ARose Through M's Eyes

My Little Butterfly

M had her face painted at our neighbors block party on Saturday and had her first professional haircut.  I'm loving the new style for her!!!!

Work with Mommy

On Friday, I was able to bring M to work with me to help out with a volunteer event. She thought she was super cool.... getting to drive into work with me, park in the parking garage, take the elevator to my office, color at my desk, help at the event, then eat lunch at McDonald's!!!!!!!  It was really neat to see. She and I had a blast!!!

Our Own G.I. Joe

My cousin’s husband, Mark (or G.I. Joe man which I have just dubbed him for the sake of this post!), is in the Chicago area for a conference this week. Lucky for us he was able to break away for a little bit last night. He hopped on Metra and met us downtown for a quick bite to eat. He is a low maintenance dude so we thought –Mexican street food—Xoco . Perfect! Once again, outstanding food and service. I still have yet to get my hands on some of that yummy chocolate that they are known for (except for the ChocoFlan that I had a while back and which I still salivate over!!). I CANNOT believe I’m about to say this but I was too hot for chocolate last night. Yes, I voluntarily passed on the chocolate. OMG…what’s wrong with me! Better yet, what’s wrong with this world when a girl makes this kind of ludicrous statement. Oh well, one of these days.

We had a couple of other treats though---we saw Rick Bayless at the restaurant along with his wife and his daughter was the hostess! (sorry Lori!!) Pretty cool!!

(Lori, we decided that you all are coming for a visit in the Fall.  Can't wait!!!)

(Rick and his wife walking in the street....am I sad or what!)

Ronald McDonald House

Last week a group of volunteers from McDonald’s helped out at one of the local Ronald McDonald houses in the Chicago area. These houses offer families with sick children a place to stay (either at no cost or with a donation) so that they are close to their little ones during treatments at hospitals. All houses offer home-cooked meals, private bedrooms and playrooms for children. The generosity of volunteers and donors keeps the houses running. We provided lunch for the families and did a few housekeeping chores. It was a really fun and extremely rewarding experience knowing that you helped ease some of the stress on these families. Even if it is as simple as making sure these families have a clean laundry room and some ready to eat foods.

Amanda

To top off my birthday weekend was a last minute visit from one of my best girls from Atlanta---Amanda. Amanda is one of those gals that no matter how much time passes between talks and/or visits, when you finally get together you simply picked up where you left off. She and I go way back to the beginning of my legal career. The good old paralegal days in Atlanta. Back then I was slightly wet behind the ears but eager to learn so Amanda took me under her wings and taught me pretty much everything I know today about contracts and contract negotiation. One of Amanda’s proudest mentor moments was when she overheard me on the phone talking to a tenant (we were the landlords). I had taken all of the verbal abuse from this crazy man that I could stand. I very calmly asked this 60+ year old man to stopped yelling. He did not. I then proceeded to tell him that I will not be talked to in this manner and that we can continue discussions once he has calmed down. Then I hung up the phone!  Later that day this guy calmed down and called my boss to tell him how awesome I was! We all got a big chuckle out of this one. I loved that job and all of the people there.

We met in the city for some late lunch at Le Colonial....fantastic as usual.




Then she and I were off...

Amanda is a theater girl.  She's been on the production side for years.  Her husband is a retired actor.  So, of course, I took her to Second City. We saw The Absolute Best Friggin’ Time of Your Life. Put this one in your memory banks as a must see! IT WAS FRIGGIN' HILARIOUS. Our cheeks were cramping up we were laughing so hard. Tears were streaming down our faces!  She said this one met the "hype" of Second City and then some.  I can't adequately sum this one up for you so here's a great synopsis for you.

Relationships like these are few and far between. I am lucky to have a handful of peeps that will be lifelong friends. Amanda is one of those peeps!  Amanda, thank you so much for making my special day even more special. Can’t wait for May!

Carnivale

My birthday weekend began with dinner at Carnivale. Wow, this place was massive! Generally I’m not a big fan of the “massive” type restaurants, preferring the smaller, more quaint restaurants. In this case though massive works! It had a really cool, party, hip Latino vibe. The lighting was spectacular. Our waitress was awesome. The music got you in the party mood. Fun, fun, fun place and good food to boot!

(I know, it's my birthday shouldn't I have a picture.  Nope!  I hold the camera and I just happen to think my better half is also more photogenic!)

(OK, the lady at the bottom would not be pleased with me right now if she knew of this photo.  I was trying to capture the lights, not her picking--I swear!)

And, I just couldn't resist this shot.  I LOVE THIS STOOL!!!!  If I had a cool bar, this would be the perfect accessory!! 

60 mph

This is what 60 mph looked like here in Oak Park on Friday afternoon on the street just south of us (and many, many other streets all around us).  We were at the pool when the storm hit and were running like crazy people to evacuate the pool.  At one point during the big gust I looked up ahead of me where Chris was pushing ARose in the stroller, the stroller had tipped to 2 wheels and I yelled for Chris to run for his life (OK, not that dramatic, I said run without us....we will catch up!).  I was holding on tight to M so the little thing didn't blow away.  It was really surreal!

The 2nd Annual Backyard Ballet

Tonight we were invited to the 2nd annual backyard ballet at the Elsmo's.  Let me just say, these productions are not to be missed.  These are teenagers who are best of friends and who share a common love for dance.  They produce and choreograph the entire show completely on their own.  It's simply wonderful and inspiring and lots of fun.  Oh, and the emcee (one of the girls little brother) is an absolute riot.  Just hilarious!   He could seriously have his own show--now that's an idea!  The show wouldn't be the same without this guy.  They are all going to succeed in life no matter what road they choose.  That's really cool to see and to be a little part of!

Thanks guys!

ARose Images

Awww...sweet thing!

Ahoy!  Me Hearties!

Hard Hat Zone!

Longman and Eagle

(loved this label and this beer!)

When Chris and I ate at the Publican last month we thought....this would be a great place to take his dad when he's in town next. Well, we were slackers, didn't get reservations in time so Publican was out of the question.  We always have backups.  We decided to try another similar place that a friend of ours recommended-- Longman and Eagle. It was more of a bar feel than the Publican and a smaller menu but it lived up to its name of being a gastropub.  We all had a fantastic time reminiscing about all of our travels overseas. The drinks were great and we had tete de cochon for the first time ever. We will definitely be back. Great night!

Frigs Grade: A

Aladin

This years dance recital was Aladin.  She was a Servant carrying a Lamp (but she didn't actually carry a lamp, go figure!).  I thought it was an excellent production.  The kids-- who sit on stage behind the performers for the ENTIRE 90 minutes of the show-- were fantastic.  It didn't feel quite as long as last year's show and I kept my weeping to a minimum. Progress, I say or perhaps the fact that I was not 8 months pregnant this year.  Pop Pop joined us once again which was such a treat for both Chris and I and M.  Thanks, PopPop. 

(This man is a genius!)