Vida

Karen & I went to a restaurant that prides itself on supporting Missouri & Illinois farms.  We went to Three Kings Public House in St. Louis.  Karen went before with her boyfriend and said she immediately knew I would love it.  And I did! They even say on their menu their philosophy ensures they decrease their overall carbon footprint, while also providing their guests with the freshest produce picked at the peak of the season.  I love it even more because of that! Karen and I found some lovely seats outside on the sidewalk, which was also wonderful because the restaurant is in the Loop and I love that area.  The have a great draft list so we both had a delicious beer.  Karen went with Odell Easy Street Wheat from Colorado and I went with Boulevard Tank 7 from Kansas City.  I did enjoy mine more, but I think we were both happy with the recommendations. I had a portobello mushroom sandwich with some awesome sauce.  I have no idea wha...

Last Tuesday after a full day at a clinic near Cleveland, Jason and I headed out to one of his favorite restaurants in Cleveland that he thought I would really like.  I most definitely did really like it.   Greenhouse Tavern was so good! We had some spicy green dish for an appetizer that neither one of us could get enough of. I even asked the waiter what was in it so we could make it on our own.  So spicy and delicious.  It was one of the best foods I've eaten in awhile! Then for my meal I had a bean dish.  I don't even know how to describe it, except so creative and delicious!  There were things that looked like popcorn on top (and since we were asking what all the ingredients in our dishes were anyway) our waiter told me the "popcorn" was actually beans.  I have no idea how, but loved the creativity.   That chef is awesome! Jason and I left with very full stomachs and big smiles.  We literally couldn't stop talking about the spic...

I mentioned my cousin, Kyle, graduated from college on Saturday.  He graduated from Missouri S&T.  And the guest speaker was an astronaut who went on the last shuttle mission in July 2011 and graduated from S&T.  I don't remember her name, but maybe Rubina will know and help me out.   The ceremony was nice (although quite hot in the gym without A/C and 80ish degrees outside), but good!  I was even wearing a dress, I'm happy I wasn't wearing pants, a button up shirt and tie... poor guys =) It was just so weird to see him graduate!  I used to give him rides to school in high school.  The rides would basically go like this:  I talked... a lot.  He listened.  I think I helped prepare him for relationships.  So you're welcome Rikki, his fiance.  ;) Here are a few photos from the big day!  (There are a lot of Kyle and Charlie because I couldn't choose) My family with Kyle & Grandma Cousins! such...

This week was another doosy.  I'll do some snippets here and then explain some of these more fully next week.   I'm not sure I like these snippet lists... I'm still deciding.  But here goes another one. *went to Cleveland where I stepped up and did pretty much all the in-services throughout the day!  wahoo!  And it was nice because the nurses were so receptive and excited to use the service.  Which they almost immediately did.  They definitely had a need. *Ate at two restaurants with local food (in one week!)   Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland and 3 Kings in St. Louis.  Both were wonderful! *Road trip to and around Ohio.  Fun times with a fun co-worker ;) *Arriving back to Chicago to beautiful weather, rowing down the windows, blasting the music, singing... loudly, and saying to each other.  We live here and we love this city! *Talk about extremes for the two different contacts we had at the clinic in Cleveland vs. the ho...

Something you may not know about me is my dislike of Walmart.  I don't like their ethics so I choose not to support them. Walmart already has an express location in Lakeview and now their putting in one of their marts.  Chicago Tribune reported on it here . There have been signs up in local businesses for over a year saying no to Walmart.  Maybe this is the idealist in me again, but I never thought it would happen.  And now I'm pretty upset. Broadway is full of local businesses that are so cute and that's what makes the neighborhood what it is.  Walmart will clearly affect their business.  Long term, this decision is going to change the neighborhood drastically.  It's going to lose it's charm.  Pretty sure I won't like it anymore. Sunday walking down the street I saw the liquidation sign for World Market (which is in the location where Walmart will be).  It made me very sad. =( this guy stepped right in front of my picture.  y...

Do you watch reality TV?   I used to really enjoy Amazing Race and Project Runway, but that's about all I could handle. This season I watched one episode of Amazing Race and wasn't feeling it so I'm not watching. They just finished Project Runway All stars, which had returning Project Runway contestants from all their seasons (10?).  I watched season 8 of Project Runway (like any other series my viewing comes and goes) and met Mondo. I love Mondo. He got second place that season, which I felt was an incorrect decision. He was back for All Stars and that's all I needed to know I would watch the season! Every week I would just think, 'I love Mondo.'  I love his designs, but I also love his personality.  He was just so honest and down to earth the whole time.  He's never been one to drive the drama of the series, which I don't like anyway. Guess who won All Stars?  MONDO!!!! Parts of his prize include a spread in Marie Clai...

As promised, I have a bike update for you, even if it is a bit sad. My bike's been falling apart for about a year.  But do you remember the story ?  Yes, it's precious.  That is why I want to make it last as long as possible. Here's a small list of what's happened in the past year: -lost both fenders -chains are very  rusty -stopped shifting gears -quite loud while I'm riding  (The noises come from all different places of the bike.  I have no idea.) -cords (for the brakes) falling everywhere and getting in the way of peddling -brakes don't work very well  It forces me to pay closer attention so if I know I need to brake coming up then I need to start applying them early .  If I wait too late, I end up in the middle of the intersection.   -all the reflectors have fallen off Yes, there's more, but I will stop there. The most recent event kept happening Friday night.  My front wheel kept stop turning.  Clearly this made...