The fall transition phase

I love fall and I've posted before what I love about it. In Chicago, the fall transition is full-on right now and with all the good, comes some fall drawbacks. 

I am between two phases right now in the fall transition: 1) Seasonal adjustment and 2) Working on my "second winter coat" for the upcoming snowy season.

Seasonal adjustment starts around daylight savings time when I love gaining an hour, but that means it's dark at 2 p.m. Sun becomes a myth and waking up to darkness and leaving in darkness are tough things to adjust to after a lovely summer season. 

This phase leads right into working on my "second winter coat," thanks to the availability of Halloween candy and holiday treats. Whoppers, M&Ms, caramels, oh my! Once the vendor gifts start rolling in our office, all bets are off. That's when I end up over-indulging in candy and have a hard time resisting any treats. I love the change in seasons but sometimes the adjustment takes some time.

Lately, thanks to these phases, I've been having a little issue keeping to my diet and exercise regimen. I can't help being a little generous in the soup portion or grabbing the largest baguette and hibernating from the cold wind and chill in the air. Getting to the gym lately has been a chore, not a source of relief. 

And to make the "winter coat" phase worse, being squished on the bus with a puffer jacket, especially between two "festively plump" ladies with down coats, just makes me fussy and squirmy, like a child.

This is similar to how I feel during this fall transition time

Does anyone else go through this? It's definitely not a bad feeling in spring when the sun returns and the weather starts to warm, but it seems the fall transition is always the toughest, even if the cuter clothes begin to come out.

Reader Note: Thanks everyone for your feedback on the Kate Spade purse post yesterday. Dad just confirmed that the purse arrived from Nordstrom's today! I really liked Alexa's comment about splurging on two bags a year. I think that's a great policy. I'm 90 percent sure that I'll keep it, but I'll know for sure when I see her again. Pretty things like that should be worn and enjoyed :) And I'm an enabler too so people telling me to keep it is just what I wanted to hear.

Good/bad decision: the purse edition

I love purses, mostly because they always fit. My clothing size seems to increase/decrease depending on the day (water weight sucks) but purses don't care what size you are because they love you no matter what. 

Sometimes, I would rather buy a purse than a new shirt because a) it will last longer and b) it can make any outfit I already have pop.

So after I bought Speedy for my birthday, which was quite an investment, I decided to put myself on "purse buying notice" and wait six months before I buy another one. 

Really, I only buy purses when a) it's a good, even great, deal and b) when the "urge" has returned. My habit needs to be fed, but fortunately that doesn't come around on a regular basis.

Anyhow, Nordstrom's annual women's sale is going on, which usually means amazing deals on fall items. I found knit Uggs for $58, Cole Haan bag for $178 (down from $350) and my fave DKNY tights for 25 percent off. I love walking through the racks, flipping for the deals and trying on ridiculous sunglasses for laughs.

During the sale, I will traditionally not buy anything because I'm still in "saving mode" for Christmas and have self-control, that is until last week.

Now, let me show you a picture of this Kate Spade bag that I've been lusting over for three seasons. 

Behold the Tarrytown Quinn. Boarskin leather, classic shape and my favorite shade of deep red. More like Bucky Badger red. And because I get Nordstrom's "Level 2" benefits for the rest of the year, I can ship it to Wisconsin and not pay sales tax or shipping fees.

So......I bought it because it was such a good deal. But now I need some help convincing me if I should keep it or return it.

My pro/con list on this issue is below, please leave a comment and help me decide what to do!

Pro

• 40 percent off retail price (with option of price adjustment later)
  
• No sales tax or shipping (part of Level 2 benefit and no Nordstrom's in Wisconsin)
  
• It's pretty
  
• Have wanted it for three seasons but always missed it on sale
  
• I need a red bag
  
• Can fit all my stuff
  
• Get double Nordstrom's points
  

Con

• I don't need another purse right away
  
• Although on a great sale, still not as dirt cheap as I wanted
  
• I don't wear a lot of red
  

Also, the customer service person I bought this from had a little attitude, but that's a story for another day. But let's just say, she asked if I was still hungover from the night before and implied that I have credit card debt. Neither point is true.

So help a bloggy girl out, what should I do?

Key Learnings and a relaxing weekend

It's that magic time again. Come, join me by the fire to look back on the weekend and new lessons that I've learned.

After a crazy week (cough, cough, Obama rally, cough), I opted to have a very low-key weekend, which included being home by 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights. So I'm not sure how entertaining these key learnings will be, but nevertheless, some should be of interest.

