The May/June Adventure Issue by skirt! Chicago

free

may/june Chicago

E scape

t h e

o rd in a ry.

Stop putting the brakes on your life. That yellow caution light? Disable it for a while. Go full speed ahead on a project that seems pointless. Yes, you can learn to read music just for fun. Yes, you can write the book you think no one will buy. Yes, you can stop stalling and look for a new job.

Worry less about crashing and more about being stuck in cruise control. Recant “can’t.” What if you never step out of line? Never gamble your peace of mind? Never trouble the world? Life will just climb through the window if you try to lock the door on it. It wants your Yes, your Now, your Full Monty. Out there, you’ll find danger and dragons, detours and disappointments, but it’s also full of magic and miracles, joy and juice. Go get some. Cover copy by Nikki Hardin, art by Skopein

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” J.K. Rowling

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I S S U E Founder Nikki Hardin Publisher Kathy Mitchell publisher@skirtchicago.com

Features

Creative Director Caitilin McPhillips caitilin.mcphillips@skirt.com

ISSUE

Editor Elisa Drake editor@skirtchicago.com Regional Vice President Patti Ruesch Patti.ruesch@morris.com

May Theme ..........................................5

Contributing Writers Tracy Marks Suzanne Carmel

Advertising Sales 312.566.5221 publisher@skirtchicago.com Calendar Submissions Send information to editor@skirtchicago.com, or mail to skirt! Chicago 224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 370, Chicago, IL 60604

skirt! is published bimonthly and distributed free throughout the greater Chicagoland area. skirt! reserves the right to refuse to sell space for any advertisement the staff deems inappropriate for the publication. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Letters to the editor are welcome, but may be edited due to space limitations. Press releases must be received by the 1st of the month for the following issue. All content of this magazine, including without limitation the design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content, as well as the selection, coordination and arrangement thereof, is Copyright © 2014, Morris Publishing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this magazine may be copied or reprinted without the express written permission of the publisher. SKIRT!® is a registered trademark of Morris Publishing Group, LLC. We’re on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook.com/skirtchicago Twitter.com/skirtchicago

Lady in Red

In Every Issue

Ad Design Cristina Young CHSads@skirt.com

Heath Sharp aheathphoto.com

Susan Harlan .......................................6

M. Terry Bowman .............................32

Account Executive Andrea Bubolo andrea.bubolo@morris.com

Photography Shelby Kroeger shelbykroeger.com

Alone in the Desert

Menu ...................................................13 He’s So Original ...............................15

FROM THE PUBLISHER I think I’m a pretty adventurous person; 12 years ago I moved to Chicago with my two sons from a small town 3 hours west of the city. I took a chance, and it worked out well for all of us. When the boys were young, we made everything “an adventure,” like a simple walk through the woods that could turn into an inter-galactic experience. Hey, a little imagination went a long way back in those days! My youngest son Austin did not like change or doing anything new for the ﬁrst time, but making it an adventure changed his whole outlook. And he would look forward to his next adventure. When I was growing up, we were allowed to go out and explore the neighborhood, hang out in the ravine, build forts, spend hours in the park with friends having all kinds of adventures just being kids, and as long as you were home by dark it was all good. There are different levels of adventure: those who jump from planes or hunt wild boar in Africa— and the rest of us who look at life as one big adventure.Whether you’re online dating, raising young children, going for a promotion at work, starting a new business, remodeling your home or taking a family vacation, life is full of exciting and wonderful opportunities. Now go out and have an adventure! Kathy

publisher@skirtchicago.com

Hit the Road .....................................17 skirt! Style ........................................18 I’m Going On an Adventure ..........20 Just Add ..............................................21 The Smile List ...................................22 Local Loves ......................................25 Calendar.............................................26 Take 6 .................................................30 Skirt of the Month ...........................33 Meet ....................................................34

