Entries Tagged as 'feedburner'

Paul & Kate’s Wedding

November 1st, 2011 · 6 Comments

On Saturday Paul Baker and Kate got married. The ceremony was at St. Vincent de Paul Church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. I hadn’t been inside an old Catholic church for so long, and this one was gorgeous. Tons of stained glass and sculpture and carvings. The ceremony was about 45 minutes long, just short of the hour we’d expected. A Catholic wedding in less than an hour!? Wow! It was a beautiful ceremony, though, and didn’t really feel like that long.


Kate & Her Mom


Kate


Alden, a groomsman


Jessica, Alden, Rachelle

Outside the church everyone gathered and chatted. Paul and Kate had some photos taken at the church. Look how gorgeous Kate looks! Her hair was so vintage Hollywood, but still modern. And when she was walkign down the aisle and passed us, Jess and I couldn’t get over how gorgeous the back of her dress was. Between that and her hair, I apologize in advance for how many photos I took of her facing AWAY from me! Also, her mom made the bouquets for Kate and her bridesmaids and the boutonnieres for Paul and the groomsmen and table decorations at the reception. They were so unique. No flowers. Peacock feather accents. I loved them. Very subtley fall-like.

We caught up with some FeedBurner coworkers from back in the day. We had about two hours before the reception was to begin and were figuring out what to do. Eric and his wife were going to check into their downtown hotel. Jon was headed home to get his wife before the reception. Alden was a groomsman and had wedding duties to attend to. That left me, Jess, Dallas, Chris and Lisa. We dropped off Jess’s car and then Chris and Lisa were nice enough to drive us to Old Oak Tap for a drink and then to the reception. Side note: Jess and I had a delicious cocktail called The Champfleur, made with Champaigne and St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, that was so good!


Salvage One


Rachelle, Paul, Dallas


Kate


Salvage One


Jessica, Rachelle, Lisa


With LEGS and LIGHTS


Salvage One


Jessica, Kate, Lisa


Rachelle, Jessica, Kate, Lisa


Salvage One

The reception was at Salvage One, which is this amazing space filled with salvaged materials. Anything from a bowl to a stone column to couches and lamps and windows and bath tubs. Everything you could ever think of. This stuff is all for sale, but Salvage One is also an event space. I can’t think of a better business model: Let’s sell merchandise and on the off hours we’ll charge people to use the stuff that’s not sold yet!

Salvage One is so unique and gorgeous inside, though. I loved how it was not just one wide-open room. There were so many nooks and corners and different seating areas. When we arrived drinks and hors d’oeuvres were being served on the first floor. We ran into Paul right away and gave our congrats and talked to him about the ceremony and the party. He said that Kate had been to Salvage One years before with her uncle and knew then that she wanted to someday have her wedding there. Dallas and I spent some time just walking around. There’s so much to see. I wanted to redo my whole condo with vintage, antique things. Later on we talked with Kate, told her how gorgeous she looked. She told us about the things her mom made. And how she was wearing her grandmother’s jewelry. So nice. Oh, and see her shoes in the dragon photo? We learned later on during a toast/speech that those were the shoes Paul proposed with. He gave her the shoes for a gift and the ring was tied in the shoelaces. So awesome.


Rachelle & Alden checking out the reply cards


Masquerade masks & candy


Eric & Christine before dinner


Chris trying his mask on

After a while we were ushered to the second floor where there would be dinner and dancing. There weren’t seating assignments to pick up, but we were still greeted with a table of goodies. There were masquerade masks and later on Halloween candy, for Halloween weekend. Paul and Kate had a doodle area on their RSVP cards and they displayed all the cards with doodles. They also had a “wish tree” where people could leave wedding wishes and advice and then hang it on a small tree.


Food Stations


Mashed Potato Magic Bar


Pasta Station


Harvest Martini Salad Bar


Salad


Wedding cake


Cutting the Cake


Cutting the Cake

Paul and Kate coordinated a very unique wedding dinner. Instead of a meal served family style or a buffet, they had stations. There was a carving station, a pasta station, a salad bar, and a mashed potato bar. At each station, except the carving station, you could customize what you wanted. So, the potato bar had regular mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and you could pick your toppings. At the salad bar you told the guy what you wanted and he mixed it up in a cocktail shaker and served it in a martini glass. Mashed potatoes were in a martini glass as well. At the pasta station you could choose from several kinds of pasta and pair different sauces and toppings. So fun. I never saw so many people excited for mashed potatoes.

For dessert, they had a funnel cake station! You could choose whatever kinds of toppings you wanted for your own customized funnel cakes. There was also two different cheesecake shots, fruit and wedding cake.


