kidding around

Last week was my birthday. It’s always weird having a birthday 3 weeks after Christmas (although, as a teenager I loved the money I would get and then hit all the sales!). People get out of the habit of celebrating a birthday after coming off the craziness of the holidays…I get it. Also, the reality of life hits most of us and the winter “blahs” are in full force.

A challenge we had last week was that our refrigerator went out (Happy Bday to me!). At first, I was slightly excited because I have been yearning for a bigger fridge…what were we thinking 7 years ago? Oh yeah, one extra kid later and growing kids…you can’t really imagine what that means in so many ways.

ANYWAY, we shopped around and were stunned with how expensive they are and did not want to go in debt. With school tuition for our 3 kids still an issue we are stretched to say the least. Nathan checked out Craigslist- found a perfectly suitable and larger fridge and we paid cash…I admit, I moped. But, I’m not one to mope for long given that I am a pretty fortunate person to live where I do and have a healthy family…(Happy Birthday to me!). So, one of the lessons of “growing up” and “growing wiser” was to cancel our hotel reservations in Chicago so we could feel at peace with not going into further debt. So this post is to show that you can still have fun and get a new/used refrigerator at the same time!

We took the express train into the city and listened to one of my favorite programs on NPR. It was fun sitting side by side enjoying a great story sans kids. This story was what we thoroughly enjoyed and found relatively familiar!

We basically spent the day prioritizing food and art. Once we arrived, we took a cab to XOCO (Rick Bayless’ new place). We arrived just as they were closing for breakfast and only were serving coffee, cocoa and pastries. Hardly a problem. We sat in the cafe and enjoyed churros, coffee, and I had the Aztec Cocoa. We learned that they roast and process the cacao beans on site which gave the cocoa an extremely fruity and wonderful taste! I was in heaven, really.

Nathan was a good diabetic and ordered a lovely salad. I was the birthday girl and ordered whatever I wanted without a care…

Check out this torta… Chicken, pepper jack cheese, pickled jalapenos, and cilantro crema.

I was sad once lunch was over. We hustled to Michigan Ave. and paid homage to the Apple store and dreamt of an iPhone and Nano. We checked out The Gap and were blown away with the sales. I bought 2 skirts (I’m good, but not that good) for about $6 a piece…man alive! Nathan and I both agreed we are terrible shoppers and bore easily.

It was time to head on over to the Art Institute and visit the Modern Wing. We couldn’t resist an obligatory “couple shot” with the river behind. And, what are we looking at? A nice passerby asking if we want her to take the photo. We let her, but like this shot best! Can you believe we have known each other over half our life? We were 18 and now- ahem.

The Modern Wing is GORGEOUS. So different from the older part of the Art Institute and basically all windows. They have a great area of studios for families and it’s free- you don’t even have to pay admission to create art. I love that and it’s totally accessible for all.

We decided to eat early and good thing. The place we went to was on the previous night’s news and quickly filled up once we were seated. The food was so GOOD and we will go back for sure (shaved brussel sprouts with pecorino, salted/roasted beats with goat cheese and pistachios, milk braised pork shoulder, chicken kebobs with tzatziki and a great bottle of wine…Happy Bday to me).

After dinner, we dashed to a cab and we were off to the train station making an earlier train. It was lovely to arrive home with no kids to have to tuck in (sure, we missed them) and watch a movie and be totally “Nathan and Carol” and not “Poppy and Mama”.

Thanks for reading a pretty long winded account of my birthday. Should I mention that on my actual birthday my sister had a nice lunch for me at work (I share a bday with another cook, and do you know how many other people are born on the 15th? A LOT) and my mom and sister hosted a wonderful dinner…we grilled burgers in the dead of winter. LOVED IT.

So- yep, I had a nice time and we saved some money…imagine!

Who needs to live on either coast to enjoy the water? Our family loves Lake Michigan (we were at Evanston beach yesterday). And in reality you can barely tell it’s NOT the ocean, except no mouth full of salt water here or jelly fish. Not to say I don’t love the ocean- but living in the middle of the country is not all that bad.

My brother-in-law is an avid wind surfer. We just love to go along and lounge on the beach, use his paddle board and get sand in our toes! Here’s Nathan trying the paddle board and of course successfully getting the hang of it. He insisted that I could do it, but I’m a wimp with cold water.

Here’s a shot of Penny with Uncle Matt on the paddle board. She LOVED it. You should see my niece on it, at 2.5 I’m amazed with her gutsiness!