FROM THE EDITOR After graduating high school, I boldly spent all my saved money (with a little parental assistance) and took off on a month-long tour of Europe with my best friend and a bunch of other 18- to 24-year-olds. It was a whirlwind taste of travel that I duly savored (along with enough boxes of buttery European cookies that I gained 10 pounds). These days, my adventures take on a smaller scale: gathering strawberries with my girls at a u-pick up north or hopping a bus to Indy (sans kids) to visit an old friend.As the thermometer makes its way up to summer—what polar vortex?—we can’t help but feel like anything is possible. Somehow, along with our easily ditched parkas and long underwear have gone our doubts and worries. In place, our sense of adventure has awakened from impatient hibernation. Do I wish I had the freedom of Lisa Lubin who’s so often not home that she rents out her Lincoln Park apartment for long stretches. Maybe. Do I wonder what it would be like to visit the wilds of the Congo like our zoo ladies? Who wouldn’t! And what about Nan Giordano whose dance company opens doors to foreign cultures around the globe? Sounds something amazing. Whatever form your adventure takes, keep Ernest Hemingway’s remarks in mind: “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Elisa

About the Cover Artist

Skopein is the artistic nom de plume of Luiz, a Brazilian artist based in São Paulo. Luiz studied graphic design and illustration and has worked in editorial and advertising. cargocollective.com/ kot-illustration/skopein

editor@skirtchicago.com skirt!magazine

may/junew2014

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FIND YOUR SENSE OF

A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E As simple as opening a book. Or closing a chapter.

Do people still fly around the world in hot air balloons?

Very funny, I get it now. We’re inside adventure! Exciting times to be alive.

Never say “I can’t,” “I won’t ever,” or “It’s “ not possible.” Time to buy roller skates, fly a kite or have an exotic vinegar-tasting party.

Usually an adventure is an undertaking that is bold. Risky. Exciting. This is the month to do something you can’t believe you did.

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The perfect always borders on the oppressive.

Susan Harlan

remember seeing Mad Max when I was a kid, but I knew nothI’d rented an old 1960s Airstream trailer for the night. All around me were palm ing of the desert: that place of sci-fi apocalyptic visions and fantrees, and then the huge white windmills of Palm Springs, and then the clouds that tastical wars, that wasteland of sand and brush and wily little sit on the San Jacinto mountains. I felt far from Pasadena. Far from the indoors. lizards. I had always loved the coast, the ocean. That was my By lunch, I had checked into my trailer and Millie and I set off again for the speed—staring at the sea. And then last summer, I found myself park, a place that’s like the moon. I say this with no real first-hand knowledge of in California, just on the edge of the desert, and it occurred to the moon—only the conviction that I have never seen another place on earth like me that it was time to venture into this alternate world. it. The trees were twisted like fairytale crones. There were no souvenir shops or It was August and, even in Pasadena, the heat was intense. I restaurants, none of the trappings of most national parks. Virtually no other cars. was sure that it would dry me like an ear of corn, from the inI felt almost scarily alone, surrounded by rock formations. The park had side out, leaving me a husk a fondness for the macabre. There was of my former self. I’d been “Skull Rock,” which did indeed look like a doing research for a book skull, staring down at you in all its mortal at the Huntington Library for a few weeks seriousness. And there was a climbing rock and negotiating the relationship between the called the “Hall of Horrors,” another remindoors and outdoors. I wore a tank top and nant of prehistory. One of its climbs was a long skirt every day, layering two or three named “A Cheap Way To Die.” “There must be a sweaters and a scarf to survive the cold readAs I drove out of the park in the late reason that so many ing room and then stripping all this off when afternoon and back towards Landers, I post-apocalyptic I went out into the sun. passed various turn-offs where the twostories are set in the The Huntington was a beautiful place— lane highway just ran out, giving way to desert. You sense almost too beautiful, really. In the afternoons, stretches of sand. “Road Not Maintained,” that you’re not supI took walks around the grounds, wandering the signs announced. I got out of my car posed to be there...” from one garden to another. I ate my lunch at one of these spots and walked up to the on a bench on a hillside and looked out over uneven line where the pavement stopped roses and stone palaces, much like the heroand the sand started, and I kicked the sand ine in a Jane Austen novel surveying her anoff the concrete and back into its area. cestral estate. But as in a Jane Austen novel— In the evening, I made some pasta with as in Emma, say—a world that is manicured store-bought Ragu sauce and sat in front of to perfection can be claustrophobic. The my Airstream and drank a glass of wine and perfect always borders on the oppressive. A friend of mine once joked that the looked out over the desert. Complete silence. The occasional bark of a dog, someHuntington is so placid and peaceful that you suspect people must be building where off in unmarked space. People always say that you can hear yourself think in bombs underneath the rose garden. That was my sense, as well. moments like this. This is an odd phrase. I couldn’t hear myself think; I’m not sure I But the desert. This would be an uncontrolled space, I thought. An unpredictwas thinking. I could smell smoke from the nearby fires in the mountains. able, unregulated place. No tearoom with little egg salad sandwiches, no reading I sat outside for a long time, with Millie flopped down at my feet. Early in the room filled with leather-bound books. morning—maybe at about one—a flash thunderstorm drove me inside, and I lay in And so I set off. I drove, along with my dog Millie, through the suburban bed and listened to the rain on the silver body of the trailer, each drop like a hammer streets of Pasadena, each house larger than the last and all of them surrounded crashing down. The wind sounded fake—like an effect from a horror film, a manuby fortifications of hedges. So many walls of green. I made a detour and drove factured noise. Wind doesn’t sound like that, I thought. How absurd. But it did. past Julia Child’s childhood home at 625 Magnolia Avenue. It was quite big and There must be a reason that so many post-apocalyptic stories are set in the fancy, and I wondered who lived there now. Sitting in my parked car and looking desert. You sense that you’re not supposed to be there, that only the vagaries of through the windshield, I tried to imagine her in that house, and I couldn’t really modernity allow you access to this space. Don’t forget to go home. So says the do it, and I thought: I see why she had to leave. sand. The desert is calm and still, like a library or an ancestral estate, but it’s also I drove along Colorado Boulevard, part of historic Route 66, and headed out thrillingly scary, as if it might opt to kill you if it so desired. You have to trust that of town toward Joshua Tree National Park and the small town of Landers, where it will treat you well. Susan Harlan is a professor of English literature at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, whose personal essays have been published in Nowhere, Artvehicle, and Smoke: A London Peculiar. Her blog “Born on a Train” (bornonatrain.com), documents a long-haul Amtrak trip she undertook in full 1950s period dress.

