American/British Virgin Island Countdown... 4 weeks.

It's on. We'll be at our private villa (Virgin Seabreeze) on the island of St. John in 4 weeks...

Vegas & Ramblings

I recently went to Vegas with 3 girlfriends (Annie, J Stelz and Eliza) and what did we do? We ate & ate & ate like a bunch of little hungry caterpillars. A little preview of the gratuitous food pictures that I took at Social House. This is only 1/8 of our meal. Scallops with soft shell crab in the foreground ("God's Fingers") and lettuce wrapped cod in the back.



I need to catch up w/ this thing. I need to post about our tour of Half Acre Brewery and Avec, picnic in the park for Labor Day, last Cubs game, trip to Indiana to see my family...and our plans for our upcoming 1 year anniversary trip. Tyson surprised me with plans to a place I've wanted to visit for more than 10 YEARS!

...

A Weekend In Pictures (4/29-5/1)

Taken on my iPhone w/ filters from Instagram. It was a beautiful, busy weekend and I wanted to capture it all.

Clockwise from top left: book club, flowers in the conservatory, planting my herbs, volutneering at PAWS, Lincoln Park South Pond, Tyson and I playing Guitar Hero, more flowers in conversatory, kite flying in Lincoln Park, underneath Grant Statue, bike outside Belden-Stratford hotel, flamingos in Lincoln Park Zoo, my favorite house, picking up deck chairs at Home Depot, pavillion in Lincoln Park

Where did your tax dollars go?

Obama will tell you!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/taxreceipt

The Best of All Worlds

Great food, wine and Ben Harper.

http://www.youtube.com/americanexpress/?x=appState--videoDetail---currentPlaylistID--672DA74701AE79AE---currentVideoID--9zc7xUZrw4E

Cheers to the Chi-rish

We had yet another green St. Pat's weekend celebrating with visitors. Viva la green river!

Desk Phone Dock

I couldn't help but think today, there has to be a dock out there that lets you use your cell phone like an actual land line. Viola. Of course it exists. I just had to find it.

I need this: http://www.deskphonedock.com/

Ottoman

It's time to trade up on a new coffee table. The one we have right now is a slight step up from IKEA. It took me forever to pick a new sofa, so let the great search begin. I want an ottoman style, but haven't decided on leather vs fabric. Crate & Barrel designs struck out, but Pottery Barn has a few that are getting close.

FLW Gift

Tyson's aunt Shelia (from the Pyle side) made us a quilted wallhanging using a pattern from a book of Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass window replicas as a wedding gift and sent it last week - wow!

This particular replica is inspired by his reception hall in Oak Park, IL. I adore it and can't wait to hang it, maybe above our couch since it compliments it so well.

Bake Off

I was busy in the kitchen for Valentine's Day. I made 4 dozen sugar cookies for Tyson to take to work (Martha Stewart's Ideal Sugar Cookie Recipe, of course) To my surprise, they turned out just fine. I baked them for 7 minutes instead of the recommended 10 so they were nice and fluffy. I must be getting better at baking - I did not burn a single one. I did make a giant mess, so that hasn't changed.



We stayed in on Monday and I made swiss fondue (Gruyère + Jarlsberg) in my new fondue pot. My Mom gave it to me last year at a bridal shower, so I've been wanting to use it for a long time. You fill the outside pot with hot water and then set another tempered glass pot inside with the cheese so it is heated evenly. The fondue stayed creamy and smooth the entire time.






Now it's time to get busy in the gym after all this food... :/

Frost Creeps In

Ice crystals covered the inside of our windows this morning as the temperature dipped as low as -4 deg in Lincoln Park (2/10). I took these pictures about noon from our north facing windows, so it was probably a balmly 16 degrees by then.

^ Geometry of an ice crystal.

Happy Heart Day

I spend more time with WBEZ/NPR than any other media; listening to it for 8 hours a day while working from home will do that I guess. We're even members (gah!) 

ANYWAYS.

They released a set of cheeky Valentine's Day cards.... These two are my favorites. You can find the rest here: http://www.npr.org/valentine/ 

Ski Trip - Devil's Head

Two summers ago we went hiking/camping near Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin (See: the post) This January we went back for a day of skiing at nearby Devil's Head in south central Wisconsin, about a 3 hour drive from Chicago. It has about 30 runs with a vertical rise of 500 feet and the longest run is 1.5 miles. It's no Colorado, but for an up-and-back trip it is worth it. We left about 6a on Saturday morning and returned before 7p - exhausted.

Tyler, Melanie and Tyson on the catwalk.