Who’s that crazy lady with Nathan? Oh- it’s me. Thankfully I stayed out of the sun and avoided “raccoon eyes”.

I love summer.

What/Who was missing? Ellie! She’s in Wisconsin for camp- oh well, we’ll have to go back for another “day away”.

This past Wednesday, Nathan and I celebrated 14 years of marriage. We started our date off right by going to Ballydoyle for a celebratory beer and then we were off on our picnic!

The weather was perfect, unlike our actual wedding day (suffocating heat, humid- you get the picture) and the food was delectable. We decided to go with what we did a lot while dating…go on a picnic with lots of cheese and pate. Perfect. A few salads were thrown in from Moveable Feast…even better and a bit healthier than just the cheese!

Here’s a shot of my sweet guy- I still think he’s the best after 18 years…
I am a fortunate gal.

Guess who loves having her picture taken? Not me.

After we were sufficiently full, a bike ride was in order. I was happily surprised that the forest preserve we chose (Herrick Lake for you locals) had wonderful trails. As the sun was setting the birds were out (so many varieties) and I literally felt like I was pedaling through the English countryside! I am positive we will return for a cheap date or perhaps the kids will be included too!

Oh-the bike I have to ride (one of many-it’s a sickness, I mean hobby Nathan has!) is a Schwinn Breeze. The exact model my grandparents had for us when we would visit them for 3 weeks in the summer. I love it and hope to get a fun basket that will definitely top the “cute bike look”. Any suggestions as to where I can find one?

So, yes- we celebrated! I am proud of Nathan and I…marriage is not easy, but we both strive to make our partnership strong, full of love and forgiveness.

Last night I helped my sister and her husband at “Feast on the Farm”. It was a perfect evening- a beautiful sunset, cool temperatures, gorgeous and tasty food and nice friends to work with…

Here are some shots of the evening. Unfortunately it was dark by the time dinner was out, but I can assure you it all was breathtaking!

Happy weekend!

is a day that removes you from obligations, laundry, and yardwork…and forces you to forget about the time and to enjoy your family.

We spent Father’s Day on Lake Michigan (in Evanston to be exact) enjoying the sand, COLD water and watching my brother-in-law wind surf.

An absolute perfect day away with only an hour drive. Can’t wait to do it again.

Happiness is spending a day with your 3 kids. Taking the train. Seeing the city. Being together. But…

it can also be extremely frustrating and test a Mama’s patience. This little sas had her moments…can you tell by my expression. I wasn’t impressed. But I did have fun and the kids did too. I have come to the conclusion that although it is important to take these sort of adventures I personally can not enjoy them. Maybe when they are older- but until then, we will tackle our day together and get through it.

Happy Weekend.

Yesterday, Simon and I went on a nice excursion to a semi-local monastery.

To visit such a place is so incredibly breathtaking. I am an Orthodox Christian, but I find any sort of sacred space to be completely humbling. I hope you all can appreciate the artist’s work. It was impossible to even capture the interior of this place.

I know these little guys were pretty speechless!


When I asked Simon if he had a good day, he simply replied “you were my favorite person to be with.” Love it. Love him.

Okay, so NPR is having a series on kids and the media. Tonight is the second part of a 3 night series.

I didn’t realize Ellie will soon be, what the marketers say, a tween. Check out the article and listen to the story as well. I didn’t realize that the audio story would be completely different.

It’s pretty sobering.

So what sort of music do you let your kids listen to OR once they hit the “tween” stage what will you allow?

I just got home from work and wanted to share this article I heard on the radio (NPR) while baking.

Thankfully we don’t have cable and even allow our kids to buy character products. But our children are still being bombarded with feeling they should be discontent. Especially when they go to friends’ houses and see all their toy junk. I think we are one of those families that most marketers would label as a loss cause.

Anyway, I hope this will be interesting to those that have kids, nieces and nephews or just a perspective on the “consumer world”.

We just returned from our trip to Michigan. Nothing is nicer than getting away for a bit…spending time with family and then returning to your home and feeling rested.

My husband and his brother took our kids camping. I got to hang out with my sister-in-law and we had such a memorable time. We strolled a local art fair, sampled all kids of wine, thrifting, watch the sunset on their “backyard lake”, finish my book club selection for this month and sleep in!

The only thing really missing was Penelope. She stayed with my sister and brother-in-law. They did a great job and pass with flying colors. Soon, they will have their own little one to swoon over, but until then, Penny loves their attention.

By the way, all of these shots were taken the evening we arrived and had a nice dinner and bon fire. Summer time feelings were everywhere!