Wet

It has been raining. all. weekend. long. And the end is not yet in sight. I hope our basement doesn't flood...

BIG news

I have a major announcement.

We are now registered at Home Depot. And please, someone needs to get us the circular saw. It will be worth the price of admission just to see Zeke covered in sawdust.

I love him dearly. With all of my heart. But my wonderful man is not the handiest man in the world. But when I asked him what on earth we needed a circular saw for, he replied that he'd like to be able "To put up a fence".

We've been together for over 2 years. And in that time I have never seen him yield a tool.

Granted, as a contractors kid, I was raised amidst table saws and grout, so my opinion on the standard of handiness may be biased. And I must admire the fact that he is so dedicated to providing for our Z-family-to-be, that he wants to be able to put up a fence, should we ever need one immediately. And in that case, he deserves to have the tools at his disposal.

But don't we need a yard before we have to worry about a fence. We have a patch of grass, and it belongs to the City of Chicago.

So let's start small. Fix a drippy faucet, or replace a light fixture. Then we can move on to fences, and then maybe decks! (I'd love to have a deck. On which we could enjoy fresh margaritas from our newly acquired glass pitcher.)

That all being said, he does deserve to receive a few new things in the house that don't go in the kitchen.

War Zone?

The Chicago Air & Water show is in town this weekend... And all morning, the fighter jets have been zooming around the downtown airspace practicing for the events this weekend. It's one-half exciting and one-half annoying. It's a bit hard to conduct business via phone when it sounds like we are moments away from a bomb siren.

While I do generally enjoy the show, I can't help but wonder how much it's costing our lovely government to do a fly-by with the Stealth bomber. Seriously, is it really all that stealth anyway? It's gone to more baseball games this year than I have! And 5 fighter jets? Just give me a few of those cute little acrobat bi-planes, and I'll be happy.

Anywho, I will now step off my soap box. And return to work.

No more Licker Terrace

Good Bye Ricker Terrace

Today marks the end of my childhood. Well, the end of my childhood home at least.

Mom moves out of 21 Ricker Terrace today. And moves in to a wonderful new loftspace in Watertown. I am so happy for her, and so excited to see how the new place looks once she's had some time to put her design touches into it. It's in a great location, right on the Charles, (and mere blocks away from Haley, once her condo is ready).

True, I will miss the house I grew up in. The garden in front. The big deck in back. Memories of all of those summer-time keg parties... but since I haven't lived there for a decade (literally), I guess it hasn't been my home for a while already. I'm just having a hard time with the realization that the phone number my fingers have in their muscle memory will no longer Phone Home.

Take a look at some of the promo shots from the building. These aren't from Mom's apartment, but I'm sure they aren't too far off. Pretty amazing, right?

His & Hers Coifs

Today, I won a small victory.

My almost-husband got his hair cut at a real salon. And not just any salon... at MY salon! And I got to watch.

Well, what else was I going to do while my highlights were processing?

It was wonderful. I adore my stylist, and I've been campaigning for him to join me. It's been KILLING me to allow my very handsome man get $15 Supercuts 'dos, where I can never anticipate the results. But now, since we're so close to the wedding, I was able to convince him to start working on his 'wedding hair'. No unpredictable haircuts for us leading up to the big day! And granted, he doesn't get that haircuts must be planned, but he grasped that this was important (to me), and allowed me to book him the appointment.

I guess this is the concession for him... since he keeps threatening to shave it all off the minute the wedding is over. I guess that a few $50 haircuts aren't so bad, when they are the last cuts you'll ever have to pay for again. (Meanwhile, he has no idea I spend $150 every 6 weeks...shhhhh) Good thing for separate bank accounts.

RSVPs are fun

We received our first RSVP in the mail on Saturday. And it was a 'Yes'!

Current Official Guest Count: 2

This is very exciting news people. For the record: it was from Z's side.

BP#1: The aftermath

So, I lived through the first of two bachelorette parties (aka BP#1). Barely.

It took a pepperoni pizza, 16 gallons of water, a full day on the couch, and one very impressive back-to-back-to-back 80's movie marathon before I was able to be upright for more than a few minutes.

There are a few people I would like to thank:
1) Emily D, for a few too many bottles of champagne
2) Susie & Maria who planned it, and of course, the girls who attended
3) Especially Murrae-Anne, who made sure I got home
4) My wonderful fiance, who still thought I looked pretty at the end of the night when I showed up bombed to Cousin Jim's pig roast
5) Papa Romeo's Pizza (2 medium pizzas for $15. Are you kidding?)
6) The fine people at HBO On Demand

Now, BP#2 is in exactly one month. Hopefully, I'll feel better by then. Because it's been 2 days already, and I still am not quite right.

A few of my favorite things

So, I have a new favorite food. I know, big shocker.

A new restaurant opened up around the corner about one month ago, and we've already eaten there 4 times. It's a little hole in the wall between Pulaski and Elston, right down the street. Everything on the menu is super inexpensive, and SUPER yummy. It's family owned and family run, and they are so sweet and grateful to share their cuisine.

My favorite dish is an appetizer. Steamed vegetable dumpling finished with homemade meat sauce and dill/garlic yogurt. It's called Aushak. And it's the stuff dreams are made of. Throw a little of their homemade hot sauce on it, and a dribble of yogurt sauce, and you have yourself a dream on your fork.


If you live in the hood, please visit.

Afghan Kebob
4040 W. Montrose
773-427-5041

Bachelorette Parties and Swine

This is going to be an exciting weekend.

The girls are throwing me a bachelorette party, and on the same night, Cousin Jim is hosting his third-annual Pig Roast. Decisions, Decisions.

The Pig Roast is fun. It always ends up being a crazy night, but it's always a blast. I went last year. Ironically, it was at this event that I met my friend Brittany (who is also jewish, and a vegetarian to boot). While I do love the pork products (really, what's NOT better with a little bacon), having a whole big pig spinning on the spit is a bit much for me. So I'll be packing zeke up with some handi-wipes and cab money, and send him on his way. He'll have a great time, and by the time I head out, he'll be having fun and won't have to sit home worrying about me.

Besides, it's Ladies night!! No swine on ladies night.

I have absolutely no idea what is in store, but it starts with my favorite Sushi restaurant (Matsu Yama, on Belmont - Dee-lish!). And to make the night special, my wonderful maid of honor has shipped in some champagne, since she can't be there in person. Such a sweet gesture. It's a great group of girls, and I'm looking forward to having a great night out on the town. Plus, I always have fun with Susie and Maria. Thanks for planning girls! I'm make sure to carbo-load to prep for the marathon.

Stamps and Labels

It's official... we're having a wedding.

After three nights of stuffing, labeling, stamping, licking and sticking, they are done. The invites are officially on their way into your mailboxes. The invites were designed by our lovely groom and printed by Mission Press, who rock.

If you already know that you can't come, please let us know, but of course, we hope you can all make it!! The official RSVP date is Sept 15.

Official Countdown: 79 days.