Chicago

My 21 Year Old Self Is Confused {Review}

March 13, 2012
By

My 21 year old self was living it up in New Orleans, thinking about law school and enjoying co-ed life. If I could go back and talk to her now she would be shaking her head at 28 year old me, because I spent the better part of this past Sunday perusing the aisles of the International Home and Housewares Show, texting my husband that he was going to have to come forcibly remove me from the displays. Everywhere I turned it was something else that I loved, or want to love, or have a friend that loves it, with shiny displays and enticing products. A $100 potato peeler? Don’t mind if I do!

I was invited by SodaStream to come to the show and check out their display so I made an afternoon of it and checked out some other brands I was interested in as well. SodaStream was lovely by the way – in fact they were the first booth I stopped by.

After getting to sample some freshly made club soda (my fizzy drink of choice) I toured the Cave, which emphasized how much trash the average American family creates with drink bottles and cans, and a video on how much waste our un-recycled beverage trash creates. Enter the SodaStream which eliminates the need for single use containers and has flavors and options galore. I was impressed! (And not compensated. No free products unless you count the reusable beverage bottle I drank out of.)

After oohing and ahhing at SodaStream (and drinking my fill of bubble goodness) I moved along to VitaMix. I was thoroughly awed by their new professional model coming out this year that is shorter and squatter than previous models so it fits into cupboards and tucked away under your kitchen cabinets. (I’d always heard that VitaMix blenders, while amazing, were so tall they were hard to store.)  I’ve always dreamed of a Vitamix so I could make my own nut butters and ice creams – and the puree button on the new Professional Series 750 would be just the trick for all my baby food making friends.

Their new 750 blender has quite a few preset options including a setting that you just add water and watch it clean itself (genius for anyone who has scrubbed strawberry seeds from smoothies out of their blender time and time again) and a well thought out setting for hot soups. Again, VitaMix didn’t provide me with any free products, although I would have willingly carried that sweet thing home with me, even if I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow…it was that cool.

After VitaMix I continued to torture myself with amazing products a bit outside my spending range by warming up with a cappuccino from Nespresso. Who doesn’t want their own (gorgeous) pod espresso machine that steams your milk and lights up when it is filled up with empty cartridges?

After I had my fill of shiny electronics I meandered over and found what I can only describe as the Rolls Royce of…wait for it…wait for it…grocery trollies. You know those wire metal baskets that urbanites push back and forth from their home to the grocery store (hey, not everyone has a car and milk gets heavy after three blocks) – well they are a thing of the past.

These shopping trollies (they have a few different models), made of brushed aluminum (that COLLAPSE FLAT) have all sorts of amazing features like insulated pockets, washable interiors and wheels that look like they could actually manage their way through a Chicago snowstorm. You can find them at the Container Store and trust me, I put one on my birthday list. If I could have figured out a way to “borrow” one of them, filled it up with the aforementioned electronics and skedaddled on home, I probably would have. Sadly I’m a very rule abiding citizen so instead I just pushed these around for a few test laps on the showroom floor. This is what every city dweller should buy.

Speaking of city dwellers who have no space, these kitchen tools are just what you (and your tiny kitchen) need:

Squish is a line of collapsible kitchen tools like colanders, mixing bowls, measuring cups and even a cool over the sink cutting board with a colander. The flat storage means that you take up very little cupboard space, but I was surprised at how sturdy everything was when it was expanded- I originally had visions of mixing eggs in a bowl only to have it collapse flat and create a huge mess. These products did not disappoint and as soon as Target starts carrying them (this summer!) I’ll be snagging one of these:

For only $24.99 it will hardly break the bank, but it is something I can see myself using every day with our weekly vegetable box deliveries. (Again, no freebies, just my opinion.)

Speaking of inexpensive, I was incredibly impressed by the affordable and cute reusable Lunchskins by 3GreenMoms. These bags are made of pastry fabric and lined with a nontoxic sealant to make them moisture and grease proof – and dishwasher safe! According to their literature over 20 million plastic food bags are thrown away in the United States every day which is pretty mind blowing. I loved the fresh prints on these bags and the small snack bag they gave me to try out (my one freebie of the day) was perfect to bring my apple slices to the office.

I’ve been making a big effort to use fabric bags to and from the grocery store and purchase environmentally friendly cleaning products but I’d never stopped to consider the waste I was creating with plastic ziptop bags. These little bags would be used daily in our house- we are always packing snacks and lunches to take to work and dog treats to carry in our pocket on long walks to the dog park. Genius!

Remember how just last week I was going on about how I can’t be bothered to steam my own milk at home for my coffee? Yeah…about that. I think I found a solution for myself and anyone looking for easy steamed milk for lattes or cappuccinos: the Aerolatte Compact.

You just pour your milk into the fill line, turn it on (hot or cold, depending on your preference) and within a minute or two, voila. Perfect frothy milk for your drink and enough for your sweetie’s cup as well. WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT? It didn’t hurt that after they steamed the milk for me, they washed the entire unit in about 2 seconds flat. I….need one of these. (You hear that….anyone?)

