National Stereoscopic Association trade fair

Last weekend Dale and I went to the National Stereoscopic Association's trade show. A tiny collectibles fair filled with nothing but 3D nerds! I was excited to go because I love to collect antique view-master reels!

Dale was a trooper. We drove to Grand Rapids at the crack of dawn, got some view master goodies and encountered some nice (and some kind of crabby) nerds. I like the photo above--vintage stereo cameras! Neat!

This is all the loot I bought! VERY exciting! My favorites were the Chicago and Chicago at Night reels I purchased.

After our close encounters of the nerd kind we headed home, stopping for dinner in Kalamazoo with recent frequent blog guest, Sarah G. No pictures of Sarah this time, sorry!

We had tasty pizza and stumbled on an odd metal work shop that had a garden filled with neat metal work in back. It was called the Smartshop and it features the work of the artist that owns the place and they offer classes. Neat! Check out their website here.

We drove on home staring straight into a spectacular summer sunset that went from a fiery orange to a dark pink. It was a fun day.

Two Random Images

This is Sarah during her last visit. I was excited to have company so I pulled out the creamer cow and some of my vintage coffee cups. I was pretty excited to see the cow in action.

And this is a picture of our kitties eating dinner! Today is Sidney's 11th birthday! It's an arbitrary day we selected and we don't even really celebrate it but it amuses me to know we could. Yes, I know the floor needs to be mopped but it's not like this is a blog about cleaning (thank God).

Anyway from left to right: Sidney Potier, Monty Clift, and Bela Lugosi.

Fourth of July in Oak Park

Sarah G. came to visit for the 4th of July weekend! This is us waiting for the fireworks to start at the high school in Oak Park.

And, of course, this is me and Dale waiting for the fireworks to start.

Sarah and I had a lot of fun running around Chicago. We went to Taste of Chicago (and did not get food poisoning, which is awesome), to Marshall Field's/Macy's and saw the huge-normous American flag they had on display for the holiday (seriously, that thing is like five stories tall), and had ice cream at the Ghirardelli chocolate shop on the opposite end of Michigan Ave. We were too lazy to walk all those blocks so we hitched a ride on the free trolley. Good times!

A Visit to Betsy & Bryan's House...

You remember Sarah & Betsy, yes? Last time I went to visit Betsy was when little Owen was newborn! Well, Betsy and her husband Bryan have added another wee one to the family and my friend Sarah set up a visit so we could see the family.

Sarah and Betsy (with little Fern in front). The photos I had with Bryan turned out blurry!

Miss Sophie has gotten big! But she's as charming and precocious as ever.

She's also on the move. This one never stops once she gets going.

Owen is getting big, too! He tries to keep up with Sophie but as I said above, she's a bit of a blur.

And this is the newest addition to the family: little baby Fern! Aww. She's so sleepy. It's exhausting being a new baby.

And finally this is Zoe. She's the family's slightly perturbed kitty. She is on a diet and is not at all amused by the fact that she can see her food but not eat it. Poor kitty!

Happy Hour

We met up with some pals for a happy hour a few days back. This is our friend Anne. I worked with her at my last job.

This is Tara, our dear downstairs neighbor, and Stephanie--both former coworkers of Rebecca's!

And a bonus of picture of Tara!

Coffee in Chicago

One night last week Dale and I met our friend Hannah for dinner. Along the way, Dale ran into a breakdancing troupe. They've traveled about the world breakdancing and they are licensed street performers.

I dug the pictures so much I felt like sharing them all.

Handstand!

I love this one! He's way up in the air.

Starbucks outdoor cafe right next to the Adams/Wabash el stop in the loop.

Dale took pictures of Hannah as the wind was blowing her hair.
She's originally from Flint and Dale knew her when they were kids.

Weekend Up North . . .

Dale shot a wedding in Petoskey the first weekend of May and since it was my birthday weekend--and a place where many dear friends live--I decided to go with him.

We stayed with Doug...

and the boys (Oliver and Cole, pictured above).

Dale did everything he could to make it a nice birthday for me. It was great, actually, though this year is filled with painful "firsts" without my mom Dale made it really special and fun. Anyway, Dale had a bunch of people call me (he's sneaky) and got me a new iPod. Sweet! And my friend Rebecca made me cupcakes for the road trip--she's a sweetie!

