Save The Date: Dj Colette and Dj Heather, February 28th at Metro Smartbar

I am very excited to announce that two Chicago-based house Djs will be returning to Chicago on February 28th at Metro Smartbar. Dj Colette's hit "Feeling Hypnotized" has been featured in Motorola Commercials and has landed her on the "Devil Wears Prada" soundtrack. Dj Heather is also a local based DJ who will be joining Dj Colette for a night of great Chicago House music. I can't get enough of these two. Their soulful tracks and smooth beats will keep you dancing all night long. These women will also be participating at the Winter Music Conference to take place in March, a huge event that takes place in Miami that attracts DJ from all over the world including great Dj's such as Tiesto and Fat Boy Slim just to name a few. It's a huge honor to participate in this event.

Tickets for Dj Colette and Dj Heather are not expensive at all-$10 dollars before midnight and $15 after, for these two it is so worth it and practically a steal if you ask me. This is what I love about Metro Smartbar. Metro Smartbar is a place where local musicians return and do great live shows at an unbeatable cost. It is not pretentious at all and no specific dress code necessary.

I am going to do my best to go to this show, hopefully my calendar will be clear enough that I will be able to make it. I went to DJ Kaskade, another great local based DJ last February at MetroSmartbar and I had a great time. If you are in the area or happening to be traveling in Chicago that weekend, stop on over, should be a good time.

Visit MetroSmartbar for more details.

Happy Valentine's Day!

As you know, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Some people gag over the holiday saying that it's a hallmark holiday pretty much. And others feel that you should make your significant other feel like it is Valentine's Day the rest of the year also and not just on February 14th.

For me,it means a lot this year more than others because it will be my first Valentine with my fiance. However,he makes me feel like it's Valentine's Day pretty much all the time. So in this case, Valentine's Day will be a day where we take a break from our busy schedule to do something for us besides running errands all the time(actually we are helping someone move that day also!). Ever since I got engaged, it has been nothing but busy,even if we go for a coffee run or a walk it usually does not last that long because there was always work to be done. This time, we will actually sit, not have to cook,and enjoy each other's company in a romantic setting(or in a fun setting,haven't decided yet,but it will definitely be something on the Northside of Chicago).

For those who are single? One idea I have in mind when I was single and in college was I got together with my roomates, all girls, and ordered in Italian and watched "The Godfather" that turned out to be really fun.Valentine's Day can be applied in many ways-remember as we were kids we would give out those cut out Valentine Day Cards to your classmates whether it was our friends,that boy that used to tease us,or our teacher? So be creative and do something special that does not require a significant other in order to do so.

52F and it's only February in Chicago-what?

For those who are living in or near Chicago,today is a great day to check out some new neighborhoods or do some Michigan Ave shopping and sip on a latte afterwards. It's been a long,long winter and today God blessed the city with some warm weather. Go out there and enjoy yourself and take a walk and check out some city scenery.

Why Do I Blog?

Why do I blog you ask?

Social media has been a popular phenomenon over the years and with this comes a great opportunity to get into my writing again.

Throughout my school years I have always loved to write-essays,writing contests,you name it I did it. For fun I used to write poetry,short stories,and I as a child I remember winning an author contest for a short story book that I have written. In high school I was involved with newspaper and yearbook committees.

Then college came, and with that came academic papers-unless it was a creative writing course, I really did not have time to write about things that I enjoy. My writing became required final papers 15-20 pages long in Grad school as well.

When I got selected to write after submitting a sample on GalsGuide, I was ecstatic. It's something that I just want to get into again. Although my life is hectic right now, I really do hope I can continue to do writing as a hobby. Writing is soothing,and allows you to just get things off your chest. I also just enjoy giving people advice on a variety of things whether it's how to cope with stress(that's the Social Work in me) to where to grab deep dish pizza in the city.

Dress done.

So I finally found a dress. That was probably the most stressful thing I ever had to do! I mean, I have had many stressors in my life by far,but for something as simple as choosing a wedding dress was like a job. I tend to be nit-picky when I try on clothes and I am my own worst critic,and shoe shopping forget it(you will be so surprised,I am not the typical girl who has 1,000 pair of shoes like most girls,because I just get so frustrated!). But this time I had to be a little opened minded.

I was glad I chose a dress finally because the consultant told me that it will arrive in June,and then I will need alterations. So I was cutting it close,I had to choose and I had to choose fast. But I am so glad it's over with. My mom was happy what I chose also,I was going for something traditional and it has some modern touches to it,and it was very close to what I was looking for.

Now,I need to start working out! I hope it warms up in the next couple months, I really want to start jogging along the lake. Or even jog through some Chicago neighborhoods-scenery helps. My fiance and I live 5 min from Clark St, and we were thinking once the weather gets better,to walk/run the entire street,through Wrigleyville, up until the South Loop Target-what a challenge huh? :-p

Coffetalk-growing up is hard to do.

So I just had coffee with one of my fellow GalsGuide contributor authors in downtown Evanston. She also is getting married just like I am and is experiencing the same phase in our life where we are not really "young college girls" anymore but rather "maturing young adults". We are both experiencing that time in our life where we need to buckle down and stablize our life as much as we can.

Although I have been done with school for quite some time and am working in my career,along with of course getting married, I feel that there is so much more I can do-I want to work towards getting a house or condo one day,work towards my clinical license,and work on my writing that I have always loved to do but had not really much time for it because of college. I eventually would like to open some small business one day and get in touch with my creative side as well. I am also slowly adjusting to a lifestyle where I don't go out as much because quite frankly,I need to think about my future-saving money,work towards a home,kids,and so forth.

During your college years are the years where you explore, have fun,and can be a kid a little bit longer. But there comes a time where you eventually have to say "Time to grow up,do something with your life!" A lot of young adults struggle with this and either fail and continue to act like kids even after 30, or just snap out of it and begin to think about what they want going for them for the rest of their life. Family,kids,advancing their careers,etc are all part of life as well.

I do,however,would like to continue to be active and participate in extracurricular activities and organizations,maybe even do some fundraisers(I have always wanted to do one of those fundraisers with a fashion show event or something). I think you should still maintain your interests whether it's writing,making music,sports,etc.

Growing up may be hard to do,but it is something that we just have to deal with. Good luck all that are crossing this path.

Just a few of my favorite things...

Oprah has a list of her "favorite things". I, as well have my list! Here are some of my favorite things:

Beauty/Fashion
Favorite eye shadow: MAC in Satin Taupe

Favorite eye concealer: Erase Paste by Benefit

Favorite conditioner: Aveda

Favorite store to get work gear: Limited,Gap

Favorite store to get "dolled up": H&M,Forever 21, Bebe

Places to go

Favorite coffeehouse: Iguana Cafe (West Loop)

Favorite neighborhood in Chicago for lounging: Fulton Market District

Favorite park: Millenium Park

Favorite spot for House music-Green Dolphin Street Mondays

Favorite radio station: Columbia's CRX radio

Favorite neighborhood for family living: Bridgeport

Favorite Beach: North Ave Beach

Favorite area for shopping: the shops of Michigan Ave

Favorite spot for outdoor coffee and people watching: Mariano Plaza

So there you go, some of my favorite things-check any of them out and I am sure you won't be disappointed.