Happy 2011!

I love the new year and the fresh start it brings, but I also love reflecting back. I tend to think back on my year and accomplishments more on my birthday, so because this is the end of a decade (um, weren't we just worrying about Y2K like last year?) I have been thinking more about that. This past decade has been all about learning to drive, figuring out boys, figuring out myself, earning degrees, traveling, fun times, eye-opening experiences, new jobs, many new homes, lots of friends, and so much love. I can only imagine that the next decade will bring much of the same, but I'm at the point in my life where my friends and I are turning a corner, and I have a feeling that this next decade will bring more weddings, mortgages, less new jobs, and babies.

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Last year I said that I don't like resolutions and prefer to be in a constant state of improving myself (sounds a bit elitist now ha). This year I actually have resolutions, but I'm trying to make them narrow enough so that I can feel some sense of accomplishment with each.

Resolutions for 2011:

1. Eat less white sugar. I'm a total sugar baby, but I'm going to make a conscious effort to say no more.

2. Take more photographs. I got an awesome camera for Christmas last year and I want to take advantage of its features more. Sometimes I get so busy living life that I forget I might want to relive it at some point.

3. Get into good music again. I ran with a fairly artistic crowd in college and would always have new good music passed on to me. Since then I have become such a Top 40 girl.

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4. Use the subject line of emails. Simple.

5. Train for something. Anything. Since racing nearly every weekend in high school and college, I have literally run 3 races (one of which was the Chicago Marathon, which hardly counts as a "race."). Although I still run many times a week, I have lost the competitive drive and would like to get that back.

6. Keep my apartment clean on a daily basis. Every weekend it seems as if I'm spending several hours cleaning (including today; I'm starting my new year spic and span) and it would be nice to do just a bit each night.

7. Procrastinate less. Today.

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Judging by my celebration last night to ring in 2011 (I am sore head to toe from the amount of dancing that took place), it should be a good one.

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Christmas Tradition

As I've gotten older I've realized how much I really appreciate and love my family's Christmas traditions. I think as a child you assume that everyone celebrates Christmas in the same way that you do, with Santa taking center stage of course. Perhaps as we get older and meet more people we learn about others' traditions, and, as wonderful as their holidays sound, we love ours even more. Some of my family Christmas traditions include...

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Twink, the elf. Every night in December I would tuck Twink, a small elf doll with a bell for a body, into bed beside mine and during the night he would bring me small gifts to find in the morning.

Lunch under the tree at the Walnut Room. My parents and I would go into the city every year before Christmas and wait in line for hours to eat lunch under the Christmas tree at (then) Marshall Fields. We'd then take a walk around the store outside and view the decorated windows.

Last minute shopping. My Dad and I would always race to make it to the store before it closed on Christmas Eve.

Fish on Christmas Eve. My great-grandparents always followed the Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Christmas Eve, so my family has always had fresh fish for dinner that evening. Fish and pierogi, yummm.

Wrapping last minute presents. I would always wait until Christmas Eve to wrap my gifts while watching A Christmas Story. I wish this was for sentimental reasons but it's mostly because I'm a procrastinator.

Biscuits and gravy on Christmas morning. I love that my dad's mom is southern because it makes for a delicious and fun Christmas breakfast!

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It's been a while (again)

I started my blog for me. Its objective was to serve as a journal to me, something I could look back at and relive parts of my life. Lately, as evidenced from my lack of posts, I have been enjoying living my life rather than reflecting on it. But whenever I see simple fill-in-the-blanks on other blogs I feel compelled to post them as a quick and dirty snapshot of my mind at the moment. So, the game of fours...

Four TV shows that I watch:

The Good Wife

Modern Family

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Grey's Anatomy

Four things that I'm passionate about:

Maintaining a lot of strong relationships

Equality under the law and justice system

Animal rights

Healthy living

Four words/phrases I use a lot:

"Hi love"

Awesome

"So good" (when referring to anything I eat)

Snugglebug/snuggleface/snugglemonster/snuggle[fill in the blank]

Four things I've learned from the past:

Don't regret anything

Don't take any moment for granted

Don't wish time away

If you want it bad enough, you can make it happen

Four places I would like to go (that I haven't been):

Thailand

Argentina wine country

Norway/Sweden/Finland/Russia

Mexico

Four things I did yesterday:

Got my hair cut in an attempt to fix last July's disaster

Went Christmas shopping

Talked to three of my favorite people on the phone

Made up my own workout and rocked it

Four things I am looking forward to:

Christmas (obvi)

Going back to work (turns out I get bored easily)

Warm weather!

