Two months ago I started my own business...my own Arbonne business that is. Arbonne is a company that has been around for 31 years and specializes in skincare, cosmetics, and health & wellness products that are pure, safe, and beneficial. Basically, there's nothing in them that's bad for your body - no artificial chemicals or colors, no lanolin or mineral oil, no petroleum or parabens. They're wonderful and botanically based. They're even certified vegan and almost 100% of their products are also now gluten-free!! Plus, they're formulated in Switzerland, so you know the products, especially the skincare, is top notch!
I started my own Arbonne business because I wanted more options for my life and I wanted more money. Don't let anyone tell you its "easy" because it's not. It's a job like anything else and you'll get out of it what you put in. If you want to sit on your butt at night and hope people come flocking to you, then you're only kidding yourself. If you ready to meet people and teach them how starting their own business can help them achieve what they want out of their own lives (or just how to save money on products that they already are going to buy, so they might as well by products that are actually good for them), then this is a great opportunity.
I love it. I love meeting new people and knowing that I am helping people make better lives for themselves, either financially and/or by using products that are actually good for them.
Today I went to a meeting regarding the company's reach into the Hispanic market, and it was so invigorating. These people are some of the most upbeat, positive, warm and welcoming people I have ever met, and I love that I am going to be able to use my Spanish in a job that I already love!! It's great, too, to see the connections between my Spanish classroom and the real world, because so often I think teaching can become very theoretical when that outside connection is lost. That just makes this all even more exciting for me!
So if you want to learn more about Arbonne, shoot me an email and visit their website www.arbonne.com. It today's world, making a healthier choice is always the better option, and if a company will pay you to use products you already use, I don't see how you can possibly go wrong!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Eat Pray Love...and Review
When Eat Pray Love first hit book stores in 2006 it turned into a sensation. I picked it up in 2008 while working in a school district, having found it on a "read and swap" bookshelf in the teacher's lounge. I had heard great things about it, and having traveled to Italy (and just having a love for traveling in general) I decided it would probably be a great read!
Eh, it was okay. There were parts I liked and parts I didn't like. Personally, I found the Italy part of the book too long. I loved the India section because I found it intriguing and exotic, although I know people who didn't much care for it because they couldn't relate. The Bali part proved indifferent to me, but it is what it is. Overall, I think the hardest part about the book, for me, was that I felt like I was supposed to feel sympathy for someone who could take the advance she received on a book she hadn't yet written to go spend a year "finding herself"...aka on vacation. And I couldn't seem to get my sympathy meter working. That, undoubtedly, was the hardest part for me with the book.
Therefore, when the movie came out, I determined it was not a theater-must-see, that I could wait until it hit Netflix to make a point of watching it. I do love Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem so even if it was just for them I would watch it. I even heard it was better than the book, which is a rarity in and of itself, so I knew I wanted to watch it eventually.
So today, while recovering from mild detox-dehydration (yay gallons of water and cheese!) I watched the movie version of a book I didn't care for so much, and what they say is true. The movie is better, although it is still very flat. I didn't mind that there wasn't much depth to the movie, but it is definitely worth noting. I did find, though, that I connected with Liz much better in the movie than in the book. I found her need to find who she was and escape the monotony that seemed to encompass her life a reverberating echo with the way I sometimes perceive my own life. As a result, some people might find it hard to connect with the main ideas of the movie, but it was almost nice to know it wasn't just me that felt that way sometimes.
Overall, the movie was okay. It's a great "I'm sick and want to watch a movie to pass the time" kind of a movie. And who knows, maybe I'll even carve out a little space in my own day for some meditation and late night pasta soon. Ciao!
Eh, it was okay. There were parts I liked and parts I didn't like. Personally, I found the Italy part of the book too long. I loved the India section because I found it intriguing and exotic, although I know people who didn't much care for it because they couldn't relate. The Bali part proved indifferent to me, but it is what it is. Overall, I think the hardest part about the book, for me, was that I felt like I was supposed to feel sympathy for someone who could take the advance she received on a book she hadn't yet written to go spend a year "finding herself"...aka on vacation. And I couldn't seem to get my sympathy meter working. That, undoubtedly, was the hardest part for me with the book.
Therefore, when the movie came out, I determined it was not a theater-must-see, that I could wait until it hit Netflix to make a point of watching it. I do love Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem so even if it was just for them I would watch it. I even heard it was better than the book, which is a rarity in and of itself, so I knew I wanted to watch it eventually.
