The Windy City: Day 1

It's been a few days since we returned from our trip out to Chi-Town and I have to apologize that this post is so tardy. We got home Sunday night and I got on a train to NYC Monday so life has been a little crazed. But better late than never, right? :)

We had a FABULOUS time out in Chicago visiting Sue Q. I'm sorry that it is over already! From the moment we got there to the moment we left, Sue had us booked up with awesome outings and meals. She really outdid herself. If the whole "I'm getting my PhD and curing cancer thing" doesn't work out she can definitely get herself a job at the Chicago Tourism office.

Our Thursday night flight out to Illinois was happily uneventful and Sue was there to greet us at baggage claim which is a rare, but lovely thing these days (and totally by accident; unforeseen construction caused her to park). We headed to her new place in Lincoln Park and were greeted by a very excited Sophie girl. After a quick tour of the new duds, some catching up and late night snacks (chips and salsa and cheese...yum!), we hit the sack in anticipation of our very busy Friday.


We awoke to a bright and shiny day and got ready for our 10:30 am Chicago Film Tour. This 3 hour tour took us all over Chicago showing us sites of many famous movie scenes. We grabbed some seats in the back and were on our way. Our tour guide (who was very witty) showed us a scene on the tv's and then point out the site with many an anecdote in between.


From the famous Marina Towers, site of one of the most famous stunts from the 1979 flick The Hunter starring Steve McQueen (see video here)...

...to the site of the original Playboy Mansion located at 1340 North State Parkway...


...to the very famous Green Mill Lounge made famous by movies including The Untouchables, High Fidelity, and more recently, The Dilemma starring Kevin James and Vince Vaughn. Fun fact: Vince Vaughn requires in his contract that portions of every one of his movies MUST be filmed in Chicago. Check out the clip here.


Next up was Wrigley Field which really needs no introduction. I managed to get a good shot of the rooftop seats adjacent to the stadium - Love!


From there, we saw the Biograph Theatre, site of John Dillenger's death as portrayed by the always good to look at Johnny Depp in Public Enemies...


The train station where Sandra Bullock filmed While You Were Sleeping...


...the Backdraft firehouse...


...and the picturesque Wrigley Building where portions of The Fugitive were filmed.


It was a fun filled tour. We learned a lot. We saw a lot. We had a great time. :)

From there it was off to the Weber Grill Restaurant for lunch (made Ed very happy), some shopping on Michigan Avenue (holla to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!) and some good old fashioned site seeing. Awesome Day 1 in Chi-Town!


And if that weren't enough, we had an incredible evening filled with good eats and amazing music. Dinner was at Quartino, a delicious Italian Tapas and Wine bar. The food was amazing...and boy did we pig out. From gourmet cheese and meat to short ribs to pork filled ravoli and pizza, we enjoyed every morsel.


We then headed over to famous blues club, Kingston Mines to listen to some really awesome music. This place is one of the oldest and largest blues club in Chicago. We were lucky enough to hear 2 different blues bands and let me tell you, they ROCKED! Check out the triple guitar that the girl (yes, GIRL) was playing!


Our first day in Chicago was pretty much awesome. So much so that it would be hard to top...but just wait. Details of Day 2 to come!

Chicago or Bust

Ed and I are leaving on a jet plane tonight bound for Chicago to see Sue and Brett. Yeah! We have been looking forward to this trip for a long time so we are so excited that it is finally here. It is hard to believe that I have not seen my sister since the holidays. :( How is that even possible? I hate that we live so far away, but appreciate that we have the means to see each other a few times throughout the year. See you in a few hours, Sue ~ we can't wait!!!


So things will be quiet on the blog over the weekend, but I'm sure we'll have LOTS of really fun stuff to share once we are back. See you then!

Swatch Me

I've become a bit obsessed with paint swatches. Every time we go into a Lowes or Home Depot or Sears, I grab paint swatches for our next house project: the master bathroom. The paint in the master bath is starting to look very sad. The room has flat paint courtesy of the previous owners ~ a BIG no-no for a bathroom that does not have a window. There is nowhere for that moisture to go except for in the walls causing them to look all streaky.


So before we start running into mold issues (YUK), we decided it is time to paint the bathroom with some nice semi-gloss, moisture-friendly paint. We also plan to remove the tacky mirror over the sink and replace it with a proper medicine cabinet and switch out the light fixture to something a little more modern...


...and replace the ugly white mirrored cabinet with some over the toilet shelving.


We have some other big plans for the space including a new vanity sink, a glass shower door, some overhead lighting but because of budget reasons, we are starting small and will end big a little later on.

