An Unforgettable Friendship

Sometimes you hear a story that you'll never forget. This is one of those stories. A friendship between 2 young men, one of them is blind and the other one has no legs and the woman who changes their lives and makes them a family. You can watch their story here and after you do share it.

Autumn Awesomeness

My favorite season. I love it as much as the dog playing in the leaves in the video below. Pure joy.

Monday 5 List #33-Fall Favorites

The weather has changed in Chicago from dresses and sandals to boots and sweater season. We still have the occasional day of 80+ temperatures but the evenings are cool and the air smells like leaves. So for this week's Monday 5 List, here are my favorite things to do in the fall.

1. Football. For the Bears season opener Paul and I joined friends at one of our favorite bars in Chicago to enjoy watching the game, eating bar food and drinking beer. This will likely be our normal routine for the season.
2. Road trips. We just returned from a weekend road trip to Bloomington Indiana where we tailgated at the Indiana University v Bowling Green football game. Go Hoosiers! My son's best friend plays Offensive Tackle for IU and it's much more fun to watch college football on a college campus. Our next road trip might include apple picking, whiskey tasting, hot cider and antiquing in Michigan in October.
3. Fire. We had out first backyard bonfire last week and expect to spend many more evenings sitting around the firepit on cool nights. Pulling out cozy sweaters for enjoying the outdoors is also a favorite part of the season.
4. Chicago events. The first weekend in Chicago we went to the Guinness Oyster Fest a street festival in Roscoe Village. Great neighborhood, not overly crowded with 2 stages (mainly Irish style music), and lots of Guinness and oysters. This weekend we will be attending Chicago in White, a pop up dining experience where attendees dress all in white and do not know the location until right before the event begins. The last weekend in September we are playing tour guides to friends visiting from Ohio and expect to spend the weekend at a boutique hotel in Chicago, wandering the city, and visiting the Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity exhibit during it's final days at the Art Institute.
5. Friends. Fall seems to be the best season for catching up with friends. Maybe it's all the opportunities for watching sports together, maybe it's the fun of getting together before it's too cold to enjoy being outdoors. We seem to be busier than ever in the fall whether it's a party or just having pizza and jumping in the hot tub. Whatever you do this fall, I hope it's a great season for you.

If you are looking for more ideas of what to do in Chicago this fall, read this great article. 

Emptynesting

As my son enjoys his college life of classes, sports, fraternity and fun I'm settling into being an empty nester. Last year during the months my son was in the military I never quite got used to living alone, most likely because I felt very unsettled due to worrying about him. This year I've adapted nicely to having the house to myself (well with the exception of my beagle Eloise, she is great company even though she's incredibly high maintenance). Paul and I are both empty nesters, his children are also away at college and we have our own routines around work and home. When we are not working, exploring Chicago together, traveling or with family and friends time seems to be longer with more time to linger. I find that I wander about. I wander to my book shelves, I wander through the yard, I wander through the neighborhood, I wander into the kitchen... Sometimes I play dress up, sometimes I cook ridiculous meals, sometimes I drink martinis and watch bad movies, sometimes I talk to the dog and solve the problems of the world. I pitter patter about really and it's a delight.

A friend recently shared a photo on Facebook and I think it captures where I am in life. Home is my little bungalow surrounded with my books and my garden and my treasures. It's lovely having Paul just down the road and my son as close as social media and a text away. What I'm learning is that even at my age I'm still growing up and growing into my skin.