So today, while recovering from mild detox-dehydration (yay gallons of water and cheese!) I watched the movie version of a book I didn't care for so much, and what they say is true. The movie is better, although it is still very flat. I didn't mind that there wasn't much depth to the movie, but it is definitely worth noting. I did find, though, that I connected with Liz much better in the movie than in the book. I found her need to find who she was and escape the monotony that seemed to encompass her life a reverberating echo with the way I sometimes perceive my own life. As a result, some people might find it hard to connect with the main ideas of the movie, but it was almost nice to know it wasn't just me that felt that way sometimes.
Overall, the movie was okay. It's a great "I'm sick and want to watch a movie to pass the time" kind of a movie. And who knows, maybe I'll even carve out a little space in my own day for some meditation and late night pasta soon. Ciao!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Mid-Detox
I have tried many "detox" regimens in my time. I've tried the days of "all juice" or "all veggies" for 24 hours. They're nice, but I get hungry. I've even tried the lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup drink which you're supposed to do for 2 weeks. I only made it though part of two days before succumbing to famine, so, clearly, that option was not for me.
I've seen the other "two week cleanses" or "month cleanse", but I couldn't imagine doing something for two weeks or even a month. I would not have the will power to do so, especially if it means following a strict diet in addition to the cleanse. I don't like be restrained in my options - in life or food - so that's just never a good idea. Therefore, when I found out Arbonne offers a 7-day cleanse and does not require you do to follow a specific diet, I became excited. Plus, it's safe enough to do once a month, so I determined that meant it couldn't be super potent. Please, the last thing I wanted to be doing on my Spring Break was be chained to my toilet bowl. I've had relationships with different toilet bowls late at night in college, but I like to think I've put that behind me at this point in my life.
Plus, I am Arbonne consultant, so, to me, it made sense to try it. What better way to tell others about it than by doing it yourself. So here I am, 4 days into the 7-day cleanse and still doing well. I've learned that, yes, they are very honest and serious when they say you should stick to a healthy diet while on the cleanse. Stay away from fried or overly sugary or processed food. I made that mistake on Day 1. BIG mistake. I have been much healthier since!! You're supposed to drink it over the course of the full day so you don't hit your system all at once and you allow it to work throughout the day. That's okay in theory, and some days it's fine, but my Day 3 and Day 4 have been a little testy. I'm good 90% of the time. 10% of the time I need to find a quick bathroom, pronto. It does require you to have access to a bathroom, but it's true that it won't chain you to it! Just don't try it if you're going to be somewhere where you have little control on when you can take that quick bathroom break!
However, I do really like it! It tastes like apple tea, which is delicious. I'm forcing myself to eat better, which is good, and it's doing it's job! I've even noticed my skin breaking out a little more which is excellent, because it means it's really "detoxing" my body! Sure the breakouts are annoying, but it means it's working! And why would you use something that doesn't work?! So, in short, it definitely works, and you don't have to follow any strict diet, which is always nice! Some people like when you give them no options, but not this girl! So if a detox is what you're looking for, then this might be a great option for you!
I've seen the other "two week cleanses" or "month cleanse", but I couldn't imagine doing something for two weeks or even a month. I would not have the will power to do so, especially if it means following a strict diet in addition to the cleanse. I don't like be restrained in my options - in life or food - so that's just never a good idea. Therefore, when I found out Arbonne offers a 7-day cleanse and does not require you do to follow a specific diet, I became excited. Plus, it's safe enough to do once a month, so I determined that meant it couldn't be super potent. Please, the last thing I wanted to be doing on my Spring Break was be chained to my toilet bowl. I've had relationships with different toilet bowls late at night in college, but I like to think I've put that behind me at this point in my life.
Plus, I am Arbonne consultant, so, to me, it made sense to try it. What better way to tell others about it than by doing it yourself. So here I am, 4 days into the 7-day cleanse and still doing well. I've learned that, yes, they are very honest and serious when they say you should stick to a healthy diet while on the cleanse. Stay away from fried or overly sugary or processed food. I made that mistake on Day 1. BIG mistake. I have been much healthier since!! You're supposed to drink it over the course of the full day so you don't hit your system all at once and you allow it to work throughout the day. That's okay in theory, and some days it's fine, but my Day 3 and Day 4 have been a little testy. I'm good 90% of the time. 10% of the time I need to find a quick bathroom, pronto. It does require you to have access to a bathroom, but it's true that it won't chain you to it! Just don't try it if you're going to be somewhere where you have little control on when you can take that quick bathroom break!
