This is a very special blog post as it celebrates 17 years of bringing you the first and longest running lifestyle blog in Chicago! It’s been a delightful labor of love since 2008 and I’ve met so very many fabulous people along the way. I first began the blog on the Today’s Chicago Woman website, thanks to the urging of its founder Sherren Leigh. I would love to be able to share you that first entry, but sadly and suddenly, Sherren deleted the entire website causing me and a load of great writers to lose all of their content there. It wasn’t a nice thing to do without warning but that was her decision. On a brighter note, I DO have my very first independent blog which I am sharing with you here now! In it, you will see many familiar faces, events and organizations. Some of these local notables are, sadly, no longer with us, which makes it even more poignant. They are certainly with us in spirit. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me throughout the years and here’s to 100 more just like it! Enjoy!
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Welcome to my first blog as an independent! I’ve left TCW to pursue other interests but my interest in blogging remains the same. I hope you’ll like it! Summer is nearing an end and quite the summer it was…so many events and happenings in so little time! Here are some highlights:
THE SERVICE CLUB OF CHICAGO'S DAY ON THE TERRACE EVENT
The annual Day on the Terrace fashion show was held on August 1st at the Peninsula Hotel benefiting the Service Club of Chicago, one of the city's oldest philanthropic organizations. It was organized, as always, by the Queen Bee of Chicago – Hazel Barr. She outdid herself this time with an over-the-top show, 
including circus performers on unicycles displaying the store signs, acrobats and everything else you could think of. It was a sold-out event with over 330 gorgeous ladies in attendance. The fashion show consisted of top-of-the-line retailers including a new designer to the show, Quinton d'Alexander. I was lucky enough to 
wear his unique creations – top hat, cane, white gloves and an outfit right from the racetrack in My Fair Lady – and it was so much fun! Other participating stores included Luca Luca (we LOVE Simona!), Dismero, Escada(we LOVE Ann!), Macy's 28 Shoppe, Ultimo, Maria Pinto (who will also be showing her awesome fall fashions for the Joffrey's Couture & Cocktails on Monday, September 15th), Hana K and Neiman Marcus (we missed Tina, who was on vacation). Photos: top left, Hazel Barr with Service Club member and model Cookie Cohen; right, designer Quinton d'Alexander; bottom left, Service Club members and models Sheryl Dyer and Jean Antoniou.
HINCKLEY BOATS AT THE CHICAGO YACHT CLUB
Another fabulous event was organized by our dear friend, Kate Gaynor, on behalf of Marsh and Hinckley boats. It was held at the Chicago Yacht Club on a perfect summer evening. There were hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and then the BOATS! I don't think we can simply call these 
masterpieces boats because they were all handmade and priced in the millions. Breathtaking!
A big thank you to Kate for arranging such a
lovely and unique event. For more info, please contact 1-866-HINCKLEY or visit
www.hinckleyyachts.com. Photos: top right, a Hinckley yacht; left, Helen Melchior, Chris Long, my husband Chuck Jordan and I; bottom right, Kate Gaynor and I.
LOUIS VUITTON BOUTIQUE OPENING CELEBRATION AT TABLE 52
On July 10th, we attended a party at Table 52 celebrating the opening of the Louis Vuitton Boutique in Nordstrom – Chicago is the only city to have this arrangement :-) – a very intimate affair with only about 24 guests upstairs in the restaurant. We were greeted by the infinitely talented chef Art Smith with champagne at the foot of the stairs and when we walked into the upstairs dining area, it took our breath away! The space was designed by our very own Jonathan Ryan and Debi Lilly from A Perfect Event, in conjunction with the LV creative team. All of Jonathan's projects are masterpieces but I think he outdid himself with this one! The room was a sea of candlelight from burgundy tapers that were 
highlighted by beautiful matching floral arrangements in silver bowls; even the tablecloths had delicate LV logos etched in gold. There was a photo of Pete Nordstrom's grandfather tucked into an antique cupboard surrounded by vintage Louis Vuitton pieces, original shoes from Nordstrom's first shoe department and old books.
The meal was unbelievable, starting with Art’s signature parmesan cheese and buttermilk biscuits and ending with his famous hummingbird cake; Art even signed all of our menus in silver to commemorate the event.
Among the event’s lucky guests were darling 
artist Francine Turk and her husband, Steve; Sven Asmus; Les Coney; great Bears defensive tackle and all around cute guy, Tommie Harris; handsome Bulls guard, Ben Gordon; and Lauren and Brian Rosen. Pete Nordstrom and Daniel LaLonde, president and CEO of LV North America, gave charming speeches, as did Art Smith. The evening was capped off with a chauffeured ride back home. It was one of the best evenings with the most incredible attention to detail. Everyone received a signed cookbook from Art AND a Louis Vuitton wallet!! Unbelievable…a truly a perfect event. Photos: top left, the gorgeous designs of A Perfect Event and signed menua from Art Smith; top right, Heather Vandenberghe, me and artist Francine Turk; bottom left, Art Smith and LV North America CEO Daniel LaLonde; bottom right, Pete Nordstrom, Francine Turk, me and Daniel LaLonde.
