here i am--deciding to write again after a 3 month hiatus. hey there!!! i am now relocated [back] to Chicago--one of my favorite cities in the world--and am close to being settled after 3 hard (but mostly fun) weeks of moving boxes (we live on the 3rd floor, that part was quite a bit less fun), assembling furniture and wracking my brain for creative ways to store stuff in our tiny apartment.
i couldn't write before. everything was much too overwhelming in terms of time and emotion. to bring you all up to speed (in a very vague and glossed-over way) the following are the things that have taken place this summer ::
-
we put our house on the market. for those of you who have yet to embark on the adventure of home ownership let me tell you this--selling a house
SUCKS. especially in this market. you clean and clean, do yard work, clean some more, rearrange, clean, scramble before showings, etc. not to mention having a buyer only to have them back out at the very last minute--that's always fun! it's enough to turn you into a crazy, neurotic, counter wiping, floor sweeping, babbling nutball.
our sweet house on humboldt st
-
we had a KICK ASS bday/going away party in june (which was the topic of my last post---man, that was forever ago) which lured a couple of dear friends to spend the weekend with us; Sara and Isaiah who were making their move from madison, wi to arcata, ca (who left early and hauled major ass to see us--this was the greatest birthday gift of all. it made me positively giddy to have them there), sweet sweet Dylan and Bobby from Portland who i just adore and miss terribly, and our great friends Sarah and Nate who made the trip up from Seattle for the evening. the day started pretty terrible weather-wise but cleared up and was beautiful 30 min before the party started---awesome! we had music, compliments of my friend Shawn who toted it all by bike and kept the party going strong! we also had a keg and double grill action. i couldn't have asked for a better night. AND the keg was kicked by the end of the eveing---yeah!
i turned the big 3-0. very scary
sara and isaiah stopped in on their way to CA- i miss you guys!
adam was a BBQing madman--he's always such a great host!
kristie and tim by the bonfire
stephanie and i, very excited for some reason...
- the next day was our 2nd annual
Cascadia Cup, a bellingham bike event fueled by Sparks, beer and silliness. the day consisted of several bike rides which led to different events in each location. there was bike tag, clown bike race (my favorite--the group with the most people piled on a single bike is the winner), a skiddy competition, musical bikes, and several more that i can't recall at the moment. and of course there is a party at the end where more drinking, circus tricks and bike polo ensued. FUN!
jonnie and stephanie, the weirdest dress-up couple i know
adam and victor battle it out during the treacherous bike relay
jonnie and i getting our snuggle on
isaiah and jonnie looking a little drunk and sweaty and happy
- we took a
bike ride to LaConner with our good friends Jonnie and Stephanie. i love this ride! i did this for the first time last year with miss sara b., the love of my life. you start by riding the winding road of chuckanut drive which can be a bit treacherous but provides beautiful views of the water and the islands. then you cruise into the flats of skagit valley with its endless blue skies, winding sloughs and fields that seem to go on forever. this is about a 40 mile ride so this is a great excuse to stay at a bed and breakfast (with a hot tub and warm cookies and milk before bed!) before turning around and heading back the next day.
jonnie and adam play chess in Edison before hitting the road again
riding the padilla bay trail on our way to LaConner
yay!
uh...yeah.
- adam and i
got to shoot a shotgun with our friend Will. this was a first for me. now don't get me wrong, im not a huge fan of guns, but i think that there is a lot to be said for learning proper gun etiquette and knowing how to handle one. will was a great teacher and took us out to a rock quarry off of the mt baker highway to shoot some clay pigeons. so fun! of course i didn't hit a single one, but i had a great time. i think adam and i also found the perfect shot for our next xmas card...
so trashy
here's will, getting ready to toss a clay pigeon...or is he directing traffic?
ridiculous
- at the end of our last weekend in town, our very sweet next-door neighbor, Alex (who is a chef, does a great deal of catering and is ALWAYS feeding us delicious food) offered to host a
paella party in his backyard. for those of you who are unfamiliar with
paella, it is a traditional spanish dish that is cooked in a large shallow pan, the main ingredients being rice, seafood, saffron, broth and veggies...it is DELICIOUS and one of my most favorite things to eat in the world! this was a great evening, very low key and we were able to say a couple more good byes before doing the final pack-up and haul-off which would consume our last 2 days in the ham.
