Chicago

scenes from the weekend

Brace yourselves–it’s going to be a long post!

But isn’t it pictures of food that brings you to blogs like this in the first place? I guess I really shouldn’t be apologizing but instead accepting “thank yous” for posting the following glorious food pictures–try not to drool on your keyboard (I’ve heard that computer warranties tend not to cover food envy-induced drool).

The weekend started with my early Saturday morning ritual: SPIN!

As usual it was heart-pumping, music-blasting, sweat-dripping fun!

Breakfast was a new cereal–Kashi Vanilla Graham (with a banana and almond milk)

Verdict: it’s delicious!! I really love it and will definitely be getting this from now on. It’s a happy medium between the regular Kashi GoLean and Kashi GoLean Crunch, and with the banana it was the perfect amount of sweet.

I spent the ENTIRE day researching which type of laptop to get: a Mac or a new PC. It’s an impossible situation because everyone has such a strong opinion one way or the other. On the one hand, I would like a Mac because it seems like it needs the least amount of maintenance (and as the least “techie” person in the universe, I really need something that doesn’t need “cache cleaning” or “cookie clearing” or whatever the heck good computer maintenance requires). But on the other hand, $1200 is a lot of dough to drop in one purchase. I still haven’t decided for sure but I’m leaning towards finding another PC. We’ll see what happens.

Unlike many people, looking at technology is incredibly stressful and irritating to me, so as I did this I tried to create a new recipe.

It was supposed to be a frittata, but the potatoes were a little too overdone so I decided it would make a better side dish. Zucchini, onions, potatoes, and Herbe de Provence, all mixed with one tablespoon of butter and some salt. I wasn’t sure how it would taste (as you can see it’s not the prettiest dish) but man was it yummy! Definitely had a Thanksgiving-feel.

I had to work at the restaurant last night but luckily I was cut early. I was able to catch a train downtown at a decent hour and met up with Zman and his roommate, who just happens to be my good friend from high school (funny how that all worked out!) We decided that we wanted to have a quiet night in so we went to Walgreens, got some snacks and picked up “Django Unchained” from Redbox. We were all set for a movie night!

That movie–wow. While pretty cartoonish (thanks Tarantino), it was so eye-opening. It was such a fun night and I went to bed stuffed and on a sugar-high.

PS why has the world been hiding Pirate’s Booty from me? SO GOOD! It tasted like healthy Cheetos!

Today we woke up ready for a lazy Sunday. After mass we walked to the Hershey Store, Ghirardelli, Whole Foods, and Giordano’s. I think it’s safe to say where my interests lie.

Cupcake truck! Could there be anything better?

Garlic-parmesean fries

Surprisingly great side salad from Giordano’s with a lemon vinaigrette

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the Chicago River. It was a gorgeous day out and we were so happy to just spend some time together before we go back to spending our work weeks apart.

On my walk back to Union Station to catch a train home, I snapped this pic of the Sears Tower at night. I’m so lucky that I get to spend my weekends in the greatest city in America.

I start an internship tomorrow which will have me in the city even more often. I’m still going to be waitressing some nights in the suburbs, however, so I’m going to be a busy bee. Good thing that’s the way I like it! Here’s to a new chapter, starting with tomorrow 🙂

a day at the beach

It was a perfect 75 degrees in downtown Chicago today, complete with a beaming sun and comforting breeze. It was definitely a beach day.

I made plans to meet up with some friends at Oak Street Beach for the afternoon, so I knew I had to get a workout in beforehand. On a day when you’re rocking a bikini you definitely have to have the confidence and endorphins in your body that only come from a good workout.

Crazy enough, I’m still sore from Monday’s bootcamp workout, so I took it pretty easy and didn’t work the muscles that were still sore.

I spy with my little eye….one of the only people working out in the gym! I went on the elliptical for 45 minutes, alternating resistance every 5-10 minutes to keep it challenging.

Followed by the best and greatest ab workout of the past 30 years:

Oh 8 minute abs, you’ll never go out of style.

I got showered and ready to go, but of course didn’t miss breakfast.

1 cup Kashi GoLean Crunch, 1 banana, 1.5 cups almond milk

I had to walk from my boyfriend’s apartment to the beach where my friends were. I say “had to” like it was a tough walk, but really it looked something like this:

Tough view, I know.

Well, besides getting burned (I’ll never learn) and being surrounded by a camp full of 11 year olds with iPhones (crazy), it was a gorgeous day at the beach.

After about 3 hours Megan and I got antsy, so we decided to leave and take a walk down Michigan Avenue. Since Megan just moved back she hasn’t explored Chicago in awhile and it’s just so nice to stroll down the main streets, taking in the shops, sights, and everyday happenings of the city.

