Reuniting with Ashley and Davide

Among our recent visitors are Ashley and Davide, Joe's sister and brother-in-law. They live in Milan, and it's been over a year since they were stateside to visit. Davide arrived first for work training, staying for the weekend before the conference began. Joe's been enjoying a little time alone with him while I've been working like a crazy. It's really the first time they've been able to hang out on their own, since travel circumstances usually have them together in a group. One of the first steps was food, naturally. I managed to join them at Garcia's for burritos before my bar shift. When his massive roll of meat and tortilla arrived, Davide's eyes lit up. “I forgot I was in America! I love this country!”

I first met Davide a couple years ago when Joe and I went to Italy for their wedding. He grew up in Turin, making him an amazing tour guide for our caravan of family and friends. We spent a few weeks touring the country, staying with Davide's family before the wedding which took place in an incredible castle-turned-hotel overlooking the countryside. The highlight of my trip (I think) was the rehearsal dinner. Avid diners that we are (as you might have noticed), Joe and I were thrilled to learn it would be at an agriturismo, a completely self-sustained restaurant. Everything served was raised on the premises, from the risotto to the lamb to the wine. While this was impressive enough a fact, it was compounded by the fact that it was probably the best meal of my life. It took hours (as did most of our meals), but it was such a sublime experience, with amazing food and love in the air.

 When Ashley finally arrived this past weekend, I was working again, but managed to join them for brunch the following morning before they left for southern Illinois to meet with Ashley's parents. We went back to Lulu Belle's so Joe could finally give it a try (he tried to stay cynical about it, but couldn't deny the appeal of his fluffy omelet and perfectly seasoned hash browns). We didn't notice until we reached the restaurant, but the guys were perfectly matched in yellow, while we were in pale pink. We looked very precious on our double date. The guys didn't care, but I broke up the party by changing before Ashley and I went for pedicures. While our visit was short before they left to spend time with Ashley's parents, we'll be reunited next week when I join them in Michigan for a week at the lake.

Saying bye bye

This week I had my last day taking care of the twins. I've been with them a few hours a week for nearly two years, since they were chubby faced toddlers. It's always sad to say goodbye to the little ones I spend so much time with. It's an occupational hazard. But, inevitably, they grow up and start their school life. These boys are particularly amazing. Their curiosity is insatiable, and it's been a pleasure to teach them pretty much everything I can think of. Many an afternoon is spent asking for the make and model of the cars we pass on our walks. They can point to nearly any country on the globe. They know the planets and their moons. Did I mention they're 3? They're also tender little sweethearts who notice when I get a new scarf and compliment my pedicure.


Last week, they came to our place for the first time. After a little mac and cheese on the balcony, we took a walk down to the harbor to feed the ducks while we checked out the boats and lighthouses. They'd never been before, so they had all sorts of questions about it. "Is a goose a duck?" "Why does Joe have to work to earn money?" "Is this dock our boat?" I'm going to miss these guys a little extra.

Braving It

My sister Mo and I went to see Brave the other day. For some reason, animated films are the only kind we see together in theater. While we enjoyed it, I have to agree with the critics--for being Pixar's first female protagonist out of 17 films, they sure don't break any ground with her. Spirited princess? Check. Marriage dilemma? Check. Conflict with mother? Check. Magic gone wrong? Check. I guess a female archaeologist isn't as marketable in Barbie form. But hey, she has great hair.

Tossing Up Lunch

It may not be ground-breaking, but this hearty salad rocks. It's packed with healthy fat, vitamins, and protein, but you wouldn't know it because it tastes amazing. This ain't no side dish--it's a filling meal that satisfies even the hungriest boyfriend.

