I've never been so excited to wear a swimsuit...

Attention: I am going on a mini vacation! Easter weekend my mom and I are jetting off to sunny San Diego (or as Ron Burgundy calls it Sawn-dee-ahh-go). It's a total, spur-of-the-moment trip that I desperately need. Between the Polar Vortex and grad school, I am pretty burnt out. I love Chicago but a few days away will be absolutely glorious. All I want to do is lounge by the pool and go to the beach. I've never been so excited to wear a swimsuit in my whole life.

Here's to spontaneous trips and fun in the sun!

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The Spian Wedding

I can't believe it's already been over two weeks since my little brother got married. Time flies! Spencer and Ian's wedding weekend (#spianwedding) couldn't have been more perfect. My parents, sister, and aunt arrived from Salt Lake on Thursday and I flew in from Chicago Friday night.

Saturday morning we had brunch with Ian's family at Sol Food, a favorite local hotspot in Everett. Amazing food. Fantastic atmosphere. Perfect morning. Afterwards we rendezvoused to the boys' apartment to work on the wedding favors before we headed off to the rehearsal dinner. Ian's best friend Emily and her mother Gayle put on the dinner at their home. It was a wonderful evening full of love and laughter.  

Sunday was wedding day! The weather was absolutely gorgeous--not something you can always count on in the great northwest, even during the summer. The boys got married on a vintage boat in the middle of Lake Union. After the wonderful ceremony we cruised the lake, took pictures, ate dinner, cut the cake, danced etc. We had a fun time seeing how many people we could get to wave at us. I also got to see my high school bestie, Miss Keely Coxon, which made the day extra special for me.

One of my favorite parts of the night was driving to Molly Moon's on Capitol Hill after the wedding. My sister Elizabeth and I drove my brother's car behind the boys' getaway Jeep, driven by my brother's best friend Katie. We honked and hollered our way to the ice cream shop--complete with a drive down Broadway, Seattle's gay district.    

I love my brother so much and am so happy he and Ian found each other. Ian, I couldn't be happier that you're now officially part of the Fidler family. I only wish I was closer so I could spend more quality time with these fine gentlemen. Hopefully they make it out to Chicago one of these days to visit. Love you my boys!

Chicago Women's 5K

 

3.1 miles. Conquered. Woot, woot!

Yesterday morning at 6:50am my friend Tasha and I ran the 5K portion of the Chicago Women's Half Marathon & 5K. Despite the early start time, the race was awesome. 

The course started in Grant Park and wrapped around the lake to the Museum Campus. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. There were about 1,000 women who rank the 5K. It was a wonderful, diverse group of all ages and sizes.

While our training using the C25K app was far from hardcore or amazingly consistent, it got us moving which was the whole point. We ran most of the course and finished with a time of 38:30.  

Three to four months ago it had been two years since I'd run on any consistent basis, if at all. I ran my first 5K five years ago in Everett doing the YMCA Yankee Doodle Dash. I'm definitely not going to wait five years again until I do another one. 

I have no desire to ever run a half marathon but I'd like to stay in shape enough to run a 5K whenever I feel like it. That's my ultimate fitness goal.

I'm so grateful Tasha and I decided to run a 5K together. Running with a friend is so much more motivating, and now we know we can do it! Next stop, the Hot Chocolate 5K in November and finishing under 35 minutes.

P.S. Like our good buddy Mindy Kaling, we run so we can feel better about eating pancakes. After the race we rendezvoused to Kanela for brunch. I enjoyed the French Toast Flight, which included four types of french toast: lemon poppy seed (the winner), orange, banana, and red velvet. Amazing.

a weekend of food, friends, and fun

Oh the wonder of not having to worry about school! This weekend I enjoyed fabulous food, friends, and fun. Friday night Brooke and I headed to the movie theater after work to see Admission with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. We laughed our heads off. The rest of the audience was a little less enthusiastic. 

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to meet up with Irish at Doughnut Vault. People lineup every morning for their delicious donuts. We waited in line for about an hour but it was well worth it. Until this weekend I hadn't had a good donut in this town.

Next we headed to Bel 50 for brunch. Absolutely superb. They serve artisan sandwiches on waffles, plus they have fantastic sweet potato fries. I would highly recommend checking it out.

