Love yourself

So I LOVE reality tv. I really do. I’m not ashamed. So I’m watching the VH1 reality series Love and Hip Hop. So right you already know what’s on my mind. Nope! Ya don’t! LOL I don’t want to tear down the “stars” of this show Emily Bustamente or Chrissy Lampkin. When I see them I see what every day women go through with men. I don’t think they’re really “stupid”. I want us all to do a little better. Love ourselves more. Even though you have not dealt with a relationship for six years without marriage or you may not have a boyfriend who doesn’t claim you but at some point in your life you have made a less than stellar decision about a relationship. To level the playing field I will put it out there. I suppose to make myself seem more “real” and relatable. I remember 20-22 like it was yesterday. So that I don’t drag these women down with me I will call them Sally and Keke. These were my ride or die chicks. We went through cell phones. We called the numbers back on the phone bill. Thanks to Sprint we frequently checked their text messages. We drove by the places they were to make sure they were there. Six years later I have to think I surely had lost my mind. I learned a few things. You have to let a man be a man and you chasing him and verifying his “alibi” is not going to make him love you or treat you better. Side bar I’m not into male bashing as I do think men can only do what we allow them to do. So with that said, we do have to respect and love ourselves before we expect anybody else to do so. Understand that we can’t change a man. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” ummm yeah same concept. Don’t attempt to change a man. If you don’t like his aspiring rap career then guess what move on? Waiting til you’re in year three to drop the bomb isn’t going to work. I can’t tell you how to react to a cheating or domestic abuse situation however I do have to ask that you use good judgment. Take your whole life into consideration not just your heart especially your children. My last thing I learned is to take a man’s word. If he says he’s not ready, he’s not ready. So you showing him how wonderful you are isn’t going to change his mind. Go with what he says. If he needs space give him that. If at any time you are uncomfortable with the direction of your relationship you can always leave. It’s not permanent. People come and go. I think that there’s someone for everyone so be patient. Wait on what’s for you. Don’t rush things. Take it at your own pace. Just because your cousin was married after six months and 3 years for your best friend doesn’t mean that is what will work for you. Treat each man as a different man. Don’t bring relationship baggage but most of all love you. He can’t love you if you don’t.

Mother's Day

So we have 17 more shopping days to say "Thank You" to all of our wonderful socialite mommies! How do you say thank you to women who have given so much.... Hmmm... Let's run through a few things! Feel free to throw in a few extras!

1. FOOD- We'll start with candy! Who doesn't love candy? I love Fannie May Pixies! Just FYI I'd be your bestie if you bought me a box! A one pound box is only $22.99! www.fanniemay.com
My other food item is a cookie bouquet. I love them. They start at $54.99 and they're so beautiful. She'd be so surprised. www.cookiesbydesign.com

2. SPA- How awesome would it be to spend a little extra time with mommy AND get a massage too? So pickup a gift certificate from www.spafinder.com! Simple and easy! You could even pair that with with some Pixies OR just buy me some Pixies. However you chose to work it out!

3. BRUNCH/DINNER- Enjoy brunch at the Chicago Botanic Garden! Great food, great company, beautiful surroundings!! The adult tickets are $54.95 children 3-12 $27.95 and children 2 and under are free.
McCormick and Schmicks is giving each mom a free Chocolate Truffle Trio dessert on Sunday. Contact them for special menu messages and ordering flowers. http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/Chicago

4. OUT OF THE ORDINARY- It's not your everyday gift and something that says you put a little thought into it. Monthly clubs! Anything from wine of the month to a coffee club. There's 3, 6, and 12 month clubs. Free shipping and each month they send your mom a variety of whatever you chose (i.e. wine, fruit, coffee, bbq sauce etc) it's different. Its fun. It keeps on giving.

You can combine these ideas. There's tons of options. DIY handprint quilts, customizable frames, bath accessories, I could go on forever! If these don't suit your mom's style then check out www.gift.com there's pages and pages of things that could suit her. From the career mom to devoted grandma you will find something. If all else fails flowers and a gorgeous vase are an option? *shrugs* Good luck socialites!

Taxes

So I filed my federal income taxes months ago and my state income taxes have been filed as well. So what happens if you didn't file an extension by April 18th? Directly from www.irs.gov

If you owe taxes and didn’t file your tax return or request an extension by the April 18 deadline, you may face interest on any unpaid federal taxes you owe and a failure-to-file penalty. The IRS will deny a request for an extension that is filed after midnight on April 18. However, you should still file your tax return, even if it’s late. The failure-to-file penalty is 5 percent per month, or part of a month, of the balance due, up to a maximum of 25 percent. If the tax return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is $135 or the balance due, whichever is less. Interest and penalties add to the total amount you owe. The sooner you file, even if you can’t pay all or some of the taxes due, the less you will owe.

