Thursday, September 15, 2011

End of Summer Highlights

Since I don't ever have my act together to do "weekend review" type posts... I'll give you a mid-month, what we've been up to post instead!  We've had some really fun late summer weekends, which I've been soaking up after a couple years of working almost every weekend. We've been mostly sticking around town, just enjoying the fun stuff our big city has to offer. Some recent highlights...

Community Service!

Last weekend we helped build a community garden in Austin,
a lower-income neighborhood on the west side of  Chicago.
It was a service project in remembrance of the lives lost on 9/11,
and it was really nice to have the chance to get out and make a difference. 

I worked with one other girl to build this compost bin. We literally took
apart a wooden pallet that Home Depot donated, and hammered it
 back together to look like this! I was pretty proud!

Joe did a TON of weed pulling, mulching, and cleaning up of the overgrown plants.


Wine tasting!

A slight contrast to community service, huh?
Also, don't you like Joe's new hat?

The Windy City Wine Festival wasn't the greatest thing I've ever been to
(the lines were sooooo long!),
 but the tickets were free for us!
It was a beautiful evening, and Grant Park is always a nice setting. 

No big surprise, the beer area was our favorite part!


Concert time!

The Get Up Kids, one of my favorite bands from my college years, played a
free show at a festival in Old Town. It ROCKED, and I sang and danced like
 I was 18 again. It's good to explore new music, but I also really love
reconnecting with the bands I've loved for years.



Bike Riding!
Yes, we're still obsessed with our bikes. We rode to the Bucktown Art Fest
 a few weeks back, and then did a 15 mile ride on our trail near our house
 this past weekend. I'm thinking we'll get a rack for the car pretty soon,
because I'm pretty hooked on these long bike rides!





Soaking up the last of summer also includes:
Drinks at great beer bars
Running and dinner with some great ladies
Another 5k coming up in a few weeks
Dinner outside, best when cooked by friends
Walking to restaurants in our neighborhood


We're both ready for the cooler temperatures and the slower pace that comes with the beginning of fall, so I'm not too upset that summer is about over. It's been a good one, for sure! Anything else you're trying to squeeze out of the last days of warmer weather?

3 comments:

  1. isn't it funny how summer is supposed to be laid back, but it's really just chock full of activities and events?! and also, the pic of joe in front of the audi, drinking his wine, rocking his hat, is awesome. tell him the girl in the rhinestone cover-up said that.

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  2. I'm pretty happy about the whole arrival of Fall thing too:-) Such a fun season. xoxo

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  3. We're enjoying the last of our summer fruit beers...a cherry cream ale we're drinking now, and a blueberry cream ale that's about to be kegged. Can't wait to try that!

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