With very full, satisfied tummies we headed back towards Michigan Ave. We perused Forever 21 for a little bit and then went to see Silver Linings Playbook. Jennifer Lawrence definitely earned that Oscar. Her performance was brilliant and Bradley Cooper wasn't half bad either. The storyline was raw, honest, and original. Absolutely flawless.

I'm not ready for it to be Monday again!

The Oscars

Sunday evening I accompanied my dear friend Irish to an Oscars viewing party at Rockit Bar & Grill, hosted by Michigan Avenue magazine. Irish is interning for Michigan Avenue right now and asked if I'd be her plus one. Naturally, I said yes.

We navigated the altered red line route and arrived right on time. Rockit has an urban, rustic feel accented by rich, dark wood and antler chandeliers. Upstairs in the lounge, flat screen TVs lined the perimeter. Mini Oscars statues graced the tables and booths. One may or may not have come home with me.

Irish introduced me to her coworkers and found a quiet back wall to people watch and down the delicious appetizers brought out by waitresses in tight black t-shirts. Slider cheeseburgers, truffle fries, crispy shrimp salad. We tried everything. No shame.

Famous film critic Richard Roeper hosted the event with Billy Dec, Rockit's owner and CEO. Twitter was a big part of the night's festivities promoted by the hashtag #rockitoscars. I took to the twittersphere and was re-tweeted by Rockit a few times. Kinda cool.

I wore kitten heels and my feet were killing me after less than two hours. I don't know how the stars do it. I read on Twitter that the first thing Adele did when she walked off stage after singing Skyfall was kickoff her stilettos. My kind of girl.

While we enjoyed the event, Irish and I aren't big party girls or late-nighters. After a few hours we headed back to her apartment, grabbed Cheetos and ice cream at the 7-Eleven, and watched the rest of the Oscars from the comfort of her bedroom.

Oscars Highlights: So happy Jennifer Lawrence won. Could she be more adorable? Anne Hathaway's first dress was HORRIBLE but I'm happy she won Best Supporting Actress. Adele rocked it. Loved the Les Miserables performance. I definitely need to see Life of Pi, Argo, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook.

P.S. I love the red carpet. In my online perusing I stumbled upon this awesome project by The New York Times. Check it out!

Jennifer Lawrence image / Oscars logo image

What I've been up to lately...

Illustration by Katie Rogers of Paper Fashion

Over the past few weeks I haven't blogged consistently, if at all. As I've mentioned before, doing grad school and working full-time has taken its toll on my ability to balance everything in my life. However, I'm happy to say as of last Friday at exactly 12:00 noon I kissed another quarter of grad school goodbye! Can I get a woot, woot?!

This quarter I had the opportunity to delve into an new area of writing: politics. My class focused on hard news reporting, social media, and video editing (something in which I had absolutely ZERO experience). I feel like my skills and knowledge have grown so much. I was terrified going into the class but I was also determined to look my fear in the face and kick butt.

I've included links to all the work I've done this quarter in case you're interested in taking a peek. I think I'm most proud of my tweeting on Election Day. The Chicago Huffington Post even re-tweeted one of my tweets!

Happy Monday everyone!

Election Day Coverage:

• Election Day Proves Quiet on the Protest Front
• My Election Day Twitter coverage
• Red Line Project Storify - Election 2012: Social Media Coverage

Other Work This Quarter:

• Storify - Third Presidential Debate: Obama and Romney's final face-off
• 2012 Presidential Election Q&A: Chris Wernecke, DePaul College Democrats
• Cook County Expects Absentee Voting Increase

Apple Picking in Wisconsin

Happy October! How was everyone's weekend? I spent my Saturday in Wisconsin picking apples with friends at an adorable farm. We also enjoyed homemade donuts, bratwurst, and apple cider shakes. It was the perfect way to usher in fall--my favorite time of the year.

Last night I made apple crisp (I've already eaten half of it!). This week I plan to make these apple recipes featured on The Everygirl. I can't wait to try the cheddar apple quick bread. Yummy!

Wisconsin is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to visit. As much as I love the city life, it's always refreshing to get out and enjoy nature. It really is a beautiful state and I'm sure more Wisconsin adventures will ensue in the coming months.

What's one of your favorite fall activities? 

