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9.21.2011

Update


Okay, so I know I haven't posted in ages, but it's only because I've been traveling so much I haven't had time. We've been apartment-hunting, job-hunting, and catching up with long-lost family out east during this first leg of our move back to Massachusetts. 

I promise, there are lots of travel stories and photos to come, but since we don't have an official home for the next two weeks, but a series of crash-pads across several different states, it will take a bit more time for me to get back on track blog-wise. 

Please hang in there!

Chicago top ten: Experiences (Part V)



Thanksgiving with Mom




I kept pestering my mother to change her travel plans for last Thanksgiving. She was all geared up to go to California, to visit her brother, her brother-in-law, and I don't even know who else. But I wanted her in Chicago. Well luck was on my side, and her west coast plans got derailed. So Chicago it was. 

She stayed for a whole week, which in my opinion was not long enough. It was great. I had just started a new job after two months of frantic job hunting, so I was feeling a bit more settled, while still looking forward to my first long-weekend holiday off of work. 


I let mom and Alex take on most of the cooking, as I was still, ahem, working on honing my skills. But I contributed by cleaning up the kitchen while they relaxed on the couch watching movies.



Cheers!
Check out that blustery November evening on the
other side of those windows! So much
cozier inside!

Frosty's sign says "Will work for freezer space."




In that week we covered all the important bases. We stayed up late chatting and drinking wine. We watched our favorite holiday movies, including Love, Actually, the ultimate Christmas chick flick. And we were generous enough to let Alex join in on the girlie fun. Lucky guy.  

We went out to brunch, went antiquing, caught a show. We ate a fancy dinner out, and or course, prepared the whopping, delicious dinner in for the big night, which took us about four nights to eat in total. It was wonderful. We got a small turkey since there were only three of us and made all kinds of delish side dishes, including the classics like creamy mashed potatoes, stuffing and squash. Alex contributed with his grandmother's corn casserole and green bean casserole recipes, and we stuffed our fat little faces until we couldn't eat another bite. Then we watched Stand By Me, which Alex had never seen. I tell you, it's a good thing he has me to show him the way, in all things movie-related. What's life without Lollipop?

I always love Thanksgiving. But this one made our new Chicago home feel so much homier. 


The House of Blues

This wasn't actually at the House of Blues. Actually, it started there, but wasn't supposed to.

My friend Paul, who I met during my semester in Buenos Aires and currently lives in Dublin, was in Chicago for a short visit. We had to get together, just had to. It had been nearly three years since our South American adventures! Time for a reunion!




He told us to meet him and his mates at the House of Blues downtown. So we went. We waited. We called. He said he was already there. We took a look around, but didn't see him. We waited some more.   We called some more. 

And then we discovered the mix-up. Paul was not actually at the House of Blues, but at Buddy Guy's Legends, a nightclub that could certainly qualify as a house of blues, though that isn't its actual name. Luckily, Legends wasn't too far away. Alex and I hopped in a cab and headed over. 

It was so nice to see him, and brought so many memories of my favorite foreign travel experience flooding back to me. So we drank some beers, listened to the legendary Buddy Guy perform at the legendary Legends, and went on our merry ways later that night. 

I didn't snap any photos that night, but here are a few from our travels:

Golf-carting quite illegally on a beach in Colonia, Uruguay.


Celebrating Paul's last night in BsAs at a favorite swanky restaurant.  
At the residencia where we lived. 
Another shot from our weekend in Uruguay.


Two of my best friends and I had a weeklong trip to Ireland all planned out for the Spring of 2010, and  plans to meet up with Paul during our visit, but a volcano grounded planes and screwed up international travel royally for about a week. So we grudgingly went to Miami instead. 


So of course I was psyched that I got the chance to see him again in the States. But next time, I am determined that it will be during my yet-unplanned follow-up visit to Ireland. 

9.08.2011

Chicago top ten: Experiences (Part IV)


Shopping at Whole Foods

Sometime last winter, Alex and I decided to watch Food, Inc. Big mistake. Or not so big mistake, in the end. But at first, it made me sick.  

