To Minneapolis with Love

Pray for my hometown... Above is my old stomping grounds and of course, below is the bridge... I took this bridge everyday for years... I always said the damn thing shook too much.

Millennium Park

Okay so I know I said that for my Chicago adventures, I'd be going to places I have yet to be, but I can't resist yet another trip to Chicago's Millennium Park! It's too pretty and full of cool architecture!
And just look at my beautiful photos!

The "Bean", as it's known here, is actually titled Cloud Gate. It was designed by British artist Anish Kapoor—it's his first public outdoor work installed in the United States!!

Can you see me in the bean? Look close!!! I'm the cute one with the hips!

Oh I love this part of the park! It's these funky sculptures with faces that move! Titled The Crown Fountain, two pillars face one another with images that interact with the ground and offer fun water activities! Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.

See, this lady means business!

Renowned architect Frank Gehry, utilized his wacky and revolutionary design sense in the park here with the outdoor concert venue. Wilco is playing here in September!
I love you Jeff Tweedy!

Gehry also designed this uber cool bridge that connects Millennium Park to Daley Bicentennial Plaza... this slopey bridge is 925-foot-long and tempts one to slide off the side! You can see more of the outdoor theatre in the background here as well. PS for more on Gehry rent the documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry, it's really interesting. Some people love his work while others seriously hate it....
oh the beauty of art!

Antiques and Heart

It's nearly Monday and this past weekend, in Jolene's World, has been full of ponderings, walks, bike rides, antiquing, and nachos. Under "The Bean" in Chicago's Millennium Park.

I think I may have started my weekend off on a bad foot. I rented a documentary that was truly unsettling. I'm not going to go into details, or even name the movie, as the disturbing layers are just too much, but I will tell you that the topic was suicide. Hmmm I bet some of you winced.

It's interesting how the subject is so taboo, so wrong, so disturbing. But, while this film truly blew me away, and not in the best way, I better understand the importance of empathy. So this whole weekend, I have been pondering such individuals that were so lost they decided to end their lives. How does one go there? How does one think this is an answer? And, maybe more importantly, instead of "the rest of us" thinking that such individuals couldn't hack life, everyone should understand that the human psyche is truly and incredibly delicate. So really I'm saying, let's all just be a tad bit nicer to one another, and I'm not talking to those in our lives already, but strangers on the train, the homeless on the street, etc. etc. etc!

To lighten things up.....


On Saturday my friend Leigh and I headed to the Chicago Antiques Art Fair. The Antiques Art Fair takes place the last weekends of the month, May-October. Here I am in a "fancy hat" in a favorite girly booth! The fair is often full of shiny objects, blasts from the pasts, and special pooches, such as this handsome fellow here.
His name is Rudy.













With aisles and aisles of antiques, inside and out, Leigh and I strolled throughout many eras and perused all the glittery treasures. We listened to a live band playing the fair, ate fair treats, and even came up with a new slogan "The Chicago Antiques Art Fair, where Tchotckies go to die."
But alas when it was all said and done the only true treasure we found was Mr. Rudy.
Leigh especially liked him, even if he did bark like a girl.

People Are Strange

Yes, I have been very upset over Lilo. The world is upset over Lilo. That poor angel, as my co-worker said to me yesterday "I just wanna take a hold her and give her a truly nice smack-down cocaine experience that will make her feel all better."

So the thing is, people are strange, and fascinating. I just read about this uber-hot, art couple, Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake, that apparently committed a double suicide. Duncan killed herself on July 10 and a week later Blake was seen walking naked into the ocean and was never seen again. The couple apparently had become very paranoid that members of the Church of Scientology were stalking them, well here's the article from the LA Times, it's crazy.

Duncan was a blogger and had a site that was apparently THE blog of blogs, it was titled The Wit of the Staircase. She posted a very interesting quote the day she killed herself...and what's weird is reading her past posts, it seems like everything was okay and she had so many plans...

And what did I learn from all this? It's about the blog's title, as described here from the blog, The Wit of the Staircase:

From the French phrase 'esprit d'escalier,' literally, it means 'the wit of the staircase', and usually refers to the perfect witty response you think up after the conversation or argument is ended. "Esprit d'escalier," she replied. "Esprit d'escalier. The answer you cannot make, the pattern you cannot complete till aterwards it suddenly comes to you when it is too late."

I'm so always thinking of the esprit d'escaliers.

