What's IN/OUT this week

Call me Agent Cooper, because I’ve had pie and coffee every morning for breakfast this week.

IN: My dog is a star. I am thrilled to announce that Dottie has been immortalized by one of my favorite screenprint artists in the city, by way of his annual Treasury of Shitting Dogs Calendar. Ryan Duggan put out a call for photos of dogs pooping last month and it just so happens that I have, in fact, taken quite a few snapshots of Dottie relieving herself. It all started a year or so ago when my family would ask if I’d gotten any snow. I’d send them photos of the snow progression by way of Dottie pooping, obviously so they could have a reference point for scale. Preorder the calendar!! OUT: The Northern Lights happening at night. I understand this is sort of how it works, but I had zero interest in walking over to the lake after the sun went down to check it out. You all took really nice photos, though. I hope someone captured a silhouette of a dog pooping in front of the lights.

IN: Drinks, then dinner. There is a very good reason that this is a classic move. Getting a little buzz on before you sit down for dinner? This is the freedom that our grandfathers fought WARS for. Dave and I hit Bisous on Monday night before our reservation at Creepies. Bisous has an unreal freezer martini (Dave got a Manhattan), and it put us on a solid path for our first visit to Creepies. Why can’t that restaurant be in my neighborhood?? The service and food were so good that I actually emailed them the next day to say as much. I’ve never sent a thank-you note to a restaurant before, but I hope they read it aloud before service or something. I wanted to be friends with the entire staff! OUT: Snow-appropriate shoes. We had a decent amount of snowfall on Sunday night/Monday morning that really cramped my intended style for the evening. I had to clomp through the West Loop in boots instead of the kitten heels I had planned. Such is November in Chicago. I’ve had birthdays where I’ve biked to the lake, and birthdays where I’ve had to dodge wet, sloppy leaves.

IN: Blocking out 10 minutes for a little seratone farming. This video made its way into my Instagram feed and… has a man ever been so correct? OUT: Again, that goddamn snow. It looked beautiful, the dog loved it, but it really slowed my roll for a couple of days. All it took was one slip & fall on my tailbone years ago and I am deathly afraid of icy sidewalks in the way that people fear spiders or financial planning (also me).

IN: A crossword puzzle book. My friend Marko gifted me a sweet little book of crosswords for my birthday (seriously, I got some very thoughtful and awesome gifts which I was NOT expecting. One made me cry!). As I’ve probably mentioned too many times, I love my New York Times games app, but it feels so good to have my gentle brain stimulation time happen without staring into a phone. OUT: Tracking. The other problem with doing puzzles on an app is that I can track my winning streak, and I become obsessed. I can also get wrapped up in seeing how many steps I’ve taken, and how much screen time I have per week. But show me how this matters! I’m all stressed about skipping one day of Wordle, yet Congress wasn’t in session for 54 days. 

Tell me what you hated this week!