FeedBurner reunion! Chris, Eric, Joe, Rachelle, Jessica, Jon, Alden and of course Kate & Paul

I know Paul from when I worked at FeedBurner.. and Google. Paul is still at Google, but only a few of us are left there. It was so fun to see some of my old friends from those FeedBurner days. A couple I see often, but it was fun to have a mini reunion of sorts. I mean, even just getting eight of us together is like getting a third of the whole company together!


Marveling for the 100th time over Kate’s hair & dress.


Alden & Chris’s Thriller zombie dance.


Taking a rest after a long night of dancing.


Rachelle, Jessica, Alden

I don’t know who Paul and Kate’s DJ was, but someone told me he once played with Moby? I don’t know if that was just a wedding rumor, but he was good. He had people dancing all night. Except for one song that I didn’t like and the wine made me tell Kate I didn’t like it. Oops. Otherwise I had so much fun dancing it up with Chris and Lisa and Jess and Alden. What a great party with so many fun and unique details. Congratulations to Kate and Paul and thanks for inviting us to share the day with you!

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Haymarket Brewing

October 18th, 2011 · 3 Comments

Before the CHIRP event, Jess and I decided to get dinner and a drink in the neighborhood. We’d never been to Haymarket Pub and Brewing so we went to check it out. Haymarket brews their own beer and makes their own food. We decided to split two things: Grilled Salad and Mussels.

The grilled salad had chopped greens, red and yellow bell peppers, red onion, grilled asparagus, croutons and grilled shrimp (or chicken, if you prefer). On the side we got the spicy-peanut vinaigrette. I thought the salad was ok. Mostly raw vegetables, with not a ton of the grilled asparagus or shrimp.

The mussels were sauteed in Haymarket’s Belgian ale and mussel broth with onion, garlic, chili, celery, bay leaf and lemon. I liked the mussels better than the salad. My only complaint with them is that they didn’t give us a spoon to scoop them out or to get any of the broth out, so we just picked them out with our fingers.

For beer, Jess started out with the 7GA I.P.A (ABV: 6.8): This “wet hop” IPA is brewed with locally grown chinook and centennial hops from Oak Park! Grown by Gary, director of Seven Generations Ahead. Super fruity and aromatic, wet hopping, or using hops fresh off the vine that have not been dried, adds a unique aroma to the brew. I got the MoJo Belgian Style Abbey Dubbel (ABV: 7.5): This strong dark Belgian ale is fermented with Authentic Trappist yeast, dark candy syrup, raisins and molasses! Hints of chocolate, ripe fruit, plum and candy jump out of the glass! Jess and I both really liked these beers. Mine was dark, but not heavy. It reminded me of Eugene, a beer I have enjoyed many times at Revolution Brewing.

As for the feel of the place, it’s a lot different than I was expecting. Jess and I love and go to Revolution Brewing a lot, so it’s hard not to compare it to Haymarket. Haymarket is bigger. It has a front bar and dining area, then you walk past the brewing area and into a back dining area and a back bar. It’s a lot brighter in Haymarket. Revolution Brewing seems to have more design elements and more of an eye for detail. The bar is gorgeous, the lights are unique and innovative, the bar and seating are custom to the space.

Haymarket has a lot of TVs. A lot. And with those TVs come a lot of dudes. I counted 10 women in our back dining room and 40 men. If you’re a girl looking for a sporty guy, come here. Also, I’m not one of those people who hates every bar with a lot of TVs. I think they have their time and place. I like to watch sports and I like to have a place to do it. I just wasn’t expecting it at Haymarket. That said, this would be a great place to come to watch the game and drink actual good beer and not Crappy Beer Light.

The other thing about Revolution is that the food is fantastic. I can only think of one thing I’ve ever ordered there that I didn’t really enjoy and that is over the course of many, many visits. The food we tried at Haymarket was just ok. Mussels were better than the salad. Maybe just don’t order salads there. Who knows. I don’t think the restaurant should offer salads (or anything) if they’re not going to do them great.

For “dessert” we each tried the Clare’s Right Hook Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine (ABV: 12.5): This huge, hoppy and alcoholic brew was aged for 3 months in 8 year old Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrels. Caramel, vanilla, coconut and lots of bourbon character. Lucky for us, we both ordered the smallest available. I think it was 8 ounces? I remember the beer was available in 3 sizes, something like 8 oz, 12 oz and 21 oz? Not sure, but I thought this was cool so you could get a sampling or a taste if you wanted. As for the Clare’s Right Hook? This was very tasty, but very boozy. I don’t think I could have finished more than the smallest size.

