4th of July weekend

I was surprised, at first, that so many people had Friday off from work, but we Americans love our 3-day weekends, so what better way to celebrate Independence Day than take a non-holiday off from work. Of course, I had the day off anyway, so I went downtown to have lunch with Jess (after finishing her 82 hour work-week) and to pick up a Cubs jacket at the American Girl Doll store. Nate got me 1 jacket off of Ebay for my birthday (at Wrigley Field, they have 1 night each year when they give out these jackets to all the girls 13 and under and I've always wanted one for my dolls) and it came with a coupon for a 2nd on at the store downtown. My dolls are back in CT right now, but next time I see them they will be looking sporty and sassy!

Friday evening we were treated to the 4th(?) annual 3rd of July party at our friend Dan's apartment. His roof-deck looks right out onto the Wrigley Field bleachers sign. It was a perfect night for a party and we even got to see a few fireworks.

Saturday was dreary and drizzly so we stayed home during the day. I made crab dip and Nate the Great made a cherry pie (crust from scratch - he puts me to shame). The weather cleared up by the evening, luckily, so we went up to Edgewater for a party at Bob and Magda's.
In addition to the foods we brought for the party, we enjoyed some pigs in a blanket, deviled eggs, and a magnificent chocolate roulade which is Magda's specialty. After eating plenty of food, we all made our way down to the beach (25 yards from their apartment) where we were able to see south down the lake-shore, all the way to downtown. We could see probably 4 different fireworks shows simultaneously. Though rather cold and wet, it ended up being a wonderful 4th of July.

Sunday, however, was sunny and warm, so Nate and I packed our

bikes in the car and drove up to the Northern branch of the Chicago Forest Preserve trails. We rode up to the Chicago Botanic Garden (I stupidly didn't bring my camera) and soaked up the scenery with plenty of other cyclists and picnickers.

birthday gift from days of yore

With the recent surge of, ahem, older people signing on to facebook, I was pleasantly surprised a while ago when one of my very best high school friend's mother requested to be my friend. I was part of a very exclusive, 10 member friend group. Go me!

Upon telling this to Nate, I had one of those random memories - and it coincides with my recent 27th birthday. I was thinking about how 10 years ago I was about to start my senior year of high school (10 year reunion is coming up next spring!) and where I was/who I was with for that 17th birthday. After a week of sailing on a rented Hinckley yacht out of Southwest Harbor, Maine with my dad, step-mom and step-bro, Ly (pronounced Lee, now Dr. Ly) and her mom picked me up and brought me back to their "farm" in Monroe, ME to spend a week with them. Ly and I spent that week sailing her laser (maybe it was a sunfish) on their pond, watching the PBS civil war series on video and making a whole years worth of Martha Stewart projects (I remember a gingerbread house, some meringues that wouldn't bake due to the humidity, and my favorite: a jack-o-lantern carved from a watermelon).

At the end of the week it was my birthday - a very small, understated affair. The one present I remember getting was this dear little beanie baby, Slippery the Seal, from Ly's mom. I'm sure Ly gave me some great gifts too, but as our tradition was to give each other a shoe-box full of small gifts, mostly things we didn't want anymore, and usually some reject gift I had given her on her last birthday, they were not as memorable. Sorry, Ly!

Anyway, here he is: Slippery, celebrating his 10th birthday (plus a few days).

not-so-lazy daisies

After our marathon planting almost 2 months ago, most of our plants have thrived. The exception was the pot of gerber daisies which quickly withered away. I had given up on them but hadn't had the time to dig them up and throw them out yet.

Well, apparently good things come to people who are too lazy to throw out their dead plants. In the past few weeks I noticed some life in the rarely-watered pot and finally some flowers have popped. Of the 3 daisy flowers planted in this pot, only one has come to a full bloom, but the other two have buds that are making progress.

Welcome back, guys!

