Strange Closets

Being figured out – sized up – is a mixed blessing. For example, the other night after ordering Indian food, the restaurant called back to ask if I’d forgotten to order the Sag Paneer extra spicy like I normally do. How considerate! Yet how annoying that I’m so predictable. That’s sort of how I felt [...]

My friend Jeanne believes travel is essential, that among its many benefits, visiting unfamiliar places helps her appreciate home all the more. But until recently, travel wasn’t one of my priorities. For years, my sales career required frequent travel to exotic locales like St. Louis and Minneapolis (in January!), but I’d create excuses to avoid [...]

Sometimes I pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming,” says Jesse Campbell about life as an interior designer at Johnathon, the Lakeview furniture showroom and design studio owned by former Top Design Season One contestant John Gray.  Accepting the position at Johnathon meant leaving Pittsburgh, where he’d earned a degree in interior design from [...]

Mod Life recently moved into new digs a bit further south on Lincoln Avenue, and I finally had the opportunity to visit a few weeks ago.  In addition to Eames and the usual suspects, owner Robert Zizzo carries a number of spectacular pieces by lesser known designers, which makes Mod Life a good choice when [...]

Today’s music accompaniment is The Fray’s Syndicate.  Simply play the You Tube video embedded in the sidebar located to your right.  No, your other right.  Not you. Antiek, that’s Dutch for antique.  Just typing those letters in that particular sequence gave me a funny feeling.  First things first, if this is your first time here, [...]

I’m running a bit behind today, so I apologize that you didn’t have a post to enjoy with your coffee (or were you relieved?). But I wanted to post another round of book recommendations courtesy of the fine folks at Unabridged Books, a Chicago institution for decades (holy cow!).  If you’ve already read one of [...]

If you find yourself in Chicago, you simply must visit Unabridged Books, a Lakeview institution since 1980 and my favorite bookstore.  Due in part to their friendly and dedicated staff (it’s the kind of place where the “new” guy has worked there two years), Unabridged has come to feel more like a second home than [...]