Driving in Chicago: Don't do it in a Porsche Cayenne

Pop Quiz:
Q: When I see a Chicago driver in a really nice car like the Porsche Cayenne Turbo which retails for $107,000...
A) I think, wow! He or she must have a good investment portfolio! or
B) They must be really dumb

If you guessed B, you are correct. The reason being: Chicago is the nuttiest, most dangerous place to drive a car and there's no way that car isn't getting at least a few dings. Period.

North/Damen/Milwaukee Courtesy: Google Maps

Driving in Chicago is not simply driving, it's defensive driving at its finest. Perhaps it's the FedEx truck parked in your lane which forces you to drive against oncoming traffic. Or the cabbie next to you who's paying more attention to his sub sandwich than driving, therefore he's weaving in and out of the lanes. Or how about the driver who needs to exit right but is four lanes over on the left? No problem...they'll just pop across all lanes of traffic Fast and Furious style. Or how about the person who will just stop in the middle of the road because they have no idea which way they're going at a 6-way intersection? (I agree, North/Damen/Milwaukee is tricky, but when in doubt, just go where everyone else is).

All of these examples make up the two basic rules of Chicago driving: there will ALWAYS be obstacles during your drive (think illegal parkers) and Chicago drivers will do whatever is best for them, never worrying about you or anyone else (again think illegal parkers or the Vin Diesel wannabe on the Kennedy Expressway).

In my two+ years of living in the Windy City, I've had more than $1,000 worth of work done on my car to fix the alignment (think giant child-sized potholes), the brakes (think traffic and lots of stops and go's), scrapes on the car (how could I know that parking garage was so small?) and a giant scrape in the side of my tire (ask Mike, although he'll deny it).

So my point is, why would you spend $107,000 on a car when you know it will almost immediately get hit/scraped/swiped, etc?

DMK Burger Bar--The best in Chicago

I have found the best burger in Chicago. Seriously the best, and the funny thing is, I wasn't even looking for it.

I somewhat hesitate to give away my secret, because the already busy restaurant will surely only get busier with word of mouth, but I feel like you HAVE to know.

The best burger in Chicago can be found at...drum roll please....DMK burger bar.

Courtesy: DMK

You may walk by this Lakeview spot without really realizing what it is by the unusual name and dark windows which make it impossible to see inside, but once you do get in, you'll see people munching on burgers and fries while sipping a beer or cocktail, hence why it's a burger bar. It's a newish trend of mixing burgers with a more high-end feel. The result--a little party in your mouth.

DMK boasts that it only serves grass-fed cows, and call me crazy, I can tell the difference. The homemade burgers feature unusual toppings such as my fav, the #6, which is marinated portobello mushrooms, blue brie cheese, grilled scallions and a dijonnaise sauce that will bring happy tears to your eyes. One of the best parts? The bun is amazing, and as I describe it to Mike, "The bun just melts into the burger instead of being a separate entity, you know like a hard hunk of bread like so many are."

The homemade fries are equally as delicious, and also come in fun flavors such as Parmesan with a side of Truffle Cream and Amish Blue with Smoked Bacon.

Trust me, you won't be disappointed with DMK, but please keep this info to yourself. Thank you.

(And no, I haven't been paid or in anyway compensated for this post, but I wouldn't mind being).

Tips from Super Coupon Queen Jill Cataldo

Last year I had a revelation of sorts. I realized that one should never pay full price for anything. That attitude combined with an eye for coupons, specials, Groupons and other sites like Restaurant.com helped me save at least $2,283.41 in 2011. Holla!

A couple of tips....before you buy anything online, look to see if you can find any coupons. RetailMeNot is awesome for having coupon codes for free shipping, 10-20% off, etc. I did this the other day when I was buying a wedding gift at Crate and Barrel, and was able to save $15!

Also, check to see if your grocery store allows you to pre-load coupons onto a shopping card. For example, I shop at Dominicks, so every week before I go, I get online and load coupons onto the card. That means a weekly savings of $20-$30, plus I don't have to annoy the people behind me with dozens of coupons.

I also had the privilege of interviewing Super Coupon Queen Jill Cataldo for a grad school project last quarter, and she has some great tips on how to save on food and toiletries. Check it out!

Coughing in public: my biggest pet peeve

We've all been there: you're at the gym/work/school or on a bus/train/plane and someone is coughing so hard you think they're literally going to blow a lung right out of their open, gaping mouth. They are hacking and choking and all you can think is why did you ever watch the movie Contagion? Now you're pretty sure this person is spreading a horribly contagious disease that will wipe out all of mankind and will even make Gwyneth Paltrow look bad. Crap. Then you wonder why you didn't take your Emergen-C this morning.

Courtesy: Crude Fitness

Part of me feels bad for these people, because we've all had that miserable, lingering cough, but the other part of me wants to slap them across the face and say, "Why didn't you stay home today??"

