architecture, social media & french fantasy

Architecture

This may have something to do with why I love Chicago so much.  iPhone photos of two architectural icons (330 N Wabash & Trump Tower) while waiting along the river for a meeting.  It was a stunningly beautiful day today and as luck would have it, I was called to a last minute meeting downtown.  It's days like today that make me wish I worked down there - you could meet your friends for a long lunch and enjoy the Chicago skyline.  

Social Media

Anyhoo, meeting was good, but the side conversation really has me thinking.  I was meeting with two people who are probably 10-15 years older than me and our conversation swayed to social media.  This seems to be a reoccurring theme to conversations these days.  What is the purpose of social media? How does it fit into our personal and professional lives?  How do you use it effectively for business?  All interesting questions and I don't think anyone really knows the answers.  Even Google missed the boat on social media!  And given that, how are we small business people to know how to really use it?  I find these conversations interesting, not only because they are relevant to business today, but how the conversations are different among the age groups.  Anyone in their early 30's or under is up to their eyeballs in tweets, facebook and etc.  They are fully emersed in the social game and, in my opinion, find it hard to associate with those who are not.  I find that anyone over 40 just doesn't want to be bothered with it and still finds value in meeting face-to-face and having a real conversation over the telephone.  Then there's the 35-40 year olds (my group, the Gen X'ers), we are stuck between those who get it and those who don't and it's a most interesting position to find myself in... I sort of feel like we will be the bridge that holds it all together... hmmm. 

French Fantasy

Upon returning to work, I saw a tweet about Bradley Cooper promoting the Hangover II in French.  As in he is FLUENT in French.  I about melted into a puddle right there in my desk chair.  I've been on the BC fence - not sure if he would be on my celebrity crush list or not - well let me tell you, this just put him at the top of that damn list.  Bonjour monsieur Cooper!!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYwvFU6dcv4]

the weekend

Oh how I love three day weekends!!  I had actually planned on doing some more outdoor things, but we had crap weather.  Rain.  Thunder.  Lightening.  Flooding.  Two days of doom and gloom does not make for a fun start to the summer.  

So what do you do when it's raining outside?  

Sleep in.  

See a movie!  We saw Bridesmaids and laughed hysterically.  Even the previews were fabulous.  

Bake - s'mores bites - and oh are they good and sooo buttery.  Positively sinful I say.  

BBQ with friends - just as the rain decided to let up!

Photos for Selika's fashion blog - posted here.  She loves some high heels!! 

Then there's today - 94 degrees, sunny and soooo humid.  Oh how I love Midwestern weather... 

I was supposed to go to the zoo with friends, but needed to get my bike purchased (to get the sale price!).  I bought that beautiful Electra Townie, in vanilla, put a rack on her and took her out for the maiden voyage.  Did a three mile loop along the lakefront and quickly figured out that is not the best place to ride as there are too many obstacles.   People just doddling along, skateboards, strollers and etc. just parked in the path.  Saying "on your left" did me absolutely no good either.  So I guess I'll be sticking to the roads from now on.  

I need one more thing for the bike - some sort of bag - am thinking I'll go with the Po Campo Armitage Satchel - how freakin' cute is it?  I love that it just straps to the bike rack and then looks like a regular bag you can just tote along with you.  The only problem I have is that I want this one AND the one that goes on the front of the bike - the Streeterville Clutch ... ugh, so much awesome bike bling!  

 

I love these long weekends, but somehow they are never long enough.  I never get everything done that I want to... I'm hoping this week won't be a hot mess like last week.  Fingers crossed!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

things on tuesday :: mobile

A crazy week and it's only Tuesday. 

loves

• Funny questions from unexpected people.

• Getting new technology - I'm such a geek!

• How easy it is to transfer your life from one Mac to another. Oh I am so happy those PC days are behind me.

• Alternative medicine. It just works.

loathes

• Working too much

• Roller coaster weather. Up. Down. Up. Down. Can we pick a direction and move gradually toward it?

