For those who love fonts as much as I do...

I have dog fever!

An Open Letter to Kelly Cutrone

**Please note that this email was actually sent to the information email box of People's Revolution at 1:01am**

While I realize I might be writing to an overflowing general email box, I just wanted to take a minute to thank Kelly for showing that fashion is actually a business and it's not all butterflies and beauty. It's about time kids (people younger than me - 26) realize that work is called work for a reason. The fact that some of the people who've been featured on the television show (I never assume they actually work there) are complete idiots, just blows my mind. It seems like they should probably go work in fashion at someplace like Express and not at a company that provides the opportunity of a lifetime.

Maybe instead of hiring overpriced, nice to look at, not really functional, Chanel handbags and hire some hardworking, eager-to-please and always reliable Gap jeans. Business is hard work. PR is hard work.

So thank you for actually portraying working in fashion for what it actually is: Work.

Steph
PS - If you've read this far thank you and please enjoy deleting this.

When did it become 2010?

So, I have been MIA for over a month now and don't really have a very good excuse other than the fact that I've been super busy with work, the holidays and just life in general. So, I am going to recommit to blogging in 2010. I have some topics already lined up and promise to start posting as soon as I'm able.

In the meantime, however, I will leave you with a little bit of the fantabulous Lady Gaga concert.

Steph

Wise or arrogant?

So I have been thinking about my approach to giving advice to friends and have come to this conclusion:

If I know what is best for you and proceed to share that knowledge with you, does that make me wise or just super arrogant?

Whether or not the person I am talking to heeds my advice or not, is their own choice. It is a lot easier for me to dole out the advice since I am not in that specific situation.

I'd like to think that I try to help them see that I just want what is best for them and by giving them a fresh perspective on the situation it might help them make good decisions. But the decision is still theirs to make.

The thing is, I have totally been the receiver of most of the advice I am giving out and I didn't really want to listen to it either but it planted the seed for me to think about things that I otherwise would have ignored.

I know this is a pretty vague posting but it's just something that I've been thinking about.

101 Things in 1001 days: The beginning

Thanks again to SillyGrrl for the idea. Be sure to check her's out at: http://sillygrrl.com/101-things/

So, as I am starting my list of 101 things, I am realizing that it's actually kinda hard. Thankfully SillyGrrl's site gave me some good ideas for my list, but I am struggling. This is clearly a work in progress but I've already accomplished one of them!

1. Run a marathon

2. Have something I've created (not for work) published - online, newspaper, etc -The RedEye Chicago published my Twitter-size review of the Boondock Saints 2 movie. (Click here to see the picture. It kinda sucks but you get the point)

3. Sing on a stage (Rock band Karaoke counts)

4. Learn to wakeboard

5. Be front row of a concert

6. Fix my credit score

7. Scan all of my pictures from college

8. Actually make a short film based on my documentary idea

9. Learn After Effects

10. Make sure my savings account stays above the minimum for 6 months

11. Earn 50 followers on my blog

12. Visit my brother in California

13. Go without my cell phone for a whole weekend

14. Go an entire week without checking Facebook (on my phone and on my computer)

15. Actually give something up for Lent and stick to it

16. Drive across country

17. Go snowboarding in Colorado, Utah or Wisconsin (Finances are tight these days)

18. Visit the Shedd Aquarium, The Field Museum, The Art Institute, The Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Science and Industry and the Adler Planetarium.

19. Take a cooking class to learn how to slice and dice

20. Walk to work one morning

21. Buy myself something from Tiffany's

22. Kayak the Chicago River

23. Go a whole week without one Diet Coke

24. Take Penny for an hour long walk at least twice a month

25. Clean out my iPod - archive music I no longer listen to

26. Go on a bike ride through the streets of Chicago (I might not come back alive)

27. Watch all of the AFI's Best Movies I haven't seen before

28. Wake up on time for a whole week (ontime is on or before 7 am)

29. Do my hair and wear my contacts for a 3 weeks. (Can be sequential weeks or split up)

30. Bake my mom's apple pie from scratch

31. Go on 4 motorcycle rides with my dad

32. Get my motorcycle license.

7 Deadly Sins of Halloween

This blog entry was taken directly from my very creative roommate's blog. Check it out!

(My comments are in purple)

ALL SEVEN AND WE'LL WATCH THEM FALL

The seven deadly sins- Lust, Pride, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth and Greed

I want so much to be a DIY-er…but I just am not. As much as I wish crafting were my thing, I simply don’t have the skill, ability or follow-through necessary.

But here! Because of Halloween (the most wonderful time of the year) my friends and I had the opportunity to let our DIY shine. Ladies and gents- I give you the seven deadly sins.

Envy


Alli has great hair, an awesome bod, fantastic sense of humor…I could go on. One might say that it’s easy to be quite envious of her. Perfect.

Gluttony

The award for most time spent on a skirt in the history of the universe goes to Steph. This bitch (the skirt is the bitch, not Steph) is ready for Project Runway as far as I am concerned. For weeks, Steph placed candy bowls around her office asking noshers to save the wrappers. This is the result. Pretty ahem, sweet, if you ask me. Bonus points for the licorice headband and the gumshoes.

THANKS :) I SPENT ABOUT $50 ON ALL OF THE CANDY PLUS 2 ROLLS OF DUCT TAPE. IT WAS A FIGHT BUT ENDED UP LOOKING AWESOME.

