I am a big “Project Runway” fan. Total understatement. It’s one of my favorite shows: I’m totally obsessed. I’ve watched the show, now in its tenth season, since the very beginning. Right after Season Three I took a trip to New York City with my sister and got to lay eyes upon the winning designs from the season, on display in the window at Macy’s. A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Bennett (season three finalist) upon the release of her book, “Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday?” I love so many things about the show. I love Heidi Klum, I love the judges’ critiques (especially…
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College Scholarships: Time Is Money, So Spend Wisely.
Big news around here yesterday for J: we found out he was accepted at his first choice college! Much like our experience when college-hunting for D, we knew within minutes of setting foot on campus that the school was “the one”. The school is a private college, which means anyone who is uninitiated in the ways of college shopping would have a heart attack upon seeing the total cost involved of an education there. For us, although the sticker shock never really goes away, we know how to best prepare. He will be receiving a nice merit scholarship that will take the cost down by about a third and will…
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Retirement Party Surprise!
Next month, my Dad turns seventy and retires from a long (37 years-ish?) and storied* career in the hospitality industry, hotel management to be more specific. He is looking forward to Retirement Day so much that he has been counting the days for months now. (His enjoyment of the countdown has been greatly aided because of what he’s had to deal with at work lately: pimps, hookers, and drug dealers. Yes, really.) We wanted to throw a party in honor of his retirement, and it just so happened that he and my Mom were coming to town last weekend for her 50th high school reunion. Perfect. My sister designed some…
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Video Evidence Of A Magical Night
You may remember that, back in May, I co-produced a little ‘ole show here in Chicago called LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER. It was something I had never done before, which was exciting enough, but the evening went off without a hitch and it was a little bit magical. Wait, no: it was VERY magical. You can check out my recap by clicking here. The videos from the evening (as well as videos from the other nine cities!) are finally up on YouTube, and I’d love for you to watch the show. Click here to be whisked away to the Chicago playlist, which will allow you to watch the show in…
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Remembrance At The National September 11 Memorial
One thing I wanted to do when I was in New York City last month was visit the National September 11 Memorial, which opened in 2011. I made reservations for myself and a group of friends and it was literally our first destination once we all arrived at the hotel. The weather was appropriately dark and drizzly. As the four of us somberly made our way to Ground Zero and then through the security stations, we really had no idea how stunning (in so many ways) the memorial would be. It’s huge. I mean, it’s supposed to be huge, because it’s set in the footprints of the Twin Towers, and…
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Making A Fun Meal Plan Takes Talent & A Lazy Eye For Editing
For the entire time (minus a couple of lazy weeks here and there) since my sister moved in with us, she and I have made a monthly meal plan so we can keep track of who is cooking what and on which day. (Jim and J get dinner duty here and there, too.) At first we started with a straight-up paper calendar that we hung on the refrigerator, but once I finally entered the 21st century and started using Google Calendar for my own scheduling purposes after Julesie had been suggesting it to me for eons, I realized that being able to see the meal plan on my phone–say, if…
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It’s The Most Wonderful Night Of The Year…
Maybe it’s not the MOST wonderful, really, but it’s pretty high on my list. Tonight is Curriculum Night at J’s high school. I adore Curriculum Night. In our school district, Curriculum Night in the high schools means that you follow your kid’s schedule (with each period shortened so the whole schedule fits into a two-hour time block) for the evening, taking in presentations from each teacher about what’s in store for the year. Because I loved high school so much, Curriculum Night is like a trip back in time. It’s probably mostly in my mind because a trip back in time to my high school days would be a really,…
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And Then There Was Graffiti Art.
Something I have learned throughout my life and over and over again is that creativity begets creativity and that it runs in the family. My mom, my sister, and I are all very, very creative, in very different ways. Mom is an artist, a painter, and a quilter. Julesie is a photographer, a graphic designer, and a hobby chef. I am a paper crafter, a cake-baker, and of course, a writer. So it shouldn’t have surprised me when J, who plays guitar and has become quite good at mixing music with DJ equipment, showed talent in an entirely different category over the summer. “Mom,” he said, “I want to show…
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Going For The Record
Today is the day we move D back into the dorm for another year at college. Don’t you feel OLD? He’s a junior this year! (I know. Crazy.) Last year’s drop off was surprisingly short: less than 45 minutes. Jim and I acted like we were mildly offended (but really weren’t) when D asked us to refrain from helping him set his room up; he just wanted drop-off service. We were shocked at how quickly we were back home. This year? We’re going for the record. Jim and I both have things to do when we get home and so we figured maybe we’d be able to shave ten minutes…