There’s a new eight-episode series coming out on Netflix next week, written and directed by the very awesome Joe Swanberg. It’s called Easy, and it’s set in Chicago. Here’s the trailer:
It’s always fun to see things that were filmed in Chicago, and it’s even better when they venture outside of the Loop into other neighborhoods. If you’re familiar with Lincoln Square, you’ll recognize the Davis Theater, Baker Miller, and more.
You’ll also recognize a lot of funny famous people, like Orlando Bloom (my #1 reigning crush from 2001-2003), Malin Akerman (Trophy Wife should still be on the air), Jake Johnson (national treasure), Hannibal Buress (best known as the 30 Rock hobo – j/k), Aya Cash (You’re the Worst is an unexpected delight), and Elizabeth Reaser (wonderful in everything she’s in, including my brother’s film One & Two).
And, there’s one more fun thing to keep an eye out for: our house!
That’s our bedroom, but that’s not our quilt, and that’s definitely not Jarrod and me.
This past February, we turned our property over to a production crew, dropped off our cats with a friend (thanks again, Ben!), and checked into a hotel for 10 days. We had a wonderful staycation in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood while an episode of Easy was filmed at our house in Albany Park.
I have very little idea what transpired while we were gone, and I’ve heard only a few details about the show’s plot. Even if I didn’t know and love Joe, I would know and love his movies: they’re funny, candid, and sweet without being pandering. So, I’m doubly excited to see the show.
After filming wrapped, we returned to a clean house and inquisitive neighbors. Only a few clues remained to remind us that our home was someone else’s for a spell: a stranger’s pants in our closet, a production schedule in our garage. One morning, several weeks later, I took a carton of eggs out of the fridge and discovered they weren’t my eggs: they were showbiz eggs, neatly cracked and stacked.
Easy comes out on Netflix on Thursday, September 22. Let’s all watch it and keep an eye out for omelettes.
Project Palermo 
One of my dear friends lives in the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood area now, and it’s so cute–I’m going to have to check this out!
Hey there, my wife and I have been reading your blog for quite a while. We’re former Chicagoans who moved to Portland six years ago, and I think we started reading your blog initially as one way to stay connected with our old home…in addition to the fact that you had interesting stories to share. Before we met, I spent a couple of years living right above Cafe Selmarie, so your stories about Lincoln Square were always fun to read.
We’ve enjoyed reading about all of your home remodel projects, we waited patiently as you adjusted your blog’s home, and we sympathized about your house hunting struggles just as we were going through our own home buying issues 2000 miles to the left. The other night, we were thumbing through Netflix, looking for something to watch and we found this show. My wife hadn’t yet read your blog post, so I told her about it and we watched the first few episodes. Good show so far, and it’s interesting to see someone we know (but don’t actually know) connected to it in some way.
Anyway, just wanted to share that with you. Best of luck in your new(ish) home, and looking forward to more tales of home decor projects.
-matt & reni
Matt, thanks so much for such a thoughtful comment! I hope you and Reni were able to find a house to call your own as well. I visited Portland last year for a work conference and loved it – I can definitely see the appeal in moving there from Chicago.
It’s really nice to know more about people who read my posts, especially since you’ve been following along for so long. Thanks for sticking with me, and for saying hello!