32 feels good.
(Boarding House dinner, Cellar post-meal)
Gearing up for Ravinia
With warm weather finally showing up and hanging around, my excitement for Ravinia season is practically bubbling over. For those non-local Tumblrs, Ravinia is a fantastic outdoor concert venue that encourages elaborate picnics, great company, and an all-around beautiful environment dedicated to the arts.
Bonus?
It is way close to my house now that I’m in suburbia.
When I lived in Chicago, I would shut down my work computer, hightail it outta the office, dash down Lake Street to scoop up tasty treats at Pastoral Artisan, hop the train to the Ravinia stop, and meet Fitz at the gate. Easy, convenient, and post-show (and many glasses of wine later), the responsible way to travel.
I’m kind of loving that it so very close to us now. Fitz’s company is a sponsor so each year there are always a few company events with the whole catering-and-seating shebang which is lovely, but a picnic on the lawn with blankets, chairs, and candles is really where my heart is at. My posts today are dedicated to dreaming up menu ideas…
Change in dinner plans calls for grilling up everything in our kitchen on this beautiful day:
*Seasoned avocados with colby jack cheese
*Homemade pizza with mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, basil, onion, Serrano peppers, and thyme
*Cold beers
Cheers!
After spending the entire morning shampooing carpets in the basement, and having Fitz make a whole lot of dumb jokes involving carpets + drapes, I’m happy to report that the furniture will soon be moved back into place…which means that our rec room, home office, and play room will once again be in functioning order (HELL TO THE YES, no more tripping over toys in the kitchen!).
Hard to believe that it’s been about 3 1/2 weeks since I woke up to a flood and posted this (BTW? That necklace would make a swell birthday gift). Huge thanks to my Dad, who kicked serious ass at this rehab project and kept my spirits high every day. :) Tomorrow may be mother’s day, but everyday of my life is father’s day with a dad like him.
We ventured to Chicago around noon to take Theo to the vet, and get a referral for a specialist. My little woof continues to battle health issues that mystify doctors and frustrate me. Let’s just say that I look forward to one day having conversations in which the words ‘anus’ and ‘rectum’ are used at an absolute minimum (yeah, that’s right, I went there).
Post-vet, we went to Panozzo’s, a favorite spot in the South Loop and one of the best damn Italian markets in all of Chicago. I had a mushroom conserva cresentine (pictured) with whipped ricotta, balsamic onions, and greens, and I damn near made love to that sandwich, it was so good (yes, I realize that I’m giving you all sorts of visuals with my posts today; enjoy!).
Now I’m going to work on motivation for a run. I think I can…I really should…
Friday, Quickly
- Wool scarves, cashmere, and raincoats (and I was still cold)
- No makeup
- A mani/pedi gift certificate from my sis and bro-in-law ‘just because’ they read my blog and noted that I wanted one (#kindness, it astounds me)
- Sauteed polenta cakes with onion and sage butter
- A huge freakin’ spinach salad
- Wells loving The Very Hungry Caterpillar, dancing, and his Anywhere Chair
- Me, going a little crazy on my Nordstrom Wish List (pink heels, Betsey Johnson bikini, an Army jacket)
- Celebrating good news: my former boss is on the cusp of an exciting move
- Commiserating bad news: house hunting continues for my sissy
- Some ‘maybe’ plans for NYE that involve traveling to a city I am DYING to visit
- Shake Shack coming to Chicago (!)
- Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies
- One helluva Bulls game!
We had some friends over last night to watch the Bulls game. And while the game was all sorts of horrendous, the cushioned chairs on our patio were comfortable, and the combo of company + food was superb.
Grilled hot dogs on poppyseed buns with all the fixings (no ketchup allowed)
Grilled avocados halves, seasoned with parmesan, cracked pepper and sea salt
Grilled beets with garlic
(pretty much the most perfect cusp-of-summer meal, right?)
Fitz has a friend who started his own line of gourmet sausage (seriously), and we were really excited to hear that Dominick’s just picked them up. So last night we threw some Fromans on the grill (as in Abe, as in just a fancy name for delicious hot dogs), and they got rave reviews across the board. Should you be so inclined, check out Gilbert’s Craft Sausages the next time you’re at the grocery store.
What I had for breakfast: deliciousness
- Ezekiel Sesame Seed bread, toasted
- Handfuls of raw spinach
- Chopped avocado
- Two eggs, overeasy
- Sea salt, cracked pepper, and Frank’s Hot Sauce
Throw that all together.
Chomp, chew, smile.
The last in our lil’ series of James Beard Award-nominated stuff from LP: The Secret Lives of Chefs by Lisa Hanawalt! This comic also appears in her upcoming book MY DIRTY DUMB EYES, published by Drawn & Quarterly.
Here’s this comic in full! Thanks Lucky Peach!
this rules.
Love this. Worth noting that the secret life of some of these people is my actual life. So great to see such a fanfare on here of [mostly] positive special feelings.
Chuckles.
