My Favorites

Hi! Long time, no chat! I hope those of you in the States enjoyed your Thanksgiving. I sure did! To ease back into things, I thought I would share my brief encounters with some of my favorite bloggers.

Two of the first blogs I ever started reading were Young House Love and Smitten Kitchen. (I think they were these respective posts, if you're curious.) And they're still two of my favorites.

As luck would have it, both of their book tours brought them to Chicago. I felt like a mediocre fan driving from down the street compared to the super-fans that drove hundreds of miles and waited hours before the event even started. Regardless, it was fun meeting John, Sherry, and Deb.

First up was meeting John and Sherry of Young House Love. They were at the West Elm in Lincoln Park and I naively thought I'd be able to see them and do a little shopping while John was playing a basketball game. While in line, I kept thinking about what I would say to them. It's almost like waiting in line for Santa. Trying to think of the perfect thing to say and rehearsing it in your head to make sure it sounds just right. Three hours later (!!!) it was my turn.

Of course, they were friendly and perfectly charming. Sherry complemented me on my Bean necklace and blog name. I, on the other hand, blurted out how much I love them and use their spray painting tutorials and am currently building an upholstered coffee table/ottoman and like shiny things (in response to Sherry's complement of my necklace). Yes, I had a slight case of word vomit.

So when it was time to meet Deb of Smitten Kitchen the following weekend, I was prepared. Her book signing was in Lincoln Square at The Book Cellar, a local bookstore with a cafe. This time, I went with my sister-in-law and we made sure to leave early. This book signing was extremely organized in that we were assigned a numbered letter and only had to be back when our letter was called. That gave us the opportunity to walk around Lincoln Square, get some gelato, and pop into the many shops.

Meeting Deb was also super-quick and of course she was just a normal person that writes a blog with millions of readers and now has a book. I warned my sister-in-law of my word vomiting ways, so it's no surprise that I blurted out how much we love Deb's son and think he's the cutest kid ever. At least I restrained myself enough to keep from saying she and her husband should have another baby soon!

Have you ever met a celebrity or big-name blogger before? Tell me I'm not the only one that blurts out random things while talking with them!

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How much does a hipster weigh?

Lastest homebrew

It's true. I joined Instagram over the weekend.

Teenage mutant ninja cucumbers

@FiscallyChic if you want to follow along. Food and garden pictures for all!

I told you I was having a thing with stripes

Maybe a few style photos to round things out.

Sewing on a Saturday morning

I still have my moderately intelligent phone, which means I'm walking around taking pictures with the iPad. I'm cool like that.

Roses are blooming like whoa

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My New Favorite Word and Other Sundry Items

Who wants to balance all the finance talk with something personal? Yea, me too.

And thanks to Marie for the digital kick in the pants. Life it too short to sit around and count dolla dolla bills. How about we talk about fun things?

my bearded pigeon hangry pillow cover

Like this pillow cover. And my new favorite word: hangry. I don't remember which I discovered first, but I'm a huge fan of decor with a sense of humor. And wordplay. Oh, and puns. If you're wondering, yes, I get a little rage-y if I haven't eaten in a while.

As proud as I was sewing my own curtains, the colors just weren't right for the green walls in the back room. Hanging as curtains, the fabric seemed dull and blah. I've come to realize I'm more of a brights and whites kind of person. I want bold color in the house. Like our new Ikea curtains. Every time I see them, I smile. I don't know what I'm going to do with the yellow curtains yet. Maybe sell them or use them in another room.

Speaking of brights, I also really love this new Marimekko fabric I'm working with. It's colorful. It's happy. It reminds me of sunny, summer weather.

Speaking of warm weather, our rose plants are starting to show signs of life! We never got around to pruning them during the fall, so I'm glad to see that we haven't killed them yet.

I've been falling behind on my plan to workout three times a week. But this week is on track because I went to Zumba on Saturday and ran outside on Sunday. 4 miles. In shorts. I seriously can't remember the last time I ran outside or for 4 miles....yikes!

I've been informed by my aunt that I need to share recipes other than desserts. Good thing I have some tasty pizza to share. The crust is from scratch using spent grain. Recipe to come soon. You're welcome, Aunt Mary.

So that's what's new with me! What's new with you? Anyone adding bright colors to their house? Or getting outside to enjoy the warm weather?
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Weekend in Pictures

Hello, there! How was your weekend? After several weekends out of town, it was nice to be home and relax. Though I didn't sit around the whole time. Here are some weekend highlights:

Our couches were delivered! I showed pictures to some coworkers and one commented that the room looks very J.Crew. I'm not sure how J.Crew it looks, but I think it's simple and elegant with a twist.

Next is the gallery wall and finally picking out an accent chair. We'll also need more lighting and side tables. 

