jlc luncheon: dara torres

one word summary: disappointing.

but i guess when you've been to a few of them and they've all been awesome, maybe there is just going to be one that is not as great as the others were...

this one featured dara torres, the olympic swimmer, who at 41 is the oldest olympic swimmer and has been to 5 games. wow! i thought she'd be fascinating, but alas she was not. it was set up differently than all the others: they had a question/answer format and dara and the interviewer (i forget her name - some news woman from the local station) were both sitting. and everything was rushed rushed. we were told that we needed to basically scarf our food down so that dara could talk and then run and catch a plane. umm, ok, but you know the format, you know how long everything is going to take - why wouldn't you schedule a slightly later flight rather than rush along a nice lunch that everyone paid 50 bucks to attend?!?! it was annoying.

more annoying was the fact that the questions asked just weren't that interesting and dara was just not that interesting in terms of her answers. usually they let the audience ask questions for about 30 mins, this time they only took 3. when i went to get her book autographed, well personalized (it had been pre-signed), her handler was all "no personal pictures, no more than 1 book signed" and basically made everyone hurry hurry which was just, again annoying.

i guess if you are an olympic swimmer, that doesn't make you an interesting or good speaker and i can accept that. but, at least don't make everyone feel so rushed and like you are doing us a huge favor by even being there. you're pretty great, but you aren't the greatest person in the world!

old friends, good times!

i needed sun. my old high school buddy had been inviting me to visit him in florida for a long time... so, i decided i needed a trip down to naples! and this decision came the night after alice's bday/the big bitch fight that you guys all read about on fb (which i still need to blog about). I came home that night...rather inebriated... and booked my (miles/free) ticket. the next day, i looked at it and saw that i'd managed to somehow book from may 14 - september something. hmmm, maybe drunk plane ticket buying while eating mac n cheese isn't the most brilliant of ideas! but once i got the dates straightened out, i was on my way for a weekend filled of sun, fun and old memories.

i got in late thurs eve and darrell so kindly picked me up at the airport with his buddy, jimmy. from there, we headed to their favorite local hangout, the tavern. total dive bar. totally fun. darrell and i ended up spending pretty much the entire night up talking (until after 5!). for those of you curious ones... darrell has a 3 bedroom house that he shares with his never home roommate so i had my own bedroom and bathroom!

the next day, we (me, darrell & jimmy) took about a 2 hour road trip up to siesta key which is just outside of sarasota. i can't even begin to explain the beach there - ridiculously fine gorgeous sand and really nice warm water. you can drink on the beaches there so we had a few beers while relaxing and waiting for our other high school (culver) buddy, gino. gino's real name is ryan giannini, but all anyone called him was gino. i hadn't seen gino since we'd graduated in 97 - he's never gone back to visit. so once gino was done with work, he met us at the beach where we hung out until we decided we all needed food.

gino has a little beach house not far from where we were and also in walking distance of the cute town center. there are no chains - only super cute restaurants and bars and places to hang out. we cleaned up a bit and walked over to skob (siesta key oyster bar), found a table, ordered some beers and a lot of food. yum! we ended up sitting there for a loooong time... until i decided i really needed to wash my hair and clean up as i'd taken only the quickest of showers earlier and my hair felt like straw. gino and i headed back to his house (he had some stuff to do too) and i got cleaned up.... we did make a pit stop at the fudge/ice cream shop - yum! and then headed back to skob.

i doubt any of you remember him from pomona, but jamie elkins lives in tampa so he came down for the evening with one of his buddies, scott, and met us there. hadn't seen him since he graduated in 99! he was a kd guy and football player which is how i knew him so well. it was so much fun to catch up with him too!

darrell and me at skob

me and gino

darrell and gino, culver class of 97!

i love the paper towels taking front and center and i thought i'd gotten a better pic, but alas, i did not and thus, this is what i have of me and jamie.

how many buckets of beer are there!? look at us 13 years later!

