4523

Great Catch-Up : Valentine's Day

2011-04-10T14:28:00.003-05:00

This year, in addition to our individual plans for romance, we had a lovely double date with Jacque and Clyde at our new favorite place in Bridgeport (a southside neighborhood), Nana. No pictures of the delicious food, but it was a good time had by all...

Great Catch-Up : Grandma Wright's Birthday

2011-04-10T14:18:00.006-05:00

It is truly embarrassing that we haven't been to visit our relatives in Indiana in at least a couple years. With Grandma Wright's birthday around the corner in February, we thought a visit was finally in order!

In addition to bringing tons of food to cook for the masses over birthday weekend, Jacque brought Grandma this beautiful necklace...

In honor of Mark (of Mark and Diane), our hosts for the weekend, Jacque was going to make Mark his favorite dessert - angel food cake. We did run into a few issues (smoke filled oven!) but it turned out delicious in the end!

Jacque brought decorations so the whole family, including Brittany's three beautiful kids, could help with making the den perfect for Grandma's birthday celebration. We were excited to have all sorts of family on-hand, including Heath's cousin Nathan and Steve and Liz with their three kids...

Great Catch-Up : New Years

2011-04-10T14:05:00.006-05:00

The winter season had more than just Christmas fun!

For starters, we got quality time with Mackensey, including checking out Rick Bayless' new restaurant, Xoco, known for authentic Mexican street food. Yummy...

Then, we traveled down to Kansas City to ring in the new year with the Tomlinson family. Lots of good conversation and, of course, Heath whooping his cousins in various video games...

Of course, the big highlight was finally partaking in Clyde's big birthday present: Tickets to the Chiefs game! We had breakfast with the McGinnis clan beforehand, which was awesome. The game itself was a lot of fun, but it was a little sad to see the Division Champ Chiefs lose to the Raiders - boo...

Great Catch-Up : A Double Christmas

2011-04-10T13:48:00.009-05:00

We had a long, wonderful Christmas extravaganza. We got out to DC a few days early and were able to visit with friends like Jess and Adam in Virginia Beach (see below) and Adam and Sarah in Baltimore.

Christmas Eve was celebrated at Aunt Renee's place with dear friends Barbara and Adrienne in attendance. There was a lot of wonderful food and Violet was a doll in her jingle bell collar.

Christmas Day was spent at Dad's place. He and Lynn made a wonderful breakfast and we had presents "round two," followed by a rousing game of Take Two (between Tiara, Dad, Heath and myself), while others worked on the traditional Christmas puzzle...

That night, we did what Pietrangelos do and went for Chinese food at House of Dynasty!

Then, we went over to Tiara's new place and kicked butt at Wii golf. Below, Heath and Bryan enjoying one another's company...

The next day, we all went and saw South Pacific at The Kennedy Center. While a little dated, it was a lovely show...

And now, for the Double Christmas! One of the treats of having the Carters in Chicago is that we were able to drive back from DC and start our Christmas celebration all over again with Jacque, Clyde and Mackensey. Not just wonderful gifts, but wonderful food!

Violet's favorite gift of the season? Her new Chiefs jersey!

Great Catch-Up : Thanksgiving

2011-04-10T13:39:00.006-05:00

Mom was here — that's the big story of Thanksgiving. Here are photos from her few days in city...

Dinner with mom at Zocalo where there was a wonderful acoustic Brazilian guitarist.

The cast of characters on Thanksgiving Day, held at Jacque and Clyde's place in Forest Park. In addition to the usual suspects, we were glad to have Janet and Ray, neighbors on Ferdinand.

Heath and I ran a special turkey day 8K the day after Thanksgiving. A great way to burn off those cranberry sauce calories!

Halloween weekend at Casa Francisco!

2010-11-08T21:12:00.000-06:00

Part of the fun of this year's Halloween weekend is that we got to spend the majority of it with the DeCostanzas. Luke and Lina are quite the adorable pair, so being able to experience pumpkin patches and trick-or-treaters through their eyes was a treat in itself.

On Saturday, we all went to Kuipers Farm with our neighbors, Monica and Carlos, and their kids, Angel and Natalie.

Halloween itself started with church and watching the Chiefs pull out a win against the Buffalo Bills. We came back to Casa Francisco, filled a large bowl with candy and took a blanket out to the stoop to pass out goodies to neighborhood kids. Lucky for us, there were two busy bees to help out.

[violet was an angel - perfect, right?]

[we never got around to carving our pumpkin - lame, I know - but the D's did a great job with theirs!]

Great Catch-Up : Heath goes to Portland

2010-11-08T20:54:00.000-06:00

Heath traveled to Portland for a historical conference and had the pleasure of spending some additional time with our good friends, Paul and Wendy.

He had a great time visiting with them, getting their tour of the city - which included great donuts, pizza, coffee and beer.

[if not for a little facial hair and more weight, this could be a scene from 1995]

[again, heath chose not to use the camera he was provided, so these few shots came from wendy]

Great Catch-Up : James and Katie's Wedding

2010-11-08T20:48:00.000-06:00

As you can tell by two wedding posts in such close proximity - our fall had a nice marital theme to it. :-)

In James and Katie's wedding, Heath had the honor of serving as the best man. He neglected to use the camera he took with him for the bachelor party in Atlantic City earlier this summer (hmmm...), but I do know that he almost passed out after a meat-eating contest (which he lost). Enough said.

The wedding itself, held in Santa Monica, was much more classy.

[best man and matron of honor]

[sweet flower girls]

[stunning bride]

Great Catch-Up : Visiting the California Carters

2010-11-08T20:41:00.000-06:00

After some quality time with Jenny and Tyler in LA and a few work visits, Heath met me in Tulare to spend time with Ash, Courtney and our beautiful nieces, Maddie and Eva.

We had last seen the girls at Christmas and it was SHOCKING how much more grown up they are in just under a year. Even though we were only there a short time, it was good to just be around them, give big hugs, read books, down ice cream and just enjoy the smart, funny little people they're becoming.

[the girls on the batmobile - with maddie looking especially hard core]

[the eva series]

[maddie and uncle heath]

[the girls and aunt "wendy']

[ice cream shop fun]

[the merry-go round]

[I let maddie play with the camera and these are some of the cool pictures she took]

Great Catch-Up : Gilbert and Rachel's Wedding

2010-11-08T20:28:00.000-06:00

We couldn't have been more thrilled when our good friends, Gilbert and Rachel, got engaged. I can honestly say that we'd been looking forward to their wedding all year - and it didn't disappoint.

Heath was not a groomsmen in this wedding - he was the officiant. While that meant a lot more pressure, it was a role he was honored to take on and, if I do say so myself, he knocked it out of the park. He didn't get ordained online or anything like that. G&R were married by a justice of the peace the day before; Heath led them through their vows the day of and offered a short reflection on marriage that was so good it led to people we don't even know asking him to do their wedding! Hilarious.

G&R had a wedding weekend as opposed to just a wedding day that included a rehearsal dinner in Brooklyn on Thursday, an extended cocktail hour at swanky bar in Midtown on Friday, a gorgeous ceremony and reception at the Metropolitan Building in Queens on Saturday, followed by an after-party in their suite at the W, then brunch at the hotel Sunday morning.

There were so many personal elements to the wedding, but one in particular was the table set-up. Each table had a book theme; we were at the Hemingway table. At each person's seat was a book that was hand inscribed by G or R. It took a lot of time and thought to pull that off and it was a treat to see everyone discuss what book they'd been given and what the inscription said.

It was exhausting and beautiful and fantastic. We really had a blast and couldn't have been more happy to be a part of watching two people so perfect for one another tie the knot.

[at the rehearsal dinner]

[the beautiful bride and her father]

[the couple and the officiant]

[view from the Metropolitan Building]

[before we were destroyed by dinner and dancing]

[reception fun]

[beautiful book tables]

[view from the suite]

[not a great picture of me, but that's what happens when you wait until the end of the night to grab the couple for a photo...]