While Dale was working, Doug & I drove to Charlevoix on Saturday to meet our friend Heather and her little girl Maggie for lunch. We also wandered about Charlevoix for a spell and got ice cream.

Heather is pregnant with baby #2 and is due in a couple of weeks! This is us in Charlevoix. Oh, and I'm wearing my new glasses! As one of the bosses at work told me, "very fashion-forward!" But I think that might have been an insult. Hee!

Maggie is a cutie! And she loves her glass, too, obviously! She lit up like the fourth of July when Heather gave her the sunglasses! Ha!

Then it was back to Petoskey. During the weekend we went to a few of our favorite spots including Roast & Toast (an adorable indie coffee shop/deli) that is situated right next to one of my favorite bookstores in the world: McLean & Eakin (I could live there). Also, we went to the greatest kitchen gadget store in Michigan: Cutler's. It was a very happy trip!

We drove to Harbor Springs on Sunday and had breakfast at Mary Ellen's Diner--an old-fashioned counter grill and ice cream spot.

Doug & I soaking up the atmosphere! We also saw Iron Man. Good times.

Dale and I took the long way home--we drove along Lake Michigan as much as we could and stopped for dinner in St. Joseph to eat on a restaurant patio and watch the sunset. Lovely weekend! It was great to see Heather & Doug! I wish we all lived closer.

Vintage Dishes...

Dale and I share a well-known (among our friends and family) love of retro and vintage things (particularly things with a midcentury modern aesthetic--in case you want to get us something!) and our dear friends Lara & Trish (mom and daughter) generously offered us Trish's mom's set of dishes from the 1950s. We already use vintage dishes everyday and were very interested! These are the dishes--they are ADORABLE! Pink, with a black and white pinecone/nature theme. They were produced by Taylor Smith Taylor and are the Pink Dwarf Pine design.

LOVE THEM! Thanks Trish & Lara for thinking of us and giving us such a lovely set!

Pat's 40th Birthday Party--Surprise!

Last night we had a lovely time at our friend Pat's 40th birthday party. It was a surprise party thrown by his wife (and my BFF) Rebecca!

Pat's a great guy--just look at him!--and we were happy to spend the evening celebrating in his honor!

Dale took some photos, of course, and you can check out the gallery for Pat's party by clicking here. But I took this photo of Dale--and since he's both camera shy and reluctant to smile I think this one is extra special! He's smiling and at the camera!

Heather Visits...

I'm sooo behind on blogging! Last month Heather came to visit and we had a weekend of visiting, snacking, and Tri-Ominoes! It was very exciting, clearly. It was great to see her and to have a nice long stretch of time to visit with Lara, Rebecca & Heather. There we are in Lara's cooking show-quality kitchen. Thanks Tony for taking the picture!

Rebecca's Mom...

My mom is being transitioned from hospital care to hospice care today. She may or may not make it home as she is very sick. Her body has stopped responding to dialysis and is shutting down. Dale and I are in Memphis to see my mom and offer some support to my stepdad, Gary.

I wanted to post the above picture to remind us all of happier times.

I truly appreciate the love and support of family and friends and I look forward to touching base with all of you once we have seen my mom off with dignity and love.

Thank you.

Dale in Milwaukee

Dale took a quick overnight trip a few weeks back to Milwaukee to visit his friend Gary.

Milwaukee is just over an hour away from Chicago! While visiting, they went to the Milwaukee Botanical Gardens. The above photo is Dale's favorite from the trip.

This is Gary and his girlfriend Jessica.

They had some neat cactus plants.

More cactus plants. Neat.

Megan & Maddie

My friend Megan and her daughter Maddie came to spend the day in Oak Park! We had a great time. I took them to The Spindle (which is close to becoming history to make room for a new Walgreen's--GRRR!). We also did some shopping, played with the kitty cats, and grabbed a bite of Mexican food. Yummy!

I also got my first look at Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple. The admission price is a bit steep at $8 but only because there's not much to it. It's still a lovely piece and they will hopefully restore it with the pricey entrance fee!

Stephenie Meyer Book Signing

I've been turning all my gals onto my latest guilty pleasure--Stephenie Meyer books! She writes very entertaining (slightly trash-tastic) novels. Her latest is Eclipse and since I'd pushed Rebecca P. into reading the first two novels, we decided to go together to get the new book on the day it was released--August 7--and it just so happened that the author was in Naperville doing a book signing on the release date.

