• Favorite Things,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Pretty Pictures

    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…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Favorite Things,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  Pretty Pictures,  Travels

    Wait, What Day Is This Again?

    And the month, please? Well, I’m kidding about the month part. I know exactly what month it is (April), because I’m in the thick of LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER season. I am seriously having trouble keeping track of the days, though. (I just looked; it’s Wednesday. In case you also wondered.) I just returned from a whirlwind trip to New York City (for the LTYM book launch) and New Jersey (to visit my other family) and I had all kinds of fun being completely relaxed and in a state of recharge, especially at this moment (Sunday afternoon) at this place (the beach in Seaside Heights) with my sistuh from anuthuh…

  • Best Thing Ever,  The Dailey Method,  Working On My Fitness

    The Day I Became One Of The Radio City Rockettes

    I have had what are some pretty fantastic experiences in my life, some due to the existence of this blog and some for other reasons, whether I’m in the right place at the right time, I “go for” something, my sister “goes for” something, or because of other miscellaneous and wonderfully serendipitous events. I am always grateful for anything special that comes my way regardless of the reason, but some experiences make me geek out 100% because they are a perfect fit for my interests. Last year at the BlogHer conference, I had one of those experiences. I was lucky enough to do a workout with Bob Harper, Personal Trainer…

  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Friends,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Proud Moments

    The Real Martha’s Got Nothing On The Next Martha.

    If you follow my friend Jen on Twitter (@TheNextMartha), you already know that she is crafty and creative and crazy (in a good way). She is full of ideas and her mad skills in, well, EVERYTHING related to home projects just blow my mind. She happens to adore Martha Stewart, hence her Twitter handle and the name of her blog, The Martha Project. Did I mention yet that MARTHA STEWART FOLLOWS 57 PEOPLE ON PINTEREST AND JEN IS ONE OF THEM? So there’s that. You can imagine that when Jen found out that the Friday lunch keynote speaker at last week’s BlogHer conference would be none other than the Real…

  • Friends,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Spreading the Bloggie Love,  Too Funny To Ignore,  Travels,  We Are An Awesome Couple

    Flat Sue Goes To #BlogHer12!

    I have attended the BlogHer conference four times now: Chicago ’09, New York ’10, San Diego ’11, and, just this past weekend, New York ’12. When I tell non-blogging friends about these weekends away, I get a goofy grin on my face and say things like, “These have been some of the best weekends of my adult life.” It’s totally true. Say what you want about any online presence you might have; it’s when you connect IN PERSON with friends–old and new–that really solidifies relationships. Sue from As Cape Cod Turns was my roommate for the first three years, and was unable to make it to New York this year…

  • Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  Spreading the Bloggie Love

    BlogHer ’11: The Year Of Fewer Parties and No Blisters

    A couple of days ago, the arrival of the first invitation for an event happening the week of BlogHer ’11 (San Diego!) in AUGUST, five months from now, started excited heart palpitations (and in some cases, anxiety) among many bloggers. My good friend and BlogHer ’11 roomie Momo Fali wrote an excellent post today about her thoughts regarding events at this–or any–conference, and it made me want to share my thoughts and experiences, too. But first, go read Momo’s post, not only because it’s fabulous, but also because she explains how conference sponsorship for brands happens to work. I’ll still be here when you get back. Done? Great. Here’s what…

  • Contest

    Finally…Contest Results! Woo hoo!

    I have finally, with the help of the younger boy, done the drawing for my big NYC Contest. As it turns out, we ended up having two honorable mention prizes, courtesy of the younger boy. Watch before reading on*! Isn’t my son hilarious? He’s one of the funniest people I know and believe it or not, he did each of those videos in one take, totally off the cuff. I thought they turned out excellently. He just may have a future someday in pitching amazing products. I want to thank each and every one of you for reading my blog and your high level of participation with this; I even…

  • Family Fun,  Travels

    Want To Go To NYC With Suburban Scrawl?

    Here’s a handy-dandy listing of all of the New York City posts I did from April 2-April 12! Enjoy! Getting There Is Half The Fun, Sort of. But Not Really. Being There Is Really Most of The Fun. Though She’s a Bit Stiff, She’s NYC’s Greatest Hostess When NYC = New York Candy Where They’ll Know You’re a Visitor if You Say It Like The City in Texas Just a Little Sex in the City If You Can Eat It There, You May Not Be Able To Eat It Anywhere… The Donald Was Only There In Spirit (and on books, ties, ice cream…) Music Man(ny’s) Imagine…Being in a QUIET Little…

  • Contest,  Tough Questions,  Travels

    You Had Questions, I’ve Got Answers (part TWO!)

    Yes, yes, I’m still filling out little strips of paper for my drawing tomorrow (twelve days of posts and comments??? what was I thinking???); here’s part two of the answers to your NYC post questions! From “The Donald Was Only There In Spirit (and on books, ties, ice cream…)”: Weaselmomma said, “So to recap, You bought luxurious little carefully wrapped soaps. Complete with gift packaging. From a high end department store that should have been a restaurant, with fantastic ‘make you feel like a celeb’ service and we get a squished penny if and only if we cat fight through 10 days of comments and win a mini lottery. Just…

  • Contest,  Tough Questions

    You Had Questions, I’ve Got Answers! (part one)

    While I’m busily getting just over 200- 1 inch by 2 3/4 inch strips of colorful paper filled out with your names on them for my little drawing on Wednesday, I want to go ahead and respond to some of your comments from all of my NYC posts since I didn’t have the time to do that day by day. There were so many that I’m splitting this into two posts. So, here we go! *clearing my throat* (not that I will be talking, but the throat-clearing thing really lets everyone know that you’re ready to get started, don’t you think?) From “This Is Not Just Any Old Blog Contest”:…