Local food swaps have become a thing. What are they? Well, they’re all a little different but the basic idea is that a bunch of people from one community come together to trade homegrown or homemade items. After everyone arrives, time is spent walking around, checking out what everyone brought (and sometimes sampling), and then when it’s time to swap there’s a negotiating frenzy. Typically everyone goes home with a bag (or box) full of goodies, extremely happy about trying some new things. My friends Emily Paster and Vanessa Druckman created the Chicago Food Swap a few years ago; the first one was held in December 2011. I was able…
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Getting Musical With the Netflix #StreamTeam
I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and will be happily sharing monthly tips and stories about how my family uses Netflix on a regular basis. (Okay, that’s an understatement. I should say CONSTANTLY. We use Netflix CONSTANTLY.) This post is sponsored by Netflix, of course! It probably wouldn’t surprise anyone, knowing how much I love almost every genre of music, that I adore Broadway musicals. Stage shows have had a special place in my heart ever since I was a kid, and if I could go to one musical every week for the rest of my life I’d be thrilled. That’s why, when we were watching the Tonys…
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Picture Perfect Memory
Recently I saw a meme floating around Facebook that said something along the lines of “I’m so old, I remember days when I didn’t take one picture”. I laughed, because I am that old, and then I stopped laughing and thought, “Huh, wow.” That meme was a think piece. There really was a time when we didn’t take pictures of everything, every day. When we weren’t all that concerned with remembering each moment. When only professional photographers knew anything about filters. When we–ack!–didn’t even have cell phones. Developing photos taken with traditional cameras, the ones that don’t allow you to talk or text with others or surf the web, is…
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#MemorialDaySuperSale at Gurnee Mills: Don’t Miss It!
Jim and I moved back to the Chicagoland area from Norfolk, Virginia in the summer of 1991, just a couple of months before an amazing new mall opened for business. Gurnee Mills was its name, and we were so excited about it. The two shopping centers closest to our house were sorely lacking in many areas and the possibilities this new thing had in store were thrilling to think about. Our home in Kenosha, Wisconsin was only about twenty minutes away from Gurnee so we made frequent visits to the mall. When D was a toddler, we went to Gurnee Mills on Halloween for trick-or-treating. There were always things going…
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Hello Summer and New Netflix Releases! #StreamTeam
I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and will be happily sharing monthly tips and stories about how my family uses Netflix on a regular basis. (Okay, that’s an understatement. I should say CONSTANTLY. We use Netflix CONSTANTLY.) This post is sponsored by Netflix, of course! Lots of stuff is going on right now: it’s the end of the school year, which may or may not include a kid or two (or three) graduating or being promoted to the next level of education. Monday is Memorial Day, which means you may have plans to honor those who have made the greatest sacrifice while defending our country and plans to…