Great Catch-Up : My birthday

2010-10-29T16:59:00.003-05:00

This year, it was the birthday that kept on giving. The day before was spent in NYC, after Gil and Rachel's wedding (photos to come). Heath and I walked through the city, found a great little sports bar and watched the Chief's beat the 49ers.

[sports bar fun]

The next day, Heath headed back to Chicago, so I had a fantastic dinner with my boss and a couple colleagues at a funky Italian restaurant in Tribeca called Il Matto. No photos from the evening, but trust me - it was DELICIOUS.

When I did get home, I had a lovely dinner at a new Brazilian restaurant in the city with Heath and my fabulous in-laws. Again, no photos, but very tasty.

What DO I have photos of? My last big surprise of the week... After dinner at one of our favorite new places in Pilsen — Decolores — I was a little surprised when a lot of friends needed to head out early, but figured it was a lot to ask for people to hang out late on the southside. Imagine my surprise when Heath and I return home to a roomful of those same friends, a few more, cake and the "signature drink" of the evening: Strawberry Basil Mojitos. It was a big surprise and a lot of fun. Heath deserves major kudos for planning it all under my nose and, with the help of the Decostanzas, pulling it off.

[from the dinner]

Great Catch-Up : Utah, baby!

2010-10-29T16:49:00.003-05:00

In the midst of all my work-related travel, some trips are more fun than others. For example, this year I got to head back to Utah - rapidly becoming a favorite travel destination. With the wide variety of amazing outdoor activities, it's always an adventure.

[I'm covered in dirt, oh by the way]

This time around, I did a second round of ATV-ing and hiked down this gorgeous mountain. A real treat!

Great Catch-Up : Tiara comes to visit!

2010-10-29T16:41:00.003-05:00

So we finally convince Tiara and Bryan to come visit, and all hell breaks loose. There were emergency room visits, flooding and flood clean up. Thankfully, to make up for it, there was tennis. :-)

The two main highlights of the weekend: Couples tennis and a girl's night of sushi and Eclipse.

It was a blast having them here!

Great Catch-Up : Ryan leaves for NYC

2010-10-29T16:36:00.002-05:00

Earlier this summer (I know!), Ryan left Chicago to start his public policy program in NYC. With all the traveling we've had going on (and by we, I mean me), Heath and I were glad to be in town for his going away shin-dig.

Luckily, we still have Marissa in town to hang with while they work on selling their place.

We'll miss you, Ryan!

Catching up to do...

2010-08-30T08:42:00.002-05:00

We are currently in blog delinquency. I've been traveling a ton and have pictures we need to post including Tiara and Bryan's visit, a day at the dog beach and Luke & Lina's baptism.

Coming this week...I promise!

Golf? Sure...

2010-08-05T22:22:00.005-05:00

Since I am not in sales, golfing with clients hasn't really been part of my professional to-do list up to this point. A couple weeks ago, that changed.

One of our biggest clients—based in upstate NY—wanted us to sponsor a foursome at a golf tournament for FANA, an adoption organization. It may seem random, but the marketing director for the client is actually good friends with my cousins in NY and they used FANA to adopt their four beautiful kids. So, a work function turned into a wonderful excuse to see family, quality time with a big advertiser, and my first official golf outing.

It was successful on most counts. Needless to say, I wasn't a rockstar golfer at first blush (even if I did have several amazing putts), but the fact that we played "best ball" kept the day moving. I would definitely do it again, but would need to spend ample time at a driving range in advance of any future time on the green.

Here are just a few pics from my 18-holes.

[beautiful scenery]

[we even saw a fox!]

[my sorry drive]
[molly tees up]
[me and molly, our northeast sales rep]
[molly and jim, our VP]

Lilith Fair

2010-07-25T19:19:00.005-05:00

I know that Lilith Fair seems "so 10 years ago," but when I heard about the line up of women who would be performing at the Chicago show, I knew I had to be there.

Mackensey, Jackie (friend, not mother-in-law) and I headed out to Tinley Park one very hot Saturday to enjoy.

When we arrived, there were several different bands playing on smaller side stages, warming up the crowd for the eventual mainstage festivities. Two of the "side groups" I most enjoyed were Katie Todd and Vedera.

Of course, the mainstage is what it's all about. After a not-so-impressive performance by Kate Nash (I'm not a fan of the lyrics "suck it more"), we were treated to the Courtyard Hounds (also known as the remnant of the Dixie Chicks), Heart (a classic!!), Mary J. Blige and, of course, Sarah McLachlan. The final three performances alone were worth the price of admission. It was just amazing to see all these phenomenal women in action. It was a fantastic evening.

[mary j. - best energy of the night]

[sarah - absolutely stunning]

Some clips [apologies in advance for the sound quality]

New Orleans

2010-07-23T18:42:00.011-05:00

When I found out I needed to head to New Orleans for a work function, I thought it would be fun to invite Celeste and Jess to come out and join me, since many of my evenings would be open. They very generously agreed to make their way out to the Big Easy and we did, indeed, have a blast.

The first night, we went to Arnaud's on Bourbon St. and were treated to a wonderful jazz trio and stellar service. The whole night was just so relaxing and beautiful.

The next day, we did a walking tour of the Garden District, at which point C&J busted out their cameras to take pictures of some of the beautifully designed homes. It was like something out of an Anne Rice novel and then, of course, we walked by Anne Rice's house. Perfect! We even had the opportunity to walk through Lafayette Cemetery and see the mausoleums erected by storied New Orleans families.

[the lovely photographers responsible for most of the pictures you're about to see...]

We took the long way home, stopping at various must-see spots, including a short driving tour of the Lower 9th Ward, Cafe Du Monde for beignets, and Jackson Square. We split some po-boy sliders at Stella's and then headed back to the hotel.

That night, we had our "fancy" dinner at Meson 923, a "hot spot" selected for us by our wonderful concierge (she was "on" all weekend). After a great meal, we went home to change and then walked over to Pat O'Briens for a nightcap, conversation and a little dancing.

Unfortunately, C had to head out the next day, but J and I had a wonderful dinner at this hip little Japanese spot with killer sushi and sake.

The next day, we explored Magazine St. and had lunch at Cafe Rani. Very fun. We grabbed gelato, I picked up a souvenir for Heath and then we primped for dinner at Clancy's. After a delicious dinner we threw on our jeans and went back to Bourbon St. for some live jazz. It made for a perfect last night, since we got to be right up close to the quartet.

We finished things up with brunch at a local spot called Eat and then were off to the airport. So glad to tie in a girls weekend to an otherwise typical business trip.

4th of July

2010-07-23T18:33:00.004-05:00

This year, we had a BBQ extravaganza over July 4th weekend. On Saturday, Kaitlyn and the Carters came over for burgers (of the black bean variety for those of us on WW) and bags (also known as cornhole).

[a couple photos courtesy of Mackensey]

The next day, we went over to a BBQ at our neighbor's house. This was HUGE, as it was the first invite from someone in the neighborhood. Monica and Carlos were hosting a Mexican feast and between Heath flexing his Spanish skills and the kids loving on Miss V., it was a total blast.

After that, we headed over to Jackie and Joel's for a rooftop view of the city's fireworks. It was really beautiful. Every year I think I won't be super impressed by the fireworks, but then I find myself just as tickled as when I was a kid. On top of that, the conversation was top-notch.

Back to Blogging: Anniversary!

2010-07-23T18:23:00.003-05:00

I know it's been awhile since we've blogged. At first, it seems like there just wasn't much going on. Then—all of a sudden—there was almost too much going on, or at least to much to keep up with our digital scrapbook.

The first post back is to show some of the pics from our anniversary weekend. We haven't done anything "formal" to celebrate because we've both been busy, but I definitely see a bed and breakfast in our future.