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destination: you only live once.

"It's better to see something once than to hear about it a thouseand times," Asian Proverb

Slip your passport into your Kate Spade handbag and soar overseas. Craving quiet? Try St. Andrews. Spicy salsa clubs? Barcelona is for you. Endless blue? Move toward the Mediterranean. Baby, you were born to roam.

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"I am one of those who never knows the direction of my journey until I have almost arrived." Anna Louise Strong

Pack light. Trek the terrain with a knapsack named Alice on your back and leave the clutter of dreams behind: safari scenes, exotic themes, all those reasons to take a few days off so you could lift off. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re already en route to the ends of the earth.

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Alice Knapsack by Flea Bag, zebra and word wall art from couturedeco.com

destination:enjoy the earth.

T H E I N T ERS E C T I O N O F L I FE & S T Y L E

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Phone cover from Society6, aviator sunglasses by Ray-Ban, cowgirl hat from Athleta

destination:enjoy the view.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes." Marcel Proust

Asian Proverb

Hear the call of the wild. Answer with your Ray-Ban Sunglasses—you’re headed straight for the sun. Call back with a cowgirl hat—experience, meet style. Before you come back, take one last look and make sure your iPhone is on for that next call. Wherever it may take you.

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Honey-Lemon

Crostini

Each bottle of Fentimans Victorian lemonade contains juice from one and a half lemons!

Fentimans Ginger Beer is all natural and has a sharp ginger flavor which makes it a perfect mixer.

Beat the heat with a Gin Shandy pitcher for your party—it’s easily prepared ahead of time so your friends can start sipping while they assemble a crostini to their tastes. Plus, stopping to make each one individually curbs the urge to eat all the ricotta in sight. (Been there, done that.) Spicy, fresh Fentimans Ginger Beer and Victorian Lemonade make a bubbly base while the gin gets the gang giggling. Served with fresh lemon, the summery shandy compliments the slightly sweet and creamy ricotta crostini when it’s drizzled with honey, olive oil and topped with a little lemon zest.

