Heineken by the Pool - Summer is on its Way!

I'm finally convinced that summer may actually show it's beautiful face and arrive in Chicago this year! I spent the afternoon yesterday at a friends house down the street, drinking champagne and enjoying a picnic lunch by the pool. We had the entire pool area to ourselves for most of the day and it was actually warm enough to dip our toosies in! The plan originally was to have our little picnic first and then later in the evening grill some kabobs, but by 11 we were all pretty much fighting to keep our eyes open on the couch and have decided to push the kabob grillin to later this evening!!! Today is supposed to be 75 and sunny by the lake - still a little chilly for me to toss on the bikini, but with a swimming pool that is heated to 85 degrees I may have to make an exception.

Me and Zach




Me, Daniel and Zach

The Price of Laziness and a Dry Cleaner with a Similar Body Type

Every few weeks or so I bring in the same 20 pieces to Ms. Lee’s Cleaners in my office building. Ms. Lee speaks broken English at best and always seems to be talking to someone on the phone when I walk in. I’ve been going to her for the last five months or so because it’s convenient. She isn’t the cheapest option and at times I’m not convinced that my clothes haven’t just been steamed and re- hung on hangers, with a little Febreeze sprayed throughout the bunch; but I like not having to walk the extra five blocks out of my way to have my clothes cleaned. That being said she’s never done any damage and more often then not, she remembers to put the extra stuffing that I like in the shoulders of my silk blouses (weird high-maintenance thing, don’t judge me, I can’t explain it.)

Each time I go into her store the interaction is always the same: I walk in, she yells something in Korean to whoever is on the other side of her endless phone call, looks up, smiles at me and says, “Name. Phone number. How many pieces? Three days OK?” I then sort my clothes on the counter and routinely reply, “Nicole, xxx-xxx-xxxx, 20, yes three days is fine” With out fail every time Ms. Lee will say “three days.” No matter what time I come in or how many pieces I have, always “three days.” In the past 6 months would you like to know how many times I have actually received my clothes in “three days?”……………………ZERO!

I went into her shop yesterday to pick up the seven pairs of pants, 10 blouses, and three skirts that I had dropped off on Tuesday for pick up in THREE DAYS. Before I left on Tuesday, I said to her, “Now are you sure you are going to have them all ready by then? Because if you’re not I will only drop off some of the clothes and hand wash a few of the pieces so I have something to wear to work on Monday.” She quickly replied, “No, no, no, all clothes will be ready three days.”

I wait until late afternoon yesterday to go downstairs to be sure that all of her deliveries would have been made for the day and would have given her plenty of time to organize all the pieces together for me in the ‘three days.’ I walk in and she is still yapping away on the phone as usual looks up and says, “No not ready today – only pants ready today – you want pants?” Now I’m standing there in shock as to why I haven’t switched cleaners by now after continuing to get the same questionable results with no explanation, but for some reason am willing to hear her out on why it is taking longer than expected this time. “You are messy eater, many stains on blouses, need to send out for more work.” IS SHE JOKING?!!! There were no freaking stains on any of the clothes or skirts that would have required extra washing!

So now here I sit Saturday afternoon having to go all the way back into work to get the rest of my items. (SIDE NOTE: the phrase ‘all the way back into work’ may be a bit of an exaggeration as its really only about a mile from my apartment – but that’s not the point!) I swear she is either wearing my clothes out after work and not having enough time to recover or she simply doesn’t understand what the words ‘three days’ actually mean!

WTF is the Hooplah About Tweeting........

So I've jumped on the Twitter bandwagon this evening and have never felt so uncomfortable and lost. Thankfully Lindsay was there to help me navigate my way through the TwitPics and Retwits of the Tweet world, but I still find it all a bit strange. Either way since this is part of my '101 bucket list things' I am going to get over it and started with my tweet page.With any luck I will be well on my way to a tweeting $!ut by Friday. So if everyone could show me some support in my 'bucket list for the living experiment' and start following me on Twitter so I'm not the loser with 1 follower that would be great!