Amy's Rodeo de Mexico

This is my friend Amy.
Two weeks ago Amy went to a Mexican Rodeo right here in Chicago! Amy snapped lots of rodeo photographs. Then she made a funny video gif thingy with her photos. Isn't Amy so creative? I have the coolest friends! I like how fast the rodeo guy looks. It reminds me of an old cartoon.

I do feel really bad for the cow/bull character. :(

Summer Time Shopping

A week ago I decided I was going to explore parts of Chicago; To see more of what makes this city so amazing! I have been living here for four years and yet there is still so much I haven't seen! So last week I started with a Trip to the Garfield Conservatory, a wonderful adventure!

So this past weekend the ideas began brewing, maybe I'll venture out to the Botanic Gardens in Glencoe (um that's a loooong bike ride)? Or I could take a trip to a museum I haven't see yet (snooze), or, um I could just do something I so so so love!!!
That's right! Go shopping! And what do you know my favorite place was having a sale! The Edgewater Antique Mall! Seeing this postcard was all it took! And on Sunday I set out for some treasures... and here's what I found!

Favorite finds that I didn't purchase but dearly covet:
—A set of six 1950's glassware featuring pink flowers and blue birds
—A 1950's odd little glass water pitcher a pink base and a pink stripes on the glass.
—A beautiful mirror, circa, yes the 1950's, with a pink wood frame and pink flamingos adoring the actual glass of the mirror
—This funny swivel chair decked out in a turquoise, tweedy fabric.
—A small deer statue, so wittle, so wee, so cute!
—An even cuter ceramic mouse with big mouse ears.
—Okay this one is a little crazy, and I seriously considered purchasing this, a haute couture baby dress. It was velvet black with pink ruffles and SO freaking cute! I want a baby girl so bad so I can decorate her...Dammit I just realized I could have bought this for the cat.
—A strapless blue organza gown that was so amazingly made with gorgeous ruffles and a side sash-thingy, it seriously looked like something I'd wear to the Oscars!
—A pair of 1950's barkcloth window panels in a deep greenish/gray shade with a design reminiscent of an Asian theme with a bright watermelon pink as the focal color. YUM!
—These adorable animal figurines with big rhinestones eyes, two cats, a squirrel, chihuahua and the cutest owl!

What I ended up purchasing...
well let's start with my favorite: This beautiful blouse!!!!! The clerk said it reminded him of the Yves St. Laurent collection from the early 80's. Yes, I thought. "oh yeah I know all about his collections..." now that I think about it, maybe he said Givenchy? Okay I must go get that Vogue book tomorrow.... Oh who cares, the point is, I Love this blouse! It's so beautiful and well made and fits me perfectly. It has a zipper back and pleated sleeves and it only set me back a mere $13.50!
Next was the necklace, shown in the photo, it's gold with white beads. I also got the cutest bangle...And finally I snagged the original photo which was the basis for the store's sale. You may have thought this was Ms. Lucille Ball, which I thought, but it's actually Betty Hutton, a comedic and musical actress of the 1940's and 1950's. Hutton had done numerous roles, but her most notable was playing Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun; she was considered a zany blond bombshell that was goofy and energetic and had this body that didn't stop. In this photo, dated 1944, Hutton's expression is full of so much life and energy. Lucy? Betty? No matter! This lady makes me smile...it's a beautiful woman showing that she can be funny and zany, something an old improv teacher told me once was not possible...I never believed him and often am being proven wrong by such images as Ms. Hutton as well as the knock-out ladies doing improv all around Chicago.

So yes, I may not have gotten uber cultured today, BUT I did learn about a starlet of the past that I was not familiar with until today, so here's to Ms. Betty Hutton!

Stars, They're Just Like Celebrity J

Newly coiffed Celebrity J & uber cute baby Hun pass through the office on their way to the living room. CJ dons an H&M Cornblue pleated dress, circa 2006; Hun wears a vintage blue silk baby gown.

Lady Head Vases

If you’re looking to take on a new hobby of collecting, consider collecting Lady Head Vases from the 1950s and 60s. Originally manufactured by various ceramic companies just prior to World War II, Lady Head Vases were made for the floral industry. While the first vases were made in the U.S. and feature plainer styles, by the 60s styles were coming out of Japan and featured such accouterments as dangling earrings, faux pearl chokers, gloves, hair bows, eyelashes, and more. The above vases are part of my Mom's collection!

While they initially were sold for just a couple dollars, today such vases are worth anywhere from $75 to well into the thousands. To seek out vases start perusing your local antique shops and flea markets. Also be sure to note the difference between authentic vases and fakes. An article from American Antiques gives you a good start on the history of the Lady Head Vases as well as clues on authenticity.