On July 2, we had a fantastic Indian dinner at Ur Swati on Devon with Jacque, Clyde, Mackensey and friend-of-the-fam, Kaitlyn. Very tasty. From there, we went over to the waterfront cafe for coffee, desserts hand-picked by Jacque from the Bleeding Heart Bakery, and some live jazz. It was a lovely way to spend the evening.

As I said on Facebook, I feel blessed to be married to my best friend for the past 5 years.

Lina turns 1!!

2010-06-21T18:30:00.006-05:00

This past Saturday, our backyard was transformed into birthday central in honor of Miss Lina Teresa's first birthday.

There were friends...

[how cute is eli?]

There was a curious brother...

There were gifts...

[she loved her water table and wagon]

There was a doting Tio Heath...

And there was cake!

[don't you want a chocolate-y kiss right now?]

How lucky are we...

2010-06-15T16:32:00.002-05:00

...to have these two living downstairs?

As far as godkids go, it doesn't get much cuter.

Happy Birthday, Dena!

2010-06-14T23:50:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, we celebrated the life of our wonderful friend, Dena, who turned 30.

She was able to secure a lovely home in the woods of Michigan City, IN. It was an architectural feat that made for a fantastic party-space. It was great to spend time with her and other friends.

Note: All photos courtesy of the wonderful LBA. We forgot our camera!!

[the house]

[the birthday girl]

[the people]

Aunt Renee's Visit

2010-06-06T00:15:00.006-05:00

Aunt Renee has, by far, been one of our most consistent visitors since we moved to Chicago. Her Memorial Day visit has become a tradition of sorts and, starting last year, Adrienne comes with. You can see last year's post here.

This year, we started the trip by seeing "The Good Negro" at the Goodman Theater. You can read the full synopsis here, but in a nutshell, it was a wonderfully acted play that looks at some of the complexity behind the Civil Rights Movement.

From there, we walked back to the hotel to change and have a drink at the bar before walking over to Spiaggia (the Obama's favorite restaurant), for dinner. Yes, this was a repeat from the '09 visit—but it was worth it. Aunt Renee's veal chop (see below) was a culinary feat.

[I look a little loopy in this picture, but I swear, I wasn't tipsy]

The next afternoon, we met up at Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs lose to the St. Louis Cardinals. In spite of the 9-1 loss, we had really great seats and Adrienne, an Albert Pujols fan, was just happy to see him hit a home run.

After the game, we had lunch at Piece (a great pizza joint), and then took a driving tour of the area around Northwestern. We parked in order to walk around the campus itself and, more importantly, to put our feet in the sand lakeside.

After a shopping extravaganza on Monday morning, the ladies came down to our new house to check things out and enjoy a wonderful dinner Heath prepared. Lots of wine, lots of laughs and all in all, a perfect end to a great visit.

KS Cousin in IL

2010-06-05T23:54:00.008-05:00

We're definitely a bit behind in updating, but there is lots to talk about!

A couple weekends back, one of Heath's cousins from Kansas, Sterling, came to spend a long weekend with us. It was a definite full urban immersion experience which included culture, food and general merry-making.

CULINARY EXPLORATION

Chinese

Indian

Deep Dish

Huck Finn's
[the best diner in Brighton Park]

CHI-TOWN ADVENTURES

In addition to a stop at Second City (not pictured), we had an awesome day rolling around downtown and Millennium Park with the full Carter fam...

...as well as an afternoon spent kayaking the Chicago river...

...and even taking in a Chicago Slaughter arena football game.

Heath was exhausted after the fact, but it was a fantastic trip.

Mommy Dearest

2010-05-11T20:47:00.004-05:00

One of the best parts of coming out to Virginia for Tiara's graduation was the chance to spend Mother's Day with my mom and grandmother. Separate from our other graduation-related festivities, we took Sunday to have an early, leisurely dinner at a fantastic restaurant inside the Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg.

It was a beautiful, delicious, prix fixe menu with fantastic wine pairings. We learned that mom loves port, which is a nugget of information that will come in handy on future occasions, I'm sure.

Back at the ranch, we played a rousing game of Apples to Apples and watched the Yankees game. All in all, a nice way to spend the day.

Tiara Graduates!

2010-05-11T20:14:00.006-05:00

It makes me feel very, very old (and very, very happy) to report that my baby sister graduated from James Madison University this weekend. The whole fam came down to Harrisonburg, Virginia for the occasion. Here are some pictures from graduation itself...

Here are some pictures from the BBQ that followed, catered by the mother of one of Tiara's roomies.

[tiara's roomies, amanda and kate]

On Monday, we visit the Cross Keys Vineyard for wine tasting, a nice capstone to our weekend together.

That night, Heath and I got to see Celeste and John for dinner — an added bonus!

You can view the full album on Facebook. I've saved the Mother's Day photos for a separate post.

Georgetown Softball Weekend!

2010-05-03T23:18:00.006-05:00

I already posted the complete photo set on Facebook, but I wanted to update you all on our wonderful weekend with the Hoyas (yes, Luke and Georgetown softball in one weekend!).

Heath's aunt Cherie (Clyde's sister) came into town on Friday night and we all went to Feed (a southern comfort food joint) for dinner and then downtown for dessert at Ghiradelli and a walk through Millennium Park and down the Mag Mile.

[feed]

[walking downtown]

Saturday was games 1 and 2 of Georgetown v. DePaul. Cacciatore Stadium was great — very Chicago with the El rumbling in the background. Mackensey helped the Hoyas hang tough in the first game. It was a real treat getting to watch her play.

[mac on the mound]

[small thing, but I thought it was cool to see her name on the scoreboard]

After the games, we went to Piece for pizza before heading back to Francisco to prepare for the next day. After Sunday's game, we had the softball team, coaches, a couple parents and some of our friends over for a Mexican feast that put our kitchen and backyard to good use. No pictures, but trust me when I say it was a blast. We couldn't have done it without Jacque's help during the week and even sleeping over on Saturday night. Clyde and Cherie also came in big with a lot of stuff the day of.

While we wish Georgetown played in the midwest more often, we're just psyched that Mackensey will officially be a resident of Chicago in just a month or so!

Welcome, Luke!

2010-05-03T13:53:00.004-05:00

Last night, we got to meet Luke LePeau Decostanza. After hanging out a few days past his due date, he finally arrived. We couldn't be happier for Susan, John and Lina.

[already crazy about his godson]

Missing our nieces

2010-04-26T22:58:00.004-05:00

Beautiful baby Eva turned one this past weekend — wow! Pictures to remind us they're growing up too fast (isn't Maddie gorgeous?) and that our next visit is still too far away.

Eva Primrose

Madeleine Aurora

Back to Cabo

2010-04-26T21:55:00.010-05:00

I probably wouldn't say this in the middle of production leading up to a big deadline, but work can be a real gift. The past several days were a perfect example. A consulting group that I struck up a partnership with last year (they write wonderful articles, we give them great exposure), holds an annual seminar in gorgeous locales. This year, they chose Cabo San Lucas and invited Heath and myself to join them as a big thanks for our work together last year. That meant four fun-filled, sun-filled days at an all inclusive resort without us having to spend a dime — CRAZY.

Of course, we accepted. We generally don't turn down free vacations, but this was especially special because 1) our 5-year anniversary is coming up in July; and 2) we honeymooned in Cabo.

It wasn't de-ja-vu, but it was sweet the second time around. Here, for your viewing pleasure...a few photos.

THE RESORT
(the scenery)

(the wildlife)

(the entertainment...in this case, Brazil night)

(greeted with champagne!)

OUR LOVELY ROOM

(they treated us like honeymooners and even decorated our room)

POOLSIDE

WALKS ON THE BEACH

5 YEARS LATER...

...and we'd do it all over again...

What's up with the house?