Summer of weddings, part 2

Four things I love about winter:

Winter clothes/boots/accessories (so much better than summer clothes to me)

Watching it snow when I don't have to go outside

Having the heat on instead of the AC

The way it makes me appreciate summer

{Photo courtesy of a Tiffany & Co. ad}

Four things I love about this photo:

The hot guy

Dragging home a Christmas tree

With a (large) Tiffany bag

And how I can imagine he's coming to meet me ; )

Happy little weekend

1. The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is... jump out of bed and head to the gym before I have time to change my mind.

2. Today I wish I was... exactly where I am- in my new apartment after getting back from a great weekend in the suburbs with my boyfriend, being lazy with my new sweet foster cat.

3. If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd... probably buy another pair of Tory Burch flats. Or Hunter rainboots.

4. Tomorrow is... Monday. That's pretty much it.

5. Two things that don't go together are... Myself and anything related to finances. But I'm working on it.

6. Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is... trail mix, cereal, ice cream.

7. The last time I tried something new was... an AWESOME Martha Stewart recipe for healthy mac and cheese. Supposedly it only has 200 calories per serving, but I don't believe it.

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The sunny side of law

Wow. Just wow. I saw this design plan for a DLA Piper office in the Netherlands and immediately thought, no, no way, this can't be the same law firm that I know. After some research it is confirmed- the coolest law firm ever exists in the Netherlands. The DLA office in Chicago is impressive, have no doubt, but impressive in that it has an endless supply of mahogany, law books with green and gold spines, and file cabinets. How wonderful would it be to be a lawyer where beauty is appreciated.

"The DLA Piper office is a rainbow-colored space designed to play off the changes in the sunlight throughout a typical day of work. The side of the building that gets the most sunlight is balanced with cooler tones, while the side that receives the least is compensated with warm tones." {Design Crush}

Happy birthday to me

Birthdays are for...

Reminding you that you're so loved

Reminding you how much you love your parents and family

Reconnecting with old friends

Feeling okay about eating as much cake as you want. And french fries and chip dip

Reflecting on the accomplishments of the past year

Realizing how incredibly different life was one year ago and being excited to see what the future holds for the next year

Starting to consider not ignoring ads and coupons for anti-aging products

Feeling so lucky...

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"We are always the same age inside."

-Gertrude Stein

Sweet home

I canNOT believe that today is August 27! Where did summer go? That's right, my summer didn't begin until July 28, so of course today feels like a lazy day in June. And, no back to school for me, so lazy days stretch a little longer than usual. I'm loving it though, and loving my déjà vu days spent on a blanket in the sun from my favorite new spot in the city, finished off with a trip to the new self-serve fro-yo place (that has red velvet fro-yo!). After spending the past few days here, I decided that if I could build a house anywhere in the world (Italy aside) I would build it right here on these rocks.

Did not have my camera with me, so photo courtesy of this great photographer

Maybe, you're gonna come back

Sometimes things just get so far out of hand that you can't bring yourself to address them. Read: my blog.

My absence is inexcusable. Or, perhaps, entirely excusable, considering I have: travelled to New York City...missed my flight back to Chicago by an entire day...on purpose...traversed back and forth from Chicago to my parents house to kitty-sit on several occasions...for three very needy cats...been a bridesmaid in a good friend's gorgeous wedding...spent hours upon hours studying and taking a tiny little test called the Illinois Bar Exam...vacationed in Napa Valley...fallen in love all over again with wine...endured the fog in San Francisco...relaxed on the coast of Carmel...driven all the way south on the winding Pacific Coast Highway...eaten tacos and hung out with pandas and koalas and seals in San Diego...lost the love my life in animal form...spent all my other free time enjoying my still-favorite city ever, Chicago...all while ignoring the blog world.