However, I do really like it! It tastes like apple tea, which is delicious. I'm forcing myself to eat better, which is good, and it's doing it's job! I've even noticed my skin breaking out a little more which is excellent, because it means it's really "detoxing" my body! Sure the breakouts are annoying, but it means it's working! And why would you use something that doesn't work?! So, in short, it definitely works, and you don't have to follow any strict diet, which is always nice! Some people like when you give them no options, but not this girl! So if a detox is what you're looking for, then this might be a great option for you!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Oh My Peanut Butter Chocolate
I have had a craving for baking for about 2 weeks now. No, it's not just that I want something sweet, but I actually wanted to bake something: cookies, cake, brownies. I didn't really care; I just knew that I wanted something to bake and that I was going to do it once school let out and I had a little extra time.
Today, wonderfully enough, was that day. I told my boyfriend I really wanted to bake cookies and he excitedly agreed it was a "must". I'm also lazy and starting a 7-day Arbonne cleanse, and find I do much better when I eat gluten-free, so I knew I didn't want to make traditional cookies with all he flour, sugar, and extra heaviness. Therefore, I searched the internet. My friend started her own "G Free Made Easy" company (which includes a cookbook! Congrats Katie!), but the recipes required me to leave and purchase products from the store since I didn't have a lot of what was needed and, as I said, I was too lazy today.
So, perusing the internet more I found a recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies! The ingredients are as follows:
I decided to forgo the cocoa powder, since I didn't have any, and just melted in a handful of chocolate chips. I also only had to bake mine for 8-9 minutes.
OH MY GOD. They're DELICIOUS!!! And there's like literally nothing bad for you in them. I used organic and unsalted peanut butter and organic dark chocolate, so that negates a lot of the negative additives and unnecessary sugar that you would find in other products. Plus, think about it, how much sugar and fat do you get from the other products you buy - sugary or otherwise. These are SO much healthier for you. Quick to make. Delicious. Aka: PERFECT!!!!!
Enjoy making your own. And if you find the website with the actual recipe (because they have some other great recipes like chocolate peanut butter cheesecake) let me know!
Today, wonderfully enough, was that day. I told my boyfriend I really wanted to bake cookies and he excitedly agreed it was a "must". I'm also lazy and starting a 7-day Arbonne cleanse, and find I do much better when I eat gluten-free, so I knew I didn't want to make traditional cookies with all he flour, sugar, and extra heaviness. Therefore, I searched the internet. My friend started her own "G Free Made Easy" company (which includes a cookbook! Congrats Katie!), but the recipes required me to leave and purchase products from the store since I didn't have a lot of what was needed and, as I said, I was too lazy today.
So, perusing the internet more I found a recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies! The ingredients are as follows:
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 c light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 or up to 2 1/4 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp water
OH MY GOD. They're DELICIOUS!!! And there's like literally nothing bad for you in them. I used organic and unsalted peanut butter and organic dark chocolate, so that negates a lot of the negative additives and unnecessary sugar that you would find in other products. Plus, think about it, how much sugar and fat do you get from the other products you buy - sugary or otherwise. These are SO much healthier for you. Quick to make. Delicious. Aka: PERFECT!!!!!
Enjoy making your own. And if you find the website with the actual recipe (because they have some other great recipes like chocolate peanut butter cheesecake) let me know!
D.I.N.K.s
Last night I attended the premier of the movie D.I.N.K.s (Double Income, No Kids) at the Chicago Portage Theater. Having been part of the movie, playing the role of Stacey, I was excited to see it premier at such a wonderful venue in the city, especially after having been part of the castings, filming, and post-production meetings for the past year. The movie has come a long way and I looked forward to seeing it's final cut at the Chicago premier. 
For those of you that didn't read the earlier earlier blog post on D.I.K.N.s, the movie is about bringing to the surface a rare and somewhat invisible form of discrimination: the one towards couples who do not have children. In a society of children today, director Robert Alaniz chose to focus on the interesting dynamic of people in regards to children and families. He should be very proud, the turn out at the Portage theater was excellent and the audience proved extremely participatory in the video's showing, laughing and applauding at all the right times and feeling the sense of intense emotion at the others.The highlights of the movie:
- good cinematography, especially at certain points in the movie. Being the director, writer, and producer can sometimes mean a man gets muddled in the material and can't see beyond it, however Robert proved capable of doing all three, and some of that was evidenced in the excellent filming of certain scenes.
