Category Archives: Chicago

Feb 14 2016
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Chicago, Food, Makeup, Random, Reflection

Random things I learned last month

Dutch ovens are the best cooking invention ever. And short ribs are way easier to cook than I ever imagined. Big ups to Home Goods (discounted cookware!) and The Butcher and Larder (for the short ribs and tips on how to cook them)!

  
Bobbi Brown‘s Bronze Shimmer Brick is one of my favorite beauty products, but it did not survive my recent business trip. After failed attempts to put it together like a puzzle, it’s just a $48 mess. So sad. 

 When given the opportunity to try a limited reserve tequila, never pass it up! I thought I hated Cuervo until I was exposed to the Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Extra Anjeo. Where can I find another bottle????

 

There is good gumbo in Chicago!!!! Analogue in Logan Square came with some awesome Cajun recipes. Yum. We went there three times in January. 
 

 
Dog coats are a blessing and curse…helps her in the Chicago cold. But when she wears it she doesn’t want to come home as quickly! 

 
Hope your year has started out fun too! 🎉

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Jan 18 2016
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Chicago, Food

Lunch Bliss -Goat Chili Cheese Fries

While the Little Goat in Chicago’s West Loop has a menu full of tasty entrees and sandwiches (hint, hint – Los Drowned, Bull’s Eye French Toast and my fav The Reuben), some days when I go there I crave the ultimate “side as an entree” meal (especially when the temps are barely hovering above zero)… Introducing Little Goat’s GOAT CHILI CHEESE FRIES. 😛😀🙌👌

Go try them!!

 

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Jan 13 2016
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Art, Chicago, Inspirations, Reflection Image

Field Museum – Chicago 

#inspiration #environment  

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Jun 30 2015
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#35for35, Chicago, Fitness, Sports

Possibly the Best Race Picture Ever 

Anybody else do a mud run and try to stay clean the whole time?? The Dirty Girl Mud Run in Schaumburg, IL made sure I didn’t succeed at that!! Event #21 knocked off the list!

  
(Photo courtesy of Conrad Castelo Photography)

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May 05 2015
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#35for35, Chicago, Detroit, Fitness, Sports

#35for35 – more events

I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t been posting nearly as much as I would like. I mentioned at the beginning of there year that I committed to celebrating another year of life by maximizing the fun around me and signing up for 35 awesome events/moments/memories/challenges! I haven’t posted a few of them so here goes!

 I ran-walked the Shamrock Shuffle and come in slightly faster than my last (and first) 8K back in December!

Then I went back to my hometown (Detroit) and ran the Martian Invasion of Races 5K. My fastest 5K time yet!

  After the Martian race I showered up and went to a Tigers game with my favorite fan – my dad!

   

A week later I ran the DuPage County Human Race, my worst 5K time yet. It was cold, windy and rained the whole time. Talk about miserable!! 

There are MANY more events to come, and I will be sure to share! If you have any ideas for free/low-cost experiences, especially in the Chicago area, please let me know! I’m determined to get to 35, but these activity fees are adding up!!

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May 04 2015
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Art, Chicago, Entertainment

Chicago C2E2 Highlights

This was my 3rd consecutive year attending the C2E2 comic convention here in Chicago and I promise you, it gets better and better every year! The costumes are amazing and walking the tables is like wading through a sea of talented artists. If you haven’t been, think about it!!! Here are a few awesome pics from our trip… 

 

My Lego ladies haul…


My crate digging guy…

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  


Mark your calendars for C2E2 2016!! 

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Jan 07 2015
4 Comments
#35for35, Chicago, Fashion, Fitness

#35for35 – EVENT 2 – Rudolph Ramble 8K

In my list of 35 events over the course of a year (give or take), I finally crossed off event number 2! The Rudolph Ramble in Lincoln Park (Chicago) was my first 8K ever! Luckily, there was a Midwest “heat wave” that left us with temperatures around 40 degrees that morning. AWESOME! I am learning the art of layering for outdoor activity, but that day my base tech layers were:

Nike Element Shield Running Tights

Nike Pro Hyperwarm Crew 3.0 Top

Topped it all off with the first red t-shirt I found (keep it festive/match the bib) and some RMHC socks!

The race was tough. Its the furthest distance I’ve ever attempted to run. I kept ended up with a run-walk pace that was all over the place for the first two miles (leaving me burned out by mile 2. My friends recommended I start with a 3:2 (3 min run, 2 min walk) alternating pace, but I thought that seemed too easy, so I set my shiny new TomTom Runner for a 6:2 interval. Boy was I wrong. That did not go so well. I spent the final 3 miles doing the math in my head to convert my 6:2 setting to a 3:1 setting, which I also found pretty difficult to maintain. At the finish line my coworkers were waiting and cheering.

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Considering I had just started running less than 2 months prior, I didn’t care about being ranked 1,031 out of 1,113… I was more than satisfied with the simple accomplishment of actually finishing it!

2014 Pace Finish Place Final Time
Age Gender Overall
Rudolph RambleChicago, IL, US • Dec 14th 13:07 Min/Mi 124 623 1,031 1:05:13

tomtom results 12-14-14

I signed up for another 8K in March, so we can see how much I am able to improve my time and consistency of pace by then…

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Nov 10 2014
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#35for35, Charity, Chicago, Fitness, Health and wellness, Travel

#35for35 – EVENT #1 Hot Chocolate 5K

Today marked the first day of a year in which I have committed to celebrate my birthday with 35 (yes, THIRTY-FIVE) events in one year. The only rule is that at least HALF of them must be competitive athletic events!

I started with event #1, the Chicago Hot Chocolate 5K race. Last year I signed up, just for the shirt and the goodies, and walked it. This year I was determined to run it. My awesome friend and soror Mikyra, who had just come off the Chicago marathon a month prior, agreed to help me pace it to finish in under 40 minutes… And we did it!!

This will be a fun year, with my actually birthday falling somewhere in the middle of it all, and with the fun ending with the 2015 Hot Chocolate 15K!! Stick around for the updates and feel free to suggest any fun (and reasonably priced) events such as rices, bicycle events or alternative sports that would be worth a try this year!!

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Sep 14 2014
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Art, Chicago, Entertainment, Photos, Technology

Playing with filters

I recently discovered the Photoshop Express app on my iPad mini and my Nokia Lumia 1020 (using Windows Phone 8.1). It’s like getting a shiny new cover for my toys!!

Here’s the original image of one of my fav pics..

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…and a couple of my fav filtered versions. Can’t decide which one I like the best!!!

image image image image image

Tons of fun!!

Jul 28 2014
2 Comments
Charity, Chicago, Fundraising, Health and wellness

Training for the 3 Day 60 Mile walk

Snagged a photo with the city of Chicago behind me this weekend during an 11 mile walk from Logan Square to the Magnificent Mile. My legs are feeling it today!! Only a few more weeks til the walk!!

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