Why I Oughta...

I've written about my experience with Google Express before here on the blog .  I really like it.  Especially for Costco purchases.  For example, we were having a first birthday party for The Beef over this past weekend at our* house and after doing a proper inventory, we discovered that we were covered with disposable plates and forks/knives/spoons, we didn't have any of those big party dinner napkins.  You know... this kind .  So...I added those to my cart and threw in a big party container of cashews and I hit the $15 minimum order for free delivery. 12 hours later....they arrived and we were ready for the party. But...to get started with buying on Costco via Google Express wasn't super easy.  It required a visit to our local Costco store and a request of a new Costco card.  That's because....Google Express requires that the name on your credit card that you are using to purchase stuff match EXACTLY the name on your Costco account. So...that top card is my *n

Over the weekend, we gathered friends and family and celebrated our little guy's first birthday.   There's more over on the family blog, but if you've been to a first birthday party, you know the best part of the entire thing is watching what the baby will do (or not do) with his own cake.  Some kids smash their face/fists in.  Some kids don't do a thing.  Some kids just wail and push it off their table.   Mine?  He picked up the whole thing and ate his cake like a boss.  

With just a little over a week until Halloween, it appears that some happy haunts have take over our place recently . Those photos - of The Babe and The Bird - were created as "Spirit Photographs" at Memento Mori outside of the Haunted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom .  They're lenticular images that they create on the spot.  We had the girls sit down for the photos early one morning (I think it was right at like 10 am when that part of the park opens) and within 10 minutes, the "Sprit Photos" appear at the register. They're now sitting on the ledge as you head down the stairs - right next to the photos of my nieces/nephew.

As drawn by The Babe. This was left for me on my desk at home one night last week.  She taped the little note on top of the drawing on the top left. That's me as a football player, she tells me.  She - on her own - picked out the #50 for my jersey. Not sure where she got that, but it must be in a book around the house.  Pretty great, right?   And that's a football sticker in my right hand next to (I think?) a cat sticker.  I'm (obviously) wearing a football helmet on my face.  And the pumpkins all over the place tell me it is Halloween.

This is the second (I think) season for this Maxine pop-up store that is housed in the Shaved Ice place on the west side of York Street right in the heart of the Elmhurst City Centre.  Seems like a pretty good use of the space for the winter as the shaved ice store closes down after Labor Day.   Maxine is only open October, November and December. Maybe they should be called "Purses, Purses, Purses"?  (Like, Closets, Closets, Closets?)

After that post over the weekend about the Mickey Mouse Club , I went along with Nat and the kids to Nordstrom's to shop for boots for everyone.  Apparently, these kids feet just.keep.growing. While we were there - waiting for the balloons - I noticed that the kids section uses a bunch of vintage lunchboxes as display stands for kids shoes.  There was a He-Man one and a Kitt from Knight Rider one, too. Once I set upon trying to discover all the boxes by taking the shoes off of them on the various tables, I discovered this one.  Seems pretty appropriate, right?   That's not the Brittney version, either, right ?

Just like they do when the Blackhawks make their playoff run, the folks from Clark Street Sports have set up a booth in the concourse of the Ogilvie Transportation Center full of Cubs gear.  I walk by it twice a day now and makes me wish it was all black/white/silver gear. With a few Cubs fans in my life (unfortunately), I've even (gasp!) made a stop AND a purchase.  I know.  Gross, right?