2010-04-17T11:25:00.006-05:00

It's a question I hear a lot these days and every time someone asks, it reminds me that I'm way behind on updating the blog. The truth is, it's all come together rather quickly and the Saturday of Easter weekend we had the last of our stuff out of Downers Grove and the kitchen was complete.

Projects we're still working on include finishing our bedroom in the attic (hopefully happening this weekend!) and doing the mudding/sanding/painting in the back bedroom. Heath's office is still woefully disorganized and in need of hanging items on the wall. Pictures of all this will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, here's the finished product in the living room/dining room, bathroom and kitchen.

LIVING ROOM / DINING ROOM

We realized that we don't have any great "before" pictures of the living room or dining room, mostly because they were just big empty spaces with bad rugs and a space heater. You'll just have to trust us that this is a major improvement. The recliner you'll see in the pictures below is one of the gems left behind by the former owners.

The dining room also boasts a couple relics left in this old house, including an antique, World War II era record player from Germany and a beautiful hutch that had been cast aside in the basement. Sorry for the glare in the photos!

BATHROOM

Who could forget this craziness?

Now, we have this:

KITCHEN

The main issue with our original kitchen was the pathetic lack of both cabinets and countertops. Witness:

And as you can see here, that is certainly no longer a problem...

So that's the update! We've had people over for lunch or dinner every weekend since we moved in, so we're definitely getting back into our hospitality swing. It's amazing how much you can miss silly things like pots and pans and couches. :-)

Getting close!

2010-03-25T23:03:00.004-05:00

Yes, today was a very productive day on the housing front. Now that our floors have been sanded and refinished to a gleaming version of the original maple, all of the cabinets are up (awaiting countertops and backsplash) and the bathrooms are nearly done (awaiting final plumbing and light fixtures).

It's been wonderful to see the contractors working so hard and so much progress in such a short period of time. Here are some pictures...they look a little washed out because of the time of day and lack of flash on the iPhone.

We're finishing up some things with the bedroom/attic set-up, but I'll have pictures of that soon, I promise! In the meantime, we thought this shot of Violet in the living room at sunset was just too funny:

Housing Update

2010-03-18T16:20:00.007-05:00

So...we are making progress! Since we last updated, the majority of the boxes are out of front half of the house and all in the back bedroom (off the kitchen) or up in the attic (soon-to-be bedroom). The few that are left are mostly frames and living room knick-knacks that I'm starting to sort through and figure out what I want where. The best part of moving the boxes is that we were able to arrange our couches—which means Violet has a new window perch—and reassemble our dining room table. Behold!

They have been able to start real work on the kitchen which means walls (finally!), paint and soon, the floor.

Step 1: Reconfiguring our walls. This meant not just new drywall, but shortening our two windows (one a bit and one a lot) to make room for the newly positioned sink and refrigerator.

Step 2: Paint! It's hard to tell here—because of the iPhone and because it's just a first coat—but the walls are going to be a Canyon Rust orange-ish color. It looks like a big grapefruit now, but the walls are going to be covered with lots of cabinets (see the example below).

Step 3: Floors. Under the six layers of linoleum were original hardwood floors. The guys are going to sand and refinish. Here's the before shot:

The bathroom is also seeing a lot of progress. At the end of last week we had nothing but insulation and studs...

As of yesterday, we have:

It looks like the bathroom will be done early next week. Hooray! That will mark our official move-in to the 'hood since we've still been spending at least a couple nights a week in Downers Grove and showering at the local YMCA when we do stay at 4523.

The kitchen will be done by the end of the month!

Nicaragua

2010-03-08T00:17:00.008-06:00

I [Heath] had the opportunity to visit Nicaragua a couple weeks ago with Keith and Micah, who was celebrating his 30th birthday. We had a lovely time in a sleepy [ muy tranquilo, as the locals would say] little beach town called San Juan del Sur. We spent our days swimming, surfing, fishing, reading, and just enjoying the beautiful scenery. Our last day we went to Granada, an older settlement with lots of colonial architecture and outdoor cafes. All in all, it was a fantastic trip.

Here is the precipice of the crater of Masaya Volcano, which we saw shortly before heading to the airport. That smoke smelled of sulphur and was so thick that you couldn't see to the crater's bottom:

A main strip of outdoor cafes in Granada:

Keith, Micah, and I in the belltower of a beautiful old church in Granada:

We had an opportunity to do a zip line canopy tour in San Juan del Sur:

One of the highlights for all three of us was our fishing trip. We caught five big fish, which our hotel then transformed into lunch:

Some everyday scenes from San Juan del Sur:

House Progress

2010-02-22T23:19:00.005-06:00

Sorry it's taken so long to post about progress on the house. We've been spending almost all our free time mudding, sanding and painting, so by the time we get home, blogging takes third place behind showering and falling into bed.

Much progress has been made!

The heating and duct work was finished a couple weeks ago, but pictures of vents aren't much fun to post. The electrical has also been coming along quite rapidly. They're putting in the last lights and outlets this week.

Jacque came to visit two weekend ago and helped us make major headway in the painting department. Since we have plaster walls, any cracks need to be dug out, filled with drywall mud, sanded, filled again, and sanded. Then, pick up all the dust with a handy Shop-Vac, wipe down the walls and finally can get to taping and painting. I'm tired just typing it.

At this point, the front half of our unit is done being painted. In my office, we have Toasted Cashew on two walls and High Drama (a shade of red) on two accent walls. [btw...the color quality here won't do these justice]

In the living room, we have Bermudian Blue.

In the dining room, we have the Toasted Cashew on all four walls.

[so you get a sense of how the rooms flow]

I had hoped to have Heath's office done prior to moving in all our boxes, but the week got away from us. Moving day was Saturday and our friends were total rockstars. It's amazing what people will do in exchange for pizza and beer. This image gives you a sense of the insanity that was our truck, carrying both our and the DeCostanza's worldly possessions...

We moved all the boxes in just as demo was getting underway in the kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen is taking a little longer than expected as they tear through six (yes, six!) layers of linoleum. Insane!!

Our bathroom went fast, and is already down to the studs.

Also, we had the carpet put down in the attic—the first step to making it the coolest bedroom we've ever had.

So that's the update—finally! It's looking like mid-March for completion. I'll try to post more regularly in the coming weeks.

And by the way...

2010-02-22T23:12:00.002-06:00

...we got a car.

Yes, our Suburu hung on for as long as it could, but after a rear-ending a recent snowy day, it was clear that it wasn't going to be with us for the long haul. When the transmission started acting up, we knew it was time to trade in and trade up.

After much research and consultation with family experts, we settled on the Honda Civic as our car of choice. Heath then went in to super sleuth mode to find the best deal in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. This search took us to Lansing, IL—a sad town—and Napleton River Oaks Honda. There—after much cajoling with Frankie, our salesguy, and his bosses—we struck a deal on an '07 model, getting it for a couple thousand less than most of the '06 models we'd seen online.

Here she is:

Oh, and one more fun pic. At this particular Honda dealership, they make you ring a gong every time you buy a car. As you can see, Heath was less than thrilled to participate in this particular ritual.

No more big purchases for a while...

Brighton Park

2010-02-10T22:17:00.003-06:00

I am very behind on posting. I have a lot to post about progress in the house and, of course, how we celebrated the Superbowl and Saints' victory. Tonight, however, I thought I'd give our blog followers a bit of a heads up on our new neighborhood: Brighton Park.