awwwww, hugs!

our group - l to r: gino, darrell, scott (in back), jamie, me and jimmy (i just met jimmy - he's darrell's friend)

on sat, we said good bye to gino after brunch and headed back to naples. darrell showed me around the city (i'd never been there) and then we had some lunch at one of his favorite places and headed back to his place. we went out to marco island later that evening for some sushi and then drinks at the something inn. i may remember the name later, but i liked that place. they had cheap pitchers of beer and it was right on the water.

sunday, we got in a little beach time - i can say the naples beach is no where near as good as the siesta key beach! but, it's still a beach. we stayed there til it rained on us and then we headed up to the beach club restaurant and got some food. and then it was basically time to head back to the airport. it was a fun filled, great time weekend!!

cinco de mayo

cinco de mayo turned in to el drunko!! kyle and i had a brilliant idea to head to division street on the 5th in order to enjoy the holiday and bar/restaurant hop down the street with wide sidewalks and tons of outdoor spaces. and so we started off at angels and mariachis where my friend, drew, came to join us. drew is a whole nother side story, but basically tina and i met him during one of our sunday fundays at dmk burger where he is the bartender.

at angels and mariachis, we scarfed chips and salsa and margs. when drew got there, a shot seemed to be required and so one was taken! then it was time to move down division street to 50/50 where we needed 40s in a brown paper bag and where johan came to join us. we're just classy that way. i know we ate some good food: and by good food i mean total bar food! after 50/50, we headed across the street for drinks at the boundary. no idea what i drank there, but i'm sure it was more than i needed at that point...

but we aren't done yet! from there, i think we went to sheffield's which is a bar more in our neighborhood that also has an outdoor area. while there, beer was drunk and probably some other good stuff... possibly a shot. from sheffield's, we headed to cesar's home of the killer margarita. at this point, johan has left us and met up with some of his other friends. but drew, kyle and i soldier on! and don't worry, we aren't done after this... though we should be for sure... after cesars we headed to vaughan's for probably some shots and beer and god knows what b/c my memory has failed me. for some reason, i still think i can drink like a 22 year old. i was buzzed when i left the first place!! needless to say, the next day some of my memory from the night was gone... i'd lost my credit card somewhere (i never do that!!!)...and i had a hangover from HELL. fun, but great idea gone bad bad bad!!!


start of the day: jeff our mariachi waiter... it was his guns we were playing with and the hats were a free promo item... they reappear throughout the day/night...


shots shots shots! kyle, waiter, me, and drew


i guess waiters were a theme. this is drew, me, waitress, kyle and johan at 50/50


so we had a fake 40 fight with our brown bagged beverages. ridiculous, yet hilarious!


hugs at sheffields!


more hugs at sheffields!


now these were beyond unnecessary!!!! whose dumb idea was this!?


really?! who served these drunk fools?! we sure did have fun tho...

a visit with nicole!

scrippsies in chicago!

nicole was in town over the weekend of april 23rd. she was busy all weekend long until sunday evening... she had a conference to go to... and a celebration dinner to be at... because carlin proposed!!! yay! congratulations to nicole!!!! so on sunday the 25th, we all met at floyd's in bucktown. i'd never been there, but it seemed cute and fun. i say seems b/c we were pretty much the only people in there (nicole, carlin and all of their friends who came to hang out) so i have no idea what it'd be like on a fri or sat. but i had a great time (albeit way too short!!) seeing and hanging out with nicole et al!!


check out this awesome couple! congrats!!!


awwwwwwwwwwww


awwwwwwwwwwwwww

anna quindlen

i'm LOVING the book author series that the junior league has put together along with the union club of chicago. together, they are able to bring in some great people. madeleine albright was a speaker! i was out of town last oct during her luncheon, but some of you might remember me writing about the lunch i went to where meg whitman spoke. in any case, on friday the 23rd, i got to go to a luncheon featuring anna quindlen.



i'll be totally honest. i had no idea what to really expect. i mean, i've seen her book (every last one) in all the important magazines...you know: US, people, entertainment weekly... but i'll admit i've never really read anything by her and she's a famous columnist... which frankly, i didn't know either. sarah mac, feel free to smack me at any point... i feel so unenlightened. anyways... since i enjoyed my last book author lunch and since i look for ways in which i can network, meet more league folks, and fill my days with something more substantial than the gym, i decided to go. and i was really happy i did!


for those of you in the dark like i was...