-fresh spinach
-sliced strawberries (also yummy with blueberries)
-crumbled goat cheese (or feta)
-crushed almonds (or your favorite nut)
-cubed avocado
-sliced onion
-grilled or sauteed chicken (I like to almond-crust it for extra crunch)
-your favorite dressing (if you need it--it's pretty flavorful on its own)

Visiting with Dad

We've been experiencing a gush of visitors these days. Most recently, Dad and his girlfriend Jaynie came out to celebrate her daughter Lauren's graduation from DePaul. Joe and I had belated birthday jibaritos with them at Borinquen Lounge (the food's amazing, the service...not so much). They gave us our belated birthday gift as well--a Soda Stream soda maker! It's a completely unnecessary but completely awesome gadget (I think that's called a luxury?) for making homemade carbonated drinks. Monique, Dad and I had planned to go for a nice bike ride by the lake, but dad had to head back home a little earlier than planned. Instead we met for brunch at Lulu Belle's Pancake House in the Southport Corridor. It was a really lovely visit. Friendly, helpful service, warm vibe, delicious food, and some quality family time. Joe and I had been meaning to try this new spot for a while--in fact, Joe grumbled that I beat him to it after he had discovered it. But what can I say? It was the perfect place for some much needed father-daughter catching up. Don't worry,  Joe, you'll have no trouble getting me back there for some complimentary iced biscuits and another veggie eggs benedict (or maybe a bacon-stuffed waffle).

Celebrating Joe

Since the drive-in movie parties of my childhood, summer has always meant birthday to me. With our birthdays just one month apart, Joe and I really get to make a season out of celebrating. I had to work on his birthday this year, so we celebrated together the day before. I got up early to run up to El Norte in Edgewater for chilaquiles and surprised him with breakfast in bed. Though they serve it all day, it's the morning cook that has the dish perfected. A single order is enough for two, plus leftovers. We had planned a long bike ride by the lake, but Joe decided we should blow it off, instead napping and relaxing until we left for a late lunch at Maggiano's. After a heavy breakfast, a chopped salad really hit the spot. We snapped photos downtown until it was time to head towards Navy Pier to see the Dark Knight Rises at Imax. Navy Pier is pretty much tourist hell on earth, but there's no better way to see a big budget action flick. It was basically a day of Joe's favorites.


But his birthday didn't end there. The following evening, we met friends at Pizza Rustica for some delicious buttery crust pizza and a blueberry gin fizz or two. In true italian form, the meal took ages, but no one seemed to mind much as the drinks kept flowing. The pizza was spectacular. We followed dinner with wine and a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity at our place. Joe was more than happy to debut his homemade set. The night was topped off with delicious cupcakes provided by Becky and Cheryl. If there's a better way to enjoy a birthday than with good friends and great food, we have yet to discover it.

Cold Brewing Iced Coffee

Coffee. If it weren't for that magic elixir, I might never progress past the zombie trance I wake up in. We gave up our leaky coffee maker a couple years ago in favor of a french press, and never looked back. It always makes a smooth, scorch-free brew, and it's so yummy, I now drink it black. But zombies aren't always the best at hand-pouring a pot, and I catch myself skipping the process in favor of a effort-and-sugar-free Redbull when I'm at my sleepiest. This summer, I have found the solution - cold-brewed iced coffee. Not only is it a cool, refreshing drink in the morning, but I can make a big pitcher of it in advanced, making it completely zombie-proof. By cold-brewing it, the coffee is lower in acidity, making it easier on an empty tummy. It's so rich and creamy, never bitter and watery like hot brewed-poured-over-ice.

Here's how to do it:
Add roughly 1/4 cup finely ground coffee to 4 cups cold water. Leave at room temperature 8-12 hours. Strain through cheese cloth or a couple layers of paper towels. Refrigerate.

There you are! I serve it on ice cubes made of the leftover cold brew, ensuring that it never gets watered down. Add cream/milk if you like, or dilute it with water if it's too concentrated. You could even blend it, adding your favorite syrup for a frothy icy treat.

Droppin' Wisdom on Your Ass

Making Cards Against Humanity

Our friends Lillie and Scott recently introduced us to Cards Against Humanity, a fun party game that requires little skill and a lot of perversion. We played a few rounds the other night at Guthrie's Tavern. It's the perfect spot to mix drinking with board games as God intended.

