It Was Bound to Happen

Tonight we had dinner with friends downtown.  Having driven directly from work, I pulled up on one of the many busy streets of Chicago, did my little pay for parking sticker thing and was on my merry way.  Until, of course, we returned to the car about 2 hours later and saw this.

Ah, yes.  Our first official "Welcome to the City now give us money" letter from the Mayor.  As someone who is quite proud of her sign-reading ability, I'm ashamed to admit that apparently in my rush to park, I had missed the sign (above the pay for parking sign) that told me I couldn't park on the street from 4pm-6pm.

DANG IT!!!!!!

Looking over the ticket, things didn't look good.    $60 price tag.  (Also, sidenote, I noticed that the states of license plates printed on the ticket are "other," which you write in, OR Illinois- duh, Iowa- nearby, Michigan- even closer, Indiana- practically the same place, Ohio- midwest, Wisconsin- cheese is a Chicago favorite, and....TEXAS???   Of all the 44 other states to choose from, you print TEXAS???  What does this say about Texas drivers?  Geez!)  

But then I looked a little bit closer.

Look at that blessed, blessed "other" box.

Do you see it?  Can you make out those letters?  C...A.  CA.  California.  I DO NOT HAVE CALIFORNIA TAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (There's no way to mistake that for a D and a C is there?  I mean I'm not going crazy, am I?  Unless the guy was dyslexic?  I know, I don't think so either.)

So as far as I'm concerned- and I am concerned- we're off the hook.  Sure, a tiny, itsy bitsy bit of my conscience thinks, "Well, I should probably still pay the ticket."  Granted, the other 99% is saying "HELL NO" much louder.  I mean, if we don't get a ticket in the mail, we can just chalk it up to "ticketing error" right?  I mean does the city of Chicago REALLY need our $60?  I'm pretty sure the producers of "Transformers III" are contributing enough to cover my little piece...

Our Newest Challenge

We can't claim the name Hyde Park HEROES if we don't awesomely take on challenges, right? RIGHT! So our newest self-inflicted challenge? Living on a budget.

I know, I've written about budgets before. Multiple times, actually. But now we're taking it to a whole new level. Not just "track what you spend" but "take out only a certain amount of cash every 2 weeks and only use that." And yes, there's this stuff called "cash" and "coins" that are not made out of plastic, are considered legal tender and have pictures of dead white guys on them. It's the wave of the future, I tell ya! Who comes up with this stuff?!

So the plan now is to see how well we can do with this set amount of cash. It means actually thinking before plopping down a couple hundred for new clothes (actually, I can't remember the last time I did that) or having multiple dinners out. And we're not doing this because we're dangerously in debt or because we think credit cards are completely evil- though they're most definitely NOT your friends. We're doing it because, as I've said before, we believe that how we spend our money matters. Consciously choosing to take only a certain amount out and using only that means thinking more seriously about where it's going. It means building in, even if just for another second or two, a pause and a reflection. "Is this what I want to spend my money on? How does it reflect what I support and believe?"

It's most certainly not going to be easy. It's not a lot of money. And I do quite enjoy spending money on non-necessities (this is not to say we are cutting all non-necessities, but we will be spending less on them). It's a challenge that we believe will make us live more responsibly and will make us better stewards of what's entrusted to us. Let's see what happens.

Not for the Faint of Heart

Or stomach, for that matter.

At the corner of Elizabeth and Lake Streets in the West Loop, you'll find Peoria Packing, my newest love. We originally found it back in February when we were showing a friend around the city. And after that one trip...I was hooked.

If you know anything about Chicago- or Upton Sinclair- you know of the city's (in)famous love of, well, meat (and casseroles. It is the midwest, after all). Lake Street is Exhibit A. Meat packing store after meat packing store, which really means giant walk-in refrigerators with literally EVERY PART OF THE ANIMAL that you can imagine. Need a pig head? It's here (you can thank me for not posting that picture). How about an ox tail? Yep. And the most ridiculously large rack of ribs? It's here, too.

And here's the best part. The meat is CHEAP. For instance, I got a huge pot roast, 3 full chicken breasts (which is equal to six separate chicken breasts-that I broke down myself, thank you very much) four thick-cut pork chops and a bunch of ground beef, all for $32. THIRTY TWO DOLLARS. Now, I'm thinkin' this meat ain't organic (which I really would prefer if, say, we had more disposable income) but for what you get, it can't be beat.

So I spent my Saturday afternoon doing a little meat packing of myself, breaking down my chickens, packing and freezing the meat and then making half of the huge pot roast, just as so many midwesterners have done before me. Now I just need to find a good ground beef casserole recipe...

An Open Letter to Target

Dear Target,

Let me say this up front. I love you. (This is not to say that I don't have a problem with some of the things you do, but...well...I'm working through it.)

Now let's be honest. If I'm looking for quality, or something that will last me more than, say, a year- give or take a few months- I'll turn to my other loves (Banana Republic, Nordstrom's, local boutiques) to get the job done. And if I want jewelry that I will literally wear forever, I'll probably try and convince M to buy me something from Tiffany's again. And if I need a staple pair of shoes that I'll wear at least 4 times a week, Kate Spade is my girl (ok, so this has only happened once, if you don't count the adorable KS wallet my sister got me for Christmas. But still, a girl can dream, right?)

But I love you. I love that I bought the wreath on our door (the one that's been hanging there since September) from you for $19. I love that I can buy three new pairs of pants (because my other ones don't fit and I don't want to invest in really nice pants until I'm at my goal weight) on our current budget and not hyperventilate. I love that toilet paper is so cheap, but I don't have to buy 14,589 rolls like I would at Costco (I've got bigger issues with Costco anyways). I love that you make cute lingerie for lingerie showers, and cute baby things for baby showers and cute birthday cards for birthday parties...and everything in between.

