Post script: final addition to the apartment - a vintage
double decker (trolley) bus sign from Merry
Olde England, circa 1960's
Day 1 in the Big Brother House….
Finally! She's here! Seems to be quite the week for deliveries! Yep, courtesy of an 12hr Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul, followed by a terrible driver from the airport, Mumsie finally arrived safe and sound at my place last night around 7pm. Other than the crap, rude driver, Mum's journey had been good (though a bit bumpy in places), if long, as her connection involved an overnight sojourn in the Turkish Airlines lounge at Istanbul. Fortunately there is a little quiet spot in the lounge with full recliners where you can stretch out and take a snooze, so she managed to get a couple hours rest overnight.
So I extended my vacation by one more day, so that I could spend the first full day with Mum and not have to go to work. First up on the list of things to do was to get Mum a new pair of trainers so that she could join me in the gym tomorrow morning for Day 1 of our joint 10 day detox. I've fallen off the detox wagon over the last week (though I'm citing special circumstances of my apartment move and house-warming party), so its high time to get back on the straight and narrow. Fortunately, Mumsie is down for doing it too, so no deep dish for her for at least 10 days!! We headed off to the Temple of Shoes, DSW, in Skokie and found her a very snazzy blue and hot pink pair of Nikes. Alarmingly, it matched exactly what she was already wearing…
Pastries galore!! Mumsie is in sugar heaven...
With the 10 day detox deadline looming closer, our lunch place of choice had to be none other than Panera Bread - purveyors of all that is Not Good for You and chockfull of GMOs and bad things. I could feel my blood sugar trembling in horror just walking through the front door. But, it had to be done - so Mumsie picked a bear claw with almonds and a strawberry and rhubarb cake from the dazzling array of confections. Lunch itself was a chicken wrap thing and a panini sandwich - they were OK, but not as good as Cosi's. That will definitely be a future lunch stop….
Cat wee-scented geraniums
After lunch, we headed back to the Swank Pad for a bit for Mumsie to go have a quick snooze to stave off the jet lag. As it happened, I was the one who fell asleep whilst Mum just lay and read - but hey, I love me a mid-afternoon nap, so I wasn't complaining! After rousing ourselves from our decadent slothiness, our afternoon excursion was to Home Depot to go and pick out some herbage and foliage for my new window planters. Unlike in San Francisco, the growing season here is painfully short and you know anything you plant is pretty much going to be toast, come the winter. So, we confined ourselves to the rather impressive Annuals section where there was an anxiety-evoking amount of choice but, after much um-ming and ah-ing, I think we did good. Returning home, there was just time to get a couple of the planters done before I had my training session with Christopher - still got me begonias to pot! I'll get them done tomorrow, but its already looking lovely, I think!
The enemy has been vanquished. Gone is the tyranny of tiny feet overhead. No more will I shout ineffectually at the ceiling as the Satanic Infant goes on one of his (or her) marathon thump-fest training circuits above me or Mrs. Devil Spawn decides to rearrange her furniture by dra..a..a..a..gging it across the floor, legs screeching across the wooden floor like nails on a chalkboard.
Yes. I moved apartment. Penthouse, baby, here I come.
I took the week off for the move - I got the keys officially on Tuesday (though they let me in early on Friday to take some measurements for my closet re-install) and had arranged for the cable guy and the closet man to come and transfer my internet service and my closet system (not cheap - but worth it),. Wednesday the movers came to move all the heavy items of furniture (i'd spent all of Tuesday moving everything else by hand with a little cart - i made so many trips between my old and new place, I got blisters on the underside of my toes!) and then Thursday all my new furniture from Room and Board arrived! I've been waiting for it since the beginning of February (some of it was custom made) and working with Rachel from the Skokie store on the design, so we were both excited to see how it all came together. Then Friday was my apartment-warming party and, through a herculean effort, I had everything done! All the pictures were up, everything was put away, fresh flowers in vases and champagne on ice. The sushi arrived at 4pm, the pizzas were ready to bake, the bar cart was fully stocked and all that was needed was to add friends, and serve! I'd put from 5pm - 8pm on the invite but - almost to a tee and within 10 mins of each other - everyone turned up on the dot at 6pm! Isn't human behavior fascinating? I was quite glad of the extra hour to finish getting ready - but quite relieved all the same when everyone turned up! I'd invited some of my immediate neighbors too (the old-fashioned way with handwritten notes under the door) so a few of them came along too. Christopher did a bang up job with the coffee tequila and Baileys shots (mmm) and Lauren served as impromptu quiz master asking us random questions about even more random topics downloaded from the internet. It turned into quite a late affair (apologies to the neighbor who lives next door and whom I'd invited but didn't show) with the last guest leaving at just before 1am!! The jereboam from Domaine Carneros went down a treat and, all in all, a quite heroic amount of champagne was consumed - well done, chaps! And, other than one champagne glass falling casualty, everything was unscathed and the brand spanking new furniture made it through without incident!