Joe and I decided that we needed a set of our very own. The game was funded through Kickstarter, which is cool, except now it's sold out and hard to get unless you want to pay at least twice as much to scalpers on Amazon. We are not those people. 

Guthrie's extensive board game collection

Luckily the game makers are so cool they've included instructions at the bottom of their website so you can make your own set. Seriously!

Joe enthusiastically took the reigns on the fairly easy diy project, printing and cutting the heavy card stock at Kinkos the same afternoon we discovered the instructions. We now have an awesome homemade set that set us back about $10. Just in time for our upcoming lakefront vacation with the family.

Our set of Cards Against Humanity. Every bit as good. 

Getting Laced

The best-cheapest-most-environmentally-friendly-personalized way to get new clothes is to first fancy up your old ones. Here's a great tutorial on how to make the perfect pair of cut offs shorts. It also shows you how to add a lace cutout to shorts with just a little hand sewing and some scissors. By the way, if you ever sew or tinker with sewing or want to tinker with sewing, buy a good pair of fabric scissors, and save them just for fabric. Never use them to cut through paper--it's a fast way to dull them to oblivion (paper is wood, after all). A good pair of fabric scissors just makes your work more enjoyable, which makes it feel less like work. Anyways, I love lace (obviously). So I made a pair of these lacey shorts. Here's how it went:



In the end, I really like how they turned out, though I wish I had made the cut offs just a little shorter in the first place. I may have to do it all over again so I can cut them to a more flattering length, but it was so easy that a redo doesn't really bother me.

Beating Myself Up

I should not have skipped two weeks of yoga. Last night's class kicked my ass. I also should not have agreed to go into work at the last minute this morning, considering that I have to work tonight as well. Today should have been a catching up sort of day of errand running and housework. But what can I say, I feel compelled to take work when it comes. With school approaching at the end of August, and having registered for most of my classes, I'm beginning to feel a crunch on my summer. There's so much left to do, and the clock is running down. I'll be cutting way back on work during the fall so as to knock out a hefty class load. Because, frankly, I'm losing momentum. Having pieced together partial and full-time semesters at three different schools, it has taken longer than I'd like to admit to get a simple bachelors degree. It's getting harder to remember why I started in the first place. But I know there was a reason--a good one--that I complicated my life to finish school, so that's what I'm going to do. I guess I'll just have to work and play hard while I still can.

Splurging

I shouldn't have. But I walked away and thought of nothing else for three days. It was meant to be.

Birthday Recounting

Pull up a chair while I recount the past week or so in which I have been unable/unwilling to update.

My birthday. An ungodly hot Thursday, the 28th of June. It began with multiple wakeup calls from my mother. She sweetly sang Happy Birthday to me, which would have been adorable at 10, but was downright infuriating at 6am when I finally answered the phone. I spent the first hour or so of my day fuming in bed as I tried to get back to sleep. I finally gave up and got moving.

Determined to get back on track, I went for a morning massage (gifted by my generous sister), followed by brunch with Joe, Monique and Becky at Nookies, an upscale eatery in Edgewater that I've been meaning to try. Lovely spot, good coffee, average chilaquiles. My favorite meal of the day with three of my favorite people. The stuff of birthday dreams.

Party Animals. 

After brunch, Becky dropped me off at work for a few hours. The twins had been talking about my birthday for weeks, but seemed unimpressed by the lowly birthday hats, sparkler candles and rice crispy treats I had provided. Look, dudes, if you want a swinging party, then you'd better contribute more than construction paper birthday cards with puff balls. Though they did add sparkly stickers. That was a nice touch.






After work, I went home to get ready for birthday drinks. I took my time getting dolled up (if not on your birthday, then when?). Joe said I looked beautiful. Then he made me take a few pictures of him. We headed to The Long Room, a dark and moody bar nearby that lets you bring your own food. We had packed an array of my favorite snacks to share: dolma, dubliner cheese, chocolate-covered bacon, homemade lemon-coconut bars. It was a lovely night of friends stopping by to celebrate and play a round of Cards Against Humanity.

