Lisa Got Engaged!

Exciting news!! My former summer assistant, Lisa, got engaged a few weeks ago in New York. She kept it a surprise until I saw her over the weekend, and then flashed her ring in my face with a big grin. She and her fiancee, Johnny, plan to get married next winter and then she will join him in the Czech Republic where he is a teacher.

Congrats, Lisa!

Remember When We Used to Get Invited to Dinner Parties?

It's official. The type of invitations we receive for parties has changed. I remember the days when people would invite us to dinner parties, cocktail parties, housewarming parties, and end-of-the-work-week parties. We have now entered the realm of the next generation...kid's birthday parties! And I've gotta tell you, we actually see more of our friends at this type of party so I'm not complaining, but when did life move along so quickly? How do we have close friends with children who are five?

We spent Saturday at two such rockin' birthday parties--one for Sophia Steinke (#2) and one for Mackenzie Kron (#5). It was the day of the little girl, complete with a Barbie Cake, a princess castle, a Strawberry shortcake pinata, a balloon toss, and plenty of food to go around. Needless to say, these kids had fun, and so did we as we played alongside them.

So today I am back in the world of adults...going to work, meeting with clients, and drinking lots of coffee. Somehow it's not as much fun as being a kid, so keep those party invitations coming.

Chef-ly News

There is a lot of chef-ly news coming out of Chicago today. The first bit is exciting...our favorite television show, Top Chef, will be holding an open casting call this Sunday in the city! Hmmm...I wonder if Tom Colicchio will be there. Maybe Joe and I should pretend to be chefs so we can get the scoop on the show. Nah, the best thing would be if one of our talented chef friends like Larisa or Pam auditioned. Then we'd get the REAL scoop!

The second piece of chef-ly news is explained in an article that ran in the Chicago Tribune today. Grant Achatz, the lauded chef of one of the world's top restaurants, Alinea, was recently diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. It's poetic irony for a chef to lose the tool that allows him to create. But I like Achatz' quote in the article. "I'm not dwelling on the possibility that I'll never be able to taste again," Achatz said. "Beethoven composed one of his greatest symphonies when he was deaf." Beautifully said. I pray for him a full recovery. I have had a chance to eat at Alinea twice and he is, indeed, a master at what he does.

I Want to be an American Girl...

"I love your sparkle, your spirit, you cute sense of style...I want to be an American Girl..."

So, guess where I spent Saturday morning? If you guessed the American Girl store on Michigan Avenue, you would be right! And how clever of the marketers at American Girl to create such a catchy little tune that stays in your mind--and more importantly the minds of young girls who want dolls, dolls, and more dolls--for days on head. It's actually worse than that Suzanne Vega song that goes, "doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo." But my niece, Breann, who came to visit us for the weekend with my sis Melissa, absolutely loved it! And now she and her doll Crystal Ashley have formed a close bond that should last at least through the plane ride back to SLC. Oh, to be six again...

We had a fabulous weekend visiting with the girls and the weather was, yet again, glorious! The only low point was our lunch at Joy Yees, shortly after their arrival on Friday, when I somehow managed to squirt Sarancha sauce in my eye. I thought my eye was bleeding out, but then Melissa reminded me that Sarancha sauce is also red. So, after that little incident, we carried on with some shopping at the Nordstrom Annual Fall Sale and Sephora before meeting "Unca Joe" for some Mexican Food. Hmmm...eating...shopping...are these people in my family or what? My sister's primary request for the weekend was "to eat a lot of good food."

Saturday was deemed a success from the start when Melissa walked into the newsstand by our house and bought a copy of Harry Potter at 9 a.m. (by the way, it it just me, or is it absolutely freaky to observe how many people are lugging that book around? Street corners, cafes, bus stops...everyone is reading that book). We all jumped on the El and headed for downtown--so fun since Breann had never been on a train and ours was filled with die-hard Cubs fans headed for the game. After alighting the train in Chicago we headed straight for American Girl to choose the "look alike doll" for Bree. It was great fun for her, but yikes! Dolls are kind of freaky and I certainly wouldn't want a doll in my likeness staring at me all night. But that's just me. The 10 million little girls crammed into the American Girl store all looked perfectly content (mania!) as they lugged their dolls around.

