• Fun in Chicago,  Jim Has Mad Skillz,  Music

    Pretty Happy About The Blues

    If you’ve read this blog for any length of time at all, you already know that I’m pretty crazy about my husband. We’ve been married for nearly 28 years (back then it was legal for four-year-olds to marry, ba dum bum!) and we’re still making people sick with our hand-holding and happy togetherness. I often wonder how I got so lucky, but then I correct myself and think about how luck probably had just a little bit to do with it. Good relationships are hard work, and we really do work on our marriage a lot. Whenever I butt in on a conversation about marriages or relationships in person or…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Favorite Things,  Fun in Chicago,  Travels

    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…

  • Family Fun,  Favorite Things,  Fun in Chicago

    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…

  • Favorite Things

    #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…