Weekend Forecast: Brunch with a Chance of a Bloody Mary

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Cheers! It’s Friday!

If brunch and a Bloody Mary sounds as good to you as it does to me right now, here are some great spots in Chicago to hit up this weekend: Crosby’s Kitchen (pictured above), Homeslice (pictured below, it comes with a slice of cold pizza!), Sunda (two words for you: Sumo. Mary.), Tweet (so.many.combos) and Rockit (the build-your-own Bloody Mary bar was clutch for our group the day after our wedding). If you’re snuggling in at home, you can’t go wrong McClure’s mix.

Happy weekending!

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Juice Joke

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The Cutler #6 at the Real Good Juice Co: “Spinach, carrot, celery, cucumber, apple and lemon fires a bullet pass of flavor to your mouth, and QBs your immune system like an American football hero with really nice hair.”

I am no Bear’s fan (nothing against the Bears in particular, I just don’t like the NFL) but the name and description of this juice made me laugh so hard. Of course, I also had to ask the juice guy if it would also make me really mad come Monday morning…

And with that, I made my first football joke about the Bears. After almost 6 years in Chicago, I feel like it was a long time coming.

Link Love

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(loving this new wall at YogaView)

The 10 coziest restaurants in Chicago – I love The Tortoise Club and Bavette’s for their cozy factor so this list is great. And perfectly timed for this arctic blast/polar vortex we are allegedly getting.

With Friendsgivings and the holidays upon us, it is most certainly time for big batch cocktails. The Hard Cider Sangria is likely happening very soon in our house.

Super interesting read: Why I Left My Job at Google. Living authentically trumps everything, I agree.

Also in the job realm, I could not agree more with Malcolm Gladwell’s article about what makes a great job. These factors have been at the top of my conversations and thoughts about career lately.

In a rookie mistake last year, I didn’t get my tickets for the Music Box Theatre’s showings of “It’s a Wonderful Life” before they sold out. Don’t be me and miss out- they’re on sale now.

In funniest texts you can get from your Dad news, “How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you” came across my iPhone screen this morning. After laughing for a full minute, I went to this link…and laughed some more. Luna Bell is definitely plotting to kill us.

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Dance (and Clean) Like No One is Watching

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This is Jimmy Pope. Jimmy Pope a friend of my husband’s from high school. We went on vacation a few years ago and this video sums up what I remember about the guy- he cleaned in the mornings and was a phenomenal dancer.

(Jimmy Pope- totally one of those names where you have the say the full thing, don’t you think?)

Ryan mentioned last night that there was this video and Jimmy Pope was shirtless and it had a lot of views. We laughed and went on with our night…and this morning when I kicked on The Today Show, there he was. And on GMA. And BuzzFeed and the HuffPost and Reddit and…everywhere.

And now it’s here. Because who doesn’t need 30 seconds of a cleaning dance party to the timeless sounds of Sheena Easton? And he also coined the hashtag #WillWorkForPants which I think is hilarious.

Have joy.

You Can Do It: Flower Arrangements

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Having fresh flowers in my house is one of my favorite things. It’s a fairly simple but it feels like such a luxury to have something pretty around…and with Chicago winters, honestly, it’s just a good reminder that something is alive.

Usually, I buy a bouquet, come home, plunk it in a vase. Done. But with the holidays upon us, I got to thinking about if I could kick it up a notch and conquer an actual centerpiece. I swoon when I see big, gorgeous arrangements at weddings or restaurants but certainly, that could be something I could figure out how to do without the big price tag that comes from ordering them from a flower shop, right?

Right.

Adventures in Floral Arrangements. I knew I wanted to make something beautiful I could have in my home or bring as a hostess gift for less than $20. After procuring some floral foam from Michaels (any craft store will have it), I set out to Mariano’s, my favorite grocery store that also happens to have awesome blooms at killer prices. I mixed and matched, coming home with a dozen red roses, sunflowers and red spriggy thingys. What I was looking for was colors I loved together and a difference in textures that was going to make it interesting to look at. Real talk: whatever you love and makes you happy will be perfect.

