Spring has come and gone!

Two months since my last post.  What is wrong with me? I love blogging, I guess I have been too busy lately.  Thats a bummer.  In summary: I quit Women In Film, I joined a Book Club.  860th attempt to quit smoking starting tomorrow.  Ugh I'm too old, fat and out of shape.

In other news, Industry Events came and went and took up all of our Spring semester - however they were pretty good, still lots of room for improvement, but that's what the next year is for.
The past two months in picutres: not all pictures though since my phone was stolen, but what I have!

Bill's Adorable Birthday Invite Photo

Greek Easter AND Cinco De Mayo!  The food was ah-mazing.

Ryan and Uncle Billy!

Small, Medium and Large: Olive, Tequila and Lenny!  They loved having their best dog friend stay for a weekend!

Old neighbors reunite during family dinner!  I love all of you!

Fun Manifest Stuff.

Teeny garden!

Giant Garden - yes I was overzealous and planted stuff too close together.

 

And I will leave you with my solo dance party.

100th post, and I'm 34

Wowzer!  Really?  My 100th post.  Overdue, that's for sure.
I had a lovely birthday week - I normally don't have a birthday week at all, my birthday happens to usually fall on a weekend, or over spring break when I have time to take my birthday off and this year is different.  I didn't get to speak to David Carmona, the wonderful man and soul that has never forgotten to call me on my birthday.  I wanted to call back, but he's on a fantastic vacation with his family so I would rather not disturb.  It means so much more that I'm in his thoughts, I love him so much.

I had a great birthday celebration at Archie's, there were so many moments when I looked around and thought "Wow.  I'm so lucky.  I literally have so many friends here for ME.  For me.  They love me.  And I love them.  And I am so loved.  And I am so happy."  That is the most important thing I took away from my birthday.  Being blessed.  So amazingly blessed.  Friends are family and they really do make the world go round.

I guess thats it in a nutshell.  David called and left me a sweet message, Japes has yet to miss one of my birthdays yet when he shows up I'm stunned, John rolls in on his bike even without Kadima, and all my city people are there.  Mary bought me pretzel rods.  Friends brought me unnecessary gifts that I didn't need but wow, I love.   And didn't ask for at all.  Bill bought me shoes that yes, I do love.

I woke up on my birthday to a sweet birthday song from Molly, Ryann and Taylor. You can't ask for any better.

I love you all.  Thank you all for being my friends.  We travel down the road and back again.  And you know the rest.

And there goes summer!

How on earth, is it that when you feel like as a kid that summer goes so fast, but as an adult it goes faster? Well, I lost my cord for my camera, and it was a teeny, tiny cord, so I had to do some fast magic to download these pictures.  Anyway, here is the rest of the summer is summary.
Work was mellow during the summer, now we have two new creative liaisons that started in the portfolio center and thus far, barely two weeks it seem to be working out ok.
However, here is the real reacap on life.

My lovely friend Amanda's birthday party!  She's third from the right and one of the coolest people ever.

John & Kadima's engagement party at the Bristol Renaissance Faire....amazing as you assume.

Bill and I at the Ren Faire, what a great and awesome engagement party!

Our lovely Christian and his girlfriend Jackie moved to Miami, and this was his going away party. He is a crazy talented cinematographer, and just a wonderful guy.  He worked at Sip Coffee House and we have known him for at least 5 years.  Hell of a guy, super sad that they moved.    But they're doing well in Miami, for now!

 Oh how I love Denise and Colleen, our downstairs neighbors.  This is Denise at her birthday party, straight off the trolley.  We are honestly blessed to have instant, awesome and amazing great people right downstairs.  It made the summer even funner, and makes it even harder for us to move!

Mr. Bob Sage was in town, Bill's best dude.  He's awesome, and a lovely man who is crazy smart and a wonderful person.  It was so great to have him around for a few days, Bill was over the moon with him in town!

 Ryan and Harper about to eat their birthday cake!

 How are these girls so grown up?  Sofia and Zoe with little Jimmy.  How in the world is Zoe a freshman?  I'm not ready!  I'm not ready!

 News flash!!!!! This hat is going to be on everyone's Christmas list this year!  I mean, how can you not want an Alevizos hat!!!!!!!

Our little bunny Jimmy.  check out those smudge legs!  I love him!  What a joy he is!
Hmm....anything else?  Lets see.  Work. Summer. Love.  Oh wait, sleeping dogs!

How can you not love those faces????

To you, Spring 2011 semester!

And finally I can relax.  Industry Night went off without a hitch....I was stressed out and working 10+ hours a day for a while there, and now its over.  The semester is over and my Film & Video, Television and Radio event was great.  Through all the concerns that came from people in various departments, it was the best we ever had.  Friday I was exhausted and made it to one art exhibit for Manifest. Here's a photo.