1 cup of Fentimans Victorian Lemonade 12 oz bottle of Fentimans Ginger Beer 3/4 cup of gin Fresh lemon wedges

From the skirt! Office Test Kitchen Many allergy sufferers believe that a daily spoonful of local honey can alleviate symptoms.

Make sure your ricotta cheese is high quality.

2 bags of sea salt bagel chips 2 cups of whole milk ricotta cheese Olive oil and honey to drizzle Garlic clove, peeled and halved Lemon zest Rub bagel chip with garlic half. Add a healthy spoonful of ricotta cheese drizzled with olive oil and honey. Top with lemon zest. Microplane Premium Classic Zester/Grater

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Microwave lemons for 15 seconds.

Be sure to not get the pith, or white bitter portion of the lemon. Then cut the lemon peel into very small pieces.

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Photo by Shelby Kroeger

he’ssooriginal

David Oppenheimer makes art a science. Got an autographed Hendrix album that’s been decaying in your basement? Native buffalo skin from the 1800s? Original Warhol? Great-grandma’s Ellis Island papers? Bring them to David Oppenheimer for revival. As Vice President of Joel Oppenheimer Gallery (Joel’s his dad), David restores almost anything you can imagine and some you can’t. Merging his passions for both science and art, he approaches each piece with a unique strategy depending on medium, pigment and condition. “I’m often dealing with cherished family heirlooms or valuable art. There’s no room for error,” he says. His appreciation for the journey and belief in quality over expediency, extends to his hobbies—black and white film photography and bike riding. Regarding the incredible feathered skirt David poses in, he says: “Designer Jen Grygiel made it for me, knowing how much I admire craftsmanship and exquisite detail.” Feather in her cap, we do declare. What do you like about skirt! Magazine? “I appreciate the layout and design aesthetic.” What do you like about wearing a skirt? “I have always identified with being a little over-the-top, and the feathers match the Audubon prints in our gallery.”

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MY BIKE HELMET

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Wide eyes Road snacks Unquenchable curiosity Pen & paper for epiphanies No plans

I’m going on an adventure and I’m bringing:

Spontaneous urges Fun-size toiletries A theme song Comfy clothes— this isn’t a catwalk A camera—not for selfies Water (or wine?) bottle A craving for cloud 9

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2014

Recycled material bird Fredman Design Group

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“Decorating golden rule:

Live with what you love.”

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ROOM TO BLOOM SPRING AWAKENING | GREEN GARDENS LIFE ON THE DECK | COOL BREEZES COME SAIL AWAY SUNROOF OR MOONROOF ICED TEA IN TALL GLASSES | PRETTY AS PIE SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS Garden lab cart Fredman Design Group PAGES OF POETRY

Heart light vintagemarqueelights.com

Dining room chairs Coyle & Herr Loni M pillows Home Goods

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BirdAve.com

sgreenphoto.com

Chicago Public Library is a finalist for the 2014 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

Digital-free dining at The Florentine.

Baseball season.

Start saving.

Your phone is gross. phonesoap.com Little Viper pepper spray bracelets.

Living Loop Performing Arts Festival

Chicago Architecture Foundation shop.

thesmilelist the

Bebe, spicing up spring.

25 What ThingsMakes That Make Us Happy Us Happy.

Devon Seafood waffle.

Dailey Method study: 60 percent of women say their exercise motivation is improved mental health and less stress vs. 20 percent motivated by the pursuit of a bikini-ready body.

Thursday $1 oysters at the Bedford.

Mother’s day?

Anti-aging dreams come true.

City Winery “meowlers.” 750,000 people expected to line Halsted and Broadway for the June 29 Pride Parade.

Nicky’s Week fundraiser at RA Sushi, May 25-31

Alicia and Olivia flats, Bloomingdale’s.

The farmers markets are open. It’s time to juice.

Dim sum red bean sesame balls at Koi. 22

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Photo by Shelby Kroeger

SheTraveler

Lisa Lubin is a girl in the world.