The best part of the day for the adults was the 75-minute architectural tour on the Sea Dog speed boat, which left from Navy Pier and cruised along the Chicago River before heading for the open lake where we picked up some velocity and bobbed along to Bon Jovi songs. Our tour guide, Chris, was hysterical--we think he must do stand-up comedy--and we definitely got our money's worth in entertainment value alone.

The rest of the weekend went something like this--dinner, movie, church, lunch, beach, dinner. But so much more fun than I have explained. Sadly, we said goodbye to Melissa and Breann this morning at the airport since they had to go back to Daddy and Baby Sarah, but we'll always remember Breann's words..."Uncle Joe, I like your sparkle and your spirit!"

In the ATL

Larisa and L at Ecco

Skater Art Show

Gwen, Larisa, and L at Globe

Gwen, Terrell, and Larisa at Ecco

Julie and L--college roommates from California!

What a week! I can barely believe it was last Friday that I touched down in Atlanta for some time with friends under the guise of a "business trip." What I mean is that the business part was interesting and didn't really feel that much like work, so everything really did seem like fun.

Last Friday, before I left for Georgia, Joe and I had the opportunity to have lunch with my colleague from Atlanta, Rob, and his wife, Rachel. We exchanged cities for the weekend as they were in Chicago for a wedding, but Rob and I were able to connect back in Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday for our business meetings with several publishers. We enjoyed showing them our little slice of urban summer paradise, walking through the neighborhood and pointing out the proximity of the lake and our favorite coffee shop, Brothers K. A few hours later I hopped on a flight to the South and was greeted by my friends Larisa and Jerry, who promptly handed me a large cup of Chick-fil-A unsweet tea with extra lemon. Ahhhh...it's so nice to be known.

I stayed with Larisa and Jerry (who are roommates, lest you get the idea they are married...hee! hee!) for the duration of my visit because, really, where else would I stay then with people who have already lived with me and share a common love of sleeping in when possible, watching re-runs of Law & Order, sitting in the living room in silence while individually typing on our laptops, eating lots of good food, drinking very good coffee, and generally laughing at everything. So you can see that we had some fun.

Highlights of my trip included...

Going to hear a garage band that my friend's friend's husband played in (the Mighty Pontoons?) and watching 45 year-old band members act like 20-year-old rock stars.

Partaking of afternoon pastries and cappucinos at a fab new bakery called Chocolate Pink Cafe. It was so good that we bought cupcakes to go...

And speaking of cupcakes, I also enjoyed seeing Larisa's new tatoos on both sides of her neck--one of a chef's knife and one of a cupcake.

Attending an art showing at Octane Coffee to view "skater art" created by two 17-year-olds. Fashion has really come full circle since the 80s--they were wearing Ocean Pacific shirts and had mullets. Am I that old?

Visiting with my college roommate and dear friend, Julie. She has an amazing story. She has six kids and next month is marrying a man who also has six kids. God has really blessed her and I love to see what He is doing in her life!

Eating many scrumptious meals with friends and my "Georgia family," the Slaughters. Those meals included yummy pancetta pizza with Jerry & Clanton at Fritti; Southern yumminess at the Colonnade with Larisa, Mom Lena, Lynne & Randy, and the boys; great Thai food with a cool vibe at Spoon; a wine tasting at the Globe restaurant with Gwennie and L; and one of the best meals I have had in a looooong time with G, L, and Terrell at Ecco. Next time you are in Atlanta, be sure to try their chili mussels, braised pork with homemade pasta, and lavender lemonade. It's too good to be true!

