Happy Halloween

Ah, yet another week begins, and I feel a little out of touch with everyone. I can't believe how crazy the past 2 months have been. I hope this post finds you all well and in good fall spirits, and you've definitely been in my thoughts.

I've begun networking for my wedding business by attending the October meeting of the Illinois chapter of the ABC last week. I also found some time to meet with a wedding photographer. I know it's going to take some time, but there are definitely enough weddings here in Chicago to go around, so the professionals that I have met so far have been very cooperative. I'm very excited about the year ahead!

Speaking of weddings, I am gearing up for the ABC annual conference to be held in Orlando from the 11-13th of November. It will be very nice to see my colleagues from Premier Planning Services, as well as get up to speed on new trends for next year.

Unfortunately I missed my Halloween party this week. I ended up getting a late, hot project from work and had to stay at work late to finish it. Bummer. But there will be other Halloween's, and of course the holiday season is right around the corner. I hope you all had fun at your Halloween parties!

The weekend was again quite enjoyable with my Saturday spent watching college football. I found a little piece of my heaven when I die...it's Joe's Sports Bar and Grill and there are too many TVs to count and on every Saturday in the fall they have EVERY college football game on. That is the best way to spend the day!

I did have a couple of humorous moments this past week....

My ABC meeting was in Schaumburg (suburb of Chicago), and I rented my Zip Car (LOVE that, by the way) and drove out there. On my way back into the city, I took a wrong turn onto the freeway (it's been known to happen), so I'm headed away from Chicago. I decide to take the next exit and turn around, but lo and behold there is a blasted Illinois toll at the exit. Of course it was a coin basket with no attendant, and I don't carry coins, so I stopped....looked around....and went through the toll to get back onto the freeway heading back into the city. I honestly reported this offense to Zip Car and they miraculously sent me a link to pay my toll online. Who knew!?!?! Meanwhile, I freaked out for a few days that the cops were going to hunt me down and hit me with a $100 fine for a freakin' $.50 toll. Ah, the joys of Chicago.

My other story also revolves around my Zip Car, but this time I was trying to find a Post Office to mail some packages. I looked online and found a few Post Office locations and decided to go to one.....it takes me 45 minutes to find a place to park on the street (they don't have parking lots) only to walk into the Post Office to realize that they don't mail things there...they are more of a distribution center, even though nothing on the website led me to believe otherwise. Seriously, when does it take someone an hour and 15 minutes to mail two packages? This was a clear sign to me that I should not own a car in Chicago.

And here's a look at the courtyard of my building. If you would like to see more pics of my new digs, let me know and I'll send you the snapfish link.

Otherwise, have a wonderful week - Happy Halloween!

Peace and love and a very special shout out to my dad who celebrated his birthday last week! If I can ever get a hold of the people, your present will be in the mail!!

Moving in...

Ah, my second full week in the new apartment, and all of the boxes have been cleared. Whew. I seriously do not plan on moving any time soon. So now comes the fun decorating part...hanging pictures, painting furniture, sewing curtains....it's a good thing I spent most of the summer watching HGTV and becoming a design expert!

Work continues to keep me busy, but I have to say that having 4 months off really changes one's attitude towards work and I don't mind that I've had a few long days here and there. The work is fun (sometimes a little frustrating with a ton of revisions), and it's exciting to work with a brand that has money to spend! The team is great to work with and very appreciative that I'm on board. I told them they're going to have to stop flattering me; otherwise I'm going to never be a humble person.

I'm slowly exploring the neighborhood by myself and with friends. Friday evening I spent with some rep friends shopping for Halloween costumes. I've decided to be a 1950's Hollywood Starlet. I'm re-using my bridesmaid's dress from Shannon's wedding (so perfect) and bought a few accessories to really glam it up. The party is this Thursday - so watch out! And yesterday I had my first visit from a MN friend....Linda was in town and we took a few hours to walk by the Lake. What a gorgeous weekend we had here in Chicago.

I have to give my birthday shout-out's for last week to my sister (in-law), Andrea, and to a wonderful friend, Aaron! Happy days!
I also have to send CONGRATULATIONS to Dawn and Helge on the arrival of Logan. I cannot wait to meet him!

Peace out.

First Week in Chicago

I didn't think I would get into the blog scene because of my concern that potential wedding clients may find me, but I think I've found a way to stay under the radar. And because the majority of my family and friends are farther away now, I am blogging to keep you all posted on my adventures in Chicago.

I've been in Chicago for a week, and have had many of you asking how everything is going. The move went fine - it could have been better and it could have been worse. I'm still upset that I missed Dawn's birthday because of the slow movers, and also disappointed that I couldn't bring my plants, and that no one taught these guys how to pack heavy boxes. While everything arrived, there was some damage. I guess that's all part of the experience

My neighborhood and apartment are very much like my place in Uptown - which I LOVE. Apartment is in a vintage building, but in better condition then the one in Uptown...and larger. (I guess that makes me feel a little better in having to pay more for it). The neighborhood is bustling with all sorts of shops and restaurants, and I'm only 2.5 blocks from the Lake. I have not ventured out much (too much unpacking to do and football to watch), but am looking forward to more exploring in the weeks ahead. I promise to post pictures, but I have to find my camera charger...it's somewhere in my boxes. Darnit.

Any humorous stories? Well, my first night in the apartment I thought I would sleep on my air mattress...and in the middle of the night, I'm sleeping on the floor. Apparently the mattress sprung a leak. So in my sleepiness I become quite resourceful and grab my two suitcases (yes, one of them was the "coffin") and proceed to sleep on those. Hey, it was better than the wood floor!
My second night in the apartment I proceed to cook some food in the oven and set off the smoke alarm, seriously? Thankfully the building alarm did not go off, but mom and dad, sleep easy knowing my smoke alarm works.
Do I take these events as a sign? Nah, it's a great apartment and totally my style.
But don't even get me started on the bus system...I love it, but in the past week I've been on 3 buses that have had some malfunction of some sort. Hmmmm...and they're talking of fare increases and elimination of routes...welcome to Chicago mass transit!

Until we chat again - hugs, kisses, and good cheer to you all!