If you love the look of the vases, but don't have the dough for the pricey items? You can still enjoy head vases with head vase wrapping paper from PopInk. Frame it for a fun wall decor piece.
The paper is appropriately titled Glazed and Confused.

Look at me! I'm at a ballgame!

Last Friday my friend Jennifer and her moosh had an extra ticket to the Cubs Game at Wrigley.
Jen invited me to the game, my third Cubbies game ever! So I took the day off with Jen and we enjoyed the beautiful weather at the park. The game was amazing. I first guzzled an Ice-cold Bud light, yum! Then we basked in the sun as we checked the peeps, and adjacent bleachers atop area apartment buildings. By the third or fourth inning Jen and I, along with Sarah (another Jen friend) meandered down to the concessions. Here we gorged ourselves on tiny hot dogs, labeled "Jumbo Dogs", and sought out more treats...Mai tais for Sarah, Bud Lights for Jolene, and Jen gathered treats for Andy (the Moosh).
Soon we were back in the stands, pondering important points like "what Chicago neighborhoods are fun to live in?" and "was the movie Waitress as wonderful as I thought it was?"
Finally it was time for the party! The seventh Inning stretch! Here we rose to sing along to the famed baller song "Take Me Out to The Ballgame." After it was done I reveled in thought of keeping the karaoke party going with songs from Evita and Dreamgirls... Everyone had a gay old time and we each also had a favorite treat of our own. A malt cup for Jen, soft serve cone for Sarah, peanuts for Andy, and nachos for me! Nummy!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the Cubbies won!

Joey in the Garden

Saturday I rode my bike to the Garfield Conservatory. After, 15 miles of pedaling against the wind, I was rewarded with the retreat of seeing Niki in the Garden! The Conservatory is hosting a special exhibit of 30+ gigantically beautiful and mesmerizing sculptures by artist Niki de Saint Phalle. My favorites included the dancing women with proportions only a big-hipped girl like myself could thoroughly enjoy. The sculptures were adorning the many greenhouses and gardens of the Conservatory, as well as the outdoor gardens. This all of which made me feel as if I were in a magical wonderland! So many of these pieces were intricately designed and fun to look, there were snakes, cats, lions, and, another favorite, the skull. So fun...so pretty.

Little Edie, Big Edie

"Of course I'm mad about animals but raccoons and cats become a little bit boring."—Little Edie Beale Edith Bouvier Beale (background) and her daughter Little Edie Beale (forefront) are true East Coast legends, not to mention the "secret" relatives of the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Having been cast from society, this seriously nutty, loving, and oh so intriguing mother and daughter duo, along with a handful of cats and some raccoons, lived in Grey Gardens, a dilapidated East Hampton mansion.

Having finally been exposed to the cult classic documentary on the Edies, Grey Gardens, filmed in 1975 by the Maysles brothers, Big Edie and Little Edie are today's fashion and balls-to-the-wall inspiration!

There are probably a handful of you that are thinking "snooze, where have you been? The Edies have been everywhere!" And that is certainly true, often designers have used Little Edie's bizarre fashion sense as inspirations in their own lines and the film has been a cult favorite since the 80s, and, of course there is the 2007 Tony-Award winning Broadway musical, Grey Gardens, starring Christine Ebersole. But while I was familiar with them, I just now watched this film and what a treat!

These women given insight to a powerful relationship... they bicker constantly and rehash their lives of their past..Big Edie was a recorded singer, Little Edie an aspiring dancer and debutante. In her late 50's, much to her chagrin, Little Edie moved into Grey Gardens to take care of her mother. The relationship is beautiful and truthful and so intriguing and bizarre and funny. Having never been married, Little Edie is the absolute main character, so melodramatic and full of opinions and so strong-willed. She also acts like a 10 year-old as she wistfully dances and sings throughout the mansion....I wonder if, when I am 57 that will be me and my mother....? Of course my mother is way more low-key than Big Edie.

Rent this movie if you have yet to see Grey Gardens!
Thanks to you Tube here's a little peek into the movie.

Pretty Pretty

Finally! After six months and 12 days I have encountered purses from my Purse of the Day calendar that make me cheery! Now I want you to enjoy as well! Happy July 12. Plastic Beaded Handbags. Maison de Bonneterie and Elizabeth Arden, 1950s

The face powder dust

Two years ago I was in a play here in Chicago, can you believe it?? I performed with this lovely girl, Kelly*... a great actress and a truly sweet person. She is funny and kind and seriously so magnetic as a performer- she's that type of person you instantly wanted to be friends with....

As an equally cool woman myself, naturally Kelly and I became fast friends.

