summer seoul lovin'

I haven't done much with this blog but for the two or three of you others that read this, I'll be writing on this blog from July 17th - Sept 1st.

rushdie the enchantress

This afternoon I had the pleasure of sitting in on a Salman Rushdie reading at the Harold Washington Library. I have to admit, his novels are always so long, daunting and intense that I have to put it down for weeks at a time to process what I've just read. Seeing him in person and listening to him read a few pages from his latest novel The Enchantress of Florence, I was a little surprised...has he gone off the deep end? Evidently he did a great deal of historical research for this novel that takes place between two very different worlds - the Mughal Empire and Florence, Italy. He seemed to be in this constant state of glibness. A bit full of himself and highly amused with his own writing. Although historically based, his writings were filled with elements of fantasy and exotic perversion. I guess once you establish yourself as a critically acclaimed novelist, there's nothing else to prove so write as you will...

oops...

I had some time to kill before a friend's surprise engagement dinner...

Maybe I was feeling a little melancholy...another friend bites the dust.

So I decided to hit up GuiseIChic to see if their selection of women's wear had improved much since the opening event hosted by Lucky Magazine and Skirt PR. It was quiet in the boutique and I took my time browsing the very organized racks. They've definitely improved on the buying and were having some pretty good deals. I fell in love with this:

The Rag and Bone Mac A-Line jacket. The owner walked over and told me how nice it looked on me.(But of course - working his charm) He told me all jackets were 30% off. I twitched. At $475, that still ain't cheap. I lingered...I cried inside...I tried on again and again then sighed and put it back on the rack...

Having been brought up by a frugal Korean mother who never had any qualms about haggling, the inner-Korean haggler came out in me. I schemed while taking a walk on the mens side pretending to look for something for my pretend boyfriend, I walked back over to the jacket and gently touched it as if I were petting an endearing friend. I could sense the owner was watching me so I hammed it up a little me. I smiled, walked to the register with jacket in hand and he asked me what I thought.

"I can't lie, I really love it" I said in a cautiously enthusiastic tone. "But I'd like it more if it were a little cheaper, say...__% off?"

He laughed out loud. "It does look good on you...I'll do it. You can't tell anyone!"

I thanked him heartily and we made small talk about the worsening economy and what he's been doing to stay afloat. He told me to come back often - I'd only come when the sales were happening =)

I am officially ready for Fall.

everything looks better in sepia

I FINALLY got a group of friends together to try out Sepia which had opened to amazing reviews last year. I failed to make the reservation enough in advance so we ended up with a 9:30 reservation. The hostess suggested that if we came in an hour early, they'd try to seat us as soon as another table turned around. So at 8:30 on the dot I met my friend Jamie at the bar and we asked the mixologist for recommendations. I wanted something strong, dry and not too sweet. I ended up with the Sepia Mule and Jamie with the French 75. Both were handled with care and came out a beautiful color. Every sip of our luscious cocktails made us feel as if we were drinking our way through a portal taking us back in time to another era. The bar furnishing are really lavish and make you feel like you're sitting by the fire with family. We struck up a conversation with the couple next to us who were celebrating their 1st year anniversary at their new favorite spot and I decided that this too was my favorite.

By 8:50 the other two in our party had arrived and we didn't even have to tell the hostess that the whole party arrived - she met us at the bar and was ready to seat us. What a good eye!

The ambiance in the main dining room right behind the walls of the hostess stand is in one word: lush. The chairs - large and comfy. The lighting - dim and mysterious. The servers - on their feet and at our service. Our server explained the menu from top to bottom and started us off with a great French burgandy and two orders of flatbreads - the smoked apple bacon and jonah crab. The flatbreads were excellent and left us thinking we could survive the whole meal on just those. But the night went on and so did our stomachs. Megan and I had the bank cod with saffron noodles. The cod filet was cooked to perfection and the slightly sweet and spicy saffron noodles offered a nice contrast to the salty marinade on the fish. Katie had the amish chicken - the best she's ever had. She said the chicken was so moist and soft that she could just cut through it with her fork. Jamie had the skate wing - another winner. We were perfectly satisfied but not overly stuffed so we ordered three desserts (We had the apple turnover, a chocolate dessert and the peach cobbler) and another french red.

Come 12:15, the restaurant was empty and we were just finishing up! We hadn't even noticed that we were the last ones there. The server never rushed us and the other wait staff just finished their business quietly as they allowed us to top off our night out at our own glacial pace. What a night! Three courses, a cheese platter, two bottles of wine, a cocktail each, tax and tip set us over $80 a person. Well worth EVERY penny.

party on the cheap

We did it again. FABULOUS party at my place co-hosted with my friend Katie.

Boxed Wine and Processed Cheese.

Comment most heard through the night: "Oh my god, did you try the hamburger helper? It is SO good."

Pictures to come...

a reading and talk by pico iyer

I was first introduced to Pico Iyer in a travel writing course that I took my sophomore year at W. Since then, I've followed his career writings and recently was more than overjoyed to find out that he'd be at the Harold Washington library on State Street. He was in town to read from and talk about his latest book, The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. With the current state of affairs between China and Tibet, his timing couldn't have been more perfect. The auditorium was filled with scholars, writers, Tibetan and Chinese students.

When he walked onto stage I was surprised to see how tall and lanky he was. He's got a special sort of intellectual charisma and charm. Iyer started out with a few anecdotes about Chicago and his love for pizza. He's quite funny. Despite being a world traveler, he has a penchant for pizza. He's married to a Japanese woman and together they live in Japan, but he says you can find him at a convenient store eating a slice of pizza instead of at a fancy restaurant dining on sashimi platters. He's a confident and animated speaker and reader which made every minute in the auditorium a pure pleasure.

His book stems from 30 years of personal observation and interaction with the Dalai Lama. Iyer's father is a philosopher and close friend of the D.L. - how many people can say that? Iyer's father took him to meet the D.L.for the first time when he was 17. Since then, he's made many trips to visit the D.L. in Tibet or other locations when he was exiled. The interesting thing about Iyer is that he hasn't written off pop culture and actually uses today's pop cultural references to make various points about the D.L. in his book. The one thing I took away from this lecture was the idea that this is the age of the exile - there are 33 million exiled or displaced people living around the world today. This idea of a homeland or country is becoming more of a dreamland than a reality.

At the end of his reading and lecture he opened up the floor for questions. Everyone had specific questions about what the Dalai Lama thought about the war, China vs. Tibet, globalization, etc...When he finally called on me to ask my question, I apologized to everyone for not having a more specific question on the subject at hand. Instead I asked him for the one key advice you'd give to any aspiring writer. His answer:

"Using your own background, training and interests find something that you have that can unlock a new view of a subject that is unique to every other viewpoint. Write something engaging or in the moment, not passive. Write about what you know."

chicago style birthday bash

Last night we celebrated a friend's birthday in true Chicago style. Deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Due and Karaoke at the Blue Frog after. I've actually never been to Pizzeria Due before and I have to say, it wasn't so bad! It's not Lou Malnati's but it's bearable. There were 8 of us and we ordered 3 pies. HUGE mistake. We had a whole pie left over so we took it to the Blue Frog and gave it to the bartenders to eat.

The Blue Frog was packed like sardines as usual, but it was a fabulous time! There were several other parties there that night which made it more festive. The highlight of the evening, when my friend and her boyfriend sang "Me So Horny." Oh yes.