The Good Life

The holiday season is upon us and most pet owners will be faced with the decision of where to leave their pets while they travel. Known for its extravagance, D Pet Hotels Hollywood is leading the way in 5 star pet resorts. Situated in Hollywood, California, this high end resort rolls out the red carpet for your pet giving them the star treatment... but be careful because you just may want to stay too.

Dingy pet hotels and kennels are a thing of the past. This resort boasts a variety of luxury suites complete with beds, flat screen TVs and artwork sure to remind your pet of all the comforts of home. In addition to the rooms (which make a few hotels look shabby) 3 indoor dogs parks, a spa and boutique will be at your dog's disposal.

For a great place a bit closer to home, Urban Tailz provides Chicago area dogs with an above average pet sitting experience. A highlight of their site is being able to read the bio for all of their walkers, ensuring your pet will be left in great hands. This has also been a favorite on YELP, yielding a 4.5 out of 5 rating.

Urban Tailz
2177 W. Shakespeare Ave. #1
Chicago, IL 60647
773.510.1812
info@urbantailz.com

Homemade Stories #1

Shannon Cason, blogger and creative writer extraordinaire, has released his first podcast! In First Warm Day, Cason introduces listeners to the story of two young school kids in Chicago on the first warm day of the year. In addition to wonderful short stories, his blog (Born Unknown) offers a humorous peek into the sometimes intricate male mind. I thoroughly enjoy reading his work, but think it's a treat to hear the author read it himself... the way he intended for it to be heard.

N♥tural Hair: Polished Perm Rods

Last week I tried my first style with the perm rods but wanted to see if I could get a more polished look. After washing and blow drying my hair, I used the Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment to provide moisture and protection before I flat ironed. While this product was at times too heavy for my relaxed hair, it works great on my natural hair. I was really pleased with the results and enjoyed the amount of curls that my hair held. This is a style that I could probably stretch our for 2 days (some may have better luck with it lasting longer) and as my hair fell it looked better. I've been having so much fun experimenting with different styles and products. If anyone has any tips/suggestions for products or styles please let me know!.

Rolled, Wrapped and Ready for bed

The next morning with the perm rods out


Fluffed out

McDonald's Fail

Mickey D's hits the spot for millions of people around the world. My personal favorite is the Filet 'o Fish sandwich. This thing is so scrumptious and hits the spot every time. I was craving it last week and decided to head downstairs from my job and grab the fishy delight. However, I was thoroughly disappointed to receive this poor excuse for a sandwich. On top of having a baby slice of cheese it was basically nuked onto the bread. I was pretty grossed out. Are times so rough that we can't even get a full slice of cheese? I mean damn! It's safe to say this was the last time I ate at McDonald's. File this one under #EpicFail.

Adventures on the CTA - Blue Line Edition

I've been hearing for a while now that I needed to make the switch from the standard CTA fare card to the Chicago Card Plus. It took some time (over a year) but I finally made the change and let me just say that it's made a world of difference.

No longer do I have to fumble around with my fare card, hoping I insert it correctly and don't hold up the line. With a simple tap I'm able to enjoy all of the perks of having the CTA chauffeur me around the city. Another highlight is having my 30 day pass automatically reloaded every month!! I'm looking forward to not hustling to get a pass every week. Geez, I really wish I would have done this sooner. I'd urge everyone to definitely get the Chicago Card Plus if you haven't done so already. It's an amazing feature that the CTA offers.

A world of great guys hiding behind bad hair and outdated clothes...

Thursday's episode of the Oprah show featured husbands that seemed to be stuck in a time warp full of bad hair and clothes and in need of a fashion intervention. I was astonished at how tragic some of these men looked before Tim Gunn was able to get his hands on them and show them the light, fashion wise. Be it ill-fitting jeans, old Bill Cosby sweaters, or hair that looked more biblical than 2009, these men all had issues and needed help.

During the course of the show I noticed that once cleaned up these men all looked pretty good. It became a running joke when Oprah pointed out how excited the wives seemed and how everyone would be having a "good night" later on. Judging by the transformations these guys underwent the panties were for sure going to be getting thrown their way.

Another thing that stood out in my mind was how easy it was to clean up a guy. I hear tons of women complaining about the lack of decent men out there and I think they aren't completely tapping into all of the resources we have. If you meet a great guy give him a chance... the core is what's important. You can always polish a man and get him to wear what you feel accentuates his assets. It's kind of like reupholstering your favorite piece of a furniture or refinishing kitchen cabinets... the surface is easy to change. You can work with a sweet guy that wears lame clothes but you can't change a wack personality. In all honesty though, there are so many amazing guys out there and we hold ourselves back from possibly meeting the man of our dreams because of trivial stuff.

On a different note, after the makeovers I could see the personality overhaul these guys encountered... they all had their swag turned on high! I couldn't help but to eye their wives and think that all of the husbands looked WAY better. Hopefully their makeover would encourage the women in their lives to step their game up too. In relationships it's easy for both people to get stuck in a rut.

Before and Afters:

Josh



Larry


Adam


Aaron


Jason

Daniel


Russell originally received a makeover from Oprah in 1990 which admittedly was awful. In an attempt to make it up to Russell 19 years later, Oprah did a redo.