10/21's Deals and Steals

Today; I'm just so.not.feeling.it.

Last night when I turned the light out at 10, late for a Sunday, my body felt like it was ready for bed, but apparently my mind didn't. Fast forward to 10:37, 11:12, 12:23am, still awake. And of course, then time sped ahead to 5:37am for my alarm (I hate waking up on 0's and 5's). Today is going to be ruff. Ha!

 

Today's deals and steals:

• Banana Republic: 40% off online purchase with code REVEAL40 through 10/22 (2% back via ebates.com)
• Bluefly: Friends and Family, extra 20% off order with code FAMILY through 10/24
• Gap: 40% off regular priced items online with code GAPCHILL today (7% back via ebates.com)
• H&M: Online only, 30% off entire purchase and free shipping for $50+ orders with code 8964 through 10/22
• J Crew: 25% off $150+ purchase in store and online with code SHOPNOW through 10/30 (3% back via ebates.com)
• Macy's: Extra 20% off and free shipping for $75+ order with code PRES through 10/24 (3% back via ebates.com)
• Madewell: Extra 40% off sale items and free shipping with code BONUS40 through 10/21 (3% back via ebates.com)
• Old Navy: 20% off online purchase with code ONSAVENOW ends today (2% back via ebates.com)
• Piperlime: Birthday Surprise Discount ends today (2% back via ebates.com)
• Sports Authority: 20% off online purchase today





Time for a Refill: The Hawks

When the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, I was in the middle of wedding planning. We went out the night they won to celebrate, but I missed the parade due to having planning appointments back in our hometown of the Quad Cities.

This year I was eager to be a part of the celebration and see the parade.  Luckily the route wasn't far from my office so I was able to sneak away to watch.

 I was able to squeeze my way up towards the street, but still not nearly close enough with the crowds of people; everyone anxiously awaiting the buses arrival...

 And then just like that the cup appeared and it was gone.

 The round trip to the parade, watching the parade and walking back to my office took a matter of twenty minutes.  A pretty speedy parade if you ask me.  Although the main draw was the rally at Grant Park.  Darn you work.

PS- Remember how I was paranoid about something bad happening?  Turns out I wasn't wrong to be worried.

 



Laughter (+deals)

Last night Mother Nature had nasty plans for the Midwest.  Leaving work we were predicted to be on alert for hail, heavy rains, and even a tornado or derecho (I gave you the link for the definition because I had to look it up myself).  We had won tickets to see Russell Brand, part of TBS's Just for Laughs event in town this week and debated weather whether (tehe) we should risk going or just stay home and watch the Blackhawks in Game 1 vs the Bruins.

We decided it was worth a shot, so I left home prepared with not only an umbrella, but also a poncho and mini flashlight (storms terrified me as a kid, still sometimes do).

 



Although I walk by Chicago Theater numerous times in a week, I'd never been inside. 



It just celebrated it's 90th birthday and is beautiful.

Russell himself is quite the character and quite hilarious! Raunchy, but we'd expected that.  If you have the chance to see him do stand up, I'd say it's worth it...although I'm not sure we would have paid the retail value of $115 for our pair of tickets and said the same thing.

 

Throughout the show we received text update about the Hawks and checked the score.  We were on the train home when the game tied up and our hopes rose for a win. After practically sprinting home, we caught the last three minutes of regular game, which of course went into three overtimes, but ended with a victory!

 

Oh yeah, and the storms?  There was some crazy lighting downtown during the show apparently, but all we had by us was rain, and that started around 10pm.

 

Now for today's deals and steals:

• Banana Republic: 40% off women's full price shorts and short sleeve knit tees today in store 2p-close and online 2pm-midnight with code BRSUMMER (2% back via ebates.com)
• Barnes and Noble: 15% off one item with coupon in store through 6/16
• J Crew: Last day for 30% off sale items with code SUMMERTIME online (3% back via ebates.com) 
• J Crew Factory: 50% off everything in store through 6/16
• Kindle Daily Deal: Jodi Picoult's Between the Lines is $1.99 today (list price $19.99)
• Kohls: 20% off with code FAMILY20 (6% back via ebates.com)
• Piperlime: Designer Sale, up to 40% off (2% back via ebates.com)
• Starbucks: 50% off an iced espresso drink with coupon through 6/18
• Target: $5 off $20+ Merona clothing purchase
• TOMS: 10% back today via ebates.com



Beer, Bulldogs and Brunch Weekend

Let's just say Ben crushed my birthday plans when I learned that not only did he get to spend Monday through Thursday (my birthday) in Miami for work last week, but that also meant the second time that we'd have to cancel our Girl and the Goat reservations.  The reservations I made in February for May, for 5pm because that was the latest time left.  Yes, those reservations.

