Tall Ship Windy in the Windy City

Reminds me of the song from "Calamity Jane" with Doris Day and Howard Keel {swoon}... "Just flew in from the windy city, the windy city is mighty purdy..." and mighty purdy she is, folks.  My friend Shari and I purchased a Groupon for a trip on the Tall Ship Windy at the beginning of the summer and we finally got around to using the darn thing, eight days before it expired!  It was the first, official day of fall, mind you, but here in Chicago, fall could easily be confused for a So. Cal. winter.  Layers, my friends, always layers!!  It was a great day spent at Navy Pier (a must for any tourist) and a lovely view of the skyline from Lake Michigan!

So, I wanted to do a quick post and share some of our photos for the day.  I am also writing to let you know that "My Illinoisy Life" is now officially under construction!!  Big changes are coming and I think you're gonna love it.  I'm hoping the "renovations" will be done sooner than later, so keep checking back!!  :) :)

<3 simply stunning <3

Beautiful day for sailing!

Chicago, Amy, and a glass of wine!

Shari, aka "Captain"

the "dime pier"

Love Navy Pier!

Authors' Night!



Jen Lancaster, her newest memoir, "Jeneration X," and Amy

I almost talked myself out of going to see Jen Lancaster after the last [pathetic] attempt, but I decided to go to an event in Lake Zurich tonight anyway, and I am so glad I did.  Jennifer Weiner, Stacey Ballis, and Sarah Pekkanen were there as well!  Talk about a group of intelligent, hilarious, and classy women!  I love their books, and despite the crazy heat (the building didn't have a lick of air conditioning - no worries, I took pictures anyway) it was a fun event! 


Franzia boxed Chardonnay, and my new autographed books!

Jen Lancaster, Sarah Pekkanen, Jennifer Weiner, & Stacey Ballis.

This is my third (and least embarrassing) time seeing Jen Lancaster, but my first for the other three authors!  Jennifer Weiner bought cupcakes for the crowd of 400+ and was so gracious to all of her fans!

Thank you Swirlz Cupcakes!

Clockwise:  Chocolate Chip, Chocolate, Peach Cobbler, & Red Velvet!  YUM!!

It was a lovely evening and I am so excited to read my new books!!!  I think my most favorite thing abot this group of ladies is that they are so personable and seem to really enjoy interacting with their fans.  After the last time I met Jen Lancaster and acted like a total boob, it's almost bittersweet that she didn't remember who I was.  Ha.  Regardless, they are all very kind, and I am still excited to read their works and go to events they hold in the area.

Amy, Stacey Ballis, and her newest book "Off The Menu."

Jennifer Weiner, her book "Best Friends Forever" and Amy.

Amy, Sarah Pekkanen, and her book "Skipping A Beat."

Last, but not least, as much as I loved the featured authors, my favorite interaction was with the author Eleanor Brown (The Weird Sisters) who offered to take my picture with Sarah & Stacey.  I haven't read her book yet, but I plan to.  She was so friendly and fun, I can only imagine that her writing reflects her personality.  Besides, she keeps company with some of my favorite authors, how could she go wrong?

Eleanor Brown & Amy.

Did I mention that I even won an actual door prize?  Seriously, I got it while standing in a doorway because I was one of the last people standing in line for Jen Lancaster.  I wouldn't be a true fan if I didn't get it autographed as well, right?  :)

Jennifer Weiner swag bag!

Chicago's Best #1

Chicago's Best is a great TV show that takes a look at some of the great restaurants in the Chicagoland area.  I usually catch the shows and make a list of all the places I would like to try.  Last week or so they did the Finger Foods episode and hit Coach's Corner in Elk Grove Village, which happens to be a few miles away from me.  Now, see... this weekend has been a special weekend for me, because I was actually off from work.  Yesterday I had a girly day of breakfast with Shari from FindingAWeigh.com, lunch with Lauren, and then shopping, a stop at Caribou Coffee, and a pedicure.  Sundays are usually spent cleaning and doing homework, but feeling inspired by such a splendid Saturday, I decided to try something new and check off a stop from my Chicago bucket list.

Coach's Corner is a great little Sports Bar & Grill, especially if you actually like sports.  They have TVs all over the place, playing different sports at the same time, so sports fans don't miss a thing.  The walls are decorated with all sorts of sports memorabilia and I was surprised at all the old Wheaties boxes with pictures of Michael Jordan that they had on the shelves.  It had a great ambiance and even greater beer specials (small pitcher of draft Miller High Life for $3.50).  Check out some of the food we ordered, and the clip from Chicago's Best: http://www.cltv.com/blogs/chicagos-best/wgntv-chicagos-best-finger-foods-coaches-corner-20120118,0,913449.story

Coach's Corner - 152 Biesterfield Rd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

Cheesesticks!!

Cod Platter, baked beans, fries [ Me ] 

Meatball Slammers & Cheesy Tots [ Tim ]

Chocolate Chip Pizzookie!!



Explore. Dream. Discover.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade wind in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover."  ~ Mark Twain



Chicago's Theater District



My annual resolution is to not make resolutions.  I hate to set myself up to fail and generally go into the next year with a "let's see how this is gonna go" attitude.  Going into 2011, I decided I would see how long I could go without drinking soda (specifically, Diet Coke... you Diet Coke addicts know how hard this is).  I am happy to report that I made it almost all they way through 2011 without having any (except the sip of Sprite that was erroneously brought to me instead of a glass of water.) but I did choose to have a Diet Coke on Christmas Eve as a mini-celebration/reward for having stuck to my guns!  Thanks to my goal, I drank a lot more water last year... but I probably drank more wine too.  Nah, the wine was probably about the same.  :)

I decided to take on 2012 in the same way, only this time I have made a couple more goals for myself:

• Finish paying off all my bills.
• Be on the path to buying a home.
• See Celine Dion in concert.
• Cook more, eat out less.
• Desserts on Saturdays & special occasions only.
• Find a type of exercise that I will enjoy and commit to.  While I am searching, I am going to continue walking my dog, and when all else fails, I am putting the TV on the '90's channel and having a dance party in my living room.  (Hippo thinks this is a fun game and ends up jumping along.)
• See more places in Chicago, and keep this blog interesting.  Thankfully, my friend Shari, is moving out here in a couple of weeks, and I know she'll love to go out exploring with me!
• Find more ways to help others.
• Get as many classes taken care of so that I can be even closer to graduating!

Mark Twain said it.  Twenty years from now, I don't want to regret what I didn't do.  I want to be able to look back on all the fun I had and choices I made, and even lessons learned.  This is going to be a great year because I have great perspective.

I hope you all have a very happy and prosperous 2012!!