Racy Car!

I drove a racy car. Ok. So. Maybe it was like your dad bungeed his lawn mower motor to the back of your sled, but it was pretty fun.

When my father came up for a visit last weekend, we wanted to show him a good time. In addition to the traditional activities of a lovely weekend in Chicago - including the Art Institute, a ride down the Chicago river, brunch at the Signature Room, and a stroll through Millennium park - we drove up north to Buffalo Grove to have a little excitement on the track.

The go-charts at Chicago Indoor Racing are pretty intense. The carts have a top speed of 35 miles per hour. Additionally, you have to go through safety training (a short video designed to scare the crap out of you) and put on a fire suit and helmet.

Although I looked pretty rad in my fire suit, I was not the best on the track. I was not the best by far. But! Most importantly, I was not the worst (by one person). My husband and brother-in-law (who have been a number of times, for the record) both score in the 95th percentile of all people who have ever raced there... ever!

So to recap. It's best to let the slow racers drive home. Ann looks amazing in all head wear (side note: I am in search of a fabulous floppy hat, if anyone finds one). And, everyone should go! (Invite us... we're available!).


Share your latest weekend adventure!

No imitation

For those of you who know me... I'm not a big fan of short cuts in the kitchen. I like the idea of efficiency, but most of the time (let's be honest, all of the time) there's no comparison to the real deal.

It is a tradition in my family that you simply do not skimp on birthdays. Today's the hubby's big day. So, in honor of his entry into his (early) late twenties, I thought you might all enjoy some cake!


Bonus. Here's the recipe for Annie's Chocolate Ganache Frosting. Enjoy!

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

1 stick of softened, unsalted butter
1 pound confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 cup half and half
1/2 bag of semisweet or dark chocolate chips

• Fill a small pan half full of water and bring to a simmer.
• Place a glass or stainless bowl over the top and reduce heat.
• Pour chocolate chips into the bowl.
• Stir until complete melted. (but, while the chips are melting...)
• In a mixer, combine the butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and half of the half and half until completely incorporated.
• While the mixer is on low, slowly add in the melted chocolate.
• Add the remainder of the half and half until you get to the right consistency.
• Frost!

Shootin' Spuds

Once again, for those of you who haven't heard this a million times, I am from the corn. And in the corn, we find ridiculous ways to spend our time. Throughout high school and college many of my peers made potato guns. Not for the faint of heart, this canon-like apparatus can chuck a tuber from one goal post to the other.

And, so my husband, brother-in-law and I were delighted when my father-in-law called and asked us to build one to share with the inner-city kids that were staying with the family as part of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program this Memorial Day weekend.

For those of you who are inexperienced, here's the basic recipe: PVC pipe + gas grill igniter + hair spray. I prefer Aqua Net myself, but feel free to use the aerosol of your choice.

By the end of the evening we even had Grandma shootin' spuds. Most exciting, for the first time, someone offered to try to catch the potatoes. Those inner-city baseball players have some guts. (As well as potato-shaped bruises on their forearms.)

I image their welcome home conversation will go something like this:
Mother of inner-city youth: Did you have something to keep you from getting too bored in Central Illinois?
Inner-city youth: Yeah. They shot potatoes at our heads.


What's your favorite home-town tradition?

A blast from the.... current?!

After a serious hiatus, I'm back. I was kindly scolded by many of my favorite people for not keeping up my blog. So here we go....



My husband and I were recently invited to an 80's party to celebrate the birthday of a college friend. Though we had originally planned our exciting Friday tradition of watching a movie and eating too much pizza, we made a last minute decision to go for it!

Much to my husband's disappointment, this meant we needed to find 80's gear... and fast. It was 2 p.m. and the Madonna would be blaring from a jambox by 10. But, where to start? I was in the loop and, as one might imagine, there are not many vintage shops in the central business district of Chicago. To top it off, I had other things in mind... like enjoying my afternoon with a friend I see very little of and finding a pair of jeans that don't show my crack. (Can I get an "amen?")

Because good jeans always take priority, I resigned myself to some blue eyeshadow, and we headed off to the Magnificent Mile.

It's important at this point to say that both my friend and I found great jeans!

I learned a valuable lesson walking from one trendy store to the next... people are not learning valuable lessons. Hello, America! Wearing baby chew toys as earrings was never good. Leggings make the tiniest of us chunky. An off the shoulder sweater? Ok... maybe... but only because Flash Dance was kickin'!

