It's Time

Perhaps you've noticed my lack of "second" posts recently, or the fact that I've taken days off completely. Truth is, I've been working on something, something big. It's time to tell you.

 

As you know, last week was our anniversary. While we still follow traditional anniversary gifts, we try not to spend too much money on them.  We agreed long ago that while gifts are fun, we're rather spend our time, energy and money, on less tangible items.  Instead, we like to share experiences.

 

We spent our first anniversary on the mound of Wrigley Field. As lifelong Cubs' fans, this was such a fun and memorable way to celebrate our first anniversary.

Last year, for our second anniversary, on a whim, we booked a trip to Ireland with B&B, and celebrated a little early. 

This year, we're a little bit late and still we're going on an adventure, but a completely different type...



next week we are moving to Denver!!!

Ahhhh!
 

 

 

 

 

Made It (+deals)

Last month Jeni's Ice Creams opened up in Chicago. It's an Ohio based companies with a few select stores outside of OH. We attempted to go to the grand opening, but after getting there and learning the line was over two hours long we said screw it, we'd rather pay for our ice cream (I mean, time is money, right?)

Last night we went. Leave it to us to wait until the nightly temperatures drop into the 30s to walk ourselves up to get some ice cream.  As I knew it would be, the wait to go was so worth it!

We each got a trio (when in Rome people!). Ben got: salty caramel, whiskey and pecans and black coffee. Surprisingly the whiskey was his least favorite. I opted for salty caramel, buckeye state (salty peanut butter and dark chocolate) and sweet potato with toasted marshmallows. Maybe not the best combo, but individually each scoop was scrumptious! 

Now that you're salivating, let's give you some deals to shop. Today's deals and steals:

• Amazon: 30% off contemporary and designer style handbags and shoes, prices marked
• Ann Taylor Loft: 50% off flash sale; online only through midnight with code EVERYTHING
• Banana Republic: 40% off online purchase today with code BRFALL (4% back via ebates.com)
• Barnes and Noble: 15% off one item in store or online with coupon through 10/27
• Gap:
• 25% off regular priced items and extra 30% off sale items with code GAPSAVE online through 10/26
• Gap Cash: Earn $25 for every $50 spent now through 11/22; redeem 12/3-12/8
• 7% back via ebates.com
• Gap Outet: 50% off all denim 10/25-10/27
• J Crew: 25% off $150+ purchases in store and online with code SHOPNOW through 10/30 (6% back via ebates.com)
• J Crew Factory:
• 40% off entire store (select items 50% off) through 10/31
• Extra 30% off everything online with code SALE30 through 10/29 (3% back via ebates.com)
• JCPenney: 8% back today via ebates.com
• Macys: Extra 20% off with code PRES ends today (6% back via ebates.com)
• Old Navy: 25% off online purchase (excludes super cash and everyday steals) with code ONTAKE25 throgh 10/30 (4% back via ebates.com)
• Piperlime: Extra 40% off final sale items with code FIX through 10/25 (2% back via ebates.com)
• Restaurant.com: $5 for $25 gift certificate with code CARVE through 10/25
• Ulta: $3.50 off $10 purchase through 10/26 with coupon
• West Elm: Buy more, save more with code SAVEMORE





Weekend Recap - 10/18

This weekend was pretty low key for us. Thankfully so because I lost my voice Sunday night and it took until Friday for it to be fully back to normal!

 

I grabbed this book, Brain on Fire, from the library on Thursday and have been intoxicated by it since. It's been out for a while now but such an interesting, and scary, read!

Saturday was wide open with no plans, so we ended up working on our bucket list. Maria's Packaged Goods is ranked as one of the best beer bars in Chicago and often in national beer publications.  It's down in the neigborhood of Bridgeport (still in Chicago). We biked the 8 miles there from our apartment, and by the we arrived, I was ready for, well, a beer!

 

The front of the bar is a store lined with beer bottles for sale (and creepy ventriloquist dolls on top). It almost felt like I was walking into a foreign pub.

Inside it's quite cozy and content. Perfect for an afternoon brew session.

From there we headed back north, but made a pit stop at Simone's for a beer and food. Their tomato bisque was perfect for the crisp fall day.