Later at home, however, I found myself feeling a little...well...melancholy. I hate to be that guy, but I couldn't shake it, and I felt like a brat after all the sweetness my loved ones had showed me. I'd like to blame my sour mood on my rude awakening, but surely that can't be it. It's not that I resent getting older. After all, age is just a count of the number of times the earth has circled the sun since you were born. Few other astronomical occurrences get me down. Yet I felt decidedly weepy all day, despite the good times had by all. Is it all the expectations attached to such a day? What am I, seven years old again? My mom gets the birthday blues. She also manages to get Flag Day blues and Mexican Independence Day blues, so maybe that's a different story. But I did feel a little more sympathetic after my own inability to enjoy an otherwise perfect day. Whatever the reason, I sure hope this isn't the beginning of a new birthday tradition.

Briette is Still Doing Stuff.

I am still doing stuff. I swear. Stay tuned for an update, folks. It will blow your mind (probably not).

Priding

This was my view on the way to the grocery store Sunday.

by Joe

by Joe

Scenic.

by Joe

We enjoyed the parade in passing as we made our way there, but didn't stick around too long. I had bitten off a bit more than I could chew. First the grocery trip. My bike lock had frozen up, leaving me wrestling to lock it for a full 7 minutes in the sun-baked parking lot, leaving me frustrated and Joe impatient. We started the bickering. In a huff, I sent him home, determined that I would rather shop alone. I was wrong. The trip home was miserable and I felt very sorry for myself. Balancing too many groceries on your bike through a parade isn't fun no matter how festive it might be. What is it about grocery shopping that brings out the worst in us? Joe said it that morning before we left the house. "It's no fun grocery shopping together." As a couple that has fun together most of the time, it's a little jarring when you identify such a pattern. 

After the exhausting trip back, we wrestled with dinner plans. We had planned to make curry for the neighbors that evening, but now I was talking about going to the parade and meeting with some friends but then when would I make it to the beach like I had planned and Joe had to leave so when would we clean the house? Somehow I had managed to make this enjoyable itinerary felt stressful. Mustn't try to do it all at once. After all, this was my first day off in twelve. Finally I caved and canceled dinner. No one seemed to mind much. Joe got ready for his afternoon of volunteering at the library. He's been keeping his foot in the door at the branch where he did his internship. It would be the perfect place for him to land a job. It also prevents a gap on his resume. 

With a little post-grocery store breathing space, I hopped on my bike for a ride up to the beach. I sorely underestimated the parade's influence on my neighborhood. I headed east for the lake, but was obstructed by a marching procession of cowboys. I rode north but there were more nearly naked boys blocking my way. After several failed attempts, I managed to wind around the start of the festivities and head up through the hot traffic to Hollywood Beach. 

Considering that it's a well-known gay spot on Pride day, the beach was very pleasantly sparse. I was meeting with a group of friends to sun ourselves near the water. They all happen to be gay, but didn't seem concerned about the celebration. Rather than the holiday going on in my neighborhood, here it was just a lovely sunny Sunday hanging at the shore. That was far more of what I needed than the tension back on my block. After beers on the beach, we went for blue cheese burgers and sangria at Moody's, my favorite outdoor patio.

Sometimes you accomplish nothing by doing too much, and sometimes doing nothing does you more good.

Oomphing Up: Finished Product

Oomphing Up

I've had this cheap H&M jacket lying around for a few years, and while I've always liked it, it's a little plain for my taste. This morning, I was finally ready to do something about it. I spent something like $4 on lace and thread, and it took me about an hour to complete. If you can sew around a curved edge on a sewing machine, then you should give this cheap and simple project a try to give a little life back to an old staple.

