​In December, my parents, Bev and Serge Murer were over visiting from Joliet. We were making lists for the holidays. My mom and I were discussing desserts for Christmas and I know the way to her heart. I suggested we run over to the Eli’s Cheesecake Café and Retail Store to pick up some desserts for Christmas. My parents happily agreed.
 
We zipped down Harlem, made a quick left at the HIP mall onto Forest Preserve Drive and arrived at Eli’s. I smiled as we pulled into the lot. Eli’s Cheesecakes have been a part of special family celebrations for as long as I could remember. When we walked into the great café we noted a camera crew and interviews underway. My mom and I walked around checking out possible Christmas desserts while my dad checked out the dazzling options for a quick snack. We picked out a delicious cookie cheesecake that we knew the kids would love and some fabulous cranberry bars. 

​We were near the camera crew and I asked if they were filming a commercial. They shared they were filming Chicago’s Best. My husband, Tony and I love that show! I looked around the room and saw Brittney Payton and smiled. I told the camera team that we love the show and love Eli’s! They asked if I wanted to talk on camera and I said yes. I was momentarily mortified as my hair looked awful and I had on almost no makeup. But, my love for the show and love for Eli’s won out and I jumped at the chance to comment. I shared my enthusiasm for Eli's and praised their great work in the community. Chicago's Best was talking to a bunch of happy customers so there is a strong chance that I won’t make it into the show!

1. It is sweet when good things happen to good people!
We love watching Brittney Payton on Chicago’s Best! Her love for all things Chicago comes through and she has such an energetic connection with people. You can see her passion for not only talking about amazing food in Chicago, but for telling the special stories of the people behind the food and the restaurants. Brittney has co-hosted Chicago’s Best since 2010. With her bright smile and deep, legendary family roots she showcases the very best of our iconic, amazing city. Tony and I have made many notes from this awesome show on iconic places to try as well as hidden neighborhood gems. 

​Brittney also worked for the Big 10 Network and began her TV career with internships at FOX 32 and ABC Channel 7. I recently learned that the January 28th 250th Chicago’s Best episode would be Brittney’s last as she has joined Good Day Chicago on the Fox-owned station WFLD-Channel 32 as co-host. While we will miss Brittney’s enthusiasm on Chicago’s Best, we know she will radiate joy on Good Day Chicago! I’ve already watched her on Good Day Chicago and Brittney is off to a fabulous start! From celebrities to puppies she is already spreading sunshine in the morning. Check out her tweets to see great pictures of Brittney with her new team and watch her in the morning! It is so sweet when good things happen to good people.

2. It is sweet when good people make good things happen!
In my family, we are big Eli’s Cheesecake fans, especially my mom. When I was in high school my boyfriend’s family owned a grocery store and he would bring over little Eli’s Cheesecakes and we loved it. When we are looking to celebrate something I’ll pick up Eli’s Cheesecake slices at Jewel or zip over to the Eli’s Cheesecake Café and Retail Store for some special treats. When I was asked if I wanted to comment for Chicago’s Best so many thoughts raced through my mind. I’m a bit of a friendly stalker of Eli’s Cheesecake and their President Marc Schulman on Twitter. They do a great job highlighting their amazing desserts but more importantly they do an amazing job of highlighting their passion for quality products, how they support their employees and their great work in the community. The iconic Eli’s Cheesecake is a centerpiece of so many Chicago celebrations from the Taste of Chicago to our amazing sporting events to community events with kids. Eli’s is always there making every event sweeter. 

​Eli Schulman started in the restaurant business in 1940 with a coffee shop and then later a delicatessen. Next up was Eli’s the Place for Steak where Eli began making his amazing signature cheesecakes. Jump to the present and Eli’s Cheesecake has been the #1 dessert at the Taste of Chicago for the past 37 years and has sold over 2 million slices. That is a lot of cheesecake! As the company passed from Eli to his son Marc, Marc has kept his dad’s passion for fantastic cheesecake and his motto of “charity will never bust you” front and center.
 
