The Windy City
Andy and I took a little mini vacation to Chicago this past weekend to go to a Matt Nathanson concert at the House of Blues, and to just play tourist in the big city. Unfortunately, our tendency to explore a city on foot was hindered greatly by the colder than normal temperatures that made everything bitterly cold.
Regardless, we still had a great time, and lucked out on Priceline by landing a reservation at The Palmer House. The location made trips to the nearby attractions and hot spots bearable while the sun was up, including Millenium Park (shown above) with the Cloud Gate sculpture that reflects the surrounding skyline.
November 23, 2008 | Permalink
Pecha Kucha
Having not been to a Pecha Kucha since the first one in February, we went to the fourth volume (and last one of the year) last weekend at the IMA. The Indianapolis Pecha Kucha site describes the night as “Business presentation, meet rock show. Bullet points, meet fight club.”
The presentations always seem to cover a wide range of topics, from “Intersection of Ornamental & Utilitarian Gardens” to “Consumer Culture in Contemporary Photography”. I really enjoyed Gautam Rao’s presentation called “Everyday Oddness” which included paintings of things he purchased from Target, and other everyday items — such as his computer monitor, the firefox logo, captcha codes and this self-portrait he painted using his web cam. (I’d love to see him do the same thing, spoofing this famous Rockwell painting.)
Overall, a great event to go to if you are in the mood for something unique and light-hearted. The next one is on February 20, 2009.
November 16, 2008 | Permalink
Checks & Balances
I’ll admit that as ugly as they are, I typically just use the free plastic checkbook covers provided by the bank. But when I am in a hurry, I have trouble distinguishing my business checkbook from my personal one (not to mention my husbands that is usually nearby) so I decided it was long overdue that I invest in a checkbook cover.
I made my way over to Etsy (the best site for buying handmade items) and picked up a great cover from this shop, with items made by Carissa Black. (I love that she uses Amy Butler fabrics!)
My cover arrived in the mail soon after and I am so pleased with the quality and craftsmanship. I will definitely come back to this etsy shop in the future!
October 31, 2008 | Permalink
Keep Calm and Carry On
A sucker for trendy posters, I have had my eye on this one for a while. People seem to have a “love it or hate it” approach to this reproduction of a WWII propaganda poster but the chocolate brown one from sfgirlbybay is a perfect piece for our guest bathroom.
October 21, 2008 | Permalink
BrowserPack
Any designer and developer knows the headaches that IE6 can bring, but thanks to Jason Wendel (friend and former co-worker) checking for those phantom margins just got easier. Introducing the BrowserPack.
I’ve been using BrowserPack for a while, and of all the solutions I could find online, this one was by far the easiest to install and use. If you are a designer or developer who considers cross-browser compatibility an important part of any web site, I recommend that you download the BrowserPack today.
October 14, 2008 | Permalink
Cast your Vote for Kiva
You may have heard of and/or donated to Kiva before, but now is your chance to help them earn $1.5 million. The have currently made it to the Final Five of the American Express Members Project and need your vote.
Kiva is an organization that matches lenders giving as small as $25 to entrepreneurs in countries working to pull themselves out of poverty. It’s a great organization and your vote can help them win the $1.5M prize. If you aren’t a cardmember, encourage those to who are to cast a vote.
Whether or not Kiva wins the grand prize, consider giving the gift of Kiva for birthdays and holidays, because it really is the gift that keeps on giving.
October 7, 2008 | Permalink
It’s That Time Again
For the second year in a row, Liz and I are “Going Local.” For one week, we are challenging ourselves to only eat foods harvested within a 100 mile radius of our homes and tracking our progress on Green-Lemonade.com. Check it out!
September 8, 2008 | Permalink
Going for Gold
On Saturday we attended the 2nd Annual Dog Olympics, an event put on by Paws & Think (the wonderful organization I first mentioned here). Despite the hot and humid day, dogs enjoyed participating in such events as the Tennis Ball Race and Bobbing for Hot Dogs.
Skyler is pretty timid at high-energy events like these, with dogs running around off leash, but she behaved pretty well overall, and was perfectly content cheering on her furry friends from the sidelines. She also was happy that Three Dog Bakery was one of the vendors, and we got her a new bag of her favorite treats.
August 25, 2008 | Permalink