All of these brands were incredibly interesting to talk to. Some I was familiar with, some I wasn’t, but I really had a great time checking out the latest in greatest in home goods for 2012. I KNOW. I CAN’T BELIEVE I SAID THAT EITHER. But honestly, I told B I kind of wish we were getting married now because oh man, our wedding registry would be way cooler. Even if college-Daisy says I don’t know what the meaning of “cool” is anymore.

 I was given one press pass for admission to the International Home and Housewares Show and a tour of the SodaStream exhibit at the show. I have not been compensated for my time or post, nor did any brand or company ask me to post my opinions. My opinions have been and always will be entirely my own and I am not paid to publish positive comments. I received one free product to facilitate my review, a snack sized LunchSkin. All opinions in this post are my own and were based on the demonstrations and models I viewed at the show. 


Sunday Morning Quarterback

March 12, 2012
By

This past weekend was one of my best friend’s bachelorette celebration. We kicked it off on Friday with dinner at my house for the bridal party & the out of town guests- wine, pasta with vodka sauce, salad and garlic bread for all. We laughed that we were carb-loading for the next day and night, but hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. Of course about an hour before the guests were due to arrive I was hobbling around the house with what I can only describe as “throwing my back out” although I don’t really know what that means. I think I just strained some muscles doing some deep spring cleaning that afternoon but by the time I was chopping veggies and setting the table I could hardly move without wincing. Some quality time with a heating pad and some Tylenol have me feeling better but, um, perhaps it is time I revist how to use my legs and not my back to move things around? That said, my end results were worth it, finished shortly before the guests arrived (not pictured, my now organized office, hallelujah):

Saturday night was the night of Major Festivities, and while it was a smashing success I can wholeheartedly advise that you never, ever plan a bachelorette party the night of Spring Forward. That time change is significantly more evil when you are awake to watch it happen, and I’m still yawning every five minutes give or take. Calendar fail.

In my opinion a successful bachelorette evening has a few key components – organization, food, and at least one activity that isn’t taking place in a bar where everyone has to shout to be heard.  One of the other bridesmaids did the brunt of the planning for this event (I tackled the engagement party) and she did an amazing job. We had group leaders that were in charge of groups of four, each leader was responsible for getting her group of ladies from point to point to point and had cab fare in her pocket to take care of the bills. We started out with appetizers and a gift exchange before moving on to dinner. Low key pizza and wine at a fun Italian bistro (where we all brought cash and we were able to settle the bill for 16 people in less than 10 minutes- bravo) was a great start and let everyone who didn’t know each other mingle.

 After dinner I handed out feather boas for the entire crowd, black for the friends and white sparkles for the bride. From there we moved on to The Baton Show Lounge which is a vampy, showy, drag show that was a lot of fun and laughs. We were the least “themed” of the 9 bachelorette parties there but I think our feather boas looked way cooler than matching t-shirts or male genitalia decor (which we had strictly forbidden for our group)…….. After the show (which included both Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga impersonations) we moved along to a bar/nightclub where we proceeded to dance until 2 in the morning 3 in the morning. Damn time change. All in all a fantastic time….even if Rhett Butler was convinced that it was breakfast time when I came home. (No really. He ate breakfast before coming back to bed.) I highly recommend my soon-to-be-trademarked game plan of a one-to-one ratio of cocktails followed by a water or club soda chaser which meant I had fun without going  into limp-noodle-word-slurring-hangover-territory.

I always joked in college that the contents of your purse on a Sunday morning was the best indication of how much fun you had the night before. Tissues and no cash? Yikes, you probably had a horrible night out. Mysterious scraps of paper with phone numbers scrawled on them…well, you probably had more fun. Yesterday morning, after pulling out about 10 feathers from my clutch, gummed up with the leftover sticker remnants of my Birchbox stick on eyeliner*, I came across these:

I have no earthly idea…but I think this means I had the Best! Night! Ever!

*The stick on eyeliner was fun and looked great but it made my eyes burn and two days later, I’m still sporting welts on each eye in the exact shape of the eyeliner…..so I’m going to go ahead and give it a big thumbs down.

Needled

March 9, 2012
By

While I like to think I have a long list of talents (Good at: putting foot in mouth, cooking large pasta dinners for a crowd, gchatting and general conversation) I do admit there are some things I’m not good at. Singing. Admitting I’m wrong. Being polite when I find a stray mushroom on my plate. Dealing with stress.

While the first few things on the list are things I can work on, or at least things that my husband finds mildly amusing (you should SEE his face when I try to belt out my favorite Carrie Underwood songs) the stress thing isn’t really all that good for me. My years of stomach issues, tension in my upper back, being downright grumpy when I’m stressed out, perhaps even my Fire Ears can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that I take stress in and internalize it. I let my stomach churn, I get anxious, I’m snippy with others.  A GENERAL BALL OF PLEASANTNESS.

