I started off my photography career as a staff photographer for an interior design company. I took pictures of curtains and pillows, the occasional closeup of a trim, or a finished room, mostly for magazine articles or advertising. My work has appeared in Martha Stewart Living, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, the now defunct Southern Accents and Domino. So when the industry fell—like everything else during the Wall Street collapse in 2009—my then agent, Tom, asked me to come into his studio to try something different.   His studio was filled with cupcakes. Cupcakes I thought? People really…

Bernice Swick was well known in her Elmore Avenue neighborhood as a passionate gardener. When she died unexpectedly last January, her neighbors immediately seized upon a most fitting tribute. A garden walk to Swick's memory was held last weekend, with more than a dozen neighborhood gardeners welcoming friends and strangers to their outdoor oases. "The idea came up at Bernice's visitation," said Mary Ellen Young, who opened her Elmore Avenue garden to the tour. "A neighbor made the comment that Bernice always talked about hosting a garden walk in our neighborhood." Young and neighbors Susan …

The Maple Hill Swim Club swim team is comprised of 90 children ages 5-18, including about 30 children this year.  The Marlins compete against eight teams in the Trident Conference on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the summer with the season ending July 23 at the Gold Conference Meet. A traditional pre-meet chant, along with older swim team members supporting younger members through a "buddy" system, has built strong camaraderie among swimmers. Several Marlin swimmers have won sectionals on District 99 swim teams this past year, and the team is coached by high school students. The team …

I’ve spent the majority of my time over the last five years taking photographs for New York City restaurants. In my free time I’ve wandered the streets of NYC, snapping pictures of architecture and culture as a hobby, slipping in the occasional newborn or engagement photo session. A food photo for Jay-Z’s Buffalo Boss recently graced the pages of People magazine, with a recipe for wings I really recommend trying. When my husband, Marc, was offered a tenure-track English position at Joliet Junior College last March, we began our search for the perfect community to call home. I remembered from …

Downers Grove Youth Baseball (DGYB) regular season games have ended, with the playoffs beginning this week. A high point of the season came June 18 when south-side teams faced off against their north-side rivals at McCollum Park. Players voted to determine which team members would compete in the annual contest. Two teams from each DGYB level—ages 9 to 12—were represented in the games. Did your child play in the games? Add your photos below.

It takes more than a little drizzle and gray skies to dampen a kid's enthusiasm for a carnival. It's all good: A shared joke in the Tilt-a-Whirl, a ball-toss game on the midway or a big wad of blue cotton candy just waiting to melt in an eight-year-old's mouth.

After several days of 80- and 90-degree weather, the last day of school dawned with a crack of thunder and pouring rain. And while the ensuing unseasonable chill feels anything but summery, it's a sure bet Downers Grove kids soon will be enjoying the pools, parks and playgrounds under sunny skies.

What's more all-American than small town streets lined with classic cars on a balmy evening? The Downtown Downers Grove "Summer Nights"  Classic Car Show returned for the season on May 20, and a more perfect night for strolling among the golden oldies of the '50s and '60s—including a pumpkin-colored Chevy and silken burgundy GTO—could not be imagined. The weekly car shows, a downtown tradition, take over the streets from 6 to 9 p.m. every Friday through September 2. The only break occurs June 24, the weekend of Rotary GroveFest. See the schedule here.  Entertainment is also part of the …

The Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club hosted the first of what it hopes will become its annual Local Celebrity Golf Outing Saturday, May 14, at the Downers Grove Golf Club. The event netted $7,750 for the club's charity fund, said Chairwoman Joy Crowe. The club donates to local not-for-profits including the Walk-In Ministry of Hope, PADS, Family Shelter Services, SEASPAR and the Bonfield Express. A dozen local celebs participated, Crowe said, including State Sen. Ron Sandack; village commissioners Geoff Neustadt, Sean Durkin and Bob Barnett; and John Wander, DGN varsity football coach. "Coach…

Finally, we get spring. Thanks to our village planners, blossoming trees dot the parkways. Thanks to yesterday's homeowners, magnolia trees flower in yards throughout town. And thanks to local gardeners with an appreciation for springs first blooms, bluebells, phlox, tulips and daffodils are lighting up lawns with spring color. It's about time.

