December 4, 2010

TGIF

This past Friday was a really good Friday. Schedule for Friday, December 3rd is below in addition to photos. This was certainly one to remember.

3:00pm-5:00pm: UNITED CENTER

5:30pm-7:00pm: PRE GAME PARTY @ my APT
7:30pm-3:00am: HOLIDAY work PARTY (actually 2:45 I was technically at Sarpino's Pizza & had fallen asleep on my purse. Classy).



United Center:
I am still freaking out right now from being able to stand on the United Center ice rink. We had a work related event there for our exchanges customers, and since I'm moving to a new team at work, and the team was well aware of my slight lifelong obsession with the Blackhawks, so I was lucky enough to be able to join!

Sitting on the bench was a one in a lifetime experience. I was actually nervously excited when we were walking through the hallway which lead us to the door to I was reminded, though, that the United Center is nothing without its fans. Seeing the venue empty was reall
y strange, actually. No loud Blackhawks fans shouting or boozing. The fans really are everything to Chicago. I'd say we've got to be the most supportive fans of all Chicago sports in general (win or loose, our fans always cheer and booze). No wonder Denis Savard was so awesome to the people around him....the fans are a huge aid in keeping the Chicago NHL alive and blossoming. I even got to see Denis do one of his infamous "spin" moves (now adopted by Patrick Kane) in the scrimmage!


Holiday Party:

We went to an obscenely huge party at the Museum of Science and Industry. I was too drunk when I got there so of course I didn't take any photos of the museum, sorry for partying. I rushed home from the United Center, expensed a cab (I hope that was alright, I didn't really ask before doing so, oops), came home and threw on my dress while cleaning the hou
se. A few of my favorite co-workers cam over for a pre-party. We drank so much and danced like maniacs before leaving for the party, we b-lined straight to the food (okay, fine, and the bar as well) right when we got there (after of course, going down 4 flights of stairs, checking our coats in, and then going all the way up an escalator into the party).

It was
a really cool layout, but I don't think that it really worked for the group this year. I swear there were 1,000 people in attendance. Not ideal for getting trashed with co-workers! We ended up in this area of the museum completely boozed up that resembled a DJ table of sorts, but it was an interactive platform of lights that corresponded with beats. It's hard to describe. I think there were currents from the computerized screen below it that triggered certain pulses of light and a corresponding rhythm. Needless to say, it was awesome after all our drinking. We were like little kids. Gotta love museums for parties.

I wore a Kate Spade necklace with my black J Crew dress. Excellent and easy outfit. The necklace was my favorite! Perfect for a winter festive jewelry piece.


December 3, 2010

Got Floral?

I have recently been drawn to floral patterned items lately and am constantly reminded of one of my favorite co-workers, Kate, who can pull off anything floral better than anyone known to man. I think I would look semi ridiculous in delicate floral clothing because of my ahhem, "upper body physique" shall we say, so stick to accessories that are floral instead. I came across some gorgeous items lately that I just had to share. I think many of the below items would actually be really great gifts as well for the holiday season.


Gorgeous flowers. Great for a gift or for my wedding, hah. I'm having all white baby! Martha Stewart taught me this, of course. I'm very interested in flat, non fussy centerpieces. They are great gifts for hostesses especially if they are a neutral tone so they match everything. I only have white flowers in my house. A strange obsession of mine. Don't judge!
Click here




Someone else could totally rock this dress. Not me. But I LOVE it.
J Crew factory (Weekends only).
Click here
$58.00




Boscobel Travel Bag, Grove
(available on the discount site "One Kings Lane" at the moment for only $89.00) Click here




Floral Jumble Scarf Anthropologie Click here

Verdant Acres Dinnerware, Anthropologie. Click here


Invitations, Martha Stewart (I like floral themed invitations for any event, not necessarily a wedding. I think they can be beautiful holiday and or birthday cards, too). Click here

I Feel the Need for Greens.


