Jamie Janosz

Happy Halloween! This weekend, at the last minute, my husband and I decided to visit the Willowbrook Ballroom. They were having a Halloween Swing Dance with full orchestra. I love the Willowbrook, in Willow Springs, Illinois, with its enormous wooden dance floor and hundreds of tables, so always a place to sit. It opened in 1921, and I think people have been dancing and dining there every since. At these events, they have swing dance lessons for the first hour, and then a band and dj for the rest. Such a lovely night... We enjoyed snapping a few pics of our favorite costumes. Milt was the Invisible Man (from the H.G. Wells novel and then the late 1930s film adaptation) and I was an old-timey Cigarette Girl (with candy sticks of course). The nice part of our costumes was that we were able to wear our vintage. I am wearing the first vintage dress that I ever bought - a red embroidered dress (that I shortened) from the 1940s. I also have 1940s dance shoes on and vintage rhi...

If you have never watched Gilmore Girls or Bunheads , television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, then this post is not for you. Actually, you must go directly to your television and watch an episode or two or three...you are missing out on one of life's treats. I adore both of these shows for their fast-talking, witty, wacky, and memorable characters - in fact, I love them so much that I sometimes dream of what it would be like to actually live in Stars Hollow or Paradise. Life is simpler there, more charming, less chaotic, friendlier...I could walk to work! It occurred to me that the reason I love Amy's depiction of small-town life is that she is portraying a beautiful image of "community." For most of us the word "community" has lost its charm. Some of our towns have "community centers" where they hold zumba classes or computer skills for seniors. We like to land on the "community chest" in Monopoloy, although it ...

Milt and I have been married for 20 years now, but all it takes is a weekend away - just the two of us - for us to remember why we love being together. This past Friday, we escaped to our favorite spot - Door County, WI - for a little r&r and uninterrupted conversations. No commuting to Chicago, no helping my daughter with Geometry homework that I can no longer remember how to do, no letting the dog out and in, no deciphering shopping lists from my mother-in-law... It was just the two of us - just the way it all started. I love the fall - and it is definitely fall in Wisconsin - pumpkins everywhere. I loved the opalescent pink pumpkins outside a little boutique. Plus, these little animal ones were adorable. Friday boasted crisp beautiful weather, so we roamed through the orchards and gift shops, snagged some fudge, and even took in a classic Wisconsin fish boil. Here, we did a little self-portrait as we watched the sunset. Ahhh...the romance is still alive ...

    Erik Larson's The Devil in thie White City , transports you back to a Chicago that I barely recognize. It is dirty, dangerous, unplanned, risky...He explores two stories, the construction of the turn-of-the-century World's Fair and the murderous spree of a man named Holmes.   For me, the story of the fair was fascinating - not so much for the serial killer aspect, but for its careful detailing of the challenge that building an amazing World's Fair presented to these early Chicagoans. It changed the way I walk down Michigan Ave. on my daily commute. Suddenly, I stop to notice each historical plaque - recognizing the names of the architects who havecome to life for me in the pages of this book.   I also learned some great trivia about Chicago. Did you know that:   The Ferris Wheel was invented specifically for the Chicago World's Fair by an architect named Ferris who was trying to beat the Paris Fair that presented the Eiffel Tow...

A former student asked me to give her the name of some helpful books on writing. "Practical or inspirational?" I asked. She wanted both. I agree. Most of us who love to write already understand the rudimentary skills of writing. We aren't looking for books on grammar (although refreshers don't hurt). We want to know how other writers actually do it. We want their secrets, the inside scoop. We want to know if we really need to write at the same hour a day, producing fifty pages of text each day. We want a reason to pick up a pen or sit down at our keyboard and produce text. Okay - here are a few that I have found particularly helpful, but also deliciously comforting (in no particular order)... 1) Bird by Bird - Anne Lammott I love this book by Anne because she makes me laugh - and she assures me that I am not alone. She understands the pain, the insecurity and the neuroses that come with being a writer. She also gives some sage advice. One of my f...