Wednesday, January 30, 2008

reality check

Today I was assigned to tutor a 1&2 grade class at DePreist Elementary school in the far west side...
I mean, this was the far, far, west side. I got onto 290 and exited at Central Ave. Already a remarkable difference from my own west loop neighborhood. Dilapidated businesses, empty lots with filled with trash and debri, the parks filled with older kids doing questionable things. I was so nervous driving my SUV down Central Ave as local residents stared me down as they crossed the street or just hanging out on the sidewalks and medians...

When I got to the school, I was impressed with how beautiful their facilities were, but walking through a metal detector to teach at an elementary school? That's jarring...I picked up my students in the cafeteria where they all recieve a free afterschool lunch/dinner. It was so loud and the students were just out of control. My 1st and 2nd graders were intrigued with me and my long black hair and I could tell all they wanted was some love an attention. The girls sat close to me and all wanted to talk to me and tell me about what happened to them at school today. The boys were a little rough with each other but just a little touch and soft word calmed them down. For these kids, they don't get the special love and attention they need at home. No one wants to listen to them...rather, no one is at home to listen to them.

In class, I helped them finish their homework and we worked on reading and story telling skills. The kids worked hard but the hard work ends at school. When I told one student to take her project home and show it to her parents, she told me that she didn't have a dad and she lives with her grandma. Her mom only comes home once in a while. After class, her older brother who is a 5th grader came by to pick her up. He had bags under his eyes and took his sister's heavy bookbag even while he was carrying his own. I could tell that he does most of the taking care of his little sister. Too much of a weight for a 11 year old, no?

After the 5 o'clock afterschool program bell rang, the rest of my students ran out to find their older sibling or parent. There were 3 plain clothed police officers out front making sure the children were set on their way home. It was already getting dark and one officer stopped me as I headed out the door. He didn't want me to walk to my car on my own so he escorted me and told me not to take the local roads back to the West Loop, lock my doors and go directly to the highway...yikes.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

last call!

Today after brunch at my favorite spot in the west loop, Le Peep, I to head down to Michigan Ave to check out the last call sale at Neiman Marcus. Now, some ask me why I shop at "Needless Mark-ups", but let me tell you folks, when they have sales, they have good ones.

Having worked at a small boutique on Southport I learned how ridiculous the mark-ups are. Rock and Republics bought at wholesale for $49-79 are marked up 210-230%! And those $30 oversized bangles that are all the rage with the boho-chic look? Wholesale price - 99 cents - if even that. So imagine my shock and glee when I found a pair of slimming high-waisted J Brands on sale for $65! I'm usually a 27 but I fit into the one 26 they had left and decided to run with it. Other great deals included a gold colored short sleeved Karta mini dress for $84 and some Vera Wang purple label dresses and shirts priced at $98-150.

General rule of thumb ladies...wait for the sales. Never, never buy at full retail price. And do your research. Sometimes in-season designer items can be found at Nordstrom Rack or Filene's basement. They just slip through the cracks. For example, last September I found an adorable 3.1 Philip Lim half tuxedo jacket at Nordstrom Rack for $110. Recently at P.45, they had the same jacket, now out of season, on sale for $150. I also got a great strapless Nanette Lapore pencil dress at the Nordstrom Rack in Oakbrook for $72. When I went to the downtown Nordstrom, they had the same dress for $149, and at Neiman Marcus for $178.

This is not to say you shouldn't buy at boutiques. I say, stick to buying bigger name brands at department stores and outlets and buy harder to find independent brands at boutiques. Either way, with sales you can still get quality clothing...and with the money you save, you can stock up on other necessities like undergarments and tights!

Monday, January 21, 2008

nothing works!

The one thing I miss about my office job is all the office supplies...endless amount of paper, multiple printers that shoot out documents, the fax machine...

For the new job, I needed to fax in some documents to HR department in NY so last Friday I went to the Fedex that's in the same building as my gym, they only had one fax machine and it was broken. I went to the one in my neighborhood, they had two, both broken. I went to the one out on Southport where I had to pick up some dry cleaning, both...BROKEN! What the honk!?! Does nothing work in this city?

So I had to SOS a friend with a fax machine at home...geez.


Saturday, January 12, 2008

drawn into the drawing room

My girlfriends and I braved the arctic cold temperatures and tried out the The Drawing Room at Le Passage which had been getting a lot of press for its recent opening. The basement restaurant is warmly lit with cushy seats, glossy tables and of course the Gold Coast requisite of a good looking staff. We started off with a look at their short but creative cocktail list. The bartender...ahem, I mean mixologist offered some great recommendations. I didn't want anything sweet, so she suggested the Gloom Lifter (Jameson Irish, Hennessy VS, fresh lemon-sour, and fresh raspberries). It took her a good 7 or 8 minutes just to prepare the ingredients which included fresh lemons and raspberries that she crushed and painstakingly strained into the shaker. The outcome? One very thick and fragrant martini that was warm and refreshing all at the same time.

When we were seated, our waiter walked us through the short menu of small plates. We decided on the 'fish and chips', burger, crispy fried rice and ahi tuna bruschetta. The bruschetta was very delicious and easy to share. The crispy fried rice was simple yet filling and the burger was just delectable. I thought the execution and presentation of the dishes were thoughtful and original except for the fish and chips. The battered fish bites reminded me of the cod nuggets that used to come out once a month at my dormitory dining hall in college - fish fry can only be done one way I suppose...don't even bother trying to spruce a classic item like that up.

The portions were slightly larger than typical small plates and easy to share. We topped off our meal with the brownie and ice cream dessert. The brownie was very decadent and was a nice finish to our dinner.

Our server offered to set up a table for us at Le Passage next door, but none of us had the desire let alone the possession of a disposal income to spend the $500 minimum on table service, so we opted to just hang out at the large bar, have some drinks and people watch. Overall, I spent a total of $35 bucks for dinner and about $15 for two drinks at Le Passage after.

A pretty good deal for 4 hours of fun with the girls.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

P.45 = dangerous

I had some time to kill before my lit-j class in evanston so I decided to stop by one of my favorite bucktown boutiques, P.45. Weeks before I recieved mailings about their winter clearance and moving sales but kept myself far, far away...but today, I had an itch.

My findings?

A fabulous white leather/chalk suede belt by 3.1 Phillip Lim - $42.50
Classic cream turtle neck with by Omorika $42.50
Cream dotted biloxi top by Sally Tseng (Fall 2007 collection) $85

I'm ready for my close up!

Monday, January 7, 2008

new year, new beginnings

So I'm finally jumping onto the blog-wagon, so to speak. For a long time now my friends have 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed over how I find all the bargain finds this city has to offer. As a grad student who works part-time and freelances, I've got some down-time on my hands. I spend the first hour of my day on the internet scanning on-line magazines, newspapers, Chicago centered blogs, and any other information sharing mediums then I pass the good stuff on to my friends. Call me an opportunist who likes to spread the wealth. Here I'll post promising events and share fun experiences that I think everyone ought to give a try.