She and her boyfriend split. Her cat died. Instead of tearing into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and cozying up for a pity party, the Emmy Award-winning, carpe-diem-embracing Lisa Lubin quit her TV-producer job, sold her stuff, and left for a year-long, round-the-world adventure. Seven years and 50-plus countries later, Lisa has served cappuccino in Melbourne, did PR in Madrid, cat-sat in Istanbul and turned her wanderlust into a robust career: writing, speaking, consulting, blogging and producing videos. Home base is both Chicago and New Jersey, but Lisa travels nearly every month. She has streamlined costs by renting her place when she’s away, riding a bike everywhere and cooking at home.“I used to put travel second,” she says. “It’s so easy and sad to live by what we ‘should’ be doing.This kind of adventure seems expensive, scary or impossible. It’s absolutely possible, and doable!” For inspiration, check out Lisa’s website: LLworldtour.com.

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Photo by Heath Sharp

SheTraveler

Nan Giordano leaps artistic boundaries—and the globe.

Artistic Director of Giordano Dance Chicago since 1993, Nan Giordano’s leadership in her late father’s company puts the company at the forefront of contemporary jazz dance. It also gives Nan the opportunity to crisscross oceans—on tour, as well as in her roles as artistic director of Jazz Dance World Congress and guest-teacher of the world-renowned Giordano Technique. She has heard everything from restrained applause in Osaka, Japan, to screaming “bravos” in Guatemala.Vivid travel memories include visiting a casino with her father in Baden-Baden, Germany: “A very James Bond-like experience,” Nan says. “Men had to wear suits and ties, not like Las Vegas.” And she once watched her own son walk on his knees alongside a mass of Costa Ricans at a church during a holiday celebration. “It has me really embracing just how rich my life is and how lucky it is that I’ve been able to travel.”

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localloves Funny Times Female comedians join forces for the 3rd Annual Chicago Women’s Funny Festival. Production costs are covered, so comedians can focus on perfecting their performances. We’re talking more than 70 shows, 100 groups and 400 performers doing stand-up, sketch, improv, burlesque, musical-comedy, solo shows, one acts. Whatever strikes your funny bone, you’ll find it here. June 5-8. Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, chicagowomensfunnyfestival.com.

Gab and Give Doing good just got a lot more fun. Join socially con-

Makeup Makeover Is your beauty bag of tricks begging for overhaul? Working her magic,

scious Chicago-area professionals for Stimulus Social

Crizen Hasegawa, a favorite theknot.com bridal primp-er, invites girl

Club’s monthly events at hip venues throughout the

groups to her studio where she examines their stash, determines what’s

city. Ten bucks gets you a drink, hors d’ oeuvres, and

useful and what’s missing. “I then teach them how to properly apply their

time to mingle and network. All proceeds—more than $235,000 so far—go to a rotating roster of Chicago-

makeup on one half of their face and have them do the other half”

based charities. First Wednesday of the month,

Crizen says. She ensures you’re doing it right before you leave. Tada!

stimulussocialclub.org.

crizenhasegawa.com

Local Loser, Big Gains “The Biggest Loser” season 14 champ Danni Allen shed 121 pounds to win $250,000—and a new life. The Chicago-area resident now inspires audiences across the country, talking to businesses and organizations about goal-setting, healthy lifestyles and self-esteem. Oh, yeah, and she’s training for a triathlon and marathon, and recently yoga studio with CNBC’s Marcus Lemonis. one2onelifestyle.com

skirt!magazine

Photo by Joe Dickie

opened Evanston’s One 2 One

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2-4

Snag 1893 World’s Fair street lights, Louis Sullivan decorative ironwork and other rescued treasures at Architectural Artifacts 2nd annual auction. 4325 N. Ravenswood Ave.

16, 17

10.

