Most recently, I heard it from my newly single friend Debbie, 29, who came back to visit her hometown of Chicago while she mends her broken heart. "There are plenty of needles in the haystack," I told her over poached eggs Saturday at Silver Cloud, where we were brunching with several friends. "You'll find him when you're not looking." Trite? Sure. But I firmly believe you meet people in unlikely settings at unlikely times...

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Most recently, I heard it from my newly single friend Debbie, 29, who came back to visit her hometown of Chicago while she mends her broken heart. "There are plenty of needles in the haystack," I told her over poached eggs Saturday at Silver Cloud, where we were brunching with several friends. "You'll find him when you're not looking." Trite? Sure. But I firmly believe you meet people in unlikely settings at unlikely times...

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Most recently, I heard it from my newly single friend Debbie, 29, who came back to visit her hometown of Chicago while she mends her broken heart. "There are plenty of needles in the haystack," I told her over poached eggs Saturday at Silver Cloud, where we were brunching with several friends. "You'll find him when you're not looking." Trite? Sure. But I firmly believe you meet people in unlikely settings at unlikely times...

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"There are no good men in Chicago." Common sense aside, it's a phrase I’ve heard almost every one of my single girlfriends say. Heck, I said it a few dozen times myself before I re-met the guy I'm currently seeing, four years after our first blind date (more on that later).

Most recently, I heard it from my newly single friend Debbie, 29, who came back to visit her hometown of Chicago while she mends her broken heart. "There are plenty of needles in the haystack," I told her over poached eggs Saturday at Silver Cloud, where we were brunching with several friends. "You'll find him when you're not looking." Trite? Sure. But I firmly believe you meet people in unlikely settings at unlikely times...

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The price of owning a car is skyrocketing, taking a significant chunk out of the family budget. And with gas prices on the rise, there seems to be no brake in sight. Read more
Curtained-off cabanas are ubiquitous in South Beach; now Chicago is jumping on the bandwagon. The latest place banking on semiprivacy is NV Penthouse Lounge (116 W. Hubbard St.), whose owners were aiming for an August opening at press time. Read more
It was a weekend of high culture: a lovely wedding in Grant Park (not mine) and a fabulous CSO performance in Millennium Park that featured Savion Glover tapping the Duke Ellington suite, River. It was also a weekend of rock culture: the ever-so-awesome Hideout Block Party. My only gripe: The sound for Brit band Bloc Party (who played the Block Party) was pretty weak; having seen them a few months ago at the Congress, I can attest what a strong live band they are. That didn't so much come across, but, heck, it was still great.

Now I'm off to Europe for a three-week sejour in Italy and France. Check back for... Read more

Everyone knows by now that we want a boy. Sarah recently gave one of her teachers a task that the teacher wasn’t interested in doing. The teacher grumbled, “I hope your baby is a girl.”

Sarah sighed. “I’ve already come to terms with it being a girl.”

“OK, then I hope it’s twins.”

When Sarah relayed this story to me, I didn’t understand the punchline. “What’s wrong with twins? And don’t we already know it’s just one baby?”...

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Football season has arrived. I’m not going to pretend to care much about college games—after all, I went to KU, and football isn’t exactly our thing. I will root, however, for my friends’ and family’s alma maters, including the Fighting Illini, the Buckeyes, and the Badgers. And I’ll be cheering on the Bears—or rather, cheering on The Boys cheering on the Bears—when I'm forced to watch the games on Sundays. Not that I don't care about our home team, but the real fun for me is hanging out where the boys are. Whether you’re a real fan or just along for the ride, here’s where the guys I polled will be watching the games this season:...

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A bustling retail corridor blooms on Madison Street in Forest Park, Oak Park's neighbor to the west. Read more
Second City comedians and staffers at CareerBuilder.com have written a new office survival handbook. Read more