So, then - want to see my new place?
Alright then - lets go… through the keyhole!!
Blank canvas
Master bedroom with attendant Dalek at the ready...
They're here! They're here!!
Filling up the freight elevator with all my new goodies!
Rug 1: made of lots of bits of cowhide artfully stitched together
Rug 2: made via lots of naked NZ sheep - pre-stained!
OK OK - here's what it looks like all finished and fancy….
Lounge bit
TARDIS blue velvet chair. Not pictured: the cat fluff roller.
view across the dining area with Dylan all
wistful in the distance
Dining area
Lounge
Master bedroom
TARDIS/Dalek display unit
View of the balcony from my bedroom
mini-balcony deck (with Mumsie's homework
of window boxes all ready to go)
Perfect spot for a non-caffeinated
cup of tea and a paper in the morning
And, last but not least, a few snapshots from The Night Before...
I admit it. I'm kinda crushing on Chicago right now.
I just spent the last week attending a Digestive Diseases conference (ah..the fun of the job!) in town which, due to the ridiculously early start times of 6.30am and 5.45am each morning, meant that I got to stay in a downtown hotel for the week. And- although I didn't have any time off to look around the city and see the sights, I have to confess that I really enjoyed being back in a big city, surrounded by all the hubbub and energy and restaurants and bars. I'm wondering whether Chicago will turn out to be that fun middle ground, not quite as intense as Manhattan, not quite so laid-back as San Francisco - I know I'm only just getting started exploring the city, but I have a good feeling about it. And people weren't fibbing when they say that Chicago is beautiful in the summer - Spring has finally arrived and the trees are virtually exploding in a cascade of blossoms and buds! After such a brutal winter, the simple joy of watching the earth come back to life again is deeply satisfying - and, frankly, reassuring.
Site of a breakfast meeting at 5.30am!! Was too knackered
to fully appreciate the grandiosity
So I stayed at the Westin downtown, on the Magnificent Mile - so-named (i believe) for the truly spectacular number of ways in which you can part with your hard-earned dosh in the vast array of high-end designer stores and shopping malls. I think there are some other things to look at (and don't worry, I'll get round to them in time) but alas I was pretty busy at my meeting all week so didn't get a chance to poke round this time. But, the bus drive from the hotel to the congress center was very interesting, firstly going along Lake Shore Drive right..um.. by the lake, then snaking underground into bus-only traffic lanes directly linking downtown to the Convention Center. One of the positives of having to get up at the arse-crack of dawn is that I discovered the city looks especially beautiful in the early morning light, whether it be the sunrise over the lake or the way the river reflects off the ultra-modern shiny skyscrapers. I have no idea why, but I found myself already feeling very fond of the city. Must be sappiness brought on by extended sleep deprivation.
The meeting itself was very good - was there to increase my knowledge about the disease area i'm now working in and indulge myself a little in the science (although I did go to one scientific session and realized I was completely out of my depth after the first 5 mins - guess you can't leave science for 20yrs and expect to stay with the times! I slunk out….). I met an old Pfizer colleague of mine for lunch who I hadn't seen in about 10 years - she hadn't aged a day or changed a bit (which I thought was a tad unfair!) but it was great to see her and to catch up. (it was a bit of a PFE week - I also ran into another ex-PFE colleague in the hotel gym the previous morning AND I also found out that a good friend who I've known since my young and tender 18yr old Bristol days has also just started working at my company! its such a small world!) I also indulged myself in a giggle-worthy picture - puerile, I know, but I just couldn't resist...
Umm… I think I'll pass, thanks.
Anyway, on one evening during the conference, me and one of my work colleagues did manage to get out and explore the dining scene that Chicago is so famous for. By sheer luck and being in the right place at the right time, I'd managed to score a last minute reservation at one the hottest restaurants in Chicago, a place called the Girl and the Goat. The chef owner is none other than Stephanie Izard, winner of Top Chef Season 4 and, rumor has it, also a distant cousin of Eddie. People wait months for a ressie - and I managed to bag one just 3hrs in advance! Score!!
And it was most definitely worth the hype! We had an absolutely fantastic time and - in another Jammy Bugger Sarah Moment - we also got the best seats in the house, and were seated at the counter with a direct view into the kitchen. Dinner AND a show!! Double score!! I love watching line cooks in a kitchen - if ever you wanted to show what good teamwork looks like, there it is, right there. We were sat in front of the vegetable and sides station, and watched the guys turn out plate after plate of spectacular looking food. Of course, we had to order the braised cauliflower that he'd been making non-stop, if nothing else but for the simple pleasure of being able to point and say "look! that one's ours!". We also enjoyed goat empanadas, a beet salad with some divine soft cheese sprinkled throughout, an insanely tasty brioche-type bread roll thing plus some other stuff that was so good, the details have blended into a stuporific haze.
