<![CDATA[Last Girl Standing]]> A feed from Last Girl Standing 2008-05-09T11:30:15-05:00 tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-05-09:419 Copyright (c) 2008, Chicago Magazine Sarah Prestonnightspotting@hotmail.com Rivista <![CDATA[Word to Your Mother]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-05-09:39242008-05-09T11:30:15-05:002008-05-09T11:30:15-05:00It's been two weeks since I had reconstructive knee surgery—two weeks spent holed up at my parents' house in the suburbs recovering. Having my ACL and meniscus repaired hasn't slowed the wedding arrangements down at all; not even crutches can affect this bride's ability to plan, plan, plan. If anything, being laid up has let me devote even more time and energy to the big day. The only thing scarier than a bride with too much time on her hands? A mother of the bride who's newly retired...

]]> <![CDATA[Music: Check. Photographer: Check. Flowers: Checkbook, Please.]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-04-21:38532008-04-21T05:58:56-05:002008-04-21T06:00:41-05:00Sitting on the couch and planning my wedding hasn't been all hearts and bonbons. First, pending reconstructive knee surgery this Wednesday, I'm barely mobile enough to go to the bathroom, much less meet with vendors; and second, now that I've had time to read every bridal magazine on the market, plus celebrity planner Mindy Weiss's new how-to guide, The Wedding Book, I'm sufficiently confused. Band versus DJ? Roses versus stephanotis? Sushi station versus passed apps? No wonder men don't get involved...

]]> <![CDATA[Eels, Pugs, and Other Lounge Lizard News]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-04-14:38242008-04-14T05:30:48-05:002008-04-14T05:34:30-05:00Just because I'll be stuck on the couch nursing an injured knee instead of a cocktail tomorrow on my birthday doesn't mean you can't raise a toast on April 15th. Yes, the Tax Man taketh away, but you can drinketh whatever's left. Read about new bar openings and tax day specials below; then, if you make it out to these or other spots, come back and post comments so that others (ahem, me) can benefit vicariously from your bar hopping...

]]> <![CDATA[Last Girl Standing Takes a Seat (Temporarily)]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-04-10:38032008-04-10T03:40:38-05:002008-04-10T03:40:38-05:00 <![CDATA[The Accidental Bride is Full. Speed. Ahead.]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-04-07:37902008-04-07T12:54:02-05:002008-04-07T12:54:02-05:00We've set a date for the wedding: a Sunday next September. Yes, we're on what you'd call the marriage fast track. And no, I'm not pregnant, although a number of people—including my own brother—asked if I was when we told them our date was less than six months away.

That's one good thing about a Sunday-night wedding: If we had wanted to say our I dos on a Saturday, we would have had to wait at least a year. Most of the places we've looked into are booked for Saturdays well into 2009...

]]> <![CDATA[The Accidental Bride on Catering]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-04-03:37802008-04-03T07:17:35-05:002008-04-04T01:52:57-05:00You asked for it: New to Last Girl Standing, a few notes now and then on planning for my upcoming nuptials, along with regular communiqués from the nightlife front. Hey, I’m not settled down yet.

For a girl who's spent her adult years attending and writing about lavish openings and parties, you'd think this wedding planning stuff would come naturally.

Think again...

]]> <![CDATA[15 Minutes With ... Plain White T's frontman Tom Higgenson]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-03-31:37682008-03-31T03:29:37-05:002008-03-31T03:53:46-05:00

At this point, the story behind the Chicago band Plain White T's 2007 breakout song "Hey There Delilah" is the stuff of local legend. I sat down with frontman Tom Higgenson—who was playing a mini acoustic set Friday night at a launch party for 24/7 Chicago, NBC-5's new local entertainment show hosted by Catie Keogh, Jamie Blyth (of The Bachelorette, circa Jen Schefft), and Billy Dec—to get the real dirt on...

]]> <![CDATA[The Proposal]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-03-27:37502008-03-27T01:14:10-05:002008-03-27T01:47:37-05:00The Background
I've never pictured myself the typical bride. If and when I fantasized about the Big Day, I envisioned a kick-ass party with my family and friends—at a Vegas hotel, to be totally honest—but never was I wearing a pouffy white dress, and my hair definitely wasn't curled into ringlets. The groom was a faceless man, about six feet tall, and built like Clooney (who, in reality, is considerably shorter—hey, it's a fantasy). And I was walking down the aisle toward the rabbi to the tune of "Fool in the Rain" by Led Zeppelin.

Without too much psychoanalysis, let's just say I've always wanted the unattainable...

]]> <![CDATA[Hoops and—spoiler alert!—Rings: Where to Watch March Madness]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-03-25:37422008-03-25T05:47:45-05:002008-03-25T05:47:45-05:00The Fiancé (yes, we made it official last Friday; check back Thursday for a full report) forced me to fill out an NCAA tournament bracket over dinner last week. All I knew was to err on the side of loyalty and pick my alma mater, KU, to win the Big Dance—but I know plenty about bars. In preparation for the Sweet 16, I've rounded up a list of top-notch NCAA-watching spots: watering holes associated with schools still in the hunt for this year's national championship. Because no one likes to cheer—or jeer—alone...

]]> <![CDATA[Tune In Tomorrow]]>tag:www.chicagomag.com,2008-03-24:37392008-03-24T09:04:08-05:002008-03-24T09:04:08-05:00