Back to swatches. We want a blue/gray color that will work well with dark woods (part of the future plan) and won't make our small bathroom look like a cave. So this is what we got:


Sure, they all look pretty much the same, but up close you can see that some are more gray, some are more blue and some are more green. The green ones will most likely go.

But not yet.

We are going to have to live with these swatches for a bit as we don't have time to dive into this project until late August/early September. I think a good 8-12 weeks will give us plenty of time to pick the perfect color, right? I know, we are nuts. And what is even sadder is that the number of swatches will most likely increase before a decision is made, but at least we will have all of our options on the table. Or in this case, on the wall. :)

Fancy Food Fun

Today I had the extreme pleasure of visiting the Fancy Food Show currently on display at the Washington DC Convention Center. What is the Fancy Food Show you ask? Well the boiler plate description says it is North America’s Largest Specialty Food & Beverage Event with 180,000 products including confections, cheese, coffee, snacks, spices, ethnic, natural, organic and more. The Laura description says it is a mecca of yummy, delicious foods for the taking!!!


This is not a consumer show so not every Tom, Dick or Harry from the street can go . The attendees are a mix of supermarkets and specialty stores. So how did I manage to score a badge you ask? Well, apparently I know the right people. :) Toy Fair buddies Danny Sullivan and Mike Stella worked the show so they hooked me up with badges. It's good to know people in high places!


Ed and I hit the show briefly on Sunday, but today, Mom was in tow with me and we got down to some serious business. After meeting up with Danny, Mike, Brendan and a few other familiar faces, we hit the show floor and sampled everything from olives to pound cake to gelato to gourmet cheese to every type of funky potato chip in existence. There was pasta, cured meat, hot and iced teas, biscotti, chocolate and all the dipping sauces you could think of. There were sections representing food from different states. There were sections representing food from different countries! It was a smorgasbord of flavors and aromas. So pretty much it was heaven!

Mom and I stuffed our faces and left the show with bags full of goodies. Check out the loot I scored:


From Pirate Booty (original and new sour cream and onion)...


...to MetroMint Water...


... to organic tea...


... and VitaTops...


...my bounty was plentiful! It's dinner time now and I am totally stuffed from all the food sampling. Sorry Ed...looks like cereal for dinner! :)

What a Wonderful Weekend

I love my Monday posts because, for a few moments, I get to enjoy the weekend again. It all started Friday night with dinner at the Q house. Lucy loves going to Grandma and Grandpa's house mainly because of Grandpa. They have a love affair that no one really understands and one that makes Ed jealous to the max. :) We devoured some pizza and then settled in for some TV watching in the basement. Yes...the basement. Mom and Dad are doing some work on the house so the family room has lawn chairs in it (no joke) instead of couches. No bother...it gave Mom and I the opportunity to clean out some of the very full closets. Yard sale in September ~ Mark your calendars!!

Saturday brought us sunshine and the Poos family. Jason, Betsy, Stella and Bodhi made their way out of DC and joined us for a BBQ. Stella, their adorable baby girl, is just about 7 months and is as cute as cute can be. She recently started pulling herself up and had a good time on the coffee table. She also LOVED all of Lucy's toys that were strewn all over the place.


Bodhi, their adorable puppy, made Lucy VERY happy as they chased each other all over the house. They played their hearts out ~ so much that Lucy is still recovering.


We had a great time catching up and playing with Stella. She had a few teeth coming in so she wasn't feeling that great, but we managed to get some smiles out of her. Even Ed got some snuggle time!


It was so good to see them and we can't wait to hit JMU with them in the fall for a good old football game. Go Dukes!

On Sunday, we attempted to be cultured and attended a play at the Kennedy Center. We are big fans of Broadway shows. When living in NY, we tried to hit up the half price ticket line at least once or twice a year, and I have to say...we have seen a lot of great stuff. From Wicked to Avenue Q to A Chorus Line, Spring Awakening and the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, we have been very lucky.


So when Next To Normal arrived at the Kennedy Center, I knew we had to go. I had been dying to see it when it debuted on Broadway a few years back. Not only did it win 3 Tony Awards, but it also won the Pulitzer Prize so getting tickets while it was in town was a no brainer.


We headed into DC early to hit up the Fancy Food show at the DC Convention Center to see some show buddies that were in town, and then headed over to the play. Ed had never been to the Kennedy Center before and he was very impressed. The venue is VERY different than most of the theatres we've been to in NYC. Much more elegant and stately than we are used to!


The show was amazing. I laughed...I cried...it was great! I don't want to tell you about it in case you are going to see it, but if you want to read a synopsis, click here. After the show we headed home, lit the grill for dinner and spent some quality outdoor time with our new neighbors Cindy and Joe. They are renting the house next door and are AWESOME. Definitely a great addition to the neighborhood. It was a great way to end the weekend. Happy Monday!