Heading up on the Quad Lift

We *always* stop for cheese on the way home. Mousehouse Cheese Haus!

Dress Preservation

I was nervous I'd never really be able 'see' it again, but it looks beautiful in its box with the veil. My Mom took it in and my Dad picked it up last week. So happy :)

Sham Shuf

It's incredibly hard for me to stay active (read: out of fat pants) during the winter. Who wants to run with snow and ice on the ground? Yeah, not so much. And I hate running more than 2-3 miles on a treadmill.

Anyways, I registered for the April 10th Shamrock Shuffle 8k again this year to keep me motivated. I'll continue working out and running normally, but "official" training will start 8 weeks before on Feb 21. Hal's 8 week 8-k program -- http://www.halhigdon.com/8K/8kintroduction.htm

Banana Phone, Piano Phone?

I have a MagicJack that I occasionally use for conference calls. Right now it's plugged directly in to my docking station and I'm using headphones straight through my computer for VoIP.

But I just put a bid on this phone for my desk.

Gym Etiquette Flowchart

Original post by Slate Fitness --- http://www.slate.com/id/2281368/

Hilarious and all true, especially about the 90-pound-terrifying-yoga-instructor. The one on Monday at my gym sounds like Magda from There's Something About Mary.

Guac Formation

I think this is finally the year. I am going to make a guacamole football field for the Super Bowl. Cross your fingers for "BEARS" "JETS" end zones.

the next adventure?

Tyson's goal was to make it to all 7 continents before age 30. He obviously lives in North America, has been to Europe twice, Africa for an architecture project, Australia and Asia with me. He turns 30 in September. This is turning into one of those fourth grade Algebra word problems. If you are following along that leaves South America and Antarctica. The dream to set foot on Antarctica was smashed once I started doing serious research and the very least expensive cruise & tour I could find was $5k per person ranging to $15,000. Yeah bleeping right.

So Antartica is out of the question anytime in the near future. That leaves us... you got it! South America! We hope to go this fall between 3 Sept-10 Dec (low season). It'll be a joint 1 year anniversary/birthday/possible Thanksgiving celebration.

I've been stalking the Central & South America Travel Zoo deal section every day -- http://www.travelzoo.com/vacations/south-america/ and have found some great ones so far. It's still too early to book and get great deals for our dates, but I'm getting a feel for the market and options we'll have once we get closer.

I'm not incredibly picky, but ideally we'll get to Argentina, Brazil and/or Peru. Chile and Easter Island seem to be a little more expensive so far with airfare. Let the research continue!

New Office Chair

I've been needing a new office chair for a very long time. Other than it being worn out, I have terrible posture sitting in front of my computer all day.


So I took the advice of friends and ordered an exercise ball.


We'll see how this goes. I plan to start off in half hour increments - no way I can sit on this blob for 8 hours the first day...

Rasp-Lemonade Cake

Stelz and I wanted to stay in this past Saturday, so we made this cake and watched movies. It's a Betty Crocker meets Sandra Lee type recipe. Enjoy!

1	cup very hot water
1	box (4-serving size) raspberry-flavored gelatin
1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® whitecake mix
1/2	cup frozen (thawed) lemonade concentrate
1/4	cup water
1/3	cup vegetable oil
4	egg whites
1	container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped vanilla frosting
1	cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping
1 1/2	cups fresh raspberries, if desired
	Lemon peel strips, if desired

	Print these coupons...
	$1.00 off Betty Crocker® Cake and Frosting $1.00 off Betty Crocker® Fruit Snacks Plus 58 more...
	About Concordance™

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour. In small bowl, mix hot water and gelatin until gelatin is completely dissolved; cool slightly.
2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, 1/4 cup of the gelatin mixture, 1/4 cup of the lemonade concentrate, the water, oil, and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Reserve remaining gelatin mixture and lemonade concentrate.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Poke warm cake every inch with fork tines. Remove 1 tablespoon of the reserved gelatin mixture to microwavable custard cup or small bowl. In another small bowl, mix remaining gelatin mixture and remaining 1/4 cup lemonade concentrate; pour slowly over cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
4. In medium bowl, fold together frosting and whipped topping; frost cake. Microwave 1 tablespoon gelatin mixture uncovered on High 10 seconds to liquefy. Using 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, place small drops of gelatin mixture over frosting; with spoon or toothpick, swirl gelatin into frosting. Garnish each piece with raspberries and lemon peel strips. Store covered in refrigerator.

Isn't she lovely?

Mesdames et Messieurs... le divan!