Fall Wedding

We had a special weekend in September to celebrate a friend's wedding. It was a fun summer with several parties in honor of Kristin and John's upcoming marriage and the wedding celebration was downtown Chicago. Many college friends attended and it was fun to have an occasion for getting all dressed up.


I took a bit of a risk and decided to make myself a cocktail dress to wear. I don't sew (except for one matching shorts/tank top outfit in eighth grade, but my Mom and friend Kris are experienced, so I figured if I got stuck I could scrap the project or get their help. They did help with the fittings and the hemming. It turned out nice, but took way more time than I expected. I was still hand stitching a few parts the day before and I would be embarrassed to know how many actual hours it took. But it was fun and a sense of accomplishment!



The wedding day was mild and sunny and my parents went also, so we all drove together to the wedding and reception, then Jeff and I stayed overnight in the city. The bride was absolutely stunning, the ceremony and reception were amazing, and a great time was had by all!

Field Trip Fun

Our first attempt to do a walking tour field trip in Chicago--Chinatown--back in May didn't work out b/c the water taxi schedule was messed up. And it took till today to try again! Where did the summer go? We were hoping to meet Jeff once a week in the city after work and do some exploring . .that sure didn't happen.

We have a box of cards that contains 50 walking tours of different areas in the city. We combined two and had a long walk around the Wicker Park neighborhood and a little of Bucktown. So much fun!

We followed the route to see some big old houses, then on our way to Damen Ave we ducked into a corner grocery called Olivia's.

A few other highlights from our stroll up and down Damen: The Red Balloon Co. a children's store where Douwe browsed books with his dad while I browsed the clothing, Mindy's Hot Chocolate, where we shared the best cup of hot chocolate I have ever had, and of course the park which is actually Wicker Park, which was full of recreating people and had a great playlot for Douwe to enjoy. There were a lot of interesting spots that would be fun to spend more time in on a real shopping excursion, but it was a fun spot for an afternoon walk.

Labor Day Weekend

When we got to Holland on Sunday evening, Lake Michigan was still unsettled from gale force winds on Friday. It was cool and raining Monday morning, so we were glad to have a back-up plan . . .beach time with the Lantings at Warren Dunes! It was perfect weather for sand digging, volleyball, eating and enjoying the day.

Don and Peggy

I saw my first couple episodes of Mad Men at the end of its second season and I liked the show well enough to go back to the beginning and watch all the episodes up to that point before the third season started. Now the fourth season is well under way and this past Sunday's episode was amazing.

The writing and character creation on Mad Men is so impressive to me, and Peggy and Don are really the primary characters of this show. Last night almost every scene was Peggy and Don so there was so so much going on. This show is incredible.

Oh Peggy, your desire is for your Don, and he is going to lord it over you! You half-heartedly tried to get out of working late, but it was obvious that the first place you'd rather be is next to Don. Oh Peggy, Don is just a child crawling into every woman's arms to taste and smell her and ask "Are you my mother? I haven't found her yet." Oh Peggy, where is your own child? That child is going to become another Don, looking for the mom that was never there.

Peggy, what will you do? Don has been welcomed into the embrace of so many women who are in return searching for their strong confident handsome security of a man. Don may look the part, but he is a lost little child. He can't be the man you are looking for. Peggy, he can't be the comforter that will take the place of the father you lost as a girl. He can't even be available for his own daughter right now. You can't help but love him, but be careful! Don't reduce yourself to a role of pouring his next drink and assisting him to the toilet and being a warm pass-out pillow. Don't pretend that being his surrogate mom is better than not having him near you at all. Peggy, this man has your heart and your career wrapped around his finger and his life is on a free fall! What are you going to do?

Oh woman, oh mama, oh Peggy! You have a child and won't be a mommy to it, you have a boss who wants his mommy, you want a lover who is a good match for you and you want a successful vocation. Oh Peggy, who will help you navigate the challenges of being a woman! There is no way to escape your vulnerability. Who will you love and who will love you?