[we're highlighted in red]

The Wikipedia entry will give you the bare bones of the history, but none of the intrigue. This entry from the Encyclopedia of Chicago is a little bit better. Here are some of the highlights that drew us to the neighborhood:

1. It is like a chapter out of Heath's thesis. With our proximity to the old stockyards, our new neighborhood bore witness to some of the intense capital vs. labor disputes at the turn of the century.
2. It is home to the (often invisible) people who keep Chicago running. Way back when, that was a lot of Eastern Europeans. Today, it is a predominantly working class, Hispanic neighborhood.
3. It is not gentrifying. While many of the majority Hispanic neighborhoods on the North and near South side are rapidly becoming hipster havens (yes, Pilsen, I'm calling you out), Brighton Park looks to have escaped the eye of most young urban professionals (present company excluded) and the developers that cater to them. This is perhaps most evident by the fact that anytime we tell someone about our new neighborhood, they usually ask, "Where?"

Yes, we are officially south siders. I don't know that we've fully switched allegiance from Cubs to Sox (only baseball season will tell), but as we've been working in the house almost every night over the past couple weeks and most weekends, we've started to find the "spots" that make Brighton Park feel more like home.

Perhaps most importantly, we think we've found a church. Nueva Vida - Los Parques is a Spanish-speaking congregation (yes, it's challenging and yes, we're enjoying it) that has been extremely kind and welcoming to us. Firmly rooted in its identity as a community church, we feel it is the perfect place to build relationship with our neighbors, even if it's not all we'd hope for in a liturgical sense. Tonight, Heath and I attended our first small group meetings which were nothing if not lively. There are many cultural differences (made all the more hilarious courtesy of the language barrier), but it is extremely moving to be embraced so whole heartedly in spite of those differences. It's exactly what we've hoped for and we are excited for what comes next.

Almost as important as our church (almost!) are our new favorite local restaurant and coffee shop. El Rey del Taco is an outstanding place to eat. Even better: It's walking distance from the house! Cafe el Meson is a hidden gem in a neighborhood not known for its coffee culture. Run by a well-connected local Christian guy, it serves good coffee, good food and offers free WiFi. What more could you ask for? Also within walking distance. And, while we may have to wait for summer to take advantage, we are also a hop, skip and a jump from a Tastee Freeze. Heck yeah!

We've had the chance to meet a few of neighbors—Armando and Ecidro from across the alley and Marta from next door—all of whom have been very warm and helpful.

We're chomping at the bit to just finish all this work and get fully moved in. We eagerly await the chance to show you all we love about Brighton Park...we're discovering something new each day.

Sweet Dreams

2010-01-26T16:09:00.002-06:00

As part of our extended new house celebration we went to a local churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) with the DeCostanzas to reflect on this wild process while gorging ourselves on delicious food. We had a blast.

After dancing to the music, baby chatting with an infant at a nearby table and headbutting the edge of our table, my beautiful goddaughter fell asleep in my lap. Lina—what a cutie!

Our cup overfloweth...

2010-01-25T11:16:00.002-06:00

I feel as though we are awash in good news these first 30 or so days of the new year...

In addition to our new home, we will be welcoming new neighbors soon and very soon—the Carters are moving to Chicago! Yes, Jacque and Clyde (and Mac when she's not at Georgetown), will be making the Windy City their home. Clyde got a fantastic promotion with Sara Lee—the reason for the move—and we couldn't be happier to have them relocating to our neck of the woods.

House Projects

2010-01-23T09:46:00.007-06:00

So, as many of you know, even though we now have the keys, we won't be moving into our new house right away. There are several projects that need to be completed before we can fully settle in.

PROJECT #1: Heating & Electrical
This project starts Monday. Our house, while in great condition, is an older place. One of the most obvious signs? It still has space heaters on the second floor. Take a look at these monstrosities...

The first floor has radiant heat,which is fine, but we figured that since we're taking out the space heaters we should go ahead and update the heating system throughout the building. So, we need to install heating and air. In order to do that, however, we need to update the electrical in the building. Many of the outlets are still two-pronged (a no-no in the city of Chicago) and the current system runs at about 60 amps when, as a 2-flat, we should be at 200 amps.

Once that's done, we'll get a land line, fax and internet set up for my home office and I'll start commuting to the house while they work on...

PROJECT #2: The Bathrooms
If the bathrooms were just outdated, I think we'd manage, but it's more than that. The previous owners had wood framed windows next to the bathtub and, in order to avoid warping the wood, never had showers installed. Yes: They only took baths! Crazy, and a little sad.

On top of that, as you can see below, the lighting leaves much to be desired, the sink looks ancient and the flooring is a sick kind of linoleum that must be addressed.

Once at least one of the bathrooms is ready to go, we'll do a partial move-in while they finish the final project...

PROJECT #3: The Upstairs Kitchen
Behold, our unit's kitchen as it currently stands:

It has several good features—a huge pantry and generally great space overall—but I don't think I need to explain why this is in desperate need of updating. With as much time as we spend cooking and entertaining, this just won't do. The crazy appliances and total lack of cabinets and counter tops need to be fixed. Tom, our contractor, sent a great mock-up of our would-be kitchen with cabinets and counter tops all around! They're also going to pull up the weird tile floor and restore the hardwood underneath—yeah!

Our contractor is estimating that all this work will be done by beginning to mid-March. Keep that in mind because it will be the end of March when we will again be accepting visitors to our fair city and, even more importantly, hosting a housewarming party to knock your socks off.

Happy Birthday, Lois!

2010-01-23T09:37:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday, Heath and I traveled down to Ottawa, IL with friends to attend a surprise birthday party for Lois, a friend's mom who is now a friend.

As you can see, Lois looks great for her age — I don't think I would have guessed that she was celebrating her 60th.

[this photo courtesy of lisa c's camera]

She was definitely surprised and, I think, quite touched to have so many people show up in celebration of her. She's a wonderful woman and it was a real treat for us to be there with her.

[you know she's cool if she let's heath sit in her lap]

It's Official

2010-01-22T01:29:00.002-06:00

4523 S. Francisco is our new home!

[more pictures and more details to come]

Ducks vs. Blackhawks

2010-01-16T09:42:00.003-06:00

This has turned out to be the Christmas that keeps on giving. Even though the holiday already seems like ages ago, on Sunday Heath and I got to officially "open" his gift from Ash and Courtney: Tickets to see the Anaheim Ducks play the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks have been doing quite well this year—evidenced by the swell of fans since the last game we saw a year or so ago. We didn't enter the United Center with high hopes for a Duck victory.

Much to the dismay of the fans in close proximity to my very vocal, loud Ducks fan of a husband, the Ducks won, 3 to 1.

New Year's / Photo Purge

2010-01-16T09:33:00.004-06:00

In some ways, it feels a bit silly to be posting these photos now that the new year is actually 15 days in. However, they were on the camera and the posts about our time with the Carters over the holidays would not be complete without them.

We rang in the new year watching the Seven-Up series (fascinating! click here for more details), with frequent pauses to ooh and aah over treasures Heath found in the various trunks he's still keeping at his parents' place. Behold:

We also took one long pause at about 10 to midnight, to watch Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest wish us a happy new year.

A new year's celebration is nothing without treats, and Mackensey didn't disappoint. She baked some of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies we've ever eaten. Heath, who is the human incarnation of Cookie Monster, was a big fan.

Resolved...

2010-01-10T12:42:00.002-06:00

Heath is not the New Year's Resolution type.

I'm not obsessed with the idea of making them. Lord knows I'm not obsessed with keeping them—I only kept 1 of my 3 from last year, for example. I do, however, appreciate the built-in opportunity for self reflection and goal setting. Yes, this should be an ongoing thing, but nothing serves as a better reminder than Ryan Seacrest, Dick Clark and a big Swarovski-crystal studded ball.

After ringing in the new year with the Carters, I thought about what my resolutions for 2010 would be. There is, of course, the "I'd like to lose 15 pounds or so" that has been resolved for the last few years. I'd like to think that when I start working from home in February (separate blog post to come on that soon!), I can use my would-be commute time to be more regular at the gym.

