Independence Day Recap

As much as I'm opposed to wading through mass amounts of people in 85 degree heat, I made an exception this 3rd of July in hopes that my experience would be better than I remembered from last time. I joined a dozen friends for a Metra ride downtown to watch the Macy's fireworks display. Hungry people heading through The Taste doesn't seem to be such a good idea because as much as we wanted to get to our viewing destination, we weren't able to stick together much less get to where we wanted to go. So, as we situated ourselves on a blanket 50 feet in front of Lake Michigan, I and just one of the dozen friends I'd come with sat down just in time to eat our tiny portions of Lobster and Garlic Potato from the Oak Street Beachstro stand and then watch the fireworks over the Lake. I have to say Macy's stepped it up this year from what I remember. But their display still left me unsatisfied and dissappointed that I'd wasted the time and effort to come down to this madhouse of people during the Taste of Chicago.

How Not to Be a Consumer

My "tree-hugger" mom was over this weekend helping me pack up boxes in preparation to move. She was appauled at the amount of stuff I throw away on a daily basis and said, "You have to stop being such a consumer! Its all going to end up in a landfill forever!" Well, it got me thinking... Its pretty hard to teach an old dog new tricks. But what can I do to change? Is it enough to just change some of my habits, even if most of the things I use are disposable? So, I decided to investigate a little.

I looked into a website she told me about called Freecycle. Its not as interactive as I thought it would be but its a start. It directs you to your local Freecycle Yahoo Group to join and find out what's available in your area. The idea is, instead of throwing things away when you don't want them, you give them away to someone else. And instead of just offering them to friends and family, you can post them online for the taking. Waste not, want not. I also found that Craigslist has a category specifically for this under their For Sale section. Its simply called FREE.

Ok, now in all honesty thinking about the environment is not going to change how I live my daily life. I'm just too set in my ways--as most Americans are--to make that big of a change and become an earth-rights activist. But, as they say, every little bit helps and if we can do a little then maybe others will follow suit. Here are a few more things you can do to save your world... I picked the ones that would appeal most to the consumer in all of us. The options where we buy more stuff!

1. Replace old appliances (take a look at the Lowes Energy Star buying guide), then recycle your old appliances.

2. Buy a hybrid car.

3. Buy a reusable cup like the new Insulated Iced Venti cup at (my favorite place ever) Starbucks. Available in stores only.

4. Buy cloth shopping bags to use when grocery shopping. Many stores such as Lowes, Dominick's, Target has them in fashionable prints, and Walmart gave 1 million reusable bags away in April!

Visit: StopGlobalWarming.org, Panda.org, BlogAction, PBS, HowStuffWorks, or any of the resources found on Google to find out how you too can go green!

Weekend Recap

I realized while driving away from Target, that I'd somehow lost my phone. Luckily when I went back to check, someone had turned it in to customer service who had called the person they thought would be my emergency contact. They didn't realize he lived in another state altogether. Ha! But my phone was safe and sound and that's all I cared about.

Saturday night: Prairie Rock Brewing Company's 10th Annual Brewfest. I had a great time! But the fest itself was pretty crappy. It was super crowded and very poorly organized. I was wading through soggy grass in my flip flops which meant my feet were soaked in beer. You couldn't tell which beers were available until you got up to the very front of the stands, so you had to make a decision on the spot. All of the beers I tried tasted like crap except for the last one I had, the Mai Bock, which tasted kind of like pop. I have no idea who it was made by though. I would've liked to try Prairie Rock's summertime brew, Raspberry wheat...if I could find it in that mess! On the upside, the pulled pork was good and they gave it to us for free because it was the end of the night. So despite my complaints, it was otherwise a good time.

Sunday morning I realized I'd lost my phone again! I'd left it at a friend's house where we'd gone swimming after the fest. I have to say I'm pretty lucky to have lost and found it twice in one day. All in all it was a pretty good weekend.

ChiTown's Louis Vuitton Don...is blogging?

Today I discovered a little web community called KanYe UniverseCity. I'm sure its been around a while I just never knew until now. If you didn't know, I'm a little bit of a Kanye fan. I went buckwild over his debut album College Dropout, and I've purchased all his albums on the 1st day they were released. I've seen him in concert 2 or 3 times back when he was still new and would play cheap shows at hot venues. I snuck backstage at House of Blues, met, hugged him, talked about fashion and exchanged numbers with his people. (yeah, that's my groupie-dork side coming out there.) These days its a little difficult to get up the funds for shows like his Glow in the Dark Tour at the Allstate. So, when I found this little world of West I was kind of excited, "Kanye has a blog? I can read his thoughts?... Dope!!"

