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!

book cover contest

my boyfriend is publishing a poetry book on march 1st called DOWNLOAD HELVETICA FOR FREE.COM. the poems in the book are excerpts from his msn messenger history from high school (many from our conversations) set in 80 pt. helvetica.

right now he is having a project where people take pictures of printed poems for the upcoming book, and then one of the pictures will be used as the cover of the book. the photo below is one that i am submitting for the contest.

anyone can participate, and right now about 40 of 50 possible spots have been filled. you can get more information about the project on his blog. photo submissions are due on february 2nd, so there is still time to sign up and get a poem to photograph!


*contest closed*

here comes the night

yesterday steve and i went on a little trip to the art institute. we explored the impressionist art, new media and design, and also checked out the thorne "miniature rooms"; it was so cute! they were these little rooms modeled after victorian era homes mostly.

after the museum we walked outside and saw all the buildings were lit up. it was so beautiful, so we decided to stay downtown for a bit longer and enjoy it. we walked around in millenium park, watched people ice skate, and took a short video (which you can enjoy below). later steve asked me if i wanted to go out to chicago diner for some vegan hot chocoate, which i really enjoyed.

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it was a fun night! here is the video i took in millennium park:

(all photos taken by me, except photo #2 taken by steve.)

happy new year

happy new year, everyone! i can't believe it's 2011! i'm really excited for this year. i think that a lot of great things are going to happen!

on new year's eve i went downtown to sprinkles and got a couple vegan red velvet cupcakes for steve and myself. later that evening steve, our friend stephen, and i went out for dinner and drinks at the pick-me-up cafe. i had a falafel wrap with fries; it was so delicious! then we headed over to a little new year's party in logan square. it was a fun time. we chilled, talked, laughed, had a countdown at midnight, discussed if 2011 was a prime number (it is), listened to music, danced, had another countdown for the people of california, and played pictionary, using the wall as our drawing board, haha. the ride home was a bit crazy. there were a lot of crazy drunk girls that could barely walk in their heels; it looked pretty funny. a lot of drunk people on the subway ride home. we made it home safe, though! it was a pretty good night all in all. 

here are some of my goals for 2011...

1. keep positive feelings and people in my life.

2. get organized. my goal is for everything to have its own place, so things flow better visually in my apartment and i feel simple and clean.

3. support only companies that don't test on animals. i started doing this a lot more in the last few months of 2010. i've stopped buying animal-tested make up, shampoos, hand soaps, and cleaning supplies. i've already found a lot of great alternatives. i really want to carry this through 2011. 

what are your goals for 2011, if any?

goodbye 2010, part 2

here is a continuation of yesterday's post recapping 2010. 

july: i was all settled in at my mom's house. beach trips. my sister turned 18. held my sister's hand while she got her first tattoo. steve and i took a train to chicago again, but this time to find an apartment. reiche family reunion. steve got a macbook in the mail from a friend as a graduation gift (it was very sweet). helped my sister put on her graduation party. moved to chicago at the end of the month. 

august: we settled into our new apartment! celebrated my 5 year anniversary with steve. went to the art museum a few times. i hit the 100 follower mark on my blog. my family came to visit me at new home. steve's family also came to visit us! went to the john hancock observatory, which took us 94 stories above michigan avenue! i started school, full-time.

september: i attended my first ever renegade craft fair. it was autumn; i made handmade apple pie to celebrate. i met a wonderful new friend. my sister came out to chicago for a visit.

october: steve released his very first chapbook.

november: completed phase 1 of 4 at school. steve turned 23. steve's family came to chicago, again. we went to the chicago symphony orchestra. i started out on the salon floor. 

december: i had my second blog giveaway. went to the renegade holiday craft fair. i experienced my first chicago snow fall. traveled back to michigan to be with my family for a few days over the holiday. 

hope you all had a wonderful year as well!