Yesterday I wrote about my love of taking pictures of Chicago buildings. Apparently I adore capturing lots of things that don’t move because another favorite photo walk for me is one through a good farmer’s market. I think farmer’s markets are beautiful. The way that the vendors deliberately display their goods so the people walking through can hardly resist is a real art form. They work so hard on it and I feel terrible passing through only taking pictures. In fact, these days I usually avoid farmer’s markets unless I have cash on me to make small purchases as I go, to make up for the fact that I’m walking…
-
-
Epic Road Trip: Check!
I just drove in from New Jersey and boy, are my arms tired! Ba dum bump! Wait, that’s wrong. That’s an airplane joke. My arms aren’t tired at all because I didn’t fly to New Jersey. Also, I’m not a bird. Maybe I’m breaking that down a little more than necessary. Maybe you’re clicking awaaaay….WAIT! Over the past few years, my fondness for road trips has grown immensely. There’s something about being totally in control of where I’m going, when and why I’m stopping, and all kinds of other things. When I was planning my third annual fall visit to see my sistuh-from-anuthuh-muthuh and the rest of her (our!) family,…
-
Walking In Memphis
I’m in Memphis for a few days while D is attending a design conference. While I did my normal level of research on activities and places to eat ahead of time, I didn’t plan everything out by the hour like I typically do. I dumped everything into a list on my Wunderlist app and have been flying by the seat of my pants, truly. My favorite part of this trip, as usual, is the time I’m spending just walking around and taking photos. I’ve spent a lot of quality time on Beale Street. The neon signs are ridiculously fun. Love and happiness basically sums it up around here. I made…
-
Netflix #StreamTeam September: Help Yourself!
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! I’ll admit it: I’m slightly obsessed with “makeover my life/business/family/home” reality shows. I’ve watched many of them over the years, and while they vary widely in presentation, they’re all the same when you take them down to bare bones. On the nanny shows, usually the parents aren’t doing what they need to do to properly discipline their kids and that’s why they’re having…
-
Blue Man Group Questions and Answers? Got ‘Em!
Remember how, the last time I saw Blue Man Group Chicago (just a month ago!), I said that I won’t ever get sick of the show? TRUTH. In fact, I just went back last week. I KNOW!! Crazy, right? I was invited to come and see the show and stick around afterwards for a Q&A session with a band member and a Blue Man, and why the heck would I ever pass THAT up? Answer: I would not. Sidenote: Jim wondered how a Blue Man was going to answer questions, since Blue Men don’t talk. Huh. He’s always thinking. Disclosure: we received complimentary tickets to the show as a part…
-
Wet Hot American Summer: #StreamTeam Goes To Camp
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!Everyone’s headed back to school so I figured this would be a GREAT time to talk about summer camp, amirite??? Actually, I had intended to make this post coincide neatly with the July 31st release of “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” on Netflix, and I DID do the binge-watching in two days so I was ready…but somehow now it’s the third…
-
Homegrown Inspiration at Loews Chicago Hotel
As many of you know, my dad spent more than forty years in the hospitality industry, as a hotel manager. I loved being the daughter of a hotel manager for many reasons, and I know that spending so much time as a hotel kid contributed greatly to who I am today (someone not fond of camping, for one thing! *insert rim shot here*). I even blogged about my childhood hotel history, if you’re interested in reading it. The links are at the bottom of this post. Since I lived in hotels for months at a time when I was a kid, it’s understandable that I feel right at home in…
-
Blue Man Group Chicago: Now With Even MORE Awesome!
I’ve written about Blue Man Group Chicago a few times since I started this blog in 2007. That’s partly because it’s one of the local activities that has consistently remained in our family’s top five (or so) for the last I-don’t-know-how-many years. It’s partly because it’s just a freaking good show and I want everyone to know about it. Jim (who is seriously a BMG FANATIC) and I have seen it so many times we’ve lost count. We LOVE taking visitors to see Blue Man Group. In fact, when Jim and I were recently trying to figure out how he and his boss would entertain their co-workers who were visiting…
-
#StreamTeam Showdown: Tig vs. Tso
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! I have been looking forward to watching Tig Notaro’s documentary ever since I heard (back in June) that it was going to be released on Netflix. The problem was, it was available for streaming on July 17, which was smack-dab in the middle of the BlogHer conference two weeks ago. I was going to have to wait. It occurred to me yesterday afternoon…
- Amazing People, Best Thing Ever, Favorite Things, Food, Friends, Fun in Chicago, I've Got Mad Skillz, My Friends Have Mad Skillz, Skydeck Chicago, Travels
Life In The Fast Lane Surely Make You Lose Your Mind
It just hit me on Tuesday evening, right after I dropped Liz and her middle daughter off at the airport (how much I hate goodbyes could be a whole other post, ugh), how much I had done/accomplished/enjoyed in two weeks. It made me dizzy, and perhaps piled on more exhaustion, on top of my exhaustion. It also made me smile. The last two weeks of July just might have been the busiest two weeks of my entire life, but I’m not complaining. It was a blast. First there was the BlogHer conference in NYC. I went into it exhausted; the weeks leading up to conference weekend are crazed for our…