I'd also like to maintain the one resolution I kept from 2009: To add more creativity into my weekly schedule. The sewing machine was instrumental in making this happen last year and I can't wait to liberate my sewing paraphernalia from our storage locker soon and very soon. Plus, my dad and aunt have funded a wonderful new sewing machine and gift card to Joann Fabric — I'm all set!

My new resolution is, in some ways, a late Christmas present to all my wonderful friends who patiently suffer through my phone-delinquent, prodigal friend behavior. I am terrible about calling people and phone tag is a regular game we all play. Up to this point I've tried to use my commute time to catch up with friends, but as my commute will soon be a distant memory, I have to get creative. My idea? I'm going to give the friends I have the hardest time catching viewing access to the Carter Google calendar. They'll be able to see what I have going on and then just e-mail or text me with the time that works best for them to talk every couple weeks. That way, I can get them on the schedule and hopefully avoid the phone tag. This may not be the best way to get the job done, but the fact that I've only been able to reach one of them this week to even share this idea underscores the fact that some sort of change is necessary...

Whether you're resolved to anything or not, here's to a happy, healthy new year!

Carter Christmas 7 | Goodbye CA Carters

2009-12-30T00:04:00.000-06:00

We knew our time with the California Carters would be short, but it absolutely flew by. In addition to spending time with our amazing nieces (comprehensively photographed in previous posts) was a real gift. They are absolute treasures and we wish that we were closer or able to visit more frequently. As a bonus, today we got to go on a couples' lunch with Ash and Courtney and just have some time away, sharing about our hopes for the new year. Heath and Courtney assembled a delicious dinner — flatbread pizzas and a spicy pasta dish. Heath, Ash and Mac took a siblings' retreat to Starbucks and we all ended the night with a game of Apples to Apples, which Grandad won handily.

It was a nice end to our time with the west coast side of the family.

[maddie experimenting with my camera]

[so long shot of baby eva]

[my new favorite picture]

As our last day as a fully assembled family, we also had family pictures on the agenda. Grandad, a closet photographer, tried to capture us all at our best. :-)

Carter Christmas 6 | Mom & Mall

2009-12-29T23:58:00.000-06:00

After our big day in the city, everyone needed to chill. Heath and I took this opportunity to have lunch with my mom, who was in town spending Christmas with her brother, sister-in-law and cousins.

We met her downtown and enjoyed a leisurely lunch catching up on all our respective holiday fun.

From there, Heath and I made our way to the Natick Mall, a massive shopping center with more stores than you can believe. We put some of our recently acquired gift cards to new use and enjoyed watching Maddie throw coins in the fountain.

We ended the day with a nice dinner at Legal Seafood.

Carter Christmas 5 | Boston!

2009-12-29T23:46:00.000-06:00

Grandad, ever vigilant on weather.com, informed the family that Sunday looked to be the day with the most moderate temperatures — prime time for our trip into the cit-tay.

We started with lunch at Houston's and then proceeded to walk a small section of the freedom trail. We ended up at Boston Common where Maddie took to the playground with lightening speed.

It was an overcast, but beautiful day in the city, best showcased in pictures...It is important to note that some of these pictures came from Aunt Mac and Grandad.

[boston at her wintry best]

[family shots]

[playground — 'nuff said]

Carter Christmas 4 | Snow Day

2009-12-27T20:56:00.000-06:00

It probably isn't shocking for our blog readers to hear that Tulare, California doesn't see a lot of snow in any given year. For this reason, the mounds of snow in Nana and Grandad's yard was extremely interesting to Maddie.

Eager to help her enjoy her first real snow experience, the family and dogs trooped out to throw snowballs, make snow angels and build a snowman.

[maddie's snow angel]

Carter Christmas 3 | Christmas Day, Part II

2009-12-27T18:25:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas Day happened in two parts. There was the actual Christmas Day, detailed in the previous post. But, as I stated there, Christmas festivities don't really begin until the little ones arrive and, needless to say, they weren't ready to open gifts post-flight.

They were, however, more than ready the morning after. Eva was so excited, in fact, that she woke up a little too early and daddy (Ash), had to bring her downstairs to sleep it off a little.

Soon and very soon, though, we were all up and ready to dive into our Christmas presents. Maddie was Nana's little assistant, helping pass out stockings and gifts to all of us when not preoccupied with her own presents.

Heath and I received many wonderful gifts, but two in particular stand out. One, not pictured, is a cookbook of recipes from 19th century Chicagoans living on Prairie Avenue. It's historical, it's Chicago and it's cooking...it's like a Heath trifecta of gift giving and Nana totally hit the nail on the head. The other top-notch gift is a new stockpot that can hold enough to feed 20 — something we've been needing for awhile.

Uncle Heath and Aunt Wendy (Thais — long story!) were very excited about our gift for Miss Maddie. Luckily, she was excited too. It was a themed gift that included a Curious George book about camping, a tent and a Disney princess sleeping bag. We know she liked it because we were asked to put the tent together right away and she is laying in the sleeping bag as I type this.

After all the gift opening, Nana was busy in the kitchen, preparing all sorts of delicious treats. This flour-y concoction would go on to become the most incredible rolls you've ever tasted. Our meal also included turkey and stuffing, cherry salad, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and other yummy foods.

Aunt Mac and Maddie had their own snacks to prepare. A new tradition with the grandbabies is to decorate little birthday cakes for Jesus. Maddie had a lot of fun with the icing and sprinkles.

Next post: Our snow-y adventure.

Carter Christmas 2 | Christmas Day

2009-12-26T21:39:00.000-06:00

To cap off our Christmas Eve we decorated the tree and mantle in preparation for the comings days' events. It was neat to go through all the ornaments, from the ones the kids made to the "baby's first Christmas" mementos and of course, the tin foil star Clyde and Jacque made their first Christmas together.

We opened the gifts from Aunt Leslie and the Burbanks, including the now traditional Christmas Story-related gifts...
[mac, the unofficial vacation photographer]

Christmas Day itself was pretty low-key since the California Carters were in flight most of the day. Let's be honest...Christmas festivities can't start in earnest with the nieces/grandbabies, so the grandparents, aunts and uncle spent the morning eating breakfast burritos, hitting the YMCA and then heading to Regal Cinemas to go see "Up in the Air."

In addition to the movie being quite good, we had the exhilaration of being the only 5 people in the entire theater for a good 30 minutes. Behold:

We went home for a quick bite and then headed to the airport to pick up the family. It was fun to see Maddie so excited to be on a big plane and then at Nana's house!

Before we all went to bed so that Santa could do his thing, Nana had some special treats for the girls. First, decorating their own special tree...

[bathtime for baby eva]

[reading a story about the birth of baby jesus]

[putting out cookies and milk for santa and carrots for the reindeer]

And, of course, we all had to get in our bonding time with the girls. They are both so cute and absolute treasures as nieces...

[weird stuff happens when family gets together...]

[laying out the filled up stockings — a.k.a. Santa came!]

Carter Christmas 1 | Caroling, etc.

2009-12-26T21:17:00.000-06:00

Our time in the Boston area has been somewhat luxurious. We split the 14-hour drive up so that it didn't totally wreck us and were able to slide into the Christmas festivities instead of dive in head first.

Mackensey has been making all sorts of delicious (fattening!) goodies such as trifle and magic cookie bar. Yum, yum. If we could sit around the house and eat all day, we might, but Jacque and Clyde (hereafter referred to as Nana and Grandad) had a couple pre-Christmas activities up their sleeves to make sure we weren't total couch potatoes.

Our second night in town we went "caroling on the common," a Shrewsbury event just outside the First Congregational Church in the downtown area. It was biting cold but the carolers were committed and there was plenty of hot chocolate to help take the edge off...

[caroling on the common]

Following caroling, we did the next logical thing and stopped at Starbucks for additional hot beverages and conversation.

[starbucks run]

Our other major outing was to the Christmas Eve service at Chapel of the Cross, the church the Boston Carters attend. It was wonderful to be able to meet some of the people in their small group and just enjoy a beautiful candle-lit service.