The event was such a huge deal that the signing was moved from the book store to the local college auditorium. We got there about 15 minutes before the doors opened and found quite a line! It wrapped around the building.

We felt a little old among the crowd of mostly teen gals. We were mostly bitter because it was roughly 1000 degrees with 100% humidity! Still plenty of time for a self-portrait!

The line wrapped around the entire block. When we got inside, we were handed a copy of the book and Stephenie Meyer gave a brief Q&Q. She then sat down and signed each book of each person present. There were 1,000 seats and it was sold out! And people brought all of her other books to have them signed as well.

Because the book is a sequel lots of folks got started as soon as Stephenie left the stage to start signing. We were 650 and 651 of 1,000!

We patiently waited our turn, enjoyed the complimentary water and Stephenie's favorite treat--chocolate chip cookie dough!

And finally--at 9:30--we got our books signed! Stephenie told me she liked my name and I told her that I am a fan of her most loathed character--the guy that is the greatest threat to the main love story--Stephenie gave me a high-five after I told her I am "Team Jacob." We had a moment and it was the bee's knees!

Brian & Hilary

Last weekend our friends Brian and Hilary were in town enjoying a nice weekend trip in honor of their anniversary and Brian's birthday. We had brunch with them on Sunday and got a chance to catch up. Very good to meet up with friends from out of town. They live in Grand Rapids and Hilary has her own jewelry-making business. Check it out by clicking here.

Movie Night with Rachel & Tara

Last night I went to see License to Wed with my pals Rachel and Tara. We're all big fans of The Office and had to see the stars of the show in a big screen movie. After the movie, we took a quick pic with The Simpsons! Love it!

Happy Fourth of July!

Tara & Jaycee

I've missed my pal Tara since she left our employer a few months back but she might be moving to Oak Park. Weekend before last Tara and her adorable daughter Jaycee came to check out the village. I drove them around and gave Jaycee lots of goodies to take home and to bribe her into moving to our little village!

I'll keep you updated. I had a great time with them but, wow! Toddlers are exhausting. I salute all of my friends that have wee ones! It's hard work but they are really fun to have around.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

I had quite the adventure this evening! My friend Anne had an extra ticket to Verdi's Requiem at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was really a fun event and I'm so lucky to have made friends here in Chicago, especially those that afford me such lovely new experiences!

Click here to get a peak at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra hall. Sorry, no pics from me because they were not allowed. I could have cheated but I'm a good girl.

UPDATE on Rebecca's Mom

Thanks so much to everyone who checked in to see how my mom was doing. She got out of the hospital yesterday and is still weak but much improved.

She had an infection coupled with sleep deprivation that had her a bit delusional! Freaky but now she's home and just exhausted. Poor thing just wants to sleep (and eat--her appetite is back, thank goodness).

Again, thanks SO MUCH to everyone who wrote/called. We appreciate it very much!

We took a quick trip down to Memphis to see her last weekend. We'll post pictures of the things we saw along the way this weekend.

Love you all!

Friends Visit in Chicago

I had a nice weekend with friends from Michigan! Dale worked on Saturday so he didn't get to go to the park. Here's a glimpse of the weekend festivities:

Introducing Miss Maggie! This was my first chance to meet my dear friend Heather's baby girl and it was very exciting! She's quite a sweetheart and very well-mannered.

And here are the proud parents! Heather and Ryan. They are standing in front of the "bean"--a neat silver sculpture in downtown Chicago.

And there's the rest of the clan! That's Brent & Cindy and little Isabella--not even two years old! I had them stare into the bean! Ha!

Cindy and her son, Benn, play in the reflecting pool at the Millenium Park right next to the bean!

Benn was a little cranky in the big city but his mood improved when we got to the reflecting pool. It's a great place to people watch and to get your feet wet.

Or, if you're anything like Benn, you'll get your whole body wet when the fountain turns on!

Auntie Ree helps little Isabella. She was fascinated by the water and it was very cute. She seemed to take the reflecting pool quite seriously! She meant business.

Hey! Who's the huge dork doing a self-portrait? That's right, as usual, it's me.

Flashback--Easter!

I realized today when I transferred my camera card to my computer that I never posted our Easter picks. We're not the most religious folks but it sure was nice to spend the holiday with our friends Lara & Tony and their families. Incredibly sweet and generous folks! THe picture above is Lara and her mom in Lara's dining room.