Key Learnings:

• It's nice to have a "Hugh Hefner" moment at home, wrapped in a robe (sorry no Bunny moment)

• Having a security detail doesn't detract attention

• Heat lamps on public transportation platforms are very welcome in winter, but sharing them is not

• Fall is officially here, time to transition in the winter coats and find my hats

• When you fear food has gone bad (due to not cleaning out the fridge), just toss out the entire Tupperware container, don't open it, just toss it all away

• You should do at least one nice thing for someone else each day (I gave up my seat for an elderly person at Starbucks...or thought about it)

• Candy wrappers do not make a good earrings decorations

• Shouting into your cell phone on the bus is annoying to other passengers

• Saying that someone's comment is uneducated is inappropriate, especially when the person who said it is sitting right there (hi I can hear you!)

• On a cold day, a nice warm bowl of soup tastes like heaven

• Finding a hair in the salsa at a restaurant is gross

• It's okay to be super pissed off when you receive your Entertainment Weekly issue with Twilight on the cover only to open it up and realize the first three pages of the article ARE MISSING. Come on!

I reserve my weekends to be super productive, primarily Saturdays. I do this because I save all the errands I don't get to during the week for this day (within reason). But as I mentioned, after Tuesday night in Grant Park, which took a few days to bounce back from, I opted to lay low. That meant a lot of quality time on the couch with "Eclipse" and the TV. So my end thoughts tonight are rather slim.

Oh yeah, the one errand I did do on Saturday (with Ryan) was to go to Fleet Feet in Lincoln Park to try on running shoes. While trying on shoes, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich came in to shop, complete with his security detail. No lie, I wanted it to be president-elect Obama instead, but we still gawked a little bit.

Finally, here's a cool picture I found in my stash of remaining photos from Grant Park. I have zero idea how it turned out like this but it's trippy!

How was everyone else's weekend? Do anything fun or productive? I cannot believe Thanksgiving is coming up this quickly.

Update on my 15 things before 30 list

Shortly after my August birthday, I made a list of 15 things that I wanted to do in the next year, before I turned 30. I called it my "twentysomething bucket list."

It's been about two months since I posted the list, so let's check in with how I'm doing. I could use some help prioritizing things too so please weigh in with what I should focus on next.

(All items that I've completed or have updates on are in bold)

My list:

• Make some amends with my mom

• Wear a bikini in public

• Go out on at least two dates

• Make out with at least three guys

• Volunteer - Obama campaign

• Take at least 2 yoga and Pilates classes each

• Do something totally selfless

• Take a disco dancing class

• Give $100 to charity - see picture below

• Take cooking lessons

• Make a gourmet meal for my closest friends

• Run a 5k - training starts in December, planning to run in the "Race to Wrigley" in April 2009

• Go to at least 12 new restaurants (no duplicates) - 4 so far (Counter, Mity Nice, Vinci, Wakomono)

• Read 10 books - 3 completed so far (Nineteen Minutes, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse -in progress)

• Go skinny dipping

Hmm so the updates for two months in aren't too bad. I do need to pick up my reading and of course the dating/making out items. Those are a continual work in progress, yet more difficult than I anticipated.

For my charitable donation, I picked a cause that is very close to my heart, breast cancer. My mom's mother passed away from breast cancer in the 60s so I always do what I can to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation and celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

This year, my colleague Leah was one of three staff members participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk in Atlanta, where she walked an amazing 60 miles in three days. Her hard work and dedication prompted me to donate $100 to this worthy cause. Below is a picture of our "check

 presentation." Great job Leah!

Quick notes: volunteering for the Obama campaign was an amazing experience. I learned so much from it and met some amazing people. I went once, thinking I wouldn't go back and I did every week for over five weeks, plus two weekends. I highly recommend volunteering.

Plus, does anyone know where I can take disco lessons in Chicago? I've been looking online but I can't find any! I had no idea it would be this difficult.

Any tips or preferred things that I should focus on during the upcoming winter months?

And seriously, TGIF. I cannot wait for this week to be over and have a nice, relaxing weekend. Any big weekend plans for everyone? 

Next weekend, I'm in Madison for the Badger game, but given our season, we're there more to "have fun," if you know what I mean. 

Any movies you recommend that I should check out?

My night in Grant Park

Before I get going, I need to apologize about the quality of some of the photographs you'll be seeing below. The lighting was bright and not camera-friendly so unfortunately the photos aren't as sharp as all of us hoped they would be.

