Posts

How To Build A Better Home Book

Image
Whether you decide to build or buy, this book tells you how and why.  That's the promise form Howard H. Morris in this book that I found at a barn sale up in Coloma.  What's a barn sale?  Well...it is kinda just like a garage sale, but inside a barn.  There was lots of junk, but a few interesting items like this book.  Since we're *kinda* in the market for housing, this one jumped out at me.  Too bad the guy wrote [50 cents] on the cover in Sharpie, because he kinda ruined the cover.  Bummer. This is the second vintage book that I've posted about here on the blog.  Other one here is a vintage Red Cross text book and manual .

Silver Beach Pizza Added To Coaster Collection

Image
This one goes to eleven.  As in...the eleventh coaster added to the online Coaster Collection here on the blog.   The last one posted was at the beginning of May and it was from Sea Island .  This one is from Silver Beach Pizza in St. Joe's and has had many a Schooner rested on it.  Or...for us, the little 12 ounce beers or ciders.  On our last trip, Nat had a cider and I had an Arnold Palmer to wash down our Garlic Greek.   Full Coaster collection found here on the blog tag page .

Volunteer Lettuce

Image
That right there is a tiny lettuce plant growing in a crack in the asphalt on the driveway.  It is the same variety that my sister Vic tells me that she planted last year in her raised bed garden.  I took this photo and sent it to her and asked her if it looked familiar and she said 'yes!', it was the same variety. Thus...it appears that we have some Volunteer Lettuce, folks! What's Volunteer Lettuce?  It's a bonus plant.   From Wikipedia in the Botany section : In gardening and agronomic terminology, a volunteer is a plant that grows on its own, rather than being deliberately planted by a farmer or gardener. Volunteers often grow from seeds that float in on the wind, are dropped by birds, or are inadvertently mixed into compost. Unlike weeds, which are unwanted plants, a volunteer may be encouraged by gardeners once it appears, being watered, fertilized, or otherwise cared for. The action of such plants – to sprout or grow in this fashion – may also be describe

Trying Sanfratello's Pizza (Chicago's 'Other' Pizza)

Image
Earlier this year, I came across this story in Full-Service Restaurant Magazine (yes...I occasionally read pizza trade outlets!) that spoke about how Sanfratello's was expanding in the Chicago area .  What struck me was that that this place that calls themselves the 'original Southside pizza' was crowing about how they were expanding to the 'Northside'.  The problem?  The new location is in Naperville.  Not *exactly* what I'd call the 'Northside', right?  Anyway...from the story: Sanfratello's Pizza, Chicago's original Southside pizza since 1969, announces its first north side location. The fifth location is company-owned and is celebrating its grand opening on March 30 at 1299 S. Naper Blvd. in Naperville. To celebrate the company's venture to the north, Sanfratello's is giving away two styles of Southside pizza—tavern style thin crust and pan. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on March 30, all carryout guests will receive a free small cheese t

The Stairs Of My Dreams

Image
Nat and I have been through a lot with the ups and downs (mostly downs, frankly) of our house search over the past year.  Actually....about a year and three months, but who is counting.  I'm hopeful, that we're getting close to a resolution in terms of having a 'direction' (but not a definitive answer yet, however), but we likely won't know for sure for almost a month.  We've been through a lot including looking at building a new house, buying a beautiful old house, and building a new/old house. During part of the process, when we were talking about building on a particular lot, we went looking for some salvaged old house parts.  And that lead us to the Reuse Depot in Maywood .  Inside a warehouse building, you'll find so much awesome.  Everything from old doors to windows to mantles and cabinets.  Some of it is plain.  Some of it is extraordinary. Including these stairs.  They were harvested out of a Queen Anne Victorian in Hinsdale that was built in

Wall Calendars Turned To May 2016

Image
For those of you keeping track of these things at home, today is Friday, May 13th.  I actually turned these over to May yesterday, so let's call it the 12th of May. On the left is Monsters, Inc.  On the right is Illini Hall.  Which....is a total mystery to me.  Having spent four years there (including the summers), I'm not sure I ever stepped foot into this place.   Looking it up on the UIUC map , it shows Illini Hall right on Wright Street, just south of Green.  Kinda across Wright from Altgeld.  The "Department of Statistics" is in there.  That *might* explain why I didn't go there... The full archives of the enthralling wall calendar tracking project (you just can't get enough, can you?!?!?) can be found here . May took 12 days in 2016.    Last year it was the 7th.  That's a +5 day jump. January took 8 days to put up the calendar . I don't think I was tracking January last year. So let's call it a wash. (+0 Days) February took 16 day

Dammit, Google Now! You Figured Me Out...

Image
Nothing to be embarrassed about in my Google Now, is there??  Stinkin' Google Now figured me out as a bit of a Gilly.  What with Nat being all-in on the show and the Gilmore Guys podcast  (like...seriously...all-in), and me being a Melissa McCarthy fan (She does the Stern Show!), how could I not get sucked in?  You can't blame me, right?

Chocolate Sprinkles Cherry Tomato

Image
We have two containers on the driveway that we're planting tomatoes in this year - instead of the usual raised bed garden that we had at our old place - and this is one of the varieties:  Chocolate Sprinkles Hybrid Cherry Tomato.   An heirloom, this isn't.   We picked them up at the Home Depot on North Avenue and let the girls pick out their own plants.  One of them picked these.  Guessing it was the name.   From the Bonnie site , it says this is new for 2016: This cherry tomato has it all: good looks, great flavor, heavy yields, and disease resistance. Bite-sized, cherry-type fruits are beautifully colored — red striped with dark green — that explode with rich, robust flavor. This highly productive plant forms its fruit in clusters, and starts bearing early in the season. We'll report back on the harvest through the season, but I'm hoping that they'll survive the driveway conditions.

Guac-N-Tacos Coming to Elmhurst City Centre

Image
It was just back in April that I chronicled the closing of Goalie's Goodies on the east side of York Street, just south of the tracks in the Elmhurst City Centre.  Well....there's some good news:  if you walk past the site today, you'll see this brand new awning up that welcomes a new business:  Guac-n-Tacos.   They have a new site up , but there (currently) isn't any info up there yet besides their new logo - which I've included below. Think this will be a great addition to the City Centre.  The place isn't big, so it won't be a full sit-down place, I don't think?  Probably a counter to order and maybe a counter to eat facing out the front window? We have a Chipotle in the core of the City Center and The Salseria nearby and those two seem to co-exist with Chipotle being the quickserve that (increasingly!!) seems like it is being overtaken by Teens/Tweens/E-Coli???? and the Salseria, which is a full-service sit-down place. Where will Guac-n-Taco

2016 Orange Bird Disney Pin

Image
 Add this cute little Orange Bird 2016 pin to the collection here on the blog as he was picked up earlier this year down in Florida.  There's a lot to like on this one and that starts with Orange Bird.  I posted about him about a year ago here on the blog .  Then...look at the vintage Walt Disney World logo at the bottom of the pin?  Pretty awesome.  The AP Figment pin that I posted in April was the first of the 2016 pins, but this Orange Bird one isn't the last.