3 Weeks Left in Chicago

I’ve decided to enlist the help of Krystyn over at Krizzy Designs to help me sort out the mess that I’ve made and redesign the template. Luckily she doesn’t have too long of a waiting list and I will hopefully be back up and running with a new look in the next 2 or 3 weeks!

It is exactly 3 weeks from the day that I will be packing my cute, little downtown one-bedroom apartment into a U-Haul van and taking the 8 hour trek back to Minnesota to get ready for the next big move to Melbourne. I’m planning on leaving Chicago on June 18 and spending 2 weeks at home catching up with friends and family before I leave on July 2. I’m getting excited to go and start something completely new and different; but at the same time I’m starting to feel the reality of it all and the nervousness that comes along with moving to a new place all by myself. I will say though that Lindsay from Tales of a Yank has been such a great help in making me feel more comfortable and confident in moving my life around the world. Lindsay moved to Melbourne a few months ago from the States and has been nice enough to offer to let me stay with her for a week or so until I can find my own apartment. Definitely will be nice to have an American to enjoy 4th of July cocktails with when I arrive!



PS: I just spoke with Anthony and he would like all of you Midwest bloggettes to know that you are all invited to our going away party. He also wants you all to know that he is single, border line lonely and looking for a lady. He will be in the St. Paul / Minneapolis area starting June 19 and packing up July 5. So if a Harley Davidson riding, beer drinking, military man is your style please leave a comment and I will gladly play Cupid.

In between packing, work (I use this term very loosely as of late), trying to find an apartment across the world, and trying to sort out all the final details for my trip, I’m also trying to plan a ‘going away’ party for me and my cousin Anthony. Anthony is a year older than me and graduated last year from St. Johns University in their military program. He has spent the past few months at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina and will be off to Afghanistan in the coming weeks. So it will undoubtedly be a bittersweet going away for everyone, but will be nice to be able to have the opportunity have everyone together around the bonfire enjoying the warm summer weather and cold cocktails one last time before we leave.

HELP I Need a Blogger Face Lift

OK so now I have really messed up the stupid html codes trying to get a third column and can't figure out how to fix it. Can anyone recommend someone to do a face lift for a new design AND to fix all the spacing?? Because clearly I can't even be trusted to add an additional column. I don't want to spend too much on it and really just want a simple background and have most of the design be in the header.

Please excuse the messiness for a bit until I can sort out what the heck I did.

Minnesota Girls

One of my best girlfriends, from home came to Chicago this past weekend to spend a few days with me before I move to Melbourne next month. We spent the weekend playing tourist up and down Michigan Avenue, indulging in all of the Memorial Day sales, drinking delicious cocktails and catching up on each other’s life post-college. She graduated from Creighton University in Nebraska and is moving back to MN to start a grown up job as a financial analyst with her boyfriend of forever. It was so nice having her over and being able to spend time together like the ‘old days.’ Ellie and I grew up together, lived five minutes from each other all of our lives and went to school together since kindergarten, so when we went to separate cities for college we only saw each other over the Christmas and turkey holidays and always said that at one point or another we would do a girls weekend in Chicago. It was beautiful weather all three days that she was here and I probably did more walking in those three days than I have in the last three months! Pants definitely fit a little loose Monday when she left. (Maybe I should stop working out and just have friends in town and use that as my form of exercise.) Eh who am I kidding I haven’t actually gotten my lazy butt to the gym in weeks.

My 5 Year Old Brother Gets More Than Me

(How can you resist a face like this! )

I just got off the phone with my dad back in Minnesota and lately he's been calling me to talk about my little brother Ryan and his behavior at his new school. He just started at the Catholic school down the block now that he's old enough to start kindergarten in the fall. Apparently, Ryan was initially very upset to leave all of his day-care buddies behind to move to the new school and he started hitting the other girls and being a bully to the boys on the playground.

