On Wearing Jerseys

My friend Anthony stopped by my office with the explicit message that I have been fibbing on my blog. In truth, I have worn jerseys, but lately they're not quite in rotation in my day-to-day wardrobe. Here is evidence of me wearing a jersey.

NOTE:  THIS WAS TAKEN DURING THE MIRACULOUS YEARS OF THE CHICAGO BULLS THREEPEAT.

Take me out to the ball game

I know I almost never write about it on here, but my family is very serious about baseball, and not just baseball, but the Chicago White Sox in particular.  I'd say this is a product of my parents growing up in Hyde Park, and also because it's nice to like a team that won the World Series in our lifetime (sorry Cubs fans).

Back in June my mom and brother attended a philanthropic event hosted by Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko to raise money for the Children's Home and Aid Society. My mother entered their silent auction, and wound up making a generous donation worthy of an on-the-field opportunity for members of my family. Oh AND I was able to meet my favorite player, Gordon Beckham. Basically, this was one of those overwhelming, surreal, out of body experiences.


Oh you know, just hanging out with the 2005 World Series Cup.





This is how to dress like a fan without throwing a jersey on. Simply put: I am not a jersey wearing girl. My ways of showing support include wearing the team colors, rooting for the right team, and not missing the seventh inning stretch.

Dress: Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, Thailand / Leggings: F21 / Belt: UO / Shoes: J.Crew / Earrings: Cost Plus / Bucket Bag: Vintage Heaven

The package that my mom wound up winning in the silent auction also included tickets to box seating. Let's just say all you can eat buffet, drinks included, and a dessert tray after the third inning. It was quick a strange and fun experience, but I wouldn't trade it in for sitting in the crowd and yelling for the margarita man any day, hands down.




I had gazpacho and roasted vegetables with my hot dog. There is just something so silly about that, don't you think?

For more specifics on the game and the experience, visit my little brother's blog. He's got all the details!

No One Belongs Here More Than You

Miranda July is a gifted filmmaker, artist, and writer. I wasn't familiar with her writing until a few years ago when my close friend Adam kept telling me to read her collection of short stories No One Belongs Here More Than You. Simple, to the point, honest, and dripping with human experience, these stories speak directly to anyone and everyone who has read the book cover to cover. I often buy this book as a gift for friends, and have owned several copies myself - having lost and lent this out countless times. It's a quick read and yet completely re-readable. Her characters are large, funny, and full. The situations they encounter question love, existence, and a whole lot of whys and hows. Simply put, this is one of my all-time favorite books and I think you should read it.

source via miranda july

UPDATE ON FILM RELEASE: I WAS JUST INFORMED TODAY THAT "THE FUTURE" IS COMING TO THEATERS IN CHICAGO ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 5. 

THAT GIVES US ANOTHER WEEK OF MIRANDA JULY BLOG POSTINGS!

Miranda July for Blonde Redhead

Once in a while, strange and special artistic worlds collide. Just last week, Blonde Redhead played a free show in Chicago's Millennium Park.  And now Miranda July is coming - or at least her film is!

Anthony tipped me off to this wonderfully simplistic video that Miranda July and her hubby Mike Millis shot for Blonde Redhead. I believe it's one shot per second, have fun with it. And happy Wednesday.



PS WE ARE HALFWAY TO FRIDAY! TO "THE FUTURE"!

BACK AND FORTH FOREVER

))<>((



ps this is a side note, but i plan on getting this tattooed somewhere on my body.

Dinner Plans

I went to the farmer's market and scored a bunch of fresh and giant cucumbers. I'm hoping tonight is the night to make this delicious and refreshing Cool Cucumber Soup. I also stumbled upon these delicious Chilled Peanut and Sesame Soba Noodles. I'm pumped to prep a cool and refreshing meal. What are ya'll making for dinner?

1) Cool Cucumber Soup 2) Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles

THE FUTURE: THE COUNTDOWN

Hello all,

Well we've finally reached it, the week when Miranda July's new film "The Future" is being released in theaters, and us Chicagoans can get a piece of the action. I've done countless searches to figure out where and when it is playing, and am still working to figure this out, BUT if you are interested in going to see it with me and a group of MJ fanatics, feel free to tag along. I think I am going to dress up, and by dress up, I mean wear a pair of pale pink flats with the words "me" and "you" on them.

In hot anticipation of the film's release, I am going to be posting Miranda July related content ALL WEEK.

And now, without further ado, I give you: "The Me and You Shoes Scene"

The Girl(s) Next Door

Yesterday I had the absolute pleasure of attending a mini-mid-week-blogger-meetup where I was finally able to catch up with Lisa and where I met Andrea and Anna. I have been following Lisa and Andrea for the last year, and I recently discovered Anna's blog, so you can only imagine how excited I was for this - despite the inappropriately sweaty weather.

