Listen, I’m not saying that my girls are wild beasties [out loud], but I am saying that sometimes they need to have their energies- ahem- focused a tad. And they love getting messy. And they love “creating.” And they love anything that looks like something they oughtn’t be playing with. To that end, the three of us were thrilled to once again review Babbabox– the terrific subscription activity box for kiddos ages 3 to 7- and this one was Kitchen Science! {Read More}

Okay, so for May’s date we went to a restaurant. Again. Right? Except– this restaurant happened to be Everest, and Everest is considered one of the best restaurants in the world. So we were excited. (We were also excited because it was our fifth wedding anniversary, but come on. Everest.) Our drive down to the financial district was also pretty special because of the gigantic pink moon that highlighted Lake Shore Drive. Very Nick Drake. After taking three separate elevators {Read More}

This guy. Peej’s headshot back from when we were dating. I swoooooned. Lots. Six years ago, he asked me to marry him. He actually shouted the question at me in exhaustion after multiple misunderstandings (mine) and attempts at subterfuge and romanticism, dammit. (His.) There was also his Grandma Dobbie’s world-famous, forevermore-to-be-dubbed Engagement Pasta. Kids, this is what a phone picture looked like in 2007. Five years ago, I said yes. (He did, too.) Also, there was a brief moment of {Read More}

Disclaimer: I’m thrilled to write a sponsored post for Netflix (who wouldn’t be?), but all thoughts, opinions, and effusive TV-watching statements are my own. * Since P.J. and I both work in theatre, we’re big fans of good stories. And whether that comes in the form of books, classic cinema, or TV shows with gripping narratives, we’re always game to watch something fantastic. And sometimes, we define “good stories” as “I’d sure love to take a shower today, would you {Read More}

Feelin’ feelings today, folks. My show closed yesterday afternoon. And it was great. Of course it was great- everyone involved made darned sure that it was- but it’s a mix of happy/sad/other for me right now. Part of me still can’t believe that a show I wrote (and re-wrote and punched and twitched at) became this fully realized thing that people- some people whom I never ever even knew– showed up to watch and laugh and applaud. It boggles. Then there’s {Read More}

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, but all thoughts and opinions (and painful memories) are my own.***Listen, I’m about to impart some super-private info here. We’re talking some real Behind The Curtain stuff. I have not always been this glamorous. (Take as long as you need.) Back in the fourth grade, I possessed an overbite that could chop wood. One of my most awful of le awful memories in life was when a group of girls persuaded me to sit {Read More}

1. Chicago days that settle comfortably in the upper 70s, letting us forget that thermals and triple layers ever needed to exist [last month]. 2. Lilacs and hyacinth and linden and other sweet-smelling things which waft into [crazily/newly] opened windows. 3. Helping out in my kiddo’s preschool and seeing her as a Big Kid. 4. Grass picnics. Bench picnics. Concrete stoop picnics. 5.

And then there are the days you realize that your “baby” is old enough to rock some downright Seussian pigtails. And this jogs your memory…so you go back through your [ahem] meticulously curated batch of computer photos from two years ago. And you find this picture, from roughly the same age with roughly the same outfit. And you admit to yourself that you have a