STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Thank you, ShopChicago33.  This should be fun. 

Who is your style icon and why?

I like simple and classic and beautiful--Gwyneth Paltrow and the late Carolyn Kennedy Bessette. 

What's your favorite book?

Can I choose three?  The Pact, by Jodi Picoult (I still almost cry just thinking about this book); Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella; and Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

What's your favorite movie?

Breakfast at Tiffanny's.  It is such a great movie and I absolutely love Audrey Hepburn, a beautiful woman inside and out. 

What stores do you shop in the most?

I usually shop in The Limited and Express, though now that I live in Chicago, I am trying to branch out and find new shops.  When I lived in Wisconsin, there were mostly only mall stores, with few boutiques. 

1.  If you were offered $100,000,000, but you would have to give up 10 years of your life immediately (for example, if you were 20, you would wake up 30 tomorrow with $100,000,000), would you do it?

Yes I definately would.  I am only 23 right now so that is not even a big deal.  I think growing older is pretty cool (though I am scared of being really old, as in elderly).  There is so much I would do with that money.  Money can't buy you happiness or love, but it can buy you pretty much everything else. 

2.  If you met the love of your life, but knew he would die in an accident in 6 months, would you get involved?

Well, I will pretend for now that I have not already met the love of my life...yes.  I do believe that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, although getting over a heartbreak is so devastating. 

3.  What's your favorite song?

"Dreams" by the Cranberries is the absolute best song ever made.  If you have never heard it, listen to it.  I listen to it almost daily.  It is so happy. 

4.  What do you think the worst song ever written is?

There are way too many, but one that really sticks out in my mind is "Graduation" by Vitamin C.  That horrible, horrible song was chosen by my high school senior class student government to be our "graduation song."  It is so cheesy and gross.  My friends and I wanted the graduation song to be "In My Life" by the Beatles. 

5.  Do you have any pets?

I have two cats--Rocks, a boy, and Halle, a girl.  My BF and I treat them better than humans, and that is because most of the time, they are better than humans.  They are my babies. 

6.  Do you believe in ghosts? 

Nope.  That just opens up to many doors to other unexplainable things.  For the most part, I am grounded by things that can be backed up with factual or scientific evidence.  I don't think there is any evidence that ghosts or spirits exist.  Also, it kinda stems back to my childhood.  I loved to watch scary movies (for example, Poltergeist) and the only reason my mother let me watch any of them was because she made me believe that that stuff would never happen IRL. 

This is fun...

Which is worse/Why?  (semi-plagerized from whichisworse.com )

Bleeding to death/Starving to death?

Starving to death because it takes a lot longer. 

Forgetting where you parked your car/Losing your keys?

Losing my keys would be worse...I have actually forgot where I parked my car once before and had the police on their way over to my apartment to investigate a suspected car robbery.  Then my BF found the car where I had left it the night before--in the fire lane of my apt building.  I was scared at first, then extrememly embarrassed but losing my keys would be worse since I only have one set.

A bad house in a good location/A good house in a bad location?

Wearing a costume at a non-costume party/Wearing normal clothes at a costume party?

Sleeping in the same room as your annoying and stinky little brother/Sleeping in the same room as your snoring 90 year old great grandma?

Sleeping in the same room as a grandma because I am scared of elderly people. 

Extremely loud music/Total silence?

Total silence.  I like loud music anyways, as long as it is good music.

Brothers / sisters? if so how many & how old?

This gets confusing for most people, so I will try to make it simple:  I have a full brother, 30 years old; two much older step-brothers and a 15 year-old half-sister on my mom and stepdad's side; a 21-year-old step-sister and a 14 year-old half-brother on my dad and stepmom's side. 
Do you live near your parents?

Yes, but not as close as I used to.  I live in Chicago and both my parents live in or near Milwaukee, WI.  This is the furthest I have lived from them and I am still getting used to it. 
Favorite fast food restaurant

Einstein Bagel Brothers ("Einstein's" as I call it) is my favorite, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Culver's, a burger place in the midwest and Texas, because that is where I met my BF. 
Least favorite household / housework chore?

Putting clothes away.  I used to actually have separate baskets for clean and dirty clothes because I hated folding and hanging clothes so much. 
Who is your BFF & how long have you been friends? How did you meet?

