Addicted to Groupon

So I am going to a 'Murder Mystery Dinner' event.  I really hope I get picked as the culprit.

How did I find out about this?  Well, let's just say one part Emily, one part - you guessed it - Groupon.

Groupon has become insanely popular in a short period of time.   Sidenote:   anyone notice that Groupon is really just the ever-so-slightly cooler/more modern version of QVC (aka the home shopping network)?   Down to the very details of the 'this many bought' count on the side.  That, and the 'this many minutes/seconds left to buy'.  It's really uncanny if you think about it.  The most serious similarity - we might be getting some kind of a 'great deal', but 95% of the time, we wouldn't have been buying these completely random things in the first place. 

I'm not going to think about that right now.  I'm looking forward to my murder mystery dinner.

Girl Crush Alert

  

Allison Holker.

Ok - sorry - I know, another SYTYCD post.  Sorry. 

But love her.  LOVE her. 

However, there isn't much information on her out there.  Her Wikipedia page kind of sucks.  I know she recently had a baby - how old is the baby?  Who is the baby-daddy?  Is he still in the picture?  Hopefully we will all learn more now that she's part of SYTYCD, Season 7....

Anyone else love her?  Anyone else know more about her and what is up with her?

Call Me Martha Freakin' Stewart

I made wine cork coasters.   All the 'ingredients' are pictured above.   It was quite the fun project.  The most fun part of the project is acquiring the wine corks - I recommend doing it the old-fashioned way.

Anyhow. 

Sidenote:  I am not sure how well these coasters WORK.  Like, for their intended purpose.  They are a little wobbly.  Not all wine corks are created equal.  They are not all the same size.  Maybe I did something wrong and could have done something more to balance this out.  I dunno.  Martha would probably yell at me if she were here.  Regardless, I like them.  I might morph them into a wine cork-corkboard instead - time will tell.  Updated to come. 

Mambo Grill

Ok, I am upset.

One of my all time favorite restaurants in Chicago, Mambo Grill, appears to have closed.

Actually, this may have happened a while ago.  They pulled one of those 'closed to relocate' deals, but then never relocated.

Well, I am inconsolable.  This was one of the best restaurants in Chicago.  Nutritious and delicious - or at least the latter.  The one thing I didn't like about it was there were some great things on the lunch menu that couldn't be ordered for dinner.  Otherwise - spectacular.

Does anyone out there know more about Mambo Grill and it's fate?  Am I wrong?  Will it reopen?  Please help?!

So You Think You Can Dance - Tyce DiOrio

Ok - I promise not to inundate everyone with SYTYCD posts.

However, just a couple words on Tyce DiOrio.  I'm not going to talk about his douche factor.  Or the fact that he could, potentially, be kind of hot.

Does anyone remember there was a brief reality show called 'Fame', with Debbie Allen as the host and Carnie Wilson as a judge?!  Does anyone remember Tyce was 'THE SPOILER'?  Basically, they had all their selected contestants, then in the final weeks, they brought in one unknown talented participant to possibly take the title away from the front-runners.  Anyhow.  He was a total bust (I am embarrassed to admit I completely and totally watchde and remember this show) - he was brought in, hammered by the judges and didn't make the next week's selection.  However, it was more his lack of vocals that hurt him - the judges all commented that he was one of the best dancers on the show.

Anyhow.  Does anyone else remember this show?  Does anyone else remember Tyce being on this show?  Your thoughts on Tyce?!?!

Slow News Day....

Is anyone else out there having trouble with the new updated safari?  For me, the update came through around this past Tuesday.  It will not work for me.  It is giving me a LOT of trouble.  I do not have the time or energy or desire to go stand in line at Apple and get this fixed.

I am pissed.  All I know is that for the past couple days, I have had to use firefox.  I am an apple person.  I don't do 'firefox'.  Once you go Mac, you never go back.

Can anyone help me get safari back?!?!

