THANKFUL FOR...

Happy belated Thanksgiving wishes! What a year. I feel like every year I have more and more to be thankful for because as I get older, I am more aware of all the people and things that contribute to a life I am so grateful to have, and my life becomes more rich every day. Thank you for reading my blog and adding to that richness. The support is always appreciated.

This year I went back to my parents' for the first time in like 10 years. They live in Mt. Prospect, IL, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Ah yes...I am a product of suburbia. I learned at an early age that I wanted to leave that as soon as I could, but I digress. It was an absolutely perfect visit of quality family time paired with great eats. The feast was a satisfying mix of Korean and traditional Thanksgiving fare. Delicious! During the visit, my family and I spent the next day at the Evanston Art Center and the Art Institute of Chicago which underwent a major renovation. The museum is now even better than the already exquisite museum it had always been. We finished the evening at four star restaurant, Spiaggia (meaning sea in Italian). I know. Very fancy. We were celebrating my dad's birthday and if you can't splurge for a birthday, then when can you, eh? Here are some highlights of the outing.

BOOKSTONES

These were at The Evanston Art Center and were made by artist, Pamela Paulsrud. These stones are carved out of old books. I just loved the way the text in the pages create the texture of the rock. I also enjoy that you can still flip through the stone like a book.

DETAIL OF PAINTING BY LARI PITTMAN

Although I'm not the biggest fan of Pittman's work. I really enjoyed this part of the painting.

HINOKI by CHARLES RAY

I was, of course, very attracted to this piece. It was inspired by a fallen redwood found in California. The redwood was then shipped to Japan where master sculptors copied the redwood out of Japanese Cypress.

BIRD by ANDREW ZUCKERMAN

My parents bought me this book and I am so awed and inspired by it. It is a catalogue of photos featuring birds. I don't know how he does it, but I have never seen birds captured in the way he captures them. They are hyper-realistic. I just love love love it. He has another book called Creature and it is definitely going on my book wish list.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday!