North Shore Yoga is a good place to unwind, stretch out and awaken your mind, body and spirit. Tucked away in a second story office suite on Happ Road in Northfield, teacher and owner Sharyn Galindo helps clients to achieve their fullest potential - both physically and spiritually.
As an avid runner for over 30 years myself, I was surprised to hear that Sharyn has given up participating in marathons and triathalons to devote herself to yoga. Although she still occasionally runs and walks and does some weight work, she discovered that yoga provides most of her workout and keeps her as fit as when she was running. Her knowledge of this ancient art is extensive and ongoing - she travels to Thailand at least once a year to study with her teacher.
North Shore Yoga started out in a storefront next to Homer's Ice Cream in Wilmette, then moved to the present location in 2005. Sharyn has approximately 20 instructors each of whom has their own individual style within the class that they are teaching. She has two workout rooms, both kept warm (but not hot) to help warm up muscles and prevent injury.
Two styles of yoga are taught here: Asthanga Yoga and Vinyasa Flow. Asthanga Yoga can be described as:
" a system of yoga that involves synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures—a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body, and a calm mind." (copyright Asthanga.com) As Sharyn explained it, Astanga is a series of set postures that are always the same.
Vinyasa Flow Yoga is a breath-syncronized movement where the teacher will instruct students to move from one pose to the next on an exhale or inhale. It is sometimes just called Flow because of the smooth way the moves run together like a dance. Vinyasa differs from Ashtanga in that sets are followed but necessarily the same poses every time.
The yoga schedule at North Shore Yoga is ongoing - one can join anytime. They offer a free introductory session once a month that teaches the basics, as well as
Also at this location is a small boutique offering materials and clothing for yoga practice. The first class in the morning is at 6:00 a.m. and continues until the last class at 6:30 p.m. For the short time that I was there one morning, the studio was very busy with ingoing an outgoing devotees (all looking extremely fit and relaxed!)
If you've wanted to give yoga a try, visit Sharyn's studio at:
310 Happ Road
Northfield, IL 60093 (847-784-8844)
The August real estate sales for Winnetka,Wilmette, Northfield, Kenilworth and Glencoe have dipped and jumped like a roller coaster. From month to month there is no steady increase or decrease that I can make any predictions about.
The one thing I noticed in Winnetka is that 2/3 of the sold homes were over $1,000,000 - probably just an anomoly but interesting nevertheless.
Winnetka - 19 closed sales
781 Locust $528,000
611 Lincoln $685,000
520 Meadow $700,000
1175 Hamptondale $725,000
1004 Elm $760,000
1560 Asbury $900,000
170 Birch $1,000,000
1173 Cherry $1,025,000
1270 Asbury $1,035,000
555 Arbor Vitae $1,320,000
377 Provident $1,338,000
95 Indian Hill $1,400,000
1036 Oak $1,500,000
480 Willow $1,800,000
110 Evergreen $1,830,800
15 Old Green Bay $1,950,000
1149 Laurel $2,130,000
161 Apple Tree $2,645,000
814 Prospect $2,750,000
Northfield - 4 Closed Sales
66 Coventry $642,600
70 Canterbury $650,000
2262 Drury $885,000
2208 Drury $2,200,000
Kenilworth - 5 Closed Sales
649 Kenilworth $522,500
405 Sterling $627,500
605 Brier $853,200
230 Oxford $1,400,000
305 Kenilworth $1,750,000
Wilmette - 23 Closed Sales
827 Lavergne $350,000
2319 Schiller $446,000
907 Pawnee $450,000
2138 Elmwood $451,000
2211 Lake $455,000
231 Kilpatrick $455,000
1220 Princeton $492,000
815 Chilton $501,000
3511 Forest, $509,000
208 Fourth $575,000
1723 Elmwood $615,000
2137 Greenwood $639,000
1928 Thornwood $642,500
111 Westmoreland $699,000
1010 12th $700,000
911 Sheridan $782,000
2038 Beechwood $815,000
715 Washington $853,000
924 Greenwood $1,055,000
823 Ashland $1,095,000
1029 Elmwood $1,250,000
716 9th $1,400,000
1133 Ashland $1,437,500
Glencoe - 9 Closed Sales
490 Park $210,000
140 Linden $527,000
180 Randolph $605,000
268 Sheridan $628,000
788 Glencoe $664,000
111 Euclid $800,000
926 Sheridan $900,000
348 Madison $987,000
587 Longwood $2,050,000
I remember exactly the moment that I fell in love with all things French. Having traveled the country extensively and mangled the language thoroughly, I decided to ask Maria Kurt, owner and founder of the French Institute of the North Shore how and why she fell in love with France and French culture.
And so it was her mother who inspired her and taught her that there is a much wider world out there beyond our own. Although her family lived in quaint Whitefish Bay in Wisconsin, her mother loved the international community and traveled abroad often. When Maria was 16 she went a a grand two-month tour of Europe where France inevitably grabbed her heart.
Maria went on to major in French in college . . . then spent a year in Paris . . . then was awarded her Master's Degree in French and Education . . . then spent another year in Paris . . . and then taught high school French for many years. In 1998 she opened the French Institute of the North Shore in Winnetka as an adult French language school. 
In 2000 she bought the building where the school currently operates at 562 Green Bay Road in Winnetka and expanded it to include a French immersion preschool. They offer classes for 3, 4, and 5 year olds for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. From day one, only French is spoken and within 1 month, the children are happily comprehending French stories with complete ease. Maria says that the childrens' oral comprehension (the most difficult task for a student of language) is excellent since they have been hearing it spoken for so many years. After the children enter grammar school, the French Institute offers Continuing Education twice a week until they reach junior high.