 

After getting our tummies filled, we biked back towards the apartment, deciding to stop in Delilah's for a drink. Now, I love pumpkin beer and for years Southern Tier's Pumpking has been my front runner, but Delilah's had their Warlock on top; which is a pumpkin stout. Out of this world I tell you! If only I had a scoop of my hometown ice cream, Whitey's, pumpkin ice cream to add in. That would be perfection.



Sunday was a lazy day with the usual breakfast at our favorite spot, Bakin and Eggs. Followed by cozying up on the couch with Huey to watch the Bears (lose).

Linking up with Sami

Day Off

I feel like I've been living in a whirlwind recently, so, today I'm giving myself the day off. Off of work and off of blogging. A day to, hopefully, feel like I can catch my breath.

 

I got my massage last night and it was lovely! If you're in Chicago, Studio Within Salon has both a Groupon and Travelzoo deal right now. Hint: The travelzoo is better because for the same price you not only get the Groupon's sixty minute massage but also a blow-out.

And there I go, talking about a deal on my "day off". I swear, my brain never shuts down.

Have a great weekend! I'm off to my fav brunch spot for a treat.

10/8's Deals and Steals

Last night I attended a work happy hour with several coworkers and clients. Lucky for me, my dad is a client of our company, which meant I got to see him for the first time in over two months when I last went home. While I had fun, how can you not with a view like this and a mac n' cheese bar?, it's safe to say I'm utterly exhausted. My cold is rushing in and I was tempted to call in sick today, but I didn't want to seem like a lush.

We were asked to dress business smart, which gave me an excellent opportunity to wear this sheath dress for the first time. I recently bought it on a whim from H&M; $35 for a versatile work dress? Oh wait, it gets better, it's on sale for $10 online. You need  one of these!

Blazer - H&M (similar), Heels - Target

Any who, how was your night? I'm thinking that trading in my run for sweatpants on the couch sounds like an excellent post-work plan.

Today's deals and steals:

• BR/Gap/ON/Piperlime: 10% off today for cardholders with code TUESDAYS (2% back via ebates.com)
• Gap: 30% off online purchase with code GAPMORE through 10/8 (2% back via ebates.com)
• J Crew: Extra 40% final sale items in store and online with code EXTRA40 (6% back via ebates.com)


Old Navy: Through 1/10
• 30% off in store and online for cardholders with code STUFFSAVE
• 20% off online for non-cardholders with code ONSAVE20
• 2% back via ebates.com
• Restaurant.com: $5 for $25 gift certificate with code LOCAL through 10/9

Hot Spot: Girl & The Goat

Chicago is a foodie haven. There are always new restaurants popping up and you are guranteed to be able to find viable options for unique foods....however, having a husband who suggests we eat PB&Js on a Friday night when we find ourselves not wanting to go out and with an empty fridge, you can probably guess (if you haven't been able to tell by other posts), how picky he is and how hard it is to get him to try new places, especially since our budget allows us to eat out just once or twice a week.

 

Girl and the Goat opened Summer 2010 with main chef Stephanie Izard, from Top Chef. Since then, it's consistantly been ranked as one of Chicago's top restaurants. This also means that it's typically pretty hard to get into. Resevations can be made via opentable.com...but should be made months in advance.  We had reservations Summer 2011 which we canceled because Ben got scared of the unique menu and I was unable to find anyone to dine with last minute. 

 

I got reservations for my birthday this year and then Ben was traveling for work...so only July 9th we did a belated birthday dinner, mainly because that was the soonest we could get in for the two month look ahead, and this was 5pm on a Tuesday for two!

 

When we finally went, I was beyond excited.

The ambiance is dark, modern, and crisp. Even through it was 5pm, the majority of tables (and walk up bar spots) were already taken. While we'd looked of an example menu prior, we tried going in with an open mind on both budget (hey, we'd been waiting forever to go here) and food options. Their foods are served tapas/family style, which makes it easy for trying several to have a taste of everything.

Prior to our arrival, we'd spent some time on Yelp and other review sites trying to decide what to order. The menu is mainly divide into three categories: vegetable, fish, and meat. It changes frequently as items are used up.  (We were heart broken that the cheese beer bites were just sold out upon our arrival).

