Break-Fast

JUST in case you weren't aware just about every day in the United States has a food holiday. For example, March 6th is National Frozen Food Day as well as National White Chocolate Cheesecake day...I'll leave it up to you which you'd prefer to celebrate.


Allegedly Monday was National Breakfast Day according to a normally reliable source. Further investigation shows it was actually National Poundcake Day, but that is neither here nor there. What it did inspire me to do is get creative with my breakfast food (for dinner) for a solid week...

Monday was (frozen) waffles with blueberries, although this recipe for blueberry syrup would have been a nice addition. Tuesday was a "hangover melt" courtesy of Glamour, recipe here. Tonight was crispy roasted potatoes. Original recipe calls for a regular potato with parmesan and seasoning salt, but I made a sweet potato with cinnamon and a little bit of brown sugar. Either way it would be delicious, recipe here.


Tomorrow I'm thinking Chai Spice or Scotcharoo Oatmeal, although I can't ignore the fact that March 7th is National Cereal Day...but let's be honest I would celebrate that morning, noon, for 365 if I could.


What's your favorite breakfast treat? (Waffle Day is March 26th, mark it on your calendars! Ridiculous list of food holidays here)

Sunday

In case you're wondering, I "lovingly ripped off" this little survey from Delightfully Tacky. It seemed like the perfect re-kick-start to my blogging adventures. I thought I would take a break for a couple of weeks and see if I was any better for it...but alas I am not. My creative outlets are few and far between, and eliminating the blog only added stress as opposed to decreasing it. I will try and remember this next time I decide to go blogger AWOL.

Reading...
Stuck on the last two chapters of Dresden File's Summer Knight. Once I'm finished I can't decide if I want to continue with the the series or take a little break with Diane Keaton's Then Again.


Watching...
Catching up on my Hulu queue. New Girl, Chicago Fire, Parks and Recreation, and I still have the last episode of 30 Rock there too. I can't bring myself to watch it! Need a new series to though...


Wishing...
I could get the remainder of my apartment put together. I moved in November and things are still in plastic boxes and art is still sitting on the floor. I need a plan of attack to organize and decorate this place on a limited budget. I would love it to feel more like my home than just a place to crash every night. I know these things take time, but I feel like I'm stalling by not doing the basic projects I've already set up for myself. Hopefully once those things are done I'll have a sense of direction in what I want to do next.


Proud of..
I started working out in my apartment four weeks ago and I'm still at it! I have yet to go outside for a run, but I can already feel a difference in my energy level just by doing plyometrics. I like the Bikini Body Workout from Self and the Get In Shape for Summer workout from Refinery29. I have also taken a greater interest in nutrition and cooking for myself, which isn't to say that I'm not having cereal for dinner every now and then, but I'm getting better!


Excited about...
Mama Morgan decided to come to Chicago for a few days at the end of March! Also the Atlanta trip and Color Run is fast approaching.


Impatiently awaiting...
Spring's arrival and the opportunity to wear all my sundresses and shorts again. I realize that I should be looking for on sale boots and winter coats, but I can't help but browse sandals, skirts, and swimwear for the upcoming Atlanta trip. As lovely as Chicago is in the winter, it's even better in the summer.

Nooks and Crannies

I would like to introduce you all to my lovely yet extremely awkward nook space. My neighbor tells me that everyone else has shelves in theirs, but not me. I have this adorable little nook.

Right now the nook houses my rocking chair and pseudo-end table/storage unit/bucket of summer clothes that I need to find new homes for. Plus my Christmas Tree, Albert. As happy as Albert is with his situation, I really think I need to spiff it up. I did a lot of soul searching and Pinteresting and decided that I wanted the nook to be...

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...and adorable nook office! Clean and simple. I love the one drawer writer's desk with a chair and a file cabinet for extra storage (for my endless amounts of notebooks) and the two or three wall shelves for my books and tchotchkes. Just a cozy little place to work and be inspired. Seems like the perfect place to set my laptop up and type or go to first thing in the morning and write. I'm glad I didn't just get boring old shelves in my nook!

Whatcha' Making?

Thanksgiving is mere hours away and although I can't run back to Columbus (I work Black Friday, ugh) I'm headed to Roommate's new place for an orphan Thanksgiving. I thought about bringing some sort of sweet potato dish but I'm having second thoughts. I only have tonight and tomorrow morning to make whatever it is I'm making, and I'm being a little indecisive. Tell me what you think sounds good...

/ Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe Here / Green Beans, Recipe Here / 

 /Apple and Onion Stuffing, Photo Via Recipe Here / Ginger Apple Bourbon, Recipe Here /

It's okay if you want to pick "all of the above". What are you cooking up this Thanksgiving?

Deck the Halls

The complaints about the holidays coming earlier and earlier keep rolling in, and right off my back. Obviously since I was ready to listen to Christmas music in mid October. But think about it folks, if we start decorating for the holidays early then there's an extra month to enjoy your hard work making your dwelling look festive, three if you're like me and let some x-mas stuff slip by through January.

Here are a few understated ways to inject some holiday cheer in to your home without driving you nuts before December:

Greenery is always a nice touch, especially in winter where you start to become tree-deprived.

 

Stick to either red or green while decorating, that way the Christmas spirit isn't all up in your face.

 

Use good old fashioned paper snowflakes! You legitimately can leave these up all winter long.

 

These metallic starts are festive yet not over the top.

Add some glitter: cheery and stylish.

 

White lights put some warmth in to your space, I love the glow they create in the evenings.

Photos:

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The Grand Tour

Sine moving in last Monday I haven't had a ton of time in between work and theatre to find a place for everything. Bear with me here, it's not exactly Apartment Therapy Tour-ready!

 

When you walk in to my apartment this is your first view: my bed. Roommate, or should I say Prior Roommate has since installed my red curtains and helped me hang up my little round mirror. It was a little strange at first sleeping in the entry way. It's kind of like staying in a hotel actually.

 Obviously I have a long way to go, but at least I carved out a sleeping space!

 You walk down a little hallway, on the left hand side is the bathroom which had absolutely no storage outside of a small cabinet over the sink. The baby-duck-yellow tiles seem to be clashing with my deep purple shower curtain, but for now it'll do its job. On the right side of the hall is my walk in closet that I haven't been able to take a picture of yet...it is a hot mess. 

The hallway takes you to the breakfast nook where my futon and TV are currently stashed, it's a cozy little nook, and I'll most likely get a tension rod and curtain to block it off when guests come to stay so they have their own little place. As you can see the plant-babies are making themselves at home.

 

My kitchen is also a sad state of affairs as there is about a foot of counter space divided in half by an XL sink. and my microwave is still sitting on boxes...

 

Part of the struggle with studio living combined with quirky Chicago apartment architecture is that there isn't always a lot of storage. This kitchen has extra tall cabinets, but no drawers. The silverware is currently living on the futon until a microwave stand with drawers can make its way in to my apartment.

Despite its peculiarity, from the very beginning it's felt like my own, which I've never had before in an apartment. It's a point of pride that I'm doing it all on my own in Chicago...until the rent is due anyway. I'm more excited than ever to make this apartment my home.

Apt.

This Monday I became an official big girl. I sat through new hire orientation and an employee health care meeting and only laughed at the sexual harassment video once (I'm sorry, but those things are just so darn contrived). After that I hopped on the el, set foot on a new red line stop and signed my first solo lease. No co-signers, no roommates, just me and my little studio in Chicago!


I wish I had taken some pictures of it, but it opens up in to a bedroom with a hallway leading to a kitchen and breakfast nook and a giant walk-in closet. I can't wait to move in at the end of October and make it my own!

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Pining for Pins

To those of you that have a Pinterest: obviously the "thrill of the hunt" starts with the chase. Scrolling through pages, finding something inspiring/amazing/noteworthy enough to give up-to-the-minute updates with your friends (mostly on your phone...while you're at work.) But when is the last time you actually went back and surveyed your pin boards? Looked at the things that inspired you right then and there enough that you wanted to remember it for later? I urge you to go back and look, and remind yourself why you wanted to try a new outfit, or a new recipe, update your bedroom, or, you know, just look at corgis.

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Foooood

Remember that time a long, long time ago when I said I was going to be an adult and actually start cooking my meals? A whole two weeks in and I've actually stuck with it! Of course this means that now that I've announced it there will be a rapid decline in my kitchen productivity, but so far it's been pretty enjoyable. It got a little hairy for a bit trying to pack lunch and dinner to go straight from the museum to the theatre, but overall I'm pretty darn proud of myself, considering my total lack of Julia-Child-like tendencies.

Here are the recipes that I've made so far...I want to preface this list by saying that if I recipe calls for some six dollar spice that I can't steal from my roommate, I won't use it. I also make things by the recipe, like a serving for four people and then I split it up throughout the week. Less prep time overall if you can do it all on one day.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad via The Girl Who Ate Everything I actually made a batch of this and it lasted for three days! Huzzah!

