Chicago October

Once again Paul and I semi-spontaneously committed to Chicago.  For a day.

For the second year in a row Paul and I decided to make and take a day trip to Chicago.  And at the last minute we were able to add our chief financial officer-Lance.  

Spirit took us there nickel and diming us all the way.  It wasn't all that bad but if we stayed more than a day the costs would add up for packing a bag to carry on, to check, to print your boarding pass, to buy your ticket online.  It was a great price but then again, Paul said, if we booked the tickets at the counter at MSP we could have saved even more!  Well, maybe next time I scoot from work to buy tickets.  

So we went with no plans.  Plans were to be found.  I have had plans to shop Chicago for months so that's what I wanted to do.  But since I recruited Paul as the logistics coordinator and booking expert I had to broaden my horizon.  

After a few days of thinking plans found us.  We decided a train trip from O'Hare to Clark and Lake (I think but I'd have to check with our logistics coordinator) and from there jump on the red line to Addison.  We found our way up the red line to Wrigley and enjoyed a two hour tour of the old ballpark.  

I must say that Wrigley Field is in need of some updates.  The halls are narrow, old, stark and cold.  The press box looks and feels ancient.  In fact, you can see the wear on the tables where the typewriters were just lifted out and stored for the winter.  The locker room thinks baseball players are no bigger than 6'2" and 205 pounds.  And there's not much room to expand.  So, we know CC Sabathia will never sign with them for the clubhouse alone.  He doesn't fit.  

However, the tour as a whole was very enjoyable, interesting and informational.  It was fun to see the grassless field as they were leveling the field and doing maintenance before winter.  

After the tour we took the red line back to the loop where we eventually found Chick-fil-A for lunch.  It was the first time I'd been to one and it was good.  Soon they'll be open in Coon Rapids.  

Then I took over as the pseudo-entertainment coordinator.  

We hit the Louis Vuitton store just off of Michigan Avenue, took a look at the Kusama windows and went in.  Katie told a manager there, Preston, that I was coming so I stopped in and introduced myself to him.  It was nice to see the store, meet Preston, and understand a little bit more about Louis Vuitton.  

We also went to SuitSupply.  It's a great looking, newly opened, well merchandised store from the Netherlands.  It was apparently in the space that was formerly occupied by Barney's corporate offices.  So the "penthouse" really attracted to Paul's and Lance's lifestyle.    

I also dragged Paul and Lance silently kicking and screaming to Zara, Gap to see the GQxBest New Menswear Designers in America, AllSaints, Haberdash, CityTarget, Ralph Lauren, Bottega Veneta, J.Crew, Topshop/Topman and probably more I'm not remembering.      

After the afternoon of shopping we hit the green line to Oak Park where we called on Emily and Eric to pick us up.  Luckily, Eric was available and he took us on a quick tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright neighborhood before we ate Giordano's deep dish and apple crisp that Eric made.  

As always it was fun to see Eric and Emily and it was especially fun to play with Edie and have her excited to see me.  Ella played it cool and had to finish an episode on the iPad before saying hi to me. 

I must say, it is something that I should do every other month or at least 3-4 times a year with how fun and easy it is.  It felt like we were gone for a couple days, packing more of the punch into a short time.  

I think Lance and Paul had a good time and that we'll have to anti up to do it more often, make it more of a routine and see E4 more!  And get my hands on some great fashion.  :) 

And another visit by family & friends

Last weekend, the 5-7th of October was a fun one!  

Mom & Dad came in for Bethel Alumni events and for homecoming and a 40 year reunion.  We were able to enjoy Old Chicago with them on Thursday night before they were off and running with their plans.  

Friday night Katy and I went to Bethel for her own five year college reunion.  It was a night of small food, snacking and chatting with some of her classmates.  They also organized a small program which took up a little bit of the evening but it was mostly chatting, socializing in smaller groups.  

I appreciated that it was more informal and more chances to mingle with more people than mine was, as it was a more formal table style meal, but she didn't nearly have as many people turn out as my five year reunion.  Nonetheless it was nice for Katy to catch up with a few friends.  

