Lincoln Park Art Faire

This weekend Lincoln Park hosted its 12th annual Art Faire. The signs have been up for a few weeks and I had marked my calender--it's been a while since I've been to streetfest, and it was only a few blocks south of my new apartment. 

The day couldn't have been better for it: bright blue sky, not a cloud, and a perfect 75 degrees.  

Without a doubt the most low key street festival I've been to all summer, it was all art and no play on this block. Not surprisingly, the craftsmanship on display was better than the average fest fare. There was some particularly stunning photography, but I fell in love with the jewelry by Chicago native, Rebecca Zemans. Simple, classic pieces of hammered silver and gold, I could have bought the entire collection. I especially loved this necklace, and the middle one here, and I tried this ring in silver and it was perfect. 

Bugs and Butterflies with my Babysitting

I've been babysitting for a great little boy for the past couple of weeks, hitting the park, the zoo, and today, an awesome museum that I didn't even know existed. Weird, because it's three blocks from my apartment, and I've always seen people walking around or on top of it (it has a roof garden). It's the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. And though it was full of school children on fieldtrips who were thrilled with the amazing butterfly habitat, adults can definitely get something out of it. Especially it's exhibit on how to be more "green."

A Review I wrote for Gapers Block

Here's the link to a review I wrote for Gapers Block, a Chicago centered web publication. Check it out (and by "it," I mean the whole web site, not just my posting!)

Give me some Downward Dog, I'll Keep my Dollars

I started off the summer on the hunt for free (or cheap) stuff. Food, clothes, fitness, fun, you name it, I was out to find it for as few of my precious pennies as possible. 

Looking back on the summer, I've been able to score the generally pricey activity of yoga for relatively cheap in several different places. I thought I'd recap on the deals I snagged and the studios themselves, for anyone who, like me, loves yoga but is short on cash. 

If you recall, my first week here, I attended two free sessions of classic vinyasa yoga: one on the roof of a building, and one in Belmont Harbor, overlooking the lake. Since they were free, I can't complain; and the views from both unconventional locales were beautiful (though slightly distracting). 

As I settled in, I moved on to bigger and better things: namely, heated vinyasa yoga. The first studio we tried, Om on the Range, offers 75 minute Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga, which is my favorite kind. It's strenuous and energetic, and after attending 5 out of 7 days of my New Student Unlimited Week ($20) I could see and feel the difference in my body. I liked this studio because it offered a wide variety (including Bikram, hour-long Vinyasa, as well as the aforementioned Baptiste Vinyasa), the instructors were knowledgeable but not too chatty, and the atmosphere was a equal parts tranquil and exhilarating. 

Next, we moved down to the South Loop to the CorePower Yoga studio. This is a national chain, and you can tell the minute you walk in. Commercial and untraditional, this studio offers swipe cards, merchandise with its logo, and a class option that involved weights. That said, its introductory special is unbeatable--a week of unlimited yoga, FREE! Besides the drawbacks above, a couple other things kept me from taking full advantage of my seven days: first, it was far from my apartment, and second, they ALWAYS played music, and did so WAY too loud, jerking me out of my meditative yogi state and giving me a headache. 

And this brings us to my present practice at Bikram Yoga Chicago, where they offer a generous unlimited MONTH for $29. Despite my preference for the Power Vinyasa variety--Bikram is much hotter, and with its stagnant postures and repetition is more boring--the deal was really too good to pass up. I'll admit that the first class was tough to get through, but I have since gone two more times, and I have a feeling by the time my month's up I might be a convert. 

Hmmm

By chance I picked up today’s copy of RedEye, a free daily newspaper, while I was waiting for the bus. Must have been my ESP acting up because I turn to page four and there is an opinion piece on DC. I literally laughed out loud on the (very) crowded bus. Just read it.

A Mom and a Move

It's been a busy last few days. First, I got a much-needed last minute visit from my mom over the weekend. We did all the fun stuff--shopping, great dinners, long walks, a bike ride, general catching up. And, I almost forgot, a trip to the casino. 

Yes, my mother and I spent Saturday afternoon at Harrah's Casino in suburban Illinois. Little known fact: a short thirty minute drive from Chicago, you can find yourself amidst shuffling cards, ringing slot machines, and whirring roulette wheels. 

I can't take the credit for this adventure. We were visiting relatives--my mom's cousin--and rather than spend the day sitting around small-talking, the Illinois kin thought it would be more fun to spend the day gambling. 

I'll admit I was more than a little skeptical. But it was a great time! Two highlights: watching a guy one table over from us win big--240,000 dollars big; and walking away with a hundred dollars in winnings of my own. 

I was sad to see my mom leave on Sunday, but I didn't have much time to be mopey. We had to be out of, what I have come to call Melrose Place, by midnight on Monday. Not that it would be too hard for us nomads to relocate to our next camp site. It was touch and go for a little, especially when it came to moving our clunker of a couch down a flight of stairs alone (only to leave it on the curb for the taking), but with the help of a luggage cart, we managed to get it done just in time to catch the tail end of the sunset from our new Wrightwood Ave roof deck! 

A Lovely Pair

Two topics of recent posts--Vanity Fair and Mad Men--come together in this month's issue. It's not all that surprising to me. Of course Vanity Fair would have a sixteen page spread (with phenomenal pictures!) about, perhaps my favorite show on TV (which I am still reeling from missing last night--I HAVE to get cable!).

The article focuses mostly on the making of the show, and its writer, Matt Weiner, whose OCD tendencies contribute to Mad Men's flawlessness. The photos though, (luckily) center on the leading couple--Betty and Don--and if they don't make you want to watch the show, I don't know what will.