But I'm back, ready to begin a new chapter with a new home and new job, and it took a night with this fabulous blog to realize that little by little I can come back.

Though I still wish I was here.

Plug me in

Do you ever have days when our world's connectivity just amazes you? I've had two moments today where I had to pause and say, wow, it is amazing that I can do this. This morning I was reading a New York Times article on my iPhone ("Our Epic Foolishness") and I loved it so much that I just had to share it with someone. So I pressed the little arrow thingy on my phone and a screen's worth of options popped up. Would I like to email it? Put the article on Facebook? Tweet it? A few touches later and I had recommended the article to my entire Twitter world (all like 10 real people that follow me) . It sort of amazed me that within a few seconds and a couple touches, I had read this article, decided I liked it, and could potentially let everyone I possibly know about it. I had the same feeling this afternoon while planning my trip to New York City this weekend. I have always wanted to visit The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, so since I know it's constantly mobile, I got on Twitter, became a follower, and with a couple touches on my phone, will now know exactly where to find my deliciousness in a couple days.

There's something very comforting in being able to essentially connect with anyone and anything from anywhere. The feeling is one of self-sufficiency, which is ironic because in actuality, we are completely reliant on technology to be like this.

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Esquire

Have you ever purchased something for $100,000? That's sort of how I felt on Saturday at my law school graduation while holding my fake diploma. It's strange how you go through school and while you're living it it is just a process, but once it is over, on graduation day, suddenly you feel like you have this thing, this law degree, and it is almost tangible. I don't remember feeling like that when I graduated from college; it is a much more momentous feeling now, that I have this degree.

The day was perfect- my new floral, sweetheart neckline dress that wouldn't stay up, my mom telling me to stop being so nervous aka stop snapping at her, the morning mass, having family and friends take time to come celebrate, the ceremony, the champagne toast after, taking pictures, the small celebration and second champagne toast at my apartment after, dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant, going out to celebrate three years of hard work, realizing we were tired from three years of hard work and a long day and going home far earlier than we should have, sleeping in and spending the next day at the beach...

One of my favorite parts of the day was the part that is usually just a formality and quickly forgotten- the ceremony and speaker. I remember telling myself right before the ceremony began, "This is your law school graduation. Most people don't get this and you won't get this again. Enjoy it." And I did. Our speaker was Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff so I had a slight bias when she began, but my connection to her only grew when she began speaking. She had never wanted to be a lawyer (check), focused on art history in college (check), worked for the City of Chicago (check, albeit she was Corporation Counsel, the head lawyer), and strongly believed in mistakes and fate (check, check). The gist of her message was that this is just the beginning and we likely won't see all the puzzle pieces of life fit together for a while, but they will, and a mixture of mistake, hard work, luck, and fate will form something fabulous.

And so the next chapter begins...

Made me think

"There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound."

-Diana Cortes

We took this picture seven years ago (seven?!) the night before we all left for college. We have never been closer than we are right this second.

Fun fun fun

Sooo much has happened in the past week and all of it wonderful!

I finished law school (whoaaa)...

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Rocked out at a good friend's bachelorette party...

Hosted her bridal shower (50's "perfect" housewife themed)...

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Took a deep breath.

Lazy night

After working on a complicated estate plan for about 18 hours straight, I rewarded myself with a super lazy movie night last night. Those kind of nights feel so good when I really deserve them. I finally got around to watching Sunshine Cleaning, with the always cute Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, and I would definitely recommend it. Now that I have discovered Netflix instant watch, what should be next...

Love.

I'm currently sitting outside at my tiny bistro patio table, which is struggling to hold my MacBook and a giant pot of flowers, but it is GORGEOUS in the city today! It's one of those days where my entire self is just so content to be outside. While southerners are lucky to have weather like this all the time, I think we are even luckier to really appreciate its gloriousness during limited months. And as if it couldn't get any better, it's supposed to storm tonight.

Last night was spent with my boyfriend having a yummy dinner outside at a cozy local restaurant/bar and then sipping $2 sangria. Tomorrow will be spent with my parents (Cubs game? Zoo? Picnic?) and helping my best friend move (or helping her drink wine at her new apartment). But today is all about soaking up this gorgeousness (and all the pollen I just realized is covering me) and working on finishing up with law school!

