Wednesday, April 13, 2011

...oprah...

Oprah and I go way back.

Way back to the time when I tried to go trick-or-treating at her Montecito mansion in California, and was promptly turned away by her gate security.

That's how far back we go.

Obviously Oprah and I have a bond, so I thought it only fitting to try and go to a filming of her show. Besides moving to Chicago for my husband's schooling, a chance to see Oprah was a close second in terms of reasons to move.

Not really....

Actually I can count the number of times I've watched the show on one hand. HOWEVER, I have heard tale of her "favorite things" episodes--because who hasn't--and I think I'd really like to get a bunch of free stuff from O herself. So I've been visiting her website daily to see if the reservation window will open and give me a chance to get my name in the lottery for seeing a show.

BOOM.

I knew Wednesdays could be good for something! I officially have my name in the lottery for seeing an Oprah show. Apparently I'll know in 48 hours if I'm in or not...so I'm taking all the support I can get.

Prayers.
Positive thinking.
Incense burning.
Sun salutations.
Finger crossing.

...and obvioulsy...

Tattooing.


I might go there. I really like free stuff!


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

...d.w.t.s.2...

It's official. I might be a dancing with the stars convert. Especially after last night.

Did anyone else watch? Because it was AWESOME.

They had a 46 piece live orchestra, along with rock violinist David Garrett, (whom I had never heard of, but I really liked his pony-tail. He rocked it), AND opera singer Katherine Jenkins.

The dancers this week had to preform classical dances to classical musical pieces. The live band was sensational, and at the risk of sounding cheesey balls, I truly LOVED watching every minute of this program.

The best part of it was that all the musical pieces were recognizable, and regardless of how well the dancers performed, the sheer beauty of the music was enough for me. At the end of every dance, I realized that I was psuedo-moving around on my seat to the beat of the music. Ha. Does that happen to anyone else?

Some of the music that was played:

Karl Jenkins : Palladio Allegretto


Bizet: Carmen Overture


And my all-time favorite, The Flower Duet


And I'm totally not kidding when I say that is my favorite. For some reason, I've always loved that song. It got me through many a study sesh in college. One Anna Storvick may recall how I would have this song on repeat whilst homeworking.

And of course, the new dwts leaders twirled to the Harry Potter theme, which I am obviously obsessed with. Counting down the days until the next movie comes out in July! Booyah!!



...addendum...


Post my post on the Royal Wedding, I had several people bring to my attention additionally ridiculous Royal Wedding items. My new favorite are the fingernail decals. Nice find Kim.


The Royal Pez Machines. I could actually go for one of those. I miss pez.


Royal Baubles...or Bobbles.

Royal Sick Bags? I don't get it.


Royal Nail decals. Just so you can take Wills and Kate with you whenever you, and your fingernails might go.

Monday, April 04, 2011

...da da DMV...


Ahh, the Department of Motor Vehicles. Doesn't the name just strike a warm chord in your heart? Who doesn't love being given ambiguous instructions, waiting for hours, and then being helped begrudgingly by mean people?

I've had the pleasure of visiting said establishment in several different states. California wins, hands down, for being the lamest of the lame. Denver I could take or leave, but definitely leave. Illinois...well, let's just say we got off on the wrong foot.

Before you get the wrong impression, read carefully, because I'm about to actually say something NICE about the DMV and the people who work in the Chicago downtown office. Even though I did have a self-proclaimed "ultimate fail" at the DMV today, and after having spent all day in and out of the office and having nothing to show for it; I'm not annoyed. Mostly because it's all my fault, but also because the people in the office were really friendly and helpful. Midwestern charm? Who knows. All I can say is that I'm living with the knowledge that I have to go back to the office tomorrow, and I'm not in a state of depression. At least not yet.

Even though I may have been through my most pleasant DMV experience, I couldn't help but think of all the useful things I might be doing with my time were I not enjoying being stuck in the confines of a government agency. For example...

Learning to become an expert with my sewing machine, so I can make cool things like THIS!

Photo from DesignSponge

Hand-stitched name place cards. So easy and cute!

No, I don't have room, or the funds, for a new chair. When I do, I'm all over this idea!

Photo from DesignSponge

Coat-Rack! My newest obsession. Quite practical in Chicago as well.


I've got to get my craft on more often. I miss having all my creative roommates; no offense to the husband. (He's crafty in his own sort of way.)






Wednesday, March 30, 2011

...city livin...

Our little apartment has 12 foot high ceilings.

It's awesome. It makes 670 square feet seem so much bigger.

As an added bonus, I don't hit the ceiling when I get excited and jump up and down. And it's also great for P90X-ing, as the program also requires lots of hopping.

Additionally, one entire wall of our apartment has floor to ceiling windows. Pretty cool. Gives us a great view of some offices directly across the street from us. I like to have staredowns with some employees that work at the "chaotic office" as I have coined it. The place looks so unorganized that it makes me cringe, even from afar.




While these windows are really quite pretty, they also provide us with a few challenges. I often forget when I open the shades to let in sunlight (and initiate starting contests), that I'm also opening our apartment up to anyone else who has eyes and happens to glance upwards. Sometimes I have fun peering down at tour groups who come to take pictures of our building, and the one right across the street, the Monadnock. Overall, I don't mind having the window shades open, and have learned pretty quickly that a bathrobe is my new best friend when getting from the bathroom to the bedroom after showers.

