I need some quality time with my girlfriends...

I've been in Chicago for almost 3 weeks now and have yet to see any of my girlfriends or go out. In my defense the first 2 weeks were spent adjusting to my new work schedule and commute, along with spending time with my husband before his 2nd deployment to the "sand box"... but it dawned on me the other day that I'm beyond busy all the time and really have no free time anymore. Once I start my classes again in 2 weeks I feel like I'll NEVER see anyone and might as well be living back in SC lol.

Not my idea of quality time...

I tentatively plan on rectifying this situation Labor Day weekend and getting in at least 1 or 2 days of fun... and I want to have a lot of fun - - dancing, drinks, laughs... all that stuff. What I DON'T want to do is sit around with my girlfriends and be a zombie attached to my cell phone ---------->

Cell phones and social media are awesome, but they do take away from actually enjoying the people you have in front of you. I mean, how many times have you found yourself surrounded by friends and family, yet glued to your phone? It's funny to be constantly updating twitter and facebook with all "fun" things you're doing... yet, how much life can you be living when you're face down into your cell phone? Don't get me wrong, I'll probably throw out a few funny tweets if I'm downing drinks lol... but I want to enjoy the time I have with people since my free time is so scarce nowadays.

Pizza & Pinot

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful dinner hosted by Ladies Lounge Columbia, a meet-up group for 20/30-something professional women in the Columbia, SC area. We all enjoyed Pizza & Pinot @ Terra in West Columbia and let me tell you - - I've attended meet-ups before, but this was by far the BEST event I've experienced while living in South Carolina. It was a diverse group of ladies, all full of personality and blessed with the gift of gab. I also had the pleasure of finally meeting fellow bloggers Shanika of Life is Pichey, and Ebony of Make Me Over Eb in person. I'm always excited to meet the faces behind the blogs I read, so putting an actual face with a blog/twitter/vlog is nice.

Pizza & Pinot @ Terra

One of the highlights of my dinner? Finding out I was sitting next to two fellow cancerians! June 25th, June 26th, and June 27th all sitting happily next to one another. I have a soft spot for cancers...

If you're new to the Columbia, SC area or have been living here for a while and genuinely interested in meeting other ladies, please take a look at this group. All the ladies are super nice, professional, and have PERSONALITY!!! It can be hit or miss meeting people online, but I assure you that this is a super fun group and I'm kinda sad I'll be moving. Seriously, why didn't I meet all of them months ago! lol...

This isn't a group that's interested in collecting a bunch of inactive members. If you decide to join please be ready to put yourself out there and have a good time. Participation on a monthly basis is expected, and after one event with these ladies you'll be eager to come out for more.

For more information on Ladies Lounge Columbia click here.

Friendship Dream Team

Do you ever find yourself watching TV and thinking...

"Man, I'd love to be friends with ______ "

Life with the husbando is going swell, but I do miss having girlfriends in my city. There's nothing like a girl's night out, brunch or shopping excursion to cheer me up. As a result of my friendship deficit I decided to put together my friendship dream team. These lovely ladies are currently keeping me company in SC and the best "friends-in-my-head" a girl could ask for!

Jeannie Mai

I absolutely adore her vibrant personality, funky blue hair and positive energy. She would be great to shop with and sure to steer you in the right direction, fashion and spiritually.

Giuliana Rancic

I think Giuliana is the quintessential girl's girl. She loves shopping, hair extensions, entertainment gossip and can talk your ear off... just like me!



Jennifer Love Hewitt
She may have won me over as the "Ghost Whisperer", but after watching an interview she did on Wendy Williams I was completely sold on her real life persona. She's hilarious, into reality TV, and easy going.


Josie Stevens
Underneath the obsession with Hello Kitty and sometimes over the top hair and makeup lies a girl with a heart of gold. Josie has fun all the time and would be sure to bond with me over our huge boobs and love of nail art.

Who would you put on your friendship dream team?