Just like in Top Gun when they "felt the need for speed," I needed some healthy vegetables to be added to my diet after a carbohydrate and wine heavy chunk of days. Doug and I made a delicious meal on Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. It literally took 15 minutes from start to finish. Exactly what you are looking for after a long weekend of eating and traveling (in Doug's case). I picked him up from the airport on Sunday night blasting Amy Grant Christmas (specifically Emanuel of course, my favorite) and was in a good mood about the holiday season upon us. I wanted to keep that happy streak going with some tasty food, so got the groceries covered ahead of time and planned out a few days prior. I wanted to have something healthy and light ready to go after work. It was exactly what I needed and I'll certainly make this recipe again! I loved the chickpeas with the fish. It was hearty yet light.
  • 4 4-ounce pieces halibut
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 8 cups mixed greens
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Season the fish with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Over medium heat on a skillet with some olive oil or cooking spray, let both sides cook. I recommend Whole Foods Halibut. Cook the fish, covered, until opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, mustard, cilantro, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. I also added in grain mustard too (about 1/2 a tablespoon) because I like the consistency of that. Toss the dressing with the mixed greens, chickpeas, avocado, and onion. Divide among plates, top with the fish, and pour yourself a glass of wine.

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Mish

December 1, 2010

Hatch!




We are thinking of hiring Hatch Show Print to create our wedding invitations. I'm personally excited that Doug mentioned this as an idea, since we are both willing to spend the extra time & effort (considering Hatch Show Prints is not only located in Tennessee but only accepts phone calls or faxes, it will certainly be additional effort than originally planned for invitation creation) for something a little bit more "us."

We certainly have a good deal of personality between the two of us. Doug is extremely dry and witty, and well, I'm just an extreme extrovert. I'm a type A Jew, and Doug is type B. We think, eat, and live differently, and therefore keep each others lives exciting & function well as a unit (most of the times! kidding kidding). That having been said, we need something unique, and fitting to our relationship and to our personalities. I think the invitation is a big deal & really does set the tone for the wedding. I got excited when I was reading their website (yes, they have a functioning website despite their low technology ways) and read that Hatch believes "
THE WEDDING INVITATION IS SECOND IN IMPORTANCE ONLY TO THE WEDDING DRESS." Well, I couldn't agree more.

I plan to only use black and white tones in the wedding for the decor. I think funky letterpress in a artsy/vintage style could be a great look for us. Plus, we have artwork from this vendor in our home! So we know that we absolutely love it and it matches our home environment as well.

Next step is just learning how to fax again. Isn't that hilarious that they are super old school? It's charming, yes, but not super charming to a Blackberry obsessed person like myself. I need immediate responses or else I freak out a little. When I called their offices, a lady with a southern draw answered the phone and told me to fax over a piece of paper with information on who we are as a couple so she could add flair to our invitations and send over some options...um...via fax as well. I have put some samples of their press poster for everyone to have a look at, to see their style. It's very retro and I absolutely love it.

"If you follow music, art, and culture of the American South, sooner or later you're bound to run into the letters, images, and unmistakable "look" of Hatch Show Print. We're one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America...."

Have a look at their site
I'll keep everyone posted on how they turn out!


Happy Faxing,

Mish



November 30, 2010

A Bit of A Chocoholic

Above photo pretty much sums up my life. I am constantly eating. I pretend that dark chocolate is healthy (which it is, technically, healthier than gummies or milk chocolate, but still candy after all which I sometimes overlook) so I usually always have some within arms reach. Example above showing Marc Jacobs tote complete with Raisinetes, that I sported to Michael Anthony Salon after work. I kept reaching my hand into my purse and pulling out chocolate. The lady doing my hair started cracking up. Sorry for partying. What can I say, this took place right after the bike ride of death referenced in the earlier blog post below and I was really hungry.

Here are my top Dark Chocolate "snacks" as I call them. I don't think they are meant to be snacks, but I eat them like they are going out of style. It's totally fine. I highly recommend the items below. They are the best.

1. Raisinetes
2. Hershey's Dark Chocolate Bites
3. York Peppermint Pattie Bites
4. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Cranberry Bites
5. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Edamame
6. Vosges Barcelona Bar (no, this one isn't dark chocolate)
7. Dark Chocolate Frango Mints



Goodbye Four Star Commuter, Hello Bus.


Today is most likely one of the last days that I will have the opportunity to ride my bike home from work. Sad. Molly and I (the two Wicker Park CME Group employees who commute together sporting really cool outfits from Dailey Method to CME Group on a three-time-per-week basis) had the ride of our lives today. And by "ride of our lives," I mean that I was literally eating snow flurries and had a chapped face when I showed up to the salon to get some highlights after work. It looked like I was sun burnt. Totally awesome. The worst part of the ride was the Milwaukee and Erie intersection near Galleria Marchetti (biggest let down when I went to see it for a potential wedding venue). I felt as though I should be looking for Helen Hunt in the movie "Twister" because I swear the wind was 50 miles per hour. Terrible. I couldn't even fight the resistance and just kept swearing (since that apparently helped, or at least I felt like it helped).