Mom deserves desserts and an elegant-casual high teathemed truffle making party at Katherine Anne Confections. 11 am. $60 advance reservations. katherine-anne.com

Get in your good-deed hours when WBEZ and Chicago Cares host two Days of Service; projects include painting public schools and beautifying women’s shelters. wbez.org/events

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HotChocolate pastry queen Mindy Segal treats 30 lucky diners to a pop-up brunch experience at Ampersand, in Kinmont. 410 W. Superior St., ampersandpopup.com

The Driehaus Museum makes Mother’s Day one for the history books, with special tea service amid its magnificent ballroom, and free tours. driehausmuseum.org

Cellular Field turns Vegas for the Rockin’ for Rescue fundraiser, benefitting Trio Animal Foundation and featuring gambling, dancing, raffle, open bar and dinner. trioanimalfoundation.org

15. 23.

CH Spirits get poured with panache by Blackbird’s Kyle Davidson who guest-bartends at CH Distillery for one night only.

Sip craft brews at the Garfield Park Conservatory’s Beer Under Glass event. Accompanying bites too. garfield-conservatory.org

Jump on the first day of super savings during Memorial Day weekend at Chicago Premium Outlets. premiumoutlets.com/chicago

16. 26.

Outfit your outdoor space with beautiful furnishings at bargain prices at the Merchandise Mart sample sale. Floors 15, 16. 800.677.6278, merchandisemartdesigncenter. com

Live glass-blowing demos and DJ Moose highlight this year’s AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s 30th anniversary fundraising event at Ignite Glass Studios. Tix $185. aidschicago.org

Hot rods, muscle cars, classic cars and motorcycles park it at Westfield Old Orchard’s Monday Night Car Shows. Free. 5-9 pm.

”ADVENTURE IS WORTHWHILE IN ITSELF.” Amelia Earhart

june

20-29

13.

Interfaith House, which provides resources to help ill and injured homeless adults, hosts its gala benefit at The Montgomery Club. 500 W. Superior St., 773.533.6013

Today kicks off the annual Chicago Blues Festival at Grant Park. If you’ve never been, you should go. Bring a blanket, but no booze. Free.

The Flying Steps dance crew blends classical and street cultures during “Red Bull Flying Bach.” Civic Opera House. flying-steps.de/en/b-boy-crew

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2014

Lincoln Park Zoo turns it over to the grown-ups for an after-hours, 21-plus event. Food, beer and wine for purchase. $15. 6:30-10 pm. lpzoo.org

Space519 pours some champagne and shows off antiaging powerhouse Verso at its first beauty series event. 2-6 pm. 900 N. Michigan Ave., 312.751.1519

Fashion-up Fido for the Guinness World Record attempt at “The Most Dogs in Costumed Attire” during Run for Their Lives, benefitting PAWS Chicago. pawschicago.org

14. 23.

Show the planet some love at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s World Environment Day, featuring a climate-change chat led by Tom Skilling. 11 am-4 pm. chicagobotanic.org

Own a daycare or thinking of opening one? Get pro advice at the Women’s Business Development Center’s Early Childhood Education Entrepreneurship Expo at UIC Forum. wbdc.org.

Didn’t get Hall & Oates tix at Ravinia? Class things up with a concert of the Juilliard String Quartet. ravinia.org

12.

17. 26.

Flower child takes on haute-couture meaning at Fleurotica, a flora-themed fashion show benefiting the educational programming of the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance. 300 N. Central Park Ave.

Before you hit the road home, pop in for a free Rush Hour Concert at St. James Cathedral in River North. 5:45; 5:15 reception. 65 E. Huron St.

Hum along to movie soundtracks as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs scores from “The Godfather,” “Mary Poppins” and more at The Morton Arboretum. cso.org

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may/junew2014

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2014

may/june

takesix RUN/WALK

WELL SAID

Proud to Run

Montrose Harbor C4 stands for Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, helping low-income people recover from mental illness, substance use and emotional trauma. c4chicago.org

june

may

WHERE WE WILL BE Exercising OUR HEARTS THIS MONTH

C4 Miles Run/Walk

Montrose Ave. at Simonds Dr. Part of Gay and Lesbian Pride Week, this run/ walk celebrates LGBT and benefits About Face Theatre, The Night Ministry, and Test Positive Awareness Network. proudtorun.org

Happiness is

something that comes into our lives. through doors we don’t even remember leaving open. Rose Lane

A-ha

Tip:

Spray your hair with vitamin C spray after you swim to neutralize the chlorine.

T H O R O U G H LY R I N S E AN D W E T

your hair

BEFORE SWIMMING IN A POOL. damp hair soaks up fewer chemicals than dry hair.

JUST IN

Q &A

THE ANSWER TO:

“Where good taste meets good health.”

“How can I make my own Vitamin C spray?” If you’re coated in chlorine from the pool, track down cheap vitamin C crystals at Whole Foods or a health and wellness store. Dissolve 1 teaspoon in a spray bottle with 2 cups of water. Spritz all over your hair and skin and toss in a little self-massage. Rinse. 30 may/junew2014 skirt!magazine

TRY IT

Stay fit with healthy feasts and get

Are my flip flops faulty? Answer:They could be harmful to your hoof health. The thong between your toes causes them to grip the shoe and could cause tendinitis or blisters, while lack of cushion could lead to stress fractures. The structure alters your walking style, which can create ankle, knee, hip and back pain and problems. If breaking up with your flip flops is not an option, at least replace them every three to four months, and only wear them for short periods of time.

tips on how to make weekly dinner plans, ease snack attacks and fill up on the best breakfasts. Research quick recipes, brush up on nutrition facts and even whip up light dessert delights. eatingwell.com

2014

may/june

Photo by Shelby Kroeger

SheTraveler

Maureen Leahy and Lisa Faust and their great esc-APE!

You never forget your first 400-pound gorilla, especially when it’s sweeping past you in a jungle.That’s what happened when Lincoln Park Zoo’s Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy and Vice President of Conservation and Science Lisa Faust visited a remote forest in the Republic of Congo. So remote that only some 15 Westerners ever have been. Lincoln Park Zoo’s in-field team investigates ape behaviors, skills (impressive toolmakers!) and the impact of logging. Maureen oversees primate care at the zoo, and this marked her first gorilla encounter in the wild. “Life-changing, to be sure—the gorilla, and also the astounding plant and animal diversity.” The experience reenergized Maureen’s and Lisa’s commitment to making changes. “This vast forest makes you feel insignificant,” Lisa says. “But I was reminded that human actions are profoundly important… We have to make conscientious choices like selecting FSC-certified wood and sustainable palm oil products to protect these forests.” To help visit lpzoo.org/goualougo.

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may/junew2014 31

Surely, they’ll let me in.

Lady in Red

M . Te r r y B o w m a n

ay two of our trip to Rome and my travel companion, Anne, and I walked for hours in the blazing heat, stopping at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. We had decided at the last minute to go to Vatican City. After we stood queued for over an hour, I noticed several signs outside the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica. Each sign displayed the

massive circular colonnade, an architectural form wrapping arms around its thousands of visitors—but not adequate coverage for someone in a sleeveless dress. Too tired and cranky to set off and expose my sinful shoulders to the August sun, I squinted and scanned beyond the colonnade and outside the piazza to see if I could spot a merchant who sold scarves or shawls. My gaze shifted to the people who passed directly in front of me as they exited the Vatican. A woman in blue jeans and a long-sleeved pullover pushed a stroller while holding a baby over her right shoulder. I noticed a white cloth diaper draped over it. She probably has another one in her baby bag…I could use it to cover my shoulders. I wonder if it would be big enough? What would be an acceptable offer for a cloth diaper? I was one part embarrassed and two parts impressed with my problem-solving skills. same message about appropriate and inapBriefly entertaining the idea of wearing a propriate attire in order to visit. A quick ascloth diaper as a shawl led to thinking about sessment of my appearance revealed a red, other large, whitish articles of clothing. And sleeveless, V-neck, below the knee dress. then, by the grace of God, I came up with an Sexy attire for flirting with Italian men, but “Although I had been even better option. a clothing cardinal sin as far as the Vatican raised Christian, I no Confident that no one would notice, I was concerned. longer identified as discreetly bent over, reached under the backBack in Northampton, England, before such; rather, I considside of my red dress with both hands, and my trip, my colleague Sara had told me a ered myself spiritual. slowly pulled my slip towards my knees. story about how she had been denied access But I still believed in With one final glance around, I quickly to the Vatican because her upper arms were the power of prayer. ” yanked it toward the cobblestones, stepped bare. I was about to enter what some conout of it, and held it in my right hand by sider the greatest church in Christianity and my side. Out of the half-dozen slips in my remembered Sara’s story when I was close to wardrobe, thankfully, for this trip I had not the entrance of St. Peter’s. I wished I thought packed my favorite navy blue one that sits of this before we stood in line. A man wearabove the knee and has a sensuous off-cening jeans and an AC/DC T-shirt that read ter split heavily trimmed in an intricate lace “Highway to Hell” would be granted access over me because his shoulders would pattern. Instead, I had packed one that perfectly matched the length of my red be covered. dress. Virginal white, the shiny nylon slip was trimmed with a narrow strip of Although I had been raised Christian, I no longer identified as such; rather, I simple lace. A rumpled, faded tag protruded from the inside. considered myself spiritual. But I still believed in the power of prayer. Each step With both hands I stretched the waistband several times as far as it could go I took closer to the entrance was accompanied by requests to God to allow my to ascertain its potential to cover my upper arms. After a few quality control tests, admission. Self-talk tinged with guilt, rationalization, and magical thinking pepI determined it would suffice to meet Vatican entrance requirements. Like turning pered my mind, too. Surely, they’ll let me in. water into wine and with God, Jesus, and the apostles as my witnesses, I held the A young chiseled-chin security guard scrutinized the crowd of people in line, slip in front of me with both hands at opposite sides of the waistband, swung it and then spotted me. My posture straightened, I flashed him a smile, and planned over my shoulders, and drew my fisted hands together towards my cleavage. The to apologize when I was closer to him for my lack of discretion. I was eager to slip draped behind me as if I were a wannabe superhero who had put her cape in enter the basilica. With furrowed brow, he pointed to the same sign that I had the dryer for too long. My sweaty hands fiddled, tugged, and adjusted the material looked over just minutes before and pretended not to see. Then he curtly waved to cover my shoulders. When I stood still and held the slip in place with clutched his hand towards me in a dismissive manner and pointed to the sign again. My hands near my heart, my body language looked pious. I was ready for St. Peter’s. goals to see Michelangelo’s Pietà and the Sistine Chapel were temporarily put on I found Anne, who at this point was about a dozen people deep from the front, hold. “Why don’t you go ahead,” I said to Anne. “I’ll find something to cover my and joined her in line. She looked me over and initially frowned at my new shawl, shoulders and I’ll catch up with you.” then her eyes opened wide and her mouth formed a slight devilish smile. The pace Momentarily defeated, I dragged my sweaty, dehydrated, and hungry self to a in the queue picked up. The volume of different languages from visitors coupled shaded area near the entrance. With nowhere to sit I leaned my back against the with the Italian spoken by the security guards increased. The souls ahead of me prowall. To my right, statues of Jesus Christ and the apostles stood on top of the baceeded to enter St. Peter’s. A part of me felt I had done something wrong and that silica. For hundreds of years they have witnessed throngs of people from around perhaps my plan wouldn’t be successful. God, please forgive me. The same security the world—many pilgrims, others sightseers. To my left and much farther in the guard who had refused my entry earlier looked at me, lifted his hand, and waved distance was an obelisk perfectly centered in the piazza. It was surrounded by a me forward. Hallelujah. M. Terry Bowman is a writer, occupational therapist, and photographer based in San Francisco, CA. She is the author of Thanks for the Mammary, her first poetry collection. She can always be found at mterrybowman.com. 32 may/junew2014 skirt!magazine

Surely, they’ll let me in.

Lady in Red

M . Te r r y B o w m a n

may june

Creative Innovative

Passionate Fiercely independent Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;isha Bauer

President, Esutras Organics esutras.com

Welcoming

5 Favorite Things:

1. the warmth of sunshine 2. Dreaming new dreams 3. Laughing 4. Food, wine, CONVERSATION 5. Art

Photo by Shelby Kroeger

Love your self, love all life, love all beauty, love all truth. Do this always and you will want for nothing.

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