Thanks Fireplace

Dear Fireplace,

Thanks for being the centerpiece of our living room, glowy and gorgeous and golden when lit, casting glittery flickers of light throughout the living room, washing our laptops and stolen afghan in delicate light and shadow. You are warm and make this place feel so much like a home to my heart. I love nothing more than sitting with the roommates and gazing upon you while I catch up on facebook and reveal my heart in my melodramatic fashion from my corner of the couch.

Love,
me

Thanks Valerie

Dear Valerie,

Thanks for the first birthday present of the year, a tiny piece of red fabulousness that reminds me of YOU. It matches my planner with perfection. And everytime I go for my id or my money, it will be like you are with me, kind of. Or at least, a little bitty part of my heart will have a friendly flip in thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life. I love it and I love you.

All my love and a little more,
Ashley

Things I Want For My Birthday

Ok. My birthday is in 2 weeks. 14 Shopping Days. So, for anyone seekingto purchase a present, I thought I would make your life a little easier. Besides, birthday presents sound like a better diversion than the sonnet paper I should be completing currently...

1.) My charm bracelet back :(

2.) A new cognac faux leather motorcycle jacket that I'm not cool enough to wear to replace the one I so carelessly left behind that one night at the Houndstooth.

3.) World peace.

4.) A pony.

5.) Cupcake papers.

6.) A really good icing bag.

7.) Recipes for fun foods.

8.) Music you think I'll like and don't have.

9.) Books you think I'll like and haven't read.

10.) I'd really like to go see about a million shows that are playing right now. Take me to see one?

11.) Black ballet flats. Size 7 1/2. Preferably with a bow or some other interesting detailing.

12.) Canned goods. Or frozen foods.

13.) Pumpkin cupcake from Molly's.

14.) A really excellent dinner date to somewhere I've never been before.

15.) Drinks at The Violet Hour or The Signature Room or somewhere where a new dress is equally necessary.

16.) A half price pitcher of sangria on 11/3.

17.) An adventure to see something I've never seen in the city before.

18.) Magnificent Mile Shopping Spree.

19.) Colts tickets. I haven't been a season without a game in like 3 years!

20.) Maroon 5 tickets. Please and thank you.

21.) Katy Perry's CD. Duh.

22.) Giftcards. I'm not offended by them in the least.

23.) EReader of some sort.

24.) Photoshop

25.) Notebooks. Nice enough for interviewing.

26.) A career.

27.) The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

28.) Take the Comprehensive Exam for my MA for me?

29.) Money. I take donations in all increments.

30.) Riding boots. Brown.

31.) Hang my photos and fix my broken things for me?

32.) Tiffany Key necklace. The plain, sterling silver one.

33.) Trip to Germany?

34.) A food processor.

35.) Bowls and plates.

36.) A dresser.

37.) The black dress in the window of the Hugo Boss store.

38.) A bag worth bragging about.

39.) A bag that will hold my laptop and my books and my notebooks.

40.) A DSLR to replace the one I formerly had...

41.) Quarters.

42.) Vanessa and Valerie in the same place at the same time.

43.) Scarves. In alllll different colors.

44.) New headshots. I need them and soooo can't afford them.

45.) Brides who need weddings planned.

46.) Winter clothing or the means through which to acquire said clothing.

47.) Socks and skivvies.

48.) Canned goods. Seriously. A girl has got to eat.

49.) I'd really like to see a musical on Broadway.

50.) Brunch at Orange or cinnamon rolls at Ann Sather. Dinner at some epic downtown place I've always wanted to try but have never had an occaision to.

51.) Beauty and the Beast on DVD.

52.) Twirl by Kate Spade perfume.

53.) Black Kate Spade trench in Glamour this month.

54.) Ramikins.

56.) Stick Blender.

57.) Meat thermometer.

58.) A new bottle of Burberry Brit perfume.

59.) A fabulous and sturdy umbrella.

60.) Someone to retrieve the music that is stuck on my old laptop that I have no working charger for. It's a PowerBook G4 circa 2005. haha.

61.) Mani/Pedi

62.) Hot Rollers

63.) Massage.

64.) Take me to see the world.

65.) A sweet fedora.

66.) A watch. Men's like but a little feminine; You know the kind.

Now, this list is not exhaustive and independent ideas are always highly valued. :) But really, the best birthday present would be your pretty face at my birthday party. November 6. Be there. :)

hugs and kisses,

the almost birthday girl

Thanks EvanstonSkokieNorthernSuburbs

Dear EvanstonSkokieNorthernSuburbs,

Thanks for providing me with things I don't have in the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area, like backyards and Steak and Shake and gas that costs less than $3 a gallon. For whatever set of reasons, going to a place where people drive more than they walk and have terrible service in chain restaurants with fairly standard fare helps ease the homesickness in this sentimental heart. Seasonal milkshakes from servers who can't get a simple order right and taking wrong turns down streets with skateboard shops and subduvusions take me right back to North Fairfield Road in Beavercreek, OH, and that warms this certified city girl's heart.