We met up in Lincoln park, where we found a decent alley for snapping some quick and sweaty outfit shots - Andrea was a complete rockstar behind the camera. She clicked so quickly, gave incredible positive reinforcement, and managed to do it all in a short skirt and platforms. New hero: Andrea. Here are some photographs of her doing her thing!





In addition to photographing the gals being photographed, I was able to step on the other side of the camera with an actual photographer as opposed to my tripod. You'd think after the years I put in watching America's Next Top Model that I would know exactly what to do, but dang, getting your picture taken can be a challenge! I just told myself in Tyra's voice "smile with your eyes".

The following photographs were all taken by Andrea, the resident champion fashion photographer.

dress and boots: thrifted

bangles and earrings: gift from my sister

tee: target

lipstain: revlon, passion, from ulta

After the smoldering photoshoot, we popped by Lori's Shoes where I eyed some gorgeous Frye boots in my size. Then we stopped by a new boutique on Armitage called Comfort Me where we met with the new owners and pawed through some gorgeous pieces. There is a shower curtain I NEED as soon as I move out, and a few hand-dyed garments that caught my eye. If you're in the neighborhood, please check out this new space. It is perfect.

Yesterday evening was such an absolute treat and I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the gals again soon. Which reminds me - there is a Chicago blogger meetup happening August 20th, and LISA IS ORGANIZING IT.

Pitchfork Festival 2K11

Pitchfork this year was one of the best for me - possibly because I was only there for one day. Is it so terrible to finally admit that I'm not a huge fan of music festivals, and that this year I was unfamiliar with a majority of the bands that were on the bill? I went on Saturday just to soak up some sun, drink some beers, eat some barbecue, and bump into a lot of people I haven't seen a long time. Was I street spotted for my style? No, but I'm pretty sure I looked fabulous AND I didn't have any issues with the heat.

Basically, I've come to the conclusion that for me, Pitchfork is just a place to see and be seen. I don't go for the music anymore, I just go for the vibe. As far as music goes, I have some shows I'm really looking forward to coming up - including Blink-182 and Beirut.

So cheers to another Pitchfork, and dear friends coming in from out of town! Let's do it again next year!

For more photographs by my dear friend Leandra, please visit The Pitch.

photo credit, leandra burnett

top: ralph lauren

skirt: h&m

shoes: j.crew

Other People We Married

My book of the month for May/June was Other People We Married by the lovely Emma Straub. I loved this book so much that it actually made it into my Top Six Picks for June 2011!!

I think that being in an academic setting and constantly reading non-fiction while juggling course work, clubs, and my social life set me up for being drawn to short stories. In high school and during breaks, I had the time to focus my energies on reading full length books and novels, but during the last few years, I'm finding that finishing a book for pleasure is proving to be more difficult. Hence my goal to read a book a month.

That said, this book of short stories was so incredible, so perfectly structured, so simple and direct that I read it quite quickly and am considering re-reading it! I read half of the stories on the train to Galesburg at the end of May, I just couldn't put it down! Emma Straub's writing is very direct, taking root in the thoughts of the main character's who are often lonesome female types. It's interesting, even if I didn't know that the author was a woman, there was something that felt feminine about this book. The characters felt so real, dripping with honest reactions and feelings towards their diverse situations.

Environment plays a very important role in these stories. They each take place in different settings, both in the US and internationally, in towns big and small, remote and metropolitan. It's as though the environment is directly related to what is happening to each character having such an effect that it's as though the space in which they occupy is just as much a character as the characters themselves. And to celebrate the settings, Emma Straub is currently embarking on a book tour in which she does a reading of each story in it's rightful location. Amazing.

If you like this book, you will also like the work of Deb Olin-Unfurth and Miranda July. I highly recommend reading No One Belongs Here More than You and Minor Robberies for a quick and satisfying read by other amazing lady writers.

WIENER SCHNITZEL

For those of you that are invested in the German staples I have implemented into my vacation diet, then wonder no more, I did indeed eat wiener schnitzel. And I loved it. We went to this restaurant off the beaten path of the Saint George neighborhood, and after quickly skimming the translated menu I knew my decision was easy. Wiener schnitzel it is. As we anxiously awaited the arrival of our food, which took a long long long time (things move slowly here), we discussed all of the things we were going to eat upon Adolfo's return to Chicago, making ourselves even hungrier. FYI, I love hot wings and need to go to Buffalo Joe's immediately.

The schnitzel arrived and was hot, crispy, salty, juicy, and gigantic! The breaded cutlet was placed upon a bed of pan fried potatoes, and came with a delicious salad in a mustard vinaigrette dressing. We squeezed out lemon slices onto our meat, and dug in.