John picked our first zucchini! And he got new glasses. I think he looks pretty cool :)

The watermelons are starting to get bigger! It rained the last three days, so maybe we'll be able to enjoy one soon. 

We used the zucchini in "homemade" pizza. The herb and garlic pizza dough is from Trader Joe's, but the produce is from our garden: our first tomato, basil, and oregano. There's also some leftover salami instead of pepperoni. We made the pizza on the grill and definitely have room for improvement.

To end the weekend on a high note, I made homemade donuts!!!

As you may have heard, Borders is going out of business and they're starting to liquidate their inventory. We stopped by one on Friday afternoon and I picked up a new cookbook: Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented. One of the very first recipes in the book is for Farm Stand Buttermilk Donuts. There are also some tasty looking cakes, scones, tarts, and cookies. John asked if I could make the donuts, so I gave them a whirl.

I made a half batch and they were amazing! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Some were enjoyed au natural and others were dipped in cinnamon sugar. Maybe I should quit my job and make donuts full time :)

What would you do as a job if money wasn't a concern?

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Blinded by the Light

Hi, friends! I've finally emerged from the rock I've been hiding under for the last week (hence being blinded). Did you miss me? I missed you. To ease back into blogging here's a quick round-up of what's gone on since we last chatted:

Our loan has been approved (YAY!!) and we've increased our earnest money payment to 10% of the purchase price. Basically, we put down a small amount when we made an offer on the house to show the seller that we were serious and interested. If we walked away from the house, the seller would get the money. If the offer wasn't accepted or a contract wasn't finalized, we would get that money back.

Another sneak peak: the argyle garage

Since the offer was accepted, we entered the attorney review period. The attorneys reviewed the contract and we hashed out the details of how home inspection issues would be addressed and remedied. In our case, the seller has agreed to fix everything we requested from the home inspection (none were serious safety concerns). Five days after the attorney review period, earnest money needs to be increased to 10%. The increase in earnest money provides the seller with additional security and assurance that we will buy the house. And rightfully so, 10% is a lot of money for John and I to walk away from! Fortunately, all of our earnest money go towards our final down payment of 20%.

What else is up?

I bought a case of apple cinnamon Carb BOOM! energy gels for long runs and upcoming half marathons. I've tried different brands and flavors and this is my favorite. It tastes like apple pie filling :) Plus, the St. Louis half marathon is next weekend and I ran 10 miles with Jess on Saturday. I registered for STL to stay active during the winter, so I'm not planning on a super time. And I haven't really tapered. I'm going to run the Cleveland half marathon in May and plan to taper then.


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Stephanie and I met up for coffee and breakfast at Floriole. The quiche and latte were great and the conversation was even better! She lent me "The Happiness Project" recently and I've really enjoyed reading it. Have you read it? Gretchen Rubin makes monthly resolutions and tries all sorts of different ways to increase her happiness. One thing she did was start a blog because research shows that novelty and challenge make people happier.

Maintaining a blog can definitely be a challenge, but I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experiences. Plus, I get to meet new friends and "hang out" with all of you. Why did you start blogging?
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7 random facts

A couple weeks ago, Stephanie sent me a blog award. (Thanks!) Since work is a little crazy, I thought today would be a good opportunity to cash in the post and share 7 random facts about myself. Hope you find these entertaining on a Tuesday :)



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 1. Even though I'm a foodie, I'm weird about tomatoes. I don't like them raw or on salads. I'll order them on sandwiches, but pull them out about half way through. Yet I like salsa, bruschetta, tomato sauce, and ketchup.



Here's a picture of my Dad and me at an open water swim meet

2. I've broken 3 bones. My right collar bone when I was 4. My left wrist when I was 6. And my right thumb when I was 15. While swimming.

3. I have a mild obsession with pink shoes. Current count: 4 pairs. Peep toes from our wedding, sneakers from London, flats for work, and sandals for warm weather.

4. I have a maybe-not-so-secret desire to own a bakery. And I love wedding cakes. A few years ago I saw a collection of Wendy Kromer wedding cakes and just about died. Wendy is an editor of "Martha Stewart Weddings" and is the co-author of "Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes." Yes, I'm a proud owner of the book.

5. I was a cheerleader in 6th grade. Enough said. And no pictures.



Devil dog from the family I stayed with in Madrid

6. I'm kind of afraid of dogs, especially small yippy ones. I had a traumatizing experience with an evil toy poodle as a kid.



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7. My first car was a green 2000 VW Passat named Jalepeno. That picture is a newer version of my car.

I'd like to pass the love onto:

Makeunder My Life

One Sydney Road

Inspiration and Rough Drafts

The Maddy Chronicles

Designer Jules

Schwedding!

Health on the Run

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