Anna Quindlen is the author of five previous bestselling novels (Rise and Shine, Blessings, Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue), and seven nonfiction books (A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Good Dog. Stay., Being Perfect, Loud & Clear, Living Out Loud, Thinking Out Loud, and How Reading Changed My Life). Her New York Times column “Public and Private” won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. From 2000-2009, She wrote the “Last Word” column for Newsweek.

she had a lot of inspirational things to say and i wish i could remember them all! she attended barnard and felt that a women's education was paramount in her success... to which when i met her, i had to agree! this time, luckily, i was less of a bumbling idiot than i was with meg whitman! i have just started her new book and it is an easy read, but i'm in to it so far!

derby day! part 3.

derby day! derby day!! this is something that has been on my bucket list... always one of those things i'd wanted to do... and here i got my opportunity to experience the greatest 2 minutes in sports thanks to kyle (and her dad!) inviting me to join her and a couple of her other friends in louisville for the weekend. after such a fun day at the oaks, i was wondering what in the world derby day had in store and if it could possibly be any more fun... the answer is of course, yes!!


in the car: me and johan. the traffic was ridiculous, but then again 155,000 people were there!


in the paddock area getting our programs: me, sheri and kyle. it was a rainy, drizzly and kinda chilly day. but we could have cared less!


my first mint julep... not terrible, but not terrific either! but, with all booze, it was a good bang for your buck type of drink! and quite festive!


clearly the luckiest guy at the derby to be accompanied by such lovely ladies!!


at one point, some guy walked past and was all "fantastic, just fantastic..." while staring right at my boobs. i got lots of boobs lookers...


all of us in our hats. me, kyle, heather (one of kyle's friends) and sheri


in our lovely rain ponchos!


me: johan, can you hold my clutch and my hat for just a second?! i have to take this lovely red poncho off. johan: ok.


johan: you have chicken skin... do you want to borrow my jacket? i have more layers on than you. me: yes, please! i need to warm up for a bit! *the coat was so long it held my dress down which was great b/c it was quite windy and just not that long before, my dress had flown up as we were taking a picture and i showed the 3rd floor clubhouse folks a bit of my arse... embarrassing!!!


the derby horsies parading before lining up in the starting gate. just before derby started, the rain went away and the sun came out. it was amazing!!! and lasted just long enough for the horsies to race.


getting ready to watch our horsies and hopefully win some more money!!


and super saver wins! unfortunately, we did not bet on super saver... oh well...


but we did cash in! we picked ice box and b/c he was a long shot, we still won more money than sheri who picked super saver to win!


we met some new friends on the way out of derby... aren't their outfits great?! the guy in pink wanted to know if i had real ones or silicone. um, real. and wish they were smaller!!!


we went to dinner with heather and her husband at a place on 4th st which is a big covered indoor/outdoor area downtown to eat and drink. think: a covered irvine spectrum on a much smaller scale.


me and kyle pose at the entrance to 4th st


enjoying some drinks at 4th st. we met all kinds of random drunkards there that kept talking to us. johan thought it was more fun to watch all this than to come and save us. thanks!

after 4th st, we headed back to molly malone's where we drank, partied, met some more new friends and then decided to head back to kyle's house. thankfully we picked just the right time since right as we were going up her dad's long windy driveway, the thunder/lightening and downpour hit. phew! we escaped getting completely soaked! but, don't think the night ended here!!! we opened up more of the wine leftover from her dad's dinner party and drank. and got silly. taking completely random pictures... and then passing out.