- Excellent Casting. The actors, for the most part, were phenomenal. The leads, Robert Brooks (played by David Tibble) and Rachel Brooks (played by Deborah Craft) were spectacular. It seemed like the appropriate person was cast for each role, which is a tough job to do in and of itself.
- Combination of comedy and real-life emotions. Yes, it definitely had its funny points, but it also had some wonderful, heart-felt scenes.
The director is looking for new venues to continue showing the movie over the next couple of months, especially a venue to have repeat showings! Keep an eye out on the website or here for further information. And congrats to all the cast and crew that had a chance to celebrate last night. You all did a wonderful job! And a thanks to Sue for her amazing photos!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Carmen
As a last minute gift, if you will, I was invited to see the opera, Carmen, at the Lyric Opera House with some students and faculty from my school. When offered the option of going I immediately jumped at it. I've seen two operas before: L'Elixir d'Amour and Don Giovani, and have to admit neither made me want to jump out of my seat and see another. However, I concluded that I would probably never find anyone to go see Carmen with me for a very long time, and to get to go for free to one of the most popular operas ever was definitely worth doing, despite any past experiences.
WoW! Amazing isn't even close to explaining it. The performance blew me away. The sets were incredible and some of the cast beyond reproach. And, as an added bonus, to keep the interest of 7th and 8th graders for nearly 4 hours means you're doing something right.
The story, for those of you who are unaware, is about a Spanish gypsy woman, Carmen, who has two lovers at different points during the story: Don José, a soldado (soldier) and Escamillo, a torero (bullfighter). It deals with love and jealousy and the gypsy life. Written by a french composer, Georges Bizet, it's performed in French and has the exotic and fantastical representation of Seville, Spain as Georges imagined Spain to be at the time. Ergo, it's not the most perfect nor accurate historical representation of the time period, but being that it is part fantasy makes the costuming A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The music had fun upbeat moments and then slower and more heartfelt ones, and the lead female was incredible. Apparently, Katharine Goeldner is a well-known Carmen performer, as her website shows it is one of her most common roles, and WOW she does an amazing job of it! I loved her SO much I would honestly follow her around and just go see every opera or musical she's in.
My funny "Oh-my-God-I-can't-believe-that-just-happened" moment came at the onset of the play. One of my students asked if I had seen it before, to which I replied that I had not only not seen it before but that I didn't even know much about it. She quickly said that I would, at the very least, recognize some of the music. And recognize it I did. During the overture I sadly and laughingly leaned over to another chaperone and said, "is it sad that I only know this music because of Bugs Bunny?". It's a generational thing. :-)
So, yes, if you ever want to see if you like opera, this is a MUST see. It helps when they have translation boxes to help you understand the music, but it is an amazing opera. Sad to know the composer never knew it to be a success during his lifetime...although that seems to be the way of things. "Olé!"
WoW! Amazing isn't even close to explaining it. The performance blew me away. The sets were incredible and some of the cast beyond reproach. And, as an added bonus, to keep the interest of 7th and 8th graders for nearly 4 hours means you're doing something right.
The story, for those of you who are unaware, is about a Spanish gypsy woman, Carmen, who has two lovers at different points during the story: Don José, a soldado (soldier) and Escamillo, a torero (bullfighter). It deals with love and jealousy and the gypsy life. Written by a french composer, Georges Bizet, it's performed in French and has the exotic and fantastical representation of Seville, Spain as Georges imagined Spain to be at the time. Ergo, it's not the most perfect nor accurate historical representation of the time period, but being that it is part fantasy makes the costuming A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The music had fun upbeat moments and then slower and more heartfelt ones, and the lead female was incredible. Apparently, Katharine Goeldner is a well-known Carmen performer, as her website shows it is one of her most common roles, and WOW she does an amazing job of it! I loved her SO much I would honestly follow her around and just go see every opera or musical she's in.