Getting Real

I caught Joe peeing while eating a Twizzler yesterday. Here's a list of things I've done while peeing.
-read a magazine
-read a novel
-read a cookbook
-plucked my eyebrows
-fixed my makeup
-made a phone call
-brushed my teeth
-browsed on my phone
-browsed on my laptop
-watched my soccer team practice

Showing Off My New Ride

What, you don't have a pteranodon on your bell? 

Biking around here in the summer is a no-brainer. Not only is it scenic, cheap, green, and great exercise, it actually makes for a faster commute than driving or taking public transit. Plus it's really fun (albeit a little sweaty). 

After the disappearance of my bike (rip), I was lost. Thank goodness for friends like Becky. She heard of my plight, and offered me this gem that had been collecting dust in storage. A quick tune-up later, and it. is. amazing. It's lightweight and super fast (not to mention easy on the eyes). We have fallen in love. And, thanks to a new U-lock, I'm not letting this one get away. 

Sharing the Love

The twins serenaded me. Enjoy the pick-me-up!

Getting Weepy

Just had to share. I made it to about 19 before losing it.



Sometimes you gotta seek out a feel-good.

Yoga Practicing

I've done yoga sporadically for years now, mostly at home with a dvd or at my old gym. I'm naturally pretty flexible, but due to a mild case of scoliosis, my alignment's a mess and my back and shoulders regularly ache. Recently our friend Amy took me to a free class that she attends, and I'm now committed to going regularly. It's twice a week at a swanky chiropractic health center in our neighborhood (I'd tell you where, but the class is crowded enough as it is). It's cool that they're striving to make yoga practice accessible even in these lean times, and the instructor really treats it like a labor of love.

Joe also has back issues, so he tried out the class with us last week, despite his insistence that he hates doing yoga in public. I was so proud of him for sticking it out, because the class was tough. He has occasionally practiced it at home with me, but my 30 minute dvds have nothing on the 90 minute sweatfest this tiny woman put us through. Hovering planks, long-held warrior poses, wheel pose...she doesn't hold back. Time will tell how into it Joe will get, but I'm glad he gave it a chance for the good of his body. I'm still aching from Monday, but am looking forward to class tonight.

Wheel Pose

Avocado Mac and Cheesing

Dudes. I chose this new recipe tonight from the blog Two Peas and Their Pod after my sister not-so-subltey requested that I make it for her. It is so very yummy. It's as creamy and hearty as mac and cheese should be, but still tastes summery and fresh, thanks to avocado, cilantro and lime juice. I added an extra half avocado to the avocado sauce, as mine were rather small, and colby jack instead of pepper jack for the cheese sauce. Then I blended some jalapeño into the avocado sauce to add a little spicy kick to the pasta. Even though my week has been crazy busy, this dish was quick and easy to make (though you have to give the cheese sauce a few minutes of your undivided attention).  I loved it (and so did my sister). Next time, I'll try adding grilled chicken, tomatoes, and asparagus to really flesh it out. 

Do you like green mac and cheese?
Would you eat it in a box? Would you eat it with a fox?

Summer Playlisting

Here's what I've been listening to around the house these days. Real summery.



As I rarely listen to the radio, Carly Rae hasn't driven me nuts yet.
 Feel free to skip it.

Graffiti-ing for Chickens

Little Robert

Ever since I saw Exit Through the Giftshop, I've been dying to try my hand at graffiti. I love the idea of taking back public space and creating art that interacts with its environment. But I'm also a chicken. Until I come up with the right piece to risk my freedom on, I got a little practice in my friend Robert's book of walls. If only spray painting were as easy as doodling with markers.

Poop's Abysmal

Creature of Habit

Vader

Nesting 

Fear and Loathing

Making Room

With all the cooking going on in our kitchen these days, we needed to get a little more organized. Two cheap stainless steel Ikea shelves and a couple utility hooks later, we finally have a decent makeshift broom closet and a spot for odds and ends that were crowding up the countertop. Glad to make good use of a wasted kitchen corner.