Anyway, the teacher has been sending home progress reports each day about his behavior. Today my dad received a note along with a phone call early this afternoon from the principal of the new school. The principal called to say that during lunch today Ryan was causing more trouble at the girls table. Except this time he was caught kissing the girls instead of hitting them. Apparently he kissed two girls at lunch time and once during recess. He was going around to the girls telling them that he was sorry for being mean and then planting a wet one right there on the lips. The principal found this to be so inappropriate that she gave him detention! Can you believe that!!?? Detention to a 5 year old??!! So he had to sit out in the hallway for an hour today during his class and wait to be picked up.

A little overkill don't you think? I can see giving him a time out or something and explaining why that wasn't an appropriate way of saying sorry, but making him sit by himself for an hour for trying to apologize and be nice???!! Now the poor kid is really going to be confused.

Mexico Pics

I've been meaning to post these all week so this is going to be a brief post because it's going to take me forever just to get the dang pictures up and sorted, better yet put together coherent thoughts and stories about each one.

Hotel pool area

Mom, me and our Cancun boyfriends for the week.

Mom dancing with who we think is a man named Ralph.

The Mexican gents couldn't get enough of her!

Pina Coldas at Hard Rock.

Favorite thing to do everyday!



Some big pirate boat ship thing.

Mom reading on the beach.

Me and ma

Seriously the waiters love her!

Whitey on the beach again - probably taken 5 days after we arrived too.


Mom after her first ever tequila shot. (can you believe that??!!!)

Note To JCREW Marketing Team

Dear JCREW:

I realize that your stock price has now dipped below the $15 mark and that you are clearing struggling along with everyone else, but please if you send me another crappy ‘private sale’ email I will stop shopping at your store. These sales are stupid and 20% off is not going to motivate me to spend the extra $50 to get to the 175 mark. I’m not even sure that 20% will cover the tax it costs me to have clothes sent to me in Chicago; better yet the outrageous S&H that you charge. Please get a hold of yourself and bring back the days of 30% all purchases no matter the retail value.

Thank you and you will be receiving my credit card payment for the month of May shortly.

Sincerely,
Nicole

Retail Therepy

Spent the afternoon shopping with my girlfriends on Michigan Ave and enjoying the spring weather in Chicago. Just getting back from dinner at Frankies and am ready for bed! I wanted to post the Mexico pics today, but I'm exhausted and need to get some sleep. Everyone in my office is out this week until Friday so I will be taking full advantage and sleeping in at least one morning this week! (Guess I'll try for employee of the year next time around)

Here is a quick look at the summer sale items that made it home with me today....

Enzo Angiolini Sandal from Nordstrom on sale now for $60


White House Black Market linen trouser on sale in stores for $40 (and they have all white pants take an additional 20% off)

Attention New York and Jersey Bloggettes

I'm headed to our Jersey office on June 10 for a 3-day project at work, hopefully followed by lots of retail therepy in New York that weekend. Any bloggettes in the area want to meet for drinks or shopping???

Let me know!!

Hola Senorita You Want More Tequilla?

I arrived late last night after 12 hours of getting tossed around from plane to plane in Cancun and thrown into cities throughout the US that I had no business being in. We were scheduled on a direct flight from Mexico to Chicago and I was supposed to be back in the comfort of my little apartment by 5. Instead American Airlines sent us on a 12 hour journey putting me in my bed at 1 in the morning and leaving my mom stranded at a hotel in Miami for the night. Not only did the trip back to the US turn disaterous, but the trip down there was less than treat as well. We arrived in Mexico safely however my luggage didn't join us until several flights later and my two FAVORITE VS bras were missing out of my bag. (So if anyone knows who I can call to try and get those back that would be great! There were a million little tags inside and out saying my bag had been checked and rechecked by what I can only assume was a 34C customs officer looking for some new undies in the Miami airport)