My funny "Oh-my-God-I-can't-believe-that-just-happened" moment came at the onset of the play. One of my students asked if I had seen it before, to which I replied that I had not only not seen it before but that I didn't even know much about it. She quickly said that I would, at the very least, recognize some of the music. And recognize it I did. During the overture I sadly and laughingly leaned over to another chaperone and said, "is it sad that I only know this music because of Bugs Bunny?". It's a generational thing. :-)
So, yes, if you ever want to see if you like opera, this is a MUST see. It helps when they have translation boxes to help you understand the music, but it is an amazing opera. Sad to know the composer never knew it to be a success during his lifetime...although that seems to be the way of things. "Olé!"
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Dear Pharmaceutical Companies...
Dear Pharmaceutical Companies,
This is why we hate you. I read today in the Chicago Tribune that a drug used to help prevent premature birth is changing it's price from $15 a dose to $1,500 a dose. Why? you might ask. The answer is simply because the FDA has officially "approved" it. Stupid no? Yes, I think so. This is a drug that has been used since the 50s to help thousands of women prevent premature births and now, simply because KV pharmaceuticals has received the FDA's "OK" to own the patent for 7 years, they also have the "OK" to charge whatever they can obtain for the drug. Totally not okay because it comes back to bite us taxpayers in the rear. We help pay for drug companies to do research because we buy their products and pay taxes that help pay for their funding. Well, these same drug companies say that customers will receive a "break" on their drug purchase, but do you know how this actually works? Customers receive a "break" because insurance premiums go up to help cover the cost of drug and Medicare and other health plans. That means that we pay more to be coverage we need because some people under the umbrella of Cigna or Blue Cross Blue Shield or whatever other company you have has to pay $30,000 for this drug whereas before it only cost them $300. D-U-M-B.
What I don't understand - if the drug was working, why aren't people making a bigger stink and actually listening. Apparentely doctors and patients alike have written this KV company pleading they lower the astronomically high price because 14,000 people are already taking the drug and can't afford for the price of the drug and their premiums to rise. Yay for lobbying moving in the wrong direction because all the blame is going to get put back on the insurance companies for raising premiums, when it's truly not the insurance companies' fault that these drug companies can run prices as high as they want. This "drug patent" program is just giving legalized monopolies. Totally not okay. It would be nice to see something proactive done about this climbing issue.
This is why we hate you. I read today in the Chicago Tribune that a drug used to help prevent premature birth is changing it's price from $15 a dose to $1,500 a dose. Why? you might ask. The answer is simply because the FDA has officially "approved" it. Stupid no? Yes, I think so. This is a drug that has been used since the 50s to help thousands of women prevent premature births and now, simply because KV pharmaceuticals has received the FDA's "OK" to own the patent for 7 years, they also have the "OK" to charge whatever they can obtain for the drug. Totally not okay because it comes back to bite us taxpayers in the rear. We help pay for drug companies to do research because we buy their products and pay taxes that help pay for their funding. Well, these same drug companies say that customers will receive a "break" on their drug purchase, but do you know how this actually works? Customers receive a "break" because insurance premiums go up to help cover the cost of drug and Medicare and other health plans. That means that we pay more to be coverage we need because some people under the umbrella of Cigna or Blue Cross Blue Shield or whatever other company you have has to pay $30,000 for this drug whereas before it only cost them $300. D-U-M-B.
What I don't understand - if the drug was working, why aren't people making a bigger stink and actually listening. Apparentely doctors and patients alike have written this KV company pleading they lower the astronomically high price because 14,000 people are already taking the drug and can't afford for the price of the drug and their premiums to rise. Yay for lobbying moving in the wrong direction because all the blame is going to get put back on the insurance companies for raising premiums, when it's truly not the insurance companies' fault that these drug companies can run prices as high as they want. This "drug patent" program is just giving legalized monopolies. Totally not okay. It would be nice to see something proactive done about this climbing issue.
Monday, March 7, 2011
More Coffee Please!
I hate how people are so quick to buy the latest "diet trend" or so quick to judge and condemn on food and then two minutes later praise it for it's miraculous "newly discovered" benefits! I always say everything is okay in moderation, so long as you stick to foods that actually help your body, and coffee has always been one of them!
So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that a Yahoo! article posted something actually praising coffee! Yay! Ironically enough, it's actually good for you...and no, not the fru-fru-y, latte, filled with sugar kind, but the actual black stuff: the espresso and the coffee kind. It helps with brain function and in moving your metabolism. It can help with headaches and other things. Dont' drink 4 cups of it a day, granted, but that morning coffee you love so much (or my 1:00 pick me up/ mid-day indulgence), is absolutely OK for you! Stray from those added sugars: maybe a little dab of cream and shake of cinnamon, but the black stuff is great as is!!
