Weekend Recap - Last Shopping Weekend before Christmas

This past weekend started busy. This past week has been filled with holiday parties, and Friday continued the trend. I had a Birthday/Christmas party over in the western burbs for a girlfriend from work. It was an interesting place. I say the 'i' word because it was kind of a local bar, and in fact if BF would've come, I'm sure he would've seen a lot of old high school peeps.

The Lodge was having 7th Heaven, a local Chicago band, playing. They pretty good cover and I've actually seen them before at Rib Fest.

Overall great evening.

I woke up Saturday morning to our first measurable snow fall of the season.

Saturday evening, BF took me on a bit of a date night. BF had gotten a groupon for Chen's up by Wrigleyville a while back and it expires over Christmas. We made our way on the LONGEST bus ride EVER, for a night dinner. I will forewarn anyone who thinks this would be a good place to go, they charge... A LOT... like unnecessarily so. I'm not a cheapskate by any means, but $4.50 for a hot tea is a bit much. Especially when they charged that per person.

Afterward we grabbed a cab to catch the zoo lights down at Lincoln Park zoo. Each year, ComEd (the electric company around here) puts on this free event for the Chicago area. It's really nice to just walk around and enjoy the music while admiring all the lights.

They set up colored light trees over the sea lion exhibit that change to music!

They even had an ice sculpting exhibit! Check out that cool Moose!

The evening was topped off by awesome Hot Chocolate and Christmas specials.

Sunday was a much more relaxing day. BF had to attend a baptism of a fraternity brother's new beautiful little girl. I had some errands to run including trying to locate a gloriously heinous holiday outfit for our office party on Tuesday. (Mel - I love you, but threatening people with paying for the party for not wearing an ugly sweater is somewhat unfair when our own company doesn't even SELL these things!). I spent the afternoon/evening doing laundry/ wrapping gifts/ cleaning/ and writing this blog.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

AND DON'T FORGET:

TODAY'S THE LAST DAY TO ENTER THE CHICAGO BELT GIVEAWAY!

Weekend Recap - Volunteerism & Porkchops

This past weekend was one of my most relaxing in a really long time.

Friday, BF was super kind to come over and collect my new chair for delivery!  That evening we went out to dinner and decided to try a restaurant long recommend to me by a former co-worker and good friend: Yu's Mandarine.

BF was especially excited because he's been talking non-stop about how they make noodles ever since we saw and episode of Chef vs.City: Atlanta where they had to make noodles with a long piece of dough basically hitting hit and pulling it like taffy till it took shape. We got way too much food, and the 'Noodle Show' was kind of a let down, but overall it was nice to get out on a 'date'.

Saturday my Junior League hosted an event at the Naperville Barnes and Noble. We had crafts and reading to kids, and handed out fliers so that a portion of the purchases went towards our Book fund. We collect donations of funds and books to disperse books within the community to increase literacy.

While I was participating in this event, BF spent the afternoon watching PURDUE KICK OSU BUTT! YES! And make homemade Giardiniera.... Ok, for those of you who don't know what this is (everyone not  from Chicago or of an Italian heritage), it's basically a spicy oil based relish of peppers that people put on everything from hot dogs to Italian beefs and salads. BF wants to make it to hand out this Holiday season. He got the bug from me last year with my spiced tea and Olive tapenade (recipe per Testa's which they were kind enough to give me over the phone and has become a staple in my holiday cooking and hosting.)

After the event, I made my way to BF's parents (where he and his dad were cutting up the ingredients to the giardiniera) for an afternoon/evening of football and laziness. 

Sunday was spent relaxing and watching a Muppet's Christmas carol & football, but also being a cleaning machine (much needed). I also made a Sunday Supper for the two of us which included:

Mustard Marinated Porkchops

Mashed Potatoes

Fresh Green Beans (sauteed with green onions and garlic)

Apple & Vidalia onion relish for the chops

I got the Porkchop recipe from the cookbook we received at the wedding last weekend! Who knew that chops were so cheap! (seriously they're so much cheaper than beef or chicken).

