German Day Parade

This year we have made a huge effort to get out and go to things that we either haven't been to yet or are free.  We have been trying to make the most of living in the city while being kind to our bank account.  So back in September when we saw that there was going to be a German Day parade we said "why not?"  But the fact that it was held during the mid-afternoon almost made us miss the event as we often don't move very far until late afternoon on the weekends... I pushed Dan out the door and grabbed the camera so we could get there before missing too much.

There was the usual parade fare of people sitting atop crusty floats, marching bands, and insurance people handing out suckers with their business cards.  But there was also hats with extremely long feathers, lots of German flags, and roller bladers with plastic steins and such...

 

It was a nice bit of entertainment for a Saturday afternoon; a much better way to spend the day than sitting in front of the computer. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's on a Summer Evening

On a recent Saturday we packed up the car and headed to our old stomping grounds of Oz Park for the evening.  We did one of the things that I have been wanted to do every summer for at least 5 years- we went to a movie in the park!  A few weeks earlier I had been scoping out free entertainment events and saw that Breakfast at Tiffany's was scheduled to play in our favorite neighborhood park so I promptly set the date through our Google calendar. 

While I had planned on packing a little picnic dinner, Dan took this opportunity to visit one of his favorite restaurants in the city.  It was fun to go back there as we haven't been since we moved out of that neighborhood, we of course reminiced over the fact that the first time we ate there was the day we traveled to Chicago to find me an apartment back in 2002.  Dinner was delicious and the dogs were quite thrilled to hang out and get California roll bites.

After dinner we staked out our space and watched the crowd slowly roll in.  By the time the movie started the entire area was filled so we were happy we got there early.  But all that time to wait for people to find their spots meant other dogs were walking in the vicinity of our blanket... the dogs get territorial over their blanket and want to make sure everyone knows it is their space so a few beagle howls were enjoyed by all.

The movie was of course charming.  Even though we own this film it has been a while since I had seen it so it was quite enjoyable to see it again... and it was a really cool experience to watch it alfresco.  We had absolutely perfect weather for this little date night.  It was truly a great summer evening.

Dog Day Fest

Last Sunday after the half marathon, we found a bit of left over energy in our reserves to take the pups to the Dog Day on the Green festival at the Soldier Field grounds.  Even though our feet were tired, we had to take the dogs to a festival that was just for the dogs.

We of course got a little turned around and didn't know exactly which end of Soldier Field the festival was going to be so after a nice warm up walk we finally arrived... and the pups were all smiles.  They had a short little agility run and I took the pups through; Eddie just wanted to bolt to the sidelines where Dan was sitting but once Shelby got over her initial hesitation she loved it.  She even jumped through the hoop at the end.

It was quite the fun little afternoon activity.  All of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Italian ice for me, frosty paw for you

One of our favorite things to do during the summer is to walk to the Italian ice place for treats.  Back when we living in Lincoln Park we would do it quite frequently as a walk with the dogs and for dessert.  I am not sure if it is a testament to how good the pups' memories are or a sign that we were going to often but it got so that the dogs new exactly what they were going to get when we turned onto that street. 

When we moved to Roscoe Village I was really happy to see that there was a little local owned Italian ice shop here as well... and yet it is July and the sign that says " Closed for the season" is still up so it is probably safe to say that they are not going to open for the season.  We tried an ice cream shop in Lake View but it is a bit more kid oriented (like a Dairy Queen) and no frosty paw for our munchkins.  So during my few days off from work last week we headed back down to good ole Lincoln Park to our favorite little shop...

The dogs still remembered what tasty treats they get here and were thrilled that Dan forgot that they usually just share one and accidently got two... 

They seem to think that they have Jedi powers and staring intently enough will get it in their bellies much quicker...

But our city dogs are pretty accomplished at eating off a spoon...

Whether you are a kid, a dog, or an adult, frozen treats are one of the best simple pleasures during the summer... and they make for a cheap but sweet date!

A Sunday at the Doggie Beach

One of our favorite things about living in Chicago is the lakefront.  We have always loved taking the dogs over by the lake and running by the lake.  It is such an awesome way to spend a weekend afternoon and we feel so fortunate to have this type of free entertainment available to us during the summer months.  Last summer we made our first trip to the dog beach at Montrose Harbor and so we have been excited to go again ever since.

The dogs love it.  But they have totally different styles of what they want to do when we are there.  Eddie wants to swim after tennis balls until he can barely stand up.  Shelby wants to chill on a beach towel and soak in some sun while taking in all the craziness that goes on. 

It was so much fun and we thought that the little buggers would be pooped after such excitement leading to naps.  But after their bath they were so incredible wild that we had to go out for another walk.. it was a very good day for the dogs!

A Summer Evening at Ravinia

One of the things that we have wanted to do for the longest time has been to go to a concert and picnic at Ravinia.  As we have learned that summers in the midwest fly by, this year we purchased tickets to a show back in mid-April to make sure that we would actually make this summer.  I am so glad that we did this as it was such a good time and definitely made it on to my "must do while living in Chicago" list.

We packed our attempt at a fancy picnic (orzo with grilled veggies and shrimp salad, lemon vinegrette marinade grilled chicken sandwiches with fresh mozarella on cibatta loaf, and strawberry shortcakes) and headed out to catch the Ravinia express Metra train.  We were greeted with the realization that we needed to get there much earlier to avoid the "oh crap there is no where to picnic!" phase.  We eventually found a nice little spot and settled down for a few hours of eating, drinking, and listening to jazz.  And we really can't do something like this without some sort of mishap... this time it was Dan's chair snapping which sent his glass of wine flying onto the neighboring couple and a nice light rain fell as we realized that the umbrella was the one thing we forgot to pack.  But regardless, it was such a fun evening and I hope we go back soon!

Next time though we need to have one of those fancy little tables with a pretty tablecloth- those Ravinia-goers know how to picnic in style!

Sunshine + Baseball

The past 2 months have been crazy busy at work as a project with a ridiculously tight deadline launched on 4.15 so I have been a bit more highstrung than usual.  This made the invitation for an afternoon spring game at one of the rooftops at Wrigley very appealling.  While we have been to Wrigley Field a number of times, we have never been to a rooftop party so I was also quite interested to see if they would live up to the hype.  I have to say, we were both very impressed.  The view was great, the crowd managable, and the lines for the bathroom non-existant... it was really a quite comfortable way to watch a game.

We have been itching to have more opportunities to take pictures outside as it has been pretty chilly and rainy this spring but the day of the game was a very pleasant spring day.  So we were those people with the big-ass camera bag at a sporting event.  Whatever, it helped keep us amused while the Cubs were getting beat.

Oh and complimentary Fat Tires did play a role in keeping us amused...

It was a really wonderful way to let go for a Thursday afternoon; now I see why all those people take off early for Cubs games.  It is to relax.  This will probably be our only Cubs game this year as I am a little embarrassed to admit that in all the time I have lived in Chicago I have never been to a White Sox game... the next baseball game needs to be to experience the Cell.