i love you, iphoto

it's troublesome that as soon as i feel good about a question i've answered, i turn away from studying altogether and head to the internet for distractions. it's even worse when the internet quality has gone down seriously in this house since the owner of the good wireless router moved away, so i have to revert to editing old photos in order to distract myself.

a few months ago, i posted a series of old minolta photos i'd taking (here, here, and here). i went back and took a look at the "over-exposed" series and decided to see if iphoto could hold its own even against these terribly bright photos.

i'm pretty impressed with the result. the colors are strange but at least it doesn't look like my friends are ghosts that show up in the background of pictures when you're photographing a mirror in an old haunted castle or something (hearst castle? anybody?)

hup, hup holland!

marty and his roommate chris at kick-off

not to be confused with a nike ad or fraternity promotional image

go netherlands!

or, if you're me, go torts!

oh, weekends away...

i spent a great (and totally unproductive, but whatever) 4th of july weekend in atlanta and alpharetta, georgia going to phish concerts, relaxing by the pool and eating a lot of waffle house late at night. it was so fun and disconcerting to forget my responsibilities for a couple of days. i brought my camera along for the 4th to make memories out of amateur fireworks and an amazing concert.

the infamous lot and shakedown street

my cohorts ben, chris and marty

following the show, the lot become a minefield of firecrackers

i tried my hand the light show, as well. it was quite frightening and short-lived

our hotel pool in the aftermath of july 4th

study break in new orleans

after what felt like days of studying (but was in fact only a 3-hour marathon reading session at a cafe), my study buddy maggie and i drove over to the quarter for the cajun zydeco, creole tomato and louisiana seafood festivals (yes, all three!). what was supposed to be a quick bite to eat and some fresh air turned into two hours of visiting with friends and a strawberry beer. whatevs. that's just how study breaks go in new orleans, i've decided.

i've determined that i need to keep a blanket with me at all times. there have been just too many missed opportunities to lay down in the grass and listen to some music whilst avoiding bug bites.

with one meal i managed to cash in on all three festivals - a shrimp remoulade-stuffed creole tomato which i scarfed while listening to sunpie & the louisiana sunspots

the festivals are all weekend at the old u.s. mint in the quarter - i might have to take another "study break" and get another creole tomato!

are you there, graduation? it's me, margaret

hello, long lost friends! i am taking this day to emerge from the library and give my brain a break. i just took part in a 3-day, 3-final marathon test-taking session and am spent. now, a mere two finals stand between me and graduation. i have nothing terribly interesting to report, other than the search for a graduation dress continues; i am avoiding packing like its the plague; and am overall very resentful of the finals cloud i'm under.

sidebar: walking home from my exam last night at 9 pm (so glamorous, i know), i traipsed past cafe bernard and saw this kick-ass cruiser for sale for the bargain price of $350. how ferosh is this bike? i'm a big fan, obvs.

have a great weekend, peeps. hopefully i'll be back soon!

my exciting life

my "study break" yesterday consisted of driving my roommate to a bar (yes, in the middle of the day) and then going to the home depot to pick up some moving boxes. thrilling. before completing my errand and returning to the confines of my dining room table, i walked about the garden section a bit to give myself (and my iphone photo album) the illusion that i'd spent a great deal of time outdoors, not staring at my books.

ranunculus flowers i was absolutely obsessed with - wouldn't a huge carpet of these look beautiful in a back yard?

and orchids, of course. aren't all of the different varieties so cool?

learn something new about chicago today

did you know chicago is home to the most moveable bridges in the world for any city? it's true - the guide on the seadog architectural boat tour said it (and i've been on the tour TWICE, so i could practically run the tour myself). as cool as it is (hello batman begins!!) it can be prettyyyy (please channel larry david while reading that in your head, thanks) annoying when you actually have somewhere to go and the bridges go up for a couple sailing the river on a wednesday at NOON...