Now let's begin.....

So I'm not sure if you heard but last night we had quite an event in Chicago. In fact, all eyes were on our lovely windy city. In 2000, I was out of the country and didn't vote, but I did in 2004 and was heartbroken at the results. So this year, I made sure to vote again and be there when the results were read. And last night, I was standing in a crowd of 70,000+ Obama supporters in Grant Park thinking two things:

1. This is amazing


2. What the f*ck am I doing here?

Don't get me wrong, the entire experience and the last 24 hours have been amazing, almost surreal, but the second thought did creep into my head about 9:30 p.m. after we had been standing for a few hours and the cold and aches in the legs were settling in. But looking back, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything!

We got our tickets through the campaign for being such awesome volunteers (woo woo!). A ticket there was the hottest ticket in town, so much so that some of the free tickets were being sold on Craigslist for hundreds of dollars. That's insane.

Being downtown last night was an amazing, dream-like experience. For a moment, I thought that it was the Superbowl or New Year's Eve because people were so happy and celebratory and just...acting like this was the greatest thing that was happening to the city in a long time. And it was, but it wasn't just for us, it was for the entire country. The reality of what happened last night didn't even hit me until this morning when I watched the TODAY show and started crying because it was so historic and moving.

Rather than bore you with every single detail, I've broken the evening up a bit so you can read at your leisure or interest.

Pre-Rally

My Obama rally gang included ladies I work with and non-work friends that were joining us for a night in the park. Even though food and drink were "available," we hit Elephant & Castle in the loop for some pre-event sustenance, since we didn't want to risk lines on site. The bar was hoppin' and people screamed and cheered when Illinois was projected to Obama (shocker.) It was a young crowd that was buzzing with energy. People were talking and sharing information coming in on the television as if we all knew each other before coming in there that night.

Realizing we were getting close to when people would be officially let in, we walked down to Grant Park and began joining hundreds of people, who were also streaming down to take part in the rally. Vendors sold T-shirts and buttons along the side of the road and the Art Institute (home to my brave lion), was patriotic as well.

Getting in - herding cattle

Here is where it gets interesting. Filing 70,000 people into the park through ONE entrance was going to be tricky, but the organizers were smart in bringing in a group of people in waves. So we congregated around Congress Street, where ticket holders would be let in, and that's when the reality of the massive crowd started to really sink in. 

Waiting to go into a checkpoint 

We were in a SWARM of people trying to find friends they were separated from, hanging on to street signs and light posts. Blackberry's and text messaging was going on like nuts to find friends and the latest election results because we didn't have TV's near us. Once it came time to herd our group in to the first checkpoint, there was a lot of pushing and shoving and stumbling over garbage left on the street.

Our group - Gobama!

Our group stayed together pretty well, which was amazing, especially when the crowd was moving very suddenly. To stay together, we held hands like schoolkids and walked as one, making sure we had everyone before moving on. There were multiple security checkpoints along the way, each where we had to show tickets and IDs, but did not have to go through metal detectors. Not having to go through them was a little bittersweet. Cops helped guide the crowd and people got more excited as we got closer to the park and you could see the huge beams of light coming from the stage and a massive television broadcasting the handsome Anderson Cooper (rawr!)

Once we hit the park and passed through the final checkpoint, we were at the base of the field and people started RUNNING. It was truly crazy, seeing hundreds of people on the field and more running in there to get a spot with these big beams of light flashing at you. So we did what everyone else did, hold hands and run!

On the Ground

Squeezed in like sardines, CNN was our main source of news while we waited on the field and people cheered when Obama won state after state and of course booed when McCain won (no shock there).

The crowd from our "seats"

We knew when we got there that Obama was ahead by a lot in the electoral vote, but as we watched more states rack up and the vote increase, people started getting more excited and cheer louder. But before the West Coast polls closed, there was a 45 minute gap where nothing was going on and the crowd started getting restless. Water and food were not plentiful and the bathrooms not really close to everyone on the field so we were literally just standing and waiting. People started to get a little fidgety and I told the chick in front of me, who kicked me for the third time when "stretching her knee," that if she kicked me again, I was going to break her Blackberry and her knee. I was only half-kidding, about the knee part. Then the older couple, who were ridiculously tall and blocked our view, started making out in front of us. EW. Please don't do that in front of us.

But the wait culminated in sheer pandemonium when we were shocked to see Obama projected the president-elect. 

