When TW suggested we attend the DIY Trunk Show at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, I was game. Mostly because there was no snow on the ground and I was hoping we could skip the Renegade Holiday Craft show at Pulaski Park when there will be snow on the ground and a lot less parking. So – we went – and we found relatively good street parking just around the block from the fieldhouse. WIN!
The show itself was a huge win. It was a lot less crowded than the Renegade Holiday show usually is and the selection was just different enough from that show that we found tons of stuff to buy. Just wait til you see what we found for Prince J… I can’t show you yet, but I’ll post a photo on Thursday afternoon… it’s awesome.
This is the awesome lamp we bought for Prince J’s birthday. He loves it, which is too bad since if he hated it – I could have stolen it!
Besides the stuff we did buy, were tempted by many many other things:
From WeenerWare, there were cute pins and pendants for Michelle and Liz (and TW). Their Christmas ornaments almost did us in but we couldn’t afford the price, $40 a piece – not when we need six minimum… too bad, because they’re quirky cute and exactly right for our kids.
LittleRumble’s wallets were awesome but I couldn’t think of anyone who really needed a wallet.
The thing I really should have bought and really regret buying was a blue scarf, silk and felted, from Frannie’s Felts & Fancies. It was perfect for Michelle. I should have bought it. Maybe I still will.
These necklaces, from Gray Raven, were fabulous but we couldn’t decide (again) who needed one. Someone will eventually get one of these, I’m sure.
See the vintage cookbook print from Space Oddities? I almost bought it.
Re-Girl’s arm and leg warmers are freaking fabulous. Someone (or several someone’s) need these. I just need to figure out exactly which ones they need….
Last but not least, the Evil Kitty was there and had the most fabulous dress ever. I’m glad Michelle wasn’t with me, or that it looked like it needed a little more chest than she has, because I’d have thrown $350 at the Evil Kitty in a heartbeat. It was beautiful.
Our newest favorite breakfast destination is Orange Brunch, just down the street from the Glenview Library. We passed it a million times, neither of us mentioning it but both of us apparently wondering about it. The parking lot was often full, which is probably why I never stopped there. (Nothing worse than having to wait in line to be seated for breakfast when you’ve got a busy day ahead of you – and we always have a busy day ahead of us.)
But one morning in June, I decided to stop and give it a try and we’ve been there many, many times since then. Sometimes just me and TW – sometimes we take TW’s mom, or the little kids. And we’ve taken my mom and Michelle, too. The food is pretty terrific, though there have been times when some of the dishes have arrived a little on the not hot side. Elly is a fan of the steak benedict. I’m a fan of everything on their breakfast menu (except the meat, I don’t do breakfast meat.) I think my favorite breakfast is still the first dish I ordered – the Orange Rosemary French Toast.
They have “pancake flights” that are new every week. Tiny silver dollar pancakes, four different flavors, usually created around some type of theme. The pancake flights are always a hit.
We’ve tried a couple of their lunch selections and those were excellent, too. But really, our favorites are the breakfasts. And the best part is the frushi (fruit sushi!) and the fresh juices (you choose your own ingredients and I always choose watermelon, lime, ginger.)
As a side note, Melissa Ferrick has visited the Orange on N. Clark St and Twitter/Facebook raved about their benedicts, so I’m guessing that branch is as good as ours.
Denise
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This blog has been broken since late February. I have no idea why it was broken – it just was. And in the 20 minutes that I had to spend looking at it way back in March, I couldn’t fix it. So… I left it dead and assumed it would be dead until I could spend some quality time with it (or convince someone else to spend some quality time with it.) Yesterday, I took a minute to go into my Bluehost c-panel to update all of my wordpress blogs and I figured what the hell, I’ll see if this one will update so at least I’m keeping up with versions… not only did it update, the blog came back. All by itself.
Yesterday was a great day.
Now I have a lot of catching up to do. We’ve been many places. We’ve eaten a ton of food. We’ve seen a lot of places close because of the crummy economy. I’ll blog it all. Slowly.
UBAA Old Crawford Inn
While the decor was interesting and it seemed like just the kind of place we’d like – it wasn’t. The food wasn’t great. The restaurant was kind of smelly. It’s rare for us to find a restaurant that we don’t like enough to go back to. This is one of them.
