• Fun in Chicago

    Spa Suites + Holiday Happy Hour = Escape From Crazy

    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…

  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  Favorite Things,  Food,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Pretty Pictures,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    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…

  • Blessings,  Fun in Chicago

    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!

  • Fun in Chicago

    #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…

  • Fun in Chicago,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    Go Float! (Part 2)

    Disclosure: I am writing this post in exchange for flotation therapy at Anicca Float Club. As usual, all opinions are mine. It was just a few weeks ago that I went to Anicca Float Club for my first “float”, a sensory deprivation experience that takes place in a tank containing salt-filled water, ten inches deep. I loved it. Since then I’ve floated twice more, and I still love it. The post about my first experience includes a lot of the nuts and bolts about the experience. This time I wanted to write a little bit about how each float was different, or the same, and how I’ve progressed. My first…