And so my hubby and I donned the most fabulous collection of "new" clothes. We partied on to Duran Duran, Michael Jackson and Depeche Mode in true (2008) style.

But my point. The 80's are back. And still bad!


What do you think of the new/old trends? What's your favorite 80's memory? Come on... dish!

We are headed home as an old friend passed away unexpectedly this week. She was a character who new how to live life to the fullest. She will be missed by all.

Falling....

Each year, the arrival of fall marks my favorite time of year. I love the way the evenings cool, the air smells of crunchy leaves and pumpkins and mums line entrances.

The fall sweater. I don't know about anyone else, but I love sweaters. I love a good sweater and a pair of jeans. Every year, I treat myself to a "birthday sweater" to star the season off right.

Birthdays. Well, I can't very well put it out there and then not talk about it. Yes, that's right. My big day is the twenty-third of October. This year I will be... older. Though I rarely work this out, I love the possibility of sitting around a bonfire to celebrate a new year.

Croquenos. Croqua-whats? My paternal grandparents were fixtures in Metropolis, Illinois. Not only is this the official home of Superman. It is also home to Fort Massac. Every year, the town puts on a festival - The Encampment - with a reenactment. My grandmother, as president of the historical society, spent one weekend each fall dressed in a bonnet (or maybe that was me) making these DELICIOUS old english donuts in a giant cauldron over a real fire.

Apple festival. On my mother's side, my grandfather was often called "Mr. Apple Festival." For over 25 years he ran this local festival - complete with parade, beauty pageant, and drum and bugle corp contest. I spend my childhood receiving free caramel apples and siting in the judges stand. To this day, they still present the winning trophy in his name.

Holidays. The holidays are just around the corner. So it's a long, swooping corner... but never the less, you can almost smell the pumpkin pie and see the twinkling lights. This is the time of year when I get serious about the Christmas Shopping (I have been casually doing it for the last eight months, if you were wondering).

Burning leaves. Now this is a real travesty of living in a metropolitan area. I understand that it's not great for the environment to burn leaves. But, don't you remember, as a child.... I would spend hours racking and raking and then the pile would be big enough to leap into. Once your hair was speckled with brown, it was time to light the pile. The air would smell of ash for weeks.

I've fallen for Fall (and I hear it's coming for a visit starting tomorrow).

* Yes, that is me in the most awesome Rainbow Brite costume EVER!

Why do you love fall so much?
Don't love fall... then what's your favorite season and why?

In the dark

I have been in the dark many times in my life.

I spent an entire semester in college touting La Croix. Only to find out you don't pronounce it "lay crocks." Or, like the time I tried to book an international flight, only to find out the client was in Dublin, OHIO.

But for five days in the past week, I was living in the dark... literally... as in, without power... no lights... the dark.

After a serious blog absence, I thought I would treat you all to a recap of this adventure:

Night One.
This is interesting. Let me just grab those camping lanterns we purchased last weekend and some candles. There. We are a Joni Mitchell album away from a romantic evening. We can read and play with the cats and snuggle and go to bed early. Not so bad.

Next Morning.
Really? Still off? I need to take a quick shower to save the hubby some hot water. No hair dryer or curling iron this morning, and I guess I'll do my makeup on the stairs to get the sun from the skylight. I'm sure it will be back on when I get home tonight.

Night Two.
Oh... oh... oh... nope! I'm really getting sick of the flickering lights followed by the transformer blowing down the street. Just give up for the night and go home. I hope the rain stops soon. I love a good summer thunderstorm, but I can't shut the windows because the AC won't run. Everything near a window is officially wet!

Night Three.
We officially are in a stage of "brown out." That means they MacGyver'ed a generator to the power lines. It gives us just enough power to run dim lights. It's a lot like living in an old Western movie. Luckily, today we went into the office and downloaded some stories onto a laptop. I have a hot date with my husband tonight... we are going to huddle around a screen in the summer heat until the computer dies.

Day Four.
What is that smell?! Oh dear lord, is that coming from the... crap! (Note to readers: a dear friend recently married a cattle farmer. To thank us for our wedding-day help, she thoughtfully gave us 15 pounds of now warm, oozing, rancid cow.) Get the contractor bags, it's time to clean out the fridge.

Day Five.
We just called the home phone and the answering machine picked up. Oh, I am so excited, I just can't decide how to celebrate first tonight... Laundry, dishwasher, vacuum? groceries?

I know the weather is great and the storms have passed... but share your weather woes !