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Last Thursday, I had had a rough day with the kids. My carefully-calibrated schedule was thrown out of whack by a tardy piano teacher. I was feeling worn down and exhausted by a long week. Fortunately, my friend Rowena from the fashion and lifestyle blog She She Shoppers was feeling the exact same way. So [...]
Chef Druck's offerings
Last weekend was the inaugural Chicago Food Swap organized by me and my partner-in-crime, Chef Druck. As I have explained before, food swaps are the latest foodie craze and are sweeping the country from Los Angeles to Austin to Philadelphia. These events bring together passionate home cooks, gardeners and social media mavens [...]
This post originally appeared at this time last year on my local blogging community site, The Chicago Moms. It’s timely once again and my sentiments have not changed, so I am reposting for 2011.
At this time of year, there is a lot of discussion in the media about what I call the Christmas culture wars. In [...]
This post is sponsored by Tempur-Pedic, the brand millions of owners trust to deliver their best night’s sleep every night. Enjoy our Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer now and give the gift of custom comfort to someone you love.
Thanksgiving comes this week and with it the official start of the winter holiday season. [...]
Kevin's beautiful quince paste
Is it weird to eat food made by people you don’t know? Of course, we do it all the time in restaurants. But at least we know that restaurants are inspected by the state and local health departments and there are enough people working in a restaurant kitchen to deter any [...]
Remember when phones looked like this? Our kids don't.
Parenting in the digital age has numerous challenges that we anticipate — cyber-bullying and “sexting” to name two — and even more that we don’t anticipate. While my children are not old enough for Facebook profiles or their own phones, I still find that parenting them [...]
Zuzu demos how to drink hot chocolate with wet nails.
Raise your hand if you are a mom who has ever hired a babysitter so that you could get a mani-pedi or a bikini wax or, dear Lord, just get your highlights done. I seriously don’t know any mom who hasn’t done this at some [...]
Today’s post is part of the From Left to Write online book club. The idea of this book club is not to write a book review, per se, but rather to write a post in which the blogger connects the book to an experience from her own life. September’s book is the new biography Cleopatra: [...]
My beloved father in happier times
As some of you know, my beloved father passed away last month. He had courageously battled an extremely aggressive malignant brain tumor for 18 months before finally succumbing. Since my father’s death, heartfelt notes and tributes have poured in from all corners. Here is a link to my father’s [...]
Bone marrow appretizer at JSix
After three days of vacation in San Diego, I said goodbye to my family, who were on their way to Los Angeles — via Disneyland — to visit cousins. I remained in San Diego for three days of work, namely a one-day writing conference entitled Women Create Media followed by [...]
Watching the surfers from Ocean Beach Pier
Part 1: San Diego With Kids
Despite being weighed down by sadness over my father’s illness, my family embarked on a vacation to California last week. Naturally, it felt strange to focus on something as frivolous as a vacation when my father’s condition was so serious. But, as it [...]
Win this Jabra Bluetooth in-car speakerphone!
Do you Bluetooth? I must admit, until only a few weeks ago, I did not have a Bluetooth for talking on the phone while driving. Yes, I know that Illinois requires a hands-free device while using the phone in the car. But, you know me: I’m a rebel who won’t be [...]
Come down to the farm!
Right now, in the popular press, there are two competing mythologies about agricultural production in this country. One myth tells us that our country’s agriculture is in the hands of large corporations that care only about profit. When we read stories about the overuse of hormones in milk or antibiotics [...]
Harvard Yard: now known as where Facebook began
Over the Fourth of July weekend, my family traveled to Boston, which seems appropriate somehow. We were there to spend some time with my husband’s brother and his wife, who live in Boston, and my husband’s parents, who lived in Boston in the early days of their marriage. [...]
I am reposting this recipe from last July because it is gazpacho season once again and summer cooking just doesn’t get better than this. Gazpacho is so simple to make and the result could not be more healthy or delicious. I hope you all give it a try and put your own spin on this versatile dish.
On a slightly [...]
Today we have a guest post from my friend Cary Berkeley Kaye, a lawyer and mother of an adorable toddler. Cary, like most of us, saw the fake children’s book Go the F*** to Sleep, which went viral on Facebook and other sites, and had a good laugh about it. (I actually saw the author, who is a real [...]
JR enjoys some FiberPlus Berry Yogurt Crunch
By the time I drop my kids at school in the morning, I am thoroughly exhausted even though I have only been awake for two hours. Getting everyone dressed, fed, brushed and out the door on time seems like an endurance event. In the hours between 6:45 and [...]
Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
A baby Zuzu at the Law Quad where her parents began their clandestine romance.
When you write someone a pen-and-paper letter — which is an increasingly [...]
Like Kate Middleton on her wedding day, JR does his own makeup.
I have been laid low this week with a summer cold. Henry James once said that “summer afternoon” is the most beautiful phrase in the English language. If that is so, then “summer cold” must be one of the ugliest. The cause of [...]
I’m known for making to-do lists. I always have several going at a time: an overall to-do list, lists for the kids, lists for the house and a list of what has to get done each day. Even though I live on my iPhone and now on my brand-new iPad 2 (thanks, honey!), I still [...]
In honor of my ninth wedding anniversary later this week, I’m writing about divorce and infidelity.
My husband and I will celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary this week.
Not to worry, no one in my house is getting divorced or having my affair. To the contrary, I rather like my husband. We are united against our common enemy, namely [...]
Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
When I studied abroad in Paris in 1994, I had to write letters home.
Technology and the internet have changed our lives so dramatically in [...]
Portabella Spinach Parmesan pasta by Healthy Choice
We all struggle with making healthy choices. Drive or bike to school? Order the salad or the cheeseburger? Go to bed early or stay up late writing a blog post? (That last one might be just me.) It can be exhausting to have to think about so many choices, so many times a [...]
Photo credit: www.bacontoday.com
So, it’s come to this. The laziest possible kind of post: a list. But actually, everyone loves a list, don’t they? As a kid, I looked forward all year to the Washington Post Style section’s annual In and Out list, which it published on New Year’s Day. These days, I always read [...]
I want this glass bowl for my Kitchen-Aid mixer.
I was lucky enough to attend a fun and educational blogger event last week at the World of Whirlpool headquarters in the historic Reid-Murdoch Center in downtown Chicago. The World of Whirlpool is a gorgeous event space with stunning test kitchen after test kitchen featuring the Whirlpool family of brands, including [...]
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About West of the Loop is the chronicle of my struggle to stay relevant and current as a thirty-something suburban mom. It’s about marriage and relationships; the work-life balance; cooking, food and feeding our families; books, fashion, pop culture and other fun things.
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