alex, working his magic
extreme close-up of the deliciousness
Willie gettin' his sniff on
alex and tucker caught sneaking in some snuggle time
cuteness
so the house hasn't sold yet which has turned out to be A-okay--we have some friends renting right now that we completely trust---this is a huge relief! it's nice not to worry about selling the house for a while. it was beginning to turn me into a total kook as mentioned before and it's such a sweet thought knowing that we still have our cute yellow house in the 'Ham.
so i used to live in chicago about 5 years ago. i was living in logan square with my good friend Guy for about 6 months, met Adam and quickly moved to the PNW to be with him. this was one of the best decisions i ever made for so many reasons :: i found my partner and best friend, learned what it means to be in a fun, committed and respectful relationship. i discovered snowboarding (mt. baker, i love u!) & cycling, met some of the most amazing people and got to live in a place on the brink of perfection (well for adam and i anyway :) in fact, i now know where i want to be for the long term- the west coast (Portland, OR, you're next on the list!)
but for now we have ventured back to chicago and it's pretty damn great! adam will be attending northwestern in an attempt to earn his Phd in chemistry (smarty-pants, i know) and i will hopefully score some great clients which will allow me to work for myself full time OR i will find a job with a firm or an agency for a while--im excited to learn more and work with other creative people that i admire. we are also close to our families which is a HUGE bonus. i have missed my fam terribly over the last couple years and am psyched to reconnect with them again. and then adams folks and 2 brothers are also
the best and have become my second family--very excited to spend more time with them as well.
so we signed on our apt from bellingham based on video that my parents took of the place (how cute is that?) and the fact that it's close to Northwestern and is located right on the beach(!). its strange to see your apt for the first time when you're moving all of your stuff... it reminded me of moving into the dorms my first year of college. SO, we are in rogers park which is as north as your can get for chicago--i was a little worried about this at first and was unsure of the neighborhood; rogers park used to be a lot rougher 5 years ago and has a residual bad rep as a result. but i love it. i really do. everyone here has been so warm and welcoming. i dig the diversity and the energy, we have great coffee shops and a couple bars that are quite fab (one of them makes me feel like im in bellingham every time we go in), and---did i mention we're on the BEACH?! its amazing! a sandy beach and beautiful blue water is our new back yard. i never thought i would be living on the beach in chicago! we seriously get zero street noise and all we can hear is the sound of waves, seagulls and kids laughing (or screaming at the top of their lungs, depending on the time of day). not too bad...
our new back yard.
even Tucker likes the beach
the boys on our new deck
clocking in some beach time.
the sky was really awesome that day
so for our second weekend in rogers park we were lucky to get a chance to experience the Glenwood Arts Festival which takes place just a couple blocks west of us right next to the red line Morse stop. it lasts for an entire weekend and consists of open studios, artists/merchant booths, tons of food and live entertainment. several streets are blocked off for the big party and it seemed like the entire neighborhood was there. here are a couple photo highlights ::
so tuesdays are still free for several of the museums downtown---yay! so adam and i took a day and hit up the MCA (museum of contemporary art) to sneak a peek at the Jeff Koons exhibit. the work is stunning and positively seamless (particularly the giant, shiny balloons made out of stainless steel-such eye candy!) and it left us wondering how someone could be so brilliant, so amazing at such varied mediums...and where does he get the money and the resources to do all of this?! well we soon learned that he is the highest paid artist
in the world, has a staff of about 90 people and has foundries in Germany. sadly his work seemed quite a bit less brilliant when these details came to light. you should still check out his shiny balloons though---pretty sweet. it was really hard not to touch them...