Love,
me

A Kiss is Just a Kiss... (As featured on the blog of Love, Lulu Mae)

“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” ~Ingrid Bergman.

Kisses. Pecks, French, on the cheek, with your grandma, closed-lipped, open-mouthed. Are any two kisses ever the same, even between the same kisser and kissee? And is there anything more lovely than a kiss? I still sign all of my letters with x’s and o’s, as taught by my Granny in 1993 when I was learning to write letters. Sometimes, for letters that need extra love, I even break out my favorite red lipstick (And I think we all know how I feel about red lipstick…) and actually leave kissy marks at the bottom of whatever correspondence I’m mailing, hopeless romantic that I am.

Kisses are delightful. Even goodbye kisses remind us of what there is to look forward to or to come home to. And when you have a romantic kissing dry spell, there’s always the kiss on the forehead from your best friend, the kiss on the cheek when you greet someone, a sneaky kiss when someone gets a wild hair to play Spin the Bottle on Easter (Please tell me that’s not just my crazy friends…).

And then, suddenly, a real kiss ends the time without. After months of pecks on the cheeks and kisses goodbye to Granny on the phone, in the middle of conversation about what you are working on or while rocking out on the dance floor to Katy Perry or over a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte, someone leans in and really kisses you and there aren’t words for the melty-weak-in-the-knees-in-and-out-of-the-moment-breathless-tickly minute it happens; lips touching lips, the tickle of moustache underneath a nose, all caught up and spinny with what must be all the blood in your body rushing into your cheeks. And then there’s the second after, with breath caught up somewhere else and lovely haziness keeping the nervous chatter at bay. Delicious.

I believe in that second with every teeny tiny bit of my slightly too romantic heart.

But, even if that’s not the kind of kisses you are getting or giving, I implore you: don’t give up on kisses. Give more than it seems you should. Kiss babies, kiss strangers, kiss your mom. Blow a kiss to the waiter that brings your mimosas at your Sunday Brunch. A kiss is such a miniscule gesture, a captured and contained moment of love or romance or passion or ecstatic excitement, but for such a tiny time commitment, a kiss always means so much. So, dear reader, love and kisses to you for a wonderful weekend!

Reasons I Love My Job at the Tribune

1.) Sweet SWAG. Like T shirts and sticky notes and pens and copies of the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine.

2.) An incredible and energetic team. They are vibrant and young and incredibly dedicated to doing their best. I love being a part of the positivity on our floor.

3.) I have a cubicle of my own that overlooks Michigan Avenue. Even if that cubicle is only on the second floor.

4.) I work in one of the coolest buildings in Chicago, the Tribune Tower, Epic.

5.) When onsite for Chronicles of the Cursed, I get to have a headset and hang out in the Production Trailer. Which makes me seem important and I like that.

6.) Opportunity. This really is just such an incredible opportunity for me and I just couldnt be more thankful about it. :)

7.) I get to wear big girl clothes to work.

8.) I commute downtown everyday. This leaves time for crosswords and Tolstoy and the Red Eye and listening to music I really love.

9.) The Tribune Media Group is now on my resume!

10.) They care about my life and safety. And do things like pay for cab rides home when I'm way out of the way. Even though they all hardly know me.

11.) It just makes me so incredibly happy.

Thanks David

Dear David,

Thanks for being up for anything. Including Twilight, Letters to Juliet, frozen pizza, and ice cream. Thanks for pouring diet ginger ale over ice and scooping ice cream while I remained curled up in fetal position on your couch. I greatly appreciated the cheering and indulgence while I was not feeling so hot. Also, thanks for infinite advice about boys and going to the ends of the earth and way more out of your way than you have to in an effort to cheer me up when I'm feeling a little bluer than normal. And thanks for answering the phone at 2 AM when I'm inebriated and need help and friendly voices to be able to get home. We do have a love worth crossing oceans for. Bad soundtrack and all. Hahahaha.

Love,
me

Reasons Valerie Jonkoff should be in the Same Zip Code as Me

1.) I would not have to pine away for her if she were in the same zip code as me. As is, I see her two or three times a year. And that is just not close to enough for someone whose heart is in my heart all the time.

2.) We would have so many adventures. Rooftop parties with Irish guys in Wrigleyville, brunch on the mag mile, shopping with money we don't really have. Vodka tonics, doritos, Mom's salsa and walks along the lakefront. Perfection, right?

3.) We could share clothing. Valerie has seriously gorgeous stuff in her wardrobe and if she were easily accessible, her clothes would be too. And vice versa for mine. Although mine are less exciting.

