best houseguest EVER!!!

silly anonymous comments, the houseguest was leslie!!
(p.s. darcy, i got your comment! i know who himmelberger is, but les will have to remind me if i've ever met her. fun, i love it when secret admirers reveal they've been blog-stalking.
hmm, you still out there liz?)

if you didn't already see over on leslie's chicago series, my ever-so-beautifully-chic-and-talented bff honored us larkins here in the windy city with a stay that spanned from late august to early september. i don't think she was ever truly convinced that chicago actually experiences temps above 30 degrees until she finally rode my bicycle through the streets of chicago warmth for herself.

one of the highlights of my summer, quality time with miss leslie was long overdue. we didn't get around to nearly as many of the ideas we set out to accomplish, but by no means does that mean we didn't squeeze in lots & lots of spontaneity, adventure and craftiness. ah, such is life spent with les.

leslie crosses over into the 'practically my sister category.' that means that she got to see some of that 'true' devon that tries to stay politely hidden for most houseguests. she might [or might not] have forgotten these qualities about me from the days we spent as roomies in sacramento. and she also was there in the midst of an argument between me and patrick. i bet that wasn't at all awkward for her! i just hope that since she stayed for two weeks, that means we were bearable hosts! and let me tell you, patrick and i vote her hands-down best houseguest we've ever had:

this girl did our dishes.

while we were at work.

here she was, in a city beckoning her to explore it, and she did our dishes.

more than once.

one day she saw scouter ants in the house. she cleaned up our whole kitchen.

you must all think the larkins are slobs.

oh and she cleaned up our place again the morning she left.

are you kidding me???

leslie, can you stay forever next time?!

she is really setting unreasonable expectations for houseguests around the world.

so besides afternoon russian tea time, the last minute convincing of tara to fly out for a day on michigan avenue, laughs at second city, and a giant night of friends and pasta, all of which i mentioned in previous posts, my two weeks with les also included:

trip with debi to "surprise" team bisson in michigan
(check out debi's blog for more!)

cookie baking!!!
les showed us a recipe for "pretty good f***ing cookies"
while simultaneously directing us on how to use freezer paper for tshirts!

freezer paper/fabric paint tshirt making
debi sketched a shoe, i sketched a bicycle wheel and water,
and leslie showed us how to iron on and paint!

(that's right, the tshirts for oprah weren't the
only tshirts made in a two week span;
we made tshirts for molly's triathlon, too!)

camp cayuga reunion with christine

southern dining at big jones

farmer's market bounty
have you ever eaten tomatillos?

costa rican food at irazu

millennium park meandering

picnic with patrick

picnic sandwiches!!
pepper chevre, pea shoots, marigolds,
and hawaiian pineapple heirloom tomatoes

yard sale

(what the heck am i going to do with the 25c chair that patrick attached
to his backpack and rode his bicycle home with? ideas?)

please note that i don't have a photo for the baked beans,
bbq sauce & diet coke delivery by the prostitute incident.

MANA FOOD BARGLOBAL VEGETARIAN
The name is Polynesian for a supernatural life force, but Mana is no cosmic tiki bar. It’s a tiny, Zen-simple room for diners who crave stylish meatless fare with a saké cocktail. Chef-partner Jill Barron (De Cero) paves a plate with colorful beets under arugula and julienne apple salad splashed with raspberry vinaigrette. She grills Japanese eggplant and tops it with sweet miso sauce, and serves adorable mushroom/brown rice sliders with spicy mayo and house pickles. Her avocado pineapple sorbet is definitely infused with some kind of magic. All told, Mana is a rarity: a veggie haven that a meat lover wouldn’t scorn.

vegetarian feast at mana food bar

crafting

sewing, flowers & beads, oh my!

and can you believe there is still more??? to be continued ...