Category: everyday life

Gelato For Lunch :)

On Saturday, we went to the Art Institute (because I wanted to give Boris a chance to see Cezanne properly, not chasing our granddaughters). We went early in the morning for Members’ hours, which allowed us to reduce the time spent outside in extreme heat. We agreed that we would check the same lunch place we tried to go to a week earlier, and if it won’t crowded, we would have lunch there. However, we stopped at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe – the gelato place which was advertised a while ago had finally opened!

Immediately, I screamed that we were going to repeat our Genoa experience and have gelato instead of lunch – and we did!

Note this “Signature” creation- that’s what each of us got!
You can have a different flavor for each petal!
… and a macaron on top!

And they are open every day from 11 to 11! That means you can have gelato after any concert!!! I am loving it!

Friday Off

I had to work for the past two “Wellness Fridays” for half-day, and today, I took a Friday off to compensate for these two halves. It was the only day off I took during Boris’ visit, and we had plans.

The first and the most important thing we did – we went kayaking! There are many kayaking opportunities in Chicago, and I knew that Boris wanted to try it. However, I was more than scared to try, and the reason I finally gave in was the offer from the Shedd Aquarium: they run “Kayaking for conservation” tours, where they show the conservation and restoration efforts on the Chicago RIver. I chose a tour “for people with no experience” and signed us up.

Boris really enjoyed it. As for me, I am happy that I overcame my fears, although it was not easy. Perhaps if I would practice more, I would start to enjoy it. Today it was mostly “I made it!”

Continue reading “Friday Off” →

I Can Do It!

I use this new bag for a while now, but Boris didn’t see it in use yet, so I guess he didn’t believe me when I said that now all my shopping needs are satisfied. When I told him that I needed to go to the Devon Market and took my shopping bike bag from the shelf, he was about to go along. I told him there is no need, and he looked at me suspiciously and asked whether I am sure. Last summer, I used his presence here to stock up because I could not bring all I need on the bike at once.

I reassured him that now I could indeed do it alone, and I only called him from downstairs when I returned, and then I asked him to come down and “unload the donkey.”

He had to carry the bag upstairs, and when I parked my bike and also came upstairs, he told me very enthusiastically that now he believes me that I can bring all the groceries home by myself. “Hight Five to Swedes!” he added, meaning that this bad was made in Sweden :).

But seriously – the best bag ever!

My Girls In Chicago

On Sunday, we had a short visit with our girls. Boris didn’t see them last time he was in Chicago, and before that, it was a very short visit, so I think he didn’t see them since December. It was good that they could make it.

I suggested that they go to the Crown Fountain first – It would be the first time for Kira, and Nadia didn’t go there since she was one year old. The girls loved it so much that if Anna would let them, they would splash there for the whole five hours they had :).

As I mentioned before, it was challenging to navigate the Loop on Sunday because it was the last day of Lollapolooza, but after a couple of unsuccessful trials, we found a place to have lunch with no line hanging outside the doors.

After lunch, we went to the Art Institute, and we even visited the Sezanne exhibit (although very briefly). I know Nadia would spend way more time there, but she won’t stay without Kira, and Kira has a way shorter attention span :). The rest of the time was spent in the Ryan Educational Center. This time, they offered several weaving projects, and Nadia stayed focused for the entire time and finished her piece.

A staff member helps to finish the weaving project

Lollapalooza In The City

When Anna and the girls made plans to come to Chicago today, Anna nor I realized that it would be the last day of Lollapalooza!

We survived, though it was not easy; the most challenging moment for us was getting to the Art Institute because we had to navigate through the crowd with very different intentions 🙂

Jesus Christ Superstar

I could never imagine that any Broadway in Chicago show could be a disappointment, yet it happened! It seemed, however, that Boris and I were the only two people in the audience who were disappointed. I checked several reviews – all of them are very positive. Only two of them mentioned imperfect sound mix, which made it difficult to understand the lyrics. In fact, it was so bad, that if I won’t know most of the lyrics by heart, it would be impossible. I do not want to go into details of what was bad, but I think that pretty much everything didn’t sound it’s best. Maybe, it was just that performance, because I hate to be in a disappointed minority :).

Sunday Morning

Biking to the Windmill sculpture
So what was the reason we bought this tray?…
Flowers From the Farmer’s Market

Boris arrived on Friday, so there is a lot of life going on, and so far, we have done most of the things we planned to do in these first two days. And we have another week ahead of us!

House Painting

I just finished the second round of painting in my house (well, not “I” , but the painters). I did not have the money or time to repaint the whole apartment when I was moving in; there were too many expenses. But I knew that eventually, I wanted all the avant-garde colors to be gone.

Now, I am one step closer to that goal: the only room not repainted yet is the kitchen, just because I didn’t quite figure out yet what color I wanted there. But the hallway and both bathrooms got a new look. I took the “before” pictures after everything was already removed from the walls and the painters marked the walls for repainting with white, so it’s not exactly “before”, but just to remind what the colors were.

Before – hallway
Before – small bathroom
Before – master bathroom
After – hallway
After – small bathroom
after – master bathroom

I love all the new colors, especially the small bathroom. Each time I walk in, I am amazed of how spacious it looks now!

On a sadder note: when mom came on Friday (my hairstylist came to do both of our hair), she said that she did not remember what were the colors of my walls before. I often do not remember the colors in my friends’ houses as well, but 1) she is in my house a least every other week, if not more often, and 2) the “before” colors were hard to ignore…

Thank You, Universe, For The Lake!

The days were hot, but I could not get any break from work neither Thursday, no Friday, and it was raining on Thursday evening. Usually, I do not go to the beach when it is getting dark, that’s Igor’s thing, but I didn’t get a chance yesterday until close to 8 PM. So I went when I could because I could not let one more summer day waisted, and there I was when the sun was almost set.

It could not be more perfect! The water was warm, the air was warm but not stuffy, and there were a lot of people on the beach. And the clouds were pink 🙂

Juvenile Intruder

After the latest incident with a mouse, I called for an inspection, and when an inspector came, he found one more mouse in a trap under the kitchen shelf! God knows how long it was there – probably since my last European trip. I told him, I did not want to see it, and he was: are you sure? It’s such a little mouse, just a juvenile! I had no desire to see the dead body, so he deposited it into one of the boxes he had with him, put new traps, and recharged the bait. Now, I need to check the mouse traps again, and I am afraid of mice!

I guess I have to pay for my independence and for living in the city 🙂