I made it to the grocery store soon after and just chilled all evening.  Saturday I went to Girl and The Goat with Mackie, Mary-Frances and Erica. It was great.  Erica and I are all about our 2011 to do list, and so I made these reservations in February after crossing off "get a new job" on my list.
We had: Pan Fried Shishito Peppers with parmesan, sesame and miso; Chickpea Fritters with romesco, hazelnut hummus, sesame and goat feta; Grilled Baby Octopus with serrano, treviso, celery root, braised pistachio and red bliss potato (it was so good it was crazy); Escargot Ravioli with bacon and tamarind-miso sauce; Goat Chorizo Flatbread with ramp pesto, rhubarb and fresh ricotta; Wood Oven Roasted Pig Face with sunny side egg, tamarind, cilantro and potato stix;  Goat Liver Mousseline with ham hock jus, citruis marmalade and crumpets; Grilled Pork Ribs with tomatillo-mushroom slaw and grilled scallion vinaigrette and for dessert, Blood Orange Sorbet with parsnip pot de creme, pistachio cake and three sisters cornmeal crust.  Wowzer, it was an awesome meal with awesome friends, which was long over due and super, super fun and necessary!  I can't wait to do it again soon!

Los Angeles, Oh what a Time it was!

I'm shocked its been almost a month since my last post!  This one is totally dedicated to how "Nobody Walks in LA".  Just kidding, we walked around a bit!  We had a total blast in Los Angeles, it was Bill's first time there, and he even said he liked it more then he thought he would.
Upon arrival I receive a text from James saying "I'm coming to get you!"  This was odd, considering Rachel was going to get us.  Well, Rachel's car broke down after Home Depot, so Jamesy had to leave during rush hour to get us.  1.5 hours later he arrived!  We were tired, hungry and thirsty but thrilled to see James, its has been since our wedding that we have been together!

Finally we land in Silverlake and Rachel and I were reunited again!  I miss the Winn/Barron household so much, I hate how far they live.  The first night we went to a bar to grab food, Bill and I were exhausted and wanted to rest up for the next day.

Day 2 we went to Olvera Street and I bought awesome stuff for my birthday party fiesta!!!

The evening of Day 2 we went to Pins and Needles and played pinball for hours and hours.

Day 3 we went to Melrose Avenue for shopping and then to Papa Cristos - "The best Greek food in LA".  We feel bad for people in LA.  Although we ate a ton, it wasn't as good as Chicago.  But check out Papa Cristos!

The evening of Day 3 we went to Smog Cutters.  My cousin Trevor and his girlfriend Holly met us, along with Jenny, Bridget and lots of James's and Rachel's friends.

Day 4 we were all feeling wow so awesome, so we went to Griffith Park and enjoyed the view.  We had a great brunch in the morning and headed up there.  It was beautiful and amazing and just what a hangover ordered!  

And finally that evening we made homemade pizzas on the grill, and invited people to come over and join us to eat and drink, and I was thrilled to have my old friend Daniel, who I met in Savannah, Georgia in the year 2000 while I was working on "The Gift", even stopped by.

We had a fabulous time, and missed Jamesy and Rachel (and Signal!) immediately, and forever after, too! Move home to Chicago our friends!!!

Christmastime and Crafting!

Ah, I am a Christmas fan. It's my favorite holiday.  I love Christmas, the ability to decorate your house totally differently for a month and to have it smell like fresh greens.  I love sending cards, reaching out to people and being excited for my own mailbox to see the cards that will come.  I love crafting, making dog cookies as gifts and shopping, shopping, shopping.  I love Christmas! It means being grateful for who you are and who you have in life,  celebrating life and love, and everything that makes us friends and family.  Parties are fun, too!

Attempt #2 at a family photo, this time with Christmas sweaters.

Lenny's first snow - he loves it!

Crafting at Erica's, we made wrapping paper with potato stamps!

Erica being crafty making a cute magnet.

Christine felting wool!

Kristin about to paint her stamps!

Lenny and Bill, not helping me with the Christmas lights!

And tree!  Finished to its glory!

Halloween 2010

As Mary-Frances & Jeff's wedding is quickly approaching I decided its time to reflect back 14 days ago to Halloween.  Whoops!  Almost missed a holiday post!
We had a great Halloween - went to John & Kadima's annual party with the creepy haunted house in their basement (and John even took the last week off of work to complete it).  It is honestly really scary.  I can realize that I'm in my friends basement, but I'm still terrified!
Regardless, Bill and I went as Sookie Stackhouse & Vampire Bill from the books, not True Blood, and there were some amazing costumes.  As per usual, pictures follow after the jump.

Mary-Frances's Bachelorette Party!

As November 19th approaches us, as the "Matron" of Honor, along with Mackie, the "Maid" of Honor, the time came to have an EPIC bachelorette party for Mary-Frances.  From the moment in December 2009 Jeff + Mary got engaged, we knew what we had to do to throw the party that would be remembered, or at least remembered in bits and pieces.  We rented a trolley, got a gaggle of girls together and hit the town for an Irish themed bar crawl.  We had a BLAST.  Not much more to say, pictures follow after the jump!!!!

