This is a cup of espresso I enjoyed when I took my mother out to lunch for her birthday recently. I will not be having another cup of espresso for at least another 27 days. This is because I am three days in to, what I call, my 30 day "Get it Together" plan. You can laugh now. It does sound like a bad infomercial, I know, but I reached a moment when all the mundane, life maintenance kind of "stuff" that I had been neglecting started building up around me like sludge. This brought me to the thought, "What if I just took the next 30 days and focused on getting it together?" So here we are. What are some of the things on my list for the next 30 days? *Taking my car in to the shop (seriously, anyone who knows me understands that this has been an area of MAJOR neglect for quite some time. A good question might be, does surviving 3 Chicago winters in a row with no heat make you a stronger person or a stupider one? Let's hope I get the AC going for the summer) *Going to the dentist (confession: I can't exactly remember my last visit, but it's been at least 3 years. What's that? No, I don't floss). *Bring my lunch to work every day (a yogurt parfait from Starbucks does
not constitute a good midday meal). There is a variety of other to
do's, but the biggest challenge will be the next one: for thirty days in a row, workout every day. It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I'm too busy doing other things. Or that's the excuse anyway. But now I'm going to attempt to build a new habit so it's no longer something I have to
drag myself to do.
So... what does this have to do with espresso? Well, the whole spirit of this goal is to energize my life; to feel fresh - not in a dehydrated caffeine hangover. I really enjoy coffee and espresso, and I do not plan on eliminating them from my life - but I think I need to loosen my grip on them (or their grip on me) just ever so slightly and let the exercising do the energizing. I'm already passed the withdraw headache stage, so I think I'm on my way!!
This is a cup of espresso I enjoyed when I took my mother out to lunch for her birthday recently. I will not be having another cup of espresso for at least another 27 days. This is because I am three days in to, what I call, my 30 day "Get it Together" plan. You can laugh now. It does sound like a bad infomercial, I know, but I reached a moment when all the mundane, life maintenance kind of "stuff" that I had been neglecting started building up around me like sludge. This brought me to the thought, "What if I just took the next 30 days and focused on getting it together?" So here we are. What are some of the things on my list for the next 30 days? *Taking my car in to the shop (seriously, anyone who knows me understands that this has been an area of MAJOR neglect for quite some time. A good question might be, does surviving 3 Chicago winters in a row with no heat make you a stronger person or a stupider one? Let's hope I get the AC going for the summer) *Going to the dentist (confession: I can't exactly remember my last visit, but it's been at least 3 years. What's that? No, I don't floss). *Bring my lunch to work every day (a yogurt parfait from Starbucks does not constitute a good midday meal). There is a variety of other to do's, but the biggest challenge will be the next one: for thirty days in a row, workout every day. It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I'm too busy doing other things. Or that's the excuse anyway. But now I'm going to attempt to build a new habit so it's no longer something I have to drag myself to do.
Today we celebrated my mother's birthday. Thankfully, it was a crystal clear, sunny day (those have been rare in Chicago lately). We headed downtown and had lunch at Terzo Piano atop the Art Institute, then walked around the modern wing and the garden in Millennium Park. For her gift, I made this necklace. The strands are made up of delicate Thai silver beads. The pendant is made up of gold rings, labradorite and a hand made hilltribe gold fish bead from Thailand. When I was finished making it, I wanted one for myself!
For this Memorial Day weekend, I met up with two friends in New York City. We stayed at a hostel in Midtown Manhattan (The Sutton Residence, which I highly recommend if you are looking for a good place to stay on a small budget) and tried to explore as much as we could. Among the highlights: mango creme brulee at the Corner Shop Cafe, Central Park, breakfasts in Bryant Park, pizza in Little Italy, MoMA, spontaneous interactions with New Yorkers and Hell's Kitchen Flea Market. I made some good vintage finds at the flea market, some of which I plan to incorporate in some of my jewelry. Here are some shots of the market and some of my purchases.
Something I've been looking forward to for the last couple of years is the opening of the Art Institute of Chicago's modern wing. Finally the moment has arrived! I got the chance to go check it out a week ago and took a few shots while I was there. The building was designed by architect Renzo Piano, who created a structure that uses natural light to illuminate many of the galleries and public spaces. The way in which this building breathes evokes a sense of calm while you soak up the artwork. Beyond this, the openness of the space embraces the rest of the city as a natural extension of the museum. To find out more about the collections, go here, or even better, go to the museum itself!
