Wisconsin Weekend

Last weekend me and Sean took a little weekend trip to Wisconsin. Friday we stopped off in Madison, 150 miles north of the city, and then spent the rest of the weekend just north of Lake Geneva at his parents house in the woods. It's crazy how you can travel a short distance and be worlds away!

We took a pleasant stroll around the college town Madison, which reminded me ALOT of where I went to school in Boulder. Yuppie hippies, North Face jackets and birkenstocks galore, a "college" downtown area with the likes of pipe shops, women's book stores, bars with drink specials plastered all over for foot traffic to readily see and then the "adult" downtown area with the more upscale restaurants, lounge bars and museums. Now that I'm technically in the "adult" category we let ourselves enjoy a meal at L'Etoile, an organic French jewel of a restaurant with a perfect view of the capital.

Saturday we spent some time with Sean's parents walking around the darling town of Lake Geneva and taking in the last colors and temperatures of fall. This wasn't my first trip to the Lake Geneva area, but every time we are up there it is seriously the most relaxing place to be. Something about waking up right in "nature", but not having to be in a tent, sleeping on the ground is just. so. amazing. And that extra hour? Heaven.

I love the Philosophy of L'Etoile: "We believe supporting our local farmers and artisan producers has a direct impact on our community: it strengthens local economies; it encourages variety and enriches our food traditions; it promotes health and wellness by offering menus made from natural and wholesome ingredients.

We also believe that we can play a role in educating others. At L’Etoile, our entire staff goes on fieldtrips throughout the year to visit the farms where our food comes from. We also teach students at Sherman Middle School about cooking with healthy options (CHOW program) and help to support their large on-site garden through a community partnership with REAP Farm-to-School."

[That's a baby creme brule, sandwiched between pear sorbet and concord grape coulis. Divine.]

[Nothing says thank you like...]

Goodbye Fall.

Scarf it Up

A girlfriend of mine shared this video with me and with temps dropping to the 30s, pumpkin spice everything and the holidays screaming to take our money, it's definitely the time of year to scarf it up. She did forget the "Chicago" scarf style though....bundling your entire face, leaving a tiny slit for your eyes. Tina Fey, recalling one winter day in Chicago, said it best in her book BossyPants:

"One February morning was so cold that they closed school. There wasn't any snow; they just closed school because they didn't want kids dropping dead at the bus stop. I waited for the train at 5:10AM wrapped in multiple hats and scarves so that only my eyes were exposed. By the time I got to Evanston, all the blood vessels around my eyes has burst from the temperature."

Yay. Winter.

Halloweenie

Halloween was a success this year and I can attribute that to my girlfriends, and even guy friends, putting our craftiness to work! My girlfriends and I went to Joann's the weekend before Halloween and voila! Mario, Luigi and Toad came to life. I sewed my vest, attached my white head to a hat, stuffed it with batting, sewed on the red dots and I was ready to go. Although on Monday one of my clients told me that his 7 year old son dressed up as Mario....so either I'm getting too old for this or I am still as young as ever =)

Urban Oasis

So I didn't win.

The winner of the HGTV Urban Oasis of 2011 Giveaway Sweepstakes won apartment in the highly coveted Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago, designed by Vern Yip. The luxury apartment, which has uninhibited views of the architecture of Chicago from the sky high 35th floor, boasts a contemporary look with classic Chicago details. The sweepstakes ran from August to October and you could enter on both HGTV.com and Frontdoor.com twice a day. And of course I did. Everyday. Twice a day. I had it all planned out...calculated the property tax that I would pay each year, picked out the small apartment purse dog that I would have to buy to fit in with the neighbors, thought of themes for a house warming party...sigh. I selfishly didn't post anything about this to increase my chances of winning. I know. I'm a lunatic.

So back to the apartment itself. I am a sucker for knick nacks and Vern Yip is indeed a knick nack genius. He used details to add to the otherwise contemporary design from the Chicago Botanic Garden, Frank Lloyd Wright inspirations, a piece salvaged from an old Chicago ice cream parlor, photos of Chicago landmarks (and not in the typical cheesy way) and the list goes on and on. As for the Trump Tower amenities? To say that the resident's of the towers live in luxury is quite an understatement with the ridiculous amenities they have on site...53 spa rooms, a health club on the 14th floor, Sixteen, a Michelin-rated restaurant, a lounge and bar, Reba and access to all hotel concierge services, including in-room dining, housekeeping, valet and babysitting.....see why I was so crazy about this?! Starting to save my pennies meow!

[photos courtesy of www.HGTV.com/Urban-Oasis)

Illuminating Company

[Bible my dress is NOT white, but look how gorg the bride is]

[Fist pumpin' through the night]

[A little reflection at the Wit]

Last weekend I had so much fun at a wedding at the Chicago Illuminating Company, a very modern, yet classic place to have a wedding in the South Loop. It was SO Chicago with the El track literally right above the building and the warehouse feel of the rooms with exposed brick walls and piping.

As for the decor, I died for all of the beautiful details.....Chicago themed tables with photos taken by the bride's uncle, mini hand-made terrarium giveaways, an amazing three-course meal aaaand not to mention....ahem, top shelf open bar service. The ceremony itself was short and sweet, but what made it so memorable was that one of the grooms' closest and oldest friends from childhood officiated the ceremony. Think of Zach Galifianakis officiating a wedding and that's just what we got to be a part of.

Awesome.