4.)I could tell her about my life in person. On evenings that involve wine or chocolate when necessary. Besides, when things go awry, she'd be here to force feed me Sicilian Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen.

5.) Our epic hunts for the loves of our lives would be infinitely better with mutual moral support in person, not just via facebook chat or phone calls.

6.) While talking on the phone or conversing online is lovely and a great way to stay in touch, the Valerie response faces are lacking. The exasperated eyes or the frustrated lip curl or the excited smile that is just so contagious you feel all rainbows-kittens-unicorns-sunshine happy about it. These are priceless moments, lost in distance. Tragic.

7.) Did I mention if we were together I would get to miss her less?

8.) Infinite wisdom. Infinite support. Infinite love. Infinite hope. Present in current relationship. Really put in to practice with new, closer relationship with less distance. There are not many people in the world that remind me no matter what. no matter how black things get, no matter how far off course I roam that things will be ok, that I'm incredible with the same fierceness as Valerie. (Mutual feeling, of course)

9.) We would for sure be able to really shake each other out of current moods and funks. With happiness and love and hugs and sunshine. And probably more rainbows.

I miss you, Valerie Joyce Cynthia Jonkoff.

Hugs and kisses,
A

Thanks Bailey

Dear Bailey,

Thanks for the excellent new hair color. I keep staring at it in windows and mirrors and shaking my hair to see how it looks during epic hair flips and the way it catches different light when I tilt my head like this or that. Needless to say, I'm a little smitten. But I'm also smitten with you and your infectious smile and laugh and adventurous spirit. I'm soooo Team Bailey :)

Love,
me

Thanks Vanessa

Dear Vanessa,

Thanks for reminding what kind of lady I am exactly when I need to hear it the most. In fact, I'm about to start reading a novel in French to distract myself. And maybe start learning a new language. We are reading poetry in my Shakespeare class and if we still loved together, I'd probably be forcing you to listen to me read aloud. I miss those nights. Poetry and Twilight and Bombay potatoes :)

Hugs and kisses,
me

Downtown, as featured on the blog of Love, Lulu Mae

Petula Clark sings to us about the beauty of going downtown; you know, where “Everything’s waiting for you!” I have found this week that this could just not be more true. Downtown Chicago is possibly the second most magical place in world (Disney World being the first, naturally.)

I started a new job (at the Chicago Tribune, no less) this week, so I get to get up three days a week, put on clothes that are not going to get glitterfied and regurgitated upon by minions and take the train from Boystown down to Grand and State. I do a crossword and listen to my iPod or chat with my mom before removing myself from the Red Line and walking the few blocks over to Michigan Ave and down to the Tribune Tower. Here, I swipe an ID to access my floor and go to my cubicle. My cubicle in the Tribune Tower that overlooks Michigan Ave. Victory. Cubicles are supposed to be gray and depressing and completely uninspiring. But not this cubicle.

This girl is more than a little starstruck. Seriously.

I look out my window and there’s the river and tourists taking photos and businessmen running late to meetings hurrying down the Magnificent Mile. Women stroll for lunch dates down by Nordstrom and pick up all of the latest in the Mecca for shopping this girl can’t afford. (Yet. But I will.)

I explored on my first lunch break and was just overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the city I live in. Seriously, Chicago is gorgeous. Especially in the fall, when everything gets washed in the gold glittery almost chilly sunlight. Waltzing about in the shadows cast by skyscrapers and seeing couples kiss ever so sweetly down by the River Walk, I felt just like the girl I always wanted to be when I was little. I mean, there I was, strolling the Magnificent Mile on my lunch break in my trench coat and high heels, living on dreams and a smidge of caffeine and red lipstick.

Just a little bit of that downtown Chicago perfection that made me fall in love with this city to begin with. And it has me all excited and ready to conquer this little corner of the world. So, go take a walk downtown and enjoy the fabulous weather this weekend, dear reader!

Thanks Ewok

Dear Ewok,

You came into my life at a crossroads. There were tears and down days where I couldn't even get out of my bed. But you were always there. A reminder not only of things I loved about my past but of two people that love me more than most in my present. I find, silly as it may be since I'm a grown up, that I have a little trouble sleeping if I can't locate you. All I'm saying is you have been a top-notch cuddly companion in all of your Ewok-y glory. Thanks for being the best birthday present ever.

Love,
me

Thanks Meghan

Dear Meghan,

Thanks for making work infinitely more bearable. Always. No matter what crazy-whirlwind-not-sure-if-I-can-fix-this kind of thing is happening. Also, thanks for the reminder that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. So here I am, taking that shot :) Thanks for reminding me that I should. And for being generally wonderful and terrific and stuff.

