Author Archives: carlieblissirwin

Help!

Posted on by
2

So Rent the Runway is having an awesome sale right now – 40% off today only!

That means that I could rent either one of these out-of-my-price-range designer dresses for less than $50. Total!

I was already considering using Rent the Runway for New Years Eve, and with this great sale, how can I resist?

The only problem is that we don’t exactly have set New Years Even plans yet… but after a couple of casual discussions with our friends, I was assured that I would be able to wear a sequin dress (yay!).

So now I just need to decide – which dress?

I love the gold one, but I have a feeling that color would not look as great on a pale, brunette me.

I also love the stripes on the other one, but it’s not as fitted. But I could always wear it with a belt?

Help me out – I need opinions, stat!

P.S. If you’ve never tried Rent the Runway, I highly recommend them. I rented a dress for a black tie wedding two summers ago and loved it! You can read about it here.

Sweater 1, Gatsby 0

Posted on by
2

Last night, we tried to take Gatsby for a walk after work, as is our daily ritual.

The temperature had dipped below 40 degrees, and Gatsby hadn’t been in weather that cold since last winter. So naturally, as good pet-owners, we forced him into put him in his sweater.

Gatsby hates his sweater. With the burning passion of a thousand suns. No, a million suns.

Getting the thing on him in the first place is no easy task. It requires catching him (usually by gently pulling him out from under a table by one or two legs, whatever is within reach), shoving (again, gently) his head through the hole and then somehow wrangling his paws (which at this point are writing in protest) through the “sleeves.”

Then he completely freezes up (see the first photo).

Yesterday, we succeeded in unfreezing him and actually got him out the door, which was an accomplishment in and of itself. But then after he did his business and walked approximately half a block, he was done. He sat his little butt on the cold concrete sidewalk (really, Gatsby? That was better than walking?) and refused to move.

Walk over.

He is a handsome little devil though, isn’t he?

Trader Joe’s is making me fat and I love it

Posted on by
1

When it comes to holiday treats, Trader Joe’s rules. Chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate truffles, peppermint white chocolate pretzels – if you’re on a diet, STAY AWAY!

But who goes on a diet during the holidays??

My newest addiction are the milk chocolate salted caramel butter cookies. Yes, the name is a mouthful, but the cookie is a mouthful of pure deliciousness.

I can’t bring myself to look at the nutrition facts, so right now I’m just pretending that they’re not that bad for me. Plus, they’re small. So how much damage could one do? (nevermind that my usual serving is three…)

Lately, these cookies are what makes me excited to come home at night.

That, and seeing Will and Gatsby, of course.

The cookies can’t love me back. I have to keep telling myself that.

Walk around the block

Posted on by
1

There’s no shortage of awesome architecture here in Chicago.

Proof: These cool buildings can all be found within a 1-block radius in River North.

I took these photos a couple days ago when I decided to leave work for 5 minutes to take a quick walk and enjoy the nice fall weather.

Sometimes it’s fun to play “tourist.” All it takes is a moment to stop and look up.

But I recommend doing it somewhere off to the side so you don’t get body-checked from behind by a businessman on a mission. (Real tourists: please take note.)

 

Smells like Christmas spirit

Posted on by
Reply

Guys! Today is a busy one, but I had to do a quick post about this candle.

I got it yesterday at Anthropologie, and it’s called Sweet Balsam.

And sweet balsam, does it smell good!

On the Anthro website, they describe the scent as “freshly cut evergreens join dewy spring bulbs.” But really, it smells like straight-up Christmas tree.

Which is awesome when you have  fake tree from Target that smells like a mildewy crawl-space.

The Pump Room

Posted on by
Reply

Last Friday was date night with the hubs (I actually never call him that) at The Pump Room.

Back in the day, The Pump Room in the Amabassador East Hotel was famous for its glamorous clientele (think Sinatra, Bogart, Bette Davis), and was the place in Chicago to see and be seen (read about it here). But it experienced a gradual decline in the 1990s and by the time I became a Chicago resident, I’m pretty sure that almost no one went there. <sad trombone>

But then along came Ian Schrager and Jean-Georges Vongerichten (fancy restaurant/hotel people), who completely re-worked the menu and  renovated the whole place, including the hotel, which is now called the Public Hotel.