Hint: walk in, get free sample, walk out. Day=made

One of the most interesting things happening this weekend in Chicago is the Windy City Rubber Duck Derby. It’s an event where people can “adopt” a rubber duck and watch as it is placed in the Chicago River and competes against other quacks in a floating race to the finish line. The event benefits the Special Olympics, and I think it’s just one of the coolest ideas. Plus all the banners around town to “Adopt a Duck!” were too cute.

We grabbed a late lunch before I had to catch the train home.

I had a Nicoise Salad! It totally reminded me of my time studying abroad in Paris. It was made up of tuna with capers, green beans, hard-boiled eggs, a few small roasted potatoes, tomatoes, and butter lettuce dressed with a Dijon vinaigrette. Baguette on the side, of course 🙂 This was so refreshing and filling at the same time (and worth it, even though it was a very expensive middle-of-the-day meal).

I had just a few minutes to spare before I had to head to Union Station to catch the train home, but Megan and I knew we wanted to take a picture at The Bean for fun on such a sunny day. The Bean, aka Cloud Gate (but you’ll never hear a Chicagoan call it that), is essentially a sculpture that sits in the middle of one of the biggest parks in Chicago (Millennium Park). It won a design competition about a decade ago, and while some people said it wasn’t possible to construct and wouldn’t be popular anyway, it has become a Chicago sensation.

I mean, come on! It’s just so unique. There’s nothing in the world quite like seeing a reflection of yourself.

Oh, and did I mention it’s Tourist Central? It’s always jam-packed with people trying to Instagram their reflection or come up with the coolest new pose to do in front of it with their friends. We just had to sneak a quick, cute picture in. And I’m glad we did! It was the perfect ending to a long, fun day.

The train ride was longgggggggggg (and I almost got away without paying but my Honest Abe ways got the best of me). It was made better by this (surprisingly) delicious iced coffee from Corner Bakery.

Caffeine is appropriate no matter the hour.

I hope you all felt the sunshine in your cities today too! It finally feels like summer 🙂

scenes from the weekend

Aside from feeling sick on Saturday and pretty much slothing it up all day, I had an amazing weekend. My best friend Megan and I went to separate colleges after high school and have tried our best to visit each other at least once a year, but now she’s all moved back to Chicago! It’s so great to have her back. I spent much of the weekend catching up with her. We’re both in the same boat for the next few months (unpaid internships whadddup) and it’s so nice to have someone who can relate. Post-college life is definitely strange!

As usual I took plenty of pictures of our shenanigans so without further ado, scenes from my weekend!

Cruising down Lake Shore Drive

Homemade cookies for our friends on Friday! Chocolate-Toffee-Chip yumm

Megan and me 🙂

Reunited with my college roommate wooo

Never skip breakfast: Starbucks iced coffee with soy, a banana, banana bread Gnu bar

When you forget your socks and have to wear your boyfriend’s….Cute lookThis make me wonder how all the residents of Chicago aren’t marathon runners…if I lived here permanently I would never stop running the lakefront path

Thought-provoking billboard on my run: LUST, RUST, DUST

Burrito Beach baja chicken tacos…10x better than Chipotle (but I did miss the guac)

Taken while waiting in line to get Garrett’s Popcorn (you know it’s good when there’s a line for popcorn)

As we walked home along the Chicago River there was a family getting off their boat with huge plates of food. As we we passed them they yelled to us to offer us sandwiches! I’m never one to turn down free food so I grabbed a turkey sandwich and put it in the fridge for later. You guys…the bread was the softest thing I’ve ever held…I wanted to take a nap and have that sandwich be the pillow

It was such a great weekend that even the stop-and-go traffic on my way home didn’t rain on my parade.

I hope you all had an amazing weekend and that the weather is as beautiful for you as it is here. I just want to be outside all day! Summer is finally here …better late than never 😉

Little Goat Diner

This weekend I had the pleasure of trying one of Chicago’s up-and-coming restaurants. Or, I guess I should say, her little sister. Many people have heard of “Girl and the Goat”, the restaurant that opened up a few years ago on Randolph Street by Top Chef Winner Stephanie Izard. It’s famous for its 3 month long reservation list and funky “shared plates” atmosphere, but let’s be honest: sometimes when you’re hungry you’re just not prepared for that much flair.

That’s where Little Goat Diner comes in.

Stephanie opened Little Goat directly across the street from Girl and the Goat originally as a bakery and possibly a small breakfast joint. It soon turned into another huge success and expanded into the large diner that is known and loved by Chicagoans today.