Right next to the Trader Joe’s, in Glenview, is a tiny little Thai restaurant. We’ve peeked at it as we walked from the parking lot into TJ’s but neither of us has ever suggested we try it.
The last couple of times we’ve gone to TJ’s, I’ve noticed there were actual people inside. Eating. All of the other times I’ve glanced in, there was nobody there – possibly because we usually go to TJ’s early in the morning? Heh.
So yesterday, as we went into TJ’s, I said “Someday we’re going to try that place.” And on the way out of TJ’s, TW ran in and got a menu.
Tonight, we ordered takeout from Your Choice.
First, I don’t think I’d call this “cheap” as some of the reviewers on Yelp did. But maybe it is cheap for Chicagoland standards? I don’t know, we haven’t eaten any Thai since we’ve been here. It’s not cheap for Gainesville standards – just average priced.
Next, it was fast. When I ordered, she said “15 minutes” – sure enough, it was ready when we arrived twenty minutes after I ordered it.
All of the food was good. The pineapple fried rice, spicy veggie fried rice, the Phad Thai, the thai iced tea and most important – the Beef Salad.
I’ve been looking for a Thai Beef Salad since I left the Philippines. Actually, I’ve been looking for a Thai Beef Salad like the one I used to eat at The Thai House in Angeles City, Philippines. Until tonight, I’ve never found one that even comes close. This one was THAT salad, or would have been if it had been a wee bit spicier. That’s ok, next time I order, I’ll tell her hot – not medium hot.
Way back in 2007, we took Michelle and the Prince to BlogHer in Chicago. We had a hard time getting home, to say the least, and found ourselves in the city on a Monday with nothing to do before our flight left. So, we wandered Michigan Ave. We ended up at the Museum of Contemporary Art where there were some great outdoor pieces and we were dying to go inside. Unfortunately, that museum is closed on Mondays. Just another nail in the Chicago 2007 coffin.
Michelle has always wanted to go back when it was open but last time she was here, we went to the good ole Art Institute so for this visit, I made sure we went to MCAChicago.
We planned to visit after the Chess Records trip and before the Filene’s shopping. We did not plan for a very long lunch break at Mity Nice and we also did not plan for the museum to close quite as early as it did. When we arrived, we had just over one hour… we were worried and we should not have been.
It’s a tiny little museum. An hour was plenty of time to see it all and to spend an awful lot of time in the museum store. I liked the Calders the best and I know TW did too. I’m not sure what Michelle liked the best, probably the nifty gift shop, heh. Just kidding. I think she liked the paintings on the top floor the best.
After Chess Records, we headed down Michigan Ave toward our next destinations and we realized we were all hungry. It was freezing (there were threats of snow that weekend) so we parked in a garage and I dragged TW and Michelle towards the Water Tower Place mall. I knew there was food in there and I knew it would be warm.
We rode up and down the escalator and finally landed in Mity Nice and except for the lack of wifi and ATT service for our iPhones, it was mighty nice.
The cheese popovers they bring to the table were so good that we devoured them and TW begged for more. We ordered the ginger chicken potstickers as an appetizer, not realizing the cheese popovers would keep coming… They were good. Michelle ordered the sliders and they came covered in onion rings. (you can see them in the header photo if you click the link.) I ordered the mac & cheese and OMG it was amazing. TW ordered the grilled cheese and I thought it was pretty darn good, TW was a little blah about it.
Great restaurant, I just wish my iPhone worked while I was in there – it was worth tweeting about.
I asked Michelle a half dozen times what she wanted to do when she visited Chicago and I really didn’t expect her to come up with more than “shop”. But she did. She said she wanted to go see the old Chess Records building. Huh. Not something I’d have thought to do but I was game.
The building houses the BluesHeaven foundation and has a small gift shop downstairs, lots of photos and LPs and blues paraphernalia in all of the rooms of the building and shows a video about the history of Blues.
It was really an interesting little trip and I think we all enjoyed visiting. You should go. Before you do, read these links:
Goodness, there are a ton! Who knew? Upcoming bazaars and craft fairs.