GLADIATORS IN SUITS

yep. you are seeing correctly. i am writing an entire post dedicated to my obsession that is scandal. why you ask? well why not? i mean if you don't watch this show you won't read this and if you do…well you are nodding your head right now in agreement with me that it's so worth writing about. am i right or am i right?   

so i have to admit i came to the party that is scandal a little late. i've been on a bit of a new show boycott because these crazy tv networks get you hooked on a show and then BAM! cancelled. i.e: smash, lipstick jungle, cashmere mafia, off the map, the new normal…i could go on forever. so naturally when the previews for scandal started popping up during grey's anatomy and all things abc…i ignored them aggressively. well it wasn't long before one friend, then two friends, then three friends started telling me about this amazing new show. pish posh! I wasn't getting my tv heart broken again. i just don't think it could have handled it. 

boy o boy was i wrong. 

after about the sixth or seventh friend telling me i need to stop being such a stubborn mule i decided to buckle down and queue it up on netflix. 

let the madness begin. 

48 hours and 29 episodes later i was officially drinking and swimming around in the gladiator water and walking around saying things like, "it's handled" and "i'm listening to my gut." what is it about this show that just pulls you in and the next thing you know you are freaking rooting for a married man and his mistress to live happily ever after? or you find yourself falling head or heels in crush with a top secret killing super spy? dang you shonda rhimes. I'M RUINED! (ha. fitz said that to olivia once) And don't even get me started on the amazing wardrobe that is Olivia Pope. i mean…how is it even possible that a girl can drink so much red wine risk wearing white all the time? Oh right…it's a TV show tanyel. i mean this show is crazy good. I can't say it enough. 

every thursday i literally count down the hours till i get to spend an hour with olitz oh and did i mention the married man is the president of the united states? i mean come on. if that doesn't say watch me i don't know what does. 

13hrs and counting...

FRIDAY'S LETTERS

DEAR FRIDAY, i have never been so happy to see you in my life. this has been the longest week ever. what took you so long? DEAR LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, thanks for giving me the opportunity to witness my first moonrise and sunrise. it was truly magical. i miss you so much. please have me back soon! DEAR MOM, i'm so excited to have you in town this weekend. sorry for almost popping your head off with my insanely tight hug. what can i say…i've miss you like "whoa!" 

DEAR FALL, hello lover! i am so happy to have you back in my life. i love looking out my window and seeing you in the trees, the awesome clothes and of course the return of pumpkin spice lattes. DEAR SCANDAL, you are killing me! you are by far the best show to ever grace tv. please never go off the air. thanks. DEAR STASH CHAI GREEN TEA, i have officially become obsessed with you. i believe my friends are starting to worry i may turn into a giant tea leaf. but i don't care…you have my heart. 

love and happiness

xo

THE WEEKEND WE FELT LIKE THE OBAMA'S, KENNEDY'S & ROMNEY'S

have you ever gone on a vacation that gives you an out of body experience? i'm not even sure if that makes sense but this recently just happened to me. a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of heading out to lake winnipesaukee in new hampshire with my friends debbie and becky. this place was magical. from the moment we got off the plane a sense of calm and ease came over me and i knew it was going to be the most amazing three days of my life. 
my friend becky is the kind of friend that likes to "invite" herself places. now most people may think this is rude but i'm a pretty huge fan of it because she always lets me tag along and i end up having an amazing time. you know those times "for the record book" good. well this weekend was no exception. one late night over bottles of wine and a bonfire…debbie mentioned that her parents have a place on lake winnipesaukee…of course becky jumped at this opportunity and next thing we knew… we were booking flights and packing our bags and heading to new hampshire. 
and let me tell you…
THIS PLACE IS SERIOUSLY AMAZING. 

we get off the plane…jump in our rental car and head to the lake.  i'm not sure if it was just me or the fact this place seemed unreal but the air was cleaner, the sky was clearer and the water was like crystal. the moment we arrived at the house we didn't even unpack our bags. we just ran straight to the water and stared. now as most of you know…i'm not a nature person at the least but man o man this place was for sure going to give me a run for my money. yep that's actually me down there standing in non-chlorine water. (mom, aren't you so proud? look at me in nature!)

after we got our quick fix of the lake we decided to unpack and get our necessities. you know…wine, cheese, pasta, more wine and such. we hit up the only store within miles and come to find out it's also the local gift shop and restaurant all in one. you know… the kind of place where they sell everything from omelets to post cards. and the prices i tell ya...these puppies were only $15 bucks a piece.          

