May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Amen, Hallelujah, All of It
Almond milk latte. Sun shining. Jazz playing. Polar vortex is nowhere in sight. A morning for writing.
This Friday is heaven.
Little Goat, Big Love
I always love hearing about those families who, when discussing their days, name a high and a low. A valley and a peak.
This salad was my peak today.
My day wasn’t bad. But this salad was that good.
Chickpea salad. Little Goat. I am literally so sad I am not eating another one right now.
The gluten free crispy pineapple muffin I had was pretty stellar too.
West Loop, I try to tell myself that you’re not that special but damn. Restaurant Row is no joke.
Update: I am not the only person to lose their mind over this salad- my friend Lourdes over at Illumine Magazine already posted about it AND included the recipe. Heck yes. Click here to check it out.
Date Night Is
Date Night Is, a cool startup out of Brooklyn designed to help couples find fun date ideas, reached out to us to ask how we do date night. So we made a cocktail, gave the interview and turned it into a little date night at home! It was a lot of fun to think about date nights past, how we do what we do and dates we’re looking forward to (the wedding counts, right?!).
The interview went live today- you can read it here.
Tea Time
The wedding has become an excuse to do all sorts of lovely things and on Saturday afternoon, that lovely thing was Tiffin at The Langham. Apparently, the Langham invented high tea in London and let me tell you, they know what they’re doing across the pond too.
Tea, bubbly, savory treats, decadent desserts, a man going to town on the white baby grand. Seated by the window, I asked twice why the curtains were drawn, I didn’t want to miss such a beautiful riverfront view. I should have held my horses because the curtains are suddenly drawn back once the piano begins!
The drama of it all!
Most importantly, my mom and I spent wonderful time together, gabbing about all things wedding and family and future and…it was lovely.
Just like the Tiffin.
And then I saw SJP at Nordstrom
I was just doing my Friday spin through Nordstrom and saw Sarah Jessica Parker. For real. In person. And then texted my best friend who I wish more than anything could have teleported to be there right that second because zomg Carrie Bradshaw.
I’m just gonna call it in, folks- this is the best day ever.
I was fan-girling the eff out and obviously with eleventy-thousand girls in front of me doing the same thing, I couldn’t share with Ms. SJP my appreciation for her, her curly hair and being part of my favorite group of imaginary friends but if I could have, I probably would have said this:
#thankyouformyshoeobsession
Ahh! Happy Friday! Cosmos for everyone!!!!
Happy Birthday, Chicago!
Chicago turns the big 1-7-7 today- fingers crossed it wishes for warm weather when it blows out the candles on its cake.
TBT
It always comes back, it always comes back, it always comes back…
Rut Busting Weekend Plans
I need to level with you: this weekend ain’t lookin’ good. Below 20 degrees again, maybe snow and if that wind outside is any indication…yeah. No bueno. I cannot handle another weekend of hibernating (or questionable shoe choices in snow banks) so let’s brainstorm, bust out of our Chiberia weather ruts and make this weekend awesome, shall we?
–Eataly: just going to dinner isn’t going to cut it- you need food built into an activity to make it worth venturing out into the cold. Grab a glass of wine, peruse the cheese emporium, glass of wine, slice of focaccia pizza, glass of wine, salami section, Nutella bar, glass of wine. Double points for making friends at the communal tables while commiserating about the weather. Bottle of wine.
–Headquarters Beercade: Awesome selection of craft beer and free arcade games. Yes, the crowd is a little weird but throw people watching into the beer-game combo and you’re adding time to this activity. Extra point.
Cooking Class: learn something new this weekend and take a class at The Chopping Block or Cook Au Vin. I am about 29 years overdue for The Chopping Block’s knife skills class so I may be taking that this weekend so Ryan stops yelling “you’re going to lose a finger!” every time I go near a knife.
Fairways: 2 words: indoor golf & old fashioneds. Okay, 4 words. Tee times are booked for this weekend already but let’s be honest, next weekend is going to be freezing too and they book 7 days in advance so make a reservation to work on that golf swing.
Olympic Viewing Parties: basically every bar in Chicago has something going on but the tater tot eating competition at Olympwick’s (i.e. Sedgwick’s), the 10 Days of burgers at Kirkwood’s and Howells and Hood’s Winter Game Flight are piquing my interest. Also, wear something patriotic while you’re at it.
House of Cards: I know, this was probably your activity last weekend but if you really want to lay low this weekend, order some pizza and pop this on. I have never better spent $7.99 a month- season 2 of this series on Netflix is legit.