Greed

I love everything about Sydney's greed costume. Especially the gold clock. Flava Flaaaaav!

Lust

The original five that had mastered this sinful plan were all reluctant to pick Lust for some reason…but luckily the lovely Laura stepped up. She had originally expressed interest to Pride in dressing as Katy Perry for the holiday. Being that Katy Perry is my girl-crush de jour, I don’t think there is a better female to channel for the role of Lust. Well played, Lustful Laura, well played.

Pride

Somehow, Kirby ended up with three legit prom dresses to choose from for her pride pageant outfit. Add some self-tanner, Gluttony's old homecoming queen tiara and that awesome sash...and you get this. P.S. That is not a wig.

IMPORTANT NOTE - KIRBY, MY ROOMMATE, IS WEARING MY ACTUAL PROM DRESS AND HOMECOMING QUEEN TIARA FROM 2001!

AMAZING!

WHILE WRATH (BELOW) WROTE THIS BLOG ENTRY, IF YOU LIVE IN CHICAGO AND LIKE FOOD YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT KIRBY'S BLOG!

Sloth

My favorite thing about this set-up is the fact that Liza is one of the least sloth-like people that I know. Seriously- I know Liza was pulling all-nighters at the office days before Halloween. So, I especially liked that she played this part. Plus- she incorporated long johns into a costume. Brilliant.

Wrath

That’s me. I wanted no excuse to look pretty or cute this year…so I swiped up wrath with a quickness. Gluttony was the first to point out that in the beginning stages of this costume were a bit Avril Lavigne-ish. So, I was forced to up my game. I’d like to thank the red MAC paintstick and anarchy "A" for helping me shed my initial Sk8tr Boi image.

THIS IS MY ROOMMATE AND AUTHOR OF THE BLOG ENTRY. IT WAS THE HALLOWEEN COSTUME SHE WAS BORN TO WEAR... MOSTLY BECAUSE WE COULD GO TO MAC AND PLAY WITH COOL MAKE-UP. SHE'S GOOD AT MAKE-UP.

I'm happy to report that we did end up winning a costume contest.

Here’s another group shot:

101 Things in 1001 days

So, I got this from a blog that I follow called SillyGrrl and think it's an amazing idea. Complete 101 things/goals/tasks/dreams in 1001 days. That's it.

It's going to take me a while to come up with 101 things to complete but I think it's a great way to set some goals in my life. (I did create a bucket list once, and I'll need to track it down since I think that'll be a great place to start)

A lot of times, when you hit this age, I feel like there isn't anything to strive for. If you're not dating someone with marriage on the horizon or if you're not in line for that big promotion or job change, what is there to look forward to?

When there really isn't anything "new" going on in your life, can you really measure how well you're doing? I mean I think it's silly to think that at the age of 26 I should have X, Y and Z accomplished. Things change. If I followed all of my pre-set plans, I would have been married by 24 and would have started a family by now - which sitting here typing that seems just plain crazy. To put it in realistic terms, I would be married to an a-hole who treated me like crap and would hopefully not be bringing a child into that environment. There are aspects of my life that I love and there are parts that I wish would change a bit but overall, I am really happy with where I am. The question is where to go next and how will I know if I'm being successful. Is it by the amount of money in my bank account? Whether or not I have a steady boyfriend?

I mean so much can change in 1001 days. I just figured out that 1001 days ago was February, 13, 2007 and shutter at the thought of how my life was going at that time. Things were not good.

So, I think this is an amazing way to gauge how I'm doing. So, my deadline for creating my 101 items is Friday.

Start date: Friday, November 13, 2009

End date: Friday, August 10, 2012.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

I will donate $10 to charity for every item not completed.

Anyone else up to the challenge?

If this sounds like something you'd like to do for yourself, leave me a comment so I can track your progress!

Click here to download the 101 in 1001 days image

How will your life change?

Saving money for the holidays

You know I have kinda always thought that using coupons was something mom's with families did. But it turns out there are a ton of really great sites and blogs out there that help everyday people find amazing deals. I have seen some of these people on the Today Show getting like $300 worth of stuff for like $20. I have actually been following a couple of great ones if you're interested in checking them out. Coupon Gal and The Good Deal Gal and Hip to Save are my favorite. By following these blogs, I have gotten magazine subscriptions for free, saved tons of money at Walgrees/CVS and tons of other great deals. Grab a Sunday paper and you too can start saving. You should totally check them out

As the holiday season approaches, I’m always looking for ways to do my Christmas shopping on a budget. I came across the three new sites: PricePlease.com, CouponMap.com and SeatCity.com. These sites just launched and are sister sites of CouponCabin.com, which is a must when online shopping. With more and more recessionistas and price-savvy shoppers, these sites are a huge help on helping users with great deals on everything from entertainment and dining to gifts and gas. Check them out for yourself and let me know what you think!

I've fallen off the wagon

I can't believe my last post was over a month ago. It's been a busy couple of weeks because I feel like I posted all of those pictures just yesterday.

But I am back on the blogging wagon.

And in the spirit of being committed to blogging again, I have finally decided to buy my domain name. I'm still going to be using blogger so I don't think anyone's feeds should be disrupted (if anyone actually has me on their feed) but I am really excited. I build so many webpages and graphics for work, it's about time I do the same for my own blog.

But in the meantime, I am having some writers block. What are your favorite go-to blog topics when you have writers block.

In honor of my favorite video game growing up, a quick look at Oregon Trail!