Sadly, I was unaware that partially due to his college nickname and partially due to how fraternity houses typically over-cook food, BF is not a huge fan of porkchops. He said mine were pretty good though, although he says that doesn't mean he wants them every night. 

And even though the Blackhawks and the Bears won, I think BF and I can agree the biggest win was the Ohio State game. Overall a great weekend!

What'd you do this weekend? Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving?

Weekend Recap - Halloween 2011

This past weekend is one of BF's faves (if you couldn't already tell from his BF Corner Entries).

He's gotten into biking over the last couple years, and there's a fun Chicago activity that involved both on Friday evening. My work was nice enough to let me work from home on Friday which allowed be to be 'off' at 5:30 vs. fighting the traffic into the city. This was vital seeing as how we needed to be at the event by 6:30 pm.

So what am I talking about? Critical Mass! Basically everyone meets at Daley plaza in the financial area, just down the street from Macy's (Marshall Fields). They hand out maps, and as it gets later people start riding their bikes in the road together till they amass enough people to take over the road. There's no organization; this happens the last Friday of every month, except Friday's was Halloween themed! I've never done this before and BF says sometimes people wear costumes even when it's not Halloween but this was especially festive.

Daley Plaza was already in the festive mood changing the fountain to orange and hanging orange lights for a non related children's Halloween festival complete with free hot cocoa and apple cider!

Bf had joked a few weeks ago about being Pooh for Halloween, and I got excited and wanted to be piglet. So the joke became reality :). I even had some pretty sweet pink pants!

BF's dad even came out to ride with us. He was dressed as an "Occupy" protester.

After the ride, a lot of the riders ended up at Galloway Arms. Thankfully just down the street from BF's apartment. I say 'thankfully' because although I try to support BF in his love for biking, my butt doesn't necessarily agree, and even after ONLY 10 miles (+ the distance to the start and from the finish) I was in a lot of pain. As you may be aware from my Birthday gift for BF, the Nite Ride of 25 miles, I got a pink Schwinn because it had a bigger seat (in hopes of a more comfortable ride), however as BF always says (literally... ALWAYS) "it won't get better until you start riding more). But anywho.

Friday night, my friend MS came in and we proceeded to drink Hallowine (BF found it at Whole Foods and had to get it) and watch scary movies. Typically I'd WANT to put 'scary' in quotations, however I was not kidding. BF found this awful movie called "Trick or Treat". I swear I love him, but he's got something going on upstairs that I'll never understand with his LOVE for scary movies... he typically says it's because he wants to find the 'zipper in the back of the monster costume', however i just don't buy it.

Saturday, BF was kind enough to take MS to breakfast at Nookies as I met up with one of my future Brand Profile companies at Orange with A Peel. Although I didn't order them, I had to share their theme for their silver dollar pancake flight:

Notice the awesome Halloween recipes!

Afterward we all headed up to watch the Purdue game at Red Ivy. Although it started off good, our defense couldn't keep up the energy and we didn't show up for the second half (a sad trend I've been seeing).

MS and I went down the street to Corcoran's for a little while before going back for dinner. She went back out, while BF and I stayed in and cleared his DVR of Dead Files, Ghost Adventures, and Ghost Hunter Episodes. I even got to finally bake my apple pie for us to enjoy. For dinner I made a poor attempt at Hotdog Mummies. 

Sunday, BF & I watched the original Night of the Walking Dead, before making our way out to his parents in the Burbs for an evening of Italian and My Ghost Stories.

I sadly don't expect any trick or treaters tonight as I'm in a condo/apartment building, but I'm going to have some candy just in case.

What did y'all do this weekend? What did you dress up as? Was it EPIC?!?

Weekend Recap - Purdue vs. Notre Dame

This past weekend was the annual Purdue vs. Notre Dame football game, in West Lafayette, IN.

I give the Tailgate crew another GIANT thumbs up for an amazing set up!

