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Friday, June 29, 2012

Warning: I'm using my blog to brag about my husband's photo in Time Out Chicago

As previously stated on this blog, my husband Dave Ford recently did one of his Truck Drawing projects Chicago to Philadelphia and back! Click here to see photos.

During the two-week project, I dedicated lots of energy and focus to publicizing the heck out of the project and trying to get local media to cover it. Because the Truck Drawing would be featured at the 8th Annual Guerrilla Truck Show and was sponsored by Packer Schopf Gallery and Penske Truck Rental, I figured it would be easy to get some good press.

19 million Tweets and 45,000 Facebook posts later, I wasn't feeling the love and didn't hear from Chicago Magazine, Time Out Chicago, The Tribune, WBEZ, etc. And here I thought Chicago was madly in love with us...

But we did end up getting some good publicity from local design blogs and lots of support on social media and Flickr after the main event, so I was satisfied.

Exactly one week after the event, my husband Dave was looking through Time Out Chicago and found the photo above and a nice write up on page 5! How exciting is that? The photo is by Andrew Nawrocki (one of the best photos of the project, ever) and the write up is by Jake Malooley. Click here to read it.

It's been an amazing year for everyone in our family but especially for my husband, who's worked on several really amazing projects with some great people. I know I shouldn't use this blog to brag about my spouse's art career but I wanted you to hear it from me, as I had a hunch you'd be excited for him!

To see more of my husband's work visit www.fordart.wordpress.com.

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Thank you for reading my blog "Evanston Newbie", a project that I am using to chronicle my new life in Evanston. Do you have favorite Evanston bakeries, bike shops, events that you can recommend? Send me an email at thelisadshow@gmail.com and I will post my review on this blog. -Lisa Degliantoni

Monday, June 18, 2012

On the best Father's Day Ever and Edzo's Burgers of Evanston Opening up Shop in Chicago this Fall

This Father's Day was my husband's BEST father's day on record. He designed the entire day around meals (which is why I love him) and gave lots of wiggle room to the schedule so our stomachs could rest between meals. Most of the activities took place in Evanston (expect for the trip to Logan Hardware) and the day was excellent for those attending, ages 6-43 years old.

Father's Day 2012 Schedule of Events:

1. Breakfast on the back porch
Rest
2. Lunch at Edzo's
Rest
3. Logan Hardware
Rest
4. Hot Dogs at the Beach
Rest
5. NBA Play Offs

My favorite part of the day was going to Logan Hardware where if you patronize the gift shop, you get access to free old-school video games in the arcade the back. I replicated my high score from 6th grade on Millipede (46,000) and almost broke the two fingers I used for the firing mechanism given that I played the game for 35 minutes straight.

My husband and children's favorite part of the day was lunch at Edzo's where we all collectively ate our faces off (not because of some new type of LSD but because the food at Edzo's is insanely delicious). Hamburgers, truffle fries, corn dogs, pop and chocolate milkshakes were all in order and all served up to delicious perfection.

The owner Eddie Larken was working on Father's Day which surprised me but seeing how professional and friendly he is gave me the impression he loves to work and make people happy through burgers. Click here to learn more about Edzo's.

The burger was as good as everyone says and you should try it out if you haven't already. If you're a Chicagoan, you'll be happy to know Edzo's will open up shop this Fall at 2218 N Lincoln. Visit www.chicagoeater.com for the full story here.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Buy and Sell Books by the Pound at Market Fresh Books in Evanston

Evanstonians, I rely on you to tell me about all the fantastic places I need to seek out in this city and I'm very mad that NONE of you pointed out Market Fresh Books! Instead, I stumbled upon this gem all by myself after eating the BEST French meal of my life which I will blog about later.

At this tiny, cute, messy little bookstore, you can buy and sell used books, cds, magazines and more by the pound. How novel is that? (Pun intended.) The stack pictured above was purchased for about $25! Happy Birthday to me!

Store information below from the website:

Market Fresh Books 700 Church Street Evanston, IL http://site.marketfreshbooks.com/

Books are $4.99/lb.

We sell USED BOOKS at a price you'll love! Come and explore our store and be pleasantly surprised. Conveniently located downtown we are a short walk from Northwestern's campus, the el & metra trains and perhaps your favorite restaurant! Once inside you will be amazed by the collection.