AWESOME image via flickr

stuck.

inquire within for more fun chicago trivia! i've got LOTS.

adventures in lawyering

after being cooped up in the office for a bit too long, my friend jaime and i went for a little stroll around the loop to pick up some lunch and treats. on state street we encountered this beautiful display. thinking this was chicago artistry and beautification at its finest, i immediately pulled out my phone...

only to realize, seconds later, that this was in fact an ad campaign for some new degree deodorant scents. jaime was convinced it was in some way a macy's display. no dice.

after our failed attempt at enjoying an outdoor installation, we headed over to get cupcakes from the cupcake counter, a little shop i discovered online. as soon as we walked in to this little hole-in-the-wall storefront, sandwiched between a parking garage and an argo tea on madison, i knew we were in for a huge treat.
the selection was small, but at the same time plentiful. the choices were the daily regulars (red velvet (yum), chocolate, vanilla, and carrot) and surprise flavors like reese's, maple pecan, and butter. i had eyes for red velvet only.

jaime and i loved the adorable decorations!

loved the chandelier (sorry for the poor quality. iphones don't do well in bad lighting conditions).

this is literally the tiniest place in chicago. i am grinning ear to ear, clutching the cupcakes and 1% milk for dear life.

two red velvets and a chocolate, please!

well, the cupcake was everything i'd hoped for, and more. i'll be making a daily trip from now until i'm finished working. try this place out! it's a mom and daughter team who run the store and bake everything from scratch. there are muffins, scones and cornbread in addition to the cupcakes, and they carry intelligencia coffee, which, according to jaime, gives starbs a run for its money. get out and support a local business. i'll meet you there!

deal of the day

when i'm in the mood for a good deal and an assuredly successful shopping trip, i head to target (but only when i'm in desperate need of other essentials, like toothpaste. otherwise i'd be there everyday, blowing my millions). check out these adorable and affordable purchases i made:

statement earrings - no other jewelry needed! (unless you're me)

the perfect summer maxi dress, forgiving in all the right places, pretty pattern and effortless (and only $20!!!). pair it with some comfy leather sandals (still need to get on that), chunky bracelets and big bag and you're set for lunch, cocktails, a concert, anything. it'll definitely come in handy in the new orleans heat!

here's a close-up of the colorful design

*thanks to jaime for the post idea!

study buddy?

the mpre is over. i can breathe! yesterday the day was spent "studying," which basically consisted of practice exams interspersed with bags of chips, pizzas and feline distractions. kiki's three black cats, ani (the queen bee), klaus and doyle kept us highly entertained.

here are klaus and doyle with their outdoor girlfriend,

who visits with them on the sill

being stuck inside on beautiful day was torture

pretty little details everywhere

this is what a bookcase should look like

more interesting knick-knacks from kiki's travels

of course at the end of the day we rewarded ourselves with a trip to hema's kitchen in indiatown. it is beyond delicious, the service is amazing, the restaurant is a byob (my fave!) and it's totally affordable! here is all the food [the three of us] ordered:

naan, chicken biryani, raita, murg makhani, haryali chicken and egg curry.

= yum

today, i hit the books

the time to get serious about the mpre has arrived. it is, after all, tomorrow. devoting today to studying seems to be a wise choice. my study buddies and i are rewarding ourselves with a trip to hema's kitchen at the end of the day, so all is not lost.

cuba libre movement

when my lovely friend lindsay got me my job here at g&c music factory, my interview consisted of the following:

me: hi, i'm margaret, here's my resume, sorry i'm sweating, i ran here in heels.
[everyone is in jeans]
boss: [throws resume on desk] martha, it's nice to meet you. when can you start?
me: um, well i'm free the rest of the day. i can start now.
boss: GREAT! lindsay, show margaret around.
[tour of office takes two seconds because it is approx. 1000 sq. ft. "interview" continues:]
boss: so. this is the most important question. do you drink cuba libre?
margaret: um, yes. i do.
boss: GREAT! you're hired. go get started.

so this is how i was introduced to our friday afternoon ritual, known as "document review," which in no way consists of reviewing documents (altho it's fun to freak out new clerks and tell them they have to prepare documents for review. i never got punked like this because i was in on the ritual from the get-go). so excuse me as i go properly kick off my weekend...

workin for the weekend

ah, friday. a day of such promise. except for when it's 9 am and you realize you have 8 hours ahead of you until freedom. my office is not that exciting (altho the building is pretty damn cool, given that it's on the national register of historic places and all), but i wanted to share the tiny little scrap of outside i can see (by some miracle, i managed to get the one seat by the window. it's a hot commodity round here):

you can see a tiny little bit of the lake (i'm sure back in the day i would have been able to see the lake just fine. stupid skyscrapers.).

ps sorry for all the recent cityscapes. i just downloaded the shakeitphoto app on my iphone and i have become OBSESSED with taking faularoids of everything. yes, that is what they're called.

have a great friday everyone - let's hope it goes fast. anyone have any fun plans this weekend??