The Civil Wars

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! I went to see Bridesmaids (so funny!), had an Ally McBeal marathon, met Alex and Violet for Sunday brunch, and did some major spring cleaning. Here's some music for your Monday from a band I'm loving right now, The Civil Wars.

Out of Print

These t-shirts from Out of Print Clothing feature classic book cover designs. And for every shirt sold, a book is donated to a community in need. I'm still partial to the old fashioned paperbook, but if I ever buy an eReader, I'd disguise it as a classic with one of these eReader jackets.

It's my Birthday!

I'm 28 today! Celebrations are pretty low key this year. I celebrated with my family this past weekend with a barbecue and oreo ice cream cake (a childhood favorite that was as amazing as I remembered it to be). This weekend I plan to treat myself to a pedicure, drink a mega-sized mug of beer at Maifest, see Bridesmaids, and maybe attempt to conquer my fear of riding my bike in the city.

Music Box Theatre

Last week, Lauren and I went to see Bill Cunningham:New York at the Music Box Theatre. The Music Box Theatre opened in 1929 and is now the premiere theatre in Chicago for idependant and foreign films. Before the movie, we grabbed a bite to eat and some coffee at Julius Meinl. I highly recommend the Bill Cunningham documentary! Bill Cunningham is the New York Times photographer who does the "On the Street" fashion articles. He rides around New York City on his bicycle documenting street fashion and trends and has an inspiring passion for what he does. My favorite quote was when he said, "I don't know how to work. I only know how to have fun everyday." If only we could all be so lucky to live out our dream jobs everyday.

Progress report

Roughly a year ago, I made a list of 28 goals to complete before my 28th birthday. Well, with only a week to go until I turn a year older, I'm far from crossing all my goals off the list. I've decided to give myself the rest of the summer, as a sort of grace period, to try and fnish everything. Here is a recap of the goals that have been crossed off so far:

#4 Andrew Bird concert

Christine and I saw Andrew Bird's one man show in December. 

#7 Have a Party

I hosted an Academy Awards party in February.

#8 French Market

Talitha and I enjoyed crepes and checked out the vendors at the Chicago French Market.

#18 Run a race

Christine and I ran in the 2011 Shamrock Shuffle 8k on the only hot and sunny day in April.

#22 Organize sheet music

This is still a work in progress but I have somewhat of a system set up now.

#26 Go to the opera

On a trip to NYC, Elena and I went to the Metropolitan Opera to see La Fanciulla del West. On the same trip, I crossed off #25 to eat pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge at Grimaldi's Pizza.

#27 Go to a CSO concert

Christine and I went to the Chicago Symphony's free concert in Millenium Park in September.

And finally, I had my friend E over for dinner to complete goal #16 to cook a meal from scratch. I have no photographic proof of this one but it was delicious (right, E?).









Back on the horse

I laced up my running shoes today for the first time in over a month. I injured my knee back in March while training to run an 8k, probably by trying to up my mileage too fast, especially after several winter months of laziness. This time, I decided I'm going to train slow and steady, focusing more on minutes over mileage. Today, I ran for 20 minutes and not a minute longer. I felt a tiny bit of pain around minute 15, but overall I felt pretty good!

Sneak Peek

I love getting a glimpse into people's homes to see how they've decorated. I especially love this sneak peek seen over at design sponge. Such a great use of color! And how cool is the platform bed and treehouse! See more pictures here.