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Thank you for reading my blog "Evanston Newbie", a project that I am using to chronicle my new life in Evanston. Do you have favorite Evanston bakeries, bike shops, events that you can recommend? Send me an email at thelisadshow@gmail.com and I will post my review on this blog. -Lisa Degliantoni

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Photos: My husband Dave Ford's Truck Drawing Project

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603158_10150898267028043_890447237_nDuffysDSC05205Dave Ford's Truck Drawing Chicago to PhiladelphiaGuerrilla Truck Show Street FashionWillis Tower from Fulton Street Market
This DJ Rocked the Guerrilla Truck Show!Guerrilla Truck Show Street FashionGuerrilla Truck Show Crowd Shots 2012Packer Schopf Gallery Truck at Guerrilla Truck ShowGuerrilla Truck Show Crowd PhotosGuerrilla Truck Show Crowd Photos
Guerrilla Truck Show Street FashionGuerrilla Truck Show Street FashionGuerrilla Truck Show Street FashionRide your bike to the Guerrilla Truck ShowFree hugs at the Guerrilla Truck ShowCrazy hot pink buck at Guerrilla Truck Show

There are more than 250 images from my husband Dave Ford's recent Truck Drawing project. And thank you to all the Evanstonians who came out and celebrated with us at the Guerrilla Truck Show! It was a wonderful evening and the crowd loved the work!

Visit www.fordart.wordpress.com for more information about this project.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Evanston Newbie Celebrates One Year Anniversary with a Truck Drawing!

As many of you know, this blog was created to track my family's move across the country (El Paso, TX, to Evanston, IL) and our first year in our new city, Evanston. The year is up as our official One Year Anniversary was June 10!

To say this move was a good one or has gone well is a massive understatement. So far the move has gone swimmingly - we love our children's new school, both my husband and I found work that is stimulating and pays well, the beach is two blocks from our house, Evanstonians rock as we've all made new friends...I'll stop there.

This past weekend we all celebrated the anniversary in our own special ways; My older son hosted his best friend from El Paso for a visit, my younger son had a play date at a new friend's house and made a backyard store, I had dinner at a new friend's house and my husband made a Truck Drawing from Chicago to Philadelphia.* (Gratuitous plug below.)

Thanks again for your readership and support of this blog. I'm still on the fence about what to do next as I'm really not a newbie anymore! I'll keep you posted and thank you for making our first anniversary such a happy one!

*Pictured above are the boys in the Penske Rental Truck before my husband hit the road. The Truck Drawing will be on display tonight at the 8th Annual Guerrilla Truck Show in Fulton Market in the Packer Schopf Gallery Truck. We'll all be wearing Penske tee shirts handing out flyers, so stop by and say "hello"! Visit www.fordart.wordpress.com to learn about the Truck Drawing project and my husband Dave Ford's work.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

On Shabbona Lake, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and managing your child’s idle time

I wanted one specific thing for my 40th birthday weekend (Memorial Day) and that was to spend it camping with my husband and children. We picked Shabbona Lake State Park a great little fishing lake 82 miles west of Chicago. Granted my older son said the camping “was so urban” with lots of trailers packed into the 100 campsites, the facilities were clean, beautifully nestled along the lake under a canopy of trees and the fishing was great.

We caught lots of bluegills, small-mouthed bass and one lake trout. And in addition to fish we saw all kinds of wildlife; geese, ducks, swans, toads, raccoons and one skunk.

My parents used to camp with a huge group of friends every Memorial Day at Camp Mather, about 45 miles south of San Francisco off Highway 1. I’m happy to carry on the camping tradition in my family as tent camping is such a fun way to survive for a few days. At least I think so!

After returning from camping, my birthday week continued with a lovely dinner for two at Bistro Bordeaux on Davis St. (review forthcoming), bubbly on the beach with my new friend Anne and a movie date to see Moonrise Kingdom with my other new friend Kindon.

Moonrise Kingdom is Wes Anderson’s (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, etc.) latest movie and you should go see it because Hollywood is full of cookie-cutter movies where no director dare show his/her personality and Anderson is in every second of this movie. And you should go see Moonrise Kingdom if you’ve ever; gone camping, been a boy scout, fallen in love, used binoculars, talked to a lawyer, chopped down a tree, etc.