The crowd paused at the news and then went bat sh*t crazy screaming and yelling because it was a total surprise. People were crying, hugging and kissing, just like on New Years and the buzz was reborn in the crowd. The realization that Obama won just washed over people and some could not believe it, including me. Text messages started flying in from Ryan, who is vacationing in California, Mega and my dad, all of us freaking out with excitement.

Now with the news a reality, we were hoping Obama would come out and speak right away, but there was another huge gap after McCain's acceptance speech and you could tell that while people were energized, some were starting to fade too, specially after a horrible version of the National Anthem. My group had not had anything to drink since the restaurant and we were getting a little dehydrated, cold and tired, but I was not leaving without seeing my president speak. The crowd went wild again during sound check with someone said, "final sound check for the new president."

We could see the large television no problem from where we were standing and even could see the stage from far away, but we couldn't make out faces. The crowd went beyond wild again when Obama finally came out to speak, and looking around the crowd, I was so shocked to see how many people were crying and hugging each other one again. My colleague Ashley was so cute when he thanked his volunteers saying, "she [meaning me] volunteered!"

The Obamas and Bidens on the screen

The speech wasn't too long, but I was on the verge of tears hearing him talk about his grandmother and how people from all walks of life sent in money big and small to support this. I got to see this first-hand and it was just so inspiring.

Takin' it to the Streets

Once Obama was done speaking, people started clearing out right away, but we hung out to take more pictures before joining the masses to head back to Michigan Avenue. The scene there was almost more exciting than on the field. People were standing at bus stops, on planters or any sort of climbable surface to cheer, take pictures and clap. At every intersection people were cheering and dancing and waving signs. Michigan Avenue was totally flooded with people who wanted to keep the party going.

Celebrating in the streets

We walked an ungodly distance, from Congress to Superior (which is over two miles) with crowd, were the city buses were lined up to take people home. But at this point, everyone just wanted to get out of downtown so people started pushing and shoving to get on the bus, which got a little ugly. At this point, I was exhausted, my legs were in serious pain and I was about to pass out from the lack of water, but I kept clutching my ticket because I refused to lose it.

Where Kitties Roam Free

So when I finally get home (about 1:15 a.m.), after nearly falling asleep on the bus, I walked out of my elevator to see two black cats in the hallway staring at me. After screaming out loud (because they scared me), I proceeded to distract them and run/hide in my apartment. I've never seen them before! And now I'll be e-mailing the condo board tomorrow because that is not cool.

Wrap-up

So I know there was a lot of information above, so I've bulleted out below what I felt were the major highlights from the entire event. 

Highlights:

• The outpouring of emotion from the crowd, including Jesse Jackson crying


• The happy looks on Sasha and Malia's faces


• Barack and Michelle embracing and saying "I love you" (the nose kiss was too cute)


• Hearing Obama talk fondly of his grandmother, which made my heart break more to realize she wasn't there to see this happen


• The way the crowd went INSANE when CNN surprised us all with projecting Obama's win. People were going crazy


• The crowd cheering and chanting as he spoke, getting everyone who was exhausted and sore all excited again


• Oprah actually mingling with the "masses" (in the VIP area of course)


• The crowd. I was overwhelmed by the possibility of people all around us, going in to take part in this event


• Believing that things will finally start to turn around for the country

• People walking down Michigan Avenue, cheering, chanting, taking pictures and clapping, it was like Chicago won the Superbowl and a ticker tape parade was taking place downtown


• Realizing that "we did it!"

I hope you all enjoyed my tweets from the event and I hope I was able to capture it for you properly!

Also, I grabbed a photo of Michelle's Narcisco Rodriguez dress today and I think it looks fab. I'm a huge fan of this designer and I think it was very dignified. I'm looking forward to her Jackie Kennedy-like influence on this generation.

So how was everyone else's election night? Do anything fun?

My hair makes me fake

Apparently I'm a fake. Now I'll tell you why. 

I recently ran into an acquaintance who dyed her hair from blonde to brown. After some idle chit chat, I commented to her how much I loved the new look (it was awesome). She said thank you and I asked why she opted to go dark, which was her natural color. For her, it was financial because highlights are more expensive than full color, and I agreed with her, because well, that's why I dyed my hair dark again. 

So here is the kicker.

Before she parted she said, "yeah I never liked dyeing my hair anyhow, it just makes someone so fake." I asked if she was kidding and she looked at me, dead serious and said...no. Waiting for me to reply, I laughed it off saying, "well I guess I'm fake, totally plastic."