There was a keg, grills with cast iron skillets, beer pong, flip cup, murbles, corn hole, satellite tv... overall EXTREMELY impressive! There was a great turn out, although I apologize for hearing the call of Harry's early... and talking my way into the Tri-delt house to use the ladies room...but I am a legacy :)

The Girls & I at the tailgate! I miss y'all so freaking much! We need to do this again this season!

Shortly after this photo we made our way around all of campus, tailgating on the golf course, Slater Hill, and the intramural fields before trolleying it up to Harrold's... PS, who knew there was a free trolley around campus on game days?

We saw many friends and even hung out with a random friend of my dad's at Nine Irish. Overall great day!

Even though we lost horribly on the field....
All I have to say is, Purdue currently has the most form Quarter Backs currently playing in the NFL....
 Man I miss our old football teams....

Weekend Recap - Beating the Heat

This past weekend I had a sorority sister blow into the Windy city, and with her came the heat... :) (SCORCHER ;) ).

We met up on Wednesday for some pedicures and dinner. We went to a local place where she convinced me to be a little adventurous (more to come later).

Afterward, we tried this local restaurant I had found online right down the street from my apartment.

Season52 is an AMAZING addition to my local foodie repertoire!

S.J.P. got the AMAZING Shrimp Salad that came in the most unique serving I've ever seen!

The waiter then lifted the glass bowl up and swirl it so the salad gracefully fell around the plate... lovely.

I got the Fillet Mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus (YUMMERS!)

Then for desert they brought out this little handy endeavour:

Miniture deserts in SHOT GLASSES! Of course they were all ready to serve...

But it gets better! (I know, crazy!)

ALL ITEMS ON THE MENU ARE UNDER 475 CALORIES! The restaurant prides itself on locally grown seasonal sourcing and providing healthy foods in proper portions. I have to add, we left stuffed, almost finishing our plates...

AMAZINGNESS!

Skip ahead to Friday.

I am lucky enough to get Summer Hours which entails the ability to leave work on Fridays around noon (or whenever in the afternoon we can sneak away). It's awesome. I left to meet up with some friends around 3pm for a happy hour at Bandito's down the street.

Mmmmm John Daley's!

Saturday I made my way into the city to meet up with a reader! It is so neat to connect with people from this little adventure of mine (and I extend the invitation that if you're ever in the area and would like to meet up, let me know!). Well K.B. (not to be confused with my sorority sister K.B.) and I met just down the street from BF's apartment at this little french restaurant, Bistrot Margot. It was lovely!

I'm somewhat sad I don't have my old french skills (although I'm sure Marce and Madame Weisendanger can attest they were never Stellar to begin with).

I greatly enjoyed the Croque Madame (basically a ham and cheese sandwich with and egg on top, and breakfast potatoes on the side). K.B was having a craving for the pancakes which they topped with the most amazing looking berries. Overall, it was a quaint restaurant, with great service, and limited crowd.

After brunch and some fun chatting about the south and Chicago, I made my way to Oak St. Beach to meet up with some sorority sisters who recently moved to the city. After some catching up, one of them caught a glimpse of my toes...

"Wait... You PAID for that???" ~E.S.

Yes, I got sea green nail-polish with a white french tip... while S.P. got purple with a silver glitter tip. I am officially crazy.

I ended up meeting S.P. again that evening while her hubby and sister-in-law went to a Goo Goo Dolls concert (yes, they still perform, apparently make new music as seen in the new Transformers movie, and S.P.'s hubby is OBSESSED!). 

We went just down the street from BF's apartment to Adobe grill, an old standby favorite.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the FRESH GUAC!

Multiple Margs were a MUST!

 After some fun convo and delish food, we headed back to BF's apt where he insisted upon viewing his acting debut in POINT BREAK: LIVE. Long story short, this was a live version of the heinous 90's movie that appeared on stage in Chicago last summer. BF got pulled up to play the part of Keanu Reeve's character, Johnny Utah. And confusion/hilarity ensues.

 After a long day/night with friends, we crashed.