Now I have been in plays where you make friends and then once the show is over- poof these people are out of your life, but you can tell which friendships will last and which won't... I was fairly certain Kelly and I would remain friends long after the play ended. But, turns out, as soon as the show was over we lost instant contact.. It saddened me a bit, but I knew that is the nature of the theater beast, you become really close with people in a short period of time, and then you move on...

Anyway I always thought it a little strange that Kelly and I didn't even really try to remain friends because we did genuinely get along, but whatever, these things happen...

So now fast forward and I have worked again with this theatre group and Kelly is heavily involved with them..I see her and we catch up a little and I continue to receive emails from the studio, and now Kelly as she's pushing various fundraisers for the company... well low and behold today I received the email that confirmed why Kelly and I naturally went our separate ways....

"This Saturday join me for Cool Theater's stage make-up workshop! Be a model and receive a free gift from me!" -Kelly, Mary Kay Independent Consultant.

And rip, another good girl bites the face powder dust.

* Name of theater friend was changed to cover my own ass.

Raccoon Maze

In a walk this past Saturday Frank and I discovered the "Raccoon Maze."
A few blocks from my apartment, just a brisk 15 minute walk, or a 7 minute bike ride, is Raccoon Maze. That is my name for it...not the city of Chicago's. It is a joke between Frank and I, a spin off of the movie Grizzly Man. In that movie they speak of Grizzly Maze, a scary, real place in Alaska where Grizzly Bears dominate and a human is not the superior beast.

Actually the above isn't Raccoon Maze, it's the Raccoon park adjacent from Raccoon Maze. Okay so Raccoon Maze is labeled a bird sancutaury, one Frank and I were eager to walk... the funny thing we couldn't see any birds, but we began to walk the perimeter, mind you it's steps from the lake — you can see the lake behind the trees above — so we begin and suddenly Frank squeals, sort of like a girl but not really, and he points, and there's a raccoon. Then it's me that, not squeals rather screams like the girl I am and run the opposite way.
The guy above was my first coon shot of the day... kind of cute in a creepy giant rat like kind of way...... I don't like Raccoons, they are small beastily animals and they are mean.

Soon we are running into one, two, three, four, ten, 12 raccoons! UGH!

They feed off the chips placed in area trash cans from picnic goers. The bird sanctuary is fenced in, and the coons, I believe have their homes in here.
However that doesn't stop the Raccoons from jumping those fences and running about...


Notice below, the fence is in the background, this was one of many coons charging about.....


So today after a bike ride timing myself from home to downtown Chicago, I headed back to Raccoon Maze to snap the shots appearing in this blog. I was Timothy Treadmill, but I did not want to be one with the coons as he did with the Grizzlies....YUK!


Coons scare me, but not as much as Ferrets.

Squawking into the World

April 27 marked the day I squawked into the world...since the 27th landed on a Friday...the weekend was all mine.




On the morning of my birthday, I woke up to a healthy Miss Honey saying Happy Birthday! Later she was so happy to help me entertain my friends for pre-dinner birthday cocktails.
MEOW!

On my way to work, I traveled through a misty rain. I wanted sun, but was happy there was not a down pour!

I read my "born today" horoscopes at my local bagelry. As I recall it went on about luxury, wealth, and destined for the good life!

Bagel man ended up giving me my bagel and coffee on the house, a birthday prezie! He ultimately proved the validity of the horoscope.

Once I got to the office I was greeted with the CUTEST cards! I even got a birthday balloon!














I displayed my greetings like so: I was thrilled by the notes of well wishings, but I was really tickled that people really knew my style in cards!

Later on, after a very hard day's work....I had birthday dinner and drinks with friends. We got crazy! To prove my point, just look at my friend Amy... what is she doing?

Soon it was Birthday-Saturday…. A truly fun day!
Unfortunately there are no photos, but my eloquent words will do the trick!

At noon, my friends Amy and Ashley and I volunteered for the Glass Slipper Project, an
awesome charity that involves providing a teenage girl with all she needs to prepare for her prom, including dress, jewelry, make-up, and accessories. I was paired with the sweetest girl, Maricella, an 18 year-old getting ready to celebrate her prom on Chicago's Navy Pier. I'm not lying when I tell you Maricella is going to look like a knockout! I helped her find the most beautiful dress! It was so much fun!

Later Amy and I left Ashley’s hood to walk home, stop at shops, people watch, and have margaritas at an outdoor café. Yummy!