But.

Seriously?

Your entire shoe section yesterday was sandals. Flip flops. Open-toed heels.

Really?

You realize that I live in Chicago now, right? CHICAGO. Where it hasn't been above 35 in about two months. CHICAGO. Where it's odd if there's not at least some snow on the ground from November through March. CHICAGO. Where it won't be time for sandals until, well, probably June. All I wanted was a cute pair of boots (since I left my last ones in a hotel in Atlanta). In February. When people are still wearing boots. And will be for another two months. Is that too much to ask? I know, I know, you roll stuff out in your stores nationwide. But last time I looked it ain't real balmy around most of the country right now. I'm just sayin'.

Don't get me wrong. I'll continue to love you. I'll continue to buy cute clothes from you (oooh, and maybe bathing suits in a few months!) and I'll still buy your toilet paper and laundry detergent and makeup brushes. And I'll still turn to you for cheap wrapping paper, cute cards and other gifts. But. You let a girl down, Target. And I think you deserve to know.

And since I know you're probably feeling horrible about all this, I can send you my address for some "we're sorry" gift cards. It's the least you can do, right? I couldn't agree more.

Love,

Hyde Park Heroes

Date Night

For a while now (it all blurs together these days, but it started back when we were dating) M and I have set aside Friday night as date night. Sometimes it's with friends, sometimes it's low key and sometimes it's a quick jaunt to Europe. I'm kidding.

Since this Friday night's "date" was watching the Gators slaughter Cincinnati, we went out on Wednesday instead. And THIS was our date.

Yeah, it is what you think it is. But before you call PETA or stop reading or throw up or do whatever it is you do when you see a dead duck, give me a second.

Calm now? Great.

We ventured up to the Northside of the city to try out a place called Sun Wah barbeque that we had read about. It's a traditional Chinese-style place, well known for its meats and cheap prices. And let me just say... while I do NOT especially like duck, this place was AMAZING. AMAZING. The meat is incredible and you don't feel like you're filling yourself with white rice all night (since I'm no longer eating white rice, I'm happy for that fact.) They serve you tea when you sit down (don't you wish every restaurant was so nice?) and the prices? Well let's just say that we ate like four different animals and didn't even pay $30. Sun Wah is a bright spot (ha ha, sun...get it?!) on a strip of less-impressive Thai and Chinese restaurants. Go.

But since we didn't BYOB to Sun Wah, we wanted to end the night with a nightcap. After the first place we tried turned out to be pretentious and crowded, we finally made it down to our local watering hole, Woodlawn Tap.

It's not very impressive from the outside (especially since you can't even really tell it's there...Starbucks is a little overwhelming) but man, it is everything GOOD that a bar can be. Originally opened in 1948, the bar claims that it serves people from Nobel Laureates to the local pipe layer. In fact, when we walked in, we were impressed by the fact that, while practically on the campus of the University of Chicago, the mix of people there was amazing: white and black, blue collar, white collar, old, young. It just feels like a good bar should feel. (Not to knock you DC- or downtown Chicago- but bars full of Hill staffers and lobbying assistants can't hold a candle to Woodlawn Tap). They still take cash only, they use the original cash register (you can kind of see one on the left side of the picture) and they serve hamburgers, fries and hot dogs for practically quarters. We didn't try them, but they looked good.

And the best part?

They can mix girly drinks, too! I know it's a bit sacrilegious (yes, that's spelled right, because I checked) to go to a place like this and order a Cosmo, but I just can't bring myself to drink beer. It tastes like pee. And I like to enjoy my drink, thank you.

Bottoms up, boys!! and...uh....Nobel Peace prize winners....

It's Practically Summer

Have I told y'all about Hyde Park Produce? Oh, right, yes. Just every other post. But in case you don't remember, it's one of the best produce stores ever!! EVER!! As long as you don't buy the expensive organic other stuff (who needs organic flaxseed boxed macaroni and cheese? Apparently lots of people in Hyde Park). For that we go to the hell hole that is Village Foods. But I digress.

Last week I went into HPP to get a few vegetables for the week. (By the way, I have successfully fed M and myself on broccoli, canned tomatoes, rice, zucchini, squash, a frozen chicken breast and peppers pretty much this whole week.) Anyway. When I walked in on Wednesday, my heart stopped for a second.

Wait.

Is that?

A PINT OF STRAWBERRIES FOR $1.99!!!!!!!

YESSSSS!

Not only were they cheaper than I have EVER seen them, they also tasted so amazingly great. Sure, there was something deep, deep down inside of me that thought, "Hmm. I don't think these are in season and I'm supposed to care about that" but that thought was quickly replaced with, "Mmmmmm."

Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Now I'll watch the snow fall as I munch on my summer treats.

We've Arrived

As of 2 pm on Monday, August 31st, we officially became Hyde Park Heroes.

The trip was incredibly smooth and easy (minus a little mishap in which the rental truck keys were locked in the rental truck as it was running. Thankfully my aunt has AAA!), and we only got lost once. Unfortunately for us, it was in Gary, Indiana. Not the brightest spot in the area.

I'll write more later, including a fun game of "Guess the State" from a selection of pictures taken on the journey. But for now I'll leave you with this: we love our new apartment, we love our new little neighborhood, and Mason almost sort of loves math camp. No, seriously. And avocados at the local produce store cost 69 cents each. YES I SAID 69 CENTS. And a red pepper? Oh, it's only $1.50 a POUND. A POUND!!!! That's practically free.

Stay tuned. More to come later today or tomorrow.