Visiting the land of bourbon and really fast horses

Due to the NATO “chaos” this past weekend, a few buddies and I decided to get out of town and take a much needed road trip. We decided to hit up Louisville, Kentucky for a few nights and end the trip off by watching Game 4 of the Pacers vs. Heat game in Indianapolis.

Louisville surprised me a lot. I honestly had no expectations and it turned out to be a very beautiful and very welcoming city. The people were super nice and it had such a laid back culture. doesn’t hurt that everything centered around bourbon from their BBQ sauces to pies to even bourbon brewed beer. Driving through the countryside of Kentucky made me daydream of owning a farm and start breeding fast horses. One can only dream….

Here are some pics of the trip:

Took a distillery tour at Woodford Reserve- one of the smallest distilleries yet most profitable and reputable bourbons in the world.

We got a special treat as they were fermenting a special batch – a chocolate bourbon being ready to sell in 2016. Need to remember this…

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At a given time, Woodford Reserve holds bourbon barrels worth around $45 million dollars.

Went to the famous Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby happens. Bet on some horses and watched the determined I’ll Have Another win the Preakness in Baltimore as they showed the race on the big screens.

Visited the Louisville Slugger museum to see how the famous bats are made.

Game 4 Pacers vs Heat. Sadly they lost and eventually lost the series.

Ended our trip by going to Skyline Chili. Spaghetti, beans, chili and loads of American shredded cheeses. Not a great idea for my stomach.

Overall a great trip to start the summer! Until the next adventure….

-Kris

Picking up a new Midwest hobby…

Since moving into our new apt, I have been doing a lot of experimental BBQing on the Weber in the back deck. The past tenant left the Weber grill and we have been taking full advantage of it – rain or shine.

I have gotten good at smoking some meat from ribs to pork shoulder to chicken. The key is indirect heat and lots of patience and beer!

Here are some pics:

Pork shoulder. Smoked with water pans.

Beer can chicken. Smoked.

I guess I have turned “Midwest” but it’s a hobby that I am happy I have adopted.

-Kris

Modern Day Reading

I decided to buy a Kindle. I need to read more and I figured that I tend to read a lot when I look at a digital type of screen. I read a lot on my computer. So I figured I would try this Kindle out and it’s been amazing even for only 2 days.

I have downloaded all the Harry Potters and the Game of Thrones book. I have already finished the first Harry Potter and making a dent in the first book of the Game of Thrones series.

Totally going to be nerding it out and I am really happy with this purchase!

“Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it!”

-Kris

A Modern Take on Traditional Music

After going to a few concerts at the tail end of last year, Kelly and I have been making a better effort to watch more live music shows. Last night we happened to a bluegrass/folk music extravaganza  that blew our minds. The 2 opening acts – Bhi Bhiman and Po’ Girl – set the perfect stage for the Carolina Chocolate Drops to take it home. I highly recommend checking these three artists out.

Bhi Bhiman - http://www.bhibhiman.com/

Po’ Girl - http://www.pogirl.net/index_brick.php

Carolina Chocolate Drop - http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com/

Carolina Chocolate Drops stole the show. I was just amazed at the pure sound/voice of every artist, the various instruments they used (they played with bones and even a jug) and the energy they brought to the show (they def. got everyone in the venue to dance). 

During the show, Kelly mentioned about all the good “underground” bands they we could be missing out on since we are not “in the know/scene” So its good that we do have some friends who know all of these indie type bands and we’ll watch all these amazing bands!

What a great night!

-Kris

We’re baaaaaack!

I know it’s been way too long since our last post and I know we’ve been missed in the blog world. Instead of writing a recap – we’ll do it through our picture collage and recap of what has transpired until the end of 2011.

1.) Wedding Season: We were invited to the beautiful wedding of Kate and Paul up in Burlington, Vermont. It was such a wonderful ceremony in a gorgeous location. We had such a great time and celebrated with great people! Burlington is beautiful in the Fall and would love to go back soon!

2.) Annual Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze Extravaganza: We took a mini day trip with our friends Kate and Paul to Kuipers Family Farm for a fun day of corn mazing and eating delicious apple donuts!

