JUMPING INTO NEW ENDEAVORS IS NOTHING NEW FOR FORMER FILM INDUSTRY AD EXECUTIVE MARY HESS, WHO CREDITS HER ABILITY TO FACE HER FEARS HEAD-ON FROM HER LEAP OFF THE HIGH DIVE AT AGE 4. WHEN HER YOUNGEST CHILD GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL LAST YEAR, HESS FELT LIKE SHE FINALLY HAD THE TIME AND BANDWIDTH TO CHANNEL HER ENERGY INTO SOMETHING NEW. SHE ENROLLED IN AN ONLINE BUSINESS SCHOOL PROGRAM AND DECIDED TO OPEN AN ECLECTIC EVENT FURNISHINGS RENTAL COMPANY, TREND EVENT RENTALS, BASED IN LAKE FOREST. HESS TOOK A BREAK FROM CURATING THE PIECES THAT BUILD THE PERFECT VIBE FOR HER CLIENTS TO SHARE HER SHORE AND CITY FAVORITES WITH SHERIDAN ROAD. LET’S PARTY!

What’s on the horizon? Fun meetings and lots of planning for upcoming holiday parties and events  Mantra?  Love God. Love others Best grooming tip? Beauty Counter’s oil-based cleanser Guilty pleasure? Barnaby’s pizza and Jeni’s Splendid ice cream Favorite foods? Almond Butter and apples Music you love? Jackson Browne, Freddy Jones Band, Bruce Springsteen Best advice ever given to you? Whenever I stumbled in life, my Dad always said, “We’re not looking backward, we’re looking forward” Best advice you’ve given? Be kind. Work hard Earliest memory? My kitchen in the home I grew up in … it was our family’s haven for some of the best laughs and best times I can remember When you wake up, you? Make a hot cup of water with a squeeze of lemon juice, listen to my daily devotional, and write in my gratitude journal Before bed, you? Drink a cup of hot chamomile tea and take magnesium What’s on your bookshelf? A Gentleman in Moscow, Radical Longevity, and The One Year Bible You can’t live without? My family and friends Love to escape to? Mexico Advice you would give to your younger self? Listen to David Foster Wallace’s This Is Water commencement speech

ON THE SHORE

Your style is? Casual—jeans and a sweater Can’t leave the house without? My Priority Planner (by Rachel Hollis) Transportation? My well-loved, well-driven GMC Acadia Driving music? The Bridge or podcasts Place to eat? Spirit Elephant, Abigail’s, or Sophia Steak Shop? Any farmers market on the North Shore Best thing about the Shore? The people Worst thing about the Shore? Nada The perfect day is? An early morning walk at Fort Sheridan followed by a visit to Starbucks for a green iced tea, lunch with friends, an easy dinner on the grill with my family, reading a good book, and hitting the hay (my friends make fun of me but I’m an early-to-bed kind of gal)

IN THE CITY

Your style is? Jeans and a black top or sweater with heels Can’t leave the house without? Reading material Transportation? Train or Uber Driving music? Whatever’s playing—I love all kinds of music Place to eat? Brunch at Kitsch’n On Roscoe and dinner at Formento’s or The Bristol Shop? Genevieve Boutique in Lincoln Square Best thing about the City? Driving down Lake Shore Drive, it is very nostalgic and still makes my heart skip a beat Worst thing about the City? Nada The perfect day is? Annual Christmas shopping trip with my daughter (up and down Michigan Avenue) and going to The Peninsula for tea