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Next up: what to put the flowers in? I used a soup pot. Really. It was round and short-ish and wouldn’t show the floral foam through it. So anything that can hold water can work for your arrangement. If I were gifting this, I would buy something that I would leave with them.

After soaking the floral foam in the pot with enough water to fill to the top (do this for a few minutes, the foam absorbs a lot), I cut down the flowers to give the arrangement some height but still be anchored by the foam. Trial and error- cut a little, try it out, cut some more.

I started with the sunflowers because they were the largest stem and bloom. I spaced them out so that they would be seen evenly from each side.

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Then I filled in the gaps with the roses. I cut some shorter than the sunflowers to give the arrangement some depth but others I left the same height. Interesting and lovely is the goal here, not perfection.

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After I had a full vase of sunflowers and roses, I pieced in the red sprig thingys to add some texture. Again- I put them in where I wanted to and it just brought an interesting layer to the arrangement. (Ed. note: this is a highly technical post, as you can from the use of the words “red sprig thingys”.)

Moral of the story: making your own centerpiece is totally possible and totally easy. Having this on my table this weekend felt so fancy and I am already thinking about what I want to create for our Friendsgiving in a few weeks.  Mission accomplished!

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Owen + Alchemy: A Friend Date

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There are those coffee dates you have in your calendar that you’re looking forward to but if something comes up, you’ll cancel or reschedule. And then there are those coffee dates, or juice bar dates in our case, where you would sooner die than not show up for time with that person. That was yesterday for me. A 75 minute yoga class followed by a much needed catch-up at Owen + Alchemy juice bar in Logan Square followed by me being positively on fire the rest of the day.

Don’t you just love people who set you (figuratively, of course) on fire? The people who you can’t come in contact with and not walk away inspired/excited/confidant/grounded?

I do. I really, really do.

Owen + Alchemy is awesome, by the way. A chef-driven juice bar, it has a gazillion different combos that not only are really delicious but are geared toward specific health issues. “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food” is their motto. I agree, Owen + Alchemy. My kombucha was amazing and I have #58 in my fridge for today- cold brewed organic coffee, raw almond and cashew, maca and vanilla bean. Amen and good morning!

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Trick or Treat Brunch + Hosting Tips

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Last week, I had 6 kids under the age of 3 over for a pre-Trick or Treat brunch.

In related news, I was asleep by 8:30pm that night. Parents- hats off to you.

Really and truly though, it was one of the most fun afternoons I have had in ages. The kiddos showed up in their costumes and were just so cute and excitable about…everything. About waffles. About jack-o-lantern cookies. About the pumpkin decorations. And about bubbles.

Oh man, the bubbles.

I put some in the buckets I got the kids with Halloween goodies and thank goodness because kids.love.bubbles. With the temperature in the 60s, we were able to play on the back porch and it provided a solid hour of entertainment. I know this is not news to parents but I was blown away.

In addition to spending time with friends and having fun with the littles, it was the first party we have had here that I feel flowed well. We entertain frequently but the food-greeting-drinks-entertainment-chatting aspect of things was just on with this party. Here are some tips about hosting I have picked up along the way:

Unless it’s a seated dinner party, choose a menu that is prepared ahead of time. If guests are settling in for an evening, still being in the kitchen stirring risotto or basting the Thanksgiving turkey is fine but messing with cooking when you’re having a casual, fun, mingle party is a huge pain. Playing to the toddler set and parents who might not want to eat candy all day, we did Belgian waffles and egg casseroles. I had the buffet filled with cider, orange juice, waters and options for a Bloody Mary (I figured a cocktail might be appreciated by parents about to hit the streets with hundreds of kids on candy highs). I also had fresh cooked apples and a strawberry sauce with maple syrup for waffle toppings. We opened the door and everything was ready for when people wanted to dig in. So much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Also ahead of time: put dishes out. “Where is that plate? What bowl should I use? We’re out of forks!” is pretty standard for when we have people over. On Sunday I laid out the serve ware and utensils first thing in the morning where I thought they were needed and actually took time think about it. Thus I was able to run to the store when I realized I actually didn’t buy paper plates (kids = paper plates in my book) and when food was ready, it had a place to go.