THAT'S THE COST OF ONE GLASS OF WINE IN CHICAGO! ONE GLASS! 

if i could have shipped some of these lovelies home i would have. no joke. 

becky had made two declarations for this trip. 1. eat as much lobster as humanly possible and 2. go fishing everyday. as i'm sure you've gathered…when she puts her mind to something it happens and yes she dragged us right along with her. i never thought i would say this but…i fished everyday. me! the girl who's idea of roughing it is in a hotel without room service. but i decided to step outside of my cushy little comfort zone and do things i normally wouldn't do. so fish we did. fast forward hours later and we caught one fish. one fish the whole weekend and it was so small we had to throw him back. i of course became very attached and decided to name him roger. roger was a good fish. a loyal fish. and so not feeling becky's love kisses. (yep. she kissed a fish …and a lobster but that story comes later) and now for the photo dump...

me doing my best impression of a wind goddess. not bad huh?

and of course i had to bring my knitting.

and there you have it. there are tons more pictures but i won't bore you with those today. (but don't you worry. they are coming) stay tuned for a few girls who eat posts from this trip as well. all i have to say is…don't mess with a girl and her lobster! 

until next time

xo

OTHER PEOPLE'S KIDS

just recently i have become obsessed with stand-up comedian louis ck. he has this amazing series called "other people's kids." if you ever get a chance to check it out…it's hilarious. this new obsession of mine  has started to make me very aware of my friend's and their kids. so a few weeks ago i was visiting my friend angie and her family and starting thinking about how my life is so not "kid friendly." now don't get me wrong… i love (most) kids but i'm at the age now were people feel the need to give me the "you are almost thirty" speech. this speech usually consists of three topics. 1. marriage 2. buying a house 3. kids. what is it about thirty that automatically makes people think all these things are a must? are they going to come and clean up after my future kids? are they going to babysit? are they going to hire me a housekeeper? i'm about 100% sure they aren't. oy! 

i digress. 

so when i was visiting ang and her kiddos i really got to see what it's like to be a young mom and have two kids and one on the way and i must say….brava ang!! i mean she may be one of the coolest mom's i have ever seen. her two bambinos are amazing. i kept telling her, "if i got a guarantee that my kids would turn out this well i would maybe start popping them out now. there was a moment when i was talking to her little girl addie and i felt like i was talking to a grown woman. what? since when do kids talk like adults? or maybe i'm just a child in a 29 yr olds body?  "tan tan, did you know that my mama has a baby in her belly and i'm going to help her take care of it? are you going to come visit the baby?" - addie huh? really? SHE'S 4! so um yea. 

kids today i tell ya.

i always think from time to time about what my great grand parents would think of the world today. for some reason i can still hear my great grams telling me, "don't eat anything that can't expire!" no little debbie's! got it grams. she didn't say anything about candy though! man o man… when was the last time you were at an old fashion candy store. well lucky lucky me…i was in the right town at the right time. wakarusa dime store is pretty rad if i don't say so myself. my little helpers addie and jack were totally okay with this little visit as well. jumbo jelly beans, bacon flavored suckers and last but not least… my mom's fav candy…SUGAR BABIES! when is the last time you saw a jumbo jelly bean? well this was my first time and i was just like a kid in a candy store…no pun intended.  

so here's to 4 year olds going on 44 and 29 year olds going on 12! 

chocolate smiles and jumbo jelly beans!!!!

GIRLS WHO EAT 1.8

Karyn's Cooked 

why do i say never to things and end up doing them? 

i mean don't get me wrong. i'm a super open-minded person…especially when it comes to food but there are just some things i truly believe i won't like. 

vegan food is one of those things. (or so i thought)

i've been told there is an age that we all hit were we say no to something and no one fights you on it? is it 30? please be 30. 

now i'm sure from past 'girls who eat' posts; you have gathered…i'm so not vegan. well i'm still not but i'm definitely very very open to having vegan food every now and then after visiting this awesome place…karyn's cooked. my friend lauren came to workout with me one saturday morning at indigo studio. karyn's is literally one block away from the studio; so lauren suggested it. i immediately rolled my eyes (as i do) and of course made some sort of disapproving grunt noise. she quickly told me to suck it up and remember my 2013 resolution of "think outside the box!" (why do i tell my friends these things? it always comes back to bite me in the butt) she quickly pulled me by the arm and dragged me the one block to karyn's. 

we walk in and i'm quickly put in my place; when i see a kid no older than four years old…chowing down on what i can only assume is tofu. at that moment i realized i was being such a baby. i had just thrown an adult temper tantrum over food. lordy!! 

we are shown our seats and handed a one page brunch menu. i start to browse and start spotting out words like "soy textured vegetable protein" and "tofu". i quickly closed my eyes, took a deep breathe and pulled my big girl panties on and under the guidance of my sweet sweet friend; selected the "rainbow mexicana." sounds safe enough right? 

