Shortly after we got here, we were hungry. It was dinner time. There wasn’t really any food in the house. So, we got in the car – looked at each other – and had no idea where to go for dinner. We’d seen a lot of places we thought we’d like to try but we didn’t really remember where any of those restaurants WERE. Some strip mall… somewhere. Some corner by some hot dog stand… somewhere. Maybe in Niles? Or was that Northbrook?

I just decided to drive – toward Milwaukee, there were a lot of restaurants on Milwaukee… or maybe there weren’t?

Before we knew it, we had driven for ages and had landed in Wheeling, IL without seeing any restaurant we really wanted to eat at.

We did, however, discover Dam #1 Woods. It was late and we didn’t stop but we knew we’d have to take the kids out to the Damn Woods for a hike… and we did, way back in August… and it was great fun.

It was fun because there’s not a whole lot of hiking to be done. This means the 15 year old who doesn’t really like to be outside, “walking for fun & pleasure”, didn’t have time to complain or harass his siblings. And since they all three enjoyed saying “Damn Woods” over and over again, there were absolutely no complaints about the trip. We just plain had fun.

We’re also looking forward to warm weather so we can go to Dam Woods #2 and Dam Woods #3.

Another one of the first searches we made when preparing for our move north was for yarn shops in the area. There are several but we knew that not just “any” yarn shop would do. We were looking for a yarn shop that we would love the way that we loved the yarn shop in Gainesville. Tall order and we haven’t quite accomplished the task but…

Three Bags Full is an excellent yarn store.

The first time we visited it, it was in an old house near the corner of Shermer and Waukegan. It was a little dark and a little crowded but the people seemed nice enough. And most of them didn’t look to shocked when I said I don’t knit.

A few months later, they closed down that little store and moved into a strip mall around the corner from that house. I like this shop better.

It’s a little brighter and moving from one room to another doesn’t feel like I’m invading someone’s “room”. The people seem more interested in helping than they did that first time we came in. In fact, there have been moments when we didn’t think we were going to be able to leave the store because the staff was so friendly.

The yarn – pretty!

The books – cool!

The knitted samples – fabulous!

And two yarn ball winder thingies, which is good because they are constantly winding balls for people.

The only thing they don’t have are spinning wheels.

We have been to a lot of breakfast restaurants since we moved here but the one we go back to over and over and over again is Egg Harbour Cafe in The Glen.

There are only two problems with Egg Harbour Cafe – 1) it can be really crowded (and thus loud) 2) I love the eggceptional skillet combo so much that I don’t order anything else.

I think about ordering something else. Their seasonal items are always interesting. Their specials always sound great. But in the end… it has everything I love, why order something else?

The spinach mushroom skillet is the perfect size with just enough cheese and just enough potatoes. The one slice of banana bread french toast covered in sliced bananas is so perfect that I wouldn’t think of putting syrup on it. And the little fruit cup, I always eat the grapes and pineapple and pass the orange slice to someone else and sometimes eat the melon, sometimes not. Regardless, it’s the perfect breakfast item for me. LOVE it.

TW usually orders something different everytime we go. Prince J likes the cinnamon roll french toast. RJ has ordered several different things, including eggs benedict without eggs. Speaking of which, Liz loves Egg Harbour Cafe because it has a whole section of ‘benedicts’, I think she’s ordered a different one every time.

I like it when other people order the specials and the seasonal stuff, so I can have a bite. (Remember that, if we ever go together – you’ll give me a bite, right?)

In case you are considering moving to the northern suburbs, I thought you might be interested in my opinion of the snow plowing services provided by each village.

Starting with my own Glenview – not bad, not bad at all. They aren’t the best but they aren’t the worse, not even close.

The worst snow plowing has been done by Evanston, Skokie, Northbrook, and The City of North Chicago.

The best, by far, Morton Grove and Deerfield.

If I was going to recommend a village to live in, based solely on snow plowing, these are my recommendations:

1) Deerfield
2) Morton Grove
3) Glenview
4) Northbrook
5) Lake Forest
6) Skokie
7) Evanston
City of North Chicago

I’m sorry to say that I haven’t really been to Niles or Des Plaines during the early days of a snow storm. Maybe next time, I’ll let ya know.

Michelle, Chris & I went to The Art Institute of Chicago a couple of days after Christmas and had a wonderful time. It’s hard to say what our favorite parts were… the Monets, certainly. The Renoirs, definitely. The retro furniture, yes but they need more! Michelle loved the Roman sculptures and the touch room was fun, too.

We struggled with the layout of the museum – it seems as though we were constantly lost and two of us are pretty darn good with a map. I’m not sure I’ve ever been quite as lost in a museum as we were in this one.