Blowout!

Okay,

I have a couple places to give a shout out to right now for my current state of bliss. Let's just say, I've come to recognize the importance of occasionally doing something nice just for yourself. This week, my bliss began with... A new Groupon.

50% off a Brazilian Blowout with TRIO Salon on Wabash.

Interesting... a good deal... must look into.

Essentially, a Brazilian Blowout is a chemical free process where every strand of hair is coated in a layer of keratin, which is the stuff hair is made out of anyway. The result? Beautiful, shiny, non-frizzy hair, lasting for 4-6 months. To a girl with dull, frizzy, curly hair, this is HUGE news. I considered... and called... and went ahead and got my groupon on!

First off, let me say, Trio was great! Iwen was super sweet and a lot of fun to talk to while she spread on the keratin. The staff, all around, were wonderful! Kelsey actually went out to my car with my keys to feed my meter when things were running longer than my allotted 2 hours. As she put it, 'that's part of their job!' Wow. Great service!

I honestly went into this hearing phenomenal things and expecting mediocre things, but hey- I'm only paying half the price, right? So half the happiness wouldn't be too bad...

So here are the results...



WOW.
WOW.
WOW.

My hair... has never done that. Ever. Never. Never ever. Irons, blow drys... more irons... NEVER.

Its incredible! This is after just a simple blow dry! Its even shinier when you see it in person! These pictures don't do it justice. I'm not even used to how my hair looks on my head! Its so shiny and beautiful and its got nothing in it at all! It just IS! Keratin is amazing.

Apparently my curl will naturally return in about a week, but even when its curly, it will still be beautifully shiny and lacking in frizz!

I'm unbelievably thrilled. I'll keep you posted on how the next few months go...

Thanks Trio! Thanks Groupon! Thanks Iwen!

Running for fun!

Ah, the 4th of July has been, as always, a delightful experience. I've had my fill of fireworks and festivities. (Although as I look out the window I see that my neighbor didn't get all of his fireworks out of his system last night, and I just jumped while typing this when the 'bomb' exploded!)

Now, I could tell you all about how beautiful the fireworks display was from my discreet, insider's only firework watching spot of many years, but then it would no longer be secret and discreet! Let's just say, we had a front row seat.

But more importantly, Lula, I've got exciting news to report!

I have decided, with the encouragement of a good friend, that I will be running a marathon in 6 months. And this marathon, just may be, at Walt Disney World!


Now, there's been some talk of Disney being too pricey, but regardless, I'm talking it up, because I think it sounds amazing, and either way, I'm going to be... Running. A. Marathon! 26.2 miles. With my two feet. And the rest of me will be there too. Wowser!

I just bought my running shoes at Fleet Feet. It was so much fun to shop shoes! You come in, you grab a number (they look like the numbers marathon runners wear!) and then a nice helper, in this case, Hunter, will come over and help you out. You get on a treadmill, and they record footage of your feet while you run and you get to study your running style! I have only a little bit of... proration? I can't remember the technical term. Basically, I'm not going to break my ankles when I run, but a little extra support is a good thing for my teeny tiny, high arched feet. Science and shopping at the same time! Then they bring out the pretty shoes and have you 'test run' in them. I've taken home a beautiful and very comfortable pair of Brooks.



White, Silver and Dahlia Shadow Ravennas. Too pretty and too perfect for running long distances, followed by even LONGER distances eventually. OH my.

The Walt Disney World Marathon runs all over the four major parks in Orlando. And its in January, when it is supposed to be perfectly mild and perfectly pleasant. However, last year apparently Orlando thought it was Iowa and it was like 25 degrees out. We'll see if the ladies I'm going to be running with are feeling up to the splurge for the whole Disney experience in addition to the running.

Back up plan? San Antonio!


Wish me luck, Lula! I'm so ready for a really empowering challenge like this! I can't wait to tell you when I've done a casual 10 mile run some morning, because that is what marathon trainees do! Love it!

Hello Again Lula!

Hello again! Oh my goodness its been almost a year since my last entry! And what a year that year has been. Sorry for the hiatus. Teaching is a very busy, incredible, time consuming, challenging, stressful, chaotic, learning and growing experience.

So much has changed. I'm single and couldn't be happier about it. I've got amazing friends, who are all ridiculously talented! Mid-twenties, a vibrant city, and I'm surrounded with brilliant, hard-working peers who make me laugh, challenge me, and support me every day. I feel so lucky!

Today was a beautiful Chicago summer day. I celebrated by having a delicious lunch with my friend and fellow kinder teacher Nora at Chickpea. How to explain - its like eating the best middle-eastern cuisine available IN someone's dining room, except its decorated with cheesy movie posters in Arabic. Mama Chickpea comes to the table, tells you how her back is doing, sits down next to you, and feeds you until you're stuffed with delicious lamb and hummus. She's got this handsome, natural beauty - deep, soulful eyes, a scarf over her braided salt and pepper hair, and wrinkles that make her even prettier. I had Mama's special... lamb and rice wrapped in cabbage and steamed. Yum...

