Our parents told us not to get rid of the dining room mirror.
The mirror with rosewood trim stands on three legs and is 6’5” tall. It has always been bigger than me. While growing up in Naperville, the mirror was in the corner of our formal dining room. The mirror was the quiet guest at Thanksgiving dinners. For my Mom the mirror was a peek into her past when it stood in the corner of her parent’s dining room in downstate Taylorville.The January move into my mid-century dream house has been challenging.
Who knew about all the complicated red light signs in Westchester, Il.? “Right turn on red must yield to U-turn?” Sounds like some kind of [...]
Mid-century modern in Tulsa, Ok.
And for my next move….
I’ve rented apartments and bought a condo. I never owned a house. Before I packed it up I wanted to buy a small midcentury modern ranch house. It was in my DNA. I grew up in ranch houses in Naperville, Ill. (built 1966) and Columbus, Ohio (1959?). My brother owns a midcentury modern ranch house in Nashville, Tn.
It was all a return to forever.
I’ve read the magazine “Atomic Ranch” for years, although I will never have the money to trick out a house like the dreamsicles in Palm Springs, Ca., St. Paul, Mn. and Los Angeles. I wanted to unplug [...]
Our Naperville house, April, 2016
Rarely do I tear up at the theater.
Frankly, rarely do I even go to the theater.
But “Naperville,” which opened Sept. 6 at Theater Wit, and runs through Oct. 16 at 1229 W. Belmont in Chicago, hit home. And home is the centerpiece of the splendid work from Naperville born playwright Mat Smart.
“Naperville” is framed by nuance and empathy, characteristics that are key to getting by in urban and suburban living.
“Naperville” premiered off-Broadway in 2o14 at New York’s Slant Theatre Project and New York [...]
RAF Chicago Executive Director Joanie Bayhack delivering smiles. (Courtesy of RAF)
Life isn’t so daunting if you break it down into a series of small gestures.
The non-profit Random Act of Flowers recycles flowers from weddings, parties, funerals and grocery stores. Volunteers then deliver floral bouquets to Chicago area hospitals and long term health care facilities.
Knoxville, Tn.-based Random Acts of Flowers (RAF) has only been in the Chicago area for a little more than a year. From January to December of 2015, RAF delivered bouquets to 16,142 people in the Chicago [...]
