Love

Mike and I aren't Valentine's Day people. In the nearly five years we've been married and the 15 we've known each other (whoa...we are getting old), we've never adequately celebrated. Every time we've been pressured into trying, by 1-800-Flowers or Hallmark or the rest of our well-meaning but media-susceptible society, it's been far from the picture-perfect night of romance that all of the Kay commercials idealize. Like that one year we ended up at an Indian restaurant because it was the only place within a three mile walking radius from our downtown apartment that wasn't turning people like us...Valentine's Day slackers...away. We'd actually been there before. We had loved the food and the atmosphere was cozy. But that night, that very special night, was different. They had a massively overpriced Valentine's Day three-course meal on the menu...and no other options. Once we made peace with the exorbitant bill that we had just been Shanghaied into paying, the meal was amazing. The hostess even gave me a red rose on the way out the door. Memorable, but definitely funnier with four years separating Mike and that bill. This year, we decided to try again. We played it safe: Italian comfort food at a place we know well and love. Our night started with Cesar salad and ended with cannoli. It was a great date and we left vowing to do that more often. But I have to admit, it was a smaller gesture later in our chaotic week that truly hit the meaning of Valentine's Day home to me. It had been a tough day. Mike went straight from work to class until 9:30. He was beat. I was moody. It was a recipe for disaster...until Mike walked in the door with two burritos and a side of chips and guac. Chipotle. It can make even the crappiest of days...weeks even!...all better with two 1,000+ calorie rolls of goodness. I definitely remembered why I married my good man. So next Valentine's Day, just remember: every kiss beings with...burritos.

Gold Stars this week go to:
*Mid-week, late night takeout: Need I say more?

*Pooch of the week: Every week, Urban Pooch bestows this great honor on one of their fuzzy clients. Not only does the pup get his or her photo in the company's weekly email newsletter, but their pet parents get four free hours of daycare. This week, Dorey delivered. I was pumped to a degree that I am actually embarrassed to admit to all of you.

*My two sweethearts: A boy and his dog. It doesn't get much cuter than that.

Jesseca and Jeff are getting married

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with an engagement session sneak peek. I had a great time with Jesseca and Jeff last Saturday in Bucktown. Jesseca and I had been so concerned when we first scheduled this session months ago that there wouldn't be snow on the ground for her winter themed photos. Ha. Ha Ha Ha. Well, we missed the worst of The Great Blizzard of 2011 and actually scored a mild winter day to boot. Now that's good timing. Mike and I can't wait for your big day in September! Have fun with the rest of your planning and enjoy every minute of this fun time in your life. Thanks again for a fun afternoon and happy Valentine's Day!

Legacy

There's that haunting, wonderful scene from Dead Poets Society where Mr. Keating encourages his students to study old photos of the boys who previously attended Welton. "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." Ah, love it! Still gives me chills. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by old photos. As a kid, I had books containing nothing but collections of unsmiling black and white portraits. Becky and I would spend hours stretched out on my bedroom floor memorizing the Victorian strangers, picking our favorites, giving them names and creating stories for them. They came to life for us, these hundreds-year-old images. It's one fascination that I certainly haven't outgrown...and perhaps in part why I get so much joy out of what I do. I'd like to imagine the pictures Mike and I take will become part of a family's history: cherished, reminisced over, passed down through generations. That's some powerful, heartwarming stuff.

Recently, my Memere (Mom's mom...we're French Canadian on that side) sent me a few great old photos and reminded me of a family history that, with respect to my new career choice, kind of blows my mind. Turns out my Great-Grandfather Henry was a photographer. He had his own studio in Fall River, Massachusetts. Upon retirement, he passed the business on to one of his sons, my Great Uncle Ernie, and Ernie, in turn, upon his retirement, passed all of the antique prints and equipment on to the Fall River Historical Society. Pretty cool for me to find out my passion for photography, which seems sometimes to have snuck up on me so quickly, was in my blood all along. I just love everything about the photo of Henry's studio. The candidness of it, the crazy tilt of the portraits on the wall, the women's clothing, the writing on the door in the back (which I can ALMOST read...almost!) and most of all, Great-Grandpa Henry's expression. It's friendly and jolly. It's as if he and Great-Great Aunt Alice (behind the counter) couldn't possibly keep a straight face while taking this picture. Maybe he was thinking, "Who in the world will ever want to see a picture of my studio?!" If he only knew.

