Slap Bet!

since the Slap Bet episode has come and gone, I just want to say it was awesome.  Anyone not already acquainted with the genius of How I Met Your Mother should find some episodes online and watch.

Airing out my dirty laundry

So I said that Mom and I did some work while she was here. I really wasn't kidding. On Friday, we went up to the Abt store in Glenview to pick out some new appliances for my condo. And Saturday, we worked from morning until evening re-doing my laundry closet, getting it ready for the new washer and dryer.

Here is before:

(and I couldn't get far enough away in my little hallway for a real view)

And here is after:

Yes, it was a bold color choice, but I felt that Benjamin Moore "Four Leaf Clover" was a very clean

color.

I also had to outfit the space

with my favorite Elfa shelves

from the Container Store, so

that's one more closet down.

3 more to go!

Since neither of us had real raggedy old clothes on hand, Mom and I

made a quick trip to a really creepy, cheap clothing store just down

the street from my house, Something Old, Something New, and

found some matching church fair t-shirts and hot blue sweat pants.

Hot is right!

A visit from Mommy Dearest

This past weekend, my mom came for a visit. In the past, some of Mom's visits have been not really vacations for her. 2 years ago, she stayed for a week helping me pack up my old apartment, move, and unpack the new place. During that visit, we only made it downtown once, and we were too pooped to really do anything! A few years ago, Mom visited for an Oak Park tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's and other historical homes. This year's visit was a little bit of both work and play for mom. (See future post for the work part!)

As far as play goes, I took Mom downtown for a nice dinner on Friday at the Atwood Cafe (very appropriate because the works for the Atwood scholarship fund in New London). Then we saw Jersey Boys, which was a lot of fun. I'm glad I got to see it now, before it ends its run in January. We both loved the show and were singing the songs for the whole weekend.

On Sunday, Nate, Mom and I went on a Chicago Architecture Foundation tour of Millenium Park. The weather was perfect for the 2 hour outdoor tour - 70's and sunny, in Chicago in November?! We all learned a lot and worked up an appetite walking around the Park, before walking up the Nichols Bridge to have lunch at Terzo Piano, the restaurant in the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute. It was a great end to a busy and fun visit. We'll see what Mom can plan for my visit home at Christmas!

Nate #1 / Nate #2.

Last weekend, one of my very best friends from college (I originally called him Nate #1, but we've agreed that Nate the Great has taken over that title, so he will henceforth be called Nate #2) travelled from [near] Ottawa for a visit with me and the great city of Chicago. I tried to show him a good time with some fine meals and museum visits, including a thorough look at the Chicago History Museum, which I have just joined.

Having friends visit almost always includes a get-together with people who live in Chicago but I never see otherwise. Nate's visit prompted an outing to see our friend Kareem, who is always involved in different theater productions that I can't fit into my schedule, perform in 2nd stories. It was a really enjoyable evening of hearing his and some strangers' experiences in life. Kareem went first, with a funny/scary/heartening story about his very different experience (from mine) of our college, and I thought "I feel bad for whoever is going after him." While none of the stories were as dear to me as Kareem's, they were all fantastic. I hope to go to another production sometime.

Nate #2 was here in Chicago for 5 or 6 days, and of course I couldn't hang out with him every day. He and his friend Steve, visiting from England, spent sometime downtown on their own and went on (my favorite!) the architecture river boat tour. Last Monday, we had them over for a very civilized dinner of risotto and roasted pork loin.

Be aware: if you come visit me, you will get a good home-cooked meal!

Come back soon, Nate #2!