As my birthday week came to a close, I reflected on all the wonderful ways I celebrated turning 40 and the major theme this birthday (as opposed to my 21st birthday) was my parenting style. Let me break it down for you.

Camping
The camping trip to Shabbona Lake was all about carrying on the tradition of car camping from my grandmother’s generation (who grew up camping my Mount Lassen in Northern California) to my generation. Car camping and fishing are things I want my children to be familiar with as part of their family heritage and also because it’s healthy to sleep outside.

Grown Up Activities
Date night with my husband and time for girlfriends is something I want my children to see me try at. I want my children to see that I work at loving their father and enjoy celebrating our love together at a fancy French restaurant. And evenings spent with my girlfriends is also important because I want my children to understand that my world is bigger than them, that I have friends like they do and that although we don’t have Nerf Gun Fights, we do like to go see movies and drink wine on the beach.

Idle Time
Like Anderson’s entourage of adventurous, curious and super cool 1965-style children, at 40, I want children just like them all. I want bold, strong, adventurous, smart, crafty, brave, self-reliant children. And how do you raise children like that? According to Anderson, you create idle time full of music and the outdoors. This year and possibly this decade, I’m going to become the parent Wes Anderson would be, should he have children. I’m going to create more environments where my children experience lots of idle time (no electronics) outside. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Our one-year anniversary moving to Evanston from El Paso is June 10 and when we were scanning options for the city where we would raise our boys during the middle and high school years, access to nature was a big focus. Evanston is bordered by tons of access to the lake where you can fish and kayak and is only 75 miles from the nearest campsite.

I’m thrilled that as I turned 40, so many experiences crystallized in a positive way; new friends, parenting style, my marriage, access to nature, etc. I’m excited about this decade and I’m super excited to be somebody’s mother, now that I’ve an idea of the type of children I want to help raise. Thanks Wes.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Graffiti I Love: A Breath of Fresh Air


I love this Evanston tagger's style!

If you see more of this work around town, take a quick picture on your cell or camera and email the image to me at thelisadshow@gmail.com. Thanks!

Click on links below for more images in the Graffiti I Love series

Graffiti I love: Stay as you are by the Guy Who Cares

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Thank you for reading my blog "Evanston Newbie", a project that I am using to chronicle my new life in Evanston. Do you have favorite Evanston bakeries, bike shops, events that you can recommend? Send me an email at thelisadshow@gmail.com and I will post my review on this blog. -Lisa Degliantoni

This Weekend: Dr. Seuss Live at Raymond Park

Up in the Tufts of a Truffula Tree: An Outdoor Dr. Seuss Spectacular!

Join us for this free family event to celebrate sunshine, nature, and community through some of Dr. Seuss's greatest stories, including Yertle the Turtle, The Sneetches, and The Lorax! An ensemble of Northwestern University students has been working all spring to bring these stories to life through original music, movement, and storytelling. Following the show, stay for some kid friendly activities including bubbles, planting seeds, and more!

The show promotes working together and being environmentally conscious. A group of kids get together and hear about the time when the Truffula trees existed, and that the Onceler may have the last seed. When the kids get to his house and ask for the last seed, he says no. In response, the kids tell him the “Yertle the Turtle” story (as a warning about power and treating people with respect).

In response to that, the Onceler tells the kids the “Lorax” story, and tells the kids that he has the last of the seed, which is the last hope for the trees, and says that he doesn't trust that the world is ready for a second chance. This is why he has to keep the seed, because he knows the destruction that people can cause.

The kids then tell the Onceler the story of the “Sneetches,” proving to the Onceler that people CAN change. The Onceler still isn't totally convinced that the kids are the ones who are ready to have the seed. The kids then begin to argue amongst themselves.

This continues on until one kid steps up and says that by arguing like that, they are proving the Onceler's point. “If we can't even take of each other, then we can't take care of the seed.” The kids realize their mistake and band together. The Onceler sees that the kids are ready and give them the seed. Together, the kids plant the truffula seed.

Presented by Spectrum Theatre Company in collaboration with Purple Crayon Players. June 1-3, 2012 at Raymond Park (On Chicago Ave between Grove St and Lake St in Evanston). All ages are welcome. Bring your own blankets, camping chairs, picnics, etc.

Show Times:
Friday, 5 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Saturday, Noon, 3 p.m. & 5 p.m.
Sunday, 3 p.m.