Sprout has Sprung!

My pallette has grown from a sprout to a full flower! Seriously, if you have not dined at Sprout in Chicago you need to make your reservation now! First, thank you Megan and Dad Robb for including me in this wonderful 40th birthday celebration.

 Private Dining

The ambiance was perfect, back private table area for 8, serving the course menu  with wine pairings. Wine is meant to bring out the flavor of each dish if paired correctly, and the folks at Sprout know how to truly enhance their chef's, food with the perfect vintage.

Dale Levitski

For those of you not familiar with the "Chef" let me give you a brief introduction. The culinary comeback of "Top Chef" runner-up Dale Levitski, Sprout boasts a French-American prix-fixe bistro menu in the kitchen, and an unprecedented crowdsourced redesign of the restaurant in the front of the house. Join us for a delicious meal and the opportunity to be a part of the redesign and redevelopment of a neighborhood restaurant.

Cheers to Megan and Sprout! A top on my must have's list!

Happy Birthday and cheers to Sprout!

P.S.- they now have expanded and room for more reservations!

Until next time...

-M

My Tribute to 9-11

My thoughts and prayers to go out to all of those lives lost in 9-11 and to the families who will never forget.

As a country we should never forget. It is our duty as American Patriots to come together and always fight a united fight against the evil of terrorism, as this will be a fight we fight till the end.

We will not tire, we will not falther, and we will not fail.
- George W.Bush, after 9/11 attacks

(Photo: 2001 The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) Thomas E. Franklin)

I found the article below while doing some browsing and reading about 9-11. I remember myself seeing this cross a few months after the attack and it took my breath away. Instead of trying to recreate what this article says, you can read it for yourself. I do believe this was a symbol meant for us to know that this attack was not an accident.

God Bless America.
Until Next Time
-M

One year later, are we back to normal? Twelve months after four jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, killing 3,052 people, signs of life as it once was are all around us. The grief and anger that convulsed our nation for months after the diabolical attack have now been largely spent.	Discovered two days after the attack by rescue worker Frank Silecchia, the 20-foot steel cross found in the World Trade Center wreckage was a potent symbol of hope for rescue workers dragging bodies and human remains from the rubble. Silecchia said he sobbed for 20 minutes when, two days after the attack, he happened upon the I-beam cross.
The shoulder-to-shoulder bipartisanship that prompted legislators to assemble on the Capitol steps and sing “God Bless America” on the very day the attacks came has dissolved into the same political strife that prevailed before 9/11. Right after 9/11, Dr. Kennedy said he hoped America would never be the same. “I hope the nation will be different,” he explained, “in that the hearts of the people of this country will once more be drawn to God. Others took comfort in the cross, as well. Workers scribbled their names on the metal beam, and priests said mass in its shadow. George Jones, an evangelical minister who does humanitarian aid work around the world, visited Ground Zero last October and snapped the photo on this page. For Jones, the cross is a “symbol that Christ had clearly embraced the pain, and the tragedy and the horror of that moment with a grace that is difficult for anyone to understand.”
It is my prayer that this heinous act may be used of God to bring about a great spiritual revival.” Short-lived Spike It looked for a while like it might. Church attendance spiked to 47 percent of all Americans the week after the terrorist attacks. But that jump, the highest percentage recorded since 1997, fell back to pre-attack levels by December. Just like the flood of flag waving that followed 9/11, the upsurge in church attendance proved short-lived. The horror of 9/11 subsided as Americans took comfort in the leadership of President Bush and the surprisingly quick collapse of Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. One year after 9/11 even the steel beam cross found at Ground Zero has been swept up into the American culture war. American Atheists, a group that claims to represent the interests of America’s “nonbelievers” has charged that incorporating the cross into a taxpayer-funded September 11 memorial at Ground Zero “would violate the separation of church and state….”	Symbol of Hope Left standing amid the rubble at Ground Zero, the cross is also a symbol of hope for a nation devastated in the last half-century by moral decline and court rulings that displace God from public life. And while our nation has yet to learn all the lessons of 9/11, Dr. Kennedy harbors hope for our land. “I believe America can be reclaimed,” he said. “I believe that this nation can be brought back to God.”

