31 Great Ways to Spend a Birthday!

During the brutal Chicago winters I find myself longing for summer. I vow that I will spend more time outside, that I will go to the beach every weekend, that I will never complain about it being too hot, etc etc. On Wednesday, I took the day off work to celebrate my birthday and to finally stop to enjoy summertime in Chicago. It was long overdo, and it was well worth the time that I had to spend catching up on work on Thursday.

I kicked the day off with a run along the lake path with Nikole, and then I spent the afternoon with Deanna. That evening, a group of us ventured down to Millennium Park for a free concert and fireworks.

The day served as a reminder that simple things truly make me happy- warm sunshine, fresh produce, fashion magazines, homemade chocolate chip cookies and ice cream pie. I enjoyed and greatly appreciated every card, call, email and text message that I received from family and friends on my birthday. It made me feel very special and fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life.

What a great way to spend a Wednesday! Enjoy the photos.

Ignorance is Bliss in Copperhill, TN

cartoon courtesy of: www.reallifephotos.org

Last evening, following a deliciously grilled dinner and some quality time with my flower boxes, my dog, and Chad, I lost hope in American people.

CNN visited Copperhill Tennessee to do a piece on why 1 in 10 Americans still believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim, when it has been proven time and time again to be untrue.

If you can stomach a heavy dose of ignorance, watch the video here.

Why Offshore Drilling is an "Off" Solution

Lately, there has been a lot of buzz about where politicians stand on the topic of offshore drilling. I realized that I didn't know where I stood on the topic, so after doing a little bit of reading I formed my opinion (surprise, I have an opinion!) and I wanted to share a brief and helpful article from Time Magazine with you.

Will More Drilling Mean Cheaper Gas?

The biggest take away from my reading was this: Offshore drilling will not fix our gas prices or our dependence on foreign oil. There is not enough oil in the Arctic to satisfy our consumption or the worlds consumption; and it will take up to a decade to get what little is there. Even then, we would only save 3 or 4 cents a gallon.

The last paragraph of this article was the most discouraging to me. I continue to be baffled by the resistance our government has to funding and developing alternative energy sources?! With that, I still thought that it was worth while to end on a note of self-deprecating humor:

Cartoon courtesy of: commontragedies.wordpress.com

Family Time

Mama Mia! Am I really managing to post 3 times in one day?

This last one is a quick photo recap of the wonderful, but far too fast, weekend that I had in Pittsburgh and Youngstown with my family. We celebrated my Dad's birthday all together on Friday night at a Pirates game, and then enjoyed the rest of the weekend at home in Youngstown.

It was relaxing, fun and delicious!

Favorite Things (Eat Your Heart Out Oprah)

Keeping with the theme of posting the topics which have been in draft mode for the past few weeks, I bring you my second blog post of today.

For some time now, I have been thinking about Oprah's "Favorite Things" list and decided that I could probably come up with my own version. There are a handful of materialistic items in my life that make me smile, and why not share those things with the people that I love? Here are my top 4 favorite things of the moment...
The iPhone: This is truly the best piece of technology that I have ever incorporated into my daily life. It is intuitive, smart and extremely useful to me, both at work and in my social life. Not a day goes by that I don't use the device as a phone, a computer, a camera or an iPod. I compare touching it to the first time that I ever touched cashmere. You can never go back. :-)
Crate & Barrel Grill Basket: This summer I have grilled and eaten more vegetables than ever because of this fun and easy kitchen tool! I love to cut up zucchini, squash and eggplant- toss them in some olive oil and grill them in this basket. It does a great job of cooking the veggies and incorporating that great "grilled" flavor. Plus, it makes for really easy clean up (thanks to Chad!)
H2O Milk Lotion: Most people who know me, know that I have loved this lotion for years. It is clean smelling, so moisturizing and lasts for quite a while. If you have never tried it before, summer is the perfect time. After a hot day in the sun, it is the best post-shower treat!
Foley + Corinna City Tote: I bought this leather bag prior to our trip to Greece back in May. I thought that it would be a great carry on bag- that could also be a nice day-trip carrier. Little did I know that my cost-per-wear ratio would become so favorable. I now carry this bag every day as my work brief. It fits my laptop computer, 2 notebooks and a small clutch- and it looks chic both folded over and open in full.

You can click on the images above to learn more or purchase any of my favorite things directly from their manufacturers- because internet shopping is my 5th favorite thing! :-)