Labor Day in Door County

Over Labor Day weekend I headed off to Wisconsin, the great land of cheese. My friends Charlotte and Colin took it upon themselves to organize a group camping trip in picturesque Door County along Lake Michigan. I'm so glad they invited met to tag along! The entire crew included: Me, Emily, Charlotte, Colin, Jamie, Jordan, Jimmy, Taylee, Bob, Brooke, Casey, and Elise.

Saturday morning we ventured out to Sisters Bay for breakfast at the legendary Al Johnson's,  a Swedish restaurant which houses goats on its roof! Emily, who grew up on a goat farm, was beside herself with happiness.

In the town of Fish Creek we took a nine mile bike ride to a lighthouse. About halfway through the ride Colin remarked, "I think I'm getting high off of this pure air." The rest of the afternoon was spent at the beach where Jimmy proceeded to do his best impression of a swimsuit model/baywatch girl. Hilarious. Once Bob, Brooke, Elise, and Casey arrived we celebrated sweet Elise's birthday with the entire crew.


Sunday morning we attended Church in a pocket-size building filled with friendly, devoted members. It's always refreshing to see that the gospel is the same where ever you go. Next, we set off for brunch at The Bistro. What should have been a leisurely hour filled with syrup and laughter turned into an epic ordeal. The Bistro should really change its name to The Bee-stro. Upon receiving our food, bees began to descend at a rapid rate. Charlotte's cherry french toast was a lost cause. We ended up moving inside and sitting at the bar. Come to find out, there was a nice hornets nest right above our table.

Tuckered out from our bee-filled meal, we returned to our cabins for a splendid Sunday nap. That evening we went on a hike to find a lighthouse in what Elise called "not a real place". Our hike required us to employ the childhood skills we'd acquired from days playing hot lava. The terrain was filled with muck resembling what I think dinosaur poop must of looked like. Even though we got dirty the lake view was worth it. We finished our busy day with an amazing meal at Shipwrecked. The sweet potato fries, pork butt sandwich, and root beer were beyond delicious.


The much needed long weekend was filled with good food, friends, and fun in the sun. It was wonderful to exchange buildings for trees and work for play. We'll be back Door County!

last weekend of July...

This Saturday I ventured over to the Randolph Street Market in the West Loop. I've wanted to go all summer but have been busy or out of town the other weekends it's been held. The market was amazing! There were so many neat items I wished I could have taken home with me. The vintage furniture was amazing (including the asking prices). It made me wish I had a bigger apartment and more money to furnish my place.

Aside from a plethora of furniture options, there was tons of jewelry, Schwinn bikes, vintage clothing, art, and household goods. Admission is regularly $10 but I scored a sweet discounted ticket for only $3 because I am a student. There are some perks for paying thousands of dollars for an education.

As I perused the different booths and vendors I stumbled upon an old books seller. Jackpot! I love buying books and am always on the lookout for great finds and deals. The seller had an impressive assortment of Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, Hardy Boys, The Bobseey Twins etc. I had a difficult time choosing which books I wanted to purchase. I only brought $20 with me to be sure I curbed my spending. Ultimately, I selected a copy of Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. They're copyright 1926 and 1928!

Other fun things that happened this weekend: 1) My J.Crew bubble necklace found for $16 via eBaby came in the mail and 2) I started reading The Hunger Games (I know, I'm a little behind the trend but better late than never).

The only thing that would have made this weekend better was if I'd gotten my butt to church today. I'm trying to be better about consistent attendance but I'm still falling short. I've got to do better next week!

I can't believe the start of August is right around the corner.

singin' in the rain...

Thursday night I had the once in a lifetime experience of seeing Singin' in the Rain on the big screen. Turner Classic Movies presented the event in celebration of the film's 60th anniversary. My mom had told me about it earlier in the week and it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. My lovely friend Charlotte accompanied me to the theater and we had a splendid time.

Prior to the movie starting, interviews with Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds were shown. I had no idea Debbie was only 18 when the movie was filmed and that she had no prior dance experience. She talked about spending hours practicing routines under Gene Kelley's intense tutelage. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been trying to keep up with Gene and Donald, both trained, accomplished dancers. Watching the film today you'd never know Debbie was a novice.

An affirmed lover of musicals, Singin' in the Rain is definitely among my top five, all-time favorites. After each dance number the audience would gleefully clap. You could feel the joy in the air. I had a smile on my face the entire 103 minutes. My cheeks hurt afterward. It was a simply wonderful evening.

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