3.) Chicago Bears!: Went to my first Bears game with some friends to celebrate Matt’s Chicago style Bachelor Party. It was a day filled with tailgating starting at 9am, BBQing and drinking and watching the Bears beat the Panthers. What a fun time!

4.) 2nd Annual Pubathalon 2011: Our friend Greg started an annual event called a Pubathalon mixing his love for running with drinking. We were given a map of bar checkpoints where we could either run or leisurely walk to each, with a goal of grabbing a drink at each bar. Safe to say, most were walking by the end of the race! What a great idea and we also had official race bibs. Here’s a group picture of the participants. Looking forward to this event in 2012.

5.) Architecture Tour Open House: For the very first time, the Architecture Tour had a weekend event where most places closed to the public were open exclusively for the event. We went into such places as the Chicago Tribune building to the actual stage of the Jay Pritzker pavilion in Millenium Picture. This is a pic of Kelly on the podium where Rahm Emanuel leads in the Council Chambers in City Hall. Look at Kelly’s stern leader look – im scared!

6.) Since moving into our new place in Wicker Park, I have taken to a new hobby: BBQing. The old tenant left a Weber Charcoal grill on our back porch so I have been smoking meats and doing quite a bit of BBQing. When in the Midwest…. I guess?! Safe to say, Kelly and I have been eating well these days

7.) St Louis: We took a mini roadtrip to St. Louis – why not? I have always wanted to see the famous Arch – “the Gateway to the West” Some highlights: played like kids in a adult like jungle gym at the City Museum, had an awesome “farm to table” dinner at Salt, had great BBQ at Pappy’s Smokehouse and also went on the Budweiser tour.

8.) New Jersey/New York Thanksgiving: Decided to go to New Jersey and New York to visit family for Thanksgiving. This is a pic of Kelly and my little cousin Preston. It was great for Kelly to meet my extended family, especially my Grandma. We had lots of food and had a great time.

9.) New Jersey/New York Thanksgiving: Not only did we meet up with my family but Kelly’s parents and her cousin Ashley (in the pic) came down to the City and we walked around exploring Manhattan.  We had such a great time with her fam as well!

10.) Jay-Z and Kanye’s Watch the Throne Tour (WTT): I have always wanted to see Jay-Z live and we decided to buy tickets to the WTT concert. We had such a great time and it was awesome that both Jay-Z and Kanye played their old school hits.

11.) Bon Iver concert: Within a week after partying to Jay-Z and Kanye, we had our minds exploded by Bon Iver. What an amazing show!

12.) Christmas Train: Every year for a few days, Santa and his reindeer board the various El lines in Chicago. We were able to catch the Santa train on our Blue Line stop. Such a great treat for all the kiddos leading up to Christmas!

13.) Annual trip to Madison: It was a month early this year since our friends Matt and Sarah were moving away from Chicago. This was also the first year that Kelly and I partook in the skiing part of the trip. And it was Kelly’s first time on the slopes and she did soooo well! I think the skiing bug has been planted in her since now she loves to ski! After skiing, we had dinner in Madison, met up with Kelly’s cousin Taylor and ended the night by singing our hearts out in karaoke!

This concludes some of the many happenings we did towards the end of the year. More to come in the next post starting 2012 right

-Kris

Victory in Chi-town

Yes, we haven’t blogged for the majority of the summer.  Well, it was busy and it was sunny and warm and as Greta reminded us this weekend, “You didn’t have time to blog about life because you were busy living it.”  So wise. 

However, Gretabear (aka Kelly’s mom, author of the blog “I Think Victory, I Get Victory”) was in Chicago this weekend, and that deserves a post. 

She loved the zoo, she cooked us Chicken Divan, we tried a few new restaurants, we walked the lakefront, and chatted.  It was lovely.  We miss you, Greta!  Come back and visit soon!

Chi-Town Hoop Dreams

With the summer nights in Chicago absolutely gorgeous as of late, I bought a basketball so we can shoot hoops at our local park. The other night Kelly wanted to pursue her long lost hoop dreams and show off her court skills by challenging me to a couple of games of HORSE and 1-on-1. It was a valiant effort on her part but she ended up on the losing end. I ended up teaching her a few moves so it can be a bit more competitive the next go round. Big ups to summertime hoops.