Why I Oughta...

Have I told you guys about how I get super dry, cracked hands during the winter?  It is terrible.  They get rid, dry, flakey, cracked and even bleed when I hit them on something or tuck them into my jeans the wrong way. But...a few years back, I found the solution.  And...when I use the stuff, it totally works and my hands don't hurt.  That stuff is called O'Keeffe's Working Hands Hand Cream.   Check it out here . Let me tell you:  I'm soooo not a lotion guy.  I don't use hair products.  I don't use body spray.  My full arsenal of 'products' in the bathroom are deodorant and toothpaste.  I don't like things that smell strongly.  Actually...things that smell at all.  Don't wear cologne/purfume.  Hate lotions that smell like juniper berries and the like. But...this stuff?  It doesn't smell.  It doesn't get 'goopy'.  It just works.  And...I'm not embarrassed about telling the world that I use this stuff. I've been

We have someone in our lives who has shown an affinity for bronze 'critters' (as I call them) and at some point, I think she is going to be sorry that she did.  Why?  Because...everytime we go to a place that has vintage/antique finds, it is hard to not find a little bronze(ish) animal/critter. This guy (a reindeer?  Moose?) is small, so it has that going for it.  In that...it won't take up a lot of room.  He appears to be wearing a saddle, doesn't he?  What kind of animal wears a saddle besides a horse?  I dunno. But...we'll be sharing this little guy on a special occasion like her birthday later this year. This is a lesson for you all reading this:  be careful about sharing your vintage collection with me.  Once I find out you're into *something* old, I'll be watching for it and you'll be stuck with a growing collection.  If you want it or not.

I ran into this set of vintage wooden toy train cars on an antique trip that are in the same style as todays "Thomas the Train" ones that run on that simple wood rail system and are connected with magnets.  If you have kids under seven, you know the stuff . This old set didn't use magnets, but rather hooks/loops but was seemingly the same size and would run on today's wood track.  Based on the price....this isn't meant for play as a toy.  But...for some toy collector who remembers these from his childhood. The reason why they jumped out to me is the C&NW mark on the car.  My oldest sister worked for them before the line got gobbled up by the Union Pacific and was the final train line that carried the Chicago name to be in existence.  If you look closely around Chicago and the suburbs, you'll see "Chicago and North Western" marks/symbols at train stations, on bridges and elsewhere. Oh...and based on the price (I think they wanted like $35 f

I wasn't kidding when I crowed about my D23 certificate earlier this week .  Here's my card to prove it:

Now that I'm officially out of the Disney-fanboy closet, I can share this whole pin trading thing with you guys.  If you've gone to DisneyWorld you've probably noticed the whole pin-trading situation. We've gone the past few years and now that the Babe and the Bird are both old enough to understand what is going on, I've gotten them into pin trading.  We've bought pins at the park in sets to trade and bought some online.  This year, for our upcoming trip, I bought some pins on ebay.  And...something seems odd about one of them.  See it above? There's lots of posts around the web about how to spot a 'scrapper Disney pin' (AKA counterfeit or fake pins).  Here's one post  that talks about how to spot 'high quality scrapper Disney pins' .  And...they give some good tips to spot.  Like how the back looks or how smooth the sides are or even the colors on the front. But...I think I can give you another tip.  When the person - likely in

This thing came in the mail last week.  It is real.  Not a joke thing like the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers certificate that hangs on my office wall. It is a big (bigger than 8.5x11" piece of paper) and printed on thick/glossy card stock.  Yeah...you read it right.  I'm now a member of the official Disney fan Club called D23.  In fact...you could say I'm a 'card-carrying' member.  Because...they also mailed me a member card.  I'll post that photo some other time. This was a gift from Nat.  And...a good one at that. I'm clearly a "Disney Dad" and if you spend anytime with me around my girls know...we do, indeed, talk A LOT of Disney.  We even have a trip planned for later this Spring (and I'm trying to convince Nat that we need to go to Disneyland to celebrate the park's 60th birthday ...).  But...fan club? Have I crossed the line?  I'm not sure.  But...I also...don't care.  I'm now officially out of the Disney f

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 cleaning out my draft posts from earlier this month and realized I didn't post on a few of these vintage Christmas finds we picked up.  Yesterday, I posted the pic of the little Christmas angel and today, here's this beefcake Santa Claus.  He has a little bit of wear and paint loss on his cheek, but he is different than the other Santas we have, so I couldn't pass him by.  Our cabinet was pretty full last year and now...looking at all the posts I've written in January this year, it appears we're going to have to start thinking about a new way to show these Christmas pots off next year. This guy makes 5 new pots along with a few houses, a tray, and a pin all added this year.  (and...I have another post or two tee'd up). And...in a bit of #housekeeping news, today is the 31st of January and I've kept at it with a post everyday.   #everygoddamnday as my favorite Chicago columnist Neil Steinberg puts it .

Here's another little Christmas girl that we picked up earlier this month in Michigan.  I think she must be part of a set that holds taper candles.  Might she be an angel?  I packed her away weeks ago, so I can't remember if she has a halo or not? The important part?  The mark on the bottom:

I took this photo of the brand new Kilwin's in the Elmhurst City Center last week as they were putting the finishing touches on the place.  When the sign went up and announced that Kilwin's was coming to town, I was surprised by the timing.  After all...I mostly considered Kilwin's an ice cream shop.  That's all we really ever use it for up in Michigan. But...then...I saw how they had this place set up with various cases and displays and remembered that they are, indeed, a big-time candy shop.  They make chocolates and carmels and such right there in the window in one of those big copper kettles. And you know what?  When is the biggest season for candies?  It isn't Christmas, I would guess.  It *has* to be Spring.  Valentine's Day is staring us in the face.  Followed fast by Easter.  Followed by Mother's Day.   Candy. Candy. Candy. Suddenly...now I know why they rushed to get the place open in February and not wait until ice cream season