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 [...]
 
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It seems like most people’s New Year’s resolutions have to do with either money or food. We all want to eat better, cook at home more, spend more wisely and — while we are at it — be more organized too. That’s a lot to accomplish in one year. The good news is that Dominick’s [...] 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 [...] No, sadly, the Gift Guide is not edible. But all the gifts in it are! This time last year I put together a Chicago Foodie Holiday Gift Guide featuring delicious products made in the Chicago area, like Vosges Haut Chocolate, Carol’s Cookies and Eli’s Cheesecake, that are ideal for holiday gift-giving. I stand by all the [...] The baby calves at the dairy farm were adorable. What kind of milk does your family drink? Do you pay more for organic? Do you shop around for the best price? When I was a kid, the only question was whether you drank skim or 2% or maybe whether your mom let you have chocolate [...] Homegrown green tomatoes Fall in Chicago is characterized by bizarre weather. This week has been day after day of abundant sunshine, crisp autumn air and afternoon temperatures in the 70′s. In other words, it’s been perfect. But last week, we had nonstop rain and the temperatures were in the 50′s at best. The nights got [...] 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 [...] Building Blocks toy store in Wicker Park What makes a great independent toy store? In my view, it’s a magical combination of great customer service, a wide selection of imaginative and unusual toys, and enough room to play and hang out. The owner of this kind of toy store recognizes you after your first few [...] Zuzu in the raspberry bushes When I was a little girl growing up in Washington DC, we used to pick our Halloween pumpkins at a farm in western Howard County Maryland called Larriland Farms. (I’m happy to report that it is still in business and that the owners were savvy enough to buy the domain [...] A healthy snack alternative Does your elementary school aged kid bring a snack to school? Mine does. Since she started full-day school in first grade, Zuzu has brought a snack to school, in addition to her lunch, at the teacher’s request. Depending on when she wakes up, Zuzu can have four or five hours of hard-core learning [...] The bikers get ready to hit the trail. For JR, this summer has been his first summer as a biker. Early last spring I took JR to our favorite bike store, Dan’s Bike Shop in nearby Berwyn, for his first big boy bike. (It was kind of an expensive purchase for no special occasion, but [...] Summer is better with sombreros Why is it that summer memories burn a little brighter in our subconscious than other memories? One whiff of Fritos and I am instantly transported back to my childhood pool club; my mom used to pack a Thermos of lemonade and bags of Fritos and Doritos for a forced snack time on the [...] This time of year, food blogs are full of recipes for the grill. And who can blame them? Grilling food on a summer’s evening is one of the season’s true pleasures. Plus, meat and vegetables are delicious when grilled and clean-up is a snap. Like many of our friends and neighbors, we usually fire up our [...] This post originally appeared earlier this week on my new blogging community, The Chicago Moms. I hope that you will swing by and check out some of great voices being featured there. Outdoor concerts are great for all ages. Not so much the Symphony. I have written before about my love for the CSO’s Kraft Family Matinee series. This series [...] Dinner at Carnivale: breaking out of my suburban rut One of my three New Year’s resolutions was to have a monthly date night with my husband. When you have small children and busy schedules and limited funds, it is so easy to find yourself sitting in front of a DVD — or more likely in [...] This snow picture is actually from the DC blizzard of Xmas 2009 It looks like there is another snowstorm heading towards the Northeast. It has been a crazy winter in New England and the Mid-Atlantic — to say nothing of the freakishly cold weather in the south that left folks in Atlanta snowbound for days. Lots [...] Lunch at Simple Cafe in Lake Geneva It’s a Midwestern rite of passage, the winter trip to the indoor water park. Not being from this part of the country, I had never been to one of these ersatz subtropical environments. But then our annual Christmas trip to Florida was canceled by the Blizzard of 2010, [...] |
 
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