Amazing birthday weekend

Saturday morning I met up with Jenny for some quality time - we hadn't seen each other in 2 months! And our real purpose for getting out was to go apartment hunting. Of course, in Lincoln Park, our hunting basically turned into lots of ogling at large, single-family homes. We took pictures of a few we liked . . .
and some places we found monstrous and horrifying.

We also happened upon a spot of sidewalk that is possibly the coolest I've seen - I threw my shoe out there to pretend we were playing Monopoly. If only there had been a Scotty around! After a good walk and a nice lunch (complete with a pitcher of cranberry margaritas) I left Jenny to go down to the Taste of Chicago with Ruthie, in the hopes that we would get to see Counting Crows. Alas, the CC's were going on stage too late, so we enjoyed Augustana then headed home to put on party clothes.
The party this year was Nantucket theme. Most of my friends were born ready for a party like this but still managed to go out and buy a new ensemble for the occasion. A few guys picked up some new topsiders. . .

And the girls were looking spiffy as well. All in all, it was another hit of a party - the punch was plentiful and the collars were popped. Nate the Great did himself proud!

On Sunday afternoon, Nate treated me to a tour of Wrigley Field. We got to see the visiting teams's clubhouse (the smallest in the Major Leagues), the press box, etc. etc. And we really lucked out because the Cubs were not yet back from their away game which meant we got to see their clubhouse as well. Look at all of those perfectly laundered jerseys, just waiting for some dirt and grass stains.
The tour ended at the Cubs' dugout, and we got to walk on the ground brick, but NOT the grass (although I stuck my toes on the grass, just to see how it felt - luscious!) We ended the day with a birthday dinner at Soprano's, an Italian restaurant near our house we had always been meaning to try.

I got some great (and crafty) gifts from family (loyal blog readers). Please check back because as I use/read/bake with my bday gifts, I'll post about them! 27 - so far so good!

Thursday afternoon at the ballpark

Yesterday I had 2 firsts: my first birthday present of the year (some have arrived in the mail, but I'm saving those to open on Sunday) and my first game at U.S.Cellular (White Sox) Field. Nate's friend Bob, being a Dodger's fan, was dying to go to the game (ok I may be over-dramatizing) and since I was free, he offered to treat me to my first White Sox game. So we took the red line train farther south than I ever have before and got off at 35th Street.
Our seats, cleverly in the shade (my pale skin thanks you Bob), were behind home plate, which is a good view overall, but a poor spot to tell if a ball is really going to leave the ballpark - pretty much every fly ball looks like it'll be a home run. But we could see into the dugout, although we were quite high up and I'm not too familiar with the players. . .
I do know who Paul Konerko is, and he had a home run (I remember this because I scored the game - I'm nerdy like that). Whenever a White Sox player hits a home run they set off fireworks. Not too impressive in the daytime, but it still makes noise, so hey, all in all not too bad. It is a very different experience, I must say, than going to a game at Wrigley Field. Yes, the park is still relatively new and nice, and there are more food options than at Wrigley (thanks to Bob, I have now had a churro) but the experience all seems so much more manufactured than a game at Wrigley. The jumbo screen and loudspeakers keep urging me to "clap your hands!" and telling me to chant "Paul-eee" when Konerko comes up to bat. Maybe on a weekend, when the game is sold out, these things catch on and are more impressive, but on a weekday afternoon, when the stadium is less than half full, it just seems anti-climactic. True, I've been spoiled by the energy at Wrigley, but it is all very natural and organic - people decide to chant because they want to, not because a television monitor tells them.
On our way out, I had to stop and get a picture of the city. This view from the south is one that I rarely see. And any view of the [Sears] tower makes me fluttery.

12 Films. 12 Weeks.

A handful of very creative people I went to high school with have been making some short films and posting them on the internet.  Their goal is to create one film each week from the beginning of June through the end of August.  Please check out their website.  Each of these short films have given me a little smile.