Between all the eating, activity, and several meetings, there was also time for good, meaningful, catching-up-with-your-friends conversation. And that's what's it's all about, so yeah, it was a good trip.

It was interesting to be in the place where I lived for more than five years. This was the first time since moving that I have visited and actually felt like I was a visitor, not a displaced former resident. I think that's actually a good thing since it means that Chicago is becoming more my home in this season of life. Hmmm...perhaps that means I am experiencing growth? Maybe, but I'll never get tired of being a visitor to the South, that's for sure.

Happy 4th of July!

Joe and I had a fabulous 4th. We biked around town, hoping for brunch at Walker Bros., but their air conditioning didn't seem to be working, so we ended up on Central Street in the middle of the parade route. We ducked into a restaurant called Blue Stone and ran into our friends, Lawrence and Jena, just sitting down to lunch, so we joined them. It worked out really well since we were able to sit at our lovely air conditioned table and watch the parade "floats" go by (E-Town is a small town, so the biggest float was a bunch of kids sitting on the back of a flat bed truck).

My favorite part of the parade were the "anti foie gras" marchers. They held up signs with baby pigs (don't these people know where foie gras comes from??) and sentiments about the indignity of this food. Personally, I think it's yummy, so it's a good thing I don't live in Chicago where it is banned!

Krappy's with the Krons

Tonight we laughed so hard we almost cried. The reason being that we went out to dinner with some of our favorite friends, The Krons, and they always make us laugh. Judy, Justin, and their barrel of monkeys--Mackenzie, Josh, and Madeline--know how to light up a room! We met at our new favorite dinner spot called Kappy's. In between bites of food and receiving three glasses of juice, none of which were the flavor we initially ordered (free juice for everyone!), we fell down laughing at two-year-old Josh running up to a stranger's baby at a neighboring table and pulling her nose while mumbling, "I like baby. I like baby," with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Maybe you had to be there?

Justin is off to Israel on Sunday to lead his Experience Israel tour, but I'm sure he has plenty of humorous kiddie stories stored in his memory bank to last him the couple of weeks he is away!

See You Soon, Pattersons...

On Sunday we went to a "see you later" cookout for our friends, Tawnya and Jason, at Foster Street Beach. We had a great time visiting with friends we hadn't seen in a while, and hearing more about the Patterson's plans for their transition to Indiana. We can't wait to visit them at their house in the corn field sometime in the coming months!

Biking to the Botanic Gardens

This past weekend was the most beautiful Chicago weekend I can remember. The sky was stunningly blue, the grass was technicolor green, and the weather was in the high 70s with a cool breeze off the lake serving as a massive outdoor air conditioner keeping everything cool. What could be better on such a weekend than biking to the Botanic Gardens? Well, Joe said that, not me, but I'm happy to say I went along with his plan.

After some much-needed coffee, Joe and I drove a couple of miles from our home to what we would call a "trailhead" in Denver to park our car and unload our bikes. Despite the flying cicadas, the ride from Wilmette to the Botanic Gardens near Highland Park was simply stunning. The path wasn't heavily traveled on Saturday at noon, so we rode the six miles leisurely, enjoying the wooded trail and views of the Skokie Lagoons. Upon arrival at the gardens, we enjoyed lunch on the patio before walking the grounds and stumbling upon an outdoor cooking demonstration by the chef at Atwater Cafe. We learned how to make lemon scones and raspberry jam, all the while watching the demo in small outdoor amphitheater. Yummy and fun!

We also had the opportunity to take a peek at a few weddings at the gardens and saw no fewer than four bridal parties taking photos and celebrating. Who doesn't love a June bride?

The bike ride home from the Botanic Gardens was a bit more eventful when the basket fell off my bike and we had to McGyver it to the frame with a camera strap (yes, I'm happy to say that my Girl Scout skills came in handy on the trail...I am SO outdoorsy...). It took us a little more than an hour to complete the six mile ride, but hey, I'm a girl with a basket on her bike, not Lance Armstrong.