I Love Being A Girl

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Because when anything sparkle-y and and lovely happens, I can fall head over heels.

Methinks this would be the perfect special date night combo.  Maybe to celebrate the BF’s new gig with our long anticipated reservations at the Girl and the Goat?

(dress by 3.1 Philip Lim- found on net-a-porter.com, Chanel Black Pearl and M.A.C. Cham Pale polish, necklace Sadie Design)

 

Rock, Bubble, Cupcakes

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A lot of big decisions in my life are made with a quick round of RPS (Rock, Paper, Scissors).  Sometimes, all you need are some fast acting hand gestures.  Saturday night, however, was all about a Rock, some Bubbles and More Cupcakes.

Continuing the Valentinversary (new word, just made it up), we had dinner at Japonais.  After an enjoyable Restaurant Week experience last year, we decided it was time to go back to try “The Rock”.  1 rock, heated to 500 degrees, served on top of rock salt alongside thin slices of raw New York Strip.  5-6 seconds on top of the rock later and you have…perfection.  To be clear, I do NOT eat beef.  Ever.  But this, this wasn’t beef.  It was culinary innovation and I’ll be darned if Ryan is going to bogart the fancy on our Valentinversary.

It. Was. Amazing.  The entire meal was fantastic.  The Rock, sushi, raw oysters, salmon, short ribs topped off with Manhattans (for him) and Floating Orchid Martinis (for me).

Rewind to pre-dinner festivities at our apartment.  A bottle of Veuve and a box of More Cupcakes.  I’ve been on a champagne kick and my love affair with More Cupcakes is well documented so the combo was just right up my alley.  Throw in a card from Ryan with the David on the front, a nod to our recent decision to go to Italy in September (!!!) and the evening was perfect before it even started.

Sometimes, you just need some special.  This weekend delivered, in abundance- a highly successful Valentinversary, indeed!

Not All of Us Can Come and Go By Bubble

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Last night was a special kind of date night- we went to see Wicked!  The tickets were my birthday gift from Ryan and as one last 2010 hurrah, we headed to the Cadillac Palace Theater to see Elphaba and Galinda (the Ga is silent) make their way to Oz.

I saw Wicked for the first time about 5 years ago after a year of being in love with the soundtrack.  The 2010 tour was no different- the cast was amazing, the set was amazing, the music…amazing.  I must say, when Elphaba rises to fly above the stage at the end of “Defying Gravity” may very well be one of my favorite moments that there ever has been.  It gives me chills and makes me cry, every single time, every single time!

There needs to be more musical theater in my life in 2011.  Grinning from ear to ear for 3 hours, date night with my man, people breaking out into spontaeneous song…Best. Birthday. Gift. Ever.

Rooftop Yoga

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Despite the threat of rain, I ventured to Whole Foods Lincoln Park tonight for a little rooftop yoga.  The event was hosted by the lululemon athletica in Lincoln Park and lots of other yummy vendors like Honest  Tea (Honest Tea-Honesty, get it?  I love it).  The weather held off so myself and 170 other yoga enthusiasts got our downdog on just as the sun set.

Have I ever mentioned my deeply rooted love for the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park?  Mind you, there is a Whole Foods downtown crawling with the most attractive 20-somethings you will ever see (note to single Chicagoans: go to the Whole Foods on Huron).   But Whole Foods Lincoln Park is an experience.  First off, it’s freakin’ huge.   I’m not sure how big but it’s big, man.  And in addition to lovely things like seafood soup bar, olive bar, trail mix bar and bath salts bar, there are actual bar bars in it.  A bar that has fantastic beer from micro-breweries and a wine bar to have a seat at to listen to whatever jazz trio is likely playing on any given night.  I’ve been known to suggest going to this Whole Foods like an event.  The night before Thanksgiving when my mom gets to Chicago, I suggest a little trip to Whole Foods.  Most people would have taken their mom to dinner or a play.  Not me–we go to the wine bar in a grocery store.  Man-Friend and I have had many a date night sharing a beer as we walk through the aisles, carefully selecting the dinner we will devour while listening to whatever guitar/cello/sitar player happens to be plucking their strings in the lobby area.  It’s the stuff romance is made out of, I tell ya.

Back to the yoga.

It was fabulous, it was a  gorgeous night, I caught up with a good friend and I  got to lay in savasana while looking at a clear blue sky.  Perfection.


Restaurant Week and Japonais

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It’s Restaurant Week in Chicago, which means that for $34 you can try a 3-course meal at some of the top restaurants in the city.  Reservations fill up quickly so I snagged a 9pm at Japonais, a japanese/euro fusion restaurant.  I’ve been wanting to go to Japonais since I moved to the city so I was really excited for Saturday night.  After a fashion consult from my friends Jillian (who told me point blank what I would wear) and Laura (who informed me that black denim is definitely in), Ryan and I cabbed it to this River North hotspot.

After checking in with the hostess, we went downstairs to a lounge-y area to have a drink.  Their signature Floating Orchid martini was fantastic and our table was ready in no time.  We took advantage of the Restaurant Week menu so we samples things we may not have tried otherwise.  My crab cakes and tuna/eel roll was amazing and Ryan loved his rib-like thing and kobe beef carpaccio.  We don’t usually order dessert out but the marscapone-chocolate cake thing was just sinful.  Sushi. steak and martinis…right up our alley.

We really had a great time and I definitely want to go back to order off their regular menu.  The only drawback for me was our waiter.  He reminded me of the pool boy from “The Bird Cage”, which is fine because I loved that movie but I didn’t love his demeanor.  Not very accommodating and a little too attitude-y for me.  All in all though, it was an excellent date night and introduction to Restaurant Week.