Saturday was a very nice day to get things done around the house.  Katy and I went to Ace Hardware in the morning for their second fall festival.  That's where I won the leaf blower last year.  This year I think we registered to win a yard treatment package.  But we bought a couple things to help me trim some branches away from the driveway so they don't fall down a few a day for the whole fall and winter.  It was annoying last year to pick up all of the weak, dead and dying branches during a rainstorm or snowstorm.  

However, the highlight of the morning at Ace Hardware might have been the petting zoo!  It was quite the attraction.  They had a camel, donkey, goat, bunnies, snakes, small alligators and probably a couple other things but the highlight was the kangaroo and the nine month old bear!  As we were walking there I was looking at the animals and as we got closer I was like, "is that a black bear!?"  It was awesome watching it.  We talked with Mike, the owner, for a few minutes before heading in and finding a few things to pick up.  I only hope that his event has been a success not only from a community aspect but from a business perspective as well.  I know I appreciate seeing him drive in and out of work as he's always one to wave and smile on the way by.  

Saturday afternoon we got together with Paul and Lance.  We then met up with Kristine and Liz who came in from Michigan and Texas (and the world), as well as Laura and Abby.  We thoroughly enjoyed a night at Brasa as it was a first for everyone except me, Katy and Paul.  

After Brasa we went to Old Chicago for dessert and a couple drinks and another place to hang out and catch up.  We unofficially and officially made plans to take a trip to Las Vegas next spring to hang out and have fun.  I think that would be a blast to hit Las Vegas with college friends!  We'll see if it happens!

We met up with Kristine and Liz again on Sunday morning (with Lance and Paul) to enjoy a few more minutes and some Breuggers and Caribou before they both took off for home.  It was great to see them.  

After that-Katy and I hit the Twin Cities Marathon and watched the marathon finishers for a few hours. Unfortunately, we missed the TC 10 Mile though.  

Later on Sunday, we watched football and then welcomed Mom and Dad in for the night.  We went to eat at Granite City and hung out at home for a little bit before Monday morning work arrived.  

It's nice having an extra room available and it's proven to be very useful this summer.  I feel like we've had a steady stream of visitors since July and it's been fun!  

A Weekend With Megan

Catching all of no one up; Megan visited two weekends ago and we had a good time visiting with her and Myla.

She landed in the afternoon and I met Meg, Myla and Katy at the Mall of America for dinner.  We enjoyed some good food at Crave.

Saturday I had to work during the day but after work we ate dinner at Noodles, enjoyed a malt from Snuffy's and watched a movie to hang around at home.

Sunday we went to church and had a great afternoon hanging out and celebrating at Heidi's wedding.

It was alot of fun having her here and it was fun seeing Myla even though she didn't really warm up to me at all.

Reference the pictures that Megan put up on Facebook to see how the wedding went.

Thanks for coming Megan!  

Trying New Food-For Ella & Mattingly

Ella and Mattingly,

Check out Uncle Joel and Grandpa Ron try and tell you about trying new food!  I see all kinds of new food out there for you to try!

I hope you're up to the challenge, like I was, of trying new food!

Love you guys!

Painting 1064

Well, better late than never.

Here's the change of our jewel of the nile to bridle path.

I got things on the driveway about 7:30am and Katy and Paul joined me a little later and we put a full day of painting away!

Painting this stucco was quite the challenge with it being so textured.  Katy did a great job trimming most of the house, Paul did a great job soaking his roller and lathering it on the outside and in all the crevices.  And I did a little bit of both but it was probably shoddy.

Lance joined us later in the afternoon getting the back of the house 99% finished before we ran out of paint.

And we celebrated by going to Lake Minnetonka and eating outside at Maynard's right on the lake.  Well, somewhere on/in/near the lake.

#CT2012

Finally.

Katy and I arrived to Connecticut this afternoon a little early and Mom and Dad were already there circling the lot.