I was so repulsed by everything in that film, from the inhumane treatment of animals to the inhumane treatment of humans to the poorly handled food products that I promised myself I'd change my own behavior, starting with the food I purchase. 

And I did. And this eating makeover brought me to Whole Foods. Alex and I started shopping there almost exclusively, choosing organic, free range, and fair trade items whenever possible. Let me tell you, if you haven't been to the Lincoln Park Whole Foods, you haven't lived. This is like the mecca of ethical shopping. The store is enormous, and on any given Saturday or Sunday you can find about a million free samples scattered about. Tortilla chips and fresh guac! Chunks of brie smeared with fruit preserves! Wine sampling stations!


It was heaven. We made it a weekly ritual, and though our grocery bill went sky-frickin-high when we started shopping at Whole Foods, we didn't care. We felt so much better about what we were eating, and it felt like a treat every week just to pull out our shopping list. Most shopping days started with a trip to the bar, beer for him, wine for me, before we took off, drinks-in-hand, to fill our cart. At the end of our spree, we'd head over to the restaurant section and spend forever agonizing over what to bring home for dinner. Deli? Diner? Taqueria? Pizzeria? Who could choose?

We usually went with the buffet-style prepared foods, like sweet potato chunks, roasted Brussels sprouts, beets for him (blech for me), cold quinoa or kale salads, or grilled veggies. Yum, yum, yum. 

We've gone a bit astray in the past month or so, as we try to pinch our pennies for impending unemployment. But we actually have some big plans for the coming months, which you'll hear about at a bit of a later date. Here's hoping that the Whole Foods in western Mass. is half as good as the one we fell in love with here. 

Some of our favorite Whole Foods booty:



Veggies and mushrooms and fruit, oh my!



Mixed greens with dried cranberries, slivered dry roasted almonds,  and feta.
Homemade balsamic vinaigrette on top.
 

Portobello veggie burgers on whole grain buns. Plus provolone!



First day at PAWS

Back last winter, back when I was trying to find productive ways to fill my cold, dull days while Alex was out of town, I decided to get involved with PAWS Chicago, a massive animal rescue and adoption effort in Chicagoland. The fact that PAWS is a no-kill shelter was the first selling point. The idea of walking other dogs to help keep me from missing my McKensie was the second. And the off-chance I'd show up one day to a batch of spankin-new puppies? I didn't even dare to dream it. 

And yet, it happened. My very first day on the "job."











Let me tell you about these little lovers. They were born to a momma named Valentine, and then rescued from a puppy farm somewhere in Missouri. I won't get into the vileness of puppy farms -- if you don't know, look them up for yourself. But the pups were little tiny angels. There must have been a dozen of them, and as soon as I entered their little room, they were all over me. They wanted attention and affection, and lots of it. They wanted to sleep in my arms, crawl in my lap, eat my sweatshirt strings. I don't know that I did much "volunteering" that day, besides wiping up a few puppy poops, but no one seemed to care. Those PAWS peeps were just happy to have someone to keep the little buggers occupied for a few hours. 

That day, I took turns playing with the puppies and walking some of the older dogs. The pups were still too young for outdoor strolls, but Valentine was psyched for a chance to stretch her legs. By the end of the day, when I got back from my last walk, there were only two puppies left. All the rest had been fostered out. I didn't mind too much. I was glad to see them find a home (and frankly, to see them find a home before I could rationalize bringing them all back to my home). 

That day was pure bliss for me. It made me think very seriously of trying to find a full-time job in an animal shelter or veterinary clinic. I still think about it, from time to time, though I know that I'd have a really hard time watching some of the tough stuff, like animals that have suffered abuse, or sick babes that have to be put down. Yikes. I'd lose it. 

In my months of volunteering, I never hit the puppy jackpot again. I did get to walk a few very young, cuddly pups, but none quite as new to the world as those little fuzzies. It was just perfect timing, and an overall perfect day.