 

The first item we ordered was bread.  I'd read several notes about the olive oil garlic butter and fresh baked bread.  While the bread was delicious, the butter had something off about it.

In an attempt to get Ben to eat his veggies, I ordered wood grilled broccoli with bleu cheese and spice crisps (kind of like Rice Krispy cereal). This was melt in your mouth delicious! Of course, it freaked Ben out, so I ended up taking home leftovers (which I accidentally left in the car for five days of 90-degree weather. I would not recommend unless you want your car to smell like garbage).

Ben's choice for a side was an obvious one: ham frites (fries) with smoked tomato aioli and cheddar beer sauce.  I'm not a huge fan of french fries (I know, I know), but these were tasty.  Slightly over salted for both of us, but that was taken care of between the aioli and cheese sauce.

Because the restaurant's name does include goat our wait convinced us that we should order a goat item. Neither of us remembered eating goat before, so the goat empanadas seemed like a goad option and they were! Crispy outside, tender inside. Yum!

However, the main item to write home about is the wood oven roasted pig face. Keep in mind that Ben is a guy who hadn't tried mashed potatoes until he was 20 years old...he was the one who suggested we order this, as it's the most popular, raved about, item on the menu.

 

The presentation is beautiful, but we were instructed the best way to eat it was to mix everything together. You guys, I have never tasted something so divine, so savory in my life! And, the best part, Ben LOVED it too! Don't be frightened by the name, this is a must-order item!

At this point we were both getting pretty full (they also have a decent craft beer list so I indulged in a beer and two for Ben, which I encouraged, hoping it would get him to eat the broccoli. No dice), but a meal is not a meal without dessert. While the dessert menu was hard to choose from, we ordered the strawberry shortcake, which included strawberry ice cream and a twist with pistachios. It was refreshing and delicious!

All in all, I can't believe how good our experience was and how long it took us to actually dine there.  For $86 we had the five food items and three beers, which was surprisingly cheap to us. The whole way home we raved to each other how good the pig face had been and the fact that we'd eaten it.

Until next time Stephanie!

 Linked up with Hunters of Happiness and Glitz and Gold for All-Things-Thursday



Trash Talk (+deals)

This morning when I took the boys out for our walk, a woman in scrubs was getting out of her car.  She passed by and commented on how cute the dogs were and then stopped walking.

Her: Did you hear that?
Me: What?
THUMP!
Her: I'm pretty sure there are rats stuck in that garbage can >points< I could hear them squeaking when I got out of my car.

Sure enough, throughout our entire walk we heard and saw the garbage bin's lid open a few inches and slam down.  I'm glad she warned me because that's typically where I toss the boy's business bags. Ew!

When I left for work the lid was entirely open and propped up. I wonder if they broke free or some unfortunate person had rats jump out at them as they went to throw away their trash.

Today's deals and steals:

• Amazon: 30% off $100+ shoes and handbag purchases with code 30OFF100
• Banana Republic: 35% off online purchase with code BRSHOP35 ends today (2% back via ebates.com)
• Gap: 40% off regular priced items with code GAP24HR through 9/25; online only (2% back via ebates.com)
• J Crew: 25% off in store and online purchases with code SHOPFALL ends today; free shipping (no minimum) today only (6% back via ebates.com)
• The Limited: 40% off full priced items (excludes new arrivals) and 25% off new fall collection; in store and online with code FALL
• Old Navy: 35% off accessories and shoes in stores and online with code ONHAPPY (2% back via ebates.com)
• Shutterfly: 40% off with code HOLIDAY40 ends today
• Victoria's Secret: 15% off at select stores today at 7pm with college ID
• West Elm: 15% off dining furniture

What a Weekend: Recap

Friday night we kept it low key, trying to catch up on missed sleep from the work week.  We grabbed an early dinner at The Pony before stopping by the pre-opening of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Chicago. I've had Jeni's a few times around the city, mainly from Southport Grocery or the booth they've set up at the local weekly farmer's market, and I can't seem to get enough!  When I heard Jeni's had chosen to open it's first Illinois location in Chicago, I was pumped!  When I learned of the free scoops (typically $5) they'd be giving out on Friday night, I was ecstatic.  However, unfortunately the rest of Chicago was too.  The event was to be 7-10pm and we arrived at 7:30 to a line that was approaching three blocks long. Uh-uh. I love ice cream (and free things), but not that much! Instead, we headed home and watched the Great Gatsby. I know we're a bit behind the times, but I'm glad we waited to see it at home verse the theater because we both agreed it was a little too over done.