We whisked ourselves to Westfarms Mall where I was treated to a quick wander through what is a very nice mall.  First, we ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and ventured to Louis Vuitton, Madewell, Banana Republic, J.Crew and Nordstrom.  But, there's a Brooks Brothers, Urban Outfitters, Free People; so many good stores for the population.

After the mall we toured good ol' New Britain and saw the decay of what was my neighborhood.

Dinner was italian and bbq chicken, corn on the cob, pasta salad and my favorite veggie dish! (zucchini, tomatoes, squash, mushrooms and cheese.

There's alot more on the schedule though.  I hope to accomplish alot of it.

Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan as well as Ralph Lauren and Rugby on the street just a few blocks from the house.

Labor Day lunch with M4, playing with Mattingly and Myla a trip to New Haven for the Gant store and J. Press.

NYC on Tuesday, hopefully checking out a ton of NYC and seeing Adam.

Maine!  Portland Maine from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon and Portsmouth New Hampshire Friday night to Saturday afternoon.  There will be sun, trails and water to see, a stop at the Lobster Pound in Ogunquit and some time eating and looking and wandering in Portland.

How much more can we pack in there?

Friday Afternoon

An unexpected phone call that leads to making a decision! #DontGetAnxious #NailIt #ConfidentDecisions #Personality

I've been here

I just haven't seemingly had anything to blog about?  Or without pictures?

July has been busy with people coming and going and a whole lot of dogsitting.

Jim and Karen came for 10 days or so with the dog, buddy.  In that time we hosted a dinner with Jim, Karen, Bob and Deb, Josh and Laura and Malin, Bopa, Uncle Warren, and David and Marilyn.

For the last 10 days or so we've been dog sitting Bella.

Last weekend Chris and Lauren stayed here and shared with a few sets of friends about their journey to Indonesia this coming November.

Next weekend Mom and Dad are coming to stay for a night before the family reunion.

And that'll be July.  A whole month of friends family and pets.

Painting the house

Well, Katy & I are off and we thought about painting the house with four days off.

But the chance of showers is at 30% and it's gray and slightly windy.

And we chickened out a little.

And we want to know what you think about paint colors. What do you think we go with as the main paint color of the house?

One Year Ago...

We were in the midst of this...

...and I went running in it.

Memorial Day 2012

Katy and I had this last Memorial Day weekend off.  It gave us the chance to get a few things done around the house.

I worked Friday night but we got right to checking things off the list on Saturday morning.  We hit the gym and afterwards on our way to pick up some Breugger's we got caught in the pouring rain!  It was the hardest I've seen it rain in a long time!  Once we got home we enjoyed some breakfast and coffee and saw Josh as he was dropping Libby off for us to watch for the weekend.  

At noon we set out to clean the basement with it looking like this.  

Once we broke down all of the cardboard and took it out along with the garbage we found we had started to see some progress.  

We ventured to Costco for some shelving because of the slight leakage in our basement.  I wanted to keep the plastic bins off the floor and not near the wall in jeopardy of a little bit of water when it pours hard for a while.

So, we picked up these shelving units.  

It's no where near as exciting as a flight and a quick few days to Chicago but it was a huge thing that has probably been weighing me down for a long time.  I knew the basement needed to be cleaned up for so long but it was so hard to get down there.  But we did!

And despite it looking great we can still do more.  But this was step one in the successful accomplishment during the rainy and cloudy day Saturday.

Saturday night we went to Green Mill with Paul.

Sunday we went to church, Costco again for some grilling ingredients and enjoyed the warm weather by going to the Mall of America with our friend Emily.  We hit a bunch of stores, enjoyed the wandering and made an afternoon of it.  After the mall we grilled out; hamburgers, asparagus, fruit, mojitos and a fantastic strawberry shortcake Emily made!

We also watched True Grit.  It was a decent, entertaining movie.

"You're no bigger than a corn nugget!"  That seemed to be our favorite line of the movie when True Grit was talking to the 14 year old girl as she was trying to hire him to find who killed her father.