After reading the first few primitive entries it dawned on me--Is he really writing these? They sound like ignorant 10 second ramblings from his Hip-Pop fans like, "here's a picture of a shoe I like and a blurb about the shoe's history." That's no way to blog. Where's the personality? Yeah, you like it. So what? I find it hard to believe that someone like him would find time in his hectic schedule to update a blog in the first place. But on the other hand, I can picture him typing away on his blackberry in between photo shoots, interviews, shopping sprees, and (maybe during) bathroom breaks. Who knows? Maybe we really are getting a glimpse of the hyperactive brain that Kanye's working with from day to day and we should be glad to be exposed to the mind of what some, including himself, may call a musical genius. ...or... maybe its just another marketing trick. Either way, I wish I was in on that bank roll!

Are They Serious?

Who wears this stuff? From what I hear American Apparel is a pretty hip label, but from what I see... its pretty ridiculous! Its like Jane Fonda meets Borat in a paint chip reject bucket... and can we say Camel Toe? You think that's bad... you should see the rest of their ad campaign. Pasty white, odd shaped people, some resembling crack addicts and others nerdy school kids. The clothes are never worn in a way so as to display a fashionable garment. I guess I get what they're doing. Trying to capture a nitch market... different, weird, hip just like you.

I just don't readily accept it. Darn hipsters.

More "Star" for Your "Buck"

As if I needed another reason to be addicted to everything Starbucks® , there are a whole bunch of new things brewing at my favorite bean bistro. Primarily, the Starbucks® Rewards card! Its a gift card, a prepaid card, and a frequent buyer card all in one. Not only can you design it yourself online so that you recongnize it in your wallet and remember not to pitch it when its empty, but you can set it up to automatically refill every month so your coffee needs are always available. I bet this would be an especially good tool if you're trying to stay within a budget. Only use your Starbucks® card--no cash/credit--when buying those mocha lattes and you'll be back in the black in no time. How long have we been waiting for this huge corporation to give something back to its loyal customers? A long, long time that's for sure! Finally, we get a little boost for our patronage. Like your latte with syrups and soy? Those extras are free! Enjoy sitting in those cushy velvet chairs and sipping Pike's Peak®? Refills are free! Stopping in to pick up a new grind? Get your favorite drink free! My personal favorite though, has got to be the option to refill someone else's card. If you buy someone a gift card, register it to that person's email and tell them they have a registered Rewards card. Then you can surprise the giftee anytime by refilling their card online with any amount you choose and they'll have a free drink (or ten!) next time they check it.

What else it brewing? It seems that Starbucks® has jumped on the bandwagon with their new Doubleshot®Energy+Coffee. Its being marketed like an energy drink in its extra tall can, but with the taste of a classic iced coffee. I asked my barista if he'd tried it and he hesitantly recommended it to me as "pretty good". I don't know, the thought of adding guarana to coffee doesn't sound all that tasty...not to mention it has to be dangerous to your health. Oh...what the heck, I'll give it a try. (Read my review here.) But normally I steer clear of anything with Guarana for fear it will give me the shakes.

Summer In The Windy City

Its finally here! The sun is out, the snow has stopped (crossing fingers), and the weather is behaving to some extent. Let the festivals begin! There is so much going on in our beautiful city. Some events I'm looking forward to:

Blues Fest: I haven't been to this in years. I'd love to go again this Summer. There's nothing like Chicago in the Summer, good food, good music and city life.

Chalk Festival 2008 in Oz Park: Looks like a fun activity for kids, but it interests me more because of the art therapy side of the event. I recently started using pastels when practicing my artwork at home so I'm eager to see the work of these artists. I also just learned a little about art therapy, so this is a double interest for me. For a similar festival check out Artists of the Wall in Rogers Park.

SummerDance Festival: 8 Weeks of Dancing! Everything from polka, country, Argentine tango and zydeco, swing, salsa and afrobeat to reggae, funk and klezmer, all on one huge dance floor.

Grant Park Outdoor Film Festival: I've always wanted to do this! Enjoy the night air while taking in a movie under the stars. The opening film is an old black & white: All About Eve, followed by The Odd Couple, and Chicago classic, The Blues Brothers.

Venetian Night: Approximately 35 boats decorated with lights and props sailing along Lake Michigan, between the Shedd Aquarium and the Chicago Yacht Club. I hear its always very crowded (675,000 people) but it must be quite a show. Public transportation, biking, or walking suggested.

Naperville Ribfest: "Voted the Best Festival in the Midwest". I'm looking forward to pigging out (get it? Pig? haha) on riblets from 17 World Class Rib vendors and chilling out to the classic tunes of REO Speedwagon!

Pierogi Fest: As a child, I remember driving through a Polish neighborhood, seeing a specific Pierogi restaurant many times and wanting to go in for a taste. So my first thought was that this fest was in that area. I was wrong; its in Whiting, IN. It may be a little more of a drive but, from one Polak to another, a good Pierogi is well worth it! Especially the plum ones...mmm.

Northalsted Market Days: Famous for its vast array of unique food, arts and crafts vendors, and 3 stages of music, this Boys Town extravaganza is the largest two-day street fair in the Midwest.

There's so much more to do. I wish I could see it all but I'll have a hard enough time getting to all of the ones I listed above! Have fun Chicagoans!