We love the Heart Ball

Well, we had another successful weekend with my favorite same age, same sex cousin Holly and her awesome husband Danny! (I had to add the same sex because I'm lucky enough to have another same age cousin, but a boy!) Holly is a big cheese at the American Heart Association and it was the Heart Ball this past weekend in Chicago. Holly invited Chris and me to be volunteers and we jumped at the chance to dress up and pitch in a helping hand.

The Ball was held at the Palmer House Hilton, which was built in the late 1800s. It's right smack in the middle of the action, close to the lake front and shopping, if that's your thing. The hotel just underwent a huge renovation and has been restored to it's original swanky charm. I loved all of the gorgeous crown molding, intricate staircases and black and white photos of Judy Garland and the likes adorning the hallways. (All that and a Serenity Dreams bed!) If you have a chance to stay there while you're in town, I highly recommend it!

What we learned in Chicagoland

As usual, we had an awesome and informative weekend with the Messicks. They showed us that the trick to the perfect lasagna is a turkey baster and how to effortlessly repair a ceiling leak by mopping it. My only regret is that I don't have the pictures to prove it. Those Messicks sure know what they're doing.

We had a pleasant Saturday afternoon over at Goose Island sampling their many delicious beers. Danny and I had no trouble deciding though Holly and Chris decided on the flights. Why make one choice when you can make four?

We had a pleasant Sunday afternoon at the wine and cheese shop for lunch. Danny and I had no trouble deciding though Holly and Chris decided on the flights. Have you ever heard of a salad flight? Me either.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: We feel so lucky to have such fantastic friends in our cousins. I'm so happy to know that my awesome cousin Holly married someone equally so. We just wish that we lived closer (or that we could build a tunnel with a fast moving travel device between each other's homes).

Stay Thirsty My Friends

We had, yet another awesome time with my cousins, the Messicks, in Chicago. The highlights are as follows:

1. Catching the Hopper & Homer Exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago , which, in my opinion, is one of the best art museums in the country. The Messicks had a VIP members only connection where we got to see the paintings before the museum opened and the madness began.

2. Dining at the Park Grill in Millenium Park (just say "yes" to the organic grilled pork sandwich). There's something about sipping from a water goblet with a cloth napkin on my lap that makes me feel like a grown-up.

3. Meeting up with Chris' college friend, also Chris, and his Swedish girlfriend Anna-Lena. We hooked up at the Gage for a couple of beers with cheers, which, adding to the grown up theme, were all served in their proper glasses. If you know me, you know I love my glassware. Chris and Anna-Lena live in Allentown, PA and were in town on business. This was their first trip to the Windy City.

4. Piling in the Honda Pilot and cruising through the city back to the suburbs to check out some of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces (several Oak Park homes and a temple). It's amazing how theses residences have become landmarks in the city.

5. Having an early Cinco de Mayo celebration where we convinced Anna-Lena to pour on her thickest Swedish charm (and what a charming young lady she is) to see if our server would provide her with her first go at a pinata because May 5 happened to be her birthday.

6. Watching Anna-Lena to charm the beer off the trays of the Dos Equis girls who were roaming the bar. When they figured out that Anna-Lena was was Swedish, they rushed back with more beer samples and a bunch of Dos Equis schwag for her to take home with her to Sweden, uh, Allentown. It's funny how people talk louder when English isn't your first language. Btw, Anna-Lena speaks better English than I do.

7. When the Messicks realized that my Chris, who I affectionately call "Plum," was not a morning person and Holly referred to him as "Prune" instead! Hahahaha!

8. Kudos to Danny, who reminded us that Chris didn't get just one, but two great nicknames over the weekend, the second being "Turtle," which he actually got first. Chris eats his meals like a turtle runs. We all rejoiced in yelling, "TURTLE! TURTLE! TURTLE!"

Five Wineries, Thirty-Four Hours and One Trip to Chicago

What a crazy trip! Chris and I traveled to Chicago for the annual Lamott Pilgrimage (hot, fun and noisy get together with sixty of my closest relatives) this weekend. To keep it interesting and to break up the drive, we stopped at some terrific wineries both on the way down and up.

Our first stop was at Contessa Winery. This is where we met the very hungry (i.e. fat) cat Tabitha who kept our laps warm as we sampled some tasty Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. Though the property was covered in glistening snow while we were there, the grounds would make a terrific backdrop for a lovely little spring picnic. If we'd had more time to stay, we could have bellied up to the bar for wine sold by the glass.

Our next stop was Round Barn Winery, Distillery and Brewery . The cute little cupcake shaped barn drew us in. OK, the variety did, but whatever. Here we were sold matching tasting glasses which we can bring back empty at any time to sample wine next time. For five bucks total you get nine tastings and one martini. We took our time. What an extensive wine list! There were two wineries housed in the same building, Round Barn and Free Run . We bounced from Red Barn to Free Run to the distillery, called DiVine, while diligently scribbling our our tasting notes. Our favorites included a Cranberry wine (a bit sweet on its own but would be delicious in sangria), a dry Gewurtztraminer and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Round Barn was slammed while we were there, but we got great service and were even given a case discount even though we only purchased three bottles.

We hung out with the fam for a few hours then drove to the Chi Town Burbs for dinner and couch time at the Messicks. We philosophised and cracked ourselves up over a few pots of coffee which I dubiously drank for fear I would laugh in it and scald my face. We have too good of a time with that Holly and Danny.

Sunday was brunch with more family followed by a thrilling ride home. We were lured off the highway by two more wineries, Domaine Berrien and Lemon Creek. We snagged a delicious Pinot Noir at Domaine Berrien. We're not huge pinot fans, but I'll say that we're starting to be. This wine was deep in color with a fruity nose and a fine finish, a far cry from the pale and lifeless Pinots I've been drinking. Lemon Creek has a couple of winery dogs, who we much enjoyed and an '03 Cab with which we fell in like. Even though it's been in the bottle a bit, rich tannins were still prevalent. I wonder how big it was four years ago!

I'm changing my mind about Michigan wines. I've been less than complimentary about the wines we produce in the past, but I do think we're producing some great ones now. Our wine makers are becoming more experienced with each vintage and we're enjoying every bit of it. We'll be back in the spring when the '06 vintages are released!