 Sunday we got up late and went to Brunch at our (My) favorite breakfast place, Nookies. We road our bikes (which BF could not be more thrilled about, but my butt was less thrilled about). I'm still getting used to this, especially in the increasing heat and humidity (I did NOT move to Chicago for 114 humidity!).

After brunch, we road our bikes to Oak Street beach to get cool in the lake and wait on BF's volleyball game. The sand was so hot, I staid on my towel or in the water the whole time (ps... Lake Michigan is gross, the that so does NOT count as a Beach). But what a view:

Hancock tower

View from the bike path.

After all that beach time, we made our way to the movies to meet up with G.M. to see Harry Potter! It was very sad to see that whole story line come to a close.

Phew... quite the weekend I know.... I'm just trying to survive this massive heat wave taking hold of the Midwest. I feel like Madame Summer just didn't think we knew it was summer and was like 'oh, you haven't turned your fans on yet... let me heat things up a bit so you have that honor'. I CAN NOT WAIT to go to the Beach!

What are y'all doing to stay cool?

Weekend Recap - Here comes the sun

This past weekend I was determined to be productive, what with the weather supposed to be so crappy. Especially, with being out of town the previous weekend I was hoping for some much needed down time. Ended up going out for drinks with a co-worker after work on Friday which led to sleeping till 11am on Saturday (something I have done in ages!) I then proceeded to try to motivate myself to be productive, which wasn't helped by the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family....

As I started to pack for my move in a month (SO STOKED!), the sun started to come out, and I started to get texts from friends in the city enjoying cocktails in the beautiful weather.... and I caved. I wrapped up what I was working on, and made my way into the city. 

It was BF's best friend's birthday, so we made plans to head out on the town. After one lame dive bar, we ended up at Uncle Fattys. I happened to really like this place, as it's more chill, there's always dancing, and typically a live band; not to mention the fabulous fishbowl cocktails!

After much fun was had, we made our way back to chill on the patio in the beautiful spring weather! Overall, great night!

Sunday, I woke BF early for a breakfast at Nookies :) and a walk around Lincoln park, where there was apparently some sort of grilling festival, as we found a giant Weber grill and the Wiener mobile. (Pictures below):

My weak 'attempt' to 'steal' the weinermobile

After walking around a bit we went back to relax. BF's parents came in for the afternoon and wanted to see the new vegetarian documentary "Fork over Knife". After which we went to the Chicago Diner which offers vegetarian and vegan options. It was an overall interesting experience.

I made my way back to the Burbs just in time to miss driving through the crazy weather we got here in the midwest. I would vote this weekend a success for my social calendar, but a quasi-fail for my wallet ;).

What'd you do this weekend? Are you getting revved up for all the summer festivals coming up soon?

Weekend Recap: Is it South Carolina Yet?

Just like the changing seasons, so does the days of my life.... hahaha (just a little 'Days of Our Lives' for those who remember).

This past weekend I took a long weekend to my second home, i.e. Greenville, SC.

For those of your that frequent this little literary endeavor, you may have read a little bit about my obsession here.

I was attempting to surprise my Dad because I know how much he wanted me home for Easter. Tickets were so expensive for that weekend, so I had to pick another weekend. Everything was going as planned right up until the night before my flight.... when my mom called to tell me my dad was refusing to make the drive from Atlanta as we were expecting 'sh**ty' weather and we had to be back home Sunday for a re-commitment ceremony of some close friends. So, the cover was blown. But I had a ride from the airport at noon on Friday.

It was a great weekend filled with lots of cleaning, organizing, and chilling on the porch/patio. It was a much needed 3-day weekend. 

Sorry for the long dry-spell on entries... things are just crazy with everything going on between work, junior league, and ... LIFE! Stay tuned, as craziness leads to more interesting adventures. :)

Weekend Recap - Spring into Summer!

This was the seemingly first nice weekend we've had so far this year! The weather was simply gorgeous, birds chirping, nice breeze, and a perfect 65!

I had some tentative plans for the weekend, but the longer I live in Chicago the more I am letting plans come to me. (this is a completely new concept to me, as I'm a complete planner and need excessive amounts of time ahead to verify plans).