I don't have pictures from the service, so pictures of our lovely doggies will have to suffice.
[wheaten love]

Larsen-Walker Wedding

2009-12-23T21:05:00.000-06:00

This past weekend (before we took off for our Christmas adventure), we headed out to the area around Lake Geneva, WI for Nick and Becca's wedding, in which Heath was a groomsman.

It was a gorgeous weekend to be out on the Inspiration Ministries campground (where we stayed) and the church where they were married was quite lovely. The bride, of course, was gorgeous.

The low-key reception was at a nearby Christian high school, where I had the chance to hang with Res Cov-ers while Heath hung at the head table. It was very special to be among the friends and family celebrating with Nick and Becca.

[the Res Cov crowd]

[with the tree and the prominently posted 10 commandments]

[the elijah series...what a cutie!!]

In a word...

2009-12-21T12:31:00.000-06:00

...stunning.

Yes, we have a lot of attractive friends (I think). But last night I looked at these pictures and thought to myself:

Jenny is stunning.

Missing you, Jenny!!

Lisa's Ragtime Birthday

2009-12-19T22:35:00.000-06:00

One of the things that I love about Chicago is that places like The Green Mill still exist. The former speakeasy is recognized as the city’s oldest nightclub—it’s been offering continuous entertainment since 1907—and remains today as an authentic link to noted mobster, Al Capone. Gotta love it!

Anyway, this storied bar was the scene of Lisa A.'s Thursday-night birthday shin-dig. The best part about Thursdays? Swing dancing, live jazz and (unlike other more "serious" music nights) you can talk while the band plays. It was a blast. The birthday girl was adorably and era-appropriately dressed, the music was fantastic and it was a warm, lively place to spend a cold night.

[the birthday girl (center), her bf and heath]

Jeff's Visit

2009-12-19T22:26:00.000-06:00

Originally in town for a medical residency interview, our friend Jeff—in the process of finishing medical school at VCU in Virginia—turned a 1-day visit into 5-day Chicago adventure that included dinner at Marie's (a true Chicago experience), deep dish, a concert at the House of Blues, coffee shops galore and (a special treat) Lisa's birthday celebration at The Green Mill. That party warrants a post of its own...coming next.

Since Heath was Mr. Forgetful when it came to carrying the camera around, we don't have a ton of pictures of all the aforementioned activities, but we do have pictures from Marie's, decked out in all its Christmas glory. Lucky you!

Christine turns another year older...

2009-12-09T19:21:00.000-06:00

...and no, I won't say exactly how old. All the viewing audience really needs to know is that Christine's 40-something birthday very closely resembled my 21st birthday, except she was far more in need of a designated driver.

I, for the record, had just a drink and a half over the course of the evening. Please, keep that in mind.

Before I joined up with the group, they had dinner (and several margaritas) at a restaurant called the Mayan Palace. Around 9:30, I found them at Spin, a gay bar in Boystown. Say what you will about gay bars, but these two things matter most: The music was fantastic and we could dance without being accosted by any nasty individuals. Here is Christine, somewhat obscured by the contents of the smoke machine...

[smoke and mirrors]

From there, we headed to a bar called Wilde's (after Oscar Wilde) which was, by far, the most sophisticated establishment we were at all night. We picked up Christine's friend Mary D and her husband, Art, who was also celebrating his birthday. It was at this moment in the evening that we had enough personal space and presence of mind to take a group photo. You can see the top of my forehead in the back. :-)

[with santa at wilde's]

[group shot]

Our next location wasn't classy, but it was...memorable. Any place with the name Hogs & Honeys would have to be. We had two primary objectives at H&H: Christine wanted to dance on a bar and ride the mechanical bull. Check and check. [As you'll see below, I skipped the bar dancing and joined in the bull riding.] She also got a "bonus" experience of having the very lovely bartender pour a shot directly into her mouth. Gross! But for Christine, high on the adventure scale.

[bar beauties, christine and renee]

[a lot of bull]

[shot in the dark]

[buddy pics]

Thanks goodness we ended the night at Howl at the Moon. Not as "chill" as Wilde's, it was a good capstone to the night. The dueling piano bar had actual seats we could sit in, a thinning crowd and a closing time: 3am. That forced a curfew—thank goodness!—and I made it back to Downers Grove shortly before 4.

[our fellow howlers]

Needless to say, this isn't my typical Saturday night, but for Christine, it was worth schlepping around the city. I got to dance and definitely found our fellow club-hoppers more than entertaining.

Thanksgiving Travels | NYC

2009-12-05T14:32:00.000-06:00

I am embarrassed to admit that we were not on the picture-taking ball while in New York, but I can't finish our Thanksgiving recap without a shout out to our NY contingent of friends.

I flew out of DC early Sunday morning to head straight to the Greater New York Dental Meeting. Yes, it was as exciting as it sounds. :-)

The meeting left me fairly free in the evenings, which allowed Heath and I to hang out with people in the evening. We had dinner with Gilbert and Rachel on Monday night at a cute little pizza/wine bar joint in the East Village. And Tuesday we were able to meet up with Marty and his new girlfriend, Isa. We went to this wonderful little Italian place in Park Slope (Brooklyn).

Heath was able to grab coffee with James on Tuesday afternoon which means we were able to see—in 10 days—80% of my bridesmaids and 50% of our groomsmen. Woo hoo!!

It was a great trip, very fun, but it was good to head back to Chicago and return to life as usual for at least another couple weeks before we begin our Christmas travels to Boston!

Thanksgiving Travels | Post-Turkey VA

2009-12-05T14:21:00.000-06:00

[and the Thanksgiving posts continue]

We were fortunate to be able to spend a couple more days in Virginia and DC post-Thanksgiving.

Friday, Tiara, Mom and I went to see New Moon (!!) and had lunch together. That night, Aunt Renee hosted a great dinner at her place.

Saturday, Heath and I spent the day with Mackensey, grabbing brunch in the city and then going to see the Fantastik's—a fun muscial—at the Lincoln Theater. For dinner, Heath and I made fish tacos, guacamole, and queso, as well as small pitchers of pina colada and margaritas. As though the evening could get any more fun, Heath, Tiara, Bryan and myself went cosmic bowling.

Here are snapshots of these varied adventures.

[dinner at aunt renee's]

[hanging with mac]

[bowling]

Thanksgiving Travels | Dinner at Dad's

2009-12-03T21:00:00.000-06:00

Dad hosted Thanksgiving dinner at his place — perfect size for our party of 10. We shared what we were thankful for, gorged ourselves on Abe (the turkey, named after recently deceased Washington Wizards owner, Abe Pollin), played Quiddler, listened to Lady GaGa and watched football out of the corner of our eyes. It was a fun evening that yielded delicious leftovers.

[mac and demi help prep heath's butternut squash, leek and goat cheese gratin]

[the spread]

[cutting up abe]

[violet's thanksgiving outfit]

[general festivities]

Thanksgiving Travels | 5-Miles of Alexandria

2009-12-03T20:55:00.000-06:00

We've always been they type of couple to say that doing some kind of Turkey Trot race on Thanksgiving morning would be a great idea. In my mind, that was maybe a 5K or some short distance that helped assuage your guilty conscience about overeating but didn't push things too hard around the holidays.

This year, we decided to actually do one and, while not marathon, 5 miles definitely requires you try a little harder than usual. :-)

Heath, Violet and I ran with Mackensey and her friend Demi, who were also joining us for Thanksgiving dinner later. It was a great race with a lot of kids, dogs and fans cheering us along. The cold morning actually made for ideal running weather and we all had finishing times we were proud of — even Violet.

