Why I Oughta...

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Nat and I have been to Labriola's Bakery and Cafe in Oak Brook on quite a few occasions.  They're known for their burgers (I think the Tribune said it was one of the best in town), and I typically get the wood-fired pizza.  But on our latest trip there, I discovered something new:  their gelato.  It is kind of tucked away in the reception area and because of where the cash registers are, it isn't super easy to order, but it is worth the hassle. We ordered two kinds:  lemon and a combo of Chocolate/Peanut Butter. I (obviously!) picked the choc/pb combo and while Nat and the Babe shared the lemon, I think I hossed the entire container of choc/pb myself. I'm not sure I'll order the burger again, but I do know that I'll be waiting online to get the gelato.

If you were around last Christmas, you know that I somehow got hooked on Lemax Christmas Villages .  Yes...it is embarrassing.  Yes, I know. That's why it was so hard to just walk by the huge display of Lemax stuff at Michael's this week.  Look at all that stuff.  And, there's some "exclusives" that Michael's is marketing.  I can't rationalize why I want these things, but my brain has a blip in it apparently. If I let myself go crazy, I think you could probably point to this 'hobby' as the reason for why Nat would ask me to move out. Thankfully, I've shown tremendous restraint thus far.

All along the bluff are a series of Memorials to various wars from WW1 through Vietnam.  The most stirring one - and (in my opinion) well done - is this WW1 Doughboy that sits atop this mound with boulders scattered around. I've walked around on the bluff many times, but it wasn't until this morning that I noticed them all in a line.

A huge hurdle has been lept over:  our basement is bone dry now thanks to getting it waterproofed.

Yesterday, I showed off just one of my two Christmas-related buys at this Estate Sale in our neighborhood.   The vintage Santa and Mrs. Claus rocking-chairs were a hit with Nat.  And so was this set of figures who are getting ready to lob some snowballs. They were $2.50 for the pair and the box was in great shape.  The neatest part?  The bottom is stamped with "Japan" and NOT as we'd see today:  China.

Got them for 'half-off' at an estate sale recently.  They're pretty cute, but I took a gamble that Nat would dig them because I was there alone.  At 2 for $0.25, I couldn't go wrong. They'll look fun up on top of our piano this holiday season, won't they?

Last November, I scouted some after-the-fact Halloween decor sales and came up with a few nice treasures.  I've decided that if I am diligent and buy things that didn't sell after the holiday(s) and I pack them away with the rest of the holiday-themed things, when we unpack the following years, we get a few surprises from things that I forgot we bought.  So, in a sense, it feels like we have some brand-new things! This bird, came from the Martha Stewart Collection from 2010 and I forgot that I bought it for Nat.  He's taken a great spot on our mantle and will stand guard throughout the Halloween season.

There isn't a wedding quite like a Moran wedding.  And last week, my sister-in-law Elise's wedding was a spectacular event and a success for the Moran family.  More planning went into this party than for a Gubernatorial Inauguration - and you could tell.  As the day and evening went on flawlessly. And....the bride and groom?  So happy and so lovely looking.  They're destined for great things together as they walk paw-in-paw in life.  (Get it?  They're Foxes!) BTW....see that cake topper?  Brother-in-law Bill (he's not quite that, but I suppose that's the easiest way to describe him.  He's NOW married to my sister-in-law, so that makes him my "sister-in-law's husband"?  Sounds crazy.  I'm going with Brother-in-law.) carved that himself.  Yes.  Out of wood. You could say he's talented.  Just a bit.

Pumpkins, gourds, and even some cauliflower have just come in.  I planted the pumpkins and gourds right next to other things like tomatoes, so I never fertilized them with anything but an organic fertilizer.  Thus, they never got to be 'competition size'.  Next year?  I'll move them far away and try to hit them with some sort of boost.