Then, I took my fabulous new bike out to the lakeshore path for the first time. OH WOW. I'm addicted! First of all, here's my darling bike, Olive. Her color is Kalamata Green, so the name was just so fitting!
I'm in love with her built in rear and front lights, the back rack that can carry a TON of stuff, the gorgeous green color, the white wheels and brown leather/brown wood, and the built in fenders to keep me splatter free! Oh my goodness, she rides like a dream too! I loved the store I got her from, Kozy's Cyclery on Erie. The salesman Bryan was delightful and super helpful! I got to test ride bikes, which was nice because I was initially really nervous about being a city biker, but I got that out of my system really fast! He went out of his way to help me find the perfect bike and even went so far as to track down Olive at another Kozy's and reserve it for me to pick up since they didn't have her in my size at his store. Thanks SO much Bryan!

Today on my ride this really handsome hardcore biker guy (he had one of those zippy racing bikes and wore a biker jersey outfit, so I know he was serious) -anyway, this biker guy said "I love your bike!" as he passed by me! I was all a flutter. Olive too. Everyone loves a good compliment! I road the entirety of the bike path from end to end and then road all the way back out west to come home. I feel like a rock star! I'm doing this as often as I can. And I'm definitely going to try and bike to beach volleyball tomorrow! Gooooo No Bambis!


("bambi" is beach volleyball lingo for someone who lets the ball fall and doesn't go for it) I'm definitely not a bambi. I feel like I spend half the game flopping around! Its fantastic!

Ah, I'm so happy to be back! The best thing about summer is having the time and the energy to come back to the things I love, like Lula!

XOXO

Tweet!

So I've always been skeptical of this Twitter thing... I don't know why. Probably just because I want to hold off on jumping immediately into every new media fad.
But I've decided to give it a try...

I've started a Tweet page. (Is that what they are called?)

My inspiration and my topic of choice? Meals I make. Clearly that's already been a habit of mine here on Lula, but sometimes I get so excited to eat my meals that I don't get any pictures of them, so it never really makes a very good post.
However, I think its rather fun to tweet 160 symbols describing what I've made for myself to eat on a given day!

I let my bio be inspired by Holly Golightly, who, like myself, was completely broke, but knew how to throw herself together and be presentable. So its Breakfast, at Tiffany's, in bed. Made by me.


Found this great pic at The Fabulous Audrey Hepburn. Gotta love her!

So yes, while it may be arrogant and I certainly am not quite petite enough to tie a hand towel around my waist a-la-Sabrina, I, like Miss Holly, know how to live in style, and that includes my meals.
And so I shall tweet what I eat. Or maybe what I crave... Which right now is some peach ice cream. mmmm.....

Such a gift

I have to thank Kathy and Sarah profusely for capping my incredible visit to their home off with the most beautiful gifts.




Everyone gets excited when they get a box like this...


So beautiful!




And in my home! A small version of the Our Lady Mother of Mankind statue at the Basilica of the National Shrine Washington, DC.


I have the most incredible friends.

Also, Theology on Tap programming is incredible! I have to thank Friar Johnpaul Cafiero for his beautiful speech on spiritual fitness. He's an incredible public speaker, and a man whose life story and love of the Lord is inspiring! www.FriarJp.com

Jersey and NYC with Papermoon

Mid July I made a trip out to Jersey to visit my dear friend Sarah of Papermoon. It was a spectacular trip. And really, truly, there are no words better than her own, along with all the glorious pictures, which are posted on Papermoon through this link.

I laughed so hard reliving these glorious adventures...

In the event that the link doesn't allow you to visit Papermoon, I've borrowed a few of the pictures...

If only you could have been there to see how complicated our ouija game was. You wouldn't believe the kind of information you can pull out of say, something like, JVWOUUUIN. It takes a lot of skill. This is the closest I've had to a teenage slumber party in a very long time, and it was brilliant.



And the clock was created as a collaborative act of silent art making, meaning a lot of giggling.


Ah... and then there was the bird. The glorious bird who stood on water. We nicknamed him the Jesus bird, and he lives in Central Park on the lake you can boat on, and he apparently spends all day doing this...


Standing on water... looking magnificent. He was terrific.

So was Jersey, and New York, and Sarah, and her family, and my entire visit.

And wait until my next post... wow... I was absolutely spoiled by Sarah and her mom with the most beautiful and thoughtful gifts...
But for now, I'm making myself wait a day to share that special treat with you all.

China Week!

Sorry for the posting hiatus! Work started, and its certainly been a great change of pace, but wow, am I tired at the end of the day! That and I've been so generally pleased with my days that I sometimes don't have the emotional energy to promote to a good Lula post.
But these are all excuses. And no more shall I deny myself the pleasure of sharing my adventures due to laziness or supposed lack of material.

I should share a few of the charming tidbits I've collected this week at the Family Fun Festival.
Its China week, and the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago is our partner in the activity zone. One of the most popular and well attended tables is the calligraphy. They'll write your name in Chinese characters for free! So pretty!

Here's my name... well... maybe... it may in fact say Pebecca (as is written underneath it in a minor accident probably caused by my handwriting when I wrote my name out for them...) But frankly, be it Pebecca or Rebecca, I think its beautiful!


And this is a little pair for me and my sweetie!


We were also handing out these super cute Chinese fortune bracelets. I've never been one to like those rubber thingies, but I thought these were particularly charming.


I chose Love and Happiness, because those are two things I'm working on for myself. Learning to love myself and be happy with who I am.
Don't you just get frustrated when those old adages your mother used to tell you, like, "before you can love someone else, you have to learn to love yourself" turn out to be shockingly true?
Such is life. Mother always does know best.

Well now I've got a couple pretty little bracelets to keep my positive thoughts on track!

Thanks China week!

Hello again Lula!