Students learn more than just the language - lots of fun cultural activities keep the children involved and motivated including a February 2 holiday that features crepe making and Mardi Gras in March. The students have their own kitchen area to prepare French specialties.
Upon entering her foyer you will be pleasantly surprised to find yourself in an office building somehwere in Paris - such is the welcoming feeling of this salon-like room. All rooms in the school are named: the Paris and Versailles rooms for adult learning, Provence for the very country feeling kitchen, and L'Orangerie, le Jardin, and Le Cote d'Azure for the children's rooms. 
This year Maria has expanded to include Spanish immersion classes in a new school called Spanish School Winnetka. She envisions that the Spanish classes will overtake the French in enrollment within a short period of time based on the fact that the ratio of Spanish to French students at New Trier High School is 3 to 1.
Maria's staff of teachers are all from France and generally take a year long sabbatical from their teaching jobs in France. Her Spanish speaking teachers will come from various countries including Guatamala and Mexico. Approximatley 50% of the students are from Winnetka and 50% for surrounding communities which brings in a diverse group of students.
If you would like to brush up your French or Spanish or would like to introduce your children to the wonders of another culture and language, please give the French Institute of the North Shore a call.
French Institute of the North Shore
562 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL 60093
847-501-5800
July on the North Shore was good for home sales with a spike in closed sales for all communities listed here. The sales are also an improvement over 2008 before the recession started.
Winnetka
Winnetka had 30 sales in July, an improvement over June which had 21 sales. The sale prices ranged from $380,000 for a 50 x 160 lot on Scott St. to $4,350,000 for a lakefront home on Hoyt. The average sale price was $1,434,260 and the median was $1,100,000.
Wilmette
Wilmette's housing turnover improved with 26 sales in July, compared to June where 23 houses sold. The range was from $200,000 for an REO property on Illinois up to $1,665,000 for a 6-year old home on Forest. The average sale price was $813,000 and the median price was $643,000.
Kenilworth
5 sales in Kenilworth - a great improvement over June where only 1 house sold. The low price was $435,000 for a 2 bedroom farmhouse on Sterling and the high price was for $3,350,000 for a beautifully remodeled 1912 home on Woodstock. The average Kenilworth sale price in July was $1,867,000 and the median was $1,750,000.
Glencoe
Glencoe held fairly steady with 14 sales in July compared to 13 sales in June. The low price was $210,000 for an old farmhouse on Park up to $2,125,000 for fully renovated brick home on Hazel. The average sale price in July was $933,850 and the median price was $837,000.
Northfield
Northfield had 7 sales in July up from June sales of 4. The low price was $437,500 for a nice 3 bedroom ranch on Jeffrey, and the high price was for $1,287,500 for a house on an acre lot overlooking Sunset Ridge Country Club. The average sold price in Northfield was $749,000 and the median price was $650,000. These numbers have Northfield and Wilmette running pretty close as far as home prices go.
According to the National Association of Realtors:
"For the first time in 2 years existing home sales in the Chicago area have shown a year-over-year improvement. Media outlets such as the Chicago Tribune tout the news as a possible “sign that the local housing market may have, from a sales volume standpoint, bottomed out.”
Bottomed out in sales volume perhaps, but unfortunately for sellers (and very fortunatley for buyers) sale prices have not yet bottomed out. But this is surely a good omen!
Olive Oil is a fresh new eatery in downtown Wilmette in the space formerly occupied by the coffee shop Spilling the Beans. I decided to check it out after several friends recommended it. The owner, Rosie Petropoulos, knows about "fresh" foods, having owned and operated the "Chicago Fruit Market" for many years in Chicago. Since their storage space is small, Rosie purchases fresh ingedients daily.
The restaurant is a family affair with food being prepared by Rosie's husband Oved and her sister Lili who are avid cooks. Her daughter was also involved until a new baby rearranged her priorities. After looking at many different locations to open her new restaurant she walked into the former coffee store space and "women's intuition" told her this was the perfect spot. She loves the area, being on the corner right across the parking lot 
from the train station.
I took to their innovative creations right away - I love the Mediterranean menu and diet. Rosie's background is Mediterranean, French and Italian and her husband is from Israel. Being a vegetarian I found plenty to eat there, but she also has many meat and chicken entrees, with lamb being the local favorite of her customers. She also makes a dish called "Shawarma" which is her version of a gyro sandwich, except she uses chicken. The chicken is not molded and formed, but whole pieces that are thinly carved for the sandwiches.
Some other standouts are:
Plus lots of falafel, hummus, baba ghannoush, feta cheese, olives, and eggplant. She also whimsically offers a "VIP" Menu, otherwise known as the children's menu. Kids love her chicken fingers made from whole pieces of chicken and lightly breaded as well as mac & cheese using Parmesan, Gruyere and American cheeses.
Olive Oil has a full liquor license with cocktails, beer and wine served by the glass or bottle. How about cooling off on a hot summer night with a "Cardamon Bloody Zing Zang?" Or stopping by in the morning for a Turkish coffee with cardamon.
The restaurant is open 7 days a week from 11-9 but will stay open later on weekend nights. Take-out is available and she will soon have a specific menu called "Chef to Go" just for that purpose. Outdoor dining is offered during the summer. Treat yourself and stop by for lunch or dinner!
Olive Oil Restaurant
1154 Central St., Wilmette, IL
847-256-1002
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