Anyway aside from the travel mishaps the trip was wonderful. It was sunny and 90 all week and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Cancun was deserted because of all the swine flu crap, so there wasn't a soul at our resort (maybe a 100 people at best) and we never had to rush to get a chair or umbrella on the beach. We didn't do anything all week except lay out, swim in the ocean, read and fry what was once beautifully colored porcelein skin now swaying into a color of burnt cherry red. (I want to be clear that I am speaking for myself and not my mother who was very diligent about applying and reapplying 30 SPF every 15 minutes of the day.) I don't have the pics uploaded yet so hopefully that will come tomorrow when I start to unpack my bag.

Tonight I am headed out to a pub crawl with a bunch of my friends and will finally get to enjoy the Heinekin that I have been craving all week.

Blogger Hiatus

Off to Mexico tomorrow with my mom so I will be taking a brief blogger break for a few days. Hope you all have a great week and I will be back to reading and commenting next Friday when I'm back in town!

101 Things in 1001 Days

Inspired by fellow bloggettes I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and create my own list of 101 things to complete in 1001 days.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Here goes my list of 101 things in 1001 days

BOLD – Completed
ITALICS – In Progress
NORMAL – Not started

1. Travel Greece
2. Spend a month living Italy
3. Skydive in a foreign country
4. Holiday in Africa
5. Go to Niagara Falls
6. Spend a night in the desert
7. Learn to SCUBA dive
8. Learn to create blog backgrounds
9. Ride an elephant
10. Go on a blind date (terribly overrated in the end)

11. Become a Tweeter
12. Run a marathon
13. Make my own wine
14. Publish my Blog into a book
15. Drive on the left side of the road
16. Plant a pumpkin large enough to carve
17. See a Broadway play
18. Sing Karaoke
19. Learn to cook 5 new recipes that I’ve never tried before
20.Spend a night on the beach

21. Own a pet and keep it alive for longer than 30 days
22. Volunteer at a women’s shelter
23. Learn to play golf
24. Go deep sea fishing (tried this in Lorne and threw up - im checking it off the list)
25. Ride a horse on the beach
26. Donate a gallon of blood (1/2 way there)
27. Travel to Europe with my mom
28. Learn to speak French again
29. Go to graduate school

30. Start a Roth IRA
31. Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge
32. Buy stock
33. Start my own company
34. Read one book a month and post a review on my blog
35. Visit a Buddhist temple
36. Spend an entire day the spa
37. Go to a drive in movie
38. Ride in a hot air balloon (This one really just scares me and I think is stupid, but I feel like I should have one thing on this list that I really don't want to do just because it freaks me out. On a side note: I really can't figure out why it would ever be a good idea to get in a basket and let a balloon fly you thousands of feet into the air but people seem to talk highly of it)
39. Take a cooking class

40. Kiss in the rain
41. Send a care package to 10 soldiers fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan
42. Visit a nude beach and join in
43. Finish a crossword without cheating
44. Bungy Jump (Jumped in NZ off the Kawarau Bridge - one and done for me)
45. Send someone flowers
46. Learn how to surf
47. Learn to salsa
48. Sleep under the stars
49. Own my own Hermes

50. Take a yoga class
51. Start swimming 3 times a week in the mornings
52. Host a fancy dinner party
53. Meet my neighbors and know their names
54. Meet someone new each week in Australia
55. Have a picnic in a park
56. Eat a meat pie (DELICIOUS)
57. Surprise my mom
58. Learn how to change the oil in a car
59. Send out thank you cards

60. Go kayaking
61. Throw a surprise party
62. Make dinner at home 5 nights in a row
63. Walk instead of taking a cab
64. Go into JCREW or Nordstrom and walk out empty handed
65. Try Vegemite and not vomit (This is an impossibility and gets a category of its own. I'm checking this one off the list)
66. See Kangaroos and Koalas in the wild
67. Go on a road trip
68. Stop cussing for one day (this may sound easy for many, but most days I have the mouth of a sailor)
69. Do Mardi Gras in New Orleans

