Sweet Home Chicago

The Last Day of March

I received this via email from a friend, client and loyal reader of my blog.  I decided to share it with my readers...

Tonight, on my way home, the green sky did not become a tornado, and instead, I spotted a rainbow  and found that my house was centered under the arc, and the sun was at the perfect low angle which turns Chicago brick into gold, the whites of the birches blinding, and burned flash spots into my eyes reflecting off the rearview mirror. It's a nice image for the last day of March. I think I'll keep it.

I hope that all of you can find a rainbow over your homes in the coming months.

Thanks for reading.

nsk

The Great Chicago Pizza Tour

My son, like me, is a big fan of everything Chicago.  He is currently living in Michigan, as a student at Michican State University (MSU).  He is very happy at school there, though he does have one big complaint - it is the pizza in Michigan.  Nothing compares to Chicago-style deep dish pizza!

And so it began...after all the holidays were over, with one more week to go on his winter break from school, my son hosted the first (dare I say annual, or semi-annual?) Great Chicago Pizza Tour.  Five of his buddies from MSU converged at our house.  A couple of his local friends joined the tour too.  The first night we ordered in from our favorite local pizza parlor.  The students' (originating from Washington D.C., Cincinnati, Michigan, and China) eyes popped out of their heads when we opened the pizza boxes up - and then they happily dug in.

The next day they visited three different pizzerias in downtown Chicago in a 9 or 10 hour period.  In between "meals" my son had them trecking through the snow to take in some of the many sights (historical and architechtural) downtown.  Since he lived in the city during the prior school year, and he has studied a lot of Chicago history, he really knows his way around.  He can show you where parts of the recent Batman movied were filmed, and also point out all the cool buildings and parks and other key places of interest.  I think there was also some sight seeing from the car too - they went down Lake Shore Drive and up Sheridan Road.  He showed them a little bit of the east side of Highland Park and they also drove through Fort Sheridan.

Then, on the last day of the tour, they went to two more places out in the suburbs.  At the end of it all, there was no consensus on which place had the best pizza.  Each one was unique. However, they were all in agreement that Chicago pizza is the best!

Back at school, my son reported that the students who didn't come on the tour are now asking when the next tour will be...

I just love living here! Yes, even with the sub-zero weather we're having!

Thanks for reading.

nsk

Neighborhood Watch and Lake Forest's Finest

I was showing some houses in Lake Forest this week, and had a run-in with the law! 

We had appointments to see three houses on the same block in Lake Forest.  All of the houses were vacant, and with all the snow on the street and in the driveways, we decided that it would be easier to just park in the driveway of one house, and walk to the other two.

As we were leaving the third house, three police cars pulled up to the house, and officers jumped out of the cars to approach us as we were leaving.  We were quite surprised, and asked if we had accidentally tripped an alarm or something.  Then they told us that they received a call from a neighbor about two people forcibly breaking in and entering the house! 

As the 4th police vehicle pulled up to the scene, I was explaining to the very nice officers that I am a Realtor and that we had appointments to see these three houses.  As it turned out, the third house does not have a for sale sign in front of it, so the neighbor that called to report us probably didn't know that the house was for sale.  The officers said that the neighbor knew that the house was vacant and was concerned when she saw us there.

So, kudos to the Lake Forest neighbor that is watching out for the property on her block.  And, kudos to the Lake Forest police who responded promptly!  Thankfully the policemen quickly realized that most burglars don't carry a clipboard with them as they are leaving the scene of the crime...

We were able to clear things up very quickly - business cards, property information sheets, and driver's license all were helpful in proving our innocence.  The lock box on the front door was helpful too.

Some sellers don't like to have a "for sale" sign in front of their home.  This story shows us one reason why you should have one!

Thanks for reading!

nsk

Fall is Here

This is the time of year that the North Shore of Chicago is magically transformed into a glorious colorful display of Fall colors.  Each day brings exciting new changes as the trees and shrubs have their last blast before winter sets in.  Although it is only mid-October, the air has already taken on that crisp cool scent of fall.   We'll probably have some more warm days before the Chicago winter really sets in. 

I love driving around anywhere on the North Shore at this time of year. Every day there is something beautiful to see that wasn't there the day before.  I always have my camera handy in the car - usually to take photos of houses for my clients.  But now I am taking it out again and again to capture the Fall colors - I'll post some of my favorites over the next few days.

And, how about those Chicago Bears!  Someone put a Bear's logo or helmet on my PC desktop!  Bears fever is spreading, along with the Fall colors!

Thanks for reading!