 

Saturday morning we woke up early, skipping our usual morning run, to conduct a home visit for a possible adopter with the rescue before Ben dropped me off downtown for brunch with my book club ladies at Atwood Cafe (try the sun dried tomato fritatta, yum!). I met my girlfriend B for some quick shopping before heading back to our place to watch college football and grill. We finally opened the last of our New Glarus beer (Raspberry Tart)  we'd picked up on our way back from Duluth. It was sweet and a bit disappointing. We'd hoped for something more sour, but the lack of taste was made up for by the recommendation to serve in champagne glasses.

We decided to head down to B&B's apartment downtown to enjoy their rooftop and grab a drink in the area. Their roof has a deck, which includes fire pits and an amazing view (remember when we watched fireworks here?)

We headed to the piano bar, Zebra Lounge, for a drink. B&B recently discovered this spot, which is somewhat funny because Ben and I had wondered in here the first summer we lived in Chicago. We'd immediately been thrown off by the ambiance and left, now six summers later, here we were enjoying ourselves. Lucky for me, B is also a dessert girl, so we headed over to grab some gelato at the fountain before calling it a night.

Or so we thought...here's where the night took an interesting turn...

We left downtown and headed home via El train around midnight. Although we'd both had a few drinks, neither of us were drunk and it'd been nearly three hours since our last drink. We got off at our stop, which is a main busy street with a few bars and people still out and about, and headed home, approximately a seven block walk.

About two blocks from the train while we're walking along the busy street and a jeep came across the “thru-street” (perpendicular street), isn’t paying attention and almost hits us walking trying to cross street. I surely would have been hit had Ben not told me to stop. We stopped and waited for the for Jeep to go by. As it passed Ben put his hand on the back of the jeep, a common, although technically illegal <maybe?>, gesture here for bad drivers to let them know 'hey ya almost hit me'.

The driver slammed on his brakes, got out and ran towards Ben. The driver swung a punch, Ben ducked and they ended up on the ground fighting/wrestling. I'm yelled to stop and then ran to Jeep and took picture of the license plate because that’s all I could think to do. A woman ran out of passenger side to guys on ground and tried to pull driver off, yelling at him "Stop! Stop! What are you doing?"

The driver finally stopped, got up, they both got in car and sped off. I called 911 and we waited. A passerby didn’t see the incident, only the car driving away came to ask if we were okay and gave his name/number before we ensure him were and he didn't have to wait with us. Six minutes pass, no police and Ben's forehead was dripping with blood and had developed a huge welt.  Ben has had concussions before and although he was mostly with it, he said he thought he may have one now. He was spitting blood. We decided not to wait for the police and hopped into a cab, knowing was an emergency room a few blocks away. (One of the few times in my life I'm sure we'll ever receive a free cab ride. Thank you Yellow Cab).

Ben was immediately admitted to the ER and I asked to be sure the police were called so we could file a report.  We were there about 4.5 hours, during which Ben was examined, had a CT scan (just to be safe; it was clear) and filed a police report.  Although we have a picture of the plates and can give a general description of the driver, the police said because the plate is out of state, it may be hard to track the guy down. The CT scanner operator told Ben to stay on top of the police, which I will do.

 

What was intended to be an easy, carefree night turned into us coming home us nearly 5am completely traumatized. It was the scariest night. I felt so helpless and defenseless. In the moment, everything felt so surreal and I was pretty much stunned frozen. Since then a million "what ifs" have run through my mind. The only thing I can be certain of is that I am thankful nothing worse happened and that we, especially Ben, are okay.

 

Sunday morning, needless to say, we slept in. The only productive thing I did was to leave the house for groceries. Otherwise, I tried to stay by Ben's said to aid him in icing and providing ibuprofen. He has a welt the size of a baseball on his forehead, a golf ball sized gash on his head, and is generally sore all over from rolling around on the cement, but thankfully at this time we don't think it's anything more that what time will heal.