Monday we went running at Como.  I ran twice around the lake and the second time I brought Libby with me.  She ran a 6:40 mile with me however started out much too strong for finishing in a 6:40.  Although she did poop twice causing a stoppage in pace.  I didn't get too many looks at my Garmin to see how fast we were going but at one point early on we were at 5:56  pace.

Our Memorial Day activity took us to Bob & Deb's too.  We grilled out again with them, Bopa and Bob's mom.  Again it was burgers and brats with some wild rice in them.  We also ate potato salad with bacon in it, cole slaw, fruit salad, chips, ice cream and cookies washed down by iced tea or lemonade.

The other activity going on for Memorial Day was once again with my favorite Twin Cities tie company, Pierrepont Hicks, was holding a little challenge to wear their goods and show them off.  So, that is what this outfit resulted in.  Sunday night Emily, Katy and I picked this outfit out.  And I liked it enough to add a khaki blazer and wear it all day to Bob & Deb's!

Pierrepont Hicks bow tie (a sample; meaning I might be the only one who has one, if not I'm one of a very select few who have one)

Pierrepont Hicks Buzzy Pocket Square

J. Crew woven & shorts

Banana Republic belt

Cole Haan shoes

So, I emailed her this picture and I got on the website, just as her challenge stated!

The link to this shot at Pierrepont Hicks.

The link to this shot at Pierrepont Hicks.  Any opinion on who did it best?

These were the looks that didn't pass the test to Pierrepont Hicks.  

And one shot of our new shoes...Katy's J. Crew Soludos and my Cole Haan Franklin Wingtips.  

Device - Soft Grey -- J SHOES Online Store

J SHOES

A perfect summer shoe.

Device - Soft Grey -- J SHOES Online Store

Twin Cities 1 Mile

The Twin Cities 1 Mile came and went quickly last Thursday night.  

I have been running a few times a week for a couple months which I thought put me in a good place to run a little faster.  However, I still have not gotten any speed work in so I just wasn't ready for a fast pace.  

I worked until 6pm and picked Mom up before arriving to Nicollet Avenue with about an hour before the race.  I warmed up with 1.75 miles and stretched and off I went.  However, I didn't get as close to the front of the line as I wanted to, the corral packed in early I think.  

After getting going I did my best to stay strong and consistent with effort, though soon my mouth was so dry my spit solidified, I'm pretty sure, because I spit out once and it felt like I was spitting out a piece of sand.  About half way through I kept running strong and maybe for a close to two tenths of a mile I really thought hard about going hard to the finish but I just couldn't pull it off.  I just maintained as best as I could and finished up.  

Also, previously to running I asked people to tell me how they thought I'd do.  

I finished in 5:11.2 making Katy and Paul the winner because their guesses of 5:12.00 and 5:13.50 were the closest.  Megan guessed 5:07 and Eric 5:18.  Amanda guessed 5:15 and Lance said "best ever."  

It looks as if I owe Katy and Paul dinner.  

A Sketchers I told you!

I told you to stay away from Sketchers shape ups!

Did you?  I sure hope so but if not it looks like you might be able to get your money back!

And honestly, I thought about how Sketchers had fallen off the map this morning on my run.

I ran to Como and around and stopped to stretch.  As I was stretching a woman walked by with an old beat up broken down pair of Sketcher's Shape Ups.  I shuttered.

Then, I thought about the brand and how much of a big deal they were at Herb's a year or year and a half ago they had shoe table collateral and were flying out of the store.  Fall came and so did the boots so Sketchers was de-emphasized.  And now, I laugh at how insignificant they are.

And now if you want your money back on them, go and get it!  (Wait, I hope no one who is reading this owns any.)

From Darren Rovell's twitter page.

Katy's Talent

My wife did this this weekend.

What did your wife do?

I worked 1:30-11pm on Saturday & 10:30-7:45pm on Sunday and she pounded out this new headboard for our guest bedroom. She bought the wood, cut it, sanded it, designed it and I'm sure she had alot of fun nail-gunning it.