Friday night I took a load of party supplies into BF's apartment in Lincoln Park, starting to prep for my Derby Party next weekend. We stayed in Friday night to just relax, save money, and catch up on his newly downloaded movies.

Saturday I had made a few plans. Got up and grab my once-in-awhile Starbucks down the street on my way to a meeting. I ran into my old sorority sister Emily. We passed the vague 'give me a call later, and we'll meet up for drinks', we both continued on our way. Em and I have a funny running-into-each other relationship. We haven't gotten to hang out a ton since college, but she's a pace-leader at a running store down the street from BF's apartment. With their super early morning running schedule, I'm always seeing her walking to and from the store on my way to Purdue for tailgates or on my way to breakfast (she is amazing and has run the marathon like 3 years in a row... I wish I like running...).

I made my way to my meeting (to be discussed in an entry all it's own.... dun dun dun). I didn't realize how quickly the brown line would get me downtown, and had like an hour to kill. I pulled out my trusty iPhone map-app and found a breakfast place close by.

I stopped into Meli Cafe just to have a cup of coffee and kill sometime, and decided to order their fruit plate:

Amazing! Everything was fresh and cold. The fruit came with a little dollop of whipped cream and their house Honey.... Yes, they make their own Honey and Syrup! They have a great juice bar and a friendly staff; I never felt weird for eating alone! As I was enjoying my lite brunch and reading up for my meeting, one of the owners, Yiannis, sat down next to me to enjoy an espresso. He treated me as a long lost friend; I've never felt more welcomed! He gladly shared the secrets of his establishment: how it was originally founded in Greek Town (where he was born and raised), how everything on the menu is Fresh and Natural (organic), and what motivated him to open a second location in the Loop. Overall, the atmosphere was bright and welcoming, the staff was friendly and accommodating, and the Mediterranean cuisine was fresh and delicious! Love this place for breakfast and brunch!

After my meeting I headed back up to Lincoln Park. BF was helping his friend move into the Garden unit of his building; he's more than a little excited, and I'm more than a little afraid it'll turn into the fraternity house all over again...

I stopped off and picked up some Jimmy John's subs for lunch and proceeded home to help out  with the move as well. After a while, I decided to take Emily up on her offer to meet up, and BF and I met her at Corcoran's down the street.

We had a wonderful time, enjoying the nice (albeit cloudy) weather on their patio. I sipped my John Daley, while Emily enjoyed her peno. 

After awhile, BF and I said our good-byes and made our way further north on Lincoln for a house warming party for a friend of ours.

Overall, the weekend was pretty chill and turned out rather nice. 

What'd you do this weekend? Anything fun? 

As always, if you have any suggestions for things to do, please let me know! Thanks!

Weekend Recap: Operation Easter

 This past weekend was Easter, and I sadly was unable to go home. Instead BF and I intended to spend the weekend with his family, but there were some extenuating circumstances. Between family emergencies and the like, I tried to keep BF's mind off the heavy issues by keeping him entertained. Saturday I met him at his parents and convinced him to go to a local Naperville put-put course. I kind of think he let me win. But we continued on to dinner (like a proper high school date). After a brief walk around downtown Naperville (which is just a darling suburb, as it probably should be for the median income) we settled upon Heaven on Seven:

This is a Cajun themed restaurant that actually started in downtown Chicago. They pride themselves on their vast collection of Hot Sauces... some 1,500+!

View to left

View to the right

View to the center

Personally, I'm not a huge 'spicey' person. Being a good Carolina girl, I do love my ground black pepper, but BF tried to embrace his Italian side and puts hot sauce on everything! Needless to say, he loves this place.

BF went with the Etoufee of the Day

I had the Jumbalia

Also greatly anticipating the Derby, I had to order a Mint Julep, and let me tell you.... this is my absolute favorite drink!

Hot Buns at the Beach - Hot Sauce

All in all, this place was a lot of fun. They had a great atmosphere and the food/drink was divine. Made me miss home!

What did YOU do for Easter?