• That I'm craving a Europe adventure, but have to buy an air handler for the condo instead. *frown*

• Dieting.

OK. Time for bed kids. Night!

things on tuesday :: Oprah!

So I missed my "things on Tuesday" this week for a very good reason... Oprah!  I was one of the lucky 12,000 to be inside the United Center for Oprah's Surprise Spectacular taping!!  I have read that over 150,000 applied and that is insane!!!  Selika and I thought maybe we could hit the Oprah Store on the way to the show - but they were closed since all the staff was at the show, duh!  Anyhoo, it gave us a great opportunity to take some cheesy photos in front of the studio before heading over to the United Center.  

Upon arriving at the United Center it was complete chaos!  Lines at every gate and no one really knowing where they were supposed to be.  We hopped in line and enjoyed the view - the people watching was outstanding!  The outfits ranged from jeans and tees to feathered hats and sparkly stilettos! The Satorialist would have had a field day with his camera with this crowd!  Oh and the ladies in line with us were a hoot!  We had a ball, despite the cold and long wait to get into the show.  

We made our way to our seats in the nosebleed section and found out goodie bag - LED finger lights (for part of the show), Oprah Magazine and a book (also for the show).  That was the extent of the giveaways, but I consider the free ticket to the show the best giveaway!  Considering people in line were trying to sell theirs for thousands.... idiots! 

The show was amazing!!!  Stars at every turn, serious tear jerker moments, testimonials to the great things Oprah has done for people around the world and lots of music!  

Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes, Josh Grobin, Patti LaBelle, Madonna, Dakota Fanning, Beyonce (finger lights!), John Legend, Diane Sawyer, Rascal Flats (and yes, I even sang to a country song - only for Oprah!), Halle Barry, Queen Latifah, Michael Jordan (who brought down the house), Jamie Foxx (Selika about fell on the folks in front of us she was so excited to see him), Steive Wonder, Will & Jada Smith, Kristin Chenoweth, Jerry Seinfeld, Simon Cowell, Rosie, Dr. Phill, Dr. Oz, Nate, Gayle, Maria Shriver, Tyler Perry (who introduced a bunch of Oprah scholarship graduates from Morehouse college that totally brought Oprah to tears), Maya Angelou (who wrote a poem special for Oprah), Alicia Keys, Usher and Aretha Franklin.  

Wow that was a lot to type out ... they just seemed to keep coming, the stars did.  I have to say that Oprah Show staff really knows how to put on a concert!  To think that they could pull off such an event (set up/sound check/rehearsal) in just a day and a half is nothing short of a miracle I would imagine!  I think my favorite part was Jamie Foxx and Stevie Wonder.  Oh how I would love to be serenaded by those two men.... 

I feel so lucky to have been a part of such a momentous occasion.  It was my first Oprah Show and I am so thankful to have been able to get in just under the wire.  

10 on 10 :: May 2011 :: Things on Tuesday

Today I decided to do a combo  "Things on Tuesday" and "10 on 10 challenge" - it gave me a little bit of a purpose for shooting my boring work day.  Click on the photo above to see everything larger - not a very exciting set, but wasn't a very exciting day.  So here goes!

This week's loves

• Breakfast and the Today Show - I am grumpy without them
• Music is something that I am passionate about.  It wakes me up, surrounds me in the shower and puts me to sleep at night!  Weather it be my own mixes or Pandora - I am listening right now!
• New bags!  I seem to be on a forever search for just the right bag... most recent bags are the quilted *emera, an adorable chevron tote and leather Banana Republic convertible shoulder/cross body that I scooped up on ebay (thanks Kendra, hope you don't mind I copied).
• The first day of open toe shoes!!!  It was a beautiful 80 + degrees in Chicago today - yeah!!
• Scoring tickets to Oprah's Surprise Spectacular - WOOT!! I am so excited and freaked out about what to wear.  They say to wear color and my wardrobe is chalked full of black, white, beige and gray... ack!  What to do??