OUR DAY AT COMMON THREADS
In the first week of June, I took a group of friends including Dori Wilson, Bernice Pink, Hedwig Golant and Jan Bail for a very unique and worthwhile experience: cooking at the Common Threads after-school program with Art Smith and his students. If you haven’t heard of Common Threads, it was started by our wonderful Art and his life partner, Jesus Salgueiro, in October 2001, a month after planes crashed into the World Trade Center 
towers. Art and Jesus traveled to New York on a mission of healing where Art had been asked to cook dinner for a mother and her three school-aged children after their father had disappeared in the collapse of Tower Two. Art and Jesus were so touched by this experience that when they came back to Chicago, Art penned these impactful and fateful words: “For our world is a quilt, its people the fabric, all joined together by common threads.” From this quote, Art and Jesus’ organization grew. Their executive director and my friend, Linda Novick-O’Keefe, drew out their business plan and Common Threads – a non-profit teaching children age 8 to 12 valuable lessons about 
nutrition and food preparation in a number of cultures – was born. Today, Common Threads has a presence in 17 schools across the country and has served over 1,000 kids this year alone. Believe me, this is one organization that makes a difference at the level we need it most: our children. For more information on this worthy effort, please contact Linda Novick-O’Keefe at 312-752-2692 or visit
www.commonthreads.com. Photo: top left, Hedwig Golant, Common Threads executive director Linda Novick-O'Keefe and Common Threads students; right, Dori Wilson and a Common Threads student; bottom left, Bernice Pink and Common Threads students.
JOFFREY BALLET PRESS KICKOFF PARTY AND C-HOUSE OPENING
Also in June – on a beautiful sparkling night, to be exact – the Joffrey Ballet held their press kickoff 
party at the hot new Affinia Hotel for the upcoming Couture & Cocktails event scheduled for Monday, September 15th, as mentioned above. It also was the official opening of New York chef Marcus Samuelson’s first foray into the Chicago restaurant scene with C-House. The crowd was hot but the 29th floor C-View Lounge was even hotter. The rooftop deck and secluded sexy bar has become THE place to be this summer; check it out at 166 E. Superior! For C-House reservations, please call 312-523-0923. Photo: left, CEO Brooke Barrett, C-House chef Marcus Samuelson, me and CEO Patrick Denihan; right, Shawn Moskalak, Shauna Montgomery and Gregg Zgonena.
MORE JOFFREY NEWS!
Here is some wonderful Joffrey Ballet news for all of you fans and friends: On September 11th in Millennium Park, the Joffrey Ballet will headline a program entitled An Evening of Remembrances--A Salute to the Victims and Families of 9/11. Helen Melchior will serve as the chairman of the entire weekend 
of events including the official opening night in the Black Box Theatre on Friday, September 12th, a black tie dinner followed by the first performance in the Joffrey's new home. Tickets are $1,000 and it will be an event not to be missed; history in the making, I tell you! The whole city will be celebrating with banners along Randolph Street, pointe shoes and costumes with congratulatory signs in windows along Oak Street and Michigan Avenue, even the old Esquire Theater marquee is carrying our message as I type! There will be a public open house with tours on Saturday, September 13th and the opening events will close with the must-attend party of the season, Couture & Cocktails, on Monday, September 15th. This party will feature the dazzling fall fashions of designer to the stars (and possibly first lady), Maria Pinto, a live auction including Van Cleef and Arpels diamond earrings valued at over $25,000, two tickets (plus airfare) to Wimbledon for the men's semi-finals and finals in 2009 and an original Joffrey Ballet charcoal portrait by Francine Turk. For information, please contact Nicole Patrick at 312-386-8921. Photo: left, Joffrey Ballet logo; right, Joffrey artistic director Ashley Wheater and opening events chairman Helen Melchior.
BRUSHES WITH FAME
Now, on a personal note, what gorgeous goddaughter of mine got up close and personal with Vogue magazine’s editor-at-large, Andre Leon Talley? Samantha Amato, of course! She should be a model but she won’t listen to her aunt. Her mother and my dear friend, Rhonda Sanderson, were recently guests of Nordstrom in New York for a designer shopping experience where they met Carolina Herrera, Phillip Lim, Peter Som, and Vogue editor Anna Wintour who “was the size of a pencil.” Photo: left, Samantha Amato and Andre Leon Talley.
FAST FORWARD TO FALL
This fall will be a classic and clean-line lover’s delight. The clothes are chic and cut to a turn. I think Michael Kors has nailed the looks this year; he has designed some incredible fur collars that you just slap around your neck with any outfit and it’s instantly chic. For this matter, if you have an old fur coat that’s out of style and you don’t know what to do with it, have it made into a cool collar or a giant muff – this is what I’ll be doing! I also love the simple classic colors: black, camel and gray. These colors are also so great to travel with because they all mix so well. I’m leaving for Cape Cod for the first time soon so I will let you know how I did with my packing! It’s Sandy Deromedi’s 50th birthday party and we’re all going. I’ll have photos for you in my next blog. Photo: right, a fur collar designed by Michael Kors.
This is all for now. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Stay tuned for more coming soon!
The annual Day on the Terrace fashion show was held on August 1st at the Peninsula Hotel benefiting the Service Club of Chicago, one of the city's oldest philanthropic organizations. It was organized, as always, by the Queen Bee of Chicago – Hazel Barr. She outdid herself this time with an over-the-top show, 
Now, on a personal note, what gorgeous goddaughter of mine got up close and personal with Vogue magazine’s editor-at-large, Andre Leon Talley? Samantha Amato, of course! She should be a model but she won’t listen to her aunt. Her mother and my dear friend, Rhonda Sanderson, were recently guests of Nordstrom in New York for a designer shopping experience where they met Carolina Herrera, Phillip Lim, Peter Som, and Vogue editor Anna Wintour who “was the size of a pencil.” Photo: left, Samantha Amato and Andre Leon Talley.