Gold Stars for the week:
*Memere: Thank you SO MUCH for sending this great photo...and for validating my new endeavor on an even bigger level!

*New DIY Projects: I've been bitten by the decorating bug. I blame these great new old photos. I've started to collect as many antique family pictures as possible for a frame collage in our guestroom. By the time I get done with it, I want it to look like Rose's collection from Titanic.

*Neil Perry: A shout out to my favorite character from Dead Poets. Poor Neil. But, never fear...he's on House now and is doing just fine. Click here to relive the greatness.

Mrs. Mike vs. Snowmageddon 2011

One of my favorite novels growing up was Mrs. Mike. Set in the early 1900s, it's the story of spirited city girl Katherine Mary who falls in love with hunky Mountie Sergeant Mike Flannigan and travels with him to the great Canadian north to "set up their homestead." Think Little House on the Prairie only with blizzards, bears, deadly mosquitoes, a three-month journey by dogsled to the nearest civilization, mountain men who unhesitatingly abuse their "half-breed" women and "savages" who needed teaching and taming. (Hardly PC, but fabulous all the same.) When I got married and became my very own version of Mrs. Mike, I was tickled. I had daydreams about my future kids' little friends calling me by that beloved name when they came over to hang out after school. (A la: "Thanks for making us Bagel Bites, Mrs. Mike!") OK, seeing that in print, it's so much dorkier than it was in my head. Whatever. Anyway, this week, with the appearance of Snowmageddon 2011, I had another kind of Mrs. Mike moment. Holy St. Patrick (as Katherine Mary would say) did it snow. I honestly thought the media was sensationalizing a bad weather story, but they were right on. Since I didn't have to fear for my life like Kathy would have, this Mrs. Mike had an absolute blast.

This week's Gold Stars go to:
*Our honest-to-goodness snow day: Mike's office closed on Wednesday as did Kellogg both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. So we enjoyed our first bonafide snow day since we were teenagers. It rocked. We even made a snowman on our patio. His name is Harvey and, if I don't say so myself, he's awesome. One of my favorite memories so far in our new house.

*Urban Skiing: We took a walk when the snow let up and actually saw...wait for it...people cross country skiing down a side street. You definitely don't see that every day in Chicago.

*Solidarity: As good of a day as Wednesday was, Thursday was just one massive black dot. No Internet, a distractingly pent-up little dog and me walking in circles in knee-deep snow, slippery slush and below freezing temps in an effort to find a neighborhood coffee shop with an empty chair and working Wi-Fi. Good Lord, nothing was going my way. I finally found a place with a vacant easy chair, ignored the fact that it was wedged inconveniently between two other occupied chairs, ordered an off-diet mocha and two cookies, asked one of my two intensely concentrating neighbors to move, yet again, to let me back into my corner, set up my laptop and plopped down with a sigh. Only then did I realize that this coffee shop, too, was without Internet. A loud gasp of frustration escaped me. I was trapped and about to blow. Angry, belligerent, out-of-control Jen was about to make an appearance. The woman to my right suddenly looked up and gave me a rueful smile. "I know what you mean," she said in a confidential whisper. "If that woman over there doesn't stop talking on her phone...I mean, I don't want to sound grumpy, but what does she think this is? Her living room?!" In spite of my own grumpiness, I had to laugh. I wasn't the only one having a craptastic day. Misery loves company.

Andrew turns two

Little Andrew's parents wanted to celebrate his second birthday with a photo shoot, and I am so glad they did. We had a great time with this little guy. We were able to snap a few fun shots with big brother J.T. and the rest of the family, as well as some top model close-ups of the birthday boy. Thanks for spending a Sunday morning with us, you guys! It was great getting to know you.

Ronan and Lachlan

What a great family! Mike and I had the best time getting to know Megan, Sachin and their two boys Ronan and Lachlan last Saturday. The brothers just cracked us up. I just can't get enough of the headlock picture below. That just sums up their loving, playful sibling relationship right there! We were lucky that the weather was mild and we were able to sneak outside for some really fun shots in the snow. Thanks again, Megan and Sachin!