I think it's fantastic!

When can we book your stay?

Joel, Katy & Paul Go To Switchfoot

Northwestern College hosted one of my favorite bands a couple weeks ago.


Paul realized they were coming to town and asked me and Katy to go to the show.  He hadn't ever been to their show before so he was pretty excited.  Katy and I have seen them a few times before at Concordia College and at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and also at the Minnesota State Fair.  


The Rocket Summer opened...

but the real draw was Switchfoot.

I am the sea on a moonless night

Calling falling, slipping tides
I am the leaky, dripping pipes
The endless, aching drops of lights
I am the raindrop falling down
Always longing for the deeper ground
I am the broken, breaking seas
Even my blood finds ways to bleed
Even the rivers ways to run
Even the rain to reach the sun
Even my thirsty streams
Even in my dreams
I am restless
I am restless
I am restless
I'm looking for you
I am restless
I run like the ocean to find your shore
I'm looking for you
I am the thorn stuck in your side
I am the one that you left behind
I am the dried up doubting eyes
Looking for the well that won't run dry
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/switchfoot/restless.html ]Running for the other side
The world that I've always been denied
Running hard for the infinite
With the tears of saints and hypocrites
Oh, blood of black and white and grey
Oh, death in life and night in day
One by one by one
We let our rivers run
I am restless
I am restless
I'm looking for you
I am restless
I run like the ocean to find your shore
I'm looking for you
I can hear you breathing
I can feel you leading
More than just a feeling
I can feel you reaching
Pushing through the ceiling
Till the final healing
I'm looking for you
Until the sea of glass we meet
At last completed and complete
Where tide and tear and pain subside
And laughter drinks them dry
I'll be waiting
Anticipating
All that I aim for
What I was made for
With every heartbeat
All of my blood bleeds
Running inside me
I'm looking for you
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/switchfoot/#share

Fumbling his confidence 
And wond'ring why the world has passed him byyy (guitar) 
Hoping that he's meant for more than arguments And failed attempts to fly, fly We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside Somewhere we live inside We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/switchfoot/meant+to+live_20134687.html ] Dreaming about providence And whether mice or men have second tries Maybe we've been livin with our eyes half open Maybe we're bent and broken, broken We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside Somewhere we live inside We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside 
We want more than this world's got to offer We want more than this world's got to offer We want more than the wars of our fathers And everything inside screams for second life Yaaa We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live We were meant to liveWe were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside Somewhere we live inside We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/switchfoot/meant+to+live_20134687.html ] Dreaming about providence And whether mice or men have second tries Maybe we've been livin with our eyes half open Maybe we're bent and broken, broken We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside Somewhere we live inside We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside We want more than this world's got to offer We want more than this world's got to offer We want more than the wars of our fathers And everything inside screams for second life Yaaa We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live We were meant to liveWe want more than this world's got to offer We want more than this world's got to offer We want more than the wars of our fathers And everything inside screams for second life Yaaa We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live We were meant to live

Short Straw

I definitely drew the short straw at work this month.

Con-I just worked six days in a row.
Pro-I just had three days off.
Con-I start seven days in a row tomorrow.
Pro-I have three days off over Easter.
Con-I have another six days in a row after that.
Con-I work 6 of 8 weekend days in April.
Con-We're closed Easter Sunday so no one works.  I have one Saturday off.
Con-Really, I work six out of seven weekend days and I close five out of the six I work.
Con-I close all three Saturday's I work.  No one closes more than once.
Con-I close two of the three Sunday's I work.  No one works or closes more than once.
Con-I close eleven times, including Sunday's in April.  I only work twenty days.

Pessimistic?  Optimistic?  Realistic?

I wonder if I did something wrong that I don't know about.

See you in May.

A Stay in our Second Bedroom

Who's in for staying in our newly painted second bedroom?

Navy blue & beige with a pop of red.

I really like how it turned out!