9.06.2011

Chicago top ten: Experiences (Part III)



Christmas in Chicago

Okay, this one's a bit of a stretch. It's not so much a single experience as a big fat group of them.

I love Christmas. I still get that giddy feeling in my stomach during the holidays that I got when I was ten years old. Something about the abundance of holiday cheer, holiday music, holiday smells, and especially those special moments stuffing my face with mouthwatering hors d'oeuvres at holiday parties. Yum.

Anywho, last November, I landed this writing gig for Groupon, as you readers may well know from previous posts. It started out at a big ol' office building about a 10 minutes from my apartment. But two days after Thanksgiving break, we moved. Downtown. To a high-rise on Wacker Drive with it's head way up in the clouds. The view of Lake Michigan was spectacular, and way up there we could see the snowflakes practically before they fully formed. 

That meant a morning el commute, coupled with a walk from the nearest station to the new office home. Some folks chose to take advantage of the underground walkway that allegedly got you the whole way without braving the biting winter winds (I made a go of it several times. And ended up somewhere in Milwaukee. I'd like to have a word with the guy responsible for planning these underground mazes.)

But really, those wintry walks along decked-out Chicago sidewalks were heaven to me. The Macy's building twinkled with red, green and silver decor. Shimmery Christmas trees sparkled from the glass windows of an office vestibule. My earbuds stayed planted in my ears, providing a backdrop of classic Christmas tunes. The wind could be brutal, but I was in heaven. 

These pics are pretty lousy, but you get the idea. 
Love those sparkly lights.

The Music Box Theater for Taxi Driver


This event happened thanks to Groupon's "Now" deals. One lazy Saturday early this summer, I stumbled upon a twenty dollar deal for movie tickets, popcorn and soda for two. It was for a quaint looking little theater up north called The Music Box, the kind of place I always imagined myself owning someday. A theater that shows only those movies I love best, and serves cocktails to wash down your air-popped popcorn. 

I scurried over to the theater's website to discover a late screening of Taxi Driver scheduled for that night. Sold. 


You see, I had never seen Taxi Driver. And I'd heard many, many times that it's a film all film lovers should see. To be fair, I know there are lots of movies that fit into that category. But I adore Robert De Niro. And Martin Scorsese. It was high time I saw one of their great earlier collaborations. 

And let's not forget about Jodie.

Alex and I headed up there a little early, and made a beeline for the Dairy Queen we spotted on the way, to kill some time before the movie. Soft serve ice cream, a heaping bucket of movie theater popcorn and the chance to watch a film classic for the first time on the big screen? Spells perfection to me. 



9.02.2011

Chicago top ten: Experiences (Part II)


Billy Elliot





This was a little early Christmas gift from my dad. When mom's plans to head to California for Thanksgiving got derailed, she decided to come visit us in Chi-town instead. So dad sprung for three tickets to Billy Elliot at the Oriental Theater. That's where dad and I had gone to see Wicked when I first visited Chicago, and we were just blown away.

Dad made me promise to keep quiet about the ticket, so we only told my mom the night before the show. We surprised her over dinner at a little Italian restaurant, and the next night, we all got decked out and bundled up and hit the el heading downtown. At the theater, we toasted with champagne and then sat back to watch the show. I have to say, Billy Elliot wasn't nearly as impressive as Wicked, or some of my other favorites like Lion King and Phantom of the Opera. But I love to sit back and have some Broadway folk belt out songs and dance circles in front of me. So exciting.




All gussied up!




Monte's opening

So the whole Chicago thing came about when Alex's friend from college gave him a line on a job at the photography firm where he worked. Lucas was working as an assistant to the company president, and though Alex would make a good assistant to one of the photographers. When he got the job and we moved out here, Lucas let us crash in his guest room for a month while we found a place of our own. So for the first few weeks here, we had two roomies, Lucas and his then-boyfriend (now fiance!) Monte, a very talented artist. In fact, when we arrived, the guest room walls were covered in Monte's sculptures. But they moved out shortly thereafter, and moved into the studio space where Monte had a very successful opening a few days (weeks?) later.

