The Elite Private Yacht

This year’s work party was held at a private yacht from Elite at Navy Pier.  People were hesitant if it was going to happen at all due to the weather.  Thunderstorms were predicted but luckily it cleared up before the end of the work day.  As usual, we had a trolley service pick us up from the office and transport us there.  I love the trolley rides!  That’s an experience itself!  The trolley went through traffic pretty quickly considering it was Friday during rush hour.  Once we arrived we killed some time by walking over to the Beer Garden to have a cocktail.  There was a band that was playing as well.

We finally boarded, and despite the skies looking questionable, we set out to sea!  I’m usually nervous on boats in general, but this yacht was pretty big.  I never felt a thing.  We had dinner at the downstairs lobby, and again, despite being on a lower level, I still never felt a thing.  The food was delish!  I was very surprised at the quality!  They even had a cutting station for meat.

We went back up to the upper level to enjoy some music from the dj.  Our work parties have been a little wild out on the dance floor over the years, but I think this time it wasn’t so.  I have a feeling if they had dimmed down the lights a bit it would have made people less shy.  Oh well.  Regardless we had a blast!

Annual Summer Party

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I missed out on Lollapalooza this year but it was hard seeing everyone’s footage on social media.  Lol.  It’s one of my favorite music festivals but because of my mom’s house being on-sale, I didn’t want to commit to anything.  Regardless, there were plenty of memories I’ve had over the years and I posted a few of them on Facebook and Instagram.  I DO have a ticket for North Coast coming up Labor Day weekend, but I feel my love for music festivals might be winding down.  *sniffle sniffle

Over the years I’ve had some amazing times at music festivals but as I’ve gotten older, I hardly recognize the acts and have kept loyal to my favorite artists.  Oh well.

Back to recapping July’s events.  Following the event at the Warwick Hotel, it was our annual summer party at the firm.  We held it at the restaurant in our building, which works out for everyone since Union Station is down the street.  It was fun seeing people enjoy themselves.  We had people from our other locations fly in for this party.  It was nice seeing faces behind the voice.  Once the party started clearing up, we decided to head somewhere else to continue the fun.  We ended up at Parlor on Randolph Street and ordered some thin crust pizza.  It was delish!  I always enjoy our work parties! 

Chicago Summer Dance!

Last week my migraines were in full effect.  I noticed I wasn't feeling so well at Sunday's Lolla, but I dismissed it as being out in the sun all day.  As the week progressed, I woke up with a terrible migraine Thursday morning and it never really went away until Saturday.  I kept taking Advils left and right, but I finally figured out it was my sinus that was giving me problems.  It's frustrating when you can't function due to pressure build up. 
All Advil did for me is subside the pain since it's not necessarily for sinus pressure.  I did my best to enjoy my stroll on State Street after work Friday when my brother texted me out of the blue.  He was making his way downtown with his girlfriend and wanted to checkout Chicago Summer Dance.  They had another house music party happening and he was curious about it.  I decided to wait for them and make the most of my Friday night. 
Unfortunately, they got there pretty late.  It was almost 8pm when they arrived and the party ended at 9pm.  He misread the information but we had a blast regardless.  Since we didn't want to end the night so early, I wanted to take them to Cindy's rooftop to checkout the view.  They loved it!  We were having a good time until I realized I was missing the opening ceremony for the Olympics!  Oh well.  I guess I'll have to stream it somewhere and watch it another time...

Back at it at the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park!

I love seeing my family happy...



Chokers are back!  Just picked this up at Forever 21 on State Street.  I love a great bargain!

Obsessed with snap's filters!  Who doesn't look good with a flower crown??

Follow me on Snapchat at meeukee1

Cindy's rooftop!

We enjoyed the night view!  So pretty!!

Plan B

I'm still finalizing my trip.  lol.  I know I'm making this a big deal but I had to figure out the details on what I am doing out there.  It's hard to plan something like this out on a whim.  I don't have a lot of cash to be throwing away and make hasty decisions.  I need to know what I am planning to do with my time in Greece and in Italy.  It's frustrating because sometimes I wish money was no object.  Then the world would be my oyster!!  But I live in the real world where I have to take care of myself, my responsibilities, and my well being.  I have printed up my maps; looked into my hotel and the area around it; printed out transportation information; and discussed my stay with my friend out in Italy.  I am extremely nervous.  I wish I wasn't such a wuss.  I pray I will begin to get excited.  Mid life nerves have won me over again.
There was a time when I wasn't so nervous about things.  I was pretty sure I knew what was "the plan".  Now, not so much.  Everything got shifted when me and my ex broke up.  We were working on getting our finances together so we could buy a place.  Around the time we ended things, he had worked out his bankruptcy.  Nice.  Time for the next move. 
Then boom.  Everything ended and I was left to figure out what to do next on my own.  I hadn't saved any money.  My best friend whom I've known since I was 16 years old had just gotten married to a woman who advised him not to speak to me anymore.  And my other friend met a man and had moved to Italy.  Just like that.  I lost not only my boyfriend of 7 years but my two closest friends in the whole wide world.  I was in so much emotional pain, I couldn't comprehend what was happening.  How did I miss this?
Maybe fate brought me here.  A lot of my friends ended up meeting their significant others as time moved on.  Of course they would pair up now, I was in a relationship for so long and they were single.  Now that tables have turned I had to figure out what to do with myself without them around as much.  Over the past 4 years I've been single, I've made new friends; dated, and have accustomed to doing things on my own for enjoyment.  I am trying to learn Italian so I could blend well with my girlfriend's friends out in Italy.  I go to concerts/ shows that I enjoy on my own without any interruption.  And once I week if I could, I practice new recipes on my own (I'm a terrible cook although my ex did eat at his own risk).  Traveling came out of no where because my friend pushed me to come out and visit her.  I would have never done it on my own if it wasn't for her. 
I came to the realization that maybe what I wanted for so long is just not in the stars for me.  If that's the case, then how do I fill up a life without my plan A?  What path should I head to now?  Where do I go from here?
For the time being, I will follow my passions.  The things I love to do.  Around my birthday I grew very sad, but then felt hopeful when I purchased my plane ticket to Greece.  It was short lived because some days I battled feelings of depression.  I finished the book "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" and it helped me learn how to tap into my imagination.  With the use of meditation and prayer, it makes you focus on your wants and desires from your subconscious mind.  It takes a lot of work but it does make me feel better.  Painting a pleasurable picture in your head daily works wonders for your mind.
My job had our annual summer party downstairs outside at the lawn area last Friday.  This year we kept it low key.  The weather had dipped back into the 70s so I wore my jeans and an bright orange top for a pop of color.  Nothing major.  I truly enjoy where I work at and figured I could hangout for a bit even though my cough was acting up that day.  They handed out Garrett's popcorn which was a big hit.  It was bbq themed.  We had some good times playing around with pokemon go.  That helped liven it up a bit.  lol.  Until next time! 