Although we are still in a constant battle of storage.  We need to get the basement organized and clean and that might be worth being the next project to get rid of the seasonal items from the closet, bed and dresser.  I know Katy would appreciate getting some of my clothes out of there.  I also need someone to help edit my wardrobe.

We have openings most weekends (though I probably work) though out the summer of 2012.  Just call at least a few hours before and we'll open the room up for your stay (though I may be at work.)

WWD & Dunn Brothers

Here I sit.  I have a stack of WWD's on the table with coffee a sandwich and twitter running in the background.  I'm listening to Pandora.

I guess this will just be a public journal.

I want to buy Brunello Cucinelli's stock when it's offered.  I wonder what the offer will be?  He's started his IPO process.  What would it be like to work in Italy for him?  Does he have the best cashmere sweaters in the world?  I'm fascinated by a business like that, which goes public and how it gets valued.  That's one of the reasons why I like watching "Shark Tank."  I understand, that is a minuscule amount of information but it's the tip of the iceberg in terms of what I would love to understand about how a company gets running, becomes successful and then offers shares to the pubic.

Randa is going to buy Swank for $57.5 million.  That's fun to know because Randa is the vendor of a ton of our ties at Herb's and the come in boxes plastered in Randa.  Randa is the top men's accessories maker in the US with $450 million.  Wow.

Major eyewear makers like Oliver Peoples, Ray-Ban, Oakley, Gucci, Dior and more have frames specific for an Asian customer base? Yep.

There's a Longchamp article in here eyeing US expansion for the brand.  I met a woman, who spent $450 on a Coach handbag and a Dooney & Bourke handbag.  Hers was in great condition and I asked her what it was and how long she had been using it.  She replied "Longchamp and I've had it for 15 years!"  Wow!  I know I've heard of the brand, knew it was high end but goodness she had that thing in fantastic condition and it was definitely a style I hadn't seen in 15 years.  Or ever.  Then she pulls out her wallet  that she had been using for the same amount of time which was also in stellar condition.  Amazing.

Should I work for Longchamp?  "The US has now become our second-biggest market after France," Cassegrain said in an interview at his bright offices here. "We're still planning significant growth in the US."  They doubled warehouse facilities in New Jersey.

Let's pretend I got a job there.  As I sold the bags, accessories etc, I'd have my clientle list and as the years go by I'd give them a call; drop by and take a picture of their products showing how they wear/wore.  That would be fun to see how a Longchamp wears after 3,6,9,12 years and more.

There's an article on how Made in the USA is a bigger factor in the mind of American's lately.  Manufacturing has been going elsewhere for decades and jobs and the sentiment of Americans is that they want these products back.  Some companies are listening and bringing some things back.  Some see it, in an election year, as a political move some see it as patriotism.  I've been for it.  I just want a product that will last wash after wash, wear after wear, go out of style and be put away in tissue paper, folded nicely and come back decades later on my son or grandson.  Like the bright red pants Dad gave me this winter.  And the two pair of plaid pants, one red and cream and the other light blue, light orange and white checked I have in the basement right now.

But really, what is the cost and the move of moving things back here?  What is the real incentive?  The real cost.  What is the real motivation behind it.  I'd be interested to see that result.  

Alexander Wang.  Crazy good, hip, popular, modern designer right now right?  His executive team is Dennis and Aimie Wang, who are his brother and sister in law.  I'd love to know how they got those jobs.  Were they qualified?  Did they have experience in getting a start up going before?  What is their background?  Or are they just figuring it out as they go-like it seems like many start ups do.  Are they lawyers?  Finance/economics pros?  Hhhmm...

Duckie Brown (Steven Cox and Daniel Silver) will do Spring/Summer 2013 for Perry Ellis.

True Religion Net Falls 8.4%.  I like this headline because True Religion jeans are the biggest, gaudiest, over stitched, rock and roll denim that I do not care for.

