A Little Something to Make Me Smile

I am, by nature, a project person. I love a project. I like them because I like to see results. And I like to see them quickly. I am not a very good person for looking at the long term. I like instant gratification. (In my defense, I am the MTV generation. I don't have an attention span longer than a music video sometimes.)

For the first time in a long time, I am actually feeling motivated to work on some long range goals I have for myself.

One of my goals is setting up a nightly routine to help me sleep more/better. I used to be an amazing sleeper, but lately not so much. I have some amazing bedding and a great bed, so I thought having some flowers would be a nice touch on my nightstand. Beside being lovely, these are the best deal ever. 10 Daffodil stems for $1.49 from Trader Joe's. This is three bunches. Instead of busting out a vase, I used my beside carafe. They fit perfectly.



Close up of the bedside sunshine:


I am also a faithful follower of The Satorialist. This morning's posting was amazing. I would love to have that red cape. And he even titled it London Shine!

All these pictures are brightening my day!

Showtune Tuesday

I can't believe it has taken me this long to get to Chicago, the musical! I mean I live in Chicago and I just didn't think about it. Now that it has occurred to me, I had to pick "We Both Reached for the Gun". This is an amazing feat of choreography. The timing, the precision - outstanding. You have to watch it several times to really appreciate the hard work!

Posh Pockets

I have to carry a large purse, because I like to have lots of things with me. My iPod, my camera, my phone, a book, lots of lip gloss, an umbrella, my sunglasses, pretty tissues, and now Posh Pocket games. During my trips to Target, I noticed these cute little books of games and tonight added a few to my purse. They are so pretty and I love to sit a work a puzzle while waiting. Little puzzles are great for short waits. If I know I am going to have a long wait, I pull out my book. But, when I know I only have a little time, this is the perfect solution. I picked up two Sudoku and two Word Searches.

Of course, something pink and green:


I love the little bird:


For the polka dots:


The inside is orange paper:

I Spoke Too Soon!

Just Friday I was posting about the lovely sunshine and sure enough it went away over the weekend. We did get some more snow last night. For most of the time I have lived in Chicago, I worked downtown. Several years ago, I changed careers and took a job in the suburbs. I don't love having to drive to work, but I absolutely adore my job, so I do it. However my drive is rather lovely. I drive up Sheridan Rd. through the city and into the North Shore. I drive along the lake and pass my favorite park. I drive through the great campus of Northwestern and onto the cutest part of Wilmette, Lake Ave.

This is the street I drive every weekday. It has old fashioned lamps, that are delightful when turned on. During the summer, the leaves are full and the trees make a tunnel to drive under. The snow is quite lovely and peaceful.

Two of the cute houses I drive by. P.S. Cute is very expensive in this neck of the woods.

And since I have to do some walking, this year I purchased these:

Let the Sun Shine In...

Today, I had an appointment downtown and took the opportunity to walk around and soak up the sunshine. It was also about 30 degrees, which is practically summer to me at this point.

The Sunshine:


I walked right by Millennium Park, a Chicago favorite and snapped this photo of the Park Grill. This is where you can ice skate at night. It gets very crowded though. During the summer, I like to sit outside and have a burger and beer. The Park Grill has some of the best burgers. Oh, summer I am ready now!!!!

The Park Grill:


I also snapped a lovely view of the building.
The Smurfit-Stone Building:



Do you recognize this building from one of the greatest 80's movies of all time? Yes, Adventures in Babysitting, starring Elizabeth Shue. This is the building Sara climbs out of after being chased.
Which brings me to my favorite part of the movie, the beginning. I love this song by The Crystals. I used to dance around the room just the same way after seeing the movie. I even a dress super similar to that one. There is a good chance, I would still wear that dress today if it fit.



TGIF!

Kickin' It Old School

Randomly, I was in a going-out-of-business Lady Foot Locker. All the shoes were 50% off. It was pretty picked over, but I did find one pair that I felt compelled to take home. They are not really "me", but I couldn't help it.
The Adidas Superstar:

A little history on why I liked this shoe. When I worked for The Walt Disney Company, I had to wear all white leather tennis shoes with my costume (all uniforms are called costumes). I wore an all white version of this shoe and loved them. Once I saw this show with the pink stipes and the pink/green/yellow logo on the heel, I just had to have it. Although, if it wasn't 50% off, it would probably still be in the store.

