As I’m in the middle of a fabulous (and busy!) weekend with Momofali, who is visiting from Ohio with her awesome daughter (did you put in your guess on my last post, so you can be eligible for my random drawing? And by the way, if you did guess already, it was probably too low), I just wanted to check in and give you a great “looks like it’s behind-the-scenes but it’s really not” tip about Skydeck Chicago, which was number one on our very busy agenda yesterday. With a little bit of advance planning–two days or more, to be exact–you can impress your friends and make them feel all…
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My Official Title Is Skydeck Chicago Ambassador, But You Can Call Me #MelisaSkydeck
Aaaaand we’re off! Today is the official beginning of the Skydeck Chicago Ambassador program. For the next two months, I will be serving, along with three other great ladies (Lisa, Christy, and Jen) as your source for information about all of the fun that can be had, 1353 feet high in the air above the great city of Chicago, at the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). First of all, if you’re just joining me, welcome! (In fact, even if you’re NOT just joining me, welcome!) You can read about my private, “behind-the-scenes” tour of Skydeck Chicago with General Manager Randy Stancik, along with how I finally conquered my fear…
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Representing Chi-town, Yo!
Chicago is a beautiful city: you’ve read that here before. Just one of the elements that makes it so is the seemingly countless collection of art that is scattered all over the city (in addition to permanent installations, we often have traveling exhibits too!). You won’t be surprised to know that I have a few favorite sculptures. These three all “represent” Chicago in different ways, to me anyway. First? “Magdaline” by Dessa Kirk. To me, “Magdaline” says “Welcome to Chicago!” She is located at Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway, the latter being the road which stems from I-290 (the Eisenhower Expressway), which comes into the city from the west. When…
- Amazing People, Family Fun, Fun in Chicago, I've Got Mad Skillz, Something That Could Change Your Life
All In A Day’s Work.
I’m home from the city and my meeting on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), which happens to be Skydeck Chicago, otherwise known as the observation deck and home of The Ledge! I have so much to share with you and yet today I will only scrape the surface. I am thrilled to announce that I have been chosen to be (along with three others) an Ambassador of Skydeck Chicago for the summer. It will be my job to showcase and share the various features that make up the whole Skydeck Chicago experience, and hopefully get a bunch of you to go and visit so…
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How I Met My Publisher.
So you know how–two weeks ago–I was all, “I still have to tell you all about how I met my publisher in person for the very first time!” and then I continued to be busy and I didn’t want to do a sloppy little post about it because I wanted to combine that story with the review of the awesome 2011 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid that General Motors was kind enough to let me drive all the way down to Tennessee (and Virginia) and back so that my nine cases of books (oh, and my family, too) could ride back to Chicago in comfort? I finally wrote about it on Reviews…
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Phoolin’ Around
One of the videos in my Cruzing Chicagoland series (click here for all of the videos!) spotlighted the Bristol Renaissance Faire. The star of the video was Jane the Phoole, who had Michelle and I (and her co-workers) laughing hysterically during the shoot. At one point I asked her, “I think a blooper reel would be really funny. Are you okay with that?” She said, “I would LOVE if you made a blooper reel!” And so, without further ado, here’s Jane the Phoole, engaging in something at which she’s very, very good: making people laugh.
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Cruzing Chicagoland: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwestern Indiana
One of the great things about General Motors (major sponsor of my Chicago book launch event) is their involvement with various charities. It was inspiring to me, and when I started planning my event I decided to “hook up” with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwestern Indiana. They do beyond-wonderful things by providing a “home away from home” for families with hospitalized children, and I’ve been involved with them in the past (not to mention my close ties with the McDonald’s brand), so it was a great match. My friend Margaret and I took a Cruze (literally) to the Lincoln Park neighborhood to check out the House…
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Cruzing Chicagoland: Threadless Headquarters
I had heard that the Chicago headquarters of the Threadless T-shirt company is one of those epic, must-see places. I’ve seen a couple of pictures in magazine features about it, and was thrilled to take a ride over there in the 2011 Chevy Cruze that General Motors loaned me for a week (Disclosure: GM is the major sponsor of my Chicago book launch event), to record a tour for your enjoyment. What struck me about the headquarters is how extremely laid-back the place was, even way more than I expected. The place exudes a vibe of “Fun” rather than “Work”, and had I not actually witnessed employees busily doing their…
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Cruzing Chicagoland: KeyLime Cove Water Park Resort
Chicagoland is known for brutal winters, during which 95% of its residents (
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Cruzing Chicagoland: The Hancock Observatory
When General Motors signed on as my major sponsor for my Chicago book launch event, I thought it would be really fun to take a 2011 Chevy Cruze out on the road to get up close and personal with some of the great attractions that are exclusive to the Chicago area. One of those places is high up in the sky, at the top of the world famous John Hancock Building on North Michigan Avenue. I took my mom with me for a special tour of the Hancock Observatory from Carey Randall (Sales and Marketing Director) and Stephanie Grady (Sales and Education Coordinator), and they totally rolled out the red…