Why I Oughta...

How about my talented wife?!?  Thanks to her handy work, there's a pretty great Mickey the Mouse jackolantern on our front porch ready for the deluge of kids (and adults!) who are going up and down our block. Last year we had 269 individuals come to our door .  Will we top it this year?

We carved pumpkins last night and light them up for this video.  (If you are reading this in your email, you should click through the title above to see the video)  The Babe drew her face and we cut it out.  I tried a pumpkin with some brains!  Although, you can't totally see them in the video.  I used a white pumpkin and cut it into the shape of a football helmet, minus the facemask.  And then just wedged it into the top of the open orange base pumpkin. Here's what it looks like in photos:

Thanks to Equation Boy/Man, I was able to see the Bears come back to beat the lowly Panthers yesterday.  See that silver-haired guy in the navy ball cap in the center of the photo?   That's this guy .

As usual, the pinata took center stage at Noonie's Halloween party.  Unlike past years, this thing only survived a few wacks. Those are some realistic costumes, eh?  Werewolf with glowing eyes! Here's the post and photo from Noonie's Halloween party in 2011 . Here's the post and photo from Noonie's Halloween party in 2010 .

We spent a few hours this morning trick-or-treating around the Elmhurst City Center.  Businesses were giving out candy for kids and the downtown area was packed.  The nice guys at Sushi Nest (above) were awfully nice to the Babe.    She was a princess.  But with an owl hat and a Muppets hoodie underneath.  She went with it! The Bird didn't get out of her stroller, but she was the star of the show.

Bummer.  The seasoning isn't taking.  Might have to start from scratch on this pizza pan.  I recently picked up 2 more pans (4 total) so we can have a nice sized Detroit-pizza-party.

I came home to find this new construction job moving along quickly.  The odd thing to me?  They've faced their garage towards Indiana Street instead of the alley.  The rest of the houses up and down face Indiana and the alley would make it easy to have access to the garage.  Did they arrange this house wrong?

Looks like the vacancy at 131 N. Addison Street didn't take long to fill.   Back in July, after 29 years, Deborah Davis hung up her curling iron and closed her salon/spa . It looks like they've been around since 2009 and have been mostly focused on birthday parties .  They appear to have been located in Villa Park.  Now they have a store front right in Downtown Elmhurst.  That's good for our community and adds a bit of diversity to the mix of offerings in the City Center.

I spotted this strange (and apparently lost?) cat on our back deck.  Had never seen him/her before and haven't seen him/her since.  He came up to our screen door (which was open), looked in and then sniffed around before leaving.    Could he be the pumpkin bandit?

These signs are starting to appear in business windows around town.  2 questions.  Different answers.  If voters read this thing, I have to believe that this effort will succeed and the ban on holding two offices will pass.

Driving by what used to be a parking lot and office building on Addison Street in the Elmhurst City Center now is a big construction site. Are they moving forward with the massive new development with parking deck?   Here's a post outlining those options .

Look what we found at Michaels!  They have their LeMax display out already.  I picked up the brochure and will find out what's doin' with these guys this year.  Could there be new growth for Mantleburg?  I sure hope so.  The recession was particuarly tough on the town last year as no new buildings were added and the construction industry was devastated.  Will this year be better?

I saw this guy on the train coming home yesterday.  He was a young hipster-looking guy.  At first, I assumed it was a costume.  Then he walked by and this looked like his normal wardrobe.  Are these things coming back?  Or is this some sort of viral marketing for the upcoming Lincoln film ?

We went to Sonny Acres with both girls this week.  I can't believe how big The Babe looks these days.  

Took me almost a year, but I finally got my FIRST Detroit-style pizza pie out of the blue steel pan unscathed and in one piece.  I've been very gentle on the pans and have been building up a thick coating of seasoning - so it appears to be working.    With the cooler weather here, I'll be giving my Detroit-style pizza recipe a good workout which means the pans will (hopefully) only get better.

I have a project in mind for Christmas for the girls and this elevator (on the left) in this dollhouse at Costco has me thinking about how I can replicate it.  Motorized elevator?  Sounds like a challenge.

Six weeks ago - right after Labor Day - the Cupcake shop on York Street closed .  This morning, on my walk to the train, I saw some new signage in location announcing a new store:   Gur Sweets . The Gur Sweets site says they're going to open this fall and focuses solely on cupcakes.  But their Facebook page mentions that they're a bakery and lists 'food and grocery'.  Not sure if that's just a category that the owners picked to build out their Facebook page or if they're going to be more than a cupcake shop. Based on the success of the previous tenants, coupled with the increased competition from the opening of the Courageous Bakery across the tracks, I'm sure hoping it is going to be more than cupcakes.

Hulkamania is going to run wild all over the Babe's toys!  Good to see that one of my childhood toys in the same basket as the Disney princesses.