Pee Weeing

Monday, we packed up some mango salsa, fancy beer and our camp chairs for an outdoor viewing of Pee Wee's Big Adventure at Millennium Park, sponsored by Bike Chicago. It was a fitting tribute to Hector, my stolen bike. It also made me worry that I didn't try hard enough to get him back.

The movie was shown in the Pritzker Pavillion. We met with some friends a little early to snag a patch of grass with a decent view and share our snacks. We also tried to chat, which was difficult with the blaring background music. The playlist consisted of every song they could think of with the word "Chicago" in the lyrics. Then they started playing songs by Chicago.
We get it. We're in Chicago.

It's been a long while since I've seen this film, and I liked it more than I remembered. Maybe it was the glorious scenery that colored my mood.

Blending Pure Bliss

Chicago is all about food. On our block alone, there are two mexican restaurants, two italian restaurants, a pita shop, a crepe place, a bar & grill, a thai spot, a late-night sushi joint, a mexican bakery and a hot dog stand. It can be tempting. Both to save dollars and to eat better, we've been committed to cooking at home more this summer. We really have no excuse not to, since we both have a pretty leisurely schedule at the moment. The only way we were going to avoid temptation was to mix in some new recipes.

Pure bliss in a glass

The best part of trying new recipes is how often you find new favorites. We make smoothies a lot around here anyways, adding a couple scoops of flax seed for a boost. This one uses my favorite fruit--fresh pineapple--and coconut milk, which we keep stockpiled for curry. I like mine with double the yogurt, but this can't be beat. We're going to try freezing it into popsicles for an even more refreshing treat.

Show Going and Celebrating

Sunday was Monica Barcelona: Bitch I'll Cut You at the Chicago Women's Funny Festival at Stage 773. Having both seen my sister perform improv and gotten haircuts from her for years, it was great fun to see the two combined. It's essentially an improvised salon scene with a live haircut for one lucky audience volunteer. Mo and Erica rocked it. The show was high energy and got loads of laughs from the audience.

But you don't have to take my word for it (I am a little biased, after all). Our friend Ada Grey agrees. Ada is a 7 year old who has been blogging her reviews of Chicago theater since she was 4 (dictated to her mother). She was there with an official press pass and a front row seat, swinging her mary janes in anticipation. She loved the show, and raved on about it afterwards. You can read all about her take on Monica Barcelona in a couple weeks on Ada Grey Reviews for You.

After the show, we headed to Coopers across the street for celebratory drinks. They do a $3.50 beer of the month special, and this month is Shiner Ruby Redbird. Holy crap, people, this is one refreshing beer. Kind of like a grapefruit shandy. It's rare that the cheap beer on the menu is also an awesome one. I will definitely be picking up a six-pack for my next picnic. We decided to celebrate our celebratory beers with a bbq pork/coleslaw pizza. I love trying unusual food combinations (chocolate covered bacon, anyone?), and the pie didn't disappoint. It was fitting after a show that combined Monique's dual talents. I'd go back for this dish, which is saying something in a town where there are unlimited choices for amazing pizza. Also, I hear they have homemade ice cream. 'Nuff said.

My new favorite summer brew.

Reminding

Chicago's finest. Or is that cops? 

You wouldn't think this needs to be said, but here's a summer reminder,  kids: Don't empty your bbq into the dumpster. Idiots.

Checking Off the List

One of my favorite things to do is knocking out silly little tasks that get ignored indefinitely (yet I'll leave a sink-full of dishes for a week, go figure). Last night, it was WD-40ing the door hinges. Our place was built in 1906, and while I love it, the squeal of our old paint-crusted hinges drives me up the wall, especially when I'm trying to get ready quietly so Joe can sleep in. It took about 2 1/2 minutes, and now I can sneak around our apartment like a ninja. It's the little things.