Flash Back Friday #57-Thomas Crown Affair

In 1999 the remake of the classic movie The Thomas Crown Affair (starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway) was released with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo in the lead roles. On a recent evening I poured a class of wine and settled in to watch a movie that's become a favorite. Russo plays an insurance investigator who's searching for a 100 million dollar painting stolen from the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. She of course thinks it was stolen by a billionaire financier with an impressive art collection played by Pierce Brosnan. The chase in this film is half the fun...who is chasing who, Russo chasing Brosnan or Brosnan chasing Russo. The rest of the fun includes the gorgeous sets (autumn in NYC) and the actors, who are both at their best in their mid 40's.
I was in my late 20's when I first saw the film and I still enjoy it, the music, the story and the great style of Russo's character. Knee high boots, check. Perfect little black cocktail dresses (I lost count after 4), check. Classic pin-stripped suit, check. Topless wearing nothing but a sarong, check. Thigh high black stockings and a garter belt, check. Cable knit sweaters worn with leather gloves, check. Black velvet jacket, check. Camel colored wool coat, check. Double strand pearl necklace, check. Hermes Birkin purse, check. Really, 14 years later I still want everything she wears. Brosnan is also gorgeously styled, his suits fit him like a glove.
During the film Russo's character remarks how well Brosnan lives and anyone watching the film can't argue.
To view the trailer, watch below.

Comfortable Skin

After a flight delay Paul and I returned to Chicago from Colorado in the wee hours of Sunday morning and after a few hours of sleep I was off to the mall with my son to buy his back to school wardrobe. In just over a week his Dad and I will be driving him to Missouri and moving him into his dorm room.  Over the summer I've been organizing his baby pictures and school art work and in an old box of memories I found pictures of myself from 1990 when I was the same age my son is now.

In 1990 I was 20 years old and working a job from 7-9 in the morning, then I went to classes at a local college then it was back to work from 3-6 pm and then I went clubbing at dance clubs in Chicago with my friends until 2-3 am. It was a crazy life until I transferred to Ohio University in tiny Athens Ohio in the fall of 1990. I went from being a Chicago club kid to a small town sorority girl literally over night. My son will also be moving from Chicago to a small college town and I hope he has as much fun having dual lives as I did.

As I donate his old high school wardrobe and buy him new clothes more appropriate for college including dress clothes for rushing a fraternity and sportswear for playing college lacrosse, it reminded me of how much you can feel changed by just changing what you wear. During our shopping spree my son was more interested in quality clothing from Polo Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic than he was in t-shirts and shorts from the Gap. He's not interested in dressing like a high school student anymore. Similarly when I packed to move away to college I left my "city club clothes" at home and brought clothes more fitting for social events in college. It was the start of my adult life and I have a feeling my son is having that moment right now.

The pictures were both taken in 1990, one is me as a club kid in Chicago (I'm in the middle) and the other was taken a few months later when I joined a sorority at Ohio University. 23 years later I still prefer pearls over stomach baring tops.

Monday 5 List #32-College Recipes

My son is traveling to his college orientation tomorrow at a college about 8 hours from Chicago. He will register for classes, tour the campus and check out his dorm. Since he returned from the Navy last fall and decided to forgo any further military career for college, I've been showing him some basic recipes for life in the dorm/fraternity/apartment. So today's Monday 5 list are recipes my son can use as a base when he leaves the nest.

1. BBQ. In the last year my son has taken an active interest in learning how to BBQ. I've taught him the basics of how to prep meat, chicken and fish and how to use a thermometer to monitor the internal temperature. He's become quite the BBQ connoisseur and regularly mixes up his own rubs and sauces. BBQ Master will serve him well in life.
2. Homemade sauce. Not from the jar. One of the first recipes I taught him when I started growing tomatoes, onions and basil. Once you know how to make a basic pasta sauce, the sky's the limit. He prefers to spice up homemade tomato sauce with red pepper flakes but I've also demonstrated how to add cream or cheese for a great alternative to red sauce. So basic sauce with a few twists and you've got multiple recipes. 
3. Cream of Mushroom Soup. Easiest recipes ever. I told him "No matter how broke you are, always have a can of cream of mushroom soup in the pantry." On any budget, a can of this soup can make a delicious meal with a chicken breast or some cooked rice.  
4. Salmon. Good grilled salmon as a main dish, made into salmon cakes or tossed on a salad, you can't go wrong. Maybe the easiest fish to cook and always a favorite. 
5. Fried Rice. Rice dishes have always been easy but especially after my brother-in-law showed my son how to make fried rice. Over the years we've experimented with it and my son makes large portions for his friends, usually in the middle of the night. The best thing about fried rice is the "garbage pail" method, toss in any veggies with chicken, bacon, shrimp or scallops and you've got a delicious meal.

Are there any recipes you remember learning from your parents?