We've been hinted that the police will be unhelpful in pursing the assailant. In addition to following up with them, we are considering our other options. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers that we can get some type of justice to feel some closure.

 

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

One summer day a few years ago, when Mr. Sister was in town for a visit, we perused Broadway St in Boystown and happened across Phoebe's Cupcakes.  Being a hot day, I opted for the unusual but refreshing sounding pink lemonade cupcake. It was delicious!

 

Years later, Phoebe's is now closed, but every summer I think about that cupcake (weird, I know) and how good it was.  When I saw this recipe via Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.  The result was not quite the sweet tart taste I remembered, but close enough.  As summer gets ready to turn into fall, give these cupcakes a try.

Ingredients:

(Makes 10)

 

Cupcakes:

• 1/4 milk (I used skim)*
• 2 tsp white vinegar*
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup thawed frozen pink lemonade concentrate
• Red food coloring

*Similar to No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls, the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup buttermilk, which I don't keep on hand. Instead, I "make" my own buttermilk with skim and vinegar.



 Frosting:

• 3 cups and 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 stick of softened room temp butter
• 3 Tbsp pink lemonade concentrate
• Red food coloring

I know what you're thinking. A whole stick of butter to frost 10 measly cupcakes? I thought the same thing; so originally I made half of the recipe above...but then it seems like I didn't have enough frosting, so I made the second half.  Now I have about a cup and a half of pink lemonade frosting sitting in my fridge waiting for a partner.  Unless you LOVE frosting, I'd perhaps start with making of half portion of the above and see if it's enough for you.

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a small bowl, mix together milk and vinegar to let milk curdle (or skim this step if you have buttermilk)

• Grease or place liners in muffin tin
• In a medium bowl, mix together all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt)
• In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade. 
• Add approximately 3 Tbsp of dry ingredients mixture and 1 Tbsp milk mixture to wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
• Repeat until everything is mixed together and beat smooth
• Add approximately three drops of food coloring and stir to turn batter pink

• Scoop dough into muffin tins; fill about 3/4 full
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

While cupcakes are baking, make your frosting.

• Add all ingredients into medium bowl (powdered sugar, butter and lemonade)
• Mix on high speed with hand mixer (or by hand) until whipped and creamy
• Add approximately two drops food coloring and mix



• Take your cupcakes out of oven and let cool (15+ minutes)
• Frost, top with sprinkles (optional) and enjoy the taste of summer!

 Late link up with Ashley and Jessica for Taste of Tuesday

A Divvy Day

Chicago is starting to catch up with the rest of the world. When in Paris, we came across several commuter bike rental stations that sadly we could not use without a "chip" in our credit card to check out.  This summer Chicago launched Divvy Bikes, a bike rental program across the city paid for by tax dollars of people like yours truly.

The premise is that people will rent a bike for a short commute, say to get from the Metro commuter train station to their office.  There are two options for payment: 1. Annual Pay ($75) or 2. 24-Hour Pass ($7). For both rental systems, you're allowed to check a bike out and rent it to any other station within a 30 minute increment.  If you're checked out for more than 30 minutes at a time, you pay a fee ($2 for each additional 30 minutes).  However, for both options, you're allow to check out as many times as needed. So technically, if you had to get to Point B from Point A, you could stop along the way at as many stations as needed without paying anything extra. Got it? Confusing, I know.

 

You pay with credit card and are given a code on a printed receipt.  You punch the code into a bike lock (within five minutes of receiving it; otherwise it expires) and away you ride.

Every summer my group likes to try to get out of the office for lunch a few times for a unique activity. In the past we've rode the water taxi and this year someone convinced us to Divvy (yep, it's a verb now).

 

Our biker gang of six checked out bikes on fine day and went for a ride to and along the lakefront bike path. The bikes have a "basket" up front complete with an elastic band to secure a briefcase.  They only have three speeds and the first is a joke (it's so easy your legs pedal fast and you look like an idiot). The majority of the time I rode in the third speed; but that doesn't mean much because you can't go very fast.

Not too shabby of a view for lunch, right? The only bad part was returning to work. Next time you're in town, consider a Divvy! Just please be smart enough not to ride on the sidewalk. Deal?