Weekend Update

Happy Sunday y’all! Thankfully, this past weekend was pretty low-key compared to the last few weeks. Since I needed a break, I didn’t over book myself.  I only did two big things! On Friday evening, I kicked off the weekend and June by attending First Fridays at the Museum of Contemporary Art. First Fridays encourages young philanthropy and features live music, appetizers, cocktails, and new art exhibitions on the first Friday night of every month all in the hopes to raise money for the museum. 

We briefly set down our g&t's to take this fridge-worthy photo!

The other big thing I did this weekend was run the United Run for the Zoo with one of my favorite pals this morning. I’m currently in the process of training for my second triathlon so running the 5k this morning was great way to not only support one of my favorite causes but get a work-out in. What made this run even more fun was the fact that so many people in the community came out for the race to support the Lincoln Park Zoo- families, kids, and even the elderly all ran. The Lincoln Park Zoo is open 365 days a year and is free to all every day of the year. Why not support such a wonderful city institution? Below is a snapshot of us right before the race started!

Have a great week!

An Attitude of Gratitude

I have always considered myself a very gracious and thankful person. For a long time, I even thought my name meant “gracious” in Hebrew. Upon Googling the meaning today while writing this post, I learned that my name means “Lilly” in French. Good enough- I’ll take it.

Despite this new information, I will still consider myself a gracious and thankful person. One of my favorite things to do to show my appreciation is to write thank you notes. As a child, my mother wouldn’t let me hang out with my friends until I wrote any thank- you notes that needed writing. After many tantrums, they always got done. But boy, am I glad I had all that practice. Now that I have a career in philanthropy, I write a lot cards and notes. I average about five a week on a good week. On a personal level, every time I get a thank-you note or a handwritten letter, my heart swells with happiness. To get something so intimate in the mail is so rare these days.

But for me, writing thank-you notes are a family affair. My father who also works in philanthropy spends a great deal of time writing notes and letters to donors, volunteers, families, and community partners.  My mother on the other hand, spends time writing notes to personal contacts. I can’t tell you how many times that I have found my mother on a weekend morning in her pajamas writing thank-you notes at our kitchen table. Hell, my cousin just sent my mother a handwritten letter last month. Trust me, we’re old school.

Nevertheless, what takes the cake for me is the use of personalized stationery. As a child, my loving and daughter-less aunt would buy me personalized stationery and post-its for Hanukah. To me, this was such a thoughtful and practical gift. After finally running out of supplies, I recently decided on and ordered monogrammed embossed stationery that fits perfectly into my lifestyle. I couldn’t be more pleased with my choice.

Now, I’m off to write thank-you notes for a charity function I hosted a few weeks ago. Maybe, if you’re lucky you’ll find a note in your mailbox!

The Wheels on the Bus

Every morning I saunter on to express bus with my monogrammed Tervis Tumbler of iced coffee. Since I now live in Chicago, I have traded my beloved “sorority row bus” for the crowded city bus. But let me tell you the patrons on the CTA are not as gracious as my lovely Panhellenic sisters from college.

With this said, I just about died of shock last week when a man offered me his seat on the bus one evening.  This happening is about as rare as spotting Haley’s Comet. But what really took the cake was what happened this morning.

This morning, I was gearing up to read “50 Shades of Grey” on my Nook this morning. As an aside, if you haven’t read “50 Shades of Grey” yet, I suggest you start immediately. As I was about to dive into my novel, an acquaintance of mine took a seat right next to me on the bus and began to chat my ear off. Let’s be honest, you can rarely shut me up but it’s a little too much for a Monday morning. For the rest of my commute, I learned everything about her participation in couple’s counseling to her office politics. Did I mention she works in my building? Whew!

This got me thinking even more about bus etiquette. Below are some of my favorite tips to be the most polite commuter possible:

• Don’t make personal calls on the morning commute. No one wants to hear you paying your credit card bill or refilling your birth control prescription.
•  Don’t sit too close. And don’t sit on anyone’s coat either.
• Always give your sit seat up to pregnant ladies, the disabled, and the elderly. Hell, you should always give up your seat to women with kids with them.
• Please don’t talk to loudly. No one wants to her your voice in the morning.
• Also, don’t air your dirty laundry on the bus. It’s in poor taste.
• Don’t file your nails or do your make-up on the bus. This is just gross.
• Be pleasant.
• Be courteous to the bus driver- they are responsible for your safety and well being on your journey.

Who know what or whom I will encounter on my journey to the office tomorrow. All I know is that I will be prepared with my book.

Summer of Fun

Every spring, I say the same thing to myself. What is it? I always remark, “This will be the summer of fun! I just love summer- it’s my favorite season. But let’s be honest, I say that about every time of year.

