Entries Tagged as 'feedburner'

Birthday Barbecue

September 9th, 2012 · 4 Comments

For my birthday we had a barbecue. Everyone ate too much and drank too much and had a great time!


Richard pretending to photobomb Dallas, Killian and Ed.


Jill visiting with Liz while Dallas tried to get Fiona.


Raiden is just a few months younger than Fiona. They’re both so big compared to when I last saw each of them!


Feedburners reuinite! Chris, Paul, Lisa, Kate, Rachelle. Alden shouldn’t be so late or he misses out on photo ops like this!


Dallas grilled up a ton of kalbi. We thought we had way too much but people were fighting for the last rib! We also made about five pounds of slow cooked pork with Dallas’s famous blue cheese coleslaw.


Richard and Ed stealing ribs fresh off the grill!


Kate and Brett.


Dinner!


Dylan and Quinn making forts on the couch.


Could Fiona’s eyes be bluer? Just like her mom.


Chris and Lisa brought this Achatz Handmade Pie. Grant Achatz did not make this pie, but his cousin did.


This was the crumb-topped Michigan 4-berry pie, their signature pie. They use locally grown tart cherries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. It was so delicious. Chris said pie is a family tradition. He and Lisa also gifted me a pretty pair of earrings that I wore to work on Monday. They are so nice and thoughtful friends.


Ed (chef/owner of The Baked Escape) also brought some delicious desserts – white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake and caramel pumpkin pound cake!


And here is Ed making Rory cry.


Killian gave me Easy Feet! I don’t know if he’s implying I’m too old to bend over and wash properly or if I have super nasty toes! According to the infomercial, “it’s like a carwash for your feet!”


Me with Andy and Katie.


And Alden!


And Trent and Loden!


Trent was digging around in the cupboard for shot glasses and I busted out laughing when I saw he was using a votive for a shot glass!!! Gotta do what you gotta do!


Loden, Kelly, Brett, Rachelle.


Time for bed!!! (Thanks, Damian for the wine and this Askinosie chocolate bar!)

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Paul & Kate’s Wedding

November 1st, 2011 · 8 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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