Febulous Finds & Fun.

Everyone that reads this blog knows me, I think, or at least I hope.
...and if you know me, you must know that I'm a girl that loves fun.

Not-frisbee-in-the-park fun, rockclimbing-excursions-until-you-bleed fun, nor Magic: The Gathering fun; not even, drink-beer-watch-sports fun.
I like my fun served straight up.

I want to laugh until I cry with my best friends and make some mems.
I also want to find great outfits for real cheeep.
oh yeah, and I like Fun. too.
[click that link and hear snippets of their new album. Sasha & I have been lovin' it. Baby boy Lostotter says it's "unimpressive." #hipsters #snob]

So we'll start from the beginning, because this weekend was full of freaking Febulous Fun.

The "vacation buddies"

Friday I hung out with my childhood best buds. We are second generation girlfriends- because our moms go way back. Basically, I've known some of them since the womb. [which is just weird to say]. We sat around and ate pizza (with the moms!) and laughed, until beer came out of my nose, about all the hijinks we got away with that they are just learning about now. I love sitting at a table surrounded by old school pals that knew me when...
I had braces
I had the Kate Gosselin haircut
I thought I would marry Lance Bass
I screamed "JACKPOT!" at a bag of potato chips
I was judgmental
I was scared to swim in the lake "all the way to the booies"

from granny to "all gravy baby"

Saturday was chock full of Febulous Friend Time [FFT!] thrifting with the lizard [what's better than friends that share your name!?] She just returned stateside from three weeks in New Zealand. To welcome her back we visited my all time favorite Salvation Army store [87th & Harlem]. She helped me hem a dress, and respected the nun-esque shoes I purchased.

Let's talk about this dress. Seriously looks like something someone's Great Aunt Mildred would wear. But the pattern is so great. Basically, a little snip snip, scarf and sweater later... I was lookin' Febulous. It was also a sweet deal- $2.50 [only half a lincoln!?].

I left the lizard to help Kim & Adam celebrate their wedding at Blokes & Birds in Lincoln Park and saw some of my other best gal pals-- the high school ones.

...then I landed in Rogers Park for a night of raucous laughter with the one and only Kathleen  Leahy and her lovah boy [& my friend in real life], Bill.

I woke up, sped from the northside, dictating texts to Bill, to have brunch with Tinley Park's #1 stunnah- Tom Brice. [that guy knows how to have fun, breakfast is never before 10am.]

To round out this FFT... The [former/future] roomies + me + Kelsey + Jeanette watched the 84th annaul Academy Awards. [srsly. Billy Crystal? GET THE HOOK!]


...Oh, you wanted details? pues, Baby Girl's tired.
 I'll spare ya. We laughed, we drank, we ate. [push repeat]. There was minimal dancing, good-natured needling, and just a lil craftin' : )

[i don't say this enough] I love my life. [I'm so blessed]

Don't say you don't love it. 

Febulous Fat Tuesday

So it's Fat Tuesday.
Or Mardis Gras.
Or Paczki Day.
... or a day where some people eat pancakes.
.... or a day where some people decide to what to give up for lent.

That's just cute, righ? And mildly reminiscent of the ads in the
St.Stephen's bulletin. 

I live a life steeped in tradition. For better or for worse I am acutely aware that who I am is largely a prodcut of who I come from and what they do. [see my thoughts on the Southside Irish]. Well. I grew up Catholic, and we "did" lent. [I say "do" lent because apparently some people don't do lent... whatever that means.] During the entirety of my childhood, today was the last day to get your fill [of whatever you were giving up for lent...pop, gum, swears, beer, baked goods- you name it we gave it up] and tomorrow was Ash Wednesday,  it was meatless, solemn and devoid of vices [which one is not like the other?].



...what does that mean for me as an adult? What does my Lent look like?

... and isn't Lent just for Catholics and Hipsters?

Please Google "Lent", you won't be disappointed.

Some people give things up for lent, others try to add something new into their routine to get closer to God and form new habits in anticipation of the Resurrection. There are people who go to fish frys, start bible studies and some who fast [i call them super human, i like to eat].

Then there's me. I used to give up pop every year, I've tried to give up smoking, and freshman year of college I even gave up Facebook. This year for lent, Baby Girl Brice [BGB] is giving up swear words. [kind of a big deal. you can read about "the other f word in my life" here] Not because it makes me holy, or because my mom made me [true story: giving up something for lent was  required as a kid] ... just because. It will be like a fast for my mouth. Maybe I'll learn to think before I speak, maybe I'll say kinder words. Maybe I'll come up with less profane, more creative insults. who knows.

I hope that going swear free for forty days will make me aware of the rich tradition that I'm a part of by following Jesus, and the part of that tradition that prepares for Easter [which i've equated to Jesus' debutant ball] in an intentional way. The tradition that believes Jesus is here and His work is ongoing- and that our Hope arrived on this earth and brought a new way. The tradition that believes He brought the kingdom of God to a bunch of ragamuffins who were totally clueless [and my guess- totally swear-ful] by eradicating sin and death from life as we know it, by laying down his life on a cross.
There is nothing I could do to truly grasp what the resurrection means, that this love came and moved in with us, took the trash out for us and said, "there's a better way to live." 

 I hope this little tiny thing [no swears] will make me feel a little more connected to that big thing [death and Resurrection] by a change of consciousness, not because there's no room for swears in the kingdom of God. 





What about you, how do you "do" or "don't do" lent? Are you giving something up this year?

FEBULOUS FOOD

my pinterest board "chow for now" has been getting some serious play lately. we've been eatin' good in the neighborhood (but better than applebee's) in East 28...