what's in this you ask? why i'll tell you..."taco meat"(cue the textured protein), tofu scramble, onion, red pepper, yellow pepper and jalapeno with a side of tortillas, soy cheese and chipotle sauce. now that i look back…this did not sound good at all. 

minutes later….

the waiter comes back to the table holding two plates of "food" that look oddly similar; even though lauren and i ordered different things. (i quickly learned that all scrambled tofu dishes look the same) i stare at my plate for about a minute and mentally start to organize my plan for tackling this meal. i first seek out the recognizable foods. 

peppers. check.

jalapenos. check.

onions. check. 

(worst come to worse i'll eat these three and order a pizza when i get home. no wait. sushi.) 

mmm….sushi. 

i digress. 

lauren taps her fork on the table to bring me back to attention. clears her throat and says; "get at it!" while pointing to my food. 

i decide to balls it up and start assembling my "taco." i close my eyes and take a bite. 

AND….

of course it was amazing. 

how can this be? there's no meat, cheese or eggs in this dish. well ladies and gents…i was proven wrong. vegans clearly know what they are talking about. it actually tasted like a taco. a really really amazing one. who knew! (clearly millions of people) needless to say i cleared my plate. the only things left on it were a lot of peppers. ha!

sooooo good. 

dear karyn…

i don't know you but…

you are one smart lady. brava!!! 

there is now one less vegan disbeliever out there. 

(i eat my words…never say never)

until next time...

FRIDAY'S LETTERS

ignore the red eye

dear chicago, man o man have you kept me busy and exhausted this summer. don't you worry though…i have loved every minute of it. dear tinder dating app, i fought you and i fought you and now i have to say. you're pretty rad. who knew? dear forty-five lbs lost, don't think i'm writing this to say i miss you guys but could you be so kind and send a letter to twenty more of your friends and tell them to get the hell out of here!! thanks.  dear indigo studio, i love you so much and you don't even know it. thanks for keeping this chick motivated. dear mom, don't you worry…i'm still trying to get you steve harvey tickets. dear amazing friends of mine, i know i tell all of you individually how much i love you guys but seriously…i.love.you. dear toyota solara, you finally sold! we had some good times didn't we? but…i do not miss you and your payments. as lightning mcqueen from the movie cars would say, "ka-chow!" dear scandal, why aren't you coming back on until october 3rd? do you not care about my mental health? oh and did i mention i'm kind of mad at you for making me root for a cheating married man and his amazingly dressed mistress. but i still love you. 

xoxo

LIFE IS IN SESSION: PART II

and now for more photo dumping…

my best friend chantelle aka: tooty was in town earlier this summer for about 48 hours; so of course we had to jam pack those little hours…and pack we did. 

naturally i completely spaced on taking any pictures and only ended up with a few from this awesome cooking class we took at bespoke cuisine 

have you ever been to a cooking class? well if you haven't i highly recommend this one! oh and did i mention is BYOB. yep. so you know what that meant for me the tooty… lots of bottles of wine. (but don't worry. we shared. a little)

we went from just a nice civilized group of friends to full blown chaos, dancing and smart car amazement (i just can't get over how little these cars are. what happens when a strong wind blows or you pass a semi on the highway? hmm.) 

oh yea. my friends and i are those people.  

now onward…

so i'm not sure if any of you remember but earlier this year i made a pact with my friend becky about being more social. well part of that pact was agreeing to friday evenings spent at millennium park. when i first agreed to this i was thinking in the back of my head…oh this won't last long. no one can meet every friday and just sit and listen to music. FAIL. I WAS WRONG. we have hit up millennium park more times than i can count and i'm not complaining at all. i had no idea that you could go and make a picnic and just sit for hours. there's something i can't quite describe about this amazing park smack dab in the middle of the city. its become one of my favorite places in this city. if you get a chance to come hear a concert or two you totally should. you won't regret it! 

can you see the "Go Hawks!"
(Yep…that's how old this pictures is…sorry)

i'm pretty sure you are rolling your eyes by now so i'll stop.

for now…. 

i actually have so many more pictures but i guess i'll spare you. unless i decide to do a throwback thursday series on here. hmm. there's a thought. 

when does summer officially end? i never thought i would say this but…i'm exhausted. 

stay tuned my fellow tangled bunnies…there will be more social butterflyness (not a word. i know) to come! 

oh and can i just throw out one more thing…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY... OH DAD OF MINE!!! 

yep. i threw it back to 2007. that's what happens when... every other photo we have our eyes closed. 

xoxo till next time