this lovely bunny is actually made out of stainless steel
when adam was trying to decide which school to go to this fall, U of Chicago was very high on his list. so on thursday he suggested that we ride our bikes along the lake (on the north shore trail) all the way to Hyde Park to check out the campus (U of C is gorgeous---it makes me feel like im on the set of a Harry Potter movie). this was a big trip--about 40 miles--and we had some saddle-sore booties to prove it. heres a map for a quick visual of the neighborhoods here in chicago. anywho, it was great to ride and its cool to have a path that runs almost the entire length of the Lake Michigan shoreline HOWEVER, as you get closer to the Loop it is utter INSANITY. there are joggers and dog walkers and cyclists on the path, most of which pay ZERO attention to the rest of the folks around them. people are swerving and cutting each other off or zipping by so fast and so close that you are practically brushing shoulders. it was pretty freakin' awful in some spots and, being as spoiled as i was in washington, i was completely appalled at the number of assholes populating this pathway. in fact, i have a little road rash on my elbow and ankle to vouch for some of the shitty cyclist etiquette that i was so lucky to experience. though a nice ride in theory, im not sure if ill be making this one again any time soon. at least not 40 miles of it.
i highlighted rogers park and hyde park on this map...its kinda hard to see
the chicago skyline and the north shore trail
this weekend one of my dear old friends, Mr. Guy Clark (director of the very popular pod cast,
The Midwest Teen Sex Show and old Chicago roomie) came out to visit. it was a day of gluttony- eating delicious indian food, napping, laying on the beach (while Guy took a longer nap in my air conditioned apartment) and then drinking a little later. Guy took us to our old hood, beautiful Logan Square and we paid our favorite neighborhood bar,
the Whirlaway Lounge, a visit. this tavern is a true gem---ive never been made to feel more at home then when i am at this bar. its owned and operated by lovely Maria who also lives in the rest of the building with her family. when Guy and i first moved to town several years ago Maria welcomed us with open arms, knew our names and drink orders by our second visit and was dishing out hugs by our 4th and 5th. when we celebrate guy's birthday just 2 short months after moving to the neighborhood, Maria already had a cake there waiting for him. we stopped in shortly before christmas that year and walked out with full bellies (maria always has an early xmas party) and a gift each. when i strolled in this time, several years later, i wasn't sure that she would remember me. when i approached the bar Maria smiled and ran right over to give me a big ol' hug and kisses and a drink on the house. i love this lady. she was like a second mom with the added bonus of knowing just how to make my drink.
how precious
adam, me and mr. clark
we love maria!
as for our labor day weekend, the weather has been fab and the beach/park has been
packed--people seriously get here at like 7:30 am to claim their spot and even fire up the grill! and they don't just show up with a couple weiners and a grill, oh no. there are here with tables and stereos and balloons and pinatas and every single BBQ fixin' you can think of. and they are here from morning till night. the folks here really know how to rock a summer holiday--its impressive! so today i think we'll clock in a little beach time. as for sunday...
TOMATOES! yes, our entire day consisted of the picking of beautiful, fragrant, organic tomatoes. of course getting there and back was no small task. and by "there" i mean Sandhill Organics in Grayslake, IL which is a suburb straight west of Chicago. Adam's parents have a CSA there and invited us to attend the annual tomato picking event since they would be out of town. since we no longer have a car (yay!) we had to bike 6 miles to the Metra line, take a 45 min train ride and then walk a couple miles to the farm. needless to say i was a little bit skeptical of the trip; seemed like an awful lot just to pick a couple of tomatoes. but adam was excited so we went. and lemme tell you, if you ever have the chance to go tomato picking
do it--it was so fun! there were rows and rows and rows of not only regular on the vine tomatoes but TONS of interesting heirloom tomatoes. there were yellow ones and orange one and purple ones and little fuzzy ones. and they had great names like "green zebras" and "Ak 47s". we left with 20lbs of fabulous tomatoes, caught a ride to the train station (thank god!) and made it home with most of the tomatoes in good condition. we have plans to make tons of homemade sauce for the winter, salsa, gazpacho, and caprese salads. know of any good tomatoes recipes? let me know if you do!!!
yum!
YIKES.. i think it's time to bring this monster post to a close. i hope to have less than 3 months in between this post and the next :)...
