Haircut with a side of French bulldog.
Little Goat, Big Love
I always love hearing about those families who, when discussing their days, name a high and a low. A valley and a peak.
This salad was my peak today.
My day wasn’t bad. But this salad was that good.
Chickpea salad. Little Goat. I am literally so sad I am not eating another one right now.
The gluten free crispy pineapple muffin I had was pretty stellar too.
West Loop, I try to tell myself that you’re not that special but damn. Restaurant Row is no joke.
Update: I am not the only person to lose their mind over this salad- my friend Lourdes over at Illumine Magazine already posted about it AND included the recipe. Heck yes. Click here to check it out.
No Such Thing…
Saying “there’s no such thing as a stupid question” isn’t exactly true anymore…google first. Then ask.
This message is brought to you by coffee that spilled all over me due to the gazillion potholes my cab hit and the 6 inches of snow/ice that is back on the ground again. #humpday
Date Night Is
Date Night Is, a cool startup out of Brooklyn designed to help couples find fun date ideas, reached out to us to ask how we do date night. So we made a cocktail, gave the interview and turned it into a little date night at home! It was a lot of fun to think about date nights past, how we do what we do and dates we’re looking forward to (the wedding counts, right?!).
The interview went live today- you can read it here.
Ban Bossy
Have you heard about Sheryl Sandburg’s “Ban Bossy” campaign? I wrote about her views on the word last April and am really glad to know this is still a conversation.
“When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a ‘leader.’ Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded ‘bossy.’ Words like bossy send a message: don’t raise your hand or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood. Together we can encourage girls to lead.”
When I was in high school, I ran for, and won, 2 positions in student government. The school didn’t have a problem with my running for both, in fact it was encouraged, celebrated even- “Wow, you’re such a go getter!”. But when I won…tunes changed. The concern administrators expressed was not if I could perform in the roles, it was if I would be perceived as bossy. By my peers who voted me into both positions.
So I took my bossy high schooled self into the principle’s office and made it clear how I would be spending my senior year and that was as Student Council and Class President.
I think we all have some experience with bossy vs leader conversation. I am almost 30 and I still pause before expressing strong opinions in group setting, god forbid I be bossy! But then I think back to that 17 year old girl with nerves of steel and that pause gives way to words because I’m not bossy- I am a leader.
And so are you.
Tea Time
The wedding has become an excuse to do all sorts of lovely things and on Saturday afternoon, that lovely thing was Tiffin at The Langham. Apparently, the Langham invented high tea in London and let me tell you, they know what they’re doing across the pond too.
Tea, bubbly, savory treats, decadent desserts, a man going to town on the white baby grand. Seated by the window, I asked twice why the curtains were drawn, I didn’t want to miss such a beautiful riverfront view. I should have held my horses because the curtains are suddenly drawn back once the piano begins!
The drama of it all!
Most importantly, my mom and I spent wonderful time together, gabbing about all things wedding and family and future and…it was lovely.
Just like the Tiffin.
And then I saw SJP at Nordstrom
I was just doing my Friday spin through Nordstrom and saw Sarah Jessica Parker. For real. In person. And then texted my best friend who I wish more than anything could have teleported to be there right that second because zomg Carrie Bradshaw.
I’m just gonna call it in, folks- this is the best day ever.
I was fan-girling the eff out and obviously with eleventy-thousand girls in front of me doing the same thing, I couldn’t share with Ms. SJP my appreciation for her, her curly hair and being part of my favorite group of imaginary friends but if I could have, I probably would have said this:
#thankyouformyshoeobsession
Ahh! Happy Friday! Cosmos for everyone!!!!
Happy Birthday, Chicago!
Chicago turns the big 1-7-7 today- fingers crossed it wishes for warm weather when it blows out the candles on its cake.
When No One is Watching
Last week, I read that a woman in Cleveland who was in charge of a job bank had sent a pretty wretched response to a young job seeker who requested her connection on LinkedIn. This woman persisted in her rudeness even after the young person tried to explain her desire to connect and after another nasty response, the emails hit the internet and went viral.
“I love the sense of entitlement in your generation,” she wrote, then continued. “You’re welcome for your humility lesson for the year. Don’t ever reach out to senior practitioners again and assume their carefully curated list of connections is available to you, just because you want to build your network. Don’t ever write me again.”
Another response of hers has since gone viral too and it was worse.
I thought about this article over the weekend. It irked me.
At first, I thought what bothered me was that this woman clearly doesn’t understand how LinkedIn works or that being an “award winning” communicator was ironic or that it was entirely unnecessary to send such a rude response.
No. What is upsetting about this situation is that this Ms. Blazek clearly did not see her behavior as being a problem until she got caught.
She sent emails like this to what we can guess is many people who were reaching out to her, a job assistance professional, to inquire about jobs. Instead of just declining the request or not responding at all, she made it her job to shame these individuals for their requests. Yes, after being on the national news for her lack of professionalism and decency, she has apologized to those who shared their emails with the press.
But what about those who didn’t?
You don’t go through your day not killing kittens or kicking homeless people because you’re afraid you’ll look bad if you do…you don’t do those things because you’re not an asshole. And because what you do when no one is watching defines your character.
A world where people like this alleged business professional exists is frightening. It’s a world where decisions about how we treat those around us are informed by whether or not we’ll “get in trouble”. This woman got in trouble, her behavior was made wildly public…and so she apologized. If no one but the recipients knew, would she have continued in her perceived position of power to verbally reprimand members of her community who were looking for assistance in employment?
“Looking good” be damned- when did we stop being good?
Yes, this is a story of a Cleveland woman having the lid blown off her heinousness and being sorry but really- it’s lesson to us all in what we do when no one is watching and how, god willing, we want to be and do good regardless.