Here's the menu in case you are curious and want to virtually dine with me:
http://www.girlandthegoat.com/menu.html
And, if you really want to dine with me, I took a quick vid of the kitchen at work - we were so close to the action, I half expected to have to help with the washing up!
So all in all, an excellent feast - not 10-day Detox compliant, but an opportunity I simply couldn't pass up!! (btw, I'm now 16lbs down and still going!!).
Still not quite believing my luck - best seat in the house,
a glass of rose champagne in hand. - bliss, pure bliss.
My most excellent dining companion, picking up
the check with a smile!
Another fun activity that I managed to squeeze in at the end of my Chicago lovefest week was to go and see Henry V at the Chicago Shakespeare theatre. I'm not sure if I've told you this before but, as a way of making the daily commute into a pleasure rather than something to be endured, I've started listening to audio books in the car. I first worked my way through anything I could get my hands on that was narrated by David Tennant or Benedict Cumberbatch (swoon) and, after I'd listened to the very last episode of How To Train Your Dragon (highly recommended, btw), I figured I'd intersperse the Viking and Dragon tales with a little light culchah! So, I'm about three quarters of the way through a 50 hr lecture series on Great Classics of British Literature. I started at Beowolf, made my way through Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spencer, Byron and Keats and am now up to my neck in Dickens! Its been fascinating (not at all dull!) and was the inspiration to go check out Shakespeare in town.
Drama and the skyline
Simple but dramatically effective staging.
It was fantastic. The acting was brilliant, the staging impressive (especially the slow-mo battle scenes - very cool) and Henry V himself was a hottie. (Ashley - he totally reminded me of you!). There was a fair degree of projectile spittalage (you really didn't want to stand in a 3ft radius of dear old Harry) but that was easily forgiven given how good he looked in leather pants. My new chum Lauren joined me for the show (one of her old acting alum was in it - she played the French princess) and so it was a fun end-of-week adventure. Apparently the company roams around in the Summer doing a number of outdoor shows, so I'll definitely be looking to check those out - wine, cheese, sunshine and Shakespeare. A perfect summer combination!
My and my half time ice cream!
The location for the Shakespeare theater is in this touristy bit of town called Navy Piers - like Times Square or Pier 41 in SF, a bit of a tourist trap and not somewhere the locals go! It was actually less tacky and in-your-face than SF (no stinky sea lions either!) but, other than the theatre and also a ferris wheel, really not much to see. One unexpected attraction was the exhibition of stained glass windows (apparently the largest in America - who knew!).
The grim reaper on his day off, doing a light
spot of gardening
After my conference in Chicago, I squeezed in a quick trip to NYC for a 1 day work trip. The trip was pretty uneventful (albeit productive) and I broke my clean eating detox diet yet again to meet the lovely Jason for dinner at a Spanish tapas place the one night I was in town for. Dinner was great and the company was even nicer, so it was good to see him and catch up. Before I knew it, i was back at La Guardia (still hate that airport - miss my SFO) and, on the flight on the way home, the pilot announced that the temperature in Chicago was "84 degrees"!!! WHAT?? Are you sure you're not taking us to Miami by mistake? But, yes, the day I fly out of town is the day it turns into a mini-heatwave with temperatures into the 90s!!! Fortunately the weather co-operated after I got back and the warm weather has held - but its turned muggy and sticky, so i reckon we're in for a hellava thunderstorm soon!!
Meanwhile, Operation Elephant Escape continues to gather pace as the day of my impending move draws ever closer!! I will be so damn happy when I don't have to listen to the thud thud THUD CLUNK of the Satanic Toddler upstairs and his incubus sibling, Screaming Devil Infant. As per my first move, there lots to sort out - the chap from the Container Store is due to come and un-install, then re-install my closets tomorrow in my new place, the AT&T guys are booked to move my Game of Thrones service and the movers are coming in on Weds to move the heavy items of furniture I can't move on my own. I can't wait.
Finally, a post script. Thought I'd share this rather amusing scene I came across in Home Depot this morning, as I shopped for moving boxes.
I admit it. I'm kinda crushing on Chicago right now.
Another fun activity that I managed to squeeze in at the end of my Chicago lovefest week was to go and see Henry V at the Chicago Shakespeare theatre. I'm not sure if I've told you this before but, as a way of making the daily commute into a pleasure rather than something to be endured, I've started listening to audio books in the car. I first worked my way through anything I could get my hands on that was narrated by David Tennant or Benedict Cumberbatch (swoon) and, after I'd listened to the very last episode of How To Train Your Dragon (highly recommended, btw), I figured I'd intersperse the Viking and Dragon tales with a little light culchah! So, I'm about three quarters of the way through a 50 hr lecture series on Great Classics of British Literature. I started at Beowolf, made my way through Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spencer, Byron and Keats and am now up to my neck in Dickens! Its been fascinating (not at all dull!) and was the inspiration to go check out Shakespeare in town. 
