What's Happening in Suburbia for the 4th of July

We all know that the City of Chicago hosts a huge fireworks show over the lake by Navy Pier for the 4th but short of taking the trek downtown, where do the suburbanites go? Check out the below links to find see what's going on:


Northbrook - http://www.northbrookjuly4th.org/Schedule.htm

Glenview - http://www.glenviewparks.org/assets/pdfs/July%204th%20Donation%20Form.pdf

Highland Park - http://www.pdhp.org/index.cfm/fa/events.event_detail/object_id/ef1337ff-5bf1-4618-b88c-80adece3c429

Happy 4th!

Kid Friendly Restaurants in the Suburbs

I don’t know about you but sometimes I find that going out to dinner with kids can be quite an adventure (not to mention expensive), so when my family and I took the leap from Chicago to suburbia in 2006 I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few kid friendly restaurants, some that even offer up deals. Below is a sampling of some of my favorite kid friendly hangouts that I wanted to share. Feel free to add to or comment on these as I am always looking to expand my horizons.

Suburb	Restaurant	Location	Cuisine	SpecialFeature/Deal
Northbrook	Go Roma	3601 Dundee Rd	Italian	Sunday – Kids Eat Free
Northbrook	Barnabys	960 Skokie Blvd	Pizza/Italian	Good pizza, kids can be noisy
Glenview Northbrook Deerfield	Potbelly Sandwich Works	www.potbelly.com	Sandwiches	Smaller kid friendly portions and music on the weekends.
Glenview	Jolene’s Café and Wine Bar	1100 N. Milwaukee	General	Ice Cream comes free with Kid’s Meal
Northbrook	Little Louie’s Red Hots	1342 ShermerRd	Hot Dogs, salads, sandwiches, etc.	Look for coupons in local mailers
Northbrook	Stir Crazy	1186 Northbrook Ct	Asian	Tues/Thurs after 4pm – Kids 10 & under eat free with Adult meal purchase
Northbrook	Max and Benny’s	461 Waukegan Rd	Deli	Kid’s menu, crayons and paper. Also have options for fruit instead of fries
Wheeling	RAM	700 N. Milwaukee Ave	General	Sundays Kids Eat for $1.00
Skokie	Champps Americana	134 Old Orchard Ctr	General	Tues. Night - Kids Eat Free
Northbrook	Dairy Queen	2770 Dundee Rd	Ice Cream	During summer months: Face painting – Monday nights Moon Walk – Tuesday nights Clown – Thursday nights
Glenview Northbrook Highland Park Wilmette Skokie	Corner Bakery	www.cornerbakerycafe.com	Café – breakfast and lunch	Kids menu and crayons and paper
Arlington Heights Glenview Highland Park Lake Zurick Lincolnshire Wilmette	Walker Brothers Pancake House	www.walkerbros.net	Breakfast	Kid-size pancakes Kid’s birthday club
Wheeling	Claim Jumpers	781 N Milwaukee	General	Offer a baby plate and a kid’s menu
Highland Park	Michael’s Chicago Style Red Hots	1879 Second St.	Hot Dogs, etc.
Highland Park	Country Kitchen	446 Central Ave	Breakfast Lunch	Kid options – Mickey Mouse pancakes, chicken fingers, grilled cheese,etc
Glenview Highland Park Wilmette Buffalo Grove	Love’s Yogurt	Lovesyogurt.com	Frozen Yogurt/Salads	Yogurt options with toppings kids like (sprinkles, etc) Junior-size portions of food
Deerfield	Red Star Tavern	695 Deerfield Rd	American	Kids Menu
Glenview	Bravo	2600 Navy Blvd	Italian	Kids Menu and Make your own Pizza Dough

As a point of clarification, I can’t guarrantee that any of these deals are still valid – only that this has been my experience.

Staging to Sell

To sell quickly in today’s competitive market, I strongly recommend that you spend some time staging your home prior to listing. The goal of staging is to ensure that your home appeals to the widest possible audience. In my opinion this is accomplished by emphasizing the best qualities of your home while simultaneously downplaying it’s less desirable attributes.

It is also critical to keep an open mind as you engage in this process. Remember, it is not about you or your tastes but rather what the profile of the most likely buyer for your home will be looking for. For example, you might have a very traditional style or really like the textured walls/wallpaper/mirrors that you have up throughout the home but that doesn't mean that your buyers will. In general, I resort to a simple rule - when in doubt, the more neutral the better.

Staging doesn’t always have to be expensive or complicated either. Simple things like “de-cluttering” and organizing closets will often make a world of difference. In some cases, relocating furniture to maximize the space and flow of a room can also help. All this said, if you do nothing else you MUST be sure to keep the home clean and odor free especially when it comes to Kitchens and Baths. Nothing will ruin a showing faster than a sink full of dishes or floater in the toilet.

Stay tuned for more suggestions or feel free to contact me to discuss in more detail.