We had Polish feast that included sausage, sauerkraut, ham, salad and other goodies. All of it was exceptional! And Tony's clever way of getting rid of the leftovers while cleaning the kitchen was awesome. Look at all the baggies of goodies. We took home more than our fair share for lunch the next week.

Lara and Tony have the infamous Christmas Story leg lamp! It's fragile! And so very beautiful!

Tony's mom makes a lamb cake every year. It's awesome. And it has raisins at its butt! Haa! Anyway, I was fascinated when she told me she uses a cast iron mold that belonged to her mother. I, of course, searched for the pan on ebay and it sells for like $100. It's pretty rare, I guess! Neat!

Another great dessert treat were the fantastic bird's nest/peep cupcakes! Wow, were they neat! And delicious!

Wedding in Jacksonville!

My friend Heather got married to a very nice gentlemen named Michael last Saturday! We're very happy for her! And can't wait to invite them to visit us in Chicago!

Happily, we also got to meet up with my friend Fumie and her awesome husband, Ben. Fumie is pregnant and we're very excited for them to greet their first baby!

The wedding was on Saturday afternoon and on Saturday evening we headed to the ocean to see the water, enjoy a walk along the pier and have a delicious sushi dinner with Fumie and Ben!

Dale was very excited to see surfing! Surfing on the ocean! He has always wanted to try surfing and enjoyed seeing the folks brave the March waters.


Beautiful sunset image of the shore from the pier.

The pier was filled with prehistoric creatures!

Also known as pelicans!

Dale's Trip--some quick photos

Dale emailed me a few photos of his road trip with his best pal Chase. Chase is moving to Arizona, as I mentioned before, and Dale drove out with him. They arrived in Arizona yesterday and Dale emailed me a few pictures of the trip so far. I'm sure he'll have plenty more to share later. The above photo is Dale in Taos, NM at the Rio Grande.

This is a shot of Chase & Dale at the Painted Desert. Dale said it was a little late to get the full effect at sunrise but this gives you the flavor!

This amazing place is where a meteor hit the earth! Look at the size of that crater! It's crazy! Dale says it is 3/4 of a mile across and 800 feet deep!

Dale cracked me up by providing his first impressions of Phoenix (Dale is not a big fan of very hot climates):

Phoenix is a god forsaken land of dirt with a smattering a foliage just scraping by to exist; seriously it feels like God is in the sky trying to burn all the people on the ground with a magnifying glass. No human was ever meant to live here; for example the houses have industrial air conditioners mounted on the roof. It appears to be a constant battle between the bastard burning sun and a desire to live.

Wedding Memories & Other Thoughts

While most Chicagoans are busy prepping for the Big Game, we're being crafty and going to dinner! As you can see above, I finally got around to putting some of our wedding goodies in a cute display case. Dale and I both worked on it (he's quite crafty--and certainly opinionated) and we are very pleased with the results. The shadowbox includes our wedding invitation, program, CD favor, photo, hand-stamped cocktail napkin, bubbles (with custom name & date), a couple of silk leaves that served as part of table centerpieces, and little pieces of sprig from my bouquet. It makes me happy that we have such a keepsake. And thanks to Target for having frames on clearance thsi week! We're going to hang it in the living room.

What else is going on? We went to Benihana with our friends Rebecca & Pat tonight. It was tasty and it reminded us of all the fun we've had at Japanese Steakhouses with friends back in Detroit. We love Chicago--and very much enjoyed our dinner with R&P--but we certainly miss hanging with friends back in D-town!

Christmas Decorations & Holiday Fun

These are some poor snapshots; they just don't look as cute as they should! At any rate, I'd thought I'd share some holiday cheer:

After a long day at work I came home to this lovely display in our hallway!

Dale surprised me by decorating the hallway! It made me very happy!!

I did a little decorating although it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped it would Above, our decorated mantel. I decorated with little knickknacks--most of them homemade, of course!

This is our little vintage silver christmas tree, decorated with red bows, silver mini bulbs that my grandmother gave me, and lots of other little ornaments both old and old-looking. Hee!

Last Sunday I went to Lara's house with Rebecca to make cookies! We made a fine batch of sugar cookies and those tasty peanut butter kisses cookies. Dale has been partaking of the sugar cookies all week (to the extent that I might not have any to give my coworkers tomorrow as I'd planned)!