La Famille Croque

One of my few goals of this trip was to eat some German food. I made hamburgers my second night here, because one must eat a hamburger in Hamburg. I had one of the best slices of cake ever. I drank German beer (Jever and Beck's)... but then there are German sandwiches - the croque.

Adolfo and his friend took me to La Famille for the best croque in Hamburg. A croque is a gigantic sandwich, filled with delicious things of your choosing, and framed by slices of crispy toasted bread. I ordered the Mykonos croque - and it was honestly one of the best sandwiches EVER. This specific sammich had a slice of spiced turkey sausage, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber, mysterious spices, and a yogurt sauce. It was big, crispy, and messy enough that it had to be eaten with a fork and knife! I know, eating a sandwich with a fork and knife! What is this, Chicago style pizza??

We ate our croques in the garden patio behind the restaurant and I almost wished I had ordered a full size rather than the mini because it was so darn delicious. If you are ever in the neighborhood, EAT A CROQUE HERE.

Ruisdael Clouds

As a Midwesterner, it should come as no surprise that talking about "the weather" is "a thing". Our winters are cold, our summers are hot, and as you Chicagoans know, when it rains it pours. As a veteran of crazy weather, I didn't think there was anything I hadn't seen. But what I really wasn't expecting was how drastically the weather changes from hour to hour here in Hamburg.

When getting ready to pack for this trip, I looked up the weekly weather to get an idea for what I would need to wear. The day-to-day report showed me highs in the upper-70's and lows in the high-50's/mid-60's. I was shown pictures of clouds, sun, and rain - but nothing really prepared me for reaching highs, lows, rain, sun, and clouds all in the span of a few hours. It's safe to say that the female lead in Part 1 of Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express had it right, always wear a raincoat and bring sunglasses. There was even one day when it was pouring and completely sunny all at once. Yes, there was a gigantic rainbow.

I think the variety of clouds here is what really gets me though. Every time I look up at the sky, I picture Ruisdael looking up at the sky, and then making one of his amazing paintings.

source 

source

And now, for some of my own!

The Best Cake in Hamburg

Last Saturday Adolfo, Julia and I tried to go sit by the lake, but as soon as we got there, it started to rain. Typical Hamburg weather, making plans difficult. But there's nothing like a little bit of flexibility. So instead, we went to Cafe Gnosa for a slice of the best cake in Hamburg.

My obsession with strawberries and fascination with the mysterious and delicious strawberries of the German variety made my decision easy. Plus, look at how darn pretty this thing was. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to marvel at it or eat it.

SPOILER ALERT: THIS REALLY WAS ONE OF THE BEST PIECE OF CAKE I HAVE EVER HAD. The sponge cake was so spongey, the frosting was so light and simple, the strawberries were sweet and red with a thin layer of gelatin. And it was all washed down nicely with the yummy coffee service (cookie definitely included).

THE MOTHER OF ALL THEME PARTIES

Anthony just sent me this link chronicling the painstakingly clever work that went into the mother of all theme parties: an eccentric Peggy Guggenheim party based around the artists that she knew, loved and supported.

People dressed for the occasion in eccentric, classy, and cool outfits - but it wasn't just the look that made this party a success. The food matched the theme!!! They served up dishes inspired by both Peggy and the art she collected.

I'm including some of my favorites, obviously the Titanic reference in the oysters is one of them.

"Cape and New Brunswick Oysters with Champagne Mignonette

The first bite from the last night on the Titanic, when her father died."

Photo by the Billy Farrell Agency.

"Our favorite: a Calder Meat Mobile
Everyone was invited to take a bite."

Photos by the Billy Farrell Agency.

"Italian Breasts in the Sunshine

Based on a classic Futurist recipe, Almond cakes with raspberry nipples

&

A Piece of A Pollock

Pelka presented Ms. Blume with an edible version of Jackson Pollock's dripped paintings: dark chocolate brownies with dripped white chocolate and salted caramel. Guests were invited to hack off their own piece and chow down."

In short, I just want to say that I love theme parties, I love art, and I love Peggy Guggenheim. Anthony, we have to find a way to throw a party of this sort in Chicago. I'm a master of the salted caramel brownie, we both know a lot about art and food - LET'S DO THIS.

photos via source

floral inspiration

On the day excursions I have been going on, I have noticed the wonderful assortment of flowers whether they're wild, pruned, or picked. The great colors seem to pop from the aged buildings, the neutral brick, and the often white and cloudy sky. It's funny, in the last few days, I have spent more time sitting outside along the lakes, river, and in parks than I have in Chicago during this entire summer!

I'm making it a personal goal to spend more time enjoying the outdoors when I get back to town. I solemnly promise!

And now, drum roll please, gorgeous photographs of beautiful flowers.