Why I Oughta...

Nat and the girls brought me back some vegan soap from their adventures in Michigan and this bar hits a soft spot in my heart.  First...it is a bar.  Have we talked about how I like/prefer bar soap?  I've been converted to the 'body wash' stuff by the body wash industrial complex - complete with the whole loofa things.    But I've always preferred bar soap in the shower.   And, Nat knows how to pick 'em.  A cadian Driftwood ?  One of my favorite songs from the band that was belted out by all the Canadians at The Last Waltz?  Don't mind if I do! Just check out this description and tell me you don't want to take a 'nude soapy' with this bar.  ( that 'nude soapy' reference is for those of you - who like me - spent your summers at Valley View Pool in Frankfort and snickered every time you saw the sign in the locker room that commanded you to take a 'nude soapy shower' before entering the pool... )

It can't all be Joy, amirite?!?  After watching the Disney - Pixar movie Inside Out, the Babe wantedwantedwanted Joy the doll.  So...we got Joy the doll.  She had her arm broken off by a restaurant chair incident and that caused all sorts of pain and agony and handwringing. But, we promised the Babe that we'd replace Joy.  But being a savvy terrorist, she up'd the ante:  she not only wanted a new Joy, but she also wanted Sadness. Sadness was - besides BingBong the #2 character in the film.  ( Don't ask about our family and  BingBong and his cotton-candy-smelling-belly.... ) Being a softie, I picked up a new Joy and at the same time bought a Sadness doll and hid her at home.  It took...maybe....45 minutes before the Babe figured out where she was and got her little hands on her. So....now, emanating out of the top bunk in the girls room as they fall asleep, we get to hear Joy AND Sadness having little funny conversations back and forth.   Isn't movie marke

The girls are really into 'blind bags'.  You know...those toys that come in little packages and are part of a series but you don't know which one you'll get until you open it.  Between Shopkins ( which I've talked about here ) and My Little Pony, they like to open the little bags and get surprised.  Kind of like toddler gambling or toddler toy roulette. Recently, we were at the Toy Store in Elmhurst and they spotted these Simpson mini figure Lego blindbags .  The Bird got Hans Moleman.  The Babe got Groundskeeper Willie. They've quickly fallen out of grace in favor of ponies and unicorns with both girls.  Too bad for them.  Good for me I guess, as they're now adorning my desk. I was saying "Boo-urns....".

If you drive down York Road towards the City Centre these days you can't help but spot the big demolition job taking place on the west side just south of the CVS/Panera. Coming down are Pauli's gas station and a few other random buildings.  And in their place?  Something called the Elmhurst 255 built by Morningside USA .   From the listing on their site: 192 luxury rental units in downtown Elmhurst, two blocks from the Metra station 12,000 sf of new retail space available Spring 2016, with 150 public parking spaces and outdoor cafe seating. Divisible 1,400-6,000 sf. Click for more information . Public event plaza with bandshell A public bandshell?  That's pretty cool.  The City Center lacks one important feature that all downtowns *should* have:  a gathering place.  Think place to light the town Christmas tree (I know, I know...we do one down by the police station, but...that's not quite right.), have free concerts, show movies, etc.  This may solve that?

Learned something from the new restaurant up in Coloma last week.  (More on the restaurant in a different post). From the back of the beer menu (plus a few commas): Dickerville was the name for Coloma from approximately 1836 to 1850.  Coloma was called Shingle Diggins prior to Dickerville.  It was home to lumber mills that hand split more than one million shingles.  After the lumber was all gone, the industry died and most people moved on.  Money was no good there due to the lack of industry so one had to dicker (barter) for goods and services.  This is when  the town took on the identity of Dickerville.  In 1850, the town was to be added to a national registry and receive a post office.  Not wanting to be known nationally as Dickerville, they decided on Coloma after Coloma California.  

I'm clearly a day late here, but have to tell you that I was so excited to watch the euphoria that the Womens' team wore all over their faces and play on Sunday night.  I was texting Nat and the girls all throughout the game.  #PlayLikeaGirl But, yesterday I found out little nugget - via Oskee Wow Wow Today - that makes me like the outcome even more:  Head Coach Jill Ellis is a former member of the Fighting Illini family.  She coached the womens' team in their inaugural season back in 1997. Go Illini.  Congrats to Coach Ellis and whole team.

Hey....Nat can't complain about me cracking into this delicious bag of Bugles when we're up in Michigan, right?  I mean, it just *flat out* says that being a blogger grants me the right to devour these things. There are certain things that 'remind' me of being in Michigan.  They're usually foodstuffs Bugles lead the pack.

At one of the garage sales up in Coloma, I came across a tub of old Christmas stuff and as I usually do and dug out this tree topper angel.  She has a cardboard cone body and a porcelain head and is about 12" tall.  I picked her up and set her aside and kept looking to see if there was anything else in the tub worth picking. When I set her to the side, the lady who was running the garage sale remarked "oh...I remember that angel!  My mom used to put that on top of our tree.  That brings me right back to my childhood.  We would put it up on our tree every year!". I immediately thought...'ut oh.  She's sentimental about this thing, so she's going to either say that she didn't know it was in there and she doesn't want to sell it or tell a higher price like $10.' So...I replied to her:  "Oh yeah.  That's neat.  So...how much do you want for her?" Her answer?  "How about ten cents?" A dime?!?  Seriously?  I ran to m

Found this $2 coffee cup tree with an owl on at at a Garage Sale up in Michigan and was surprised when I turned the mugs over and found this: There were four mugs and a little pitcher on the tree.  For two bucks! But...alas....I passed.

This whole crate of horseshoes was five bucks.  I've never come across a set of shoes like this with the leather on them and the spikes attached.  But....I passed.