I can’t believe summer is unofficially over this week – I didn’t do any great Chicago-in-the-summer stuff yet! But that’s the reality I guess. With the long weekend coming up, I’ll be heading back home for a day or two to unwind (and hopefully take a boat ride… Dad?). Now nothing against my parents place, but I would love to go here and unplug. Apparently it’s in Serbia. I like to think there’s no cell service, no cable tv, no pesky neighbors, no bad weather, no leeches… THE ULTIMATE RETREAT.
Today’s the last day to enter West Elm’s sweepstakes for a chance to win $10,000 in West Elm products (I already have my eye on the Hand-Blocked Medallion Quilt…) and $5,000 in Benjamin Moore paint and color consultations. I entered, and they claim your contact info is only used if you’re a winner and if you sign up to receive e-newsletters (just be sure to uncheck those boxes, assuming you don’t want them). GOOD LUCK!
I’ve been eating a ridiculous amount of good food lately, all in the name of turning 25. I mean, come on, it’s likely my last significant birthday until I’m 50. That’s a valid excuse to stuff my face, right?
My family took me to Fish Bar for a late lunch last weekend (an ideal time to go, if I do say so myself). While the decor is very nearly too east-coast-tourists-trap, I’d much rather have that then the cold, modern feel of fancy sushi bars.
What’s weird is that we all ordered different things, but not one of us ordered a fish entree at Fish Bar. We did try the salmon tartare, but I wasn’t impressed. Maybe it was just the fact that they gave you Saltines to eat it with; I’d rather eat it alone than with paper, thanks. My crabcake sandwich was delicious though. It reminded me of my summer in Virginia.
The food was good, but the bloody mary was really the icing on the (birthday) cake. It’s hard to find a good, simple bloody mary in this town, but Fish Bar gets the job done. And I love that all their drinks are served in Ball jars.
GRADE: C+ Both the food and the ambiance could little tweaks here and there, but here’s to hoping they don’t make any changes to the bloody marys. Cheers!
WORD TO THE WISE: Don’t go here with more than four people. No, seriously. They won’t seat you. They do take reservations for groups of three or four though.
“I want that Wednesdays” are a series of posts that, well frankly, are just of things (real estate, decor, food, etc.) I like. Egotistical, right? I’m hoping in time it’ll help me define my personal tastes. Let me know if you love it/hate it/can’t get enough of it.
In honor of the fall kickball season starting soon, today’s “I want that Wednesdays” is a variation on my team’s “Gatorade” – the Jell-o shot. If you’re not familiar, Bender Rehab (the team I’ve been on for the past three season) brings about 75 Jell-O shots to every game … It’s our secret weapon, kind of like ‘roids. There’s usually some mix of vodka, rum, tequilla and bourbon (all separate, of course) in different flavors of Jell-O.
Click photo for recipe
But a Jell-O shot in a strawberry? It’s so adorable! Perhaps it’s a little delicate for our drunken debauchery at kickball games (it’s a coed team, after all), but I’m intrigued nonetheless and would love to make them for a Labor Day party. SO … WHO’S HOSTING?
So I have an irrational fear of babies (well, actually, pregnant ladies and kinda babies by association), but say hello to the first baby (and mama) I’m not scared of! Isn’t she cute? She has so much hair! I didn’t have hair for so long that my parents had to get my ears pierced so people could tell I was girl…
Anyway, it’s pretty AMAZING HOW TINY WE ALL START OUT.
Finally got my closet reorganized this weekend, and I am a much happier girl. Before, the closet had two racks, one behind the other, and it was a huge pain to get to the second bar of clothing. I guess it was built for someone who had a distinct summer and winter wardrobes…?
Well anyway, now I have two racks, one on top of the other, and it’s much, much easier to access everything. What do I do with my long dresses or pants, you may wonder. There’s a tall clothing rack in my bathroom closet, so I just hang them in there. I realllly LUCKED OUT WITH THE AMOUNT OF STORAGE SPACE HERE.
You were the best dog a girl could ever ask for. RIP Penny. I love you.
Penelope Peters, 1997-2011.
Forgive me for the belated “I want that Wednesdays” post. Yesterday was my birthday, and I was too busy celebrating/mourning my 25th. I’m entitled to a quarter-life crisis now, right?
Well anywho, this week’s modified “I want that Thursday” is, well frankly, just a good idea – not just a built-in cutting board, but one that is directly over your trash can. Ingenious! I imagine it’d be especially effective if you were a composter and the roots or skins or whatever it is your cutting off could go directly into that bin.
I know I can’t install something like this in my rental (especially not with my “vintage” kitchen cabinets… and that’s putting it nicely), but perhaps in my own place someday. A girl can dream. When I see things like this I think, WHY COULDN’T I COME UP WITH STUFF LIKE THIS?
I’m kind of cheating with this post because it’s not a completed Before and After, but I thought perhaps y’all would want to chime in and help me decide what to do with this cute little table. I actually stole it from my old apartment in Andersonville. I think it was abandoned by some previous tenant, god knows how long ago because it was super rusty.
In my head I imagined it as a little bench to put in my (faux) entryway, a place I could sit on to take off wet boots for example, in yellow with a black and white cushion. But once I actually picked it up (Yes, I went back to the apartment weeks after I’d moved out and stole it in the cover of darkness. I’m not proud of this. Well, not really…), I realized that it’s actually more of a table than a bench.
Should I leave it as is? (It’ll need another coat no matter what – I got one can in, and my landlord freaked out because she said her dogs were going to eat the paint… Remember when I contemplated the pros and cons of living with your landlord?) Get a piece of glass to sit on top? Is that expensive? It’s not a standard cushion size, but I think I could make one with a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics and turn it into a bench anyway. I think maybe I want it to be more of a mustard color than this sunshine yellow. THOUGHTS?
One of my favorite shelter blogs, Apartment Therapy, just named Chicago’s DIY King, and I wanted to share some of his projects with you guys. He’s been up to some pretty amazing stuff over the past year (more explanation on the AT entry), plus now he’s an assistant editor for the blog! Can I be him?
And where’s the love for the DIY Queen? THAT COULD BE ME SOME DAY…SIGH.
Urban Nesting 