This week's loathes

• That I don't eat better - I have a salad but still have to have a croissant or something that's not so good for me... ugh!
• That I cannot seem to get rid of carbonated beverages and stick with water.  They just taste better.
• My damn sweet tooth - I just have to have something sweet to keep me going through the afternoon.
• Neck and shoulder pain that I cannot figure out what the trigger is and how to control it.  Two acupuncture treatments and I'm about 80% - am seeing a Naprapathic doctor next week.  Sheesh!
• Work.  Work.  Work on a beautiful day.  Ah well.  Hope you got out and enjoyed your day!! 

she's got tickets !!

Just had to jot a quick note to document this day... it's been one heck of a Monday!!  

• Dave Matthews Band Caravan SINGLE DAY tickets go on sale this Friday - I couldn't be happier since I couldn't get anyone to commit to the three days with me.  Now I can at least go one day and get to see fantastic bands at the new Lakefront Chicago venue.  Oh and the addition of this show will mean I am seeing a different musical act every week of July!  Yeah!!

• AND.... the be big one!  My friend Selika and I scored tickets to see the very last Oprah Show at the United Center.  Yes, after fifteen years in Chicago I am finally getting to see an Oprah Show live in person... and it just happens to be the very last one.  I can hardly believe we got so lucky!  We have to pick up the tickets this weekend and the taping is next Tuesday night.  What shall I wear - they say colors work best on camera - eek!!  

spring-y

The sun has finally decided to appear here in Chicago. Time to get out and start exploring the city with my camera(s) again. Still a little cold by the lake today, but it was beautiful regardless!

happy mother's day

Just wanted to wish my mom the best mother's day!! This photo would have been on or around her very first mother's day. We don't look anything alike do we? Hope you did a little something for yourself today... Hugs and kisses to Grandma too!!

comedy . chris . colin

Every now and then I have a day where everything just comes together and makes for a truly memorable chain of events.  Saturday was one of those days.  I headed downtown to Second City to watch my coworker (Barbara) on the main stage - she's been taking classes for a while now and at the end they get the chance to perform on one of the most famous comedic stages in the world.  Funny thing is that she's never even seen a show there... so the first time she's even in the main room, she's actually on stage!  

Then it was off to meet my friend Robin for dinner and a concert at the Park West.  The show was incredible!  We have been long time fans of Chris Trapper and have seen him solo and with his former band, The Push Stars, on many occasions.  So to have him open for Colin Hay was an extra bonus.  He played for an hour, just him and his guitars.  His songwriting is fabulous and I love his voice too!  He's actually got songs in several movies and TV shows - but he's so humble you'd never know.  We got SO lucky to see him just hanging out in the lobby after the show and hustled over to get a photo with him.  It's a terrible photo - only having the iPhone in this kind of a situation is unfortunate as it does not work well in low light (that flash is a joke) and when you hand the phone to someone else to take a pic they have no idea how to focus.  Ah well, just so happy to have gotten anything with him.  He was so nice and talked about how intimidating it is to play in a big room like the Park West - his usual spot is at Schubas and it's much more intimate. 

Colin Hay was A M A Z I N G !!  Everyone knows him from Men at Work, but he's made a solo resurgence thanks to the Garden State Soundtrack - that's where I got hooked!!  (Thank you Zach Braff!)  Colin is a true singer/songwriter - his voice is genuine, no need for fancy sampling machines and post production.  I loved that it was just him and his guitars and the stories he shared of his glamourous life.  He told us about  his family, the Beetles, his old band and sang a great mix of old and new songs.  It was three hours of fantastic music.  I think I've even got Robin hooked on him now too!  

Just found a great review of the show too!  Check it out!

visually me

I ran across a design agency website where they used photos of "things" that describe who they are rather than the typical corporate photo. I thought it was a great idea and just had to give it a go... It was an interesting challenge, to come up with the right combination of items, and then there's Phoebe sneaking into the photo. Could not have been more perfect! So, this is me ... now let's see you!