Bright-Yellow: A Re-Planted Chicagoan's Take on the World

The 3×5 Project

brightyellowblog — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:26:59 +0000

A few months ago, I was selected to participate in The 3×5 Project. The site has a different Chicago contributor post a “diary entry” for the day. Below is my submission. You can see my submission and others on their site here:

The morning begins with our dog, Nola, licking my face to tell me that it’s time to get ready for our morning walk. After showering (not sure why I did that before the walk since it’s already eighty degrees and humid when we hit the streets), Nola and I begin our early morning exploration of South Evanston. A year ago, we were living in what we had termed the “good enough apartment”, anxiously counting down to August when we would finally close on our first house. Now, here I am strolling through my neighborhood with my overly loved dog (aka spoiled).

This house seems to have started a chain reaction for us, forcing us to become full-fledged adults (or as close and we are ever going to get). We started with learning home improvement (and reinforcing our need to call in the experts), added a dog to the mix (shameless plug – adopt from a shelter! We adopted from PAWS in Evanston), and now Baby P is on his way after years of trying to make the Peterson duo a Peterson trio. Today, I add sacrificing for my child (cue overly dramatic Jen here) to the list as I forgo breakfast in order to take a three hour glucose test at my doctor’s office. I realize that this is not a huge sacrifice, but I am hungry and a super sugary drink is just not going to fill the breakfast void.

Really, I am happy to take the test and skip breakfast in order to make sure Baby P and I are healthy. With how long it has taken us to get here, and the hurdles along the way, I’m embracing every step of this pregnancy. I want to etch each and every moment, good and bad, in my brain. Plus, I promised myself Chick-fil-a afterwards!

In one of my favorite movies “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, he says, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I’m looking around as much as I possibly can.

Popping and Pop-Tarts

brightyellowblog — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:07:14 +0000

Yes, I know, Bright-Yellow seems to have been on a bit of a hiatus. Those who know me in person know that there is a reason… baby Bright-Yellow is on his way (yep, it’s a boy) in October and my mind has been pretty occupied with trying to learn about the big changes in store for us! This, combined with my inability to drink, eat large portions of food, and sleep, has made me kind of boring and not full of “you must check this out” items (unless you count my new constant reading of “Baby Bargains”).

My few pregnancy cravings have included grapefruit, potatoes, and… Pop Tarts! The Pop Tarts craving, though, was more a result of the power of suggestion after my friend, Deb, told me that she ate the best thing ever – a home-made Pop Tart! From there, it has been Pop Tarts on the brain almost every day. I have only indulged in the store-bought version once (thanks to the office vending machine). Then, a few weeks ago, when we visited our friends James and Jeanne in Washington, DC, I got to taste the version that Deb had and now nothing else will do!

These fabulous creations come from a small bakery/restaurant called Ted’s Bulletin in the Capitol Hill area of DC. They are A-MAZING! I stuck to classic strawberry but husband Jeff (and friend James) also enjoyed the peanut butter and bacon version. These pop tarts are not overly sweet like the store-bought kind and the pastry part melts in your mouth and tastes kind of like yellow cake. Truly fantastic!

Deb came across a recipe from Smitten Kitchen for making pop tarts. Neither of us have tried making them yet and, honestly, Deb is a better baker so I’m waiting for her to try the recipe. Hurry up Deb!

Has anyone else made pop tarts? What about other home-made version of classic store-bought products?

Thanks Capitol Spice for letting me use your photo of the awesome Ted’s Bulletin pop-tarts and thanks to you for reading Bright-Yellow!

What’s for Lunch? Roti

brightyellowblog — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:29:46 +0000

Lunch – my favorite part the work day. I’m they type who starts day dreaming about lunch at about 10AM and continue to think about lunch options until noon shows up on the clock on my computer.