So make sure you get in contact with the IRS so that you don't incur further penalties. Socialites take care of business and never waste money.

I'm single! *insert joyous laughter*

Right now it seems like our days  (women late Twenties and up that is) are filled with bachelorette parties, weddings, and of course the baby showers. Most of us are not running towards having our OWN baby showers HOWEVER I think deep down every woman wants to be married eventually even if eventually comes at 35 or even 40. So for now let's just enjoy being single. Embrace it instead of dwelling on it. Work on you inside and out. Go to the gym. Work on your relationship with God. Build better relationships with family and friends. Don't set limits on marriage or babies. If you hit that age you will be upset. That makes for a depressing birthday lol Focus on choosing the right man instead of Mr. Right now. It'll save you a lot of needless frustration and heartache. Most importantly (and the most fun) be with the ones you love. Enjoy the spending time with your friends. Go get a mani/pedi. Have a dinner date. Go enjoy a Lemon Drop! Go shoe shopping. Men don't want to spend 2 hours in Aldo going back and forth between a black sling back peep toe shoe and a black sling back almond toe shoe. Heck do they know the difference? Even still I bet your bestie would know the difference and be ready to mule over how each would look with that LBD you just purchased at Macys. Don't forget your love of all things reality! Bad Girls Club, Jersey Shore, Teen Mom 2, remember those shows? Your new beau won't be interested in that and who really wants to share the remote? Let's be honest! So get pretty and head over to your favorite lounge (I prefer Plush in West Loop for their Pineapple Upside Down Cake martini)  with your girls. Focus on you and have fun until your knight in shining armor comes galloping up on his white horse or drives up in his BMW. Whatever tickles your fancy!

Easter Fun!!

There's literally no less than like 30 Easter events sponsored by the Chicago Park District. I have to say I LOVE Chicago for providing it's residents with such inexpensive events all around the city not just on the North side. *hint hint* So my two favorites are the Spring Egg-Stravaganza which is this Sunday April 17th at Soldier Field. The brunch is super inexpensive only $17.50 for adults, $12 for children under 10 and free for children under age 3 with a paying adult. Reservations must be made by tomorrow so check out the link quickly! There's also the free candy grab for the kiddos who can also take a picture with the Easter bunny. Since everybody isn't Mom-alicious another super FAB idea for the dog lovers is the Doggie Easter egg hunt. Free for humans and $5 per dog. Its at Horner Park on Montrose. Great idea to get out and have some fun with your "baby".

Now these are just my two faves but of course there's a ton all over the city so there's something inexpensive and convenient near you. Check out the link and get out of the house with your families!!

http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/news.detail/object_id/e0deb9e5-c98c-4db6-bab0-5f1aff6c7195.cfm

We are Chicago

Unfortunately, to the rest of America Chicago is synonymous with murder and crime. Now Chicagoans know that this usually takes place in the warmer months. The crime rate spikes in the summer months. There were 19 incidents of gunfire this past weekend 4/10-11. Two children were hit by random gunfire on 51st and Calumet. They were caught in gunfire. Although we have lost our title of "America's murder capital" we aren't running too far behind. I know I'm not the President of the United States or some big politician but I'm personally asking that for THIS season let's make a change. Let's protect the innocent and report what you know. You may be a snitch or whatever term you want to use but you make take a criminal off the street and give peace to a mother with a dead child. Think of your own family and what it's worth to you. Don't be proud of our former title. It's not something to be proud of. Let's make better decisions this summer. No random gunfire. No shooting across the street at our enemies. As I type this request it seems a little absurd but just last week there was a girl shot at a softball game by random gunfire. A sign of the times, things haven't changed and they won't unless we do something different. I understand Chicago is a very different city. I know the West side and some South side neighborhoods are plagued with crime, drugs, and gangs. My hope is that each year we can decrease the number of senseless murders. You can start a block club for your block. Ensuring that none of that will happen on your block. Enough of these and we can make a difference. Go to www.chicagopolice.org to see how to start a block. There you can also read current murder statistics for all crimes in Chicago. Although crime is decreasing, we need to work more until our streets are safe for the children to play. We need to all do our part instead of putting it off on local government or someone else. Own our city. We are Chicago.