Z-man and I arrived around 8:30 on Sunday night hoping to score a table. We knew we would have to wait (there are always people lined along the front entrance waiting for a table) so we grabbed a menu and looked it over.

This place has everything! From cheap diner eats to comfort food and everything in between, picking just one style of food seemed next to impossible. Even after the 30 minute wait I still had no idea what I was going to choose.

Sadly I’m not a big meat eater so eating goat was out of the question. And as I’ve said before, Z-man is the plainest eater on earth. But regardless of our preferences, we found so many things we wanted to try. The things that stood out to me were their cream cheese crab dip, Fat Elvis pancakes (smothered in peanut butter butter, bananas, and bacon syrup), the pork and toffee crunch milkshake (yes, in the same shake), and a seafood dish called “Boo Boo Baise” (for what reason I still don’t know).

This had to be the most random menu I’ve ever stumbled upon.

Needless to say, we took our stomachs for a ride and chose a few dishes to sample.

First up was a dark chocolate crunch pancake–complete with chocolate malt butter

I was hesitant to order this (dessert before dinner is ingrained in my head as blasphemy) but I’m so glad we did. It was amazing. It was the most chocolatey thing I’ve eaten in a long time, and the texture that the little malt pieces added was such a cool addition.

For our main courses we each decided to go with our sassy waiter’s recommendations, even though they were a bit out of our comfort zones (I was planning on bee-lining for the tuna melt).

I ordered the Fish Tostadas

Three tostadas topped with crisp whitefish, shallot aioli, chickpea and onion salad, and a harissa vinaigrette. It was really good!

Z-man loved his sandwich too (and I loved him for not ordering a plain burger)

The “Los Drowned” sandwich: braised beef, avocado, butterkase cheese, pickled peppers and onions, and spicy mayo.

The highlight of the meal, however, was the french fries!!!

These. were. incredible. They’re called “smoked fries” and for good reason: they tasted like the lovechild of french fries and bbq potato chips. They were like “open-mouth-tongue-falling-out-gotta-roll-it-back-in-before-i-drool-all-over-the-table” good.

Sweet lord.

My stomach was mad at me for the rest of the night for forcing so many types of food into my body at once but I didn’t even care. It was a meal to die for. Next time I go (which will be soon), I plan on either ordering breakfast (Croque monsieur omelet, I’m coming for you) or picking from a bunch of their sides. They have mac and cheese, buttered dinner rolls that I could smell from across the restaurant, and I really have to have the hot crab dip. The best thing about this place is I feel like not only could I go back, I have to go back just to try a dozen other things. I’m already planning my next trip. And who knows…maybe one day I’ll even be grown up enough to make it to Girl and the Goat. If the little sister restaurant is this good, I can’t imagine how great the other one is!

Big Ten 10K Recap!

Guys I had the BEST run today 🙂

The Big Ten 10K along the lakefront in Chicago was SO much fun! I felt great the entire run and ended in a time that I’m incredibly happy with. I am so proud of myself today! Sometimes running can be difficult because progress (i.e. speed, distance) can be slow, but trust me, if I can make progress, anyone can!

So without further ado, a wordless recap of the Big Ten 10K!

And of course, a delicious post-run breakfast 🙂

Spinach/tomato/mozz omelet with potatoes. The rest was saved for later. Except for the coffee…that was gone in a flash!

All in all, the run was amazing. Gorgeous views, breezy weather, good friends, great new music on my iPod, school spirit, Chicago pride….I had a great time. And I completely exceeded my personal expectations for my time. I hope everyone else is having a great Saturday!

Jazzin’ at the Shedd

Even though yesterday was one of the *hottest* and *most humid* days I’ve experienced in awhile, it was incredible. Who knew hump day could be so much fun??

I slept in nice and late Wednesday and got up for a quick 5 mile run before catching the train downtown.

It was time for another date night! This past week Z and I have been able to squeeze in 2 date nights which is pretty remarkable considering how much we both work (him during the day, me at night). We had plans to go to the Shedd Aquarium downtown!

It kept sporadically raining on my walk from Union Station to where we were meeting on Michigan Avenue, so we decided to take meet at a Walgreens and take refuge in there until the rain stopped. While beating the heat in the frozen food aisle, we used trusty ol’ Yelp to find somewhere to eat dinner before heading to the aquarium. Fortunately, there was a hidden French cafe just around the corner!

For those of you who don’t know me, I live and breaaathe all things French. I was a French language minor in college and studied abroad in Paris for a semester, and have traveled two other times to the lovely country. Aside from the beautiful language and culture, I *adore* French food. So seeing the words “Patisserie and Cafe” pop up on Yelp got me super excited!

Oh my gosh it was perfect.

