Usually when I hear (or read) “spa services” in the same sentence or paragraph as “hotel”, my ears perk up. (Err, or my eyes…widen?) I used to work in the salon industry and I wrote business articles for trade magazines in that industry for years. That, combined with my being the daughter of a (now retired) hotel manager who was very interested in providing excellent experiences for his customers at every company he worked for over the years, means that I completely respect and admire what goes into providing high end service. Typically when there’s a spa at a hotel, I know it’s going to be top-notch. A while back…
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I’m Not A Snoozer.
I’m a morning person*. Hardcore. Whether I’ve gotten a full eight+ hours of sleep (so rare!) or just four (more likely), I can actually get out of bed and be ready to leave the house—without the ingestion of caffeine, with a fully functioning brain and a smile on most days—within thirty minutes if I have to, singing in the shower included. My morning effervescence is super annoying to those who are exclusively night people, those who can’t function well without coffee, and my sister. (*waves to Jules*) My ability to cope with mornings like a champ includes the alarm clock. I have always, for my entire life, kept my clock…
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I Nearly Nailed @MomoFali In The Eye With A Gummy Bear Last Night.
Honestly. It was close. More on that in a bit. The 2015 BlogHer Food conference is in the books, and it was awesome. I loved that it was in my hometown for many reasons, not the least of which was that a bunch of my local friends (some food bloggers, some not) were in attendance. Working a conference on my birthday when work doesn’t seem like work AND I’m surrounded by so many people I love wasn’t too shabby of a gig, I have to say. My friend Aimee Giese of Greeblehaus, who I’ve known online since 2008-ish but with whom I’ve never spent more than a minute or two…
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Exercising My Free Birthday Pass
I was out/up late last night and so I’m using a “Get out of Jail Free” card (figuratively! FIGURATIVELY!) for NaBloPoMo today. Yesterday was great, working the conference and seeing more friends than I typically do on my birthday, and then Momo flew in after dinner (and boy, are her arms tired ba dum bum!) so all in all it was a very good day. Now we’re hitting the ground running for the second day of BlogHer Food 15 and, well, the end. Happy Saturday!
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On Birthdays.
Here’s the thing. I’m just not sure how many posts I can write about my birthday. One more for now, I guess. I’ve had many memorable birthdays, including my 30th, which was when Jim, my sister, and Kate pulled off the unthinkable and gave me a surprise party in my own house. There was the one when I was four and my mom served pigs in blankets, and one of my friends threw up all over the table. Every year I think of her and while I can’t even remember her name, I wonder what happened to her. I fully realize that’s weird. There were the ones when I was…
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#BlogHerFood15: I Can’t Wait!
I have been CRAZED this week. Last week too. The week before as well. Wait…maybe I’m always crazed? Okay…I am, but the crazy factor goes up and down. Recently it’s been off the charts because not only have I been working behind the scenes with my fellow national teammates to get ready to launch the 2016 season of LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER (41 cities in the U.S. AND CANADA!), but I’ve been working like crazy behind the scenes of the BlogHer Food conference, which happens to be in Chicago this weekend. The Events and Social Teams work so very hard on every BlogHer event, and while the intensity increases as…
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(I) Like A Ninja
Disclosure: Ninja sent me a Nutri Ninja® Auto-IQ™ Pro Compact System to try out and keep. They didn’t insist that I write about it but obviously hoped I would. And here we are. A couple of years ago, I got a juicer. It was a big joke around here (but not really “funny ha ha”: the other kind…*waves to Jim*) because I had wanted it so badly but then once I got it, it sat unused for months. When I finally used it, I discovered that perhaps I hadn’t made the right choice. It was bulky, not the most attractive small appliance, and the worst part? It was such…
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To Market, To (Farmer’s) Market
Yesterday I wrote about my love of taking pictures of Chicago buildings. Apparently I adore capturing lots of things that don’t move because another favorite photo walk for me is one through a good farmer’s market. I think farmer’s markets are beautiful. The way that the vendors deliberately display their goods so the people walking through can hardly resist is a real art form. They work so hard on it and I feel terrible passing through only taking pictures. In fact, these days I usually avoid farmer’s markets unless I have cash on me to make small purchases as I go, to make up for the fact that I’m walking…
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Buildings Don’t Move.
Pictures of Chicago buildings. I’ve got ’em. Every single time I go downtown for something—an event, a meet-up, business, a simple errand, whatever—I take photos. Sometimes I bring my camera but usually I’m snapping with my phone. I love the architecture. I love the building materials. I love the juxtaposition of certain buildings against others. I love the bright blue sky against the neutral stone and brick. I love when I can get seasonal pictures. I love when I can get the sun hitting the buildings in a certain way. I love it all. I have my favorite subjects, including (but not limited to) Marina City, the Wrigley Building, and…
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NaBloPoMo 2015: Jumpstart!
It’s that time of year again! November is National Blog Posting Month, in which many of us attempt to publish a post every single day. There are prizes to be won when you sign up (by November 5!) on the BlogHer site, but for me the real prize is bringing myself back to regular writing on this blog, which I miss desperately much of the time. It’s gotten harder for me to write blog posts over the past couple of years for two main reasons. The first one is because I am so busy in other areas of my life. My work with LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER and BlogHer fill…