Showtune Thursday

I know, I know. It's supposed to be Showtune Tuesday. I had to spend some time in Ohio and couldn't post on Tuesday. So for this week, we are doing Showtune Thursday. Since I was home, I decided to post Marian the Librarian from The Music Man. My father sang this song to my mother, who was a librarian at the University that daddy attended. I like it when she says, "What do you want to take out?" and Harold responds with "The Librarian".

Bistro Marget

A few weekends ago, the JLC (Junior League Chicago) girls and I ventured into Old Town for a little lunch. Old Town is a small area, just north of the city. It is very cute and even a little quaint.
The entrance to Old Town:


For lunch we went to Bistro Margot. Bistro Margot is a little french/parisian eatery.
The outside sign:

The inside is very warm and cozy, decorated in red velvet, marble floors and lovely little pictures.
The inspiration for the sign and my favorite picture:

I had a traditional french lunch. A cup of French Onion Soup and then Kim and I shared a Croque Madame with Pommes Frites. T'was delish! It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon with the girls.

Apple Fest in Long Grove

This past Autumn, the girls and I ventured to Long Grove, IL. Long Grove is about 35 miles outside of the city. Each October they celebrate Apple Fest. Everything is apples, apple cider, apple donuts (Yum!), caramel apples, apple butter, apple cocktails, apple beer, brown bag apple pies, the list goes on and on. In addition to a wonderful festival, Long Grove is seriously adorable. There are cute shops, cute restaurants and cute buildings. I love the coziness of LG and how perfectly cute the little town is. It was still warm in October, that the flowers were still in bloom.

The Long Grove Time Piece:



The Long Grove Apple Haus, where we enjoyed apple cider and hot, fresh baked apple donuts. Delish!

The 'town square'. All the shoppes surrounded this area. It was bustling with people the entire weekend. The sidewalks are brick and beautiful flower plantings are everywhere. It was so nice to be there with the crisp, fall air and the smell of warm donuts.

One of my favorite shoppes, Within Reach. I purchased a black and white polka-dot wristlet with a pink S on the front. I also purchased a lilac tea for one set and some apple tea sachets. This is the back entrance and was all decked out for Autumn.

After a little shopping and snacking, we decided to rest by listening to the music. The stage was in the covered bridge. So picturesque:

A little resting spot:

And my favorite photo of the day, a cowboy right in the middle of suburban Chicago. He was the real deal too.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Cheesecake

Back before Thanksgiving, I decided to make my very first cheesecake from scratch! I decided to experiment with pumpkin. I have not always loved pumpkin for about the last year I have grown to adore the flavor. Since we were close to Turkey Day, I decided pumpkin would be a great flavor, but I wanted to make it just a little more decadent, so I added white chocolate to the mix. I started with the "Almost Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake" from foodtv.com. One of the liberties I took was using cinnamon graham crackers as the base. Mixed with the butter the crust is completely luxurious and the cinnamon elevates a simple graham cracker crust. Then I melted the white chocolate and poured a nice layer on the crust.

As that cooled, I mixed the batter leaving out the pumpkin. Be sure to set aside a little of the plain cheesecake decoration later. I also mixed in tiny white chocolate chips. To make the swirl on top, I used a spoon to put several lines of the white on top of the cheesecake. Then I ran the point of a knife perpendicular to the lines and made the swirl.



This is a great dessert for a party or a pot luck. It is very rich, so it's better to share. Since then, I have made this cheesecake about 6 times. It is a sure fire hit.

Bon Appetit!

After having watched Julie & Julia (I love love love the part with Julia), reading My Life in France, receiving a wonderful Paris cookbook and constantly having people tell me I remind them of Barefoot Contessa*, it seemed like fate wanted me to cook more. Since I live in Chicago and winter can be a bit of a bear, this was a perfect indoor project. It's good because it is something I could do at my leisure and there is no pressure to get things done.

I have always loved cooking and am actually pretty good it. I do quite a bit of entertaining. Brunch is my favorite meal to host! I decided this was good opportunity to push my skills and really cook from scratch on all levels. (read: no semi-homemade business) I have a little list of what to make I am compiling in my Lilly Pulitzer 2010 Agenda.

So with much love I wish you (and me) Bon Appetit!

