So for our third year in a row, we participated in the PAWS “Run for their Lives 8K Run and 4K Walk” along the beautiful Chicago lakefront. (PAWS stands for Pets Are Worth Saving and is a local no kill animal charity in Chicago.) The participants this year included Dave and I, obviously Hefner, Grandma, Grandpa, Jack, Andrew, my Aunt Kathy and her golden retriever Cody and Jack’s girlfriend, Kristin, with her yellow lab Austin. This was the biggest group we have had yet and it was a lot of fun!

In the past years, we have walked with our good friends Austin and Kara and their adorable chihuahua Lola (who have since moved out to San Diego—boo!) and another year with Grandma and Jack while my dad did the 8K run. Every year the weather has been perfect, fairly warm and sunny, so the walk along the lake has been particularly beautiful. It starts along the path at Montrose Harbor and is basically a big loop. Owners can sign up to walk with their dogs or run by themselves. It is so fun to see all the different sizes and breeds of dogs walking, pooping, peeing, sniffing, barking along the lakefront! Hef is definitely on overload when he is there and has a blast!

PAWS does a great job of putting on quite a show. When we arrived, Montrose Harbor was packed with tents giving out tons of dog stuff. There is a local radio station covering the event, so lots of loud music. Some dogs and owners were walking around in costumes for the Halloween costume contest. There is a food tent with bagels, water, yogurt, bananas, Ann Sather cinnamon rolls (awesome!) and other great treats for before the walk/run. After, they usually have pizza along with a Adopt-a-Thon for some homeless pets. And what event in Chicago could be complete without the Jesse White Tumblers?!?!

The cost is about $35 per person, which seems a bit pricey but it is for a worthy cause. The fee also includes a goody bag with coupons, advertisements, the PAWS magazine and a long sleeve t-shirt commemorating the event. Only a small price to pay for a fun-filled morning spent getting some exercise with my family and dog while enjoying Chicago’s beautiful lakefront. Definitely worth it in my opinion!

From Hef’s Bedroom:

I give the PAWS Walk 5 outof 5 paws. I get to walk with all my friends and get lots of treats and attention. A day centered completely on me!!! Too bad the PAWS Walk is not every weekend!

Dave and I went to Ravinia on Friday night after work, or should I say Raveenia as Nelly Furtado (the act we saw) did. You would think they would tell her the correct way to pronounce it, but whatever. I haven’t been there in a few years actually. We were going pretty consistently for a while, but then it got sooo crowded and a bit obnoxious.

All in all, though, this time was pretty good. It wasn’t a sold out show, so we had a little breathing room. And we got the tickets for free, so we only had to pay for our food and booze, most of which we purchased before and brought with us. It ended up being quite a chilly night though! It was only in the 60s to start and then the temp definitely dropped down to the 50s by the end. The gift shop was doing particularly well selling Ravinia sweatshirts and blankets that night. We saw several suckers walk by as we ate our picnic! I guess summer is officially over in Chicago.

The food we brought consisted of a few varieties of artisanal cheese (gouda, goat cheese, huntsman) some sea salt and rosemary crackers, french bread, hummus and peppers, a nice bottle of red wine, and 3 brownies that I hate to admit I polished off myself after Dave only took one or two measly bites (wimp!). We did end up buying a margarita style flatbread pizza from one of the restaurants at Ravinia, which I have to say was just OK. It could have been a bit warmer. Wait—maybe just warm in general since it was ice cold when we ate it. But it was still tasty.

If you didn’t want to pack your own food, you could certainly choose from a wide assortment from the restaurants there, as long as you are willing to pay for it! Prices, like any concession, are a bit more money. There were several people walking with chinese food containers from one restaurant, and they also had burgers, salads, and sandwiches. We looked into a second bottle of wine (we only brought one) and it was going to be at least $35, so we took a pass. There were even a few brave souls eating ice cream, which I cannot believe considering it was freezing outside.

Another great thing about finally going back to Raveenia, I mean Ravinia, was that Dave and I finally got to use our picnic basket/backpack we got as a wedding present from my neighbor almost 4 years ago. That thing is awesome! I should have brought it down from the attic ages ago! Williams Sonoma definitely has everything figured out. We had everything we could possibly need in that thing—plastic plates, wine glasses, silverware, tablecloths, napkins, knives, containers, even a teeny cutting board for the cheese! In fact, there were several parties around us who kept coming over to borrow our wine opener because they had forgotten to bring their own.

