Why I Oughta...

This morning, I stopped by the windows of the State Street Marshall Field's Macy's to check out the Christmas windows.  They're going with a space/planets theme this year and they're REALLY cute.  Above is the Venus window - which is the second from the north window. Below is Mercury, which is the most northern window on State Street. Here's a photo from just last week  that shows the decorations going up on the buildings, but not the windows open.

See that red and white striped awning above the top of the yellow cab?  That's the Christkindlmarket Market booths getting set up.   According to their site, they'll open for business on November 20th , so they have a few weeks to get things sorted out. For the past few years, we've made a stop at the Market and picked up a few things and *sometimes* met up with The Big Guy for a photo.  With the opening of the sister Market at Oak Brook Mall, the appeal of the city one has dropped a bit for me.  But...I'm guessing we'll still make time for a stroll through the packed walkways between the booths and try to find a piece of Polish pottery for Noonie.

The Marshall Field's Macy's on State Street has jumped on their traditional Christmas decorations with the trumpets installed on the top of the first floor windows.  It also appears that the first few windows down State Street have gone dark in preparation for their annual unveil later this month. I posted a photo about a year ago showing the windows here on the blog . I still get the warm-fuzzies when I think about this place and Christmas.  It played a large role in our family tradition starting from a very young age and we still make an annual visit to the Walnut Room with our kids and cousins. Right after the Macy's transition, this place took a hit in terms of experience and quality.  But, I have to hand it to the Macy's people....they've really tried to improve the place and make it feel 'special'.  The Walnut Room at Christmastime *should* be special.  And they're doing their best to ensure it *is* special for kids like mine who make their

This morning, it *feels* like Fall has arrived.  And when I got up to my office and took a look at the lake it *looked* like Fall, too.   Lots of wind and crashing waves on the lake.  They've turned Buckingham Fountain off for the year, which is really quite depressing. There's also those weird sand-filled spots by the bandshell in Grant Park and nobody stirring in the parks almost anywhere. This marks the third season - as viewed through my office window - and chronicled this year on the blog:   Spring with NFL Draft Town , Lollapalooza in the Summer and now this post for Autumn.

Last week, there were electricians putting up Christmas lights on the trees along Randolph on the north side of the Daley Center in Chicago. The top photo was on my walk east in the am and the photo at the bottom is from my walk west after work. So, I'm torn.  Christmas creep?  Or is this just plain smart preparation by working when it is pleasant outside?

They have much of the structures set up and are wrapping them with the white tarps this morning.   Here's where they were just a few days ago .

Last weekend, we spent the night in the city so the girls could go swimming in a hotel pool.  (Well...that's not the *only* reason, but it was one of the driving forces anyway...) We spent Friday afternoon walking around with stops at my office, the new Maggie Daley Park (wowsa...pretty neat place!) and then hoofing it up Michigan Avenue to head to dinner.  On the way there, we stopped into Dylan's Candy Bar. Pretty neat place.  Lotsa candy (as you'd expect) and they even had 'nostalgia' area with old school candy.  Some of it from a long time ago, but plenty from the 80's and 90's that I remember from my childhood.  I was pretty impressed with the place.  That was...until...I checked out and was waiting around for Nat and the girls to finish filling up their bags of candy.  There, by the door laying on the counter was a book all about Dylan's Candy Bar and the founder Dylan Lauren. You can see the book here on Amazon . I went to back inside c

Photo from thethirdcity Over on his blog, Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg does his typical brilliant job of dissecting the news and making me think and smile about the minuscule $12M renovation that Union Station is about to undertake.   When we lived with Nat's parents while we were fixing our house, I took the train in from Naperville everyday and used Union Station.  Now...I get the good fortune of using Ogilvie everyday.  And there is no comparison.  Union Station is just flat out awful.  *Gross* is a good way to put it.  And.. Steinberg points out that they want to fix the old stairs.  And...he thinks it is a bad idea : Union Station is a hell hole — loud, crowded, smoky, cold, in winter, airless in summer, dripping cascades of what please God is water all year round.   So news that Amtrak finally plans to toss $12 million into fixing has to be welcome, although anybody who has spent anything on home repair has to immediately wonder how far $12 million

I was walking through City Hall this morning and came across this Mayor Jane Byrne memorial set-up.  On each of the end tables there was a book and nice pen where people can leave greetings for the Byrne family. In the minute or so I stood there, a handful of people walked up and checked out the book, but none of them signed it.

Took this photo as I walked by this morning.  Even though I refuse to call this place Macy's, I still get excited to see the windows get all decked out for Christmas.  Brings back all sorts of warm/fuzzy childhood feelings... For the past few years, we've taken the girls down to the Walnut room and then spend a bit of time pressing our faces up against the glass to see what they've cooked up.  Even though I refuse to acknowledge Macy's and still call it Marshall Field's, I have to admit they have done a nice job with the windows since the acquisition.  Here's hoping they keep it up!

Saw three of them flying south from my office window on Monday.  One peeled off to circle around the lake.  The other two landed in the parking lot just south of Soldier Field right north of the black McCormick Place building. Has to be related to the First Family, right?  There wasn't anything on the news about the President or First Lady being in town, but what else could it have been?  

