A Very Happy Birthday!

A warm, heartfelt Happy Birthday wish to my Grandmother, Mary Runyon, who turns 100 today. It is amazing to think that she lived through both World Wars. Mary was born into a Polish immigrant family in northern New York State in 1912. Shortly after, the family relocated to Detroit to seek work in the auto industry like so many others did during the period. Mary has long past filled with strong ties to family and friends. She rolled cigars in a local factory during the Great Depression and worked on the sales floor in the original Detroit Hudsons building. Most importantly, she is a loving mother and grandmother to our family.

Cheers to a wonderful birthday celebration filled with Pierogis and Chrusciki! We wish you many more years of Love and Happiness.

Brit Rock Invasion

The Ed Sullivan show offers a Box Set that highlights Rock & Roll Classics recorded during the 23 years when the show dominated late night television. During the PBS donation event last night, supporters were gifted this box set as a Thank You for contributing to the station. Classic highlights were played to peak consumer interest, including the infamous debut of The Beatles singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and other gems from the whole Brit Rock Invasion.

Two clips caught me off guard, in a good kind of way. The first is the Rolling Stones. I understand why girls were swooning over this performance, crying to get just a glimpse of Mick Jagger. He’s charismatic and delivers on stage. The video below showcases the Stones performing Satisfaction. My favorite part is at second 34 when Jagger shoots a look back to the band of “yeah, we’re actually here and we’re actually doing this” followed by a smirk back to the mic. Melt my heart.



The second clip is The Animals performing House of the Rising Sun. It might be the posh, trimmed suits or the dark, mysterious locks, but something about this performance is fascinating. Eric Burdon has such powerful, soulful notes but is such a young, innocent looking boy-man. Truth be told, if it were 1964 this LP wouldn’t leave my Crosley.

Fresh Flowers

It's hard to think about the warmer days ahead since we are finally experiencing winter but the first spring flowers appeared at the market this weekend. Tulips, daffodils and rhinoculous; the selection was small but the color options were absolutely stunning.

After trimming down the less than perfect parts, undoubtedly from the long journey, these perfectly pink rhinoculous are displayed in a vintage-style Pewabic step vase in our kitchen.

Pewabic is a familiar name for Detroiters. Founded in 1903, Pewabic Pottery is a national historic landmark located in the city. Pewabic vessels, tiles, and architectural ornamentation have been used in public and private installations across the United States (think Historic Buildings, Churches, Libraries). Modern murals still appropriately display the high attention to detail that is linked to the Pewabic name.

3x3" Pewabic tiles make very thoughtful hostess gifts (starting at about $15). Classic styles are always available and new designs are occasionally introduced for collectors at heart.

Decentralized Dance Party - Detroit

Do a search for "detroit" on Kickstarter.com, the world's largest platform for independent project funding, and you'll discover the pitch for the Decentralized Dance Party. Promoting themselves as "a portable, battery-powered Party System" this elaborate concept is the brainchild of Canadian residents, Tom and Gary.



So what exactly is the DDP?

According to the DDP Website, past events have consisted of hundreds of people, boomboxes, and FM transmitters. All boomboxes are tuned into the FM transmitter resulting in a mobile, synchronized system. Creating a new definition of a Pop Up - Party Shop, DDP has a goal to transform 13 citys on their 2012 tour. Keeping their mission in mind to "further the frontiers of Partying, bring joy to millions of people and ensure that Partying is respected, legitimized, and forever enshrined as a spiritual movement of paramount importance" the DPP has an entertaining, time-suck of a website filled with past promotional materials and legendary party footage.

If you're feeling generous and have your eye on the DDP party pack gift set, consider making a donation through kickstarter. If the funding fails, book a trip out to Seattle, NYC, Austin, or any of the many cities that have endorsed a DDP appearance this summer.

The Walkmen

400 lucky fans experienced The Walkmen at the Chicago Metro last weekend when they launched a two-show tour celebrating their 10th anniversary. We were spoiled with 3 hours of music hand selected from every album in the collection. Personal highlights include In The New Year and Lousiana, but we all left with a stronger attachment to one of the best bands of this modern age.

BRUNCH

A new Chicago breakfast spot treated me very well this weekend. Located at 644 N. Orleans (at Erie) BRUNCH offered a wide variety of fun options to feed the soul (and the hangover). Pictured below is a half devoured plate of Roasted Pork Eggs Benedict. The chipotle hollandaise lit up my taste buds and offered a fantastic start to the day.