I thought about this for a while after she and I parted ways and honestly, I thought it was kind of a bitchy comment. Just because someone dyes their hair, that doesn't make them fake. Not all of us were born with a gorgeous head of hair with flawless color and no gray. I have been dyeing my hair for, ohhhh, about 10 years. I hated my dark brown hair my entire life and opted for eight years of white-blonde highlights.

Dying my hair this very unnatural color was expensive but worth it because I wanted to be blonde, like I was as a baby (heck I didn't even have hair until I was 2).

Finally, about two years ago, I couldn't afford Chicago-priced highlights anymore so I dyed my entire head medium brown, almost my natural color. Yes, it was a big adjustment, but it was worth it and now I love my dark hair. I hate paying to get my hair done regularly but because of my premature gray, I want to dye it.

Some people are totally comfortable with a few gray strands, but not me. I would prefer to cover those up as much as possible, especially as the number of them increases each year. For me, it's a self-esteem boost and one less thing to focus on and worry about. That's not fake. I can count on one hand how many people I know who have never ONCE colored their hair. And yes, I'm jealous of them. I am not very secure with my gray hairs, yet.

Maybe I've overreacted to her comment, but as fake as I may be, at least I don't make narrow-minded comments.

How about all of you? Do you color your hair, if so, why? Covering gray is a big incentive for me!

Election Day note:

Also, tomorrow is Election Day so I hope everyone will be turning out to the polls (especially if you didn't vote early) to participate. I'm anticipating long lines at my polling station so the iPod will be charged and ready to go!

The more exciting news I have is that tomorrow night, I will be down in Grant Park for the Obama/Biden rally. This is a HUGE event for the city and something truly historic. I'm thrilled and excited to be going.

I'll be tweeting live from Grant Park (another awesome reason to follow me on Twitter) and have a full recap with pictures on Wednesday, since I won't be home until super late on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Here's hoping I can put a matching outfit together for work on Wednesday.

Key learnings and I'm in the paper!

Good lord I cannot believe it's already November. And the weather for this big election week is supposed to be mild in Chicago too. I'm not complaining but the weather is messing with my head because I don't know how to dress on a daily basis. I'm either too warm or cold, as if I'm having a pre-menopausal hot flash or I'm shivering. Help a girl out!

Anyhow, here are my key learnings from this Halloween weekend, boo!

Key Learnings:

• It's perfectly normal to grab a random golf club in your defense when your apartment is randomly buzzed at 3 a.m., rousing you from a strong sleep

• Watching middle-aged adults, dressed as mice, do cheerleading pyramids is very entertaining

• Just because you can wear a slutty cop outfit on Halloween, doesn't mean you should, or at least stuff your bra ahead of time

• No matter how full you are, there is always room for candy

• Having nearly zero water pressure in your shower can make you exceedingly pissy

• It's mildly embarrassing to have your credit card declined because it is expired, seriously, check that before you leave the house

• After you've been friends with someone for several years, it's inevitable that you will start dressing a like (twinsies!)

• There is nothing better than the feeling of accomplishing something new all on your own, or with you dad on speaker phone to guide you with the pliers

• Everyone looks more attractive in mood lighting, even your girlfriends

• Heterosexual girl crushes are totally acceptable and are not creepy. But they're kind of fun 

• Working out is a great way to relax, but not when it's 80 degrees in the gym and you feel like you might pass out

• When a guy is making flirtatious conversation with you on the bus, while looking down at you and eating Corn Nuts, that is not attractive

My print appearance

As some of you may have seen or read about on Twitter last week, two of my tweets were featured in Thursday's local RedEye edition. For those of you outside of Chicago, the RedEye is like a "lite" version of the Chicago Tribune. It's the Miller Lite to the the Tribune's MGD status. The paper recently joined Twitter and it asks local followers to submit tweets to them on various topics. 

And after several unsuccessful tries, two of mine were featured in the paper on the same day! Below are some pictures of my super awesome achievement! And because I didn't pick up this specific edition last week, my co-workers were sweet and ran to my desk to tell me the news and then call me "famous" all day. I love these ladies.

So now that you've seen how witty I can be, join the club and follow me on Twitter (in case you don't already). I promise to be as charming in tweet as I am on here. Isn't that reason enough to follow me?

Check me out: @bayjb

How was everyone else's holiday weekend? Several people copied my costume - dressing as a young professional woman on casual Friday. 

The parties in my neighborhood were insane on Friday night, people were out all over the streets. The best costume I saw was a box on animal crackers. Very well done, but not easy to watch her walk in.