Category Archives: Uncategorized

This past Saturday, Travis and I had a Chicago date night. We ate at a divine restaurant of a big-name chef, checked out an amazing new music venue (where one my favorite bands was playing), and relished that, two years later, we still get geeked up that the second city is our playground.  From buzzContinue reading “Guests [book]”

My biggest heartbreak in our move was the loss of our most precious piece of art – a portrait of our older child done by our younger child. Our son drew from a snapshot taken for our daughter’s SAT admission ticket. The casual photo captures her intelligence and brightness plus a fabulous hair moment. TheContinue reading “But now she’s found*”

Over the last few weeks, Atlanta has experienced something I’m gonna call “city limit creep”. Somehow Atlanta has spread to include my living room in Illinois…and maybe yours wherever you are. Nothing has been more fun than having my heart beat with the pulse of my hometown from all these miles away. Seeing friends onContinue reading “A T L A N T A B R A V E S, world champs”

Hi! Long time, no write. Been busy making our Illinois life… a rewarding task. We’ve been here a year. Met amazing people. Soaked up gorgeous scenery. Enjoyed Chicago. Survived our 1st winter. Become Cubs fans. Learned about black squirrels and buckthorn. Recommitted to our dislike of deep dish. Discovered cheese curds are simply fried cheese.Continue reading “Year 1”

Dear Illinois winter, Nice to meet you! Thanks for being late. Thanks for not getting too serious straight out of the gate. I’m impressed with how you’re making up for lost time and breaking all kinds of records. We feel like you eased us in beautifully and now are initiating us properly. People like toContinue reading “10 things I don’t hate about you”

In 1961, Rita Moreno sang those famous words in West Side Story’s show stopping “I want to be in America”. It was a ground-breaking performance in that a Puerto Rican played the role of a Puerto Rican in American Film. In a sea of cringe-worthy “white wash” casting (think Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi inContinue reading “Smoke on your pipe and put that in”

Here I am. This gorgeous view is still a little blurry. Let’s review to examine why. Move – 10 days • pack up Atlanta house Move – 8 days • load up Atlanta house, move to rental Move – 7 days • close on Atlanta house Move – 6 days • daughter’s Senior Honors BanquetContinue reading “Move + 35 Days”

When we were house hunting in 2007 (after our first false move to Illinois), we kept asking our real estate agent to show us lofts in neat urban neighborhoods in the city. My sister is our agent, so she felt comfortable reminding us (repeatedly) that we were not, in fact, young movers and shakers, butContinue reading “Steel Door Frames”