Belmont Road will close at 7 p.m. Friday to allow for the installation of road crossing panels for Track 2, the village has announced. The artery is expected to reopen at 6 a.m. Monday, May 2. Work continues on the second phase of the multi-year project, which is now 40 percent complete. This phase, which began in 2010, will include the construction of the railroad bridge with boarding platforms, the Burlington-Warren Avenue Bridge, access ramps and the relocation of Belmont Road. The project is set for completion in June 2013. Within the past month, the contractor began setting tracks on the…

The smell of formaldehyde hung in the air as students in Craig Young's fifth grade class at Kingsley School attacked cow eyes with scalpels, scissors and tweezers. The dissection lesson was a much-anticipated and exciting event, with echoes of “cool” and “check this out”  punctuating the experience. The experiment was held as part of a science unit on light, with parent volunteers assisting the children as they worked to dissect the eyes. Corneas were identified, lenses were removed and vitreous humor (protein and water from the eye) dripped onto the trays—providing a most illuminating …

Nearly 325 golfers turned out for the Downers Grove Public Library Foundation's third annual mini golf event on Sunday, April 10. Patrons of all ages putted their way through the 18-hole miniature golf course set up throughout the library. Tournament winners Ryan Barofsky, Max Pokrzywnicki, and Joe Weber. Twenty six local businesses and organizations sponsored the holes, tees and greens, including the oversized pair of glasses created by Larson Eye Center for players to putt through, and Fair Oaks Contractors' wooden deck and two tool boxes. Other sponsors were Customized FX, Downers Grove …

Election 2011 is behind us, leaving in its wake errant campaign signs, piles of handbills and pamphlets, some winners, some losers, and maybe even some hard feelings. Here are some images of an Election Day marked by beautiful weather, full slates of candidates and abysmally low voter turnout. Maybe by 2013 we can figure out some way to reach the 80 percent of local voters who didn't cast ballots.

After a long, snowy winter, we find ourselves on this last day of March still biding time in an extended entr'acte of chilly days and frigid nights.  The signs of Spring—blossoming trees, greening lawns, colorful tulips—still seem a long way off. But if you look closely, you'll see signs that our cold-weather days are numbered and that Spring will soon be popping out all over. Have you photographed some signs of Spring? Feel free to add them to this gallery.

More than 450 girls and boys of the Yomechas Guides and Princesses Program raced their "canoes on wheels" March 12 and 19 at O'Neill Middle School. In all, 96 trophies were awarded for speed, original car design, craftsmanship and Indian theme. First through sixth place finishers received ribbons. More information about Yomechas is available on the organization's website.

Faced with friendship dramas, academic pressures and unhealthy cultural messages, girls can find the adolescent years challenging, even daunting. But at least there's Chick Chat, an annual day-long workshop of team-building activities, discussion sessions and fun. The sixth annual Chick Chat, held March 12, attracted 250 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade girls, who filled the halls of Herrick Middle School with a sea of pink t-shirts and chatter. They participated in Chat Room sessions on friendship, relationships, bullying, decision-making and stress management led by professional facilitators…

You know an election is near once campaign signs make their appearance. This year the selection is particularly wide, with nine candidates for village council alone. Surprisingly, each candidate managed to find a combination of colors and typography that was theirs alone. What are the odds of that? Like most aspects of Downers Grove life, the village regulates political signs. Signs of no more than 12 square feet are allowed on private property and can only be placed their with the property owner's permission. Signs that stray into the parkway and other public rights-of-way will be removed by…

Members of the Downers Grove Police Department raised nearly $8,500 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation by having their heads shaved Monday, Feb. 28 at the station. Police Chief Robert Porter sacrificed his hair, as did a dozen officers and two female record department staffers. Fire Chief Jim Jackson and Deputy Chief Rich Mikel came by to offer their support—and ended up shorn, as well. The event was organized by Officer Andrew Blaylock in honor of a family friend, Jacob Kowalik, 7, of Downers Grove. Blaylock also went under the razor in October when Jacob, who suffers from Acute Myelogenous …

Six District 58 schools welcomed children’s book authors and illustrators Feb. 16-18 as part of Authors Festival. The annual event, which generally alternates between north- and south-side schools, allows students in kindergarten through sixth grade to hear how authors find ideas for stories, unleash their creativity and revise their writing.  This year's participating authors and illustrators were Blue Balliett, Phil Bildner, Henry Cole, Caryolyn Crimi, W. Nikola-Lisa and Craig Pierce. They visited El Sierra, Fairmount, Henry Puffer, Indian Trail, Kingsley and Whittier.  The three-day event …