022311

nasty gal

22 before 23

i'm going to be turning 22 years old in a few days! i can't believe it! i really wanted to make one of these lists of things i'd like to accomplish before my next birthday because they seem fun! 

1. design photography website

2. get passport

3. plan a trip

4. spend one night in a fancy hotel

5. learn a little french

6. graduate from school with perfect attendance 

7. get a job that i love

8. make vegan red velvet cupcakes from scratch
9. do something sweet for my 6 year anniversary w/ steve
10. exercise regularly
11. have a picnic with my love at millenium park
12. see a musical
13. get a small tattoo
14. get a new pair of eye glasses
15. buy a new piece of art
16. take more pictures
17. get chairs for the dinner table, finally
18. do hair for a photo shoot
19. make new business cards
20. make strawberry jam
21. spend a weekend away in california with my sister
22. print a giant photo of poncho peligroso and hang it in living room

on a night like this

i had a lovely weekend. my mom and sister came to chicago on the train from michigan to see me! they came saturday afternoon. their first stop was to the student salon at my school. they were my first-ever clients that actually requested me, so i felt pretty special that day. after i was done with their services we went downtown to the willis tower (formally known as the sears tower) skydeck. we viewed the entire city from the 103rd floor. the views were amazing and i am so glad we chose to go at night time. all the lights were so beautiful! i was also brave enough to step out on the glass box. 

sunday morning we went out for brunch at chicago diner with some of steve's friends. later my cat got to meet poncho peligroso for the first time (they seem to love each other as you can see)! that night the boys (steve, stephen, brett, and poncho) had a live poetry reading online.

our monday morning started off with a tour at the make-up artistry school here in chicago. the tour was set up for my sister; my mom and i went with her. she really enjoyed it and may come back to chicago in april to start the program. we went out for lunch, went to the field museum, went to m.a.c. cosmetics, got our make up done at bare escentuals, had vegan red velvet cupcakes at sprinkles, and then ate a late night dinner at the chicago diner. 

my family went back to michigan today. i really enjoyed my weekend with them! come back soon, mom and becca!

snow day

chicago was hit with a blizzard tuesday afternoon and it finally ended earlier today. we got around 21" of snow. steve and i took a little walk around our neighborhood this afternoon to check everything out. all the cars parked on our street were blocked in, and some on a nearby street were completely covered by snow. 

i was also reading online about lake shore drive (an expressway in chicago along the shore). there were hundreds of abandoned vehicles because of terrible driving conditions and accidents. many people were eventually forced to leave their vehicles. (see pictures here)

tonight we're expecting a deep freeze, temperatures expected to get as low as -20° f. i'm happy i don't have class again tomorrow!