By Tribune-Review

Published: Friday, August 31, 2012, 10:06 p.m.
Updated: Friday, August 31, 2012

The Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour, the oldest house tour in the city, takes place for its 43rd time from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 9.

The self-guided tour will feature several homes and gardens throughout the historic North Side neighborhood.

The homes include complete restorations and works in progress. In addition to the tour, there will be a free midway on Monterey Street with antique cars, vendors, artists and food from local restaurants.

Tickets for the tour are $20, $18 in advance. Tickets are available through the group's website or at the ticket booth on the corner of Monterey Street and West North Avenue the day of the tour.

The tour weekend will kick off with a Preservation Gala from 7 to 11 p.m. Sept. 7 at the National Aviary. Funds raised at the gala benefit the Mexican War Streets Society's Historic Facade Restoration program. Tickets for the gala are $75 or two for $125.

Details: www.mexicanwarstreets.org

You can read your duvet as you go to sleep

It started as a design project. Tiago da Fonseca, whose work can be found at Moss (www.mossonline.com), has created a duvet cover called Bedtime Stories. It's bedding, printed with a story. Which makes so much sense.

This is a particularly sophisticated duvet cover. Layered like the pages of a book, it can be turned as it is read — or for warmth.

On his website, Da Fonseca describes it this way: “ ‘Bedtime Stories' completely involves the reader in the story and each page adds or removes a layer of comfort to each side of the bed — more pages makes you warmer and comfier, hopefully guiding you and your partner into a pleasant night's sleep.... It is even possible to remove pages, just like you would do in a book (if you dare!).”

But what kind of story will you fall asleep under? How about a fairy tale.

Da Fonseca went back to the original Brothers Grimm for the perfect bedtime story.

He chose “Briar Rose” — better and more warmly known as “Sleeping Beauty.”

The Bedtime Stories duvet cover is for sale on Etsy for about $100.

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