One of the benefits of walking straight down Randolph Street from Olgivie to Aon most mornings is that I get to see all sorts of transformations.  The planter boxes outside of City Hall are especially nice.  But, as this is my first winter doing this walk, this is the first time I've been able to see the famous windows at Marshall Field's Macy's undergo their transformation.     With Halloween going down this week, I have a feeling we'll see them come out from hiding as early as next week.

Today is "Take Your Child to Work Day" at Google and elsewhere around the country.  This was the first year that the Babe was old enough to come along and participate.  Google had - as one would expect - a pretty great day set up that included art projects, bloxes construction playtime, computer science lessons, cooking demos, a special lunch, and a bubble guy. After an hour or so of shyness, the Babe (who wore her self-made crown) made herself at home and got comfortable.  She built herself a little home out of Bloxes - which she deemed to be fit for a princess  - Cinderella's Castle.

This morning I was greeted by this nice gentleman who was BUFFING our windows up 8 floors with what looks like a Bosch power tool with a buffing attachment.  Now that's deep cleaning.  This particular crew has been here on our building for the better part of a few weeks doing power washing and scrubbing and such.  In fact, I think they've done the window in my little office at least three times with various implements.  Those implements are the most fascinating part to me:  seeing how they're all strapped down (see the thin cable on the end of the buffer next to the power cord?) and everything is secured to ensure it doesn't plummet to the ground.  These guys are such pros that even with their tools restrained in that way, they're able to work.  Let alone the conditions and the height.  My god...the height.

For the 3rd year in a row, we spent part of our weekend at the Chicago Renegade Holiday Craft Fair at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse.   Here's my post on our 2010 visit . And, just like in years past, I *really* want to like Renegade.  The bright spot for me was the parking this year:  we found a street spot (which was in a marked zone, but we got lucky with no ticket) and were only 1 block away.  Once we got inside?  It was much better than last year - either the aisles were wider or there were a lot less people milling around. We opted for no stroller - which is the ONLY way to roll at this event but the Babe wasn't that interested in being hauled around and wanted to walk herself. Nat picked up multiple items for gifts - which is a good outcome for her - but I haven't quite come around on the event.  It wasn't as terrible of an experience as it was last year, but I must be outside of the main demographic.  Too many screen printers.  And...what's with the mu

This place has a magnetic pull.  Perhaps it is because there are 3 of them on the same block, but whenever I get within 6 blocks of Ashland and Division, my mouth starts watering.  Nat was nice enough to satisfy my urge to recently get a carne asada burrito.  Do they put narcotics in these things?

This place came in at #12 on the list - which is surprising once you find this place.  It is way out on Lake Street under the El tracks and kind of isolated.  At least for this suburban guy, it felt isolated.  The place from the front couldn't be cuter, though.  In the front part of the store, they have a deli/bakery in each of the front windows.  I don't think they're actually open to the public (I don't think you can come in off the street and buy meats to take home), but it seemed like they're using it to 'serve' the restaurant.  When we were walking out, a waitress was picking up a salami plate from the deli counter and was set to deliver it to a table. This is one of those places that you must have to *know* is here to get there, I suppose. But since it was on the list, we had to try it.  For those keeping track at home, here's the full list of pizza places we're trying .    This was NOT the best Neapolitan pizza we've had.  I'm c

A month back, Nat and I snuck out for a date night that included a stop at a pizza place on our list and a comedy show that was part of the TBS Just for Laughs Comedy Festival .  We picked Spacca Napoli - #15 on the list of the Top 25 Pizza Places in Chicago.  And while it comes in ahead of such notables as Louisa's and Aurelio's, I can tell you that this one is ranked too high.  The place itself couldn't be cuter.  It appears to just spring up in the middle of a residential neighborhood and has a ton of outdoor seating.  It is VERY popular and we had to wait about an hour to get our table.  We weren't in any hurry, so that was fine.  We ended up sitting outside and as the night wore on, the temperature dropped.  So, we might have outsmarted ourselves with the outdoor seats. The menu is filled with what we've come to expect at most neopolitan places:  a few twists on the Margherita and a bunch of white pies.  I went with the Diavola and Nat (surprisingly) wen

Last night, Nat and I dropped the Babe off at her folks house (Thanks Grammy and Granddad!) and went downtown to knock a pizza place off our the top 25 list (watch for a post on that later) and to see a stand-up show that was part of the TBS Just for Laughs Comedy Festival - which takes place across a bunch of clubs in Chicago.  The Just for Laughs folks got started up in Canada - which is (in my mind) the second best place for comedy behind Chicago.  They started this festival in Chicago - a companion to their one in Montreal - a few years back.  Nat and I have talked about going each year, but something always came up.  This year, we took the plunge and bought tickets.  As we walked out, we both noted that we should try to get to even more than one show next year.  This is a great thing for the city and based on the fact that a lot of the shows were sold out, it is well supported.  The headliners are Martin Short and Steve Martin who are playing on Sunday so they were able to ge

Big day!  Here's to many great years ahead. Now...how about moving to the suburbs and having some kids?