70. Crash a wedding
71. Have lunch with a friend I haven't seen in a while
72. Go to a cricket or footy match
73. Visit the Great Ocean Road
74. Travel on my own
75. Go to a concert (Went to a Black Seeds concert with Daniel and Zach in New Zealand - questionable music but great time in the end)
76. Win a competition (I won free dinner tickets via twitter to a great restaurant in Melbourne)
77. Visit Kristin in Columbia
78. Send a postcard to my little brother in every new city I visit
79. Update blog at least once a week while in Australia

80. Have breakfast in bed
81. Donate clothes I don't wear
82. Be without Facebook for an entire week (while in NZ Daniel banned Zach and I from using internet or our phones)
83. Visit Montana
84. Paint my nails and not pick off the polish for 5 days
85. Live with someone new (thanks to Lindsay I can now say that I've lived with someone new and slept in the same bed!)
86. Go one week without texting
87. Learn to sew on a button
88. Be on the news (Alive)
89. Volunteer with Muscular Dystrophy at least 3 times a year

90. Go camping
91. Decorate a Christmas tree and enjoy it
92. Learn to love sleeping alone
93. Donate my hair to "Locks of Love"
94. Have a bon fire on the beach
95. Stay in bed all day (luckily i've gotten to do this several times since arriving in Australia)
96. Do my own taxes correctly the first time around
97. Fly Fish
98. Go to a movie alone
99. Buy 5 items of clothing that aren't 'dry clean only'

100. Branch out of the 'normal' pizza and beer routine and try 5 new types of food (so far vietnamese and oysters make the list...)
101.Win money on a lottery ticket ($20 on a scratcher)

I'm Convinced I Will Soon Be Homeless

Loooking for an apartment in a place where you have never even stepped foot in is one of the most irritating tasks I've had to do in months! Almost to the point that I would rather bring a tent and sleep on the side of the road. (That's a lie I hate tents and sleeping on the ground anywhere is completely out of the question ;)) Anyway the whole apartment thing is proving to be a bit more frusterating than I anticiptated and I wish someone would just sort it out for me. (HINT HINT MM)

Anyway I enjoyed my first official weekend as a non-student the past few days and couldn't be happier to be finished. Friday evening I went to my friend Danny's new place on the north side to help him unpack with a few other friends. I think I did more supervising and pouring drinks then I did unpacking, but it was a good time. We ordered Giordanos, had good laughs and I met some really sweet new people.

Saturday I went to Wisconsin with a few friends to do some shopping at the outlet malls. Very disapointing and reminded me how hoosier the Midwest can really be. Today again ended up doing a little outdoor shopping (since it was 70 and sunny all weekend in chicago) with friends and then drinking out on the patio all afternoon. Wasn't a very productive shopping weekend though - I did buy two dresses from Nordstrom for my Mexico trip, but other than that nothing too impressive.

Sharehouses

Now that college is completely finished and I have nothing but free time on my hands I have been focused on finding somewhere to live when I arrive in Melbourne. I have been looking at a bunch of 1 bed apartments and haven't found any that I really like or that come with the 'normal' American amenities. (like a fridge for example) Anyway a friend of mine suggested that I look at a website call Gumtree and think about moving into a house/apartment with other roommates. I hadn't really thought about that option and not sure how I feel about moving to another country and jumping right into a house full of people that I don't know. I've looked at the website and replied to a few different ads, but am still on the fence about the whole idea.

What do you guys think? Too much change and risks all bundled up into one trip? Could go very well and be a great way to meet other people or I suppose there is always the risk that it could go very badly and I go there never to be seen again. Featured on the side of a milk carton with my picture and a 'have you seen me' ad across my face. (mom sorry that wasn't funny and I'm sure its making you want to grab the gin, tonic and limes isn't it?)