I’m in awe of the constant company innovation and different kinds of cheesecakes and desserts that Eli’s produces. My parents have gone on a tour of Eli’s and they make 20,000 cheesecakes and desserts daily which is crazy! From my visits and peaking into the bakery, they have a passionate team, support people with disabilities and take training and mentoring seriously. What is really sweet is how they are giving back to the community constantly. Eli’s also support local farmers and small businesses.

It is sweet when good people make good things happen like Marc and his team at Eli's do every day. So, it is fitting that Eli's Cheesecake is part of the iconic 250th Chicago's Best special episode which I know will be sweet from start to finish!

We look forward to watching Chicago's Best Sunday night and hope you do too!

Meg

P.S. Marc the Messy Mommies would love to interview you sometime! 

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching we had to add a few pictures and links of amazing treats at Eli's!
Heart-shaped cheesecake cookie sandwiches! As seen in the Oprah Magazine!
Mini Belgian Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Hearts!
​Turtle Heart Cheesecake!

Coming off of the long MLK weekend, we had a bumpy morning with my five-year-old twins, Stella and Sophia. Stella did not want to go to school and was crying a bit while we were getting ready. Sophia dashed around the house looking for snow boots and I eventually swept Stella into the mini-van. As we were cutting through the Norwood Park circle to school my phone rang. I looked over and saw the girl's school, St. Thecla. I hit the speaker button and heard a message that there was no school today due to a heating problem. Stella screamed with excitement and Sophia started laughing. I pulled over to check my phone to see what was going on.

My mom friends were all texting and sure enough - no school! While the girls were excited, I let out a slight sigh as I thought of my "to do" list. I was still packing up a few lingering Christmas decorations, we needed groceries, I had some insurance consulting work to do, there were bushels of laundry to fold, dishes to wash, Christmas thank you notes to write, and our house was a huge mess.

Time to adjust I thought and texted the moms to see who wanted to go for pancakes at Firewater. I roped in my friend Laura and her kids, Claire and Bryan and we had a great breakfast. The kids were so excited when some of the teachers from St. Thecla walked in. The teachers were like a big celebrity sighting! Over breakfast we played telephone which caused lots of giggles and the kids asked questions like what is your favorite Disney character. It was a sweet breakfast.

We went home for a bit. Then Kerry texted about sledding and Melissa posted about sledding on Facebook. The girls wanted to go sledding and we happily loaded up the sleds in the mini-van. We drove over to the hill by Superdawg. We bundled up and piled out of the car. The girls had not be sledding here before and Sophia was hesitant as we walked over to the hill. Stella called out to Mikey and Liam and Sophia cautiously checked out the scene. I waved to Kerry, Kristine, Melissa, and Julie and the other mom. The girls quickly climbed on the sled. Off they went and I heard them laughing. As they climbed up the stairs, I could see the smiles on their faces. They ran up and told me how great it was and quickly went back down the hill. It was so fun to see the girls sledding with our St. Thecla pals. Sleds got passed around and kids jumped on with each other. There were many close, almost crashes and endless smiles. The moms and dads chit chatted as the kids went up and down the hill a zillion times. Stella's checks were so rosy and Liam's gloves kept falling off. Stella jumped on a sled with Kara and they tried to race James and some of the bigger kids. Sophia persuaded me to go down the hill several times and I wondered how these kids could go up the long stairs so many times without wearing out! It was such fun on this sunny, chilly day. It took a while to leave as every time I said that was the last run Stella would jump on the sled again and dash down the hill. While I was watching Stella, Sophia would jump on a sled and head down the hill too. I finally got the twins into the mini-van and they were so excited. Stella said, "Mom, that was awesome!" Sophia quickly chimed in, "Mom, can we go sledding again?" I said it was awesome too and that we could go sledding again soon.

 When I was putting the girls to bed they again said that sledding was awesome and they wanted to go again. They thought it was so cool to be sledding with kids from St. Thecla and loved racing down the hill. Stella and Sophia fell asleep so fast that I had to smile. All those treks up the hill finally caught up with them. 

As I thought about my long, unaccomplished "to do" list I recalled part of a poem: 

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

My to do list can wait, my Christmas thank you notes will be late, and I'll clean up the house tomorrow. My babies and I had an awesome time sledding and I know that babies don't keep. 


* The above part of a poem is from Song For a Fifth Child, by Ruth Hamilton, 1958.






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