Love,
me

Thanks Jason

Dear Jason,

Thanks for not moving away and disappearing from my life. Thanks for phone dates and text messages and emails and all of the things you do to keep in touch and remind me that a.) you still know everything and that b.) you are always right. I miss your face, but could not be prouder of every single little thing you are doing with your wonderful life in New York City.

Hugs and kisses,
me

Thanks Friends

Dear Friends,

Thanks for being so overwhelmingly supportive and excited for me about my internship at the Tribune. Thanks for flowers and champagne and dinner and cake and love and kisses and kind words and hugs and for being so proud of me that I want to burst with how much love and thankfulness I'm filled to the seams with. You make my life a better place to prance around in :)

Love,
me

Thanks Matt

Dear Matt,

Thanks for loving football as much as I do. And for making sure I don't starve. Especially, thanks for not letting Mollie and I get stolen by that guy on Clark Street (Why do guys on Clark Street feel like women are something to be stolen? Curious.) and then for helping us with our homework. Even if my notebook does smell like my gin now. Oops.

Love,
Ashley

Fearless

"And I don't know how it gets better than this; Take my hand and drag me headfirst, Fearless" -- T.Swift

I know that I have been known to be a smidge on the whiny side, a little self-deprecating, a little lost in my direction. But can I tell you that for the past week, I have felt more myself, more like I was headed somewhere rather than nowhere than I've felt in months.

I have been happy.

Like over the moon, heart racing at every new turn, playing the question game, taking a leap of faith, feeling like I'm the girl I kind of always wanted to be happy.

And I haven't been afraid.

No lingering thoughts of what she did or what he said or worrying whether the next move is the right one. Diving in, going for it, taking a chance. Starting things all over again. New and with cuter shoes.

I think things are most certainly looking up. For several reasons ;)

Things I Just can't Stop Thinking About

1.) Apple Cider Martinis. Seriously. It is tiiiiime.
2.) The whereabouts of my cognac faux leather motorcycle jacket.
3.) Your smile when it hits your eyes.
4.) How much I love my new job.
5.) When I'm going to finish all of my homework.
6.) Falllllll!!!
7.) My birthday :) Yay!
8.) Did i mention your smile?
9.) Fuzzy blankets and wrap sweaters.
10.) What to wear with my new gray boots.
11.) Who I'm going to cling to at Staff Night for Chronicles of the Cursed. Oy.

If Friends Were Flowers, I'd Pick You, as featured on the blog of Love, Lulu Mae

I seriously have the greatest friends in the world. Whenever I’m bummed about my job search or not being able to lose that last 5 pounds, I know exactly who I can call to make me feel all warm and fuzzy and sunny and happy all over again. I firmly believe in telling the people you love just how much you love them as often and in as many different ways as possible, and the same goes for when you are proud of people. People devote a great deal of time to doing this in childhood, but it seems to fade as people grow. There’s less whispered adoration between BFF’s, fewer dangly Friends Forever bracelets exchanged.

My friends are the kind of people that make me want to be a better person. They see me at my absolute worst and help me become my ultimate best. And although they are scattered all the way around the world right now, they are all pursuing their dreams all the way to the ends of the world, making something out nothing and becoming the people they had always hoped to be. And the thing about growing up is that you don't notice it happening until it has. And the people around you start getting married and having real jobs and doing everything in their power to make their dreams come true. And it's kind of beautiful how it sneaks up on you, whispers in your ear, enticing you to come forward, step out, be more, make those dreams happen.


Now, I'm not so sure how to make my dreams come true, but I know that there are people in my life, always so willing to help me figure it out, who know how to chase after the life they want with all the life they've been given. They light from inside and find bravery in the darkest corners of their hearts and stomp forward, with a smile, with a song, with a tiny pirouette. Who remind me that I am brave enough to figure it out too, who keep me balanced when everything spins just a little too fast. Their dreams are big, their goals are mighty, and yet, with every little piece of my heart, I know that there is magnificence brewing, magic waiting to be sprung, lives to be touched by your beautiful, beautiful hearts. And it makes me want to be better. And it makes me happy. So very very happy.


But sometimes growing up means that the people you love the most have to leave you for a while. But distance can't change what someone means to you, what someone has meant to you. Goodbye is not always forever, and farewells don't have to be sad. Sometimes an ending is really just a beginning backwards, a step to something new and exciting. With a kiss and a tilt of the hat between letters and phone calls at 3 AM and emails, there's never a shortage of ways to say what needs to be said. And as for the people I'm really talking about here, I couldn't be prouder to love you from afar, see what magic you will work and be gloriously reunited when the time is right :)


Someone who is most likely much wiser than I am once said, “To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” So, I challenge you, dear reader, to say thank you to someone who means the world to you today. Show them how much you love them. It will make your world (and the world at large) an infinitely better, brighter place.