Later in the evening Frank came over for popcorn and a movie. If you haven’t seen the documentary Grizzly Man, rent it immediately. It is wicked, sad, a bit creepy, amazing and, most importantly, truly thought provoking.

Grizzly Man tells the life of Timothy Treadwell, a man that studied and lived with Alaskan grizzly bears for 13 summers until he was eventually mauled to death by one of the bears. What makes this documentary creepy is that all footage was done by Treadwell and pieced together by director Werner Herzog. The movie forces you to question Treadwell’s motives. While he dearly, and even somewhat psychotically adored these animals, some argued he was disrespecting their way of life, others praised him for his devotion of protecting these creatures. And all the while of looking at the pros and cons you see this man, how he was so truthful, and bizarre, in the footage because he was so alone and for such long periods of time. You learn that this was a man that truly wanted to live the life of a grizzly bear and leave the human world behind forever. Rent it now! Still curious, check out the trailer here:

After recovering from the movie, I got a good night’s sleep and began my “birthday-Sunday”. I finally got my bike fixed!

Here’s Frank helping me get the bike to the air pump.

I went for my first ride of the 2007 Chicago Spring. The lakeshore was busy!

So I took a detour off the path and wound up in Lincoln Park. Near the Lincoln Park Zoo is a pond where people can rent paddleboats and terrorize the geese. Since I really don’t like geese I didn’t mind too much. But it was still sad.

Soon though, while walking along the path, I noticed this weird thing:
It’s a dead fish. Here’s what makes it weird:

A: It was GIANT. Like if Honey was sitting next to it, and God help me, NOT trying to lick it along with the flies, and I snapped a pic, you would notice that the fish was twice as big as Honey.

B: The fish was on the other side of the walking path, on the other side of the pond. This evokes many questions….Did it jump? Did some kids catch it, pull it out and then let it die? Did the geese pull it out at night? Was the fish actually bought at the fish market in Seattle, flown to Chicago, kept in someone’s freezer, and then brought to the lake to be grilled, but then unfortunately disregarded due to a ‘fishy’ smell?
How could a giant fish have survived in this pond? Is the pond linked to Lake Michigan? Is there a tunnel from the pond to the lake under the walkway somewhere?

Why was there one black glitter Chinese slipper sitting 3 feet to the left of the dead fish?

And my biggest question:

why oh why was no one as enthralled with the fish as I?

After I snapped the photo I walked down the path, stopped and then watched as others walked by — I was dying for reactions of dumbfoundedness, amazement, and pure awe, as if they were seeing a dinosaur. Instead, while it was still exhilarating to see, I was mainly getting the "Ooooh Gross" and run reactions. This perplexed me, because when I walked by my first thought was “Is that a dead pig?” I was floored at the giant size. Am I that sheltered that I seriously think there are only cute small fish in ponds that are probably connected to one of the world’s greatest lakes?

Well nonetheless, I am happy to report, the situation got weirder. Fast forward 20 minutes and I’m onto to some other form of stimulation. After spending about three minutes watching the giant plastic swans wade through the pond I decide to call my Mom.

We are busily chit-chatting about what a wonderful mother she is and what a wonderful daughter I am and then out of the corner of my eye I see this:
That is a pedestrian of the park, a lady with Ipod earphones and sneakers, out on a daily walk, deciding to do a good, if not absolutely strange to me, deed. She is carrying the dead fish in a plastic bag. The fish was not in a plastic bag before! She had to put it in there!

Because the fish was giant, she had to take many breaks. I have no idea if she knew I took this photo, she was literally right next to me and the flash snapped, so yes she probably hates me, but what the hell is she doing touching this bloody, fly infested fish!? Call a park ranger if you’re so concerned.

Soon she hoofs the fish up and walks past families — people with strollers, young couples — and plops the fish down on a bench. Finally I was getting the gasps of shock and dumbfoundedness I was so seeking 30 minutes earlier. Of course it probably had more to do with this lady carrying a giant dead fish, than the fish itself, but nonetheless I was thrilled with the drama. My mom, by the way got the play-by-play on the phone as it happened. Lucky lady, huh?

So the woman leaves the fish to retrieve a city park garbage can. She wheels a can back to the fish and dumps it properly in the can. I’d LOVE to see the look on the worker’s face that has to clean that can out! Dog shit and dead fish. Lord I am thankful there are people that do those jobs. God Bless them!

Afterwards the woman delicately washed her hands in the nearby water fountain. It was at that point I took a mental note: always bring bottled water to the park.


So as not to think the whole day was completely filled with dead things… here’s a look at these pretty swans I saw at another nearby pond; a pond that is also probably infested with giant fish.