So keep drinking all you coffee-lovers! Cheers!!
So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that a Yahoo! article posted something actually praising coffee! Yay! Ironically enough, it's actually good for you...and no, not the fru-fru-y, latte, filled with sugar kind, but the actual black stuff: the espresso and the coffee kind. It helps with brain function and in moving your metabolism. It can help with headaches and other things. Dont' drink 4 cups of it a day, granted, but that morning coffee you love so much (or my 1:00 pick me up/ mid-day indulgence), is absolutely OK for you! Stray from those added sugars: maybe a little dab of cream and shake of cinnamon, but the black stuff is great as is!!
So keep drinking all you coffee-lovers! Cheers!!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
I LOVE JOE'S
Saturday Night. Date Night. Where? Joe's Seafood Prime Steak & Stone Crab. Overall experience...excelente!! My boyfriend took me as a long-awaited date-night, which we had been trying to schedule for a few months now, but life always seemed to interfere. When we finally made these plans (after waiting weeks to even get a reservation) we were vigilant about not letting anything interfere.
Note #1: Remind cabbies to take city roads, not highways on Saturday nights. Our creepy cab rider on the way home got the best of us, and what should have been a $9 ride was $14.
Note #2: Joe's is crowded. Always. You need to make a reservation weeks in advance if you intend on getting a table. Decor is average, and doesn't make you feel like your spending the insane amount of money you are spending. I've been to places like Lawry's and the Signature Room, and those places at least make you feel like you're about to have an amazingly expensive meal. Here, you feel like you're sitting down at any old Wildfire or Maggiano's, which is slightly disheartening. The food, however, completely makes up for it.
Note #3: Always get the crab chilled. We decided to order the King Crab Legs over their claws. Claws require work, although the bigger the claw, the less work required and the more meet provided. However, we opted for the easiest and meatiest option (albeit the most expensive .. $70 for an order), and were more than 300% satisfied. The legs were juicy and still had that wonderful sea flavor to them, making them unquestionably fresh. It wasn't fishy at all, it was just fresh. The warm melted butter side or signature mustard sauce (actually wonderful, and I hate mustard) complemented the dish perfectly, but I ended up choosing just lemon at the end. The crab was filling and we left feeling satisfied, but not like we'd gained 100 pounds.
Note #4: Side dishes are huge, wine is delish, and corking fee is a reasonable alternative. We had the mushrooms mac & cheese...AMAZING. They only had a handful of wines by the glass, so if you don't want to spend $100 on a bottle of wine, they have a $20 corking fee, which is a great alternative if you want to bring your own really nice wine.
Overall: 5 stars. Hands down. One of the best dinners I've had. Looking forward to making that "our" special restaurant. :-)
Note #1: Remind cabbies to take city roads, not highways on Saturday nights. Our creepy cab rider on the way home got the best of us, and what should have been a $9 ride was $14.
Note #3: Always get the crab chilled. We decided to order the King Crab Legs over their claws. Claws require work, although the bigger the claw, the less work required and the more meet provided. However, we opted for the easiest and meatiest option (albeit the most expensive .. $70 for an order), and were more than 300% satisfied. The legs were juicy and still had that wonderful sea flavor to them, making them unquestionably fresh. It wasn't fishy at all, it was just fresh. The warm melted butter side or signature mustard sauce (actually wonderful, and I hate mustard) complemented the dish perfectly, but I ended up choosing just lemon at the end. The crab was filling and we left feeling satisfied, but not like we'd gained 100 pounds.
Note #4: Side dishes are huge, wine is delish, and corking fee is a reasonable alternative. We had the mushrooms mac & cheese...AMAZING. They only had a handful of wines by the glass, so if you don't want to spend $100 on a bottle of wine, they have a $20 corking fee, which is a great alternative if you want to bring your own really nice wine.
Overall: 5 stars. Hands down. One of the best dinners I've had. Looking forward to making that "our" special restaurant. :-)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Gaga Onstage!
Mondays are not always the most eventful of nights for me. Actually, usually after the gym run and running a few errands, I'm at home grading or trying to catch up on a few of the things I had intended on accomplishing. As of late, though, those accomplishments have included the building of my recent Arbonne business!
