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!!
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..
…and a couple of my fav filtered versions. Can’t decide which one I like the best!!!
Tons of fun!!
Great photo that was shared around the office today.
Got a chance to play a bingo-like Spanish Lottery game tonight with some friends. Since I know only 2 words in Spanish it was tough, but I survived and only messed up once by prematurely yelling “Bingo” for 4 in a row, when the actual game is won with a full board. Either way, it was good for a few laughs!!
For my regular readers out there, you may notice that I have moved my blog over to WordPress for a new look and some additional features. Hope you like it! In the meantime…
I finished Season 2 of House of Cards on Netflix! I won’t give any spoilers but I will say it did NOT disappoint in any way!! Awesome show. If you haven’t seen it, jump on the bandwagon now!
Every once in a while I gather all of the photos I meant to post into a single blog… here is your entertainment for the week with a summary of some of the year’s events so far…
Valentine’s Day/February Birthday celebrations with the girls at Benihana – the chef left me a message *smile*.
Took this pic of a page in the Macy’s ad and went to find it… In the end didn’t buy it. The model must be way taller than me.
My dad was in Chicago the weekend I took my license and took me on a father daughter movie date that night.
A manager posting this after repeatedly telling me to stop walking/running so fast in the office.
I made it to the United Center taping of the Oprah show. It was the BEST concert ever!!!! I had a blast!!
Spent the holidays with my favorite little cousins at Navy Pier.
Took a trip to Detroit and got to see my Papa’s growing urban garden, including the cantaloupe along the fence (its hanging in the bag in the 3rd pic above).
Oh, and I grew my hair out!!! This pic is from June/July when I first straightened it after a few months of wearing it curly.
When I get a chance, I’ll post the food pics… there were too many to include on this post!!
Chicago is finally getting the summer we’ve all been waiting for! 90 degree days with heat indexes near 100 degrees and humidity levels that would make almost any black girl go hat shopping immediately! This weekend I had the opportunity to check out the Forest Park Summer Fest on Madison Ave. It was a nice, FREE, community-type of festival. Lots of families, groups of friends and fun for all ages. The music was good and the food choices were decent. I didn’t realize that the event started Friday at 5, so when I walked up at 3PM, the tents were just going up. So I took the opportunity to see the neighborhood…
One of the more memorable stops was the Paciugo gelato shop (for the readers over 21, check out the drink recipes on their website). After sampling enough to make the bored sales girl a little testy, I settled on a small cup which, for just under $5, allows you to pick up to 3 flavors. I chose the 3 pictures below: Amarena Black Cherry Swirl (my favorite), Mediterranean Sea Salt Caramel (an unbelievably salty-sweet combination) and Banana Crème Pie (much better than I was initially expecting, I selected it off a recommendation).
The final product:
On a hot summer day, this was a perfect treat to enjoy while I sat on the bench outside and enjoyed the view.
On Saturday I enjoyed a nearly 3 hour bike ride through Oak Park with Bobby. We stopped for lunch at the Prairie Bread Kitchen and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching a hilarious Parking Wars marathon on A&E. That evening I went to the Division Street Fest and decided to start the evening with a celebratory margarita! The only problem – the house special for the festival only came in one size – 32 oz!!!
Needless to say, it was hard waking up this morning, but I made it. We also went over to Moonshine to hang out for a while before heading home. I had a wonderful time at the festival and can’t wait to check out more of the Chicago area festivals this summer! I’ll leave you with one last thought… this Journey song has been stuck in my head since last night, hopefully it sticks in yours. Reminds me of the Detroit Tigers baseball games back home…
My department’s Holiday Party included an outing to Top Golf in Itasca, IL. While I own a set of nice clubs and a pair of cute Nike golf shoes, I’ve never actually used the clubs on a course and the shoes have never been worn. Needless to say, golf is not “my sport”.
I must admit, despite the 20 degree weather (as you can see, this involved being outdoors) there were electric heaters all over the place and the hot cocoa was flowing! The food was actually really good (I admit, I wasn’t expecting that from a driving range) and the concept of balls with microchips to assign points based on where you land made for a fun, competitive afternoon! I’ll definitely be going back, with my own clubs…. Only next time it will be in the spring!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
Many of my friends on Facebook joke about my fondness of my Blackberry Tour’s camera and capturing the unexpected moments that occur right in front of my eyes… Today I realized that I had nearly 300 photos on my phone’s memory card so while I’m organizing and deleting. I definitely think some of these are funny enough that they should be shared with the rest of my blog readers… Check out these hilarious pics and the captions beneath them… I’ll be sure to post more later on. Obviously there are PLENTY to go around, so look for the Fashion, Travel and Food editions to follow!