My Black is Beautiful

Saturday, May 30th the My Black is Beautiful tour will be rolling into Chicago. This free event will feature a celebrity discussion panel moderated by actress Tasha Smith (panelists include Angela Bassett, Michaela Angela Davis, Daphne Valerius and Troi Tyler), keynote speech by actress A.J. Johnson, and performances by Lalah Hathaway and Eric Roberson. There will also be various "conversation rooms" where topics such as financial management, self-esteem/inner beauty and health/wellness will be discussed. For those looking to get pampered:

~ makeovers will be provided by the Cover Girl Queen makeup studio
~ facials and skin analysis by the Olay Skin is In Studio
~ basic salon services by the Pantene HAIRmony Salon
~ color consultation by the Clairol Beautiful Collection

Other event features include:

~ healthy, beautiful smile challenge with Creast-Pro Healthy
~ style challenge by Tampax
~ spoken word in the Let it Flow Lounge by Always
~ yoga classes and health screenings in the Healthy & Wellness pavillion

Door open at 11am and the event runs until 7pm. While the event is free registration is required. Please click here to register or visit:

www.myblackisbeautiful.com/tour_events/2009/chicago.php

After the event I will be a hosting a "keep the conversation going" dinner at Leona's on Taylor St. This is a way to keep the spirit of sisterhood alive and converse about the various topics of the event. If you'd like to attend please shoot me an email.


Location:

My Black is Beautiful Tour 2009
UIC Forum - Main Hall
725 W. Roosevelt Rd.
Chicago, IL 60608

Leona's
1419 W. Taylor St.
Chicago, IL 60607
*4 blocks west of Racine

My First Video

Anyone that knows me can attest to the fact that I'm obsessed with taking pictures. From a young age, my Aunt had me cheesing for the camera (she's a photographer) so capturing life's many memories has always been second nature to me. Last year my bff, K. Dot, came to Scottsdale to celebrate her 24th bday (as well as be fly during Superbowl Weekend). In honor of that I put together this video montage (my first and last time creating a video - - it was a lot of fun to do but I seriously had no clue what I was getting myself into) This video always makes me smile and I wanted to share it with my blog family. I hope you enjoy...

Friendship is Essential to the Soul

I have realized that spending my early 20s (19-24) in Arizona has thrown a monkey wrench into my social life in Chicago. Since the majority of my girlfriends live there it's no wonder that I'm always aching to go back and have drinks with my girls, chit chat... just be out and about. All women need healthy relationships with other women - - friendships that are void of drama, jealousy, and pretentiousness. With the weather warming up and summer around the corner I am determined to find a group of like-minded females that I can share my gift of gab, drinks, shopping excursions, and love of all things wonderful with. It's funny, I kind of feel like I'm placing an ad to recruit some new friends... but really, I'm just eager to meet more people and make the city a little bit smaller and more exciting.

So, who am I? I'm a 24yo woman that loves stilettos, has a weakness for puppies, is not equipped with the skills to turn down a free drink, wants to have a 1-on-1 dance session with Laurie Ann, is hooked on reality tv, loves having real business cards from a real company, detests wearing jeans to the club, owns way too much lip gloss, secretly yearns to work for MAC, thinks having a bus pass is really like having a key to the city, is a social butterfly but not a friend that has to constantly have the limelight, overly sarcastic, extremely warm and open, and above all a loyal friend. Wow, I sound pretty amazing! I'd want to be friends with me. lol...

With all of that out of the way, my goal is to have occasional gatherings for other women that find themselves in the same position. Are you ever bored at 6p and want to grab some drinks but you don't know who to call? Better yet, the people you call flake out and therefore you're left wishing you had a larger network of female friends? I know that everyone has been there before and thru blogging I've found other women in the Chicago area that seem like interesting people.

I'm planning a happy hour for Friday, April 17th. What could be better than drinks, great appetizers, convo, female bonding... and did I mention drinks? I'm still deciding where to go but if your schedule is open and you'd be interested in coming shoot me an email!