Great turnout!

They had bags!



Good times....

I found a pokemon! 

Suburban birthday party!

Last Sunday I attended my friend's son's birthday party out in Skokie.  They had him baptized a month earlier.  I know it was pretty stressful for my friend to plan two parties so close together, but what can you do?  It's fun to enjoy some of our summer, and as usual, me and my friends had a good time catching up with one another.  I made sure I brought along my appetite!  They hired a taco stand with cooks preparing our customized tacos!  Yummy!!


Despite yesterday's terrorism attack in Nice France, I've grown to realize the importance of spending quality time with my friends.  I care for them so deeply.  I've always said they are my 2nd family.  My friend in Italy was pretty upset.  I promised her I was going to give her as well as my friends and family here in the States all the information I had on my upcoming trip; from hotel reservations to transportation information.  I will even print out my itinerary.  I refuse to live in fear and have to trust my gut that things will be ok.  Our world is changing around us and we need to adjust to our surroundings. 
What precautions have you taken since our frequent terrorism attacks?  Have you changed the way you do things?  View things?

He seemed to enjoy his personalized birthday cake!

Mickey Mouse themed!



A polaroid photo for keepsake!  Loved the idea...

The Longest DAY of the year Part 2

Trying to recap summer when it's fall is pretty challenging.  I'm terrible at blogging, but I want to get this moving before the holidays arrive.  That's when things get really hectic.  On my down time lately I've been trying to clean up my apartment a bit.  I've neglected that, too.  I usually clean my place on Saturdays but I've accumulated so much "junk" that I've decided to tackle my weekend projects in full force.  I've even got a list going so I can handle these tasks one by one.
Back to the LONGEST DAY of the year (so far).  I finished up my work party and went back home to freshen up, just so I could go BACK downtown to ANOTHER party right down the street where I was from originally.  lol.  Our work party ended at 9pm, plus we were under that sweltering sun for 4 hours.  I NEEDED a shower badly.  I ubered it home and decided to wear my neon orange strapless dress.  Since this birthday party was at a nightclub, I knew it wouldn't start hopping til after 11pm.  It gave me some time to unwind and rest for a bit.  Once I showered up, I got my second wind and headed to Parliament.  I was the first one there of my friends, so I made it over to the birthday boy's table.  He had bottle service.  Luckily they showed up soon, and we had a great time.  I danced so much my feet were killing me the next day.  We stopped by Time nightclub for a bit and called it a night.  I got home by 4am.  So technically, since it was a Friday and I had worked earlier that day, I was officially up 22 hours straight!  I had been up at 6am!  I was exhausted, but it was worth it.  Like I said, it's pretty common to pack so much in one day...


With the birthday boy himself...

Good times!

Over at Time Nightclub

What a night!

The Longest DAY of the year...

Re-capping July is much easier today.  The temperatures reached 77 degrees!!!  Chicago is very happy right now, plus the Cubs won the Wild Card game which entered them into the playoffs.  Yes, the Cubs are in the playoffs to win the World Series.  We're thrilled to see them reach this far.  Let's pray they keep going!!
The firm that I work for has two parties that everyone looks forward to.  One is the summer party where you can bring a guest, and the other is the holiday party which is for employees only.  This year's summer party was held at the Godfrey Hotel, which I LOVE because it's one of my favorite spots in the city.  Usually for work parties, I try to find a dress I can wear since it's something that doesn't happen very often.  I have friends that love to wear dresses, but for me, I have to really love it in order to get it in the first place.  I found this shift dress at H&M on sale, and people kept complementing me all day at work.  Not bad for $10!  I knew by the weather forecast that it was going to be HOT that day, so I had to look for something that would keep me cool.  The dress worked out perfectly for me. 
Our party started after 5pm with a trolley ride down LaSalle street.  Once we got up there, we made our way to the bar since it was scorching already.  The temperature was 95 degrees!!  We tried our best to keep cool, but the sun was beating on us the whole time.  I was pleasantly surprised people stuck around as long as they did.  The Godfrey Hotel is a gorgeous venue, so I know people wanted to enjoy the party as much as they could.  We made the most of our time there and left with the night still young.  It was over by 9pm, which worked out fine for me because I had to make it to another party later on, this time at a nightclub.  Thinking back, I can't believe I stayed out late as I did.  It's exhausting just thinking about it....lol.

Bring out the beer!

Staying cool under the hot sun!

Despite the HOT temperatures, we had a good time...

My paisley print shift dress from H&M!

Trying to find some shade for pics.  lol