Jess and I used to work together at FeedBurner in the West Loop years ago. Back then you could go to some high-end restaurants like Blackbird and Avec (who can afford that on startup wages!?) or you could go to some really low-end places like White Hen and the Ogilvie Food Court. There wasn’t too much in the middle. Since that time, it seems like the West Loop has really exploded and there’s all kinds of stuff opening over there constantly. Since the FeedBurner ratio was at least 4:1 men to women, I’m sure we’d have been right at home here at Haymarket. Also, the guys we worked with weren’t the most sporty ever, but they did love their soccer and some football and baseball. I’m sure we would have put in a lot of time at Haymarket had it been there back in the day.

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Kate’s Bridal Shower

September 12th, 2011 · 1 Comment

On Saturday Jess and I went to Kate’s bridal shower. Kate is getting married to Paul Baker in October. We’ve know Paul for about 5 years, from our FeedBurner and Google days (Paul is still at Google), and we’ve known Kate for almost as long.

Similar to my bridal showers, Kate requested no games. We had lunch and visited. I’d met several of Paul and Kate’s friends before and Paul’s sister, Jen, a few times. It was nice to see them all again. At the end Kate opened gifts and Paul came in to join her for that. Jess and I were shocked to see Paul Baker wearing a blazer! What are we going to do when he’s in a tuxedo in October? Also funny – Paul’s sister got Kate a cookie press and decorating kit and said “well, you ARE going to be a Baker.” Yes, after the wedding we can finally officially called her “Kate Baker,” though we’ve been calling her that for some time now. Baker is just easier to say than her actual last name!

Can’t wait for the wedding in October. I think it will be a fun one!

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Built in Chicago Launch Party

June 24th, 2011 · No Comments

Built in Chicago is a site that was created about 8 months ago and is a resource for digital professionals working and building great web and mobile businesses in Chicago. Last night I attended their launch party with Jess and Alden. Tribeca Flashpoint sponsored the event and it was held in their space at the Merchandise Mart. There was a $10 admission fee, but once you were in, it was all free drinks and snacks.

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The beer sponsor was Finch’s Beer Co. Ok. But made in Chicago? How have I never heard of them? I asked the servers and they said that Finch’s has only been in production for about 8 weeks and that it is based out of the Albany Park neighborhood. Interesting. I had two Golden Wing blond ales and Jess and Alden both had the Cut Throat pale ale. We all liked the beer and when I tweeted about it, Chuck declared that the blonde will be the beer of this summer.

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Ok. So, enough about the beer. The Built in Chicago event was basically a mixer. It reminded me of Tech Cocktail, but with more suits and more gray hair. A grown up Tech Cocktail? I mean, even Ron May showed up at the end (blerg!). I talked to people I knew from various stages of my “past lives” – Chicagoist, FeedBurner, Google – and also from past Tech Cocktail events. It was nice to see people I hadn’t seen for quite a while (Kevin – from Google & now heading up the Chicago Entrepreneurial Center , Sean – from Chicagoist, now at Have My Shift, Brad – from my Chicagoist days, now at Appolicious, and Blagica from all over? :) ) Also nice meet some new people, too.

I like how Built in Chicago seems like more of an ongoing thing. Like, sure, they’ll have these face-to-face networking events occasionally, but you don’t just go away after that and see people at the next event. Built in Chicago is also a whole social networking site for like-minded interactive people in Chicago. I think it should be a bit easier to keep in the loop and keep in contact with people. Looking forward to seeing how this all evolves.

PS. At the end of the night Alden and I met up with Dallas at the Boiler Room and guess what kind of beer I noticed they had on tap? Finch’s! So I had another Golden Wing. Maybe this will be the beer of the summer.

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What $38 Mac & Cheese Looks Like

April 14th, 2011 · 8 Comments


$38 Mac & Cheese


Alden, Jon, Paul


Rachelle & Steve

A couple weeks ago I met up with a few of my old FeedBurner coworkers for lunch at Public House. Steve was the last of our FeedBurner founders to still be working at Google and it was his last day.

On the Public House menu (PDF) they have mac & cheese with many options. Here are all of the things you can add to your mac & cheese:

  • house smoked bacon – $1
  • pulled bbq chicken – $2
  • burnt end brisket – $2
  • chicken chili – $4
  • lobster – $9
  • caramelized onion – $1
  • wild mushroom – $2
  • roasted jalapeno – $1
  • shaved french black truffle – Market Price
  • all the above – $30

Paul was very intrigued by this. We were talking to the waitress and she said no one has ever ordered “all of the above” that she’s ever seen. Paul went for it! The base price for the mac & cheese is $8 plus “all of the above” makes this $38 mac & cheese! When it came out our server said he never saw anyone order “all of the above” before either. We started to wonder if anyone had ever ordered it. The restaurant had only been open for a few months. Was it possible?

As for the taste, everyone who wanted to had a bite. I thought it was good. I think Paul thought it was really good, but not worth almost $40. Next time I think he’ll just pick a few fillings to add and cut the price in half.

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