 

So, we made a deal. Friday night we'd do a local dinner at a bar with friends to watch the Bulls/Miami game and I could make new reservations for G&G.  Luckily this time I was able to snag a "later" dining time of 5:15pm in July.  Looking forward to it.

 

Friday we went to Beer Bistro (II).  Formerly a Small Bar on Fullerton, we were not previously impressed. Given the huge food variety on Beer Bistro's menu, as well as the craft beer at decent prices, we decided to give it a chance and were glad we did.  However, note to self, don't do the "beer grab bag". For $2 we pulled a beer out of a garbage-bag-covered cooler.  Twitter had said Bells, Sierra Nevada, etc.  The disappointment of grabbing a random Chicago brewed pilsner was undeniable.

 

Oh well, it was redeemed by the delicious half-baked cookie we shared for dessert.



Saturday morning started off with a wonderful 6.5 mile run followed by the American Beer Classic.  It was all we hoped for and more. $40 a ticket gave us the opportunity to bask in the sun and drink unlimited 2oz pours from over a hundred craft breweries, plus it was on Soldier Field.  (This was much more fun than my last stint on the field).



One of my blogger friends, Emily at Sassy in Sequins, posted recently about making pretzel necklaces for a beerfest she was going to.  I thought the idea was genius.  Of course, Ben made fun of me while I was making the necklaces.  Our conversation went something like this:

Ben: I can't believe you're making those. That's hilarious.

Me: Just wait until you start drinking and you'll be thanking me.

Ben: You know what they're for right?

Me: Of course, they're palette cleansers for in between tastings. <smirks>

Ben: Yep, they're not meant to be munchies for after you've had a couple beers.

Well, my friends, they turned out to be handy for both.  I just wish I would have been clever enough to put on some string cheese like others we saw. Next time.

After leaving Soldier Field, we took the Michigan Ave bus to Gold Coast neighborhood. Look who we saw along the way...


Yep, that IS Lebron James!

Given the fact Ben and I both ran that more and drank during the day, well let's just say our night ended early.

All Ben needs is his tongue hanging out

However, the benefit of going to bed early, is waking up early! 6:23am to be exact.  It was an excruciating 2.5 hour wait, but because we were up early, we decided to go to Bongo Room (Andersonville location) when they opened at 9am.  Best.idea.ever. No wait and amazing breakfast.

White Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Pancakes



I also decided to go check out the Henri Bendel Sutton Messenger bag I posted about last week....and then I fell in love. I couldn't help myself.  It's a beauty I'm sure I will use for quite some time! (25% off through 5/27 with code MAYJC and 4% back via ebates.com)

Our weekend concluded with our usual Sunday routine: Sunday Night Pizza Night as we watched Skyfall (so good!) Pequods know how to make Chicago Style pizza!

 

How was your weekend? Linking up with Sami!

 

Soldier Field Debut

Last night I had a once in a lifetime experience, my first run onto Soldier Field!  I got an email through my gym recently to join Nike Training Club on Soldier Field for a free workout with RSVP.  I send it to some girlfriends and three of us signed up.  One didn't make it due to work, so two of us bundled up (it's in the 30s here in Chicago) and headed down to Soldier Field last night.  We arrived promptly at 6:10 for the 6:15 start and were given a free drifit Nike Training t-shirt (sorry, I forgot to take a pic!)

 

The problem was, that the email lied.  The event didn't start until 7, which of course we didn't know.  After 45 minutes of waiting in the cold, my friend gave up.  She left.  I decided that since I was there, I may as well stay...I figured once we started working out, it wouldn't really matter that I was there alone and I was right.  I am so glad I stayed!

 

Promptly at 7pm, we were lead to the field. There was even a fog machine on while we ran through the gate onto the field, along with approximately 100+ other women.



 

 

See the Nike sign far up in the corner? That's where we sat on Sunday night. Hard to believe just days later I was actually on the field!

 

Two professional Nike trainers came out on stage.  It was a bit disorganized and hard to hear, but our 30 minute workout got underway.  The workout consisted of a lot of basic moves: jumping jacks, running in place, lunges, etc.  I took a brief pause for a picture.

 

Following the workout, Earl Bennett, a Bears' wide receiver, came on stage to chat a bit.

 

After that, we headed into the United Club portion of the stadium (so nice), which had appetizers (tomato soup and grilled cheese shooters, spinach and goat cheese tart and chicken sate sandwiches) and drinks before a Nike Apparel Fashion Show..