The cafe was full of dark espresso, sparkling wines, gooey macarons and classic french sandwiches on crusty baguettes. I think I died and went to heaven.

I ordered an old standby: croque monsieur! It’s basically a ham and cheese sandwich on steroids. To round of the meal, my (daily) guilty pleasure while I was studying in Paris: a chocolate macaron!

Om nom nom. We ate those sandwiches so fast and even Z (the plainest eater on the planet) loved it: he even said it was better than Subway. Life’s little victories.

After dinner we took a walk through Millennium Park to get to the aquarium.

After taking a few much-needed breaks (85% humidity will do that to you), we were finally at the Shedd Aquarium!

Every Wednesday throughout the summer, the Shedd Aquarium puts on an event called “Jazzin’ at the Shedd”. You get access to the whole aquarium after hours, and then get to head outside for cocktails, live jazz music, and spectacular views of the city as the sun slowly goes down. If you live in Chicago or are planning a visit, it’s something I definitely recommend. It can get crowded and it’s not free, but it’s such a wonderful thing to experience.

The event ended with fireworks coming off of Navy Pier. It doesn’t get more “summer” than that.

All in all, a spectacular night. There’s nothing like summer in Chicago!

Date Night!

Tonight I experienced a whole new neighborhood in the city of Chicago: Wicker Park!

I’ve never been to that neighborhood before so I didn’t know what to expect but thankfully I was blown away by how cool it was. I might be biased, but Chicago is the best. It has everything!

Before I had date night which, as you may have guessed, did not include healthy eating (I stopped my detox diet last night with a wedding reception…hey 6 days is pretty darn good!) so I made sure to get in a good workout beforehand.

30 minutes on the stairmaster alternating speeds back and forth every 2 minutes

20 minutes on the elliptical

20 minute upper body workout (3 types of curls, overhead tricep extensions, shoulder raises)

Then I was off to explore the city!

Wicker Park is a Chicago neighborhood northwest of the Loop. It was full of young people, (mostly hipsters, let’s be real), outdoor patio bars, eccentric shops, narrow houses, and hidden gardens. I. Loved. It.

The thing about Chicago is that these “neighborhoods” are all connected by the CTA, an above-ground subway system, so you can just jet from one to the next in no time. Each one has its own flair so every time you get off at a stop you are immersed in a whole new corner of the city.

I have wanted to try Piece Pizza for almost seven years now after a coworker in high school mentioned its deliciousness. Being that I was 16, barely licensed to drive, and too scared to be out of the suburbs past dark, I never made the trek. But today seemed like the perfect opportunity!

It was about a half an hour wait, which I was surprised at considering it was a Sunday night at 8pm! Even though I was starving, I knew that a wait like that meant the food had to be something special, so the boy and I took a walk around the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous summer night in Chicago–those have been few and far between–so it was the perfect way to pass the time.

When we finally got seated, it took just a few minutes of perusing the menu to figure out what we wanted. Piece is cool because you have a few “base” options (red sauce with mozzarella, white, or bbq sauce) and then you can build your pie from there. They had everything from basil to clams and even mashed potatoes. After asking the waiter what his favorite pizza was (I always get the opinion of the server at restaurants), we made our choice. Large red pizza, half spinach/onion/green pepper, half spinach/bacon.

Ummmm hello, gorgeous. I think I’m officially the worst kind of sinner–I think I liked this pizza more than deep dish (pause as all of Chicagoland gasps in horror). It was just so flavorful and chewy but crispy at the same time and the toppings were the perfect amount and the cheese was just right and …. I mean come on. Look at that thing. That pizza definitely excuses that horrible run on sentence that just happened. Basically, Piece Pizza is my new place.

Finally, I knew I wanted to go all out. I’ve been hearing whispers about an ice cream place in Wicker Park that uses LIQUID NITROGEN to individually create your ice cream. Being in the area and not going to that delicious laboratory would have been an atrocity to foodies everywhere, so we stopped by. It was really cool!

At first I wasn’t sold on my ice cream because it melted so so fast once it hit my tongue, but I started to realize with each bite that it was some of the most flavorful ice cream I had ever had. I had a mix of butter pecan and caramel with pecans folded into it, and it was truly one of the most delicious butter pecans I have ever had. It was definitely different, but in a great way. Wayyyy overpriced, but it had to be tried!

Such an amazing Sunday night! Have a great week, everyone!

i had a big lunch

Because dreaming about food and fitness was no longer enough

Chicago

scenes from the weekend

a day at the beach

scenes from the weekend

Little Goat Diner

Big Ten 10K Recap!

Jazzin’ at the Shedd

Date Night!