Monday, July 26, 2010

Caught unawares. . .

by the cuteness.

http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.161220751.jpg

can't. . .pull. . .eyes. . .away.
can't. . .stop. . .heart. . .from. . .melting.

(if you want the same experience, check out the cute-opolis that is adorably kawaii's shop on etsy)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sky Paintings

Still in the market for sky paintings. Dan bought be me a beautiful piece for my birthday, but I think it needs friends. Someday, I would love a whole wall (mounted salon style) of sky paintings.

Here are a few I've been dreaming about making part of the collection (though, if you beat me to it, my loss. . . ):

http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.146764090.jpg

Toward the Cape, by Erin Spencer (check her work on etsy. Beautiful and affordable.)

http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.150213482.jpg

J. Shears paints custom abstract sky paintings for customers. I love this one. . . the brush of french vanilla in the cloud tops? Gorgeous. Check her etsy shop for the variations she creates.

http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.160108300.jpg

Mr. Stooshinoff's Cloud Shadow. His shop on etsy is called Paintbox and each jewel of a painting is more lovely than the next. . .

A room filled with sky? As long as I live in a bungalow, I'm not going to have some spectacular kitchen that flows into a ridiculously open and inviting back terrace. So, walls full of sky will have to do in their stead.

Ready. Aim. . .

If you live in Cicero, IL, you don't have to go anywhere for the 4th of July.
The 4th of July comes to you.




Prairie Home Companion and the Ride Home


Garrison popped out onto the lawn right at the start of the show. And then immediately was rushed by hordes of PHC fans. . . weird, right? Wouldn't it have been just as nice to enjoy watching him from a distance, relaxed in your lawn chair? Who rushes G.K.? He's a radio star, not Angelina Jolie. Come on, radio fans. . . we're supposed to be cooler than that.


A totally gorgeous day for watching live radio being made at Ravinia.


on the drive home, the city was beautiful. Chicago's such a big place that it's hard to stand back and see the whole thing. . . but that is possible heading south on 90/94. And Dan and I always approach that view a little breathlessly.
We live there.
That's where we live.






That's my home.

4th of July Weekend

If I'm still talking about this within the month of July, it still counts, right?

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Friday was my awesome half day with Tim and dinner at the Honky Tonk BBQ. On Saturday, we joined friends for a picnic and Prairie Home Companion out at Ravinia, and for the 4th, we had different friends over for a dinner of pulled pork sammiches, potato bean salad, fruit, carrot cake. . . and the spectacle that is the 4th of July in Cicero.

Does anyone else feel let down by holiday weekends? Like you always have expectations of holidays that can't possibly be lived up to? That happens to me a lot, but this past 4th of July, we went into with almost no plans at all, no expectations and it was great. . . maybe that's the secret.

Pictures to come. . .

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Half Day Fridays

Columbia has a lovely habit of giving staff half-day fridays every other week in the summer. I've never taken much advantage of them because I run a big summer program for high schoolers that keeps me glued to my desk. . . happily glued. But I have, nevertheless, been wistfully jealous of my colleagues for years as they run off mid-day, starting their weekends early, hying off to do fun summer things on a stolen friday afternoon.

So, this year, I took one! And it was just as wonderful as I imagined--sneaking away with my buddy Tim to walk the whole length of Michigan Avenue, to see a movie (or two!), to walk through the fountain in Millennium Park and then eventually meet up with Dan for dinner at the Honky Tonk BBQ in Pilsen. It was a perfect day. A swirl of 5 hours of work to start the day and then come noon a lazy protracted afternoon.

By the end of the day, the afternoon felt like it had been 20 hours long and work was a distant memory.

And that's apparently how half-day Fridays feel. So lovely!

And here's what they look like:


Outside of the Chrysler Building in NYC, I think there no lovelier skyscraper than the Carbide and Carbon building on Michigan Ave. It would be the black sheep of the Chrysler Building Family. The wild card. The unpredictable one with its dark good looks and handsome bone structure. But come sunset when the copper at the top of the building lights up fiery orange? Watch out.

I heart Jeanne Gang. Her new Condo building is on the left. Maybe best structurally designed skyscraper ever. Not the most elegant facade, but smart smart smart (and green!) to its very core.

I can't get enough of this shot coming out of the AMC movie theater on the Chicago River. The Trump Tower is just so insanely overwhelming. It's Monolithic. It's sort of beautiful (though decidedly more so from a distance. . . from a vantage point where you don't feel like it might just reach out and smoosh you for being so puny), but it's mass looks so colossally out of scale with the Wrigley right next to it.

Gosh, I can't say enough good things about this place. Ask anyone. . . it's all I can talk about. Pulled pork sandwiches that will either make you cry or marry it.


Oh boy. Maple syrup candied bacon? And how!


Splendid bathroom art at the Honky Tonk BBQ. 3-D.

Monday, July 19, 2010

New Lady Critters

I took some time away from critter makin's to work on a series of mitts. . . but I have bounced back again to critters. I don't think I get bored with any one project. . . I just get more excited about another. It's always a bright side.

Meet the two newest in the crew.

Imogen


and Maisie


It's been so hot hot hot here and the man and I are being toughies and not buying any A/C devices. . . so, dressing these little lovelies in sweaters has felt unusually cruel. But I shan't let my own discomfort get in the way of their fashion.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

A Little Catch Up

On the same night I took a photo of the AIC lions wearing Hawks Hockey Helmets, I met up with D to see a concert in the park, eat a picnic dinner, and then walk down Michigan Ave. back to the car. It was a perfect evening. Beautiful weather.

The free concert in Millennium Park was Tinariwen--haunting lovely music echoing into the city and we lucked out and were sitting right behind the cutest, dancenest African family of teeny tiny rhythmic cuties. Two free shows!


After the show, we took quick advantage of the Bean and the fountain and paused for a few minutes to watch couples tango in Grant Park, right across from my office as part of the Chicago SummerDance series.



Our city is really beautiful. . . and on summer nights, maybe a little European. I don't know how I could ever move away.

What Am I Doing?

My blogging has slowed waaaaay down. I think my day job has started to infringe on the rest of my life. Staring down the barrel of 45-50 print projects that have Sept. 1 deadlines has a way of making one want to spend what little time one does have away from work not worrying about writing. . . or maybe not worrying about anything outside of a bit of terrible reality television.

Nevertheless, I have been having a pretty lovely summer.

Still making lovely little animals. Still spending time out in the world with my handsome husband. We've seen a few outdoor concerts. We've eaten a number of lovely meals that did not come from my kitchen. We've been regulars at the farmer's market. We've gone to a few parties.

And while work is hard, it's still fun. I don't want it to go away. I just want it to shrink back to its appropriate size.