Weekend Apart for Us but with Old Friends! Yay!

Dale and I spent the weekend apart. Of course, he didn't take any pictures with his friends! Gah! But he said it was great to see them and to hang out in Fenton and Flint. Big love to Greg, Chase, Mikee, Terry and Jonathon. And thanks to Matt for driving over with Dale!

Heather cutting the cake!

I was up in the Traverse City area visiting with some of my favorite friends. My college roomie and BFF Heather is pregnant and we had a shower for her on Saturday. Rebecca did a great job with decorations and I enjoyed being there with my gal pals! Thanks for letting me stay and being a great hostess, Cindy (you remember, the Mary Kay lady)!

On Sunday, Doug and Suzanne came over from Petoskey and we had an amazing brunch at the Hasselhof. No, that's an actor. Hofbrau? I think. Whatev. It was delish! Make your own Bloody Mary bar! Waffles! Chocolate-covered strawberries! Prime Rib! Insanity in Interlochen!

Heather is indeed preggers! See little Isabella and Bennett

(Brent and Cindy's super cute kids) in the background.

Heather and Ryan Ranger--proud parents-to-be! We're happy to share this big occasion with them! Wow! Congrats!

Doug and Suzanne! It was so great to see them. It was the only chance I've had to see them so far this year! Tragedy! I adore them both to bits and pieces and Dougie and I have been BFF since 1994-ish!

Brent and Cindy! Brent is Heather's lil' bro and Cindy is Ree's cousin! They're the cutest! Two kids later they're still crazy in love! Aww!

Flashback: Dale's Friends Visit!

Dale's pals Chase and Chris came to visit us about a month after we moved here. They hung out and got caught up and all that good stuff! Dale was very happy to see them!

Here they are in front of the cars on a spike sculpture near our house!They did a silly photoshoot!


This is an excellent opportunity to remind y'all that I have a blog of silly Roadside Americana spots and other fun kitschy places right here: Rebecca's Roadside Curiousities!

My Friend Cindy is a Mary Kay lady!

Rebecca had a Mary Kay party with her cousin Cindy as the host. I've known Cindy for years and she's a great gal and a fab MK lady! :)

If you'd like some Mary Kay product--I believe she offers FREE SHIPPING--you can check out her website here: http://www.marykay.com/cniswonger/default.aspx

She's not a hard sell kind of person. I may be having a web-based MK party so if you're interested let me know!

Anyway, here's some snaps from the party:

This is Cindy!

Cindy's baby Isabella & Rebecca post-make-over!

Some of the pretty girly supplies.

Post make-over, wearing my super cute hat.

Last Weekend's Company!

Meghan came to visit from Detroit last weekend! She was in town and on the phone! Hee. She's all crazy for her new fella and he's so crazy for her he came and got her so she wouldn't have to take the train. Pretty crazy all the way around.

We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art (it was a bust) and hung out downtown for a spell. We showed her around Oak Park--which I'll be showing you soon--and had a nice visit. We want to plan something a bit more elaborate for her next visit. We want to take in a show or something fun.

We've been pretty boring lately!

Weekend with Betsy & Sarah

Last weekend Dale had some quiet time to prepare for an upcoming photo shoot while I drove over to Michigan to see some dear friends!

This is Betsy and Sarah! Good friends since 1993! Oh, how young we all were then! We met on Mackinac Island as sweet little fudge girls at Ryba's fudge shop!

We went to Jenny's Farm Market in Dexter, near Betsy's lovely home!
Betsy's husband Bryan is a sweetheart! He can be seen here with their adorable new baby Owen--just three months old! Owen is at that age where anything but food time is a little annoying. Hee! He's very single-minded!


And this is my good friend Miss Sophie! She is Betsy and Bryan's two-year-old daughter. She's about the cutest thing alive, has the sweetest disposition and the best manners! She is seen here dancing to an Elmo song with her beloved cat Chloe and Chloe's new friend Princess Kitty!

Shopping adventure

The Rebeccas had lunch and some shopping at Ikea. Very exciting. First up, lunch at Flourish Bakery Cafe in Edgewater. It was delish! We enjoyed a feast of epic proportions but the dessert was the best part! Chocolate Peppermint Cake! And Red Velvet Cake with Buttercream Frosting. Why am I capping each letter? It's just that important, I guess.

Then it was off to Ikea, where Rebecca bought a few things for the house and Rebecca P