just chillin... drinking wine and hanging out. that pull out bed was pretty comfy for a pull out bed!


silliness!!


more silliness.... loads of silliness that i refuse to post anywhere!!! this is where we passed out... i woke up around 630am - kyle had already gone in to our room (where there were twin beds) so i got up and went to bed. where i stayed til about 11 when kyle and i decided to start our chit chatting...

and then we got all packed up on sunday, said our goodbyes to her dad and ingrid. and then we headed over to kyle's aunt's house. her aunt and uncle are super sweet! her aunt is a surrogate mom to her since kyle lost her mom about a year ago. it was so neat to finally meet her! after a short visit we had to get on the road... get some arby's... and head home! it was a fabulous weekend and i can't wait for next year!!!!

the oaks. part 2 of derby weekend.

on friday, we got all dressed up and pretty and went to churchill downs for a day of racing and the the oaks (the oaks is for the fillies). kyle's dad had given us the rover for the weekend so that thankfully kyle could do all the driving and i didn't have to worry about it. he also gave us his vip valet parking pass which was nice, but we had to wait in some looooooong lines! her dad takes a police escorted limo in order to avoid the lines. we could have gone with him, but we wanted to have a car at our disposal for later in the evening. her dad had also given us 4 tickets to his 3rd floor clubhouse box (there are 6 seats total per box).


on our way to the oaks. we were stopped in traffic and taking photos. that's kyle's hat with pretty fresh flowers. smelled so good!


we had just dropped our car off at valet after taking forever in traffic! we are just outside of churchill downs. the best part of valet was that we didn't have as far to walk in our heels!

once we got there, we roamed around for a bit... got some food, and of course our drinks! the official drink of the day is called the lily. it was cranberry, vodka, lemonade, sprite... something something. not sure, but it was delicious! so we had a few of those along with a bunch of beer.


this is a view of the downs. it is overlooking the paddock.


this is one of the jockeys... we saw several of them sitting/hanging out up there. we couldn't get close to them b/c it was a different area, but we could see them. so cute!


setting up for the horsies!

at one point, we went over to find my cousin ben and my uncle jim. ben had taken jim to the oaks and derby for his 70th birthday present. jim is a big race horse fan and at one point owned an interest in a race horse and was writing a book about racing (if i recall correctly!). they were sitting a rather far walk away (for heel wearing) and in the 114 section so they weren't allowed to come up and visit us. i stayed and chatted with them for awhile and then headed back to our box to do some betting! and ok, some more drinking!


my little cousin ben, me, and uncle jimbo (as his daughter lovingly calls him)



i'm in kyle's hat... and we are drinking lilies here


johan, kyle, me and sheri in our box. we had fantastic seat. a BIG HUGE GINORMOUS thank you to kyle and her dad for giving us this amazing opportunity!!!


the spires in the background: me, sheri, and kyle



horsie #5 won the oaks just for us! every horse in every race both days either won, placed or showed for us and we won itty bitty amounts of money that we kept reinvesting. we each put in 10 bucks as our original bet!

after the oaks, we went to a restaurant called, equus, for a sit down dinner with her dad and like 50 of his best friends. it was delicious!! and there was plenty of wine being served... so after dinner, we were all quite ready to head.... home?! nahhhhhhh, we had more drinking to do.... every year kyle goes to bardstown road and to molly malone's so that's where we headed after a delicious dinner. i may or may not have eaten the leftovers of other people's plates!!! but when so much good food (and 5 courses) are served... i mean... what's there to do, but eat it all?! i wish i'd taken pics and could describe the food better for you, hol, but unfortunately i didn't. i remember there being: a king prawn, salad, halibut course, beef course, and dessert. at molly's, we met some of kyle's friends and made some new ones and had a bunch of drinks. what a great day!