Summer in the City

Last Thursday my friend Cary sent me a list of summer concerts that would be taking place in the city over the next three months. To my pleasant surprise, Better Than Ezra, a former favorite band of mine, was playing for FREE that very day at noon about three blocks from our office! Cary and I decided we needed to see a free BTE concert over our lunch break, so off we went. I love that I can do things like that--it's definitely a perk of working downtown.

So Long, Michael

A Squirrel Story

"The Finest Lace in the World"

Ravinia + Garrison + Sun and Breeze = Perfect Summer Night

Tonight I went to Ravinia with my friends Jessie and Eric to see Garrison Keillor put on A Prairie Home Companion live. We had a swell time feeling like we'd traveled back in time several decades. Garrison is such a throw-back with his folk band, storytelling, and singing of beloved American songs. It's like he's a living piece of Americana . I love it. The weather was gorgeous (and there weren't even any mosquitos!), a soft breeze played on the air, we brought along lots of yummy snacks, and the company was great. Ravinia is definitely one of my favorite places in Chicago.

Ode To A Bookcase

I've been searching for years for a big beautiful bookcase for my myriad books that are always scattered all over my apartment. Until last weekend I could find nothing to my liking that was below $1200 which is more than I pay for a month's rent and therefore not happening. I was lamenting this on my Facebook page when a friend responded that I should check out Nadeau (http://www.furniturewithasoul.com/) in Ravenswood. They are a huge warehouse of wood furniture that they sell to the public at wholesale prices. They get two or three shipments in per month from India and Indonesia and they never know what they're going to get, but each shipment generally has its own style. They do no advertising and instead rely on word-of-mouth to get business. So I'm passing this on to you now: this place rocks. I got a solid mahogany bookcase, painted white, six feet tall by four feet wide, for...wait for it...$250 (!!!). It was delivered this morning and is so awesome that whenever I look at it I get this little internal squeal of delight (the pic below doesn't do it justice--it looks much bigger in real life). So check out Nadeau--it's well worth the time.

Frosty Paws

There's nothing like a cold cup of dog ice cream on a hot summer night. :)