Change.org | The Proven Petition Site Some residents in Elmhurst are urging our local City Council to change their policy which would allow residents to keep chickens on their property. It is a good idea that needs to happen.  I believe my Alderwoman, Dannee Polomsky, is the sponsor of this measure - which would allow Elmhurst residents to keep a small number of chickens on their residential property.  Kudos to her for taking the lead on this issue. I whole-heartedly support this and if you live in Elmhurst urge you join me and sign the petition. Besides all the benefits outlined on the petition page (which frankly are fine), there are 2 dynamics that are at play in my mind: 1.  Individual property rights.  The long arm of the government shouldn't be reaching into my backyard.  I understand the nuisance aspects, but if I want to keep chickens, I should be able to keep chickens. 2.  The time for this has come.  Elmhurst isn't exactly a pioneer when it comes to allow

Yesterday, while I was out pulling up some carrots, I checked on the potatoes.  They've come in - in big numbers.  I took my spade and turned over a bit of soil that was maybe 1 foot by 2 feet and there were dozens of spuds.  Good thing they keep for a while.  Because we're going to be up to our armpits in potatoes.

The carrots are starting to mature to the size that is worth pulling.  There's tons left out there that I'll get to this weekend.

Do you know a worthy organization that needs financial support from the community of Elmhurst? Well...there's some good news.  Each year, the Elmhurst Newcomers and Neighbors Club selects a new group or organization to support. ENNC is a non-profit community organization for women in Elmhurst, IL that helps women and their families meet new people, connect with others with similar interests, participate in community service projects and generally become more familiar with the Elmhurst community. This group holds an annual Spring Fundraiser to raise money for local charities. My wife, Natalie is involved in the organization and is helping lead on the event and I'm glad to be able to help her spread the word. ENNC just announced that they're now taking nominees for their 2013 event - online! The application can be found by clicking here . Interested parties need to fill out the nomination by November 4th 2012.  Get goin' and nominate a good charity, group, or

Nat and the girls came back from TJ's with these beauties in their bag yesterday and while I'm a fan of the traditional TJ's cookie of fall (Their Maple Cookies), I have a soft spot for their holiday-themed Joe Joe's. These ones are particularly cute with the jack-o-lantern face and orange cream in the middle.   With Halloween being 3 weeks away, I'm seriously doubting that they'll last that long.

This morning, I pulled a paper cup from the stack and the bottom was taped in red.  On the left is a normal cup.  On the right, my cup this morning. Is this like the Wonka Factory tour Golden Ticket?  Is ECOProducts - the makers of our paper coffee cups - trying to send me a message?  Seems like a recycled paper product factory tour is going to be a lot less fun than a candy factory.  But...maybe it wouldn't be all bad.  Perhaps, I'd meet someone like Veruca Salt?

Yesterday, we parked our car in a garage but couldn't figure out which way was out.  The markings weren't exactly clear.

The packaging on this guy at Costco says indoor/outdoor.  Being an outdoor-ready decoration is likely the only way I can get this past Nat.  We don't have a huge house and it already is busting at the seams with Christmas decorations.  So a life-size Santa Ho-Ho (as we call him) isn't going to be workable. But he would look really good in the backyard, wouldn't he?

On the walk to the train this morning, I noticed a sign went up for Athletico Physical Therapy in the big commercial space on 3rd Street just west of York.  There are senior homes above the new home of Athletico.  It seemed like this place was vacant for a couple of years.  While I'm not thrilled with another physical therapy place and not a bookstore or restaurant of some kind (brew pub?), a tenant is a tenant.  And Elmhurst City Center can use more of them!

After watching it under construction for what felt like a year, last night I was able to get to Pinstripes Bowling Bocce and Bistro in Oak Brook. How was it?  Meh.  The place seems designed like an office building.  The food?  It was ok.  The staff was very helpful and attentive.  But...I don't think I'll need to go back. The place is HUGE, though and they have basically the same floorplan on the first floor as they do on the second.  That whole second floor is for corporate events and private parties.  So, perhaps they're going to do gangbuster business in private events?

Wouldn't it? Maybe the Babe can go pro in pop-a-shot?

If you listen to Nat, you'd likely think that I have the worst taste in everything.  Clothes.  Interior design.  Food. But, I think she's likely on the same page as me when it comes to the rehab/renovation of Sunshine Nails on York Street in the Elmhurst City Center.  This photo doesn't do it justice.  There is so much stuff going on in the new windows.  Two fountains with smoke/fog machines.  Statues.  Weird dried leaves.  And, I haven't even gotten to the signs/banners. Now, I'm really not trying to pick on this place because I'm glad to see an entrepreneur take a risk and I know running a small business isn't easy.  But, I can't quite figure out who they're trying to appeal to.  Does anybody know?

Yesterday, we spent a few hours in the morning getting some of our Halloween decorations up in the yard and around the house.  Still plenty more hours left until we get our stuff set up. For the "Pumpkin Cemetery", I grabbed a few pieces of tongue-and-groove boards from the remnant rack at Menards and printed out the letters in a funky font.  Then I traced them on with pencil and painted the letters in black.  I threw on a few coats of polyurethane to seal it in and provide a little bit of weather-proofing. I picked up a little bit of edging fencing from Menards, too.  And stuck that in the ground. For the pumpkins, we debated between real and fake.  We ended up going with real.  Not sure if that is going to end up being wise in the long run, but only time will tell.  I painted on the eyes and mouths and then painted (with a pastry brush) a slurry of red pepper flakes and water all over them.  Before that water dried, I also sprinkled on a bunch of chili powder. You