Even though I try to bring my lunch to work (eat health, save money, portion control… we all know the reasons why I should do this), I often end up eating out. Many times this is because I have a business lunch or lunch with friends. Like most downtown workers (and by this I don’t just mean downtown Chicago, I mean downtown anywhere U.S.A), I’m surrounded by the usual lunch haunts – sandwich spot (actually more than one), Asian, salads, etc. All are fine but none consume my lunchtime daydreams.

Enter the new spot – Roti. I’m basically obsessed with Roti at lunch (they have breakfast, too, but I cannot justify eating breakfast out). The one by my office opened late last year and I have been hooked from day one. Roti is basically Chipotle with middle eastern food. Like Chipotle, you walk up to the counter, order, and then customize your plate. Ordering involves choosing your base (sandwich, salad, or my favorite, plate) meat (the chicken is so yummy – the spices are fantastic), and veggies/sides/sauces. I have no idea what they do their couscous but whatever it is, the couscous is delicious and not at all dry. Like Chipotle (sorry, Roti, for the constant comparison but it’s the closest concept I can come up with for those who have never walked through your doors), you leave filled with healthy food that keeps you going all day.

The location by me suffered a fire a couple of weeks ago (I’m sure Roti enjoyed my daily phone calls to check on their recovery process). This means my obsession with Roti for lunch has gone into overdrive. I’m writing this post tonight because Roti on Dearborn opens again tomorrow! I’m anticipating Friday-like lines (Fridays at Roti are pretty crowded – don’t worry, though, the line moves quickly) but I know my lunch buddy tomorrow will be up for the challenge!

I don’t want to leave you thinking that Roti is a Chicago only spot – there are locations in D.C., too, and it looks like the plan is to populate the country with healthy mediterranean food. If you haven’t been and there is one in your area, EAT AT ROTI!

Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow

Tiny Buddha – Inspiration for Every Day

brightyellowblog — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:56:51 +0000

A few months ago, my friend, Jillian, and I were talking about being in a rut and she told me about a post on a site that she learned about from her sister. The post, 16 Ways to Get Unstuck, has stuck (get it? ) with me since then and I thought I’d share it, and the site, Tiny Buddha, with you.

In 16 Ways to Get Unstuck, writer Lori Deschene gives practical advice on how to step back, relax, and re-examine a situation. I have found myself going to this post a number of times as different parts of my life seem “stuck”. I’ll add a 17th way – get a dog (or a cat or a fish – whatever pet works for you). We recently adopted a puppy and suddenly I don’t really have time to be stuck!

Tiny Buddha has a number of other great posts including 25 Ways to Be Good for Someone Else (Be the Positivity You Want to Feel). In this post, Lori touches on the whole miserly loves company attitude and trumps it with ways to make that company feel good. What I love the most about the list is that the 25 suggestions, come from Tiny Buddha Facebook fans – real people like you and me. I’m a big fan of tip #2 (“Let them know how much you appreciate them”) and tip #9 (“Tell them why they make a difference in your life”) which are kind of the same thing. See Bright-Yellow post about thankfulness here.

You can receive a bit of Tiny Buddha inspiration daily by signing up for the daily email. While you’re on the site, be sure to check out the past posts – I promise you’ll leave feeling like the world is a great place.

So – how do you get unstuck? How are you good to others? What is your inspiration?

Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow.

Tiny Buddha site: http://tinybuddha.com/
Follow Tiny Buddha on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/tinybuddha
Become a fan of Tiny Buddha on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tinybuddha
Follow Lori Deschene on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/lori_deschene

Eat Up – Restaurant Week Returns!

brightyellowblog — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 01:56:53 +0000

I know I wrote about this last year, and I’ll likely write about it again next year, but I love Chicago Restaurant Week and I think many of you do, too! And, for those of you outside of Chicago, most cities now offer Restaurant Week so check with your chamber of commerce, tourism bureau, or just google it.

Chicago Restaurant Week begins February 18 and continues through February 27. Tables are already filling up so log on here to book your table. Restaurant Week works with Open Table so you can score some Open Table points at the same time – sweet! This year, Chicago Restaurant Week also includes Chicago suburban restaurants, too. So, whether you live in the city or the suburbs, make sure you take advantage of these great deals!