Her name is Charlotte and we met when we were 11.  She was new to my school and at first I hated her because my "boyfriend" dumped me for her (hahaha).  Then she called me one day and I hung out with her because I was bored and she has been my best friend ever since.  She is the coolest nicest person and I trust her completely. 

I'm so sorry - but is it wrong if I laughed at the statement "I'm afraid of elderly people"? I don't mean to be insensitive, for real, but is it really a fear? If so, there MUST be a reason & I'm really curious...if you don't mind sharing. (You did make me smile on a crappy day if that helps).

Well I feel really bad about this, but elderly people just make me really nervous.  I am scared to be really old like that.  The only grandparents I had were always very sick and died before I was five.  So I just never had a good view of elderly people.  As a young child, they were just these sickly people and as I grew a little older I became scared of getting like that.  Now I know that being elderly does not necessarily mean sick, but it is something that has stuck with me.  Even now I don't have much contact with the elderly. 

Favorite nice (non fast food) restaurant?  It is a restaurant in Madison, Wis. called The Casbah Medditerreanean Restaurant and Bar.  I used to work there (and will never waitress again!), so I have sampled most of the dishes.  Great food, awesome ambience, yummy and creative cocktails, and on the bar level they served hookahs (tall glass pipes that you smoke flavored tobacco out of--or other things if you want to)

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?  Well my traveling has been limited, but I loved Cozumel, Mexico when I was there.  It is slow-paced and people actually seem to enjoy life, and it was just touristy enough where I didn't feel out of place.  I would love to live on the beach there!

Favorite TV Show?  "ER" all the way!  I started watching this show at the time most of my friends stopped watching it, but I love it! 

TV Show you hate?  "Judge Judy."  Need I say more?

Do you have someone that inspires you?  If so, who?  I have many people who inspire me--I am inspired not so much by one person in particular, but individual qualities by many diferent people.  Here are two examples:  first my mom inspires me with her selflessness.  Besides Mother Theresa, I can't think of one person who thinks more about others than my mom.  Second, my best friend (previously mentioned) inspires me with her logic, motivation, and "carpe' diem" attitude. 

Favorite thing to do on the weekend?  Sleep!  I know, I am boring.  I love weekends where I can sleep late, and then just hang out with my BF or friends. 

Since you recently moved to Chicago, what's been the best part so far of living here?  All the great shopping people tell me about (I can't afford to do much right now, but I am counting the days until I can!).  And this one really cool girl who befriended me.

What do you do for a living?  I am a medical technologist and work at a hospital lab.  Simply put, I crossmatch blood for transfusions.  I just started, but so far I am happy with it. 

Where did you grow up?  I was born in Milwaukee, Wis, then moved to what could be considered a suburb called Mukwonago when I was nine.  It only has about 14,000 residents but is less than an hour from Milwaukee and just over an hour from Madison.  There are things I like better about living in the suburbs, but for the most part, I prefer city living. 

Would you rather be too hot or too cold?  Neither!  I am usually very cold, but also very sensitive to outside temps. 

What is the story of how you met your BF?  We started dating at the end of my junior year in high school.  We worked together for a couple years but we were never interested in a relationship, friend- or romantic-wise.  Then he cut his hair and I realized how cute he was.  I was having a hard time getting over an ex-BF and knew he had gone thru one a few months before so I asked him how to get over it.  He said the easiest way to forget someone is to just go out and hook up with a bunch of people (of course a guy would say that!).  I started with him--we ended up hanging out together with some other co-workers and I ended up kissing him.  It was so not serious at all but it blossomed into something a lot more.  That was six years ago and we have had many ups and downs but finally learned how to work our problems out and now it is happily ever after (well, mostly). 

If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would it be? When I was four or five, my mom told me she almost named me Crystal.  I was mad at her for not naming me that, but now I really like my name.  I don't think I would change it.  It suits me well.

Did you have a good or bad high school experience?  All things considered, it was good.  I would never go back, but I had good friends, good boyfriends, and did well in school.  Nothing too great but nothing exceptionally bad either.  Until I was 17 though, I was super shy, so that made things hard. 

How old are your babies?  My kitties, right?!  I got both of them thru friends, so I don't know their exact ages but I know they are both around seven years old. 

I have more questions too:

What is the coolest place you've ever been to?

What's one of the coolest things you've ever done?

What's your favorite pizza topping?

If you could have any elective, cosmetic surgery, would you?  And what would it be?