Like any twenty something woman with an unnatural love of Whole Foods and a health savings account I made an appointment with a local acupuncturist.  NEELDES. THEY ARE THE ANSWER. To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect or think (the new patient question form was…intense…and detailed) but I went anyway, wearing my yoga pants and tshirt and wondering what in the world I was in for.

The office itself was very nice. I was expecting a more spa-like enviorment, but this reminded me more a very nice physical therapy office, less comfy couches and water features and more sterile feeling (which in retrospect, probalby a good thing). My acupuncturist, who I now affectionately refer to as my Yogi (why not?) asked me a million questions about a million things before taking me back for my treatment. She also asked to look at my tongue, which is apparently A Big Thing in Eastern medicine- I don’t get it but I dutifully obliged and stuck my tongue out.

In the treatment room the bench felt like a massage bench, and it had cozy pillows and was nice and warm. I was a little nervous about the needles, but much to my surprise I didn’t even feel 90% of them going in. The ones I did feel were just a tiny, tiny prick followed by a warm fuzzy sensation, almost like taking a sip of an expensive after dinner cognac. It was pleasant and fuzzy and when all my needles were in place (ears, stomach, wrists, ankles, knees and feet) she covered me in one of those super lightweight silver blankets (the kind they hand out after marathons), turned the lights down and turned on some classical music.

For the next 30 minutes I just zoned out. I thought for sure I’d be bored and ready to hop up and bolt, but the warm environment, the fuzzy feeling from the needles and the music let my mind go to a blank, comfortable place. It is hard to describe, but I was just…cozy. When she came back in and removed the needles I left, feeling very relaxed. For the rest of the night I didn’t feel much different, but when I went to bed that first night I can’t even describe how I slept- it was the deepest sleep I’ve ever had. I woke up feeling like I’d slept for 20 hours straight. This trend has continued for the past few nights, I’ve fallen asleep quickly and slept deeply- which hey, who knows why, but it is a wonderful feeling.

I’m not sure how long I’ll keep going to Yogi, but at least for the next month or so (weekly visits) – my health savings account is pretty full and as long as it helps me feel relaxed I think it is worth continuing.  I think I’m becoming a believer…even if I do resemble a porcupine.

Like A Good Neighbor

March 5, 2012
By

Do you ever play that game where you pick a random couple in a restaurant and then, at your table, imagine their lives? Like this:


Sometimes B and I like to play that game, spinning elaborate tales over dinner. We especially like to play the game with people and neighbors we encounter in our building, the repeated sightings make our hypothesis that much funnier or crazy, depending on the story we have woven. Of course there was the time that I continued to darkly insist that our neighbor was a drug dealer and, SURPRISE, HE WAS, YAY POLICE. I think we quit playing for awhile after that, something about being right and B was worried that if I jokingly said the new neighbor above us was very Dexter-esque that might come true too.

Then a new couple moved in and we couldn’t help but speculate. They were an odd couple, she is tall and willowy and pretty and he….resembles Paul Bunyan. No, seriously, he has the beard and wears a lot of flannel and if their dog was any bigger I’d suspect it was an ox in disguise and I’d start calling it Blue or Babe or whatever that Bunyan character named his ox. Anyway, he drives a rather non-descript car and we started noticing on the weekends it was gone….but the most insane cars ever were taking its place. 

Bentley’s with custom interiors…a Lamborghini. Two different Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren’s. A Rolls Royce. At this point we couldn’t help but play “What’s their story” and we decided that while Mr. Bunyan was off in the woods cutting down trees on the weekend for extra hazard pay, Ms. Thing was clearly in some sort of adult business because OH MY GOD LOOK, AN ENZO FERRARI. We suspected she was related to someone in Hollywood, or perhaps she had every Alderman and politician in the state in her back pocket. As the cars continued the stories grew more elaborate. A Prince in Dubai. Secret wealth. Oprah’s long lost sister. Then we’d see her in the elevator and blush as the dogs played, thinking we know you are up to something….. and we’d laugh at the latest concoction of tales we’d created. Then we’d see another Rolls Royce and it would start all over again.

I don’t remember exactly how the mystery unraveled, but after a good 8 months of fun and stories we realized, no, sadly, Mr. Bunyan was not a logger. He works for some crazy body shop/car dealer that does custom work on very, very, very high end cars…and as a perk he gets to bring some of them home for the weekends.

No prince in Dubai.

No escort service to the rich and powerful.

Not even a sugar-Daddy (or ten) on the side.

Just a couple with a really cool job perk. Even cooler than telecommuting.

Now I need to invite them over for dinner to tell them all about the drug dealer who used to live in their unit. We also need to solve the mystery of the lady down the hall that has a new dent or ding in her car every week and wears entirely too much Victoria Secret Love Spell, despite the fact that it is only marketed to high school cheerleaders. I mean, what is the story behind that?

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