This event sticks out in my mind because I feel like it marks the night when I stopped feeling like such an outsider and began to feel more comfortable in this new little crowd. I mean, Alex and Lucas knew each other from way back, Alex had met Monte when he went to Chicago for the job interview, and Monte and Lucas were a long-time couple. I was new in so many ways. Even my relationship with Alex still felt very young. Probably because it was still very young.

So the night of Monte's opening, I got to meet some of Alex's coworkers, some of Lucas' and Monte's friends, and I got to check out Monte's incredible artwork, all in a sweet studio setting. He ended up getting some great press for that show, and I remember feeling super lucky that I had gotten to see it.

Over the past year, we've spent lots and lots of time with Lucas and Monte, and I just adore them both. But I look back on that opening as the turning point. And things seem to have come full circle, as they always do, because Monte is getting ready to unveil another (slightly different, I think) show in the next few weeks here. I just hope we'll be around to see it again!

One of Monte's many gorgeous sculptures.


Check out more of Monte's work here.





9.01.2011

Chicago top ten: Experiences






The top ten list continues. Last time was food (Part I is here, and Part II is here), this time is individual experiences. Of course, some of my favorite Chicago experiences have been had in restaurants featured on the food love list, including our one year of dating anniversary at Province, but I'm going to try to steer clear of eateries in this post. 

I can already tell I'll have a lot to say about each, so I'll post this in several parts, two or three experiences at a time (with a few runners up at the end.) Also, I tried ranking these, but I just couldn't. Each experience was awesome and extraordinary in its own way.

Here goes!


Apple picking
October, 2010

  


I began insisting on this just about the moment we arrived in Chicago. As I've gotten older, fall has become my favorite time of year, and nothing rings in the crisp autumn season like a trip to the orchards. I did some research, and found a place called Kuiper's Family Farm about an hour outside of the city. The apples were great, but the experience was even better. After waiting in a very long line (Kuiper's is a popular place!) we took a rustic hayride out to the orchards, picked ourselves a couple pecks of apples (I don't know what a peck is, except hearing it from "Peter Piper." It seemed to fit here), and moseyed back to the farmstand for a bite to eat and a bit of shopping.


Alex picked up some apple fritter mix that we had every intention of using, but it ended up getting lost in the moving shuffle a few days later. Boo. But we did cook up some of the apples that night, with some pork chops, mushrooms, and onions. One of my favorite dishes made even better by our fresh-picked ingredients. Anyway, apple picking is the bee's knees. And western Massachusetts strikes me as the perfect place to find lots of great orchards. More memories to come, this fall.


Dark storm moving in on the drive home



Water for Elephants movie premiere
April, 2010

My sisters will say I'm a little old lady, but I found in Chicago that joining a book club was a great way to meet new friends. Joining two book clubs was even better. In the middle of winter, I started to get the blues being stuck inside every night, especially when Alex started traveling a lot for work. I'd already joined one book club, and had really hit it off with some fantastic girls. So when I stumbled on an ad for another one -- meeting that very night at a cafe in Lincoln Park -- I jumped on it. I had plenty of free time at night to snuggle up on the couch, so what was one more good read per month?


Our first book was Water for Elephants, which I read on my flights to and from New York City in March. Not long after we met to discuss the book, I found a Living Social deal to attend a special premiere of the movie, the night before it launched in theaters in April. So two of the book club girls and I got all gussied up and headed up to Evanston for the premiere. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were supposed to be included, but I had to wrestle a couple of cheesy asparagus bites away from the other guests, because the party-throwers clearly didn't account for the ginormous crowd of people that would be there. But for the film (which was so sad! And so pretty! And so entertaining!) I bought myself a giant popcorn and washed it down with my white wine. Popcorn and chardonnay make Megan a happy girl. Staring at Robert Pattinson's face for two hours doesn't hurt, either. 







More tomorrow...