I bought my bike at Roscoe Village Bike Store, and Doug picked it out for me (since he's obviously more knowledgeable when it comes to bike riding of the two of us). It is an adorable shop not too far from Lincoln Park nor Wicker Park and across from a fantastic sandwich shop. The staff is extremely warm and helpful. They allow you to try on a bike for size, and take a ride around the block. That's what did it for me, for sure. It was so much smoother of a ride than any other bike I'd owned before (including the mountain bikes my mom won in a New Years Eve raffle in Evanston when I was in High School, cool...mom...).

I'd say that this is a good time to reflect on how much I actually love riding my bike to work. I feel as though I have made strides (or pedals, teehee, bad joke--sorry) in my bike riding this past "commuting season." A fearful city biker to the core, I decided to take a chance and buy a bike I felt safe on, so that I'd take a try at the riding to work thing. I absolutely love riding. It's literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air (that is, of course, when I avoid freezing 10 degree wind burn). Also, since I have what I like to call a reverse eating disorder (where I spontaneously burst into hunger streaks and consume hundreds of calories randomly), this is a really nice way to keep active, and burn some extra calories here and there.

Dear Four Star Commuter (the name of my bike),

I'll miss you this winter! Thank you for saving me money and time in my commute over the summer. You rock. See you in the spring.

Many mazels,
Mish

Bike Description:
The Roscoe Village Bikes' Four Star commuter bike is designed specifically for the Chicago cyclist. It features a Reynolds 520 steel frame, 700cm wheels with Maxxis Overdrive kevlar belted reflective tires, SRAM X5 shifters and rear derailleur and full coverage fenders. It's a fast, comfortable and durable bike for recreation and commuting. Limited quantities are available and the bikes sells for $575. The bikes are sized small, medium, large and extra large. For geometry specifics please see the KHS Urban X-Press. Test rides are encouraged.

November 29, 2010

Tomy Likely. Tommy Want (Modern) Wingy.



Yeah I just quoted Tommy Boy in the title. I love that movie.

Back to the point, I've pretty much closed in on my photographer and my venue. We were planning to get married in the Spring of 2012. Now we are thinking that it would just be way too much stress to go through an entire holiday season (of 2011) and wait another whole year to get married. That just seems crazy town to me and Doug included. At first I didn't really see eye to eye with him, and thought he was being somewhat unreasonable with all of the sudden recommending the fall 2011 date (don't worry, I expressed my concern over the phone so when he reads this he won't be surprised) since I had already convinced my parents of 6 months after that (so they would be able to save up for their daughter!). Then I realized that a fall wedding would just be more fitting and appropriate for us as a couple. The sooner, the better, especially since I am hyperactive at planning it could actually be feasible. Once again, Doug is the calm voice of reason. I'm so glad I'm not marrying someone Type A (like myself) who can keep my strategic perspective in tact. We'll figure out the budgets tonight (since the discount months are December through April for the Modern Wing, so that will add on a little extra cost) after we hopefully get our Christmas tree (I'm the best Jew ever, I know). I'm driving the Wedding Coordinator at the Modern Wing nuts. I'm okay with that. I already apologized for emailing her 3 times already this morning. She said "no worries" which I don't believe but whatever. She's very patient, thank GOD.

That brings me to the lovely photographs I've added on this post. I'm going to plan to use "Artisian Events" for my photography company. They are simply fantastic. Plus, they respond (no joke) within 30 minutes to any email I ever send. My dream Type A photographers. It doesn't get any better than a talented photography company whose Senior Photographers know how to use their BlackBerries. Woo! I love it. Check out their site. Gorgeous work. Plus, they are really familiar with the Modern Wing (have shot it a few times already). I asked if they were prepared to take jumping action photographs. They said "absolutely." I'm in. I haven't really told Doug about them yet. Hi, Doug. This is who I like. Can we talk about this tonight? I love you and appreciate your understanding of my planning.

Cheers all and look forward to hearing more details!
Mish