Thanksgiving Travels | Charlottesville, VA

2009-12-03T20:36:00.000-06:00

From Winfield, we headed towards Virginia, actually going just past Charlottesville to Richmond, where we went to Bottom's Up pizza to have dinner with Ben and Mary, who drove up from Virginia Beach. I wasn't in photo mode just yet, so I don't have any pictures to prove we actually saw them — you'll just have to take my word for it.

I do, however, have pictures detailing our stay in C-ville. We were staying with Celeste and John (who were fabulous hosts). Celeste took Monday off to coffee-shop hop with Heath and Myself as we took care of various work-related things pre-holiday. The highlight of the afternoon, however, was our stop at Little John's (a deli near campus) where I was able to order my absolute favorite sandwich from undergrad: The Ranchand. Even with a slightly modified recipe, it was DELICIOUS. See:

We had a much more sophisticated dinner with Celeste and John later that night before heading over to Monday Night Live, the large group meeting for Chi Alpha (the campus ministry that Heath and I were involved with). When the ministry first started my freshman year, there were fewer than 20 of us involved. By the time I left to head to Chicago, there were maybe 50 to 60. Today, they have an average 200 or so people at the MNL meetings and over 300 people involved in a small group — CRAZY! Celeste and I sat in the front row, as usual, and marveled at the many things that had changed. It was a real treat to be able to speak for a few minutes at the meeting and share some thoughts on the Christian life post-college. Chi Alpha was a huge part of my spiritual development, so it was a little like meeting little siblings I didn't know I had.

[at dinner]

[at Chi Alpha, which has very fancy signs now]

We spent most of Tuesday morning with Pete and Amy (they were my campus pastors, Pete married Heath and I), just catching up and having really great conversations about everything from Christian community to healthcare. It was very special to be able to spend that time with them and their son, Ian.

When we left C-ville that night, it was for another VA Beach rendezvous in Richmond, this time with Jess and Adam. They braved some pretty hellish traffic to meet us, but our dinner at Mama Zu's, this hole-in-the-wall Italian place near VCU was well worth it! Our food was stellar and, of course, it was great to be able to split a bottle of wine, catch up and hear all about their new home and their new dog, Samson, a yellow lab.

After our whirlwind of catching up with friends, we headed north to dive into family time with the Pietrangelos.

Thanksgiving Travels | Winfield, WV

2009-12-03T20:25:00.000-06:00

[we will be posting our Thanksgiving Travels in short segments, rather than trying to put it all in one, crazy-long post]

The first stop on our incredible journey was Winfield, WV. This is the new hometown to Heath's neighbors from California, Jack and Nancy. Their amazing daughter, Dawn, passed away earlier this year and we were looking forward to spending time with them as they start this next phase of their lives.

Even with flea markets where people can buy semi automatic weapons for $130, there is no denying that West Virginia is a beautiful state. It is also home to several good restaurants, including a surprisingly tasty Thai place.

Fall Day with Miss V

2009-11-07T18:35:00.000-06:00

It was a gorgeous weekend in Chicago. What better way to capture that than in pictures with my two favorite people — and yes, I consider Violet "people." :-)

Halloween Fun

2009-11-07T17:59:00.000-06:00

While we didn't dress up this year, we did do more to celebrate All Hallow's Eve than in years past.

On the 30th we went on a triple-date with some friends from work and their significant others. The main event for the evening? A guided tour of haunted Chicago. To be completely honest, our lack of belief in all things paranormal made it a less than scary, more silly experience — but, all that aside, we did get to see some parts of Chicago that we hadn't before and got a good laugh out of looking for "orbs" in our photos.

Haunting 1: Valentine's Day Massacre

Many people have heard the story of the brutal mass killing known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (if you don't, click here). But what many people don't know is that Al Capone was supposedly haunted by the ghost of one of the victims. In "fact," people claim to have seen Capone and the ghost arguing in his car on multiple occasions. Ooooooo....

Haunting 2: Mausoleum in Lincoln Park

Before it was home to the post-frat masses, Lincoln Park was the site of Chicago's biggest graveyard. That spooky fact, along with its proximity to water supposedly make it prime haunting territory. We stopped at one of the last mausoleums left in the park to hear stories about ghost dogs and wandering spirits and, of course, to take a few pictures.

Haunting 3: John Hancock Evil Vortex

On our way to the next paranormal hot spot we drove down Lake Shore Drive and heard about how Anton LaVey, founder of the satanic church, begged the architects of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill not to build the John Hancock Building. Why? Well, not only is that the former site of an Indian graveyard, but the architectural plans actually create pentogram-like shapes which create a vortex for all things evil. Scoff if you will (we did), but our guide claims there have been several suspicious suicides and other activity that later became the inspiration for the Ghostbusters movie. See more here.

Haunting 4: Eastland Disaster

I was surprised when our big old tour bus stopped on Wacker Drive, next to the Chicago River. As it turns out, that area was the scene of what is now referred to as the Eastland Disaster, a mass drowning in the summer of 1915. More than 800 people died and, according to our guide, their spirits still haunt the river walk. Some people claim to have seen children's faces in the water. It was more sad than scary. Especially considering how beautifully tranquil everything seems now...

Haunting 5: Hull House Devil Baby

By far the weirdest story we heard was about Chicago heroine Jane Addams and her experience with the "devil baby of Hull House" which, according to our guide, was the inspiration for the movie Rosemary's Baby. As the story goes, a young pregnant woman came to Hull House scared for her life. Not only did many women die in childbirth at this point in history, but she was married to an abusive husband who beat her regularly. Addams and Co. told this woman that they would send a midwife when the time came to give birth and that if her husband hit her again, to come tell them and they would do what they could to help.

As it turns out, this young woman was also a devout Catholic who regularly prayed to Mary. Her husband was, as described by our guide, an "angry atheist." One night he was beating her and then noticed that she was holding a picture of Mary, praying. He grabbed the picture and, as he tore it to shreds, said he would rather have her give birth to the devil himself than pray to Mary. As legend has it, he got what he asked for...his wife gave birth to a "boy" with a forked tongue, horns and a tail. The husband—disgusted—dropped him at Hull House. For the rest of the story, click here.

Hull House seemed pretty peaceful in spite of the devil baby being buried in the backyard.

After our tour, the 6 of us went to Il Quartino for tasty Italian, good wine and a good laugh.

On Halloween itself we joined Keith and some friends of his from out of town for the Halloween parade on Halsted. There were dogs, kids, cheerleaders, drag queens and plenty of great costumes as you can see here:

It was definitely a fun way to spend the weekend.

Housing Update

2009-10-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

Just to keep everyone in the loop: Our most recent house under contract fell through last Saturday due to appraisal issues with the owner. Say goodbye to Menard!

We're going out with our real estate agent again and plan to expand our search to include a few more neighborhoods. Pray that we find the right place for us soon.

Richard's Birthday Feast

2009-10-30T10:37:00.001-05:00

Richard Meyers is, perhaps, our favorite octogenarian. Not because he's one of the few we know, but because he is a fascinating, kind man who doesn't use getting older as an excuse to stop exploring the world.

We celebrated Richard's 80th birthday this past Saturday with a feast planned out by Heath and Lisa A. Since we are still living the nomad's life, Lisa and Dena hosted at their beautiful apartment and Dena's brother, Galen, in for the weekend was a huge help in all the set-up, prep and clean-up.

All in all we had around 17 people show up to honor Richard, including people who have known him since he moved to Chicago 40 years ago and those he's met in the last year. For those of you who don't know, Heath and Richard became friends through The Grind, one of Heath's favorite coffee shops in the city. The Grind's owner, Tara, actually provided the birthday cake you see pictured below.

There were toasts, delicious breads and cheeses, and an "autumnal" themed meal that included perfectly prepared prime rib, a root vegetable salad, green salad with pesto dressing, and a butternut squash risotto. It was amazing!

Most importantly, Richard had the opportunity to hear people share how much he means to them.

[all photos are courtesy of the very talented Lisa A., pictured with the birthday boy]