Swoon.

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Random love of the day

Today I fell madly in love with a teacup pig, for about 30 seconds. I saw this picture on another blog and immediately decided I needed one (or two, although I can't really tell if this is a Siamese pig or not). Are they not adorable?

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I promptly googled "teacup pig" and found a website called "home of the fine little swine." Even more adorableness! When I started looking at pictures of them though I got a little case of the heebie jeebies. They're so...hairy. And like stiff hairy, not really cuddly hairy. And what if they smell? And snort? And eat my stash of Cinnamon Toast Crunch because thats what pigs do, they eat a ton.

So, no pigs for me thank you. And what is the moral of my story? Putting a sweet little kitty next to anything will make it cute.

Purple satin shoes

Today I walked four miles to buy a pair of purple satin shoes. What? Last night I made three batches of cookies for my boyfriend, not because we wanted lots of delicious cookies but because it took me that long to get it right, and after all that sampling I was in desperate need of some exercise today. And tomorrow night I am going to a ball and I needed some colored shoes to go with my black dress. Makes total sense now, right?

Said shoe. I sort of wish it was a brighter purple...but it's okay because I also purchased three pairs of back-ups. I buy and return like it's my job.

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And this is tomorrow night me. Purple shoes in hand, exhausted from my hike today.

Crushed

If you like salt and oil and crispy goodness, make these crash hot potatoes immediately. That is all.

Image from Pioneer Woman

PS Isn't the name awesome too?

PPS Thanks to the Pioneer Woman.

Heat wave

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.

~Jane Austen

My J.Crew light tissue tee is not thin enough and my side braid is looking a bit droopy. 82 in April in Chicago? I hear you Jane.

Summer goal

I am going to make my own jam this summer. This statement immediately elicits images of me in a pioneer style nightgown, barefoot in the kitchen stirring a pot. In actuality, I will probably be wearing workout attire, running around the kitchen like a crazy woman whose jam is currently burning on the stove. But my goal is out there, so I'm doin it.

{Image from the Pioneer Woman}

Actually, it sort of looks like a lot of steps...

No particular day

That was really good work of me writing in my blog every day during Lent, wasn't it?

I feel like I complain about law school an awful lot, not necessarily out loud because I don't want to be branded a complainer, but definitely in my own head. I recently had a really diverse and different day that reminded me how lucky I am sometimes not to be living the nine-to-five.

8:40ish: Wake up. Drink my morning glass of water and check my email/read the news online.

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9:30-10:30: My favorite class at the gym- muscle work.

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Not really related to the gym, but aren't they the hottest couple?

12:00-1:00: Lunch meeting for work. Got to see the debut of a new product and get a free lunch and the best cupcakes ever.

1:00-4:00: Get some work in.

4:00-5:00: Meet with the head of the Loyola University Museum of Art for a private tour and talk about legal issues and the museum.

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5:30: Meet my boyfriend and parents for dinner at Piccolo Sogno. I pretty much want to live at this restaurant, not only to eat their fabulous authentic Northern Italian food and drink the wine, but because the exposed brick walls and glass chandelier decor are something I want to emulate in my apartment. PS Piccolo Sogno- little dream- could not be a more fitting name.

8:00-9:30: Take a trip to Home Goods where I scour for a miniature ornate, antique-looking mirror which I plan on painting with a lacquer paint to match the one in Piccolo Sogno's bathroom (for $7). Head to Target for some Easter candy. After a long day, I'm falling asleep in line, so I justify opening and eating a bag of Starburst jelly beans in the car so that it keeps me awake on the 5 minute drive home.

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10:00: In my pajamas reading in bed.

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Do it now!

Lately I have become a total mantra person. I get this phrase in my head and it's like I march to its beat until a new phrase comes along. Right now:

Do it now Do it now Do it now!

I'm fairly certain that this came off my Lululemon manifesto water bottle (I spend a lot of time staring at all the sayings when I'm bored, although the "Children are the orgasm of life..." one bothers me slightly). I have such a bad tendency to take off my clothes at the end of the day and toss them on the desk or dresser and say, I'm tired I'll get them tomorrow. At the end of the week I literally pick up piles and piles of clothes to put away. This awful habit makes my "cozy" apartment go from cozy to cramped really quickly though. So lately it's "do it now!" Get a mantra, it will make your life good.

