little epiphanies

I was never a big fan of ‘food art.’  Then I discovered Nicole Gastonguay.  Now I want an entire mini-fridge full of adorable crocheted food and drink.

As a big fan of the instant gratification that comes from sticking some googly eyes and a smile (or a mustache, or angry eyebrows, or fangs) on an inanimate object, Gastonguay’s art won me over in about 0.05 seconds. 

Visit Gastonguay’s delightful website and Flickr page, Bnice2mice, to browse through dozens of photos of her crocheted creations. 

It’s not all food related.  There’s a chubby little squid that I like a lot, a frowning mousetrap, and an adorable Holy Bible.

There’s also a Polaroid camera and photo, a boombox, a couple of robots, and plenty of other fun surprises.

You’ll find it’s rather hard to choose a favorite.  I keep going back and forth.  Right now I think it’s the sardines.  But you take your time.  There’s a lot to see!    

Every spring, my friends and I wait and wait for the Chicago SummerDance schedule to come out.  When we finally get a brochure in our hands, it feels like summer has finally arrived.  We circle the many bands we’d like to see, scanning the schedule for old favorites and keywords like ‘motown’ and ‘funk.’  By the end of August, we’ve only managed to make it to the festival once or twice, but those one or two nights made for some of our favorite summer memories.

With SummerDance coming on its 15th year of free music and dancing in Grant Park, it seems like everybody now knows about what was once a great Chicago secret.  But does everybody know about WinterDance?  It’s real and it’s starting this weekend! 

Of course, WinterDance doesn’t have all of the perks of SummerDance.  Instead of happening nearly every night of the week for three months, it only takes place on Saturdays and Sundays in February.  You can’t have a picnic, not really, and not every night features a live band - some have DJs. 

Still, it would be pretty cool to go and dance on the stage of the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.  And since you’re not out in the summer heat, it should be a lot easier to find a dance partner that’s not dripping with sweat!