The luxe life in Chetek?

I couldn't help but find it hysterical that there is a five star resort in Chetek (of all places) and it's featured on Jetsetter.com today. I grew up about an hour from here (in the "big city") and there's nothing "jetsetting" about this area. It does look like a lovely place though.

Jetsetter sale link
Canoe Bay Resort

Riding the train

The last two nights I've done something I haven't done in 2 1/2 years... I took the train into the city. Super exciting, right? I used to do it every day for work the first two years we lived in the burbs, but then when I started working at A, I just stopped, cold turkey. I got into the (bad) habit of driving whenever I needed to go. But with massive construction on the Kennedy and the Eisenhower, I decided that my sanity would be better served to leave the driving to someone else and have some predictability as to when I would arrive, but my planning went slightly awry.

I ordered my tickets online last week, but of course they arrived on Wednesday, so I had to go home at lunch to get the mail (love working so close to home!). I had checked the schedule at least a dozen times, but when I got there for the 5:15, there was no train... For 30 minutes. So I was late to my Ravinia meeting. I hate being late. We are gearing up for our big fundraiser on the 24th and the woman who is organizing the auctions (the focus of our meeting) is pregnant. So I got to sit and look at her talk for 90 minutes.

I actually don't have a problem with pregnant women (hell, I want to be one), but as you can expect it makes me kind of sad and I always wonder... Did she have trouble? Or is she one of those (like my sister E) who just thinks about it (or doesn't) and boom, done.

Last night went a little better. I figured out, with the help of Metra customer service, that I was looking at the AM schedule, not the PM (good work, Sherlock!). So the train was in fact running on time. I got to the Union League Club after the start time, but it was casual, so no big deal. It was a BC event and the young woman from the development office who took me to lunch last summer was there, and she is of course, wait for it, six months pregnant.

She is adorable and I am so happy for her, but I must have mentioned to her at our lunch that we were "thinking" of starting of family, so of course she asked. I was weak and deflected. I don't like to talk about IF with pregnant women, it just seems so unfair to both of us. She is due in July and is having a boy, a IVth after her DH (who is assistant athletic director @ BC). She is 30...

At least two other people last night asked me if I had kids. "Not yet." To be fair, this is a legitimate question, as most people do. I often wonder what people talk about when they don't ever have kids, and I don't really want to find out...

Let's hear it for free acupuncture!

As much as I enjoy paying $80/week for my current acupuncturist (note sarcasm), I applied a few months ago for a "fertility study" with another clinic in the area. I got a call that I've been "chosen" to participate in the study which includes 90 days of acupuncture services (a $5k value!). Not bad, as this equates to two sessions/week. The only down side (that I know of) is that they are in the city.

study link here

Decor Don't

A la the "Glamour Don't" (which I don't read, but remember from my ad days), this is from our last trip to Utah. My husband, the aesthete, has fallen for the Kimpton chain of hotels, so now this is where he always wants to stay if he has the chance. So in Salt Lake, we stayed at the Hotel Monaco. It was lovely in every way, except for the decor. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. I think they were going for a harlequin look, but it's a swing and miss in my book, with one exception...



I did have to be restrained to keep from packing the Indian style blanket in my bag.

So many conflicting stripes, colors, and patterns... Eek!

Degrees of Separation

Remember that girl from college who always seemed it have it all together? Well, at W that girl was Stephanie Ercklentz. On our leafy campus, she stood out among the ~500 ladies in our class, especially whenever her uber-stylish mom came to visit.



A few years out of school, she was featured in this documentary where she talked about shopping and marrying well.

That she most certainly did. A few years later, she left Vera Wang and married Chase (that's Charles Payson Coleman III to you ;)). It seemed the chronicles were endless (including a full pg. in T&C), and here.



He is a hedge fund manager, who reportedly makes $400MM/yr . Her bridemaids included Chapin/Merrill Lynch chums who are founding partners in Earnest Sewn and Gilt.com .

The Coleman’s bought the Manhattan home last owned by Randolph Hearst (yes, that Hearst), and the home of his widow and step-daughter, Fabiola Beracasa(ironically another college classmate of mine @ BC). At last count, the Coleman’s have three kids and three homes (in Manhattan, Southampton, and Palm Beach). And to their credit, they are already very active philanthropists.

Committed

So while the world seemingly shut down to celebrate Jesus' resurrection and its predecessor pagan fertility festival (in sadly disproportionate measure), I spent the better part of my Easter weekend finishing Elizabeth Gilbert's latest book "Committed". I was not part of her initial wave of EPL devotees, having bought it in paperback a few years ago and just having finished it finally a few weeks ago, but I am now a huge fan. I didn't realize until recently that she/EPL evoked such ire in some people ("so me, me, me"), but I took it for what it was, a memoir, and enjoyed it immensely.

And unlike the throngs that were expecting her "sequel" to be a continuation of her memoir and were disappointed, I thought it was great. Most modern minded women likely take some pause when stepping into marriage, even without their own nasty divorce in recent memory (for me it was my parent's nearly 30 years ago, and my two sisters' before me). While many women likely can't relate directly to her story as she is set on not having children and can easily support herself, it was an interesting journey through her study of the history of marriage and what it has meant for women through the ages. I recommend it highly.

Summer in April? (update)

So we've broken through the 70 degree mark already in Chicago and today is supposed to top 80 (and possibly break a 64 yr. old record high!), so I've started thinking seriously about summer. For me, for the last 15 years or so, that means buying a new suit from J. Crew (yes, I know I'm ancient). I saw this one in the store awhile ago and I think it might be the one. It's surprising and welcome since I have a vast collection of blue and black two pieces, and even as a marketer myself I'm a sucker for pieces where I can relate to the "brand". This one is called "jaipur mosaic" and we just happened to have honeymooned in Jaipur. I think it will be mine.


J.Crew Swim I got it! All J.Crew swim is 30% off! (as of 5/5)