{His Master's Choice, Etsy}

Slow down

Do you ever just miss a time and a place so much that it hurts? It happened to me as I was getting on the train today- I had just finished a particularly long and fairly mundane day and I was starving, and with all my might I wanted to be back in college, going home from class to meet my roommate to spend an hour or so at dinner together. That hour was the most relaxing part of my day, when everything else disappeared except for the space we were occupying. That hour felt like one giant exhale and the world wouldn't start again until the next morning. Since leaving, life kind of feels like a never ending inhale.

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Sweet home

Forbes just came out with a new list titled "America's Most Miserable Cities" (Forbes does not = blog). I personally find the article to be depressing and the photo slideshow even worse (pictures of miserable-looking people, inmates, crime scenes, ect). It was so sad to see that Chicago is ranked 10th (and I was appalled to see that St. Louis, a former home, is ranked 7th!). So for a quick afternoon pick-me-up, I'm firing back at Forbes with the best things about Chicago.

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*Running on the lakefront in the summer at sunset while hundreds of people play beach volleyball and you have your own little race with the guys on the path in front of you.

*The free concerts in Millennium Park during the summer, packed with people eating picnic dinners and drinking bottles of wine.

*The Cubs- doesn't matter if they lose, Wrigley Field has the best energy and is the most fun stadium. Ever.

*The architecture, especially the way that most of the buildings on the river and in the Loop have ornate clocks on them so that I always know that I'm 5 minutes late for work.

*The always slightly-green river.

*The fact that we have a highly efficient public transportation system that makes owning a car seem like a silly idea.

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*All the museums, especially their free days in the summer and winter.

*Being able to pass by one of the tallest buildings in the world without even blinking.

*The skyline. Best view from the north: North Avenue Beach. Best view from the south: Shedd Aquarium.

*The Chicago Marathon- there is not a marathon with a better course (flat!), better crowds, or better time of the year (autumn leaves!).

*That you can walk pretty much anywhere if you have the time. I wouldn't consider it crazy if you walked from Lincoln Park to the Loop.

*The ingenuity and creativity of the chefs at local restaurants and how they aren't afraid at all to take risks.

*Lincoln Park (the park). Everything about it, but especially the free zoo.

*How even though winters are rough, I appreciate warm days and sunny days infinitely more.

*The Bears. Especially their big shouldered fans.

*The Mag Mile. But only on weekday mornings when there are little to no tourists.

*The harbors on the lake and how excited I get when they start filling up with boats again.

*The very distinct personality of every neighborhood (even if I have been called "a Lincoln Park sort of girl").

*That Southwest flies into Midway.

*The Bean/Cloud Gate.

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*Summer events. Especially the Taste of Chicago.

*The art, flowers, and sculptural objects along Michigan Avenue.

*Chicago's green movement, which is one of the most aggressive in the nation.

*Chicago-style pizza. And Chicago-style hot dogs. Nobody does it better. Can I have one now actually?

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Ashes to ashes

I admit, I have been avoiding my blog. I like to think of it as "saving up" for the next 40 or so days, as my Lenten promise is to give up reading others' blogs and write in mine more. I always try to give up something I really love and will be a challenge (in the past I have given up sweets multiple times and chocolate once- it was pretty awful), and blog reading has really taken over my evenings. Therefore, I will focus less on others' wonderful lives and more on my own equally wonderful life. I'm slightly worried that my fashion sense will suffer and my home decorating ideas will wane, but no big deal. It looks like I will be spending Easter with a chocolate bunny and lots of blog catching up!

Ribbon and sparkles

I sometimes wish I could be Martha's protege. I'm loving this idea she had to repurpose old jewelry and make some handmade pretties.

Brooch into bracelet.

Bracelet into belt.

Necklace into bib.

String up some pearls.

Fancy beads.

Images via Martha, brought to attention by Design Crush

Mid-afternoon horsing around

Wouldn't these be adorable with riding boots (kinda like my brand new pair that I love right now)?

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