I may have posted this already. Roasted veggies, with  chickpeas and feta over quinoa. Delicious, but pretty  much the same thing I eat every day. Sasha told me that my cooking is just "variations on a theme." it's called hobo vegetarian, and I like it. 

These cookies held so much promise, but they were so bad. Nutella chocolate chip cookies- you are the absolute worst. I made four dozen- I'm also an idiot. 

Hareem Masala. Best.Idea.I've.Ever.Had. So spicy and so good. Seriously gang, get yourself the 19 cent masala packet and go nuts.I used yellow pepper, wild rice and a little extra salsa to flavor this (sounds gross but it works- except maybe the wild rice but I finna be healthy.) mmm. just remembering this big smelly pot makes me really happy. (whatever I'm a weirdo.)

Bruschetta. 

Roasted veggies & Gnocchi in a lemon garlic aioli. (plus too much cheese) real good, real fatty. oops. 

Hope you're feeling febulous!

Febulous in the most unlikely places...

Working from home today. Which is great for so many reasons [most all of those reasons involve me in sweat pants drinking coffee] seriously, hook yourself up with an internship that can give you work-from-home-days. I'm lucky my apartment is so small because my commute is under 60 seconds on such days- I wake up and I can lunge to my computer [I don't, but it's nice to know that I could.]

that's what we call a tangent..
...let's get down to all that classy/fabulousness [remember that thinly veiled new year's resolution?]


I'm going to let you in on one of the best  parts of being a commuter/working stiff, The Midway Park Saver.

That's what the sign looks like when I leave work [except it's been lighter the past few weeks] and I don't have an AM picture [it's the same sign, but the sun is there, duh.]

The Midway Park Saver, to the uninitiated looks like a run down, roach motel of parking lots. In fact, it is a bit run down, but it's got hella character and I haven't seen a cockroach yet. This narrow lot is about two blocks long and is really cheap. The staff is so friendly and there is a wee little shuttle bus to wisk you up to the front of the lot on cold January/fabulous February [FEBulous] mornings. I love this parking lot.


My internship is great and everything, but I really look forward to checking out at the Midway Parksaver.

I look forward to giving the kind old man in that booth my $6.45, and him kindly sending me on my way. Yes, the cheaper chicken that I am- I look forward to giving someone else my money.  Maybe i'm naive, maybe my internship makes me miserable, maybe they're pumping mood-altering drugs into my car while I'm working, maybe I'm just weird.
I'm serious. I love the Midway Park Saver. I think it's a joint operation between the Polish and Irish mafia [basically there's about a dozen old white men who are so full of perogies and mashed potatoes that they are pastier than me and probably have type two diabetes], it's like a glue factory for old bookies [no idea what means.]. These guys aren't taking their parking lot gig too seriously, and they kind of remind me of the pictures I've seen from my Grandpa's graduation from the Police Academy. They're real happy, real nice and drive a shuttle bus faster than is legal in the continental US. They're so nice that once I lost my parking ticket, and the man didn't charge me the usual $50 fine [get real] because I started crying and he said, "don't do this to me, I have three daughters." That's real life. That's old school. That's Chicago. That's my favorite. [I also wasn't supposed to tell anyone that story... so you didn't hear it from me.- see what I mean bout the mafia?!]

...so that's what makes me FEBulous lately. 




also! check it out- I'M PUBLISHED. [i'm the intern. this is pretty cool.] http://www.chicagohomeless.org/speakers-bureau-mobilizes-students-at-tilden/

Fabulous February (&Food!)

Thanks for putting up with the three measly posts I managed for January. I'm hopeful that February will better. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of any decent alliteration for February or Leap Year (Leap Year Lolz is probably only funny in my head.) SO. I'm doing Fabulous February (& Food!) [it is neither fabulous nor contingent on February...] pretty much, it's going to be just like any other blog around here. I'll post pictures of the fabulous food i'm eating [recipes from the pinterest. duh.], the outfits that make me look fabulous [i don't know how to photoshop though, so I'll have to really be lookin' fabulous.] and other warm fuzzy things that come my way.

Today, February 1, I'll gonna give you the scoop on my fabulous internship. 

For my Social Work Practicum, I am interning with the Community Organizing division of the Chicago Coalition  for the the Homeless (CCH). Sweet. My main responsibilities are to organize and escort our homeless leaders to Speaker's Bureau Event [these awesome adults talk to students about their experiences with homelessness. so powerful.], and organize students on campuses across the city to take action on issues surrounding homelessness [if you go to college in Chicago or the burbs and you want to participate-lemme know.]  So that's that. But what made yesterday fabulous was phantom, faux Father Ben (pffb). 

pfFB is never in the office, I met him for the first time yesterday... He's halfway through the 11 year process to become a Jesuit Preist. He's been at CCH for going on three years and he's a phenomenal organizer. Yesterday, we had coffee. ...we had what organizers call "a one-on-one." Those are meetings between organizers and leaders, it's a conversation where you get to the bottom of what makes you angry, what makes you want to work for change and then you dream about how to make changes together. Had pfFB not taken pity on me and invited me to have a one-on-one at Einstein Bros Bagels. I would have completely missed the point. I was just starting to hate organizing, thinking it was just a series of sales pitches to get someone on your team. That's not true, that's not it, and that's not all. pfFB put me in a different head space, he told his story and asked mine. He listened well, he asked thoughfult questions. He told me to do the same, and just relate to people [duh.] ...It was a beautiful vision, it was fabulous. 


Now, onto Fabulous food...

Homemade queso. oringal recipe (as in, i made it up.)

Homemade pizza crust. Rosemary olive oil with Zucchini and
purple onion. topped with "good cheese" #pinterest.

vegan chocolate banana cake. stupid good. (half me/half
vegan baking website.)

oh yeah. me and these psychos made our own bread. EFF YES.