Bistro Style Crispy Chicken via The Fit Cook

Blueberry Breakfast Grilled Cheese via Fit From Conception, otherwise known as the easypeasy recipe that's blowing up Pinterest right now. I left out the icing sugar and it still tasted of awesomeness.

Crispy Coconut Chicken via The Fit Cook I precooked a batch of these and it doesn't do so well on the re-heat. There's still some in my fridge if anyone wants to bring the mango salsa!

I've also been throwing together a lot of fruit salads and experimenting with pita pockets (I'm wild and crazy like that.) Hard boiling eggs in advance for meals is also a big help since I can grab it and go...but I haven't phased out eating cereal for meals entirely. I just discovered quick oats with peanut butter though, and that seems to be a slightly better substitute.

If you're stuck, I highly recommend The Fit Cook. Tons of simple easy to make ideas and still healthy. I'm bent on learning how to make her Banana Waffles and Game Day Chili 

Hood

I love this graphic design project; The Chicago Neighborhoods. It's essentially branding logos for Chicago neighborhoods based on local features and background knowledge of graphic designer Steve Shanabruch.

Best of all, if you'd like to represent your neighborhood via a swanky t-shirt, that is an option an Below the Collar. I'm also reminded of those all too cute Pinterest projects where you hang up pictures or maps of where you lived. These prints would look super spiffy adorning your wall. 

Here's an adorable one from Life Blessons:

Cake Cake Cake

Yesterday I was an unstoppable machine! I think it might have had something to do with the extra hours of sunlight, thank you solstice! I cleaned the kitchen and partook in a brief and humid run with Running Buddy. We had dinner at Potbelly (which was the first place Viking and I ever ate in Chicago when he was doing grad-school visits two years ago) and it was delicious. I came home and cleaned the living room, chatted with E and David for an hour or so, and made a pan of chocolate frosted brownies for work today that I'm sure will be eaten all too quickly. You would be surprised how fast treats go in the health food restaurant...it's like we've never seen chocolate before.

All that's left to do before Mom gets here tomorrow is tidy up and decide what kind of cake Betty Crocker and I want to make for the cast. Many a person has pointed out that the birthday girl/boy isn't supposed to make their own cake, but I really enjoy it! So much so that last year I made two! A Chocolate Peanut Butter Silk Cake for the family and a Lemon Cake with Raspberry Mousse for my actual birthday. Nom nom nom!

This year I've narrowed it down to some easier and less time consuming choices that will hopefully pair well with either Jack Soaked Cherries or Tequila Soaked Watermelon. I am the classiest of broads, I realize. So, here are my choices:

Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Over the Moon Cupcakes

Which cake would you like to see on your Birthday?

Dahlias

If you will recall, back in winter I posted the five things I looking forward to in Chicago Spring. With only five official days left in Spring, Roommate and I payed a visit to the garden store in Andersonville to pick up an window box herb garden for him and some purdy flowers for myself. I chose Dahlias because I thought they'd get a lot of sun from my "patio" and they are so gosh-darn purdy! Besides which their little care tags said they'd be great for window boxes!

I came home to them the next day thrashing in the wind (didn't take the alley in to consideration) and dry as a bone. Five minutes of Google search proved to me that I was way out of my league. The soil needs to be kept damp but you can't over water them! One thorough watering a week and maybe little watering when it gets hot. Not only that but they're supposed to grow to be three or four feet tall! I crammed three of those suckers in to a planter box and now I'm starting to feel bad for them. I've stunted their growth!

I'm feeling pretty down on myself as a plant-mother, but I'll be even more upset if I kill $27 worth of flowers. I think the answer might be to prune them in to small window box-sized shrubs or move them to bigger pots. But until I make my final call about them...they sure are purdy.

Pasta Dinner

After the tragic loss of my camera's USB cable these pictures have been sitting on my camera for a couple of weeks. I have been digging through my apartment looking for it and finally pronounced it MIA. I moseyed on over to Tar-jay and picked up an SD card reader so I could upload these gems...I thought I had taken WAY more pictures than this, but I suppose not.

This was Bill's second to last day in Chicago before he took off for Russia, and damn, can that man cook! He made Chicken Parmesan and I made Watermelon Caprice, watermelon and mozzarella...I'm a regular Rachel Ray I realize.