Give new guests a tour. I always forget who has been to our house and who hasn’t so it’s Ryan who takes this on and he is so good about making sure everyone knows where the bathrooms are and how to get around. I think it really contribute to making people feel comfortable being in our home.

Speaking of comfortable, ask if anyone needs anything. My friend Kate is a wonderful host. She and her husband are always refilling glasses before you even knew you were low and asking what you need. It’s not about being waited on but asking people what they need really communicates that “mi casa es su casa” and to help yourself to what you want. Pass the Malbec, please.

Spilling/Dirt/Etc Doesn’t Matter: There is nothing in your house that can’t be cleaned up or is that irreplaceable; if it is, put it in a closet or don’t have guests over. Nothing is worth stressing yourself or your guests over. Relax and have fun- that’s why you’re doing this!

Bubbles. I will never not have bubbles on hand ever again. I am not sure kids love anything more than bubbles.

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(photo credit: KateGivesThanks)

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Back in the Saddle

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Fall Mich Ave

Not writing on the blog for the last 2 weeks has been really weird. It has been the longest I have gone without posting since I started Just a Chi Town Girl 5 years ago. Oddly though, the timing was alright. I have been to 5 states in the last 12 days. Vacation, work, events. I have spoken to 100 people at a brand conference. I had to get out of my head that I was out of my league (one of my co-presenters was a VP at National Geographic! The actual National Geographic!) and while there is always room for improvement, I feel like I nailed it. Drop the mic nailed it.

Feeling like you nailed something is the best feeling, oh my goodness. Note to self: do that more often.

What else I have been up to:

Serial Podcast: I know I wrote about it before but it’s at the point where I won’t run with Ryan on Thursday mornings because I need to go for a walk by myself to listen to the latest episode immediately. Oh and I am also reading extensively the comments in articles like this. Fascinating.

Using my Kitchen Aid mixer: I have wanted one since I was in high school (seriously) and my mom bought my one for my wedding. But with summer and not baking, it sat unused…until a loaf of banana bread happened a few weeks ago. Now I use it for everything other than Luna Bell’s cat food. It’s like having someone else in the kitchen with me, someone who will stir and mix and not complain or take too long. Totally and utterly fantastic.

College Football: I think I would be a really great college football coach because I love it and when you love something enough, you can be good at it. That and I would run my team like a business and in our Monday morning 1:1s, we would discuss if they did their job on the field and if they are going to keep their job for the following week’s game. Oh and inspire them be upstanding young pillars of their communities.

Raiding my parents holiday décor: I have been lucky enough to see my parents quite a bit this Fall due to work commitments in my home state and in addition to wine, Scandal, goulash and college football marathons, I have gone to town on their stashes of festive goodness. My family has always been huge on Halloween and Christmas. With no 200 person parties in sight, they are sitting on a damn holiday treasure trove. My house is a ball of smiling pumpkin, fall glory right now courtesy of my Mama and don’t get me started on the epic wreath I inherited from my Dad and stepmom. Jackpot.

Shred 415: This treadmill/weight workout kicks my butt every time but again, there’s something about doing something really hard. Running on an incline of 12% at 7 miles an hour turns me into the little engine that could (I think I can, I think I can, I might throw up, I think I can) but finishing a Shred class feels drop the mic good.

Even though it’s been a busy few weeks, I have missed this blog and am so happy to be back in the saddle. Back in the game. Making a comeback.

You know what I mean.