Illinois

April 28, 2011 In Illinois, Photos

creepy?

I’m sure this moving company wanted to have a cute, friendly looking kid on the side of their truck in attempt to be appealing to potential customers, but I’m thinking you might agree that this little one looks more horror movie, less welcoming:

She’s even channeling some Poltergeist glow!

During this break in posting and BLR site transition, I have collected quite a few funny and strange photos around the streets of Chicago. This city is chucked full of Mom-and-Pop joints and funky neighborhoods. Those of course provide plenty of off the wall signs and store fronts, as well as some very interesting characters…

April 20, 2011 In Illinois, Photos

who doesn’t love hot asian buns?

April 18, 2011 In Illinois, Photos

saddles and cilantro

One of my favorite questions is: “Hey Di, I am going to/trying/visiting/touring X this weekend. Want to come?”

Well of course I do!

This weekend it was horseback riding lessons and a neighborhood Asian market/deli for lunch.

We drove north of the city to the farm. A view from the barn:

In the barn:

The gear:

(Isn’t that saddle leather gorgeous?)

Had to take a photo of the liability sign:

This was a neat experience. I didn’t ride, as it was my friends lesson. (I’ve only ridden a horse once, so I would’ve been a hot mess out there anyway.) I did get to watch everyone collect all the gear they needed to ride and brush and prep the horses. The amount of prep time and gear involved surprised me, along with how much skill it takes to just simply stay on the horse. I’ve been skydiving and I think I’d be more scared to be on a jumping horse than I was jumping out of a plane.

After the riding lesson, we drove back to the city and stopped at this great little Asian market for lunch:

To go goodies:

…and you’ve got to love those random food items that are in some kind of gel, liquid or other:

I wasn’t brave enough to try any of those items, so I opted for a veggie sandwich and it was oh so good. Can you say avocado, jicima and cilantro? Yum:

Good company, New experiences, cheap, fresh, and delish eats = happy Saturdays.

April 17, 2011 In Illinois, Photos

signs around chicago

Chicago dog anyone?

April 9, 2011 In Honda, Illinois, Photos

adventure #876

(My friend Bethany threw out that # yesterday as I was doing road trip phone catch-ups. I think it fits.)

I drove 525 miles on Sunday, then 900 miles yesterday. The BLR Mobile ran perfectly as usual, without a hiccup while turning over 158,00 miles. Here’s a photo of my partner in crime this morning, still shining and ready to go for more:

Good thing it’s great on gas too, because here’s one of the places we stopped for gas last night:

OUCH. Let’s just say I am very happy the Alaska or Bust trip happened last summer instead of this one. Holy expensive gas! I am very excited to be using train transportation daily starting this week. The Civic will get to rest a bit. She deserves it, she has worked very, very hard for me this past year.

Hello Windy City. Here we go!

August 2, 2010 In De-lish, Illinois, Photos, Wisconsin

another round of thank you’s

*Thanks to Al for Windy City fun as usual. Feasting and catching up continues to be fun year after year. Who would think two girls could clear a table at Osteria like this at lunch time?

*Thanks to JW and Nelsy. I’d expect nothing less than a tour of another house renovation, a 4-wheeler show and a beer with some pizza. Good old Kaiser’s Pizza & Pub in Gurnee, Illinois. Here’s a photo from the walls for your archives:

*The final midwest thanks goes to Bill and Julie for my Wisconsin Capital area burb stay. Holy cheese-fest and gorgeousness!

Love you guys. It’s was great spending time and feasting with you all!

July 27, 2010 In Illinois

dear mother nature; any way we could negotiate on some northern weather issues?

I’t makes me happy that I have friends and family in so many great places that I get to spend time and stay with. I’m now sitting on a porch swing sipping coffee at my friends house in Chicago after my morning run along the lake with the city skyline in perfect view. Absolutely love it here. I’ve visited quite a bit in the few years she’s lived here in the Windy City. Chicago has been my favorite city in the U.S since my first visit back in 2001. If it weren’t so cold here, I’d have moved here in a heartbeat then. I’m beginning to think I’m going to have to buck up, buy some wintery clothes and get my shovel ready. Automatically eliminating the Chicago’s NY’s, Boston’s etc. of the country based on snow and frigid temperatures has been Ok for me this far, but I’m missing out on living in some killer places. So what to do when you really hate the cold? I mean really hate it.

As I trek along to reach this goal of mine, share time with people I love, and scope out my next potential stopping point to reside, I try not to think about how crabby I’d be with 3 feet of snow somewhere in January. Instead I daydream of of the vibrance and energy of a new city, the new food I’ll get to try , the new friends and community of people I’ll make, the work I’ll do and the next new phase of life. We’ll see if this works. I know my little sis, among many of you are reading this right now are laughing at me knowing that I’ll be cussing at the sign of temperatures below 50. (You’re right. I will be. I’ll also likely call you, complain, then ask you to brainstorm how we can make a yearly 3 week vacation to South America possible so I can make it through the cold without insanity setting in.) Taking the good with the bad, maybe I’ll be able to trade the warm winter weather of a southern city, for the cold snow of a northern one with a bit of grace. (Ok, ok- insert laugh here, I’m not sure “grace” has ever described me…) It’s feeling like it’s time to switch it up and at least try though. I look forward to seeing what happens and how my tolerance level develops for extreme weather. So many incredible places to live, so few years of 1 life.

Ok, I’m off to the train downtown to meet Al and explore the city. Maybe we’ll go shopping for some boots and gloves…