Night, however, is an entirely different story. We have window shades for all of our windows, which I typically close at night. Even with everything "covered," we still get a heck of a lot of light in our apartment. Especially our bedroom. For some reason, when the light filters in through the shades, it makes cool strobe like beams of light all across our ceiling and bed.

While the strobes are pretty nifty looking, they make it hard to fall asleep. I'm already battling with the sounds of the El, trucks driving by, random car horns (people LOVE their horns here), and the constant karaoke from the bar located IN our apartment building...so the last thing I really want is beams of light alllllll over.

My first thought is that I need to get an eye-mask. While I've always thought they were vaguely princess-y and pretentious looking, I thought I might be willing to try one out. When I happened across one in the dollar bins at Target, I knew it was destiny.

Also, I think it's important to note that when I was discussing this with Tim, I had the genius idea for Apple to create the imask. This would be a 3d sort of apparatus, made cool in a way that only Apple can. (You heard it here first people) To this Tim replied, Apple should make iglasses! To which I replied, duh, eyeglasses already exists.

Anyway. Last night as I was laying in bed, unable to sleep because of the bright lights, I was contemplating two thoughts.

1. Transform our bedroom into a small, posh nightclub with excessive strobe lights. And obviously make some money on the side.

2. Try out my eye-mask for the first time.

I opted for #2. Even though it felt like something was constricting my face, and I had fears of punching Tim in my sleep because I couldn't see anything, it worked out pretty well. I'm not sure if I'll continue use of the mask, because when I woke up, it was no longer on my face, but on the floor.

Maybe if I had a cool one like this, I would keep it on longer.



Any alternative ideas for blocking out light? Besides the obvious of spending hundreds of dollars on curtains?

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

...d.w.t.s...


DWTS. Dancing With The Stars. Duh.


If you feel bad for not knowing what the acronym stood for...don’t. I just found out on Sunday night when I watched the encore performance of the season 12 premier. Of course I tuned in on Monday night to watch the second episode.


I’m a DWTS first-timer. Well, I guess second-timer seeing as I’ve watched two whole shows now.


Now that I no longer have access to an included cable package with our rent, I’m really starting to get into these abc and nbc shows. (Two words: Biggest Loser) Tim started his classes at Booth last night, leaving me with a three-hour window of free-time. I knew DWTS was scheduled, so really, did I have any other choice but to watch?


To all you naysayers who may think all I do is spend time watching TV, I want you to know that I also read an entire book yesterday. Yes. An ENTIRE book.


I need a job.


BACK TO THE MATTER AT HAND.


d w t s.


After viewing, I have a few observations; so here’s the rub...


There’s a lot of rubbing. I know that dancing is all about getting close to your partner, looking fluid and smooth, and these celebs and dancers are showcasing that to the maximum level. There’s some sparky physical chemistry there for sure.


There is a LOT of kissing happening. This is a bit confusing to me. Maybe it’s all a part of the “dance world,” but as a viewer I just have to say that it looks a bit awkward. I’ve seen multiple cheek kisses, kissing of the biceps muscle, fake make-outs, real make-outs...the judges have even gotten in on the action! Maybe they are just so relieved when their dances are done that they just can’t help but kiss? I’m still hunting down the root of this issue/desire.


The dancing is actually impressive! (in most cases) As someone who doesn’t necessarily have ballroom ease and talent, I am truly impressed by how fluid these dances look. Good work celebies! Of course, I haven’t ruled out the possibility that all the girls wear shiny, sequencey, and skimpy outfits to distract the viewer from the actual talent on the dance floor...


Speaking of the ladies, it’s hard to take your eyes off of them! I intentionally tried to watch the guys and the girls on the floor because some of the celebrities are men, and they are actually the people the viewer is supposed to be focused on during the dance. But I can’t focus on anything but the fanciness and flow of the ladies’ outfits. It could also be that I typically don’t go for a man dressed in a sequence tux, so I subconsciously ignore them. Sorry guys.


Am I hooked yet?


Not sure.


I guess they vote dancers off on Tuesday night? I’m not sure how the whole system works.


Any other dwts watchers out there?


If you prefer to watch in secret, I can respect that.

Monday, March 28, 2011

...tufts...

I'm couchless.

Without couch. Sans couch.

Couch count = 0.


And I'm in a pickle. The Hubs and I have vastly different decorating styles. I like to think I have them...and so does he. But there is little to absolutely no coinciding of said "styles."

So what's a girl to do when it's time to purchase a new couch, most likely going to cost a pretty penny? This is no hypothetical, I want suggestions. I've worn myself looking online, and I'm not sure what to do next. Without easy access to the burbs, going to basic furniture stores isn't out best option; but should we buy a couch online? (I'm loving that overstock.com has free shipping....)

If money grew on trees, and I had a money tree in my apartment, these are the types of couches I would be allllll over.









You might notice a trend of tufting. My new favorite.

For the hubs?

All leather. A big, leather, man-couch. A big, leather, expensive man-couch.

Compromise?