Men's Suits

I am talking to both men and wife's out there. Here is the situation- A wedding is upcoming and it has been sometime since you have really had to wear a suit, you reach into your closet, put on the standby favorite and when you look in the mirror you see that you look like the linebacker for your favorite football team! The J.Hilburn suit is the next step to updating your wardrobe! You will receive high quality that you would expect from brand's such as Brooks Brothers, Zegna or Hugo Boss. The best part is you will receive a custom, made to measure fit at a fraction of the cost and you don't have to worry with going to the store.

If you are in this situation contact me for a personal fitting. Check it out for yourself- www.jhilburn.com

Sun Bunny

What lady doesn't want to keep her skin looking youthful and fresh? One doesn't have to ponder too long on that question, we all do and if you say you don't care you are just trying to be cool and one day you will think differently.

I found a product that I have been using for about a year now and I must say it feels great being asked,"what is going on with you, you look so fresh"? I can tell you I am not doing anything differently and lord knows when it comes to the waistline I could be doing a lot more! ( Amazing how just work stress and a glass of wine to relax at night can really pack on the pounds) With all that being said, my secret to youth or at least not aging as quickly is Kate Somerville!

For all those sun bunnies out there, like myself, there is a special for the next 2 days and her summer kit is a must have and you get her anti-aging kit free!
Check it out and be sure to use the June coupon code and enjoy getting your vitamin D!

http://www.katesomerville.com/

Until Next Time-
M

Inspiration: The Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelry Exhibit in NY

Inspiration: The Van Cleef & Arpels Jewelry Exhibit in NY

You Do the Math

We all know how frustrating it can be shopping and see a piece you just can't live without and once you look at the price tag the realization hits-you have to continue to live without.

I am happy to represent a line in mens custom clothes that has taken that challenge out of the buying equation for men's shopping! We all want fine things no matter how large or small our wallet. J.Hilburn started back in 2007 with custom shirts, and of course that is the speciality, but now you can get a Zegna fabric sport coat at a fraction of the price.

Here is a sample of what we will have available in July. What you see here is an off the rack Zegna sport coat. What do you think this cost would be- $1200, $1300??






Well, let's take a look....

I can translate this cost for you... $!%*%>)), wait that is $1585.00! Some may say well that is pretty good for a sports coat, it is a well known brand from an Italian mill. Guess what, J Hilburn has the exact same  fabric but with two extra benefits: one, it is a custom sports coat and two, the cost is $685.
Like I said, "you do the math."  That is what I call style for a steal!

In Like a Lion

March is almost over and in Chicago she has roared in and not leaving like a lamb; she is still roaring,,, snow this week! I am going to Cubs opening day on the 1st with the girls and according to the news she will still be roaring,,, time will tell!

It has been a while since my last writing and boy oh boy I have had a very active month with many many musing and not enough time to capture them all!

Top Ten Musings for March

10.No matter how much you like a boss once you leave to start a new job they always throw you under the bus.

9. Cheers for me and my new job at Odyssey Healthcare Hospice; I finally have a sales job where I DO make a difference.

8. IRS Tax preperation is for the birds.

7. Happy 120th Birthday to the DAR of Chicago!

6. Happy Birthday to Ellen, Fran, Amery and Alex and of course my sweet Sophie. I think that is all the family members with March B'days!

Ellen, looking beautiful, Happy Birthday Momma!

Sophie turned 2 this year and is spoiled rotten!

5. Prayers for Japan

4. Bitter Sweet move of our best friend Katie who is off to Cleveland to start her life with her husband Tim. I miss her so much!

3.Lent

2. St. Paddys Day "official" celebration!

Greening of the Chicago River

Surprise visits from D.C.

Cheers to the shot glass tradition that Beth and Allison started years ago while celebrating St.Paddys in NYC!

And the best attire now on its third year as "best t-shirt ever", and SO K-lassy!

And the #1 March Musing is from my best friend- Alli B.

"BREAKING NEWS:The Pity Train has just derailed at the intersection of Suck It Up & Move On, and crashed into We All Have Problems, before coming to a complete stop at Get the Hell Over It. Any complaints about how we operate, can be forwarded to 1-800-waa-aaah with Dr. Sniffle Reporting LIVE from Quitchur bitchin'. If you like this, repost it. If you don't...suck it up! Life doesn't revolve around you!"




My dear Allison






















Until Next Time
-M