 

..which happened to be co-hosted by Kristin Cavallari. She looks amazing for having a 3 month old son; although I've always thought her to be quite pretty.



 

Earl Bennett ending up sitting in the front row, right ahead of me, for the show!

 

 



The show ended promptly at 9pm.  There wasn't really a chance for a meet and greet, so I grabbed a dessert and started on my trek back to our apartment.



 

While running to the train (let me be honest, the workout was not that intense, plus it was freezing out and late, so I literally ran to the train), I looked out to see this beautiful view of the city.  I really do love this town. Despite having down this event by myself, I left with a sense of almost pride, that I felt comfortable enough to go out and do something on my own.  Sure it would have been fun to have some girlfriends there with me, but it was nice to do something by myself that wasn't just shopping or hanging around the apartment.  Every once in a while, it's important to get that little burst of extra freedom.

 

 

 

PS-I apologize for all the iphone quality pics!

 

Chicago Accomplishment

It's been about 3 years since I moved to Chicago and prior to that I spent summer of 2008 living downtown in the Gold Coast area with a roof top pool. You'd think being in the ritzy downtown area you'd run across a celeb or two, right?  Wrong, I've never had such luck to see a celebrity out and about being a "normal" person. 

And I guess this week's event still doesn't really change that, but it was still an interesting encounter.  While out for a run Wednesday night (yay fitness this week: Tuesday I biked a total of 7miles to from/dinner, Wednesday I ran 3.5 mi and biked 5 and last night I participated in the Chase Coporate Challenge 3.5 miles race at a blazing speed of 8:46 minute/mile pace in 90 degree weather.  I'm actually pretty happy and surprised by myself with that time.).

Anyways, I'll stop the suspense.

Wednesday I'm running back home on a fairly busy street and in the distance I see a film crew with three camera and one of those overhead microphone things on the patio of a bar with two women sitting and talking.  At first I thought it was Guiliana, but I knew it wasn't as I neared.  However, it was obvious something was going on and then as I saw the women's faces, I knew...it was a filming for the Chicago Mob Wives!!

I don't watch the show (has it even started airing?), but I knew it had to be them.  Sure enough, after googling it turns out it was definitely Renee Feracotta Russo and I'm not sure who the other was.

So, it wasn't exactly seeing a celebrity out; 1-I wouldn't them celebrities; 2- they were clearly filming, but it was still some excitement!

G! - updated

This morning while on the train reading the newspaper; I came across a blurb that made me gasp: Guiliana Rancic – breast cancer.  I think she is a riot and I’ve even actually got Ben to watch Guiliana and Bill with me in the past.  Part of the fun of the show though is the Chicago scenes and I'm also really excited for the restaurant  they're supposed to be opening up downtown. I also think I really like her because she is the only celebrity I've seen in person while living in Chicago.  We saw her at the Rock n Roll half marathon in Aug 2010, doing an interview before the race.  Girlfriend is skkkkinny!

I’ve followed up on their pregnancy issues and my second thought after ohmygosh! was that this is just a reminder that things do happen for a reason.  Having to go through IVF again was a blessing in disguise which lead to getting a mammogram and catching the cancer early only.  My prayers to Guilaina!

Appropriate timing with this post; I had an email from Women's Health with 10 ways to decrease your risk for breast cancer.  They are:
1. Eating a healthy diet that is low in animal fat and high in whole grains and fruits and vegetables. There is no data indicating that a specific diet, per se, can help reduce breast cancer risk.

2. Taking a multivitamin and make sure it includes adequate folic acid.

3. Having your children before 35, if you have a choice.

4. Breastfeeding your children.

5. Avoiding unnecessary X-rays.

6. Drinking alcohol in moderation and make sure you take folic acid when you do drink.

7. Losing weight (if you are overweight).

8. Not gaining weight after menopause.

9. Getting regular exercise.

10. Using hormone therapy to treat menopausal symptoms for the shortest time period necessary, it at all.

You should also be sure to:
•Evaluate any breast symptoms or changes that develop.
•Have mammograms when appropriate.
•Consider raloxifene if you are postmenopausal and need to take a drug to prevent bone loss.
•If you have a family history of breast cancer or for other reasons are at high risk of getting breast cancer, visit our section for High-Risk Women


I'll admit, I'm terrible about self-exams and I know this sounds cheesy, but the fact that Guiliana has been diagnosed is kind of a wakeup call to me that, YES-this can happen to anyone!