However, this past Monday night savored of something new: THE GAGA CONCERT!!! Yes, I went to the Lady Gaga concert at the United Center in Chicago this past week. Oh-My-GOD! It was aaaamaaaaaazing!!!! My two cousins and I went and had seats straight across the stage almost at ther very top of the arena. We were high up, and they cost $140, but they were excellent seats! And, what a night!
First, Scissor Sisters opened. If you haven't heard of them before it's probably because "You're not gay, and you're not British", as the lead singer jokingly mentioned at the end of their opening number. They were phenomenal, and I would absolutely listen to them again. However, they only played from 8-8:30, which meant that, because Gaga decided to be diva-ishly late, we then waiting for a little over an hour for Gaga to perform. Personally, I find it rude. You know what time you're scheduled to start. Don't make me sit for an hour waiting for your highness to meander onto the stage. So annoying!!! Luckily, she did make up for it, but the people sitting next to us didn't arrive until 9:15 because they had read on blogs that she was notorious for making her fans wait...and sometimes even for close to 2 hours!!
The concert, however, was beyond words. Four set changes, each with about 3 songs per set, and a variety of costume changes made the concert an entire experience, not just an "outdoor concert" event. Stefani (aka Lady Gaga) also actually interacted with her audience. She called one person at one point, which conveniently led into her "Telephone" song, she would pause between pieces to speak about self-esteem and individuality and pursuing your dreams...and she is quite well-spoken. Loud, and very in your face, but rather well-spoken. And she put on a GREAT show. I would go see her again in a heartbeat.
The opener? Dance in the Dark. Encore #1? Bad Romance. Encore #2? Born This Way. Best song of the evening? Tough call, but I REALLY loved her production of "Teeth." I'm not a big fan of the song but when it's performed live it has life and intrigue and exuberence. It's great! Plus, she also accompanied herself on the piano for a few numbers, which was very cool.
And then, of course, part of the entire Gaga experience is watching the fans, and they did not disappoint. Expect to see everything from plain Janes to men in stilletos, and face painting to barely-there attire. It was awesome!!! One of the best concerts we've attended, and I would go again in half a breath. I would even be willing to pay more...and hope she makes me wait less in the future. I might not be a converted little monster, waving my paws like many others, but I am a committed fan!
However, this past Monday night savored of something new: THE GAGA CONCERT!!! Yes, I went to the Lady Gaga concert at the United Center in Chicago this past week. Oh-My-GOD! It was aaaamaaaaaazing!!!! My two cousins and I went and had seats straight across the stage almost at ther very top of the arena. We were high up, and they cost $140, but they were excellent seats! And, what a night!
First, Scissor Sisters opened. If you haven't heard of them before it's probably because "You're not gay, and you're not British", as the lead singer jokingly mentioned at the end of their opening number. They were phenomenal, and I would absolutely listen to them again. However, they only played from 8-8:30, which meant that, because Gaga decided to be diva-ishly late, we then waiting for a little over an hour for Gaga to perform. Personally, I find it rude. You know what time you're scheduled to start. Don't make me sit for an hour waiting for your highness to meander onto the stage. So annoying!!! Luckily, she did make up for it, but the people sitting next to us didn't arrive until 9:15 because they had read on blogs that she was notorious for making her fans wait...and sometimes even for close to 2 hours!!
The concert, however, was beyond words. Four set changes, each with about 3 songs per set, and a variety of costume changes made the concert an entire experience, not just an "outdoor concert" event. Stefani (aka Lady Gaga) also actually interacted with her audience. She called one person at one point, which conveniently led into her "Telephone" song, she would pause between pieces to speak about self-esteem and individuality and pursuing your dreams...and she is quite well-spoken. Loud, and very in your face, but rather well-spoken. And she put on a GREAT show. I would go see her again in a heartbeat.
The opener? Dance in the Dark. Encore #1? Bad Romance. Encore #2? Born This Way. Best song of the evening? Tough call, but I REALLY loved her production of "Teeth." I'm not a big fan of the song but when it's performed live it has life and intrigue and exuberence. It's great! Plus, she also accompanied herself on the piano for a few numbers, which was very cool.
And then, of course, part of the entire Gaga experience is watching the fans, and they did not disappoint. Expect to see everything from plain Janes to men in stilletos, and face painting to barely-there attire. It was awesome!!! One of the best concerts we've attended, and I would go again in half a breath. I would even be willing to pay more...and hope she makes me wait less in the future. I might not be a converted little monster, waving my paws like many others, but I am a committed fan!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)