2012 Week 43: Post-SF wrap & Halloween pre-game

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Leigh

So many things to say!

Z and I were so tuckered out post-SF that I didn’t even pull it together to write a blog post wrap. San Francisco was mindbogglingly awesome. This is most of what happened. Brianne was the best hostess ever. Here is a listing of all we did: Q/Tonga Room with Tim & Sarah. JV showed us Tiny Telephone. La Tacqueria. Mission Pie. Musee Mecanique. Sea Lions. Burma Superstar. Saw Frankenstein @ Paramount Theatre with Amy. Jolie’s. Pacific Pinball Museum. Ch & David’s wedding in Dublin, CA. Rosamunde’s with Sarah, Todd, Juli, & Dan. Indie Mart where we saw White Mystery and Cindy. Ferry Building. The Stinking Rose. Amoeba. Rare Device. Little Chihuahua with Tess. Saw Ultraista at The Independent [meh] with Gavin. Total insanity, dudes. I actually realize that we didn’t get a proper photo with Brianne, but we did get some great photobooth shots!

Z and I had our first Halloween party on Friday. Many friends came in costume, which was wonderful. I was Dog Shaming this year, keeping my streak of meme related costumes. I made this amazing buffalo chicken dip. You heard me. Totally gonna try to make a veggie version next time.

Also this week: we saw our first wedding venue and it was lovely and a great blank slate, but all the upcharges terrify me. We’ve written probably about 10 places and only 4 have written back. Have a good lead we will be checking out this week. Went to the Commercial Park Halloween Parade with Amy, Kevin, and Beth to hand out candy. Always amazing. Another great thing was that I hired my first TaskRabbit, Ross, to photograph my products. If you did not know, TaskRabbit is a great website where you can find people to bid on running errands/doing jobs for you. I think that other people like me who work a 9-5 job as well as run a craft company should hit up this website. It rules. Totally loved working with Ross and he did a great job. My Etsy is getting a much-needed re-vamp. ALSO of note this week: I got to see my MKE buddy Stephanie who I had not seen in ages upon ages and it was excellent. We went to Chicago Diner and chowed down before she headed off to Afghan Whigs. Totally amazing getting to see her.

Lastly, one of the best things I did this week was take an SEO class at ICNC hosted by Rod Holmes of Chicago Style SEO. I feel very lucky to have been able to attend this, as before I took the class, SEO was something I only kind of sort of knew about from my friend Sarah. Rod broke it down and answered everyone’s questions. The class taught me that I have A LOT of work to do with helping out Rhymes with Twee’s SEO. They offer you a free evaluation of your site’s SEO. A human being will evaluate your site. For free. Yep. Totally going to do this once I’ve worked through most of my re-vamp.

This week is gearing up to be a busy one. Heading out to outside of Indianapolis for my second work tradeshow tomorrow. On Wednesday, I am organizing a work Halloween party. And hopefully we will get to look at that wedding venue I mentioned above. Busy bee.

Films watched 42nd week of the year:

Frankenstein (1931)
I Think We’re Alone Now*

*documentary

Films watched 43rd week of the year:

Cool Hand Luke
Chronicle
William S. Burroughs: A Man within*
We Bought a Zoo
Indie Game: The Movie*

*documentary

Chronicle and We Bought a Zoo were both a lot of fun. Indie Game was GREAT. Shows that perseverance can pay off. I kept thinking that Edmund’s fiancee–>wife looked familiar and through some googling, I discovered we run in the same crafty lady circles and I remember looking at her livejournal way back in the day. The world is endlessly small. Huzzah! Her Tumblr is really great too. Body Positive + Funny.

2012 Week 42: San Fran Fun

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Leigh

Chicago friends, reunited and it feels so good.

burata from Cowgirl creamery with rustic roll from place next door at ferry building.

Once Z and I return from our SF trip, I will do a proper wrap, but for now, here is a taste!

My instagram not syncing with my phone otherwise I’d be posting a cute ch & david wedding photo.

2012 Week 41: A week of getting so many things done!

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Leigh

A very social week. Went to Lee Nail Supply and Sun Wah, had Tilda’s annual exam/shots, and went to a party. I also cleaned and checked off a bunch of items on my to do list. Huzzah! On Friday, I went to the opening of the SMALL is ordinary popup shop at Chicago Cultural Center. The shop contains a spectacular grouping of items by Chicago artists. Emily Grant did a great job of pulling the artists and products together. I was thrilled to be included in this shop. From their site: the SMALL is Ordinary Shop will be open Monday through Saturday 11am to 6pm. Noon to 5pm on Sundays.

Candida update: Today I have been on the diet 3.5 weeks. Mid-week, I swapped Candida Clear for Fungal Defense. Z and I head off to SF this week for a bit. I am slowly going to add things back into my diet. Once I am back from the trip and had some time to pay off some of it, I am either going to make an appt. at my GP who relocated to the Evanston office, or start trying to find a new nearby GP (I’ve been given a few recs by close friends). I feel a lot better at this point. My lips and facial skin seem to be mostly recovered. I plan to stay on probiotics though because after doing all this research, I know I need my gut to stay healthy. I also added Biotin into my supplement regimen and in, I kid you not, 3 days, I already see a difference in my nails. Thanks LCB & Anna for that recommendation!

Rhymes with Twee winter show schedule:

DIY Trunk Show (Chicago, IL) – November 17
Renegade Craft Fair Holiday (Chicago, IL) – December 1 & 2
Bazaar Bizarre (Cleveland, OH) – December 8 & 9

Who knows if I’ll throw in a one-off here or there, but those are the big guys! Looking forward to doing BBC, since I have not done it in years. I was sad to pull my app for Handmade Arcade (Pittsburgh, PA) though. Four hours less driving in the midwest winter is a big plus for me though. Also getting to eat grilled cheese at Melt with my beloved friends Kate & Brian is a win.

Films watched 41st week of the year:

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
V/H/S
Magicians
A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt*
Captain America
Barton Fink

Enjoyable movie week for me. Z went to the 24-hour Music Box Horror Movie Fest. I did not and was very happy about that. One horror movie a week for me is about all I can handle.

2012 Week 40: “And I sing my heart…”

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Leigh

Jason Anderson @ Den, again. Was a brilliant and intimate show. Nonstop singalong. He played in the actual Den part of the Den time time ’round on their piano with everyone sitting on couches or the floor. If you have not heard Jason, you really need to. He has a BandCamp and a Facebook. Do yourself a favor! The show was with Shelley Miller and Steven Gilpin. Great songsmiths and a great night.

This week: Watched the debate. Went to Boiler Room for Friends & Fun meetup. Went to a friend’s birthday party.

Candida Update: did a bentonite clay/psyllium cleanse today. First one went differently than I thought it would. Not going to go into that on here. Now I must sleep so Jason can watch the Parks & Rec. he missed.

Films watched 40th week of the year:

Pariah
Shining Through
I Sell the Dead
The Arbor*
Winnie the Pooh (2011)
The Lie

*documentary

Shining Through will always be one of my favorite movies. Damn, it holds up great too and the SCORE is incredible. Pariah was also really good. I had been looking forward to it for some time and it delivered.