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I <3 jmraz

I always liked Jason Mraz’s music. Who doesn’t like the catchy ‘I’m Yours’ or ‘Lucky’? On a whim a few weeks ago, my friend won tickets and off we went to Detroit. I think the 3 hours from the time I decided to go to the concert to actually leaving Chicago was a complete blur. Then there was the 5+ hours to drive there. Then we forgot about the time change and freaked out a little bit. But we got there. btw… Michigan streets are weird. We missed the turn into the venue and couldn’t make a left turn for a while which made us late by another 15 minutes. But we made it. We created our own parking spot [It seemed legal enough] and bolted for the front door where our tickets awaited us.

We found out that he just started 20 minutes… grr… if it wasn’t for that missed turn.. But it was worth it! The best part was the second set he played for the back half of the venue. He was so close to us and he even turned around a few times!  

hope to see you again, Jason!

3 + Ravinia for free!

I won 2 raffle tickets at my library a few weeks ago… [see why I love the library so?] and my other friend is a teacher… so we all went to Ravinia for free!

It was a lot of fun! CSO played Tchaikovsky and it was pretty renown music. [Nutcracker in July is just as good as December!]. I think one of the highlights was when we saw 2 little girls dancing away to the music. There’s something so sweet and carefree about being silly and dancing like nobody’s watching, you know?

 

the spread:  it was a smorgasbord… fried rice + kim bop + edamame + egg omelet + egg rolls + a variation of a spring roll + banana-walnut-chocolate chip cookies. We were only missing some fruit!  I think it’s a given now that no trip to Ravinia is complete without a C&B table. I purchased mine many years ago and it comes handy every time I go! 


[note, this picture is more of an aftermath after we gobbled everything up!]

It was a perfect day to attend! The weather was very mild and actually a little chilly in the shade. I had a chance to lie down and saw this image in the sky. Sometimes nice fluffy clouds or clear skies are nice. But I just like the sky, even with some crazy messy clouds.

It was a nice relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon. [Plus, I bumped into a few friends!] If you are ever in the Chicago land area during the summer, Ravinia is a must!

springtime flowers

I was at the mall last week killing some time and the wind was picking up. I saw these flowers... not sure what they are, but they just looked like they were dancing with the wind. The picture doesn't do justice, but I'll have to look back here and there this week with the exciting sunshine-less days we'll be facing.

I saw a Magnolia tree today and I must say, they are quite beautiful: such full flowers with a soft pink petal. My sister's boyfriend was kind enough to pick one off of his neighbor's tree. It looks like they are already dying though... :(

But they reminded me of the Cherry Blossoms. I've always wanted to go and see them in DC. I'm marking my calendar for next year and hope I can visit some dear friends while I'm out there!

[image via national geographic]

Speaking of flowers, I'm thinking of taking this class at Home Depot... it's free and my front porch area can definitely use some gardening to spruce it up especially on a low-budget.

annual ben and jerry's day!

It's that day again! Free cones from Ben and Jerry's from 12-8! I'm going to try the frozen yogurt flavors... I think strawberry is calling my name.

samples at origins

It's true! I stopped by an Origins store over the weekend and they verified that they just started taking back any empty makeup containers. So I brought over a very empty Shiseido cream. [I made sure I got drop out!] They had some samples from Harry and David... and said we could help ourselves to them.

thoughts: It's helpful to go in with an idea of what kind of sample you want. I think they have any sample from the store!

The sales associate walked me through a recommended regimen and let me try it out on the back of my left hand. I'd say the exfoliant did wonders! I raved about their A Perfect World and wished they had travel sizes for my purse. So she gave me a sample to carry around. I started ransacking my bathroom for any other empty containers... I'd like to stock up on their A Perfect World set. It seems to agree with me the most.

tax day crunch?

So glad I got my taxes taken care of last week... This is the longest I waited. sigh. No refund for me this year... So I'm going to get some rebates in another fashion with some freebies!

Who said the best things in life aren't free?

So here are some April 15th freebies!

Scoop of ice cream from Maggie Moos
Cinnabon Bites
6 free wings [coupon lasts all month]
There's rumors of McDonald's will have a BOGO - buy one get one free for Big Macs and Quarter Pounders

I hope they work!