dedicate a post to my hair. My hair is really really ridiculously curly but I straighten it every day. It's been blonde, black, pink, blue, orange, red, purple, etc... I'm actually very lucky to have hair after all I've put it through.

I used to be a hair model for Paul Mitchell stylists.


Yes, that's my actual hair with just a bit of styling and no curling irons or curlers were used.


I always used to say "I will never be blonde and tan" but all of a sudden, I was both.

I've never really been content with my hair. Every time I get my hair cut and colored, I do something different. Last summer, I started going to a Mario Tricoci Salon. I knew the manager and so my cut and color only cost me $11. I actually have been sticking with the same color and cut but the last time I went I felt really rushed and nothing turned out how I wanted it. The color still seems kinda wrong, the cut wasn't short enough, and I was charged full price ($200, yikes!).



My lovely, lovely friend Jillian, is studying at Pivot Point and texted me last week to see if I wanted to come in for a blow dry and style. I decided to go and get a haircut also. Well, the results were fantastic and it was only $5.50. My hair is so badass now:








So the moral of the story is to find a cosmetology school near you (I know Tricoci University has locations too) and get your haircuts, manicures, facials, etc... there because it is such a good deal and the students do a great job (a professional is there most of the time to guide them and help them, if needed). Looking great makes you feel great, and I know I feel even better when I don't have to pay a lot to look good.

More Adorable Eli Videos

If you haven't done so already, please go watch some cute videos of Eli being awesome. His Mom's youtube page has 20 videos of the lil guy hanging with his dog, waking up, and doing his amazing animal sounds. Eli is my hero so you have to check this dude out.

Housewares Show Chicago

Thanks to E'CLEC, I was able to score my Mom and I passes to the housewares show. We went yesterday and it also happened to be my cutie Mama's birthday. When we got there I said "this is going to be boring, I should have stayed home". And then we found the kitchen aid stage and I was oooooootay.

First up, Michael Chiarello


The crowd for Paula Deen was crazy so I ended up sitting on the floor in the aisle. I took video which I will post on youtube soon. Paula brought her husband along and they were super cute together.



I took pictures of Rocco Dispirito because I dislike him so much. I used to watch his show on nbc and yell at the tv because he is such a jerk. I texted my friends yesterday and told them if they hear about someone getting arrested for assault at the housewares show, it's probably because I attempted to beat up Rocco. Seriously, he's probably my least favorite person in the world (Rachel Ray comes in a close second).



Emeril was there too.



Cat Cora



There was a misunderstanding and Ming Tsai thought Karen was trying to flash him. It does look that way doesn't it?



We got cutting boards signed by Ming Tsai and then we all took a pic with him. He was ridiculously nice and funny. Love him!



We were getting ready to leave but I saw Curtis Stone would be on stage in a few minutes so I asked if we could stay a bit longer so I could just take a few quick pics of him and then we could leave. Well, my Mom and her friends found seats while I stood in the back and we ended up watching his entire set. He was hilarious and charming. Gotta love a chef who calls himself a "dickhead". Love Love Love him!



At the end of his set he announced the booth he would be in and that they were going to have a drawing for an entire set of kitchen appliances if you stopped by the booth and dropped in your business card. He also said you can make your way over there or you can wait for him and his crew and walk over with them. My Mom and her friends got in line to wait for Pam Anderson's cookbook and told me to go to the booth to drop in the business cards. It was in another hall and I didn't want to walk alone. My Mom told me to go and I said I would wait for Curtis and walk over with him. She said "just go, they probably took him the back way" and so I started walking. I had no idea where to go so it took me a while to get to the right place.

I finally got there and took my place in the line, which was not very long. A little bit later I hear someone say my name and I look up. About 5 people ahead of me is my Mom. "whaa? how? huh? where? why are you here? i thought you were waiting in line over there". She kinda looked down and then said "well, a few minutes after you left, um, Curtis came out and I walked over with him". I think my jaw dropped and I immediately asked for details. "Well, he was walking by and saying hi to everyone and so I said 'you know, it's my birthday and I really would have thought you would have something for me' and he told me to come with them and he'd give me a cookbook. So I walked over with him." I believe my response to this was "you bitch!". We keep going over the story because she can't get over how nice and sweet he was. I guess he kept making sure that she didn't fall behind and the group would make sure she was still with them when people stopped him for pictures. When we got up to Curtis, my Mom introduced me to him like they were old friends and he had a laugh with us because I told him how upset I was that she got to walk over with him. He was super sweet and took pix with all of us.





I got the generic signing in my book, but my Mom got "To Barbara, Thanks for the escort! Curtis Stone". So it looks like my Mom had a great birthday =)

Shameless Self Promotion

I have some items for sale on ebay so check um out here.

Also, check out the links to my etsy store and my lil amazon store. There's some fun stuff in both of them!

And in closing, please give me your money. ;-) Just joking. Happy shopping!

Swirlz Cupcakes

Last night I had a delicious cupcakes from Swirlz. I tried the red velvet and it was quite good (I think it was my first time having anything red velvet). The cupcakes were unbelievably adorable! The best part was the picks with their logo and name were edible (made of white chocolate). The pick was definitely my favorite part!

They have some fun daily flavors listed on their website so I think I'm going to have to take a ride to Swirlz and try some out soon!