*I do adore Ina and am very flattered by the comparision. But I feel compelled to point out I am much younger and have a much more vast wardrobe than her.

Chicago French Market

A few weekends ago, I ventured to the Chicago French Market. The CFM is an indoor marketplace selling fresh groceries and flowers, along with many food stands. The purveyors are all local businesses and local ingredients (as much as possible). Because the CFM is pretty new, there are only a handful of vendors. The goal is to eventually have to be close to Milwaukee's Public Market. It was very pretty on the inside and I am glad there is a lot of room for growth.

The Apple Stand - look how shiny and yummy these apples look:


The Flowers Stands were also one of my favorite parts. I especially love pink and orange together in the form of gerber daisies.


My lunch was from Pastoral. Pastoral is a local artisan cheese and gourmet foods shop.

I had a lovely sandwich with herbed goat cheese, avocado, roasted red pepper, and tomato all on warm french bread. It was delish.

For dessert I had the best crepe this side of the Atlantic. It was a fresh made crepe with smeared Nutella, marshmallow sauce that was then broiled, with graham cracker crumbs and banana's. It was amazing.


Each weekend, they are adding more vendors and shoppes which is very exciting. I am already trying to figure out when I am going to visit next.

Showtune Tuesday

While I am a little on the old side to like Zac Efron, I do. I also like this part of Hairspray because it is so upbeat.

Veuve Clicquot Champagne

I adore champagne and of course one of my favorites is Veuve. Seeing the orange-yellow label always brings a smile to my face. One of my all time favorite books is The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It.



From Amazon: The Widow Clicquot, a fascinating story of the cunning bravery and good fortune that helped build the Veuve Clicquot brand. Widowed at age twenty-seven by the death of her husband François Clicquot, Barbe-Nicole assumed control of her family’s wine business amid the chaos of The Napoleonic Wars. That she became a prominent female leader in a male-dominated industry was one thing; building an empire amid savage political unrest was quite another. With passionate research and true admiration for her subject, Mazzeo pays homage to the beloved Widow from Reims and the remarkable weight her name still carries today.

I also love all the accessories on their site. Why shouldn't your champagne have a Clicquot Traveller? Or a Cruiser Bag?

Today while doing a little grocery shopping, I stumbled upon a wonderful display of Veuve Clicquot Rose Champagne. It is perfect timing for Valentine's Day.

It is the perfect pink for Valentine's Day, actually all year round.

Let the cork pop and the bubbles flow.

Can't Stop Watching

I simply cannot stop watching the Sex and the City 2 trailer. I heart it so much. I adore the theme song by Alicia Keys. So perf! I am so excited to see SATC 2 in the theater. I saw SATC 1, three times in the theater. I just can't get enough.

A Glint in My Eye

Yesterday during my trip out, I popped into Nordstrom and spotted this cutie. Of course, I had to have them! They are made of fuchsia satin and the 'bow' is so pretty. They are also very comfy, because the heel is a little over 2". I think they will look great peeking out of dark jeans. Or paired with a black dress.

Spring Arrives at Kate Spade

Earlier this week, Kate Spade unveiled the Spring Collection online. I am a devoted KS fan, so of course I was anxiously awaiting the weekend to see it in person at the store on Oak St. My top four choices are below!

Charm City Ostrich Maryanne

I love the purple color and think this is a great color for Spring. I can imagine this with lots of different colors. It would be bright and cheery with magenta or quietly sophisticated with navy blue. Perhaps a navy blue sheath and this bag for a day on the town?

Eaton Square Straw Large Tote

The polka dots and bow get me every time. Every. Time. This would definitely be my default everyday purse.

Julibee Stripe Ellie

Navy Blue and Lime Green is one of my favorite all time color combos. I can even pinpoint when I first loved it. My mother and I had purchased an outfit from Sake in Carew Tower in Cincinnati that was a navy pleated skirt, nevy and lime striped shirt with a lime with navy trim cardigan. That and my navy penny loafers equaled one great outfit.

Wellie Magee Bag

The Wellie bag made the lst for the cheerful stripes and being water proof. When it rains in Chicago, it rains in crazy directions so often times, an umbrella only covers your head. This is a great alternative to getting your nylon KS's wet.

Hopefully one of these will move from the wishlist to the closet soon!