Poker night...and Autumn Cleaning

I had one rule.  One rule upon marriage that I thought, as now a wife I could have.  NO POKER!  Bill has plenty of single friends, or at least friends that don't live with their significant other.  Dude apartments.  I tolerated poker for many, many years, in a much smaller apartment where I had no escape to go to, and the next day I found myself  fishing out Old Style Tall Boys turned upside-down in the sink (the thought is....what?  Draining the last drop so it doesn't get my recycling bin wet?)

Regardless, it has happened, when I'm out of town, or spending the night at my folks, whatever, as long as I'm not here.  Well, last Friday, my weekend of only cleaning, organizing, washing my tights, yes my tights,  and only ONE  birthday party - I decided you know what - I don't care.  Have poker here.  Why not.

And what happened?  It was FUN.  I went downstairs to find my neighbor Shirley (her husband was upstairs playing cards) and we had some Ouzo (left over from our wedding) and beers.  And we had a blast.  It was nice seeing Bill and his closest companions all under one roof.  It was a great night for all.  Would have been better if Bill took the money pot, but eh, it was still super fun.

It's Fall Around Here!

It sure feels like it, although tomorrow its supposed to be 88 degrees!  My classes are going full force at Columbia, I have three sections of Producing 1.  My students are great, and I really think its going to be a great semester.  Lenny is adapting more and more each day, although we do toy with the idea of Doggie Day Care, for the days we are gone longer then eight hours, and Bill wants to get another dog so he's not alone.  Doggie Day Care is cheaper.

Regardless, back to the soup.  As soon as there is a nip in the air, I do what I do best.  Make soup.  I have more soup recipes that I can make in a year, but I also love winging it!
This evening last week, I made a spin on my grandma's zucchini soup - It was tomatoes (thanks CSA!), onions, veggie stock, cannelloni, garbanzo, and kidney beans.  And of course the most delicious spicy sausage from my corner Italian store, Fiore's.
We invited Lex, who said he was missing homemade soup and we chowed.

Fresh tomatoes!

Parmesan Rind is awesome in soups - freeze it when you're done with your hunk o' cheese!

Happy, full boys

I made my first tapenade, too! 

Off to Milwaukee!

Mackie, Me and Mary-Frances

Bill and I haven't escaped this concrete city since our lovely time in North Carolina.  Now I'm going without him, because he has to work, to Milwaukee for Mary-Frances's Birthday weekend.
We are going to the elusive Irish Fest.  This is the other reason Bill isn't going - he's not much for fests, drunk people, Irish music, etc. I can barely get him to go to Greek Fest (which is next weekend and we are going).
So - highlights of Milwaukee:
Friday night, got there around 8:00 and I was super dehydrated and feeling terrible, so I went to dinner then resigned to the hotel room.  LAME-O!
Saturday morning I was up and alert so John and I went to Beans and Barley and there was a super cute farmers market in the parking lot, so John and I grabbed coffee and wandered around.
Moving onto lunch, we all regrouped and manage to eat together, too!  My favorite Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee, Cempazuchi.  The best shopping of the trip was Art Smart's Dart Smart and Juggling Emporium!  We were trying to make the brewery tour at Lakefront Brewery but sadly it was sold out.  So we had a couple beers on the river (not lake) and headed to Irish Fest!
After closing down the fest, we went to Bruno's on Brady.  A superior dive, with lots of dart games and an awesome jukebox!

Mary-Frances and Mackie at Lakefront Brewery.

John, Kadima, Me + Todd

John, Mary-Frances, Jeff and Justin post Bruno's!

Todd & Darren

More Lenny, All the time!

Somehow this summer has come and gone.  Why is that?  Why are the best 3-4 months out of the year the ones that fly so fast?  It's a major bummer.  Warm weather, awesome CSA (thankfully have it until the end of October) and another shout out - best CSA ever!  Regardless, I have enjoyed many a pool day a la Darren's Chateau (in Lombard) and long walks with  my lovable Lenny!

Lots of fests, parties, music and fun.  But the theme of the summer is Lenny.  Lots of Lenny.  We hired a dog walker, my friend Amanda who is awesome and loves Lenny, and we also rely on our amazing friends.  Being a puppy (we still think 17 months or so) he needs to go out at least four times a day, and he only "goes" on walks.  Its rare he uses our wonderful yard.  I hope that changes in the winter time!

And he kind of still freaks when we leave.  He has locked himself in the hallway twice (although we keep the door closed) and in the bathroom, and I can't believe I didn't take photos of that.  He is into knocking his food over - pic to follow - but he has been super fun.  We do family walks at night, when somehow the city is so, so silent.  It's one of the reasons I love our neighborhood so much.  You feel like your totally alone.  You, the sound of your footsteps and his.  It's awesome.

Lenny's food scattered, note the over turned bowl.

Like father, like son.

My mom makes these dog toy pillows, and Lenny loves them!

What spice would you like?

I'm really a lap dog!

Lenny loves the frozen bison bones, just like his elder spirit dog Victor did!