Randi with an i

Easy summer beach waves

July 8, 2016 Randi4 comments

Thank God it’s Friday!

I know, you guys say that basically every week, but usually, Thursdays are my Fridays. And my Fridays are my Saturdays. Which makes Saturdays Sundays and Sundays Mondays and that means no Saturday night drinks and no Sunday morning brunch.

Bleh.

But, thanks to a few last-minute schedule changes, it’s your Friday, and it’s also my Friday! Which means I can do normal people weekend things like drinks and brunch and beach days on a normal people schedule! This Saturday’s weather is supposed to be sunny and 80s (knock on wood), so I’m really excited to get some much-needed Lake Michigan time in.

And, speaking of beaches, I’m also really excited to show off a new hairstyle I learned: easy summer beach waves!

(Plus, scroll down for a discount code on products!)

Cute cubicle decor

July 5, 2016 Randi2 comments

OK, so it’s never really fun to return to work after a holiday.

Happy post-Fourth, by the way.

But, I’ve actually been kind of excited about heading in to work lately, and July 5 isn’t an exception.

Why so happy?

Well, I finally got my own cubicle in the newsroom!

A weekend trip to Detroit

June 9, 2016 Randi4 comments

It feels kind of weird to consider a trip to Detroit a “vacation,” or to consider it “traveling.” I grew up in the Ann Arbor area, about an hour away from Detroit, so I’ve been to the city plenty of times.

I even flirted with the idea of moving to Detroit after college. I applied for a few jobs downtown after undergrad — and again after grad school — but life had other plans for me, and I ended up taking a job over here in Chicago.

No qualms, though. Love this city and love my job.

I gave up my car when I moved here, which makes getting out of the city a little tricky sometimes. I realized it had been about a year and a half since my last trip to Detroit, so I pitched the idea to Mando. He was down, so we looked at the MLB calendar and picked a weekend that the Chicago White Sox played my Detroit Tigers for a visit.

Summer haircare tips with b. A Salon on Armitage

May 30, 2016 Randi2 comments

I cannot believe summer is finally here.

It seems like just last week I was complaining that spring hadn’t made its appearance yet.

Oh, that actually was last week? Well. Never mind.

But regardless, it’s Memorial Day, which means it’s officially summer. Temps have topped 80, Chicago’s beaches are open and I’ve been eating froyo like it’s my job.

I’ve also given myself a sandal-ready pedicure, doused myself in self-tanner and started up a summer haircare routine.

I’m always the first to admit that I suck at all things hair-related. I usually wear my hair down and straight or up in a ponytail. I use shampoo, conditioner, heat protectant and dry shampoo in any given week and that’s about it. I have a love-hate relationship with my hair straightener.

So, when b. A Salon on Armitage reached out and asked if I’d like to collaborate and learn some more about haircare and styling, I was totally on board.

(Plus, there’s a discount code for products at the end of this post!)

One year in Chicago

May 16, 2016 Randi1 comment

Well, it’s been one year, to the day, since I moved to Chicago.

And so, it only feels right to pen a love letter to this amazing place I get to call home.

It’s been an absolutely crazy year, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Life lately

May 9, 2016 Randi4 comments

Arigato hey!

So, way back when, I used to do a weekly wrap-up called Sundown Rundown, where I would post my weekly highlights: what I had done, what I had read, what I had bought, etc.

Then, life got a liiiittle crazy, and I didn’t have time for blogging. My posting frequency dropped down to twice a week. Then to once a week. Then it was just three months straight of weekly recap posts. Then I realized that was pointless (because really who cares amirite?) and so I just kind of stopped those.

Life is slooowwly starting to cut back on the chaos again (knock on wood), and so I’ve started to get back to blogging. To be honest, I’ve always kind of struggled a bit with finding a focus for my blog. Weekly recaps sometimes seem like a waste of time, Pinterest-optimized tutorials sometimes seem informal and affiliate link-laden posts are, frankly, annoying. But, this is a blog about my life. So when I lose focus, this site always comes back to, well, me.

Keeping my blog authentic, down-to-Earth and reflective of my personality is pretty important to me. So, I figured I’d give a quick(ish) recap of what’s been going on in my life lately.

Seattle in 48 hours

April 20, 2016 Randi4 comments

Hello from PDT! EDT? CDT?

I’m feeling quite a bit jet lagged right now (I’m back in Central time after hitting up Pacific and Eastern all in a 24-hour span), but the complete-and-total exhaustion is totally worth it. I spent this past Friday and Saturday on the other side of the country in Seattle, and it was one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever taken — even though it was way shorter than I would have liked.

Rainy days in Chicago

March 28, 2016 Randi4 comments

Rain, rain, go away.

During rainy days, I love to sit on my couch with a cup of tea and a book. But sometimes — like, yunno, work days — that can’t happen.

I’ve touched on it before, but one of the biggest transitions I faced moving from Mount Pleasant to Chicago was the stark change in commuting. In Mount Pleasant, I relied on my car to get me from A to B in five minutes. Now, I use the L. And I walk. A lot. A 45-minute trek to get five miles is not uncommon at all.

Getting caught in a sudden rainstorm in Mount Pleasant wasn’t such a big deal, since my car was always parked 20 yards away at most.

But getting caught in a rainstorm in Chicago? It was an entirely different story. Now, it’s not uncommon to walk through a downpour four to seven blocks to the L, or wait outside for 10 minutes at an unsheltered bus stop.

I initially figured my coated trench would work fine enough. After two hours of shopping and brunching during a drizzle last spring, my shirt and hair were both soaked through the coat, and it became very, very clear to me that rainwear was not something I could skimp on.

So… I went shopping!