The stories behind this week’s photos:

• 1 & 4  - This Chicago winter remains unpredictable. Last Friday it was snowing so heavily they let us out early to head home. Then this week it’s been nice enough for me to take some unscheduled walks outside in Millennium Park. Not complaining though. I really value the time to get some fresh air and clear my head.
• 2 & 5 - Remember when I said I was going to start getting up at ridiculously early hours in order to get stuff done? And then I told you about my strategic planning? Yeah. My productivity has been on fire lately. It’s amazing how much more confident and in control you feel when you take control of your time.
• 3 & 6 - At home, I’m making slow but steady strides toward learning how to cook, gradually gaining confidence in the kitchen. It’s slow going, given my limited time during the week. I’m also, as you can see, playing a serious amount of cars lately.

As always, you can follow me on Instagram (@calebgardner) for stories in real-time.

How was your week?

The story behind this week’s photos:

• 1 & 4  - Winter has officially arrived in Chicago, but I’m not complaining since it was so mild up until now. Give me a few weeks…
• 2 & 5 - I picked up guitar last weekend again for the first time in a while. It felt good – although my fingertips were not happy with me. When Miles saw me doing it, he wanted to get out his little guitar that his grandparents gave him and play along with me. His imitating of me is always fun, but also kind of scary, since it’s only going to grow.
• 3 - Our new floor at Edelman continues to get finalized, including our new Food Room. Kind of crazy how well stocked it is.
• 6 – Love this shot. Took this when we stopped by Gene’s Sausage Shop, a sweet little grocery and delicatessen in Lincoln Square. They also have a rooftop beer garden with amazing bratwursts.

As always, follow me on Instagram for more photo goodness.

How was your week?

One of the benefits of escaping big city life to visit my parents in Oklahoma is the wildlife. Adjacent to my hometown is a big refuge and mountain range, filled with buffalo, longhorns, and other endangered species. We also have a few friends with farms, so the last two holiday seasons we’ve taken Miles to see some horses.

He’s going through a big animals phase right now. All of his favorite books to read are animal-related, and his favorite toys are little animal figurines. We try to satisfy his cravings for all-things wildlife here in Chicago to the best of our abilities, like taking him to Lincoln Park Zoo (even in the dead of winter). But there is obviously only so much we can do.

I really want nature to be something he looks forward to when he visits Oklahoma. It’s definitely something I took for granted growing up there, and it’s one of the things that will contrast the greatest with growing up in a big city. The prairies offer up such unique experiences (including Rattlesnake Festivals – it’s a thing).

I want Miles to own his heritage, just as I’m learning to own it myself. My wife makes fun of me because one of my dreams is to one day own a working ranch (proof). I think that may be part of me trying to recapture my heritage just a bit. Maybe Miles and I can do it together.

We’ve carried on the horse tradition for the past two winters, and it’s amazing to see the contrast between the Miles of 2010 and the Miles of 2011. The contrast is made even more stark considering that this year we went to see a group of miniature horses that my sister keeps. They make Miles look even more like the little boy he’s quickly becoming.

Here’s hoping me and that little boy have many more wildlife adventures to come.

The story behind this week’s photos:

• Photos 1 & 2 – Edelman Digital Chicago packed up and moved floors – from 63 to 66 in the AON Center. Our new floor is pretty slick – a modern, open floor plan, new kitchen with a ton of food, and cool meeting spaces. I’ll probably have more photos of it coming soon.
• Photos 4 & 5 – Miles got pretty sick this week, with his fever at one point going up to 103. A few restless nights for him (which meant a few sleepless nights for us). I stayed home with him a couple of days until he got better. It was a rough couple of days, but he was in good spirits for most of it.
• Photos 3 & 6 – Only in Chicago can it go from 50 degrees one day to a blizzard the next.

For more photos on-the-go, you can always follow me on Instagram.

How was your week?

… at least, for little kids it still is. It’s been so fun sharing that experience all over again with Miles this year.

How’s your season going?

Pinterest is what all the cool kids are doing these days. No, seriously. I’ve been using it for a few months now, and am very addicted.

The concept is pretty simple. You find a photo or video of something online that you find inspiring. You pin it. Done.

You can choose your “pinboards” (categories, basically) and you can follow other people’s pins and pinboards. It’s great for discovery and inspiration. In that sense, I’d compare it to Tumblr, which I’ve used for years. But it also works well for planning. Believe me – I’ve had to un-follow many a wedding-themed pinboard recently.

If you check it out, feel free to give me a follow. And of course, let me know what you think in the comments.

A few weekends ago we traveled up to Wisconsin to visit my in-laws, who recently purchased a cabin. On a private lake. On 52 acres of land. Needless to say, it was beautiful and relaxing and just what we needed for a little escape from big city life.

On top of that, the weather was unseasonably warm, letting us spend a lot of time outside. Miles in particular loved being able to go in the lake so late in the year. This kid loves the water, and will climb in no matter how cold it is if we let him (which means we have to climb in too).

We got a lot of enjoyment out of the lake as well. In the morning, Caroline and I would get in the kayaks and go out onto the lake, letting the peaceful mist and the silence float over us, and the stress of the city drifted away.

I’ve mentioned before that Caroline especially needs nature to decompress, while I need a mix of relaxation and adventure. I think this place will afford us both over the years, so I’m glad it’s going to be a new escape destination for us.

But the possibilities for Miles are what has me the most excited. The 52 acres are criss-crossed with lots of creeks, bridges, and nature trails, good for hiking, camping, and general exploring. I can’t wait for Miles to get a little older so we can do those things together. Adventure is meant to be shared by father and son.

And I think it’s important to cultivate adventure – especially for little boys, who, let’s face it, don’t get many years to be little boys. I’m looking forward to exploring with him, building forts and facing imaginary bad guys. It’s going to be so much fun.

Of course, now that we’re back in the “real world” of the city, and along with winter on its way, maintaining a sense of adventure isn’t going to be easy. Luckily we’ve got plenty of pillows and blankets to make pillow forts to keep out imaginary dragons (speaking from experience).

How do you maintain a sense of adventure in the midst of everyday life? Do you try to cultivate it with your kids too? I’d love to get some tips for how other parents do this.

But they make a compelling point, don’t they? Look how ridiculous some of these poses are when men are made to do them.

I have my own issues with the stereotypes of men here, but I think the overall message is poignant and clear: why do we compel women to do this stuff?

And there are more that are just as funny. Rion Sabean, the photographer, is also putting together a Men-Ups calendar (if you’re into that sort of thing).

[Petapixel via Rion Sabean]

There are many, many things that I love about fall, but apples are definitely high up on the list. I look forward to honeycrisps especially every year. Mmm, so good.

Every year we try to go apple picking ourselves. We’ll hopefully be able to get it on the agenda for this year, but in the meantime, another of our favorite rituals is to stop by the Lincoln Square Apple Fest.

They have apples in many forms. Cider, like above, or fritters, like below (which I think is kind of funny, because it takes something healthy like an apple and puts it in heart attack form).

This year they also had belgian waffles with apple compote and vanilla gelato. It was as good as it sounds. Miles especially loved the gelato.

The fun thing about Apple Fest is that in addition to the vendors, there is entertainment for the little ones – of which there were a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many strollers trying to navigate such a small area.

But even if they didn’t have the stage, it would have been entertaining for Miles. This kid is an explorer. He loves the hustle and bustle of things like this, and similar to the Craft Fair recently, he immediately wants to take off running and we have to reign him in.

But as much as we can, we encourage his exploration. It’s fun to watch him discovering the world, one pumpkin at a time.

What did you do this weekend?