Bon appetit and thanks for reading Bright-Yellow

The Importance of Thank You

brightyellowblog — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 04:16:41 +0000

This post doesn’t include any tips for finding a great gift, checking out a new restaurant, seeing a can’t miss movie, or tricks for saving money or making dinner in a hurry. This is my thank you post. I recently read about a book about the importance of saying thank you (I’m pretty sure the book is “Thank You: 101 Ways to Practice Effortless Gratitude“). The author of the piece talked about how nobody writes thank you notes anymore or says a simple thank you to people when they perform a nice gesture. I try to write thank you notes and I try to say thank you but, like all of us, I know I don’t do it enough. So, here are a few overdue thank yous…

Two years ago, we both lost our jobs and it was a very scary time for us – thank you to our family and friends who understood that it was going to be a rough Christmas.

Thank you to those same family and friends who listened as we were scared, gave us a place to stay, treated us to a meal, and just stood by us as we struggled.

Thank you to my husband – he never stopped believing that we were going to be okay (I was not always so optimistic). Even now as we struggle with other issues, he still keeps us on the positive track!

Christmas 2010 looks very different from Christmas 2008. We both have jobs (I think Jeff has his dream job), we have a house and are not planning to move again for a while, and we are both healthy and have healthy family and friends. I have always tried to be grateful and tried to say thank you, but I don’t always succeed. As I looked at our tree and around our house, I want to be sure to take in how fortunate we are and say thank you.

Now it’s your turn – look around and be grateful for even the smallest of blessings and say thank you to those around you.

And my final thank you for this post – thank you for reading Bright-Yellow.

On the Move…

brightyellowblog — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:45:25 +0000

Yes, it has been awhile since I did a Bright-Yellow post. A lot has happened since that last post… we found a house we loved and made an offer, the inspector found a fixable problem but the seller wouldn’t cover it, so we lost the house. Then we found a new (and better) house that required us to make a quick offer – which was accepted! As we were moving forward with the closing, “House Hunters” contacted us to be on the show – yep, Bright-Yellow reality television! Our “good enough apartment” landlord thought otherwise, though, and “House Hunters” was not meant to be. But, the house was meant to be and that’s most important!

So, we moved in about three weeks ago and you can look forward to some Bright-Yellow posts related to moving and exploring our new home town, Evanston (for those outside of the Chicago area, Evanston is directly north of Chicago). We literally live six miles from the “good enough apartment” so the move was not huge (yet literally took all day to do!).

Like most home buyers, we did most of our initial research online. Sure, there is realtor.com. However, we preferred Redfin.com. Our friends in California used Redfin to purchase their home and they saved a lot of money. Redfin agents take a smaller commission because they don’t do as much hand holding. Jeff and I needed some hand holding so we used a realtor (our friend, Scott) but used Refin.com to find listings that appealed to us and to learn more about various neighborhoods.

There is also a Redfin app. I still check it – and that first house (the one where the guy wouldn’t pay for the repair) is still on the market. Ha Ha (mean, I know, but the guy was mean to us). We ended up with a much better place anyway!

Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow. Please share any home buying tips that you have in the comments section!

50 Wards: Ward 39 is a Chicago Hidden Gem

brightyellowblog — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:20:48 +0000

Yep, 50 Wards is back! You didn’t really think I gave up on this project, did you? Because the 50 Wards are in Chicago, I had to take the winter off. Today, though, I explored Ward 39 (Alderman Margaret Laurino) which covers a large part of Chicago – Devon (north) to Belmont (south) to the Chicago River (east) to Cicero (West). When I asked the Alderman’s office for suggestions last year, they gave me a huge list including:

The Korean businesses and restaurants on Lawrence Avenue, from Kedzie to Pulaski (Seoul Drive) and the Korean Street Festival in August
North Park Village including The North Park Village Nature Center
The Bohemian National Cemetery – one of only two cemeteries in Chicago that has received a national historical designation. It is final resting place for Anton Cermak, one of Chicago’s Mayors. They recently added a new section to the cemetery named Beyond the Vines, the final resting place for eternal Cubs fans.
Foster Avenue (3200-3400 West) with a number of small shops and restaurants and North Park University
Not to be missed, is Tre Kronor, 3258 W. Foster

Jeff and I were going to wait to do this ward in August but we did that last year and didn’t make it so we decided not to wait around for the Korean fest and began the tour of the ward. We have gone through the Korean area and along Foster Avenue many times (it’s near our house) so we headed over to the North Park Nature Center. WOW – what a hidden gem! After parking the car, we went in the nature center and saw a turtle demonstration (if you have kids, you MUST visit this place!) and then hit the trails. Even though we were surrounded by busy streets all around us, we never knew it because it felt like we were in the middle of secluded woods. From the wildflowers to the lily pads and the unexpected sighting of a deer (really!), a walk through the North Park Nature Center gives Chicagoans an escape from the city chaos – in the city! My only complaint? The trail is not a long one so you may need to go around twice – but it’s worth it!

As you drive into the Nature Center, don’t be put off by the many buildings – you are in the right place. You’ll find the Bohemian Cemetery right next door to the Nature Center, too. We didn’t actually drive in – the place is HUGE – but I see a return visit in our future. Oh, and the Alderman’s office is right – Tre Kronor is not to be missed – yum, yum, yum.

I’m looking forward to a return trip to the North Park Nature Center in the fall – I’m sure it will be magnificent! Thanks to the folks at the 39th Ward Alderman’s office for the tips!

Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow! Please share with friends – I’m not sure what happened but the number of readers suddenly dropped – remember to share!

I Write Like – Finding My Famous Writing Style

brightyellowblog — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:16:41 +0000

Bright-Yellow started a year ago as a way for me to maintain my writing skills while searching for a job – and to share my inherited skill (from my mom) of sharing fun facts and tidbits with friends (and complete strangers). Thanks to I Write Like, I now know that my writing style is a combination of Stephen King (see this post as an example – I don’t think I’m nearly as scary but I made kayaking sound scary?), Cory Doctorow (I had to look him up (after reading his Wiki I realize I really need to hip it up) – the guy writes a blog called Craphound.com – does this mean Bright-Yellow is crap? Eeek! The Cory Doctorow inspired post is here), and Chuck Palahniuk (another one I had to google – he wrote “Fight Club” – cool but I avoid violence so I have neither read the book or seen the movie (I know!) but apparently this post resembles his style). I’m not sure how many folks are in the I Write Like database, but I need to go to bed soon so analyzing each and every blog post doesn’t seem likely.

Go ahead – insert some of your writing and share (via the comments below) who You Write Like!

Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow – please be sure to share the fun!

My “Writing Buddies”:

Stephen King

Cory Doctorow

Chuck Palahniuk

A Fun Time Waster

brightyellowblog — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:10:59 +0000

Thanks to Tonic.com for this image of CodeOrgan.com

Here’s a fun little site to check out on Friday (come on, you’re not really doing any work, are you?!?!) – CodeOrgan.com. Before you visit the site, have a handful (or more depending on how dull your day is) of your favorite Web site URLs ready. Once at CodeOrgan.com, type or paste your favorite Web site into the bar and hear how it sounds! Honestly, this site is a little more mellow yellow than Bright-Yellow but my Twitter page (www.twitter.com/jenhp) rocks.

CodeOrgan may not make you a rocket scientist, but boy is it a fun way to pass the day!

Thanks to my pal, Chrissie, for turning me on to CodeOrgan.com.

Did you see that there is a new email subscription button on the right hand side? Be sure to sign up to receive Bright-Yellow right in your mailbox!

Thanks for reading Bright-Yellow!