Community Clean up

So before summer gets really started let's start with what's most important, home. Home is where we find solice and refuge from all of life's craziness. Nothing is more important that our homes. Since the ground has been covered with a foot of snow or more for the past five months let's do some clean up. I'd like to start in Bronzeville. Bronzeville is a great historic neighborhood which has been home to many many well known African Americans. I'm suggesting we start here on June 4, 2011 and clean up Bronzeville. I've emailed Alderman Dowell of the 3rd ward asking for her assistance in publicizing this. Hopefully this can be a great kick off to the other 76 neighborhoods in the city. Bronzeville has come a long way before it's recent gentrification and definitely deserves a little TLC. So get your friends, children, families, and coworkers and come donate some time to those in the Bronzeville neighborhood so that the children will have clean parks and streets to enjoy their summer like we will definitely enjoy ours. I want to serve a small lunch to those that volunteer as well as a few prizes. If you have any input or would like to donate items, lunch, or even your time to help organize email me at rachel@chicitysocialite.com

Thanks to the 3rd ward and Pat Dowell for giving trash bags and tools to assist with our efforts.

Officially named Beautify Bronzeville!!

Grrr to Mayor Daley!!

So if you don't know the story I will give you the quick run down. Mayor Daley's nephew hit a guy in 2004 resulting in this guy dying. So initially the Illinois State Police were going to look into the way Chicago police handled this case. In recent news, the ISP will not be conducting an independent investigation without explanation. GRRR!!! So you're telling me a 230 lb guy hitting a 140 lb and killing him is not a reason to question this????? As you will get to know I LOVE this city. True this isn't anything that doesn't happen all the time in Chicago. Chicago is known for this but when someone dies as a result and gets not justice I'm mad about it. I don't care who you are or who you're related to when you hurt someone then you need to face the music. That makes me very so sad for this family. So I hope someone with a little more clout that this socialite can get the ISP to step in and give this family some justice!

Deals! Deals! Deals!

It may just be me, but I like to save a dollar or two when going out. The gas prices are almost $4 and mama needs a new pair of shoes lol So any little bit helps. Check out Poggled.com! They have great online deals. I hate the word coupon so let's say deals! Some of what you will find are deals for O'Malleys and the Martini Ranch. $8 for 2 cocktails and an appetizer? That's an AMAZING deal. Check it out!

So Spring is here...

So Spring is here or what I like to call Winter #2 for us Chicagoans. Being the socialite that I am I have to be FAB for the Summer right? So I'm going to try to shed those extra pounds that Winter #1 so graciously gave me. Winter is all too kind! So I need just a few women who are willing to jump on my band wagon. I don't care how much weight you're wanting to lose but I just need some support. I say all this after I just finished a chocolate cupcake. *sad face* So a close friend is a distributor of Zija. I hear great things about this product. In addition to working out and eating right, I want to use the XM3 pills. NOW THIS IS UP TO YOU. I just hear great things so I thought I'd throw it out there. As with anything else do your research and figure out if it's what's best for you. I'm going to post the link at the bottom for you to review. His email address and phone number are listed and I'm sure he would have no problem answering any questions!! So back to the weightloss... I want to eat properly and exercise. I'm going to try the hot yoga soon. I will definitely tell you what happens. I'm sure it'll be wonderful. I'm also going to try Flirty Girl Fitness. I'm not into exercising but I love to dance which is super fun for me. So I'm sticking with what works. I'm super excited. Hopefully I don't fail :-/ I'm sure it'll be great. Hopefully you will be with me in spirit! Til we speak again... stay FAB!

http://sanders123.myzija.com/

The woman behind the title

I am a 25ish smart, sarcastic, opinionated, know it all woman. I needed a platform to run my mouth besides Twitter and Facebook. I can't say what I want to say in those amounts of characters. I'm a Texas native (hence the transplant). I'm 75% left brained and 25% right brained. I'm very black and white. There's usually no gray area. Ex: You like pizza or you don't. There's no "well I kind of like the sauce but not the bread". I do believe there's a reason for everything. Ex: If you love pizza there's a reason. I despise "Just because" I use run on sentences and very little punctuation except for periods and some commas. I'm confident but humble. I'm a know it all but I will acknowledge others brilliance. I'm a Southern Belle but I'm a city girl. I love Dallas but I've embraced CHICAGO with open arms. I love my family and friends but they drive me crazy. I'm complicated but easy to understand if you want to learn. I love to help people. The most important part of this city is the children. I hope that I can one day start a charity for teen mothers. It's my dream. Some people say I'm funny but really I just way what you're thinking but have too much tact to say. So now that you know the woman behind the title LEGGO...

Socialite women meet socialite men and mate and breed socialite children.....