"Samples  can cost $1,000 each or about $4,000 for a fur or coat.  This is the stuff I find interesting.  Gross margins-or the difference between the sales dollars brought in and the cost to produce and distribute goods-are generally good in the designer realm."  Initial margins could be 70% and fall to about 50%.  But the higher the margin the brand takes, the smaller its distribution.  A designer's magic number is $25 million.  Then it goes to $60 million for more investors with $100 to $200 million if it's successful.  Then comes IPO's.  Random-Michael Kors made $117 million from his IPO last fall.

I want to go to one of these fashion conventions in Las Vegas.  Or be there when one is going on.

J.Crew's fall 2012 collection for men by Frank Muytjens was inspired by the Arctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.  It's an ideal blend of polished dress-up with a rugged aesthetic.  Distressed denim layered under Harris Tweed blazers and wool coats...

Interesting he got some ideas from the film we watched at the Minnesota Science Museum.

NRF says that stores are moving fast on mobile landscape.  Wonder how I'd get a job in a tech company doing some of that.  I find it interesting but is it in my skill set?

Happy Birthday Edie!

Dear Edie,

Today is your birthday and it seems like you'll get some time to play outside since spring has arrived early in Chicago this year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDIE!

Love you!

Joel & Katy

Enjoying some French Press Coffee

Enjoyed some coffee from Brasa a month ago while eating out with Katy.

Bought some a couple weeks ago, however, it was still a whole bean.

That was fine because I've been told that you should grind the beans fresh before you brew it.  So I jumped on the bandwagon and bought a burr grinder and enjoyed my first cup this morning.

It was great!  Well worth the extra time on a day off!

Style Blog

Anyone have any good ideas of what I should call it?  I've got plenty of ideas, just tapping any new perspectives.

Mom & Dad Visited

So, Mom & Dad came to visit a long long time ago already.  But don't worry I don't have any pictures to prove it.

However, that doesn't mean I didn't have a good time hanging out with them mostly at restaurants.  We enjoyed WA Frost, The Bachelor Farmer and Olive Garden.

I've never enjoyed so much tasty food.

I know I tweeted about some of it...but Cocoa Crusted Elk Striploin with barley mushroom risotto, caramelized Belgian endive and winter fruit reduction.  It was rare, fairly cool once the first few bites were gone but it was delicious.  And I really like barley mushroom risotto; it was great with the striploin.  I also drank an Ethopian Sidoma french press coffee.  It was good but it wasn't the best thing I've had.

The Bachelor Farmer was great too.  I know Eric didn't approve of our toasts but I did.  The duck liver pate, dried cherries and pistachios reminded me of liverwurst I ate as a kid.  I'm surprised Mom fed us liverwurst but didn't feed us the tasty caramelized brussel sprouts from Brasa.  Dad ordered house smoked steelhead trout, scrambled eggs, pain de mie and capers.  I only got a small bite but it was good.  On the dinner side Katy's venison was delicious, the chicken I got was good too but it was outdone by the side of cauliflower and parmesan cheese which was melted perfectly with the best texture possible.  Mom got the meatballs, lingonberries, mashed potatoes and pickled cucumbers.

Olive Garden was terrible.  We left Grandma's with an expected no wait and we got there and it was 30 minutes.  Haha, just like last time I went to Olive Garden 8 years ago.  But I'm glad we were able to go out with Grandma.

Ok, so I like food; especially unique food.



  

Front Closet Redo

Katy and I thought about redoing our front coat closet, making it more like our own closets.

So we ventured to Ikea and Home Depot to check things out and went with a pre-fabricated set.  I guess I helped buy it, went to work last weekend and Katy had it done.

Christmas 2011

A catch up post on Christmas.

What a time, what a day, what a couple of days.

Thanks to Mom & Dad, Naomi, Eric & Emily, Ella & Edith and Mark & Megan, Mattingly & Myla for coming all the way to Minnesota to celebrate Christmas.

Here's a look.

Mill City Museum
Work
Shopping late night with Katy, Em and Mom
Breakfast pastries
Christmas Dinner
Korv
Swedish food
Playing at the playground
Opening Presents
No Snow
And so much more!

I had a great time and we're glad everyone came to Minnesota.