It has been a very busy few weeks for us, resulting in the slight neglect of our blog. Big things were happening in our world: Elizabeth starting a new job, Michel starting his semester and a new job, the Olympics. Yes, I'll be honest, most of our radio silence for the past few weeks was due to the Olympics. We watched pretty much every minute we could, and I, at least, discovered a new love of ski- and snowboard-cross.
If you were reading carefully, you might have noticed something about a job or two in the above paragraph. Well, I am pleased to announce that after a long and, at times, frustrating search, I have a full-time job! I actually had two job offers(!), and I accepted a position teaching Business Communications at Year Up, a national non-profit whose goal is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the education, skills, and internship experience needed for them to start a professional career and/or earn a degree through higher education. My course will cover English and grammar, public speaking, communication techniques, and career readiness skills like how to write a resume and cover letter, network, and interview, giving the students 6 of the 18 hours of college credit hours that they can earn by the time they graduate from our program. It's a completely different teaching environment for me, but everyone has been very nice and welcoming, and the students that I have met so far in our registration sessions this past week are impressively positive, thoughtful, and determined to make a better life for themselves. I'm excited to see how it all goes! Additionally, Michel has started a part-time job at the Chicago Symphony in their ticketing office. He's enjoying the people he works with, and it allows him plenty of flexibility to work with his class schedule and homework load. Good things have finally come together during our Chicago adventure!
So obviously, in addition to the Olympics, we've been busy settling in at our new jobs. It's a pretty good reason to be away from the blog, I think!
However, we did take a little time last weekend to have a date day and explore a few new things in Chicago. Our day started with a trip to the Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the largest conservatories in the country. Located on the West Side of Chicago, it was designed by Jens Jensen and built between 1906 and 1907. A June 2011 hailstorm caused tremendous damage to the original glass roof of the Conservatory, and since then the Conservatory has been undergoing a campaign to repair the roof and replace the glass with stronger yet greenhouse appropriate material. When we were there, all but two areas of the conservatory had had their glass replaced and repaired. The restoration of the Fern House and the Show House is expected to be completed by next year. We went on a gorgeous day when the temperature was in the high 30's and low 40's, but that didn't make us appreciate the warm temperatures and respite from the cold the Conservatory provides any less!
The Conservatory stop on the Green Line is totally charming and Victorian,
like something out of Main Street USA at Disney World
The outside of the Conservatory
The Palm House, just inside the entrance
(The pyramid houses the Fern House, which suffered some of the worst hail damage.)
This sign refers to the palm in the picture above it. It is, indeed, huge!!
I really like taking close-up pictures of things. Like a lot.
The Horticultural Hall
Right now the Horticultural Hall is filled with azaleas...a nice reminder of Houston!
The centerpiece of the hall is this gorgeous fountain, described in the sign above.
The grapefruit smelled delicious!
Sugar from the Sun
This room was all about the five senses.
Cacao pod! This, kids, is where chocolate comes from.
We never found the sign for this one, but we thought it was cool.
Lady Slipper Orchid
There was also a great Children's Garden between the Sugar from the Sun room and the Desert House. It was well-organized and highly interactive, and the kids who were playing in the garden seemed to be having a great time.
The Desert House
I especially like taking close-ups of succulents because of their interesting geometric and architectural features.
This was the tallest cactus in the room.
The Aroid House
Aroid is a family of plants, usually flowering, to which most houseplants belong.
The yellow water lilies are actually glass art by Dale Chihuly,
an artist who specializes in freeblown glass sculpture in public installations.
Scaffolding for the roof repairs in the Show House, seen through the windows of the Aroid House.
It was a great start to the day! We are looking forward to our next visit when the weather is nicer so we can explore the outdoor gardens and hopefully the Show House, which is scheduled to re-open in time for Mother's Day.
At that point it was about 2:00 p.m., and we were hungry. We decided to try DMK Burger Bar for lunch, a place that we had wanted to try for a while. It was a fantastic decision. Though it takes a different approach than Bad Apple, its burgers were similarly inventive and mind-blowingly delicious. The atmosphere was much hipper than Bad Apple, and even close to 3:00 (it took a while to get there), the place was packed. We ended up eating at the bar, which offers full food service. It specializes in grass-fed beef and lamb, but also has portabello, turkey, and veggie burgers available either as they appear on the menu or for substitution onto any of their beef or lamb burgers. I believe there is even a bison burger on the menu. Along with their burgers, they are known for their mac n' cheese and milkshakes, though we didn't try either of those.
(See the seafood place next door? That's where we're going for our anniversary in a week and a half!)
I ordered the veggie burger. First, it is an actual veggie burger, not a bean burger. I love a good bean burger, but there is something so disappointing when you order a veggie burger and get a bean burger. This was not the case. It was an honest-to-God veggie burger with big chunks of flavorful carrots, eggplant, and other veggies, held together by nutty grains and crispy Panko crumbs, and topped with tomato, melted aged cheddar, and just the right touch of pesto mayo. (No mayonnaise fairy here, Pearson family.) It was such a hearty, filling, and wonderfully delicious veggie burger experience that even Michel, an avowed beef burger lover, was impressed.
Michel was similarly happy with his burger, which was pretty tasty as well.
Michel: I had the roasted hatch green chile burger with a fried egg, Sonoma jack cheese, and bacon. With the hatch chiles, it tasted like Central Market in August when they have the hatch chile festival. I am now torn as to which is my favorite burger place here: DMK or Bad Apple.
We also got the fries with a selection of sauces: parmesan truffle cream sauce, Wisconsin cheddar and scallion sauce, and the house-made ketchup. I was expecting to like the truffle cream the best, but I actually loved the ketchup. It was smoky sweet with a touch of spiciness, perfect for their thick-cut fries. Michel loved all three (I really liked all of them, too), but we definitely ate more of the ketchup.
It was a really fun day, and we were so excited to take advantage of the nice weather to explore a little bit more of Chicago. And if you are a burger fan, we have yet another excellent burger place to take you to if you decide to visit!
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