Category — Doggie Style

Recently (ok, 6 years ago, but still…) we removed the beige wall-to-wall carpeting furnished by our condo developer and installed hardwood floors in the living room, dining room and kitchen. With our blue and white beachy decor we enjoyed the new feeling of lightness and openness. But the last 2 years, TBG has been asking for an area rug under the coffee table: he just thought it looked a little bare. Since we usually only visit the condo a few weeks a year, it was never a priority and we casually glanced at area rugs when we shopped, I checked out rugs in the mountains of catalogs the postman delivered, and I honed in on the flooring selections in my baskets of shelter magazines. Finally, a decision: flokati!

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I love riding my bike, but even as a kid my bike was primarily for transportation rather than recreational. School was over a mile away, and no bus service, so I when I was a grown-up 4th grader my bike got me there in 10 minutes versus the 30 minute walk…and I had a messenger bag slung across my shoulders when they were still called bookbags! During the summer, my best friend Carla and I rode our bikes 3 miles downtown to the Palatine Public Library – then a big old renovated house – for afternoons reading in an upstairs corner where no one ever bothered us, and to Janies or Benjamin Franklin for 25¢ bags of candy.

Biking in Holland

Later living in the suburbs with a family a car was a necessity, and bikes relegated to family nights cruising the neighborhood or hauled to the forest preserve to cruise the bike trails.

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A tweet from Saveur Magazine featured international candy bars that are hard to find in the US: British Cadbury Crunchie Bars, Swedish Daim Toffee Bars, and Indonesian Silver Queens. That’s the problem with being both a traveler and a grocery store junkie: you easily become addicted to foods that may not be easily available.

When I get a craving for  ethnic groceries I head to World Market, a one-stop global shopping bazaar for

• foods: Cadbury chocolates, German cake mixes, Italian olive oils, Indian curries, Dutch cocoa powder, spices of the world
• fashions: jewelry, purses, scarves
• beers and wines from around the world
• furniture and accessories including beds, sofas, candles, rugs and curtains, artwork
• kitchenware: platters, French coffee presses, grilling tools
• bed and bath: towels, soaps and lotions, storage units [Read more →]

From moi Chicago condo we have gorgeous views over Lincoln Park and onto Lake Michigan…on a clear day you can see… nothing but water! Along with the beauty of Chicago’s spectacular free public park, known for its lakeside location; sandy beaches; walking, biking and running trails; golf course; marinas and boat docks; outdoor art; museums; and the beloved Lincoln Park Zoo.

The downside? Mignette is not welcome in Lincoln Park Zoo: no dogs allowed. I understand why, but it would be so lovely to stroll through the zoo instead of always around it on our morning 4 mile walks. But over the last 2 years, the Zoo has been a construction site and we are excited that our morning walks now include:

The Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo has completed a $12 million renovation of the South Pond, turning a once neglected and ignored corner of the park into a easily navigated wildlife preserve with breathtaking views of nature and the Chicago landscape. The Boardwalk is designed to be a classroom venue with:

• daily wildlife tours
• hands-on children’s activities
• yoga classes
• family camping programs
• educational signage and displays

Best of all, Mignette and all her doggie pals are welcomed on the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo!

There’s a new kiosk at Columbus Circle Times Warner Center in NYC: Canine Caviar of Manhattan. Yes, the name caught Moi attention too, so I had to stop and check it out: Mignette might need something.

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Friday I made a field trip to Chelsea to personally check-out the much hyped Limelight Marketplace: a former Episcopal church turned trendy and exclusive Gothic nightclub, now reincarnated as a bubble-gum bright and squeaky clean mini-mall whose doors are open to everyone. Calling themselves New York’s Festival of Shops, squeaky clean is definitely the image they’re trying to project.

All the PR is paying off: open just  a week, and Limelight was packed with trendy New Yorkers and tourists.

Limelight definitely has the cool factor: the developers kept many of the original architectural details: stained glass windows, swooping stone archways, dark and hidden stairways. [Read more →]

…it was time to move in…

TBG, Mignette and I flew to Florida on a cold November morning to close on our new condo, and a couple days later, accept delivery of our scarily huge shipment of household soup-to-nuts that had been in storage up North for over 6 years. We brought a couple suitcases of summer clothes, and purchased a blow-up mattress to use until our shipment arrived. We had 10 days vacation to get organized and settled, before we had to return to Europe. As we landed at the Palm Beach airport, we waited at the baggage carousel for our new life to begin.

And waited, and waited. Moi bag did not arrive. As we prepared to head over to the claims department and try and track down my missing suitcase, TBG suddently realized he knew where the bag was: in the trunk of our car, parked at LaGuardia airport in New York City. Most of the bags had fit into our back seat, but my extra-large suitcase was stuffed into the trunk. Mignette was my carry-on. I had not one item of clothing, nor cosmetics, no books: nothing. (But TBG had both his carry-on and his suitcase, and his briefcase; even Mignette had everything she needed for the next 48 hours). Dilmena.

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No caffeine for Mignette! She loves to cuddle up to this Starbarks chew toy, and it even barks! We found it at dog-a-holics on Southport in Chicago. $14.99.

a decaf as big as me

Are you familiar with the Southport shopping area? There are some great boutiques (Krista K!) and restaurants  like local fave Ann Sather, where you can carb and sugar up on world-famous cinnamon rolls… and my personal fave, Anthropologie, where you can check out some Man Shops Globe finds. Yesterday I saw the beaded animals Keith shopped in South Africa. You can catch Keith Wednesdays on the Sundance channel at 9pm est or on the internet. Tonite he shops Turkey.

Moi’s DVR is set!