An EXTREEEEMLY drunk guy at the casino trying to get a crippled April to go home with him and become his wife, while Sharon happily pushes April’s wheelchair so she’s practically in the guy’s lap. LOL – I love my girls….
Amtrak took a “smoke break” at one of the stops and we hopped off, into the COLD weather, only to see a very tall guy wearing the world’s shortest shorts ever. Nice legs.
My grandfather decided he wanted a garden in his Detroit backyard and got a little carried away… a few months later he had taken over the backyard and converted it to a farm.
Bobby’s roommate (car on left) came home a little “tipsy” and decided to park in the END SPOT, against my car (on right) leaving me NO SPACE to get out. I sent this pic along with some choice words.
When my 5 year old cousin BJ found out I “work with Ronald McDonald”, his response was “So… Cousin Cherish works with a clown? Like, in her office?” Hahaha – I swear he thinks like a grown man.
Father son duo taking a scooter ride down the street. Poor kid… I sure hope that man doesn’t have gas.
Suburban prostitute trying to get a gig but doing stretches, on the corner, in shorts, on a brisk Spring day. Get it girl! *giggle*
The most appropriate cake-topper for my relationship… and the very close runner up.
The photo I showed the beautician, and the hair style she gave me because she felt it look better. Thus, I would NEVER recommend Stacey at Mirror Mirror Salon in Chicago unless I wanted to make sure you look way worse than I do.
And last, but not least… My brother, Bravo, got bored in a CVS one morning and starting rearranging the toys and sent me a pic… *shaking my head*
The item of the day is the Barnes and Noble Nook Color, available for $249 at BN.com or Best Buy.com!!! This e-reader looks AMAZING and has been getting good reviews. I asked my parents for a Nook for Christmas, I would love the color edition for magazine reading, but really don’t NEED it so the basic version of the Nook would be ok for me. I’ve debated buying an e-reader for a couple of years, and many of my friends that have them absolutely love them!
This Sesame Street video is flying around the internet and I liked it so much I made it the main video on my blog! I had been waiting and waiting for a video that inspired me nearly as much as the Dove “Evolution” ad (which showed the process of turning a model into a MODEL but pretty much creating a new, an artificial, person – which is unfortunately the image we are encouraged to envy by mainstream media). This muppet shows off her many hairstyles and sings a very cute song to show them off. I LOVE THIS VIDEO!
I got my first relaxer (chemical straightening process, for those who aren’t familiar) in my kitchen when I was seven years old. Yesterday I finally watched Chris Rock’s movie “Good Hair”, and nearly cried when they showed 3 and 4 year old kids getting perms because they “needed to”! ARGH!!! They are babies!!! Overall the movie was a very interesting one… funny, yes. But it really talked about so many aspects of a Black woman’s crown and glory… and a source of so much pain, both internally and physically, that many people can never truly understand.
In undergrad I changed my regular 8 week relaxer schedule to 12 weeks, then 16 weeks, then 6 months and eventually I was getting them once a year… which was when I realized I really didn’t NEED them at all. So I stopped wasting my money on relaxers (but still fed my addition for hair coloring!). I grew my relaxed hair out, chopping it as I went to get rid of the old processed hair. I started trying new products and styling tools for straightening and began to embrace my naturally curly hair. I was initially terrified to wear it curly to work and I used to straighten my hair before job interviews or big events. I created a “hair diary” a while back… I’m still adding old and new pics to it, but this shows fav pics of a lot of the different hair phases I’ve been through.
Now, I do whatever is convenient, because I love my hair curly AND straight and in the end, what is most important to me is having HEALTHY hair! I love to see my girlfriends, many of whom are “natural” and happy, and all the creative styles they come up with. I have lawyers and doctors and engineers and teachers in my circle who embrace their natural textures and rock em like they belong on a concert stage somewhere. Check some of us out… (No creamy crack allowed… LOL)
NOW…. years later… I can actually say I LOVE MY HAIR!! I can’t imagine ever putting those chemicals in my hair or on my scalp again.
If you’re considering the transition (cause it isn’t easy for everyone!) check out some of the sites below for suggestions, inspiration and pics of other women who made the transition and are loving their hair!
Be sure to go out and get the movie “Good Hair”!
therealcherish 