My New Crush…

…is not a person or a product.  It’s a place.

I ♥ Chicago!

BlogHer09 was fun, there’s not denying that.  But just plain old Chicago was fun, too.

The short version of BlogHer is:

  • I shared a late-night Chicago-style pizza with Casey and Emily.

20080611 giordanos pizza

  • I had mah hairs did by Luke O’Connor but didn’t know that he’s Debra Messing’s former (award-winning) hair stylist until after I’d talked to him about cows and Walmart. And did I remember to take a picture of my spectacular hair? No. Seriously? I take pictures of everything…WHY didn’t I remember to take a picture of my amazingly beautiful hair??
  • I went to a photography “master class” done by Erin Manning, and learned a lot on the photo walk we that 4 of us went on with her.

BlogHer07

  • Took myself on a wonderfully quiet and relaxing photo walk of Chicago.  Did you know there were spots like this in downtown Chicago?

4thPres

  • Went shopping and didn’t buy a thing.  (Mainly because I didn’t want to have to carry it the rest of the day!)
  • Met Chris Mann.  Heard him sing. Got a picture of me(dorky looking) and Chris Mann(not dorky looking at all).  See?

ChrisMann

  • Went to the Navy Pier and rode on the Ferris Wheel at midnight.  The city was GORGEOUS at night.  Nearly as gorgeous as Chris Mann.  See?

NightSky01

NightSky02

  • Went to a private Ann Taylor fall preview and tried on the perfect dress, but didn’t buy it because I couldn’t justify spending that much on a dress when I have very few occasions to actually wear it. (Ignore the obscene amount of arm fat, please.)

AnnTaylorCollage

  • Enjoyed spending time with some old high school friends who now live in Chicago.

JC in CHI

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  • Saw a movie that made me regret mentioning the word “bean”, although I do not regret seeing the movie because it made me laugh a lot!
  • Went to the art museum where I saw Renoir’s, vanGogh’s, Monet’s and Seurat’s, which was fabulous and beautiful.  I would love to go spend days at this museum!  It was humongous and surreal and wonderfully overwhelming.

ChiArtMus

  • Walked by the lake and enjoyed the windy weather and the stunning water view.

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  • Laughed a lot.  Cried a little.
  • Decided that I my kids would love Chicago as much as I did.  Chicago?  Get prepared.  We’ll be there sometime in the next few years with all of our usual chaos.
  • And oh, yeah, I went to some conference sessions, too.  🙂
8 Responses to My New Crush…
  1. Beautiful Wreck
    July 28, 2009 | 12:36 pm

    Loved your review of BlogHer09 and Chicago. Looks like you had a really great time. That dress looked great on you!

  2. Liz Sanders
    July 28, 2009 | 8:33 pm

    Man you got to see John!!! That was worth it for sure. It looks like you had a blast.

  3. Allison M
    July 28, 2009 | 11:08 pm

    I’m glad you had fun!

  4. CaseyDeuce
    July 29, 2009 | 1:28 am

    I’m so happy to have met you at Ann Taylor!! You rock chickie and you’re on my “must-read” list!!

  5. citystreams
    July 29, 2009 | 3:06 pm

    Okay- the bean reference made me laugh out loud and then blush when Hubs asked why I was laughing. Totally forgot about that!

  6. Donyale
    July 30, 2009 | 8:28 pm

    I have now put Chicago on my list of must visits solely because of your post. I’m glad you had such a good time!

  7. punkinmama
    July 30, 2009 | 10:52 pm

    Love your pictures! And that pizza looks divine! (As does Chris Mann!)

    Chicago is one of my favorites! My brother & family lives downtown but we don’t get there often enough!