Admittedly, Bears playoff fever swept me up last week. I watched the game on the edge of my couch cushion with about 10 other people and then moped the rest of the weekend. But on Thursday, I caught a live view of another game in town: the Chicago Bulls versus the Dallas Mavericks. I'd never been to an NBA game before—the only basketball I've seen in person is of the high school variety (and some women's basketball at Purdue)—nor had I been to Chicago's United Center for any other events. Our seats were at the very top of the 300 level, just under the box seats. It was a good vantage point, …

As I mentioned in my last column, my boyfriend and I are lucky to have a big group of friends to hang out with, all in the nearby area. After our weekend of bar-hopping, they introduced me to more low-key entertainment with cosmic bowling at nearby Willowbrook Lanes. Since we were going on a Saturday night, one of our friends suggested that we make reservations, and given the line when we arrived, it was good that we did. For $14 each, we had two lanes and unlimited bowling from 9:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m. The “cosmic” portion of the evening started a little late because of leagues that were being …

There were lots of perks for me moving to Darien in August—a new job opportunity, proximity to Chicago, awesome public transportation, etc. But hands down, one of the biggest perks hands down has been my boyfriend's group of close friends who still live in the area. Having a group (mostly other couples) to hang out with since we've moved here has been pretty awesome. It was something I missed living in a college town, where the bar scene was full of newly minted 21-year-olds and people who didn't know what it meant to have to be at work at 8:00 a.m. the next morning.   So, what does a group …

As promised in my last column, I used one of my days off during the holiday season to go ice skating at the Darien Sportsplex with my boyfriend and another couple who were in from out of town. First, a disclaimer: I haven't been ice skating in about a decade, and I've never been particularly good at it. When I was younger, we would go as a family once a year, usually in December for my sister's birthday party. The annual attempts were enough to keep the fear of falling at bay, and I was comfortable enough on the ice to enjoy making wide, slow circles around the rink for an hour or so. I …

New Year's Eve is one of my all time favorite holidays. I love gathering with friends and family, celebrating the past year and seeing the possibilities for the year to come. This year, my office closed for the week in between Christmas and New Year's Day, so after visiting my family in Indiana on Christmas day I've had a lot of time off to relax, recharge and gear up for an awesome celebration to ring in 2011. Even though I'm a "new girl" in town, this won't be my first New Year's in Darien. I celebrated the start of 2005 here with my boyfriend's friends and family—the first time I had met …

I've never been a huge sports fan, in spite of always being surrounded by tried-and-true fans of many sports—football, baseball, basketball, bowling—but this Monday I realized I'd adopted a respectable interest in football when, surrounded by friends and fixated on a big-screen TV, I watched the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings. First, let me share a bit about my prior exposure to football. Growing up in central Indiana, I have to wonder if there's something wrong with me for not "bleeding blue" like my family of die-hard Colts fans. (My nephew is named "Peyton," if that's any …

Even though I've only crossed one state line in my move, I continue to be amazed at some of the differences between Midwestern towns. Lately, one seemingly miniscule difference that has stuck out to me has been food—namely pizza. It's rumored that Lafayette, IN, where I lived most recently, has a very high number of restaurants per capita. Some have said it has a record in this department, but after searching the Internet for some statistic to back that up, I couldn't find anything. Suffice it to say that for a girl like me who loves to eat out, there were plenty of options. Of course, when …

Like many wannabe-Chicagolanders, before I moved to the area I took as many opportunities to visit here as I could. I took in the typical tourist attractions – a few years ago it was Navy Pier, last summer it was the Shedd Aquarium, and this summer, I finally made it to the Museum of Science and Industry. Once I moved here, though, the tourist attractions became less appealing, and the more unique opportunities to experience the area started jumping out. The Naperville Art League Riverwalk was one of my first "local attractions," and earlier this fall, a trip to Kuipers Family Farm was both …

Here in Darien, a lot of families welcome others home for the holidays – kids from college, relatives from out of town, or, as my boyfriend's family here will be doing this Christmas, family members who are stationed elsewhere with the armed forces. I even read here on Patch about a parent anxious for her daughter to return home for Thanksgiving. While I'm still working on making my own home here and cannot wait to welcome my family into it, for now, home for me is still a small town in central Indiana. So, Wednesday after work, I headed as always to Union Station, only this time I had a date…

One of my favorite experiences in Chicago, prior to moving to the area, was visiting last year for Taste of Chicago and seeing the fireworks over the lake. I'll admit I'm a sucker for big events in the city that guarantee me hours of standing in large crowds, waiting in lines and straining for a good view of the action. So when I heard about the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, I knew I had to attend -- and it didn't disappoint. Growing up in Indiana, I once attended the Circle of Lights Tree Lighting in Indianapolis with my family, and a couple of years ago I attended my local Lafayette-…

As a lifelong bookworm and former library employee, I've always been a bit ashamed of my lack of involvement in my local public libraries. There's really no excuse – I used to be stringently dedicated to reading whenever, wherever I could. In grade school, I was the kid who quite literally could not put a book down. I would read on the school bus and then continue reading as I walked into the classroom, book held out in front of me. (I've later discovered, after working with librarians in higher education, that some people maintain this practice throughout their entire lives.) My appetite for…

Shortly after moving to Darien, I learned about a tremendous resource for anyone new in town – the Dupage Homeownership Center. According to their website, "The DuPage Homeownership Center (DHOC) is a nonprofit organization that provides a full range of services to promote responsible, sustainable homeownership, with an emphasis on serving first-time homebuyers, low- and moderate-income households, and homeowners in crisis." As a long-time renter, I always thought that someday I'd live in my own home. Honestly, though, it hadn't occurred to me that in order to do that, I would have to be the …

I first realized I was serious about moving to the Chicago-area late last year when, after making my fifth weekend visit from Indiana to Darien in two months, I purchased my own I-Pass. Little did I know that I'd soon be giving up my leased car, but at the time that little box was as strong a commitment as any that someday I'd make a home in Illinois. When my car lease ended in April, I took that commitment to the next level by going "car-free," thinking I'd only last a month or two. It went much better though – the buses in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area are convenient and were …

I moved to Darien about a month ago. It's a pretty substantial move for me—this move marks my first time living outside of Indiana, my first step toward putting down roots and establishing a home of my own, and the achievement of one of my longtime goals to be living near and working in the city of Chicago.  To kick things off, I thought I'd share a little about me and where I come from to give a little context to my "adventures" in my new city of Darien. I grew up in a small town in central Indiana, in a neighborhood surrounded on all sides by cornfields. I have spent the last eight years …