I also got my watch battery replaced yesterday. We took a pleasant stroll to the watch repair shop (with a pit stop for cantaloupe bubble tea), walked into the ammonia-filled workroom, and walked out 4 minutes later with a slight buzz and a working timepiece. My sister and her then-boyfriend had given me this cute little Fossil watch when I was maybe 16. It disappeared somewhere within a couple years, and was forgotten about shortly after. Years later, I got a call from my dad, who had just had the roof of my childhood home replaced. The roofers had found, in the leaf-jammed rain gutters, my watch, still ticking away, without a scratch or rust spot in sight. If a watch can survive me, you know it's a quality one.

Touring and Whoring

Yesterday was just about perfect. The nice thing about having a little extra time off is that those sort of lovely days happen more frequently. It began with my favorite kind of morning--a leisurely one--at home with Joe, alternately playing Big Game Hunter on the Wii and napping (as grown ups do).

Then we went on a walking tour of Chicago's redlight district with Chicago Elevated. It was pretty fascinating. To clarify, there is no longer a red light district in Chicago. But at the turn of the last century, it was a'raging. In fact, it was the largest in the country (aren't we proud!). While I've never really had an interest in whoring, Margaret our guide sure made that world sound lively. If it weren't for all the violence, disease, and demeaning sex with creeps, I'd at least give it a chance. The luxurious Everleigh House brothel sounded particularly glamorous, with its "butterflies" in ball gowns, flirting with johns while discussing art and literature at gourmet meals before...ahem...getting to business. Maybe I could just sneak out before dessert.

 We finished off the glorious day with dinner and margaritas at El Mariachi in Lakeview with a good friend whom we hadn't seen in ages. I knew they have amazing fish tacos, but I had no idea they had such a beautiful outdoor seating area in the back. It was the perfect setting to catch up and wind down while the sun set. Sigh.

Getting Spooked

This is Cappy. I've volunteered to walk him for a neighbor while they're out of town. He's really that happy in real life. The only problem with Cappy is that he's not very friendly with other dogs. To avoid the majority of other dogs walking through the neighborhood, I have to take him up and down the alley, rather than the grassy sidewalks, which is a bit of a bummer. I wish there was some way to explain to him that this is a direct consequence of his anti-social attitude.

Late last night, on our last walk before bed, we stumbled upon something 

lurking in the trash that nearly scared the crap out of me. 

Ok, it was just an old pair of shoes. But for a moment, I thought for sure I had found a body. Maybe I've reading too much cannibal news lately.

Reminiscing

Ray Bradbury, man. He was one of the first influential writers that I really got into. I'm glad he made it to the ripe old age of ninety-one. 

It was the Illustrated Man that snagged me. I still have the copy that I borrowed from the Mid-Continent Public Library when I must have been about 12 (sorry, librarian friends, it's true). My aunt Ireta described it to me one night while we listened to music--mostly Metallica, Fleetwood Mac, Jon Secada--at her kitchen table and she gave me sips of her Zima. Of course, she completely butchered the plot. The only thing she nailed was that there was this guy and he had a lot of weird tattoos. We checked it out and I read it aloud to her while she cooked dinner. I've read it dozens of times since. We also read an unofficial and unflattering biography of Martha Stewart that summer. Ireta died of lupus several years ago, but those late nights spent at her table are still vivid. I'm glad I stole that book. 

Getting Sappy

Moonrise Kingdom, as I preluded to, was highly enjoyable. Without giving too much away, it was Wes Anderson at his Wes Andersoniest. While Joe enjoyed it too, he struggled with the fact that it sticks to that formula, whereas I don't really care--I prefer to ignore the rest of his body of work for the moment, and get swept up in a well-done and compelling film. But who am I? You didn't come here for a movie review (why are you here, again?).

Maybe it's just because I could relate to it. I was a bit of a loner. I had a young romance in which it was us against the world (they are 12, I was 14). In my case, when it was finally just us, it became us against us. Sometimes you have to face that all your problems can't be blamed on external factors. Of course, the credits role long before Sam and Suzy's relationship gets real.

That's what I thought this captured nicely--the urgency and all consuming power of first love at a tender age, particularly when it's forbidden (all the while managing to keep it charming, not sappy). Which, for me, was a nicely bittersweet taste that evening.