Swirlz
705 W. Belden
Chicago, IL 60614
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-7pm

The Secret

Image from thesecret.tv

About a month ago I caught an episode of Oprah about the book "The Secret". I only saw bits and pieces of it but I loved the idea of making a board with all the things you want on it. "The Secret" really starts to make sense when you really think about. The law of attraction is real and we are constantly attracting to ourselves the things we think about.

I started reading the book and my boss saw I was reading it and told me he had the video. A few days later, he lent it to me and I've watched a few times since. I've tried to get my Mom and boyfriend to watch it. My Mom is a little more difficult to convert but Adam really liked what he saw and heard. The book is the same exact thing as the DVD. I preferred reading the book and then watching the DVD to really soak up everything.

The first week or so was easy with the positive thinking. I would wake up every morning and think "today is going to be a good day". "The Secret" teaches you that you can only control what you do and how you feel, you can't control other people. I understand that, but it's difficult to stay positive when you have people around you who are negative. Whenever I go to either of my jobs, the people I'm surrounded with are just not happy people and it gets kinda difficult to stay positive.

I've kinda faded out of being in "The Secret" mode. I want to get back in it thought because it made me feel really good. I've always said "it's only as big of a deal as you make it out to be" and "The Secret" sort of reinforced that for me. If you haven't read or seen the movie, you can visit the website and learn more.

Cupcakes

My valentine's day cupcakes were a hit at the office and at home. I used the same recipe for the cupcakes I made for the surprise party on Saturday.

I used this recipe for the cupcakes. The frosting was a stick up butter, a package of cream cheese and a bunch of powder sugar. I didn't really measure, that's how I roll.

Movies I like... that other people don't.

Pic from asdfplus.com

Little Black Book- A lot of my friends didn't like this movie because they thought it had an unhappy ending. I think it has a perfect ending. The first line of the movie is "Question: how does a girl who falls, no actually jumps, eyes wide open, down a rabbit hole, plummeting into chaos come out unchanged? Answer: she doesn't". Oh this movie makes me feel good. There are so many good quotes from this movie, so go check them out.

View from the Top- I love Mark Ruffalo. This movie is cute and quirky. It feels like it takes place in some time period that never really existed. The colors are bright and the characters are pretty standard: the girl who dreams, her backstabbing friend, her inspiration, and her guy. Oh and Mike Myers is in it.

Crafty Magazine Fun!

I've been noticing more and more great ads lately. It seems like my marketing background has really helped me learn to appreciate a good ad when I see one. Some ads are so colorful and full of patterns so I wanted to figure out something to do with them. Well I found some black and white ads and cut out some random shapes. I threw this lil card together and I really like it. Hopefully someone else will too because I'm going to put it in my etsy store soon!

Crafty Magazine Fun

I've been noticing more and more great ads lately. It seems like my marketing background has really helped me learn to appreciate a good ad when I see one. Some ads are so colorful and full of patterns so I wanted to figure out something to do with them. Well I found some black and white ads and cut out some random shapes. I threw this lil card together and I really like it. Hopefully someone else will too because I'm going to put it in my etsy store soon!

In the City of Blinding Lights

This is what I would wear in Paris



Thanks to Nubby Twiglet for turning me on to this fantastic site!

Updates & New Favorites

Updates:

Golden Rainbow Publishing- A few weeks ago I filled out the handy dandy form on the BBB website about Golden Rainbow and their lovely "customer service". Today I had a voice mail and a message on my answering machine at home from a GR rep saying "I want to speak with you because we've been working on your issues and I'd like to know what else you would like us to do". First off, perhaps you could have called 2.5 months ago when I originally called regarding the issue. Obviously they are just calling now because the BBB scared them. And second, I made it perfectly clear in my letter that I want a full refund. They did not hold up their end of the contract. Refund my money, thanks.
--- AT&T will most likely be the next company to receive a letter. More on that some other time.

This post was super long so don't read the whole thing. Wait, no, read the whole thing. Wow I really do a great job promoting and encouraging people to read my blog. But anyways, I'm working part-time at my Mom's office and I didn't think I would like it, but I do. I was originally brought it to help out with billing but now I've sort of become a graphic designer. Their brochures were way to colorful (they said they spent a lot of money on color ink last year) and are full of errors. My favorite brochure said this:

Train-
ing

That was on the cover. How careless can you be? I've realized through all this that my marketing skills don't just apply to the restaurant industry (a belief I've had for a while) but they're universal. I love marketing and I really can apply a lot of things to just about any industry, and even ones I'm not passionate about.

Tuesday night at about 5pm I was called and invited to see Jersey boys at 7:30pm. I wasn't going to go and then realized I would regret it if I didn't go. It was so good! The cast was phenomenal! I've loved Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for a while and it was fun to see how they got started. As the show started, I got the chills and it reminded me of being backstage and waiting for the curtain to open. I miss that feeling so I think I'm going to have to do something about it.

New Favorites:

Available @ West Elm

There's a good chance that this will be my new bedding. I'm in love with it and even more importantly, it's organic cotton. I haven't decided what color to paint my new room yet but that duvet will go with anything.



Check out Nubby Twiglet's blog. The pictures she takes are phenomenal (see pic above). And she's a fellow Sigg user. I wish I could buy everyone a Sigg... or two.

I am loving Hulu and Youtube right now.

Dot Dot Dot

Bedazzled Bonbons look pretty awesome, but I wonder how good they are...
I wonder if I'll ever update my etsy store with the valentine's cupcake picks I made...

Question*:

What's the best place to look for hotel/flight prices?
Any Vegas hotel suggestions?