And for the entertainment, Nelly Furtado put on a pretty good show. Although I only know her popular music from Kiss FM, I guess she does some spanish stuff too which wasn’t all that bad. She kept saying stuff in her cute but strange Canadian/Spanish accent, which was a little hard to figure out. And I told Dave that I think she’s from Portugal as well, but he said she couldn’t be FROM Portugal AND Canada, which doesn’t make sense to me at all. Dave doesn’t make sense most of the time. The best part? Nelly yelling over the mic that it didn’t seem so cold out tonight. Yeah right lady. You are up on stage jumping around with 10,000 watt bulbs shining on you. We are all out on the lawn in 50 degree weather with the wind whipping up trying to keep our pretty tea lights from blowing out.

Maybe next summer we will go earlier in the season!

What’s one of the best things about summertime in Chicago? The Air and Water Show of course!!!

If you haven’t ever gone, you are missing out–seriously. Can you think of anything better than spending a beautiful sunny afternoon along the lakefront drinking a cold one and pinching your ears shut as a F14 fighter jet goes screaming past you? Or watching a plane make smoke loop-d-loops and then go straight into a dive bomb, only to pull up at the last second before almost touching the water? I don’t think so! And honestly, the ONLY way to watch the show is from the water. Lucky for us, we ended up watching the show from a beautiful boat this year and it was incredible. It definitely made the experience of watching the show from the water even better.

We took a lot of photos and videos of all the action. Check them out below!

Chicago Air and Water Show

Pictures from the Chicago Air and Water Show 2010. Blue Angels and others.

11 Photos

Dave and I took Hefner to the Winnetka Sidewalk Sale a few weekends ago. We stopped by Noah’s Ark Pet Supply on Elm Street and Hefner got himself a new toy – big surprise! It was (I emphasize ‘was‘ as it is now destroyed) a brown tennis ball with what looks like a squirrel tail attached to it that squeaks. Hefner LOVES tennis balls and anything with a squeaker, so this toy is pretty much as good as it gets.

Noah’s Ark Pet Supply

Noah’s Ark has a more unique, but pricier (what do you expect in Winnetka?) selection of dog and cat toys that you can’t really find at the big name stores. It was nice to not have to choose from the same five things he usually gets, and subsequently destroys, at PetSmart (so maybe change your inventory once in a while PetSmart… hint hint). Although last week when I was in PetSmart they had a new line of Martha Stewart pet products displayed. I don’t think you are supposed to play with those toys though, knowing Martha. Your dog should just admire their graceful styling and color palette, not slobber them up. But I digress, in addition to toys Noah’s Ark has a great selection of leashes, shampoos, higher end pet food, carriers and even a cute little “bone bar” with a variety of dried animal bones on display. Hefner liked checking out the “bone bar” although he did not purchase one – there is no way one of those things is going on my new couch, gross! They even have gift items for us dog lovers. I saw some very cute yorkie note cards I may have to go back and buy. Noah’s has a good sampling of pet clothes and jackets as well. I’ve purchased two winter jackets for Hef there that are the warmest ones I’ve found as well as some lighter weight fleece jackets for the fall. They seem to be of high quality and last a long time. Oh, if you go make sure to get their discount card, if you get 5 stamps they will take 10% off your 6th purchase.

From Hefner’s Bedroom:

I give Noah’s Ark Pet Supply 4 out of 5 paws. They have some unique toys and super cool clothes that keep my looking smooth for the ladies. Too bad I couldn’t get this toy, but I’m not sure I could even get my mouth around it. I can only walk around for so long in this 98 degree humid Chicago weather without something to eat. I had to take a break under a shoe table for a few minutes.

Little Ricky’s Rib Joint

My new super chic Lisa Centner Originals handbag in tow (from the sidewalk sale of course) we headed to Little Ricky’s for a bite. We sat outside at a nice table in the shade along with several other “ladies who lunch” and ordered up some bbq pulled port nachos. OMG they were incredible! Gooey cheese, beans, bbq pork and plenty of jalapenos for spice – absolutely perfect along with Dave’s beer and my Winnetka tea (like a long island ice tea). We’ll definitely be back for those nachos. They were very friendly towards Hef, who pretty much sat at our feet the whole time begging for scraps. He even met a new potential girlfriend, Fiona, who was sitting at the table across from us. She was very cute but a bit aloof towards Hef’s advances. Maybe she’s not looking for a relationship, oh well.

From Hefner’s Bedroom:

Little Ricky’s gets 5 out of 5 paws for a great patio dining experience. I would go back again and again for the nachos. Actually, I would go back anywhere that I get meat, but this was especially good.