Because here's the thing: there has never been anyone in the history of the world that was impressed with Joe coming to work even though he spent the whole day hacking at his computer. There's never been a teacher that thought, "Wow, Johnny is sure dedicated coming to school when he can't even go two minutes without coughing all over Annie." You know what I say when someone brags that in 30 years on the job, they never once called in sick? I say, "I wonder how many other people you made sick in those 30 years, you goober."

So people, quit trying to be a hero. Quit trying to get that perfect attendance award. Please stop getting the rest of us sick just because you don't have the common sense or courtesy to stay home. No one wants you around. And heck, you can use the cough as a great excuse to lay in bed all day and watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians. You know you want to.

Thank you.

Do we need to capture every moment of our lives on camera?

I've noticed a funny trend among the younger tweens/teens/young adult crowd. They capture every single moment of their lives on camera. Seriously, have you noticed this? More specifically, they take pictures of themselves constantly. For example, they take pictures of themselves in front of the mirror to show them getting ready to go out, showing off a new outfit, showing themselves in their dorm room, showing them and their friends in the mall, etc., etc.

I thought about this the other day and wondered, are young people just more vain than ever or is a world of technology and documenting their lives all they've ever known? (Probably the latter, and I'm guessing they would probably be aghast to find out I got my first smart phone at 33 and had never been on the Internet until I was a freshman in college. Yikes!)

So I decided to see what the hype was all about with documenting our lives, so on New Year's Eve I took a lot of photos of myself. This has to be fun, right?

Nothing says "I'm going to work out" like showing off a muscle and having a pout. (True, even adults post these kinds of pics, and sometimes they pull up their shirt to show off their abs.)

I even got Mike in on the action! He felt like a pout was the way to go too.

Here's me all ready to go out! I should probably post this to Facebook so I get a lot of compliments and "likes."

Oh snap! Did I show you how my behind looks?

Hmm, I wonder how well Mike cleaned up. Oh wait, here's proof he looks good!

And our friend Casey? Yep, he looks good too.

Wait, should Mike wear his sunglasses at night with an open mouth? I say yes!

Hmm, I wonder how I look in our friend's bathroom. I'll find out!

Back home after the New Year's Eve party. Goodnight friends! (I'll have to make sure to post pics of what I eat for breakfast tomorrow morning.)

Talking and tinkling: Why?

There are only a few times in my life that I've gone to the bathroom while talking on the phone and it was a) because it was an emergency or b) I was just talking to my mom and since she's changed my poopy diapers, I figure she won't mind me talking and tinkling. But I can say without a doubt, I have never talked on the phone while in a public restroom.

Isn't it strange when you walk into the restroom and you hear someone talking and laughing, all the while doing their business, wiping and flushing? Doesn't the person on the other end hear that?  How do they wipe? How do they keep their phone clean? I have so many questions!

Our 14-hour drive

While driving home yesterday from Wyoming to Chicago (14 short hours), I went into a public restroom at a gas station in nowhere Iowa. The girl next to me in the tiny restroom talked on the phone the entire time. I learned a lot about her in a few short minutes...

A) She was driving from nowhere Iowa to New York with her boyfriend
B) She had the "talk" with him about kids (apparently first comes love, then comes marriage doesn't apply to her), however she found out, he'd like to have kids, just not with her. Ouch.
C) Yep, her girlfriend was shocked too!
D) Indeed, this new found information was going to be awkward considering they had hours left to drive in his tiny truck
D) Luckily, she won't have to be childless because she already has two kids she is picking up in New York on the 28th
E) Yep, she's definitely dumping the boyfriend after the new year

I used to think I should be kind of quiet when someone was on the phone in the bathroom, but now I think it would be kind of fun to play with them. I'd like to get a whoopee cushion and make it continually fart while they're on the phone. Then I'll start moaning and crying and say I can't believe how painful Mexican food can be. Won't that be fun??

Holiday Getaway to Cheyenne, Wyoming

When you live in a city of 9 million people and have to deal with trains, buses, traffic and crowds, it's nice to get away every now and again. For me, there's no greater escape than my hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

For the holiday, we decided to pack up our SUV with two dogs, presents and lots of other crap to make our Chicago escape by journeying 14 hours west. What was that like, you ask? Let's just say Nebraska is the longest. state. ever. to drive through and yes, you'd think the Rocky Mountains would be a whole lot rockier. (Great Dumb and Dumber scene.)



For those of you who have never been, Wyoming is a pretty cool place. It's the country's least populated state, and everyone here seems to be just fine with that. In Wyoming you have space and room to move with plenty of sunshine and blue skies. It's funny, as a child I thought this state was boring and sparse looking, and now it seems relaxing and beautiful. It's exactly what this Chicago girl needed this week.

Mike in my parent's backyard

Mike and I taking a walk to the mailbox. Yes, it's far away

Merry Christmas everybody!