Every summer, I went to camp with my very childhood best friend. I was happier than a clam going to day camp and coming home in the evening to eat dinner with my parents and shower in my own bathroom. As I got older, I would eventually become a counselor at the same day camp where I taught canoeing. No sleep-a-way camp for me!

Now as an adult living in the city, summer no longer means day camp and vacation with my parents. It translates to outdoor patios, Summer Fridays, festivals, and long walks along the lake.

This spring, one of my closest friends and I joked about making a sharable Google calendar of fun things to do this summer. Our hope is to collaborate and share as many great ideas with each other as possible. There will be no room to be bored this summer. I plan on spending my summer by bbq-ing and exploring new neighborhoods. I also plan on having the best summer ever.

What do you plan to do this summer?

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Hello friends- I’m back from my writing hiatus!

Today marks my second anniversary of graduating from the University of Florida, the finest institution in the country. I can’t believe that a mere 730 days have flown by since then. 

Aunt Sunnie and me on graduation.

I have been nostalgic over the past few days as I look at graduation photos and pictures of friends posing in front of the Swamp. But the truth is- I don’t miss college. I loved attending the University of Florida with every breath in my body. To me, it doesn’t matter if I raise my future children as Jewish or not. What matters to me is that we raise them as “Gators.” All kidding aside, but what I have realized is what I really miss is the South.

I miss hot, lazy days. I miss driving with the windows down. I miss good manners and hospitality. I yearn to sit on the swing in my parent’s porch and read books all afternoon.

But right now, this is not the course that I’m on. For the time being, I have resigned myself to listening to country music at my desk during work. Maybe I will return to the South one day. Maybe I won’t. Only time will tell.

One thing is for sure, I have never been more sure that I’m on the right path. I didn’t feel this way when I walked across the stage exactly two years ago today. I had some vague idea of what my plan was but I wasn’t entirely clear of where I was headed. But that’s the beauty of the journey. We don’t know where we will end up. Over the last few months, I have the phrase, “keep your heart and your mind open,” my own personal mantra. And that is what I suggest for all those graduating this weekend.

And with that- good night, good luck, and go Gators!

Friends with Benefits

You never know whom you’re going to meet. This past Friday evening, I attended First Fridays, a monthly fundraiser hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art. While there, I enjoyed plenty of h'orderves and cocktails but I also made a new friend. Much to my chagrin, this friend was not an eligible bachelor. However, it was a woman I had never met before that is a member of the Junior Leaguer. I’m always delighted to meet other women from the League. This particular woman is in the same career field as me and could potentially serve as an excellent mentor.

But what do you do when you make a new friend that could be a key professional contact or mentor? Or even someone just to network with? You send a follow up e-mail, of course. Why send an e-mail? To some that may sound like overkill but it’s nice and it opens the door for other conversations. When I meet other women who work in philanthropy, I often invite them out for coffee to hear about their jobs and how they got there. This is a great way to network but also to make a new pal.

What to say? Below is a simple template you can use after meeting someone new:

“Dear Carol,

It was at absolute pleasure to meet you this past weekend at the fundraiser for the Museum of Contemporary Art. I would love to take you to coffee to learn more about the library field and your career in literature. Please let me know when you are available and we will make a date. Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Suzanne”

It is best to keep this type of e-mail short and to the point although it also provides a reminder of meeting you. This also demonstrates that you’re not only thoughtful but also professional. These types of e-mails are not limited to career or professional relationships- they can be about anything. Interested in volunteering with a new charity? Want to learn how to become a member of a particular auxiliary board? Thinking about going to a certain business school? Looking for a realtor?  The possibilities are endless when networking and making new friends. And remember, “A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet.”

The Sunday Special

As someone who has both a busy work and social life, I often find very little time to eat. Actually, let me rephrase that- I find very little time to eat healthy food. Quite often, I find myself standing in my kitchen eating greasy Chinese or pizza. If do get home from work early enough, I am usually too tired to cook a nutritious meal and I succumb to eating whatever is in the fridge. Trust me, woman cannot live on string cheese and hummus alone.

Then it hit me! I have decided that every Sunday I will try a new recipe that I can prepare ahead of time to eat later in the week on a work night. I know this may seem like an obvious solution but sometimes planning out a whole week of meals can be difficult.

For my first recipe, I made a spinach quiche. I originally first tried this recipe for a Rosh Hashanah dinner I hosted back in September. I’m a big fan of quiche but who isn’t? It combines some of my favorite things- eggs, crust, and cheese.

The recipe calls for four eggs but instead I substituted egg whites to make the quiche a tiny bit healthier. Also, I used Miracle Whip Light instead of mayonnaise. Even without egg whites, a serving of quiche is about six points on Weight Watchers. Plus, the quiche is big enough to freeze the rest for other busy evenings.

I will be pairing this easy dinner with tomato soup. To me, this is the perfect cozy dinner on a chilly evening.