It just reopened last month, and at the risk of sounding extremely un-hip – the place was hoppin’!

By the time we left, the restaurant, bar and hotel lobby were packed with very stylishly dressed people. The entire place was one big party!

The sleek, modern/slightly futuristic vibe of the restaurant is pretty cool (there are glowing balls of various sizes suspended from the ceiling), and the food is really good, and actually reasonably priced.

A few tips if you plan to check out the new hot spot in the Chi (yes, I’m aware I sound like a complete tool): dress to impress – trendy, but not too formal, go hungry, be ready to people-watch, and keep an eye out for celebs! (You know if you’re into that sort of thing…)

I’m beginning to feel a lot like succumbing

Posted on by
2

I know I scolded Bloomingdale’s a couple of months ago for putting up their Christmas decorations in September. (And, come on – that was completely justified.)

But as we inch ever-closer to December, it seems that warm, twinkling Christmas-y feeling is stirring in the depths of my cold, barren soul.

Maybe it’s the fact that my bright red peacoat is back in regular rotation in my wardrobe.

Or maybe it’s because the gingerbread latte has arrived at Starbucks, along with their cute holiday-themed cups. (In my book, the current season is determined based purely on what is on the Starbucks signature drink menu, and that alone.)

And this morning, I received an email notification that the new holiday issue of Lonny is out!

Also, it snowed a little yesterday. So there’s that. (Please excuse my lack of excitement.)

BUT I absolutely will NOT be busting out the *NSYNC Christmas album.  Until after Thanksgiving.

A girl has to have something to look forward to!

(source)

I missed my own 3 seconds of fame

Posted on by
Reply

(source)

Guess what? I was on the NBC 5 Chicago news last night! Did you see it?

Because I didn’t.

Yesterday I decided to go to Corner Bakery for lunch. As I was walking along Michigan Avenue, dodging tourists, fixing my bangs (it was windy) and trying to decide if I should get the chopped salad with or without bleu cheese, a handsome young fellow with a microphone that had a blue logo on it (remember that!) popped up in front of me and asked me what I thought about “robocalling.”

Uhh…

Yes, that’s what I said. “Uhh…”

Then I went on to mumble some stuff about not wanting to pay for things I didn’t ask for and ignoring calls from numbers I don’t recognize. I can’t remember. I got distracted when I realized the camera guy was focusing in on my bad side, which is my right side thanks to some weird bangs-looking-like-sideburns issue I have going on right now. (Again with the bangs!)

Anyway, I was fairly certain I would NOT make it on air because I’m clearly an idiot who is uninformed about robocalling (Robots can call us on the phone now!? Can they clean bathrooms yet?). Also, my attempt to slowly rotate my right side away from the camera probably looked kind of creepy.

BUT wouldn’t you know, a little after 5 pm yesterday, Will gets a text from his friend Dan that he saw me on the news! Great! Actually, not great! I’m not a fan of looking like a ditz in public!

So, I rushed to make it home in time for the 6:00 news on CBS – they have a blue logo right? – to assess the damage. And I made it! And I watched. And I did not see myself. Unless the way I view myself is so unrealistic and distorted that I can’t even recognize my own image on TV, but NO! That was not the case.

Turns out, it was on NBC.

Excuse me, but isn’t their logo a colorful peacock of sorts?? They have no business using a blue logo on their microphone, amiright?

CBS wanna-bes.

So I was pissed, but no matter – I was sure it would be posted on online.

NOPE.

All of the other NBC news stories from that day (all of them!) were posted, but the video about robocalling? Just a 3 minute clip of Attorney General Lisa Madigan going “BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH.” Ridiculous. And of course the story wasn’t sexy enough to make the lineup on the flashy 10:00 news.

So I missed what might be my only chance in life to see how stupid I really look to other people.

Did any of you happen to see it?? If so, please just tell me that I looked like a supermodel and spoke with the wit and intelligence of Tina Fey. (Even if I actually looked like Tina Fey and spoke with the wit and intelligence of a supermodel.)

(Not that it’s bad to look like Tina Fey!)