"About Me"

So, recently, I read over my own blog's most recent post from the perspective of, say, a potential employer or someone who doesn't know me well but is trying to get a feel for who I am.  I know I have covered this 'what would a stranger think of me from reading the blog' topic before, but I wanted to recap.

So anyhow - I read my blog from a stranger's perspective.  Here is what I deduced about 'the writer of this blog':

--I am obsessed with dating/analyzing relationships
--I am obsessed with facebook
--I am obsessed with American Idol and Lee DeWyze
--I am obsessed with food

Well, some of this is true, and some of this isn't.   I am actually not obsessed with things pertaining to my personal life.  I just think it's an easy topic to talk about because it sparks interest amongst my 'audience', that, and there's always something to overanalyze.

Anyhow.  This is very far from a complete list of 'me'.  There are a lot of websites, like facebook (there we go again) where there's an 'about me' section, and then there are the requiste bitching of 'it's so hard to describe oneself, blah blah blah'.   So, here is my attempt to list off other things important to me:

My family & friends.  Dance.  Dance class.  Byobs (actually I have an unhealthy obsession with the lakeview byobs).  Lakeview/wrigleyville.  Nail polish.  Fancy wine glasses.  Wine.  Riesling.  Shoes.  Sex and the City.  Seinfeld.  Friends.  Cherry coke.  Coach products.  The DVR.  Journalism.  Writing.  Sleep.  U of I.  Figure skating.  Gymnastics.  Lake Michigan.  Seafood.  Apple products.  Dogs.  Collies. 

More to come.

Dear readers - anything I'm forgetting?

Missed Connection

Should I post one?


I find the concept of them hilarious.  Who came up with the idea?  Someone who watched 'Sleepless in Seattle' too many times?  Maybe I'm naming the wrong Rom-Com - I have seen my fair share for sure, but my movie vocabulary is limited.

Anyhow.

Many of my friends are encouraging me to do so.  (I should also note that many of said friends are not single - most from long-term relationships.  Many of said non-single friends are VERY excited about hearing about my dating life - some might say they are 'living vicariously' through me, or miss the excitement of a first date, or something to this extent, however, I am confident this is really just for their amusement moreso.)

As I say, anyhow.

I expect nothing to come from it.  And I will (seeing that Craigslist is involved) be uber-careful.  So, I started to post - however, as I began to post, I got an initial denial - it was too similar to a post already up there.  Yep.  You see where this is going.  So I responded to the post that I'd like to think is about me (Carly Simon-style), then I posted my own.

Update to come. 

Kat's Bridal Shower

I get out once in a while...that being, when my friends get married.

The bride to be, looking beautiful.

delicious food

quite the view from Mary's apartment - most notable - the Sun-Times building

I have engagement envy, simply because I want to own this Lolita glass

The prize for getting the most questions right on the "How well do you know the bride & groom" quiz - a guacamole maker!    I won!   I'd like to thank Kat for having a Kladda tattoo on the small of her back and Brian for starting every joke with 'do you know where I can find?'

My gift!  A spice rack!  To help keep the spice in their marriage!!!

A conversation between the bride & MOH - you want me to wear WHAT?!

SHOE ENVY

a dance party broke out

Sidenote:  Yes, I am aware that this blog has turned into a picture book lately.  

Once in a While, I Act Domestic....

I made the black bottom cupcakes with the most delicious (and easiest) cream cheese frosting.

For No Particular Reason.

Hello, Old Friend....

So, in the very near future, I'm going to need to be using a 'number 2 pencil' (no mechanical pencils allowed!!).

Does anyone, students aside, use these?  That being said, do students use them for anything but tests?  Pencils were once a staple of everyone's school supplies (and probably, once, work supplies) - is the pencil getting phased out?

All I know is this - when I read 'must have number 2 pencil (no mechanical pencils allowed)' I did a double-take.  And, I had to go out and buy said pencils.  And a sharper.  And, I don't anticipate having to use them again any time soon.

Hmm.  Your thoughts?  Any pencil enthusiasts out there?  Any pencil loyalists?  Will it one day be gone?  Will people miss it?