Thursday Obsessions

Webster's Wine Bar. I love wine. I love cheese. Websters is a great place that combines two of my loves in a cozy atmosphere. I wouldn't recommend going here on the weekends, the coziness feels more jam packed, but during the week its a great place to get a bottle of wine, a plate of cheese and catch up with your girlfriends.

America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two I love to cook for me and Ian. I find cooking to be relaxing and am always on the hunt for a new recipe. I hate that most recipes are for 4-6 people, and I'm not a big fan of leftovers. I bought this cookbook after glancing at a few recipes and thought this looks doable. I have made a few things out of it so far, a chicken and couscous dish, lasagna, and apple dumplings. What I love most about this book is that nothing goes to waste. I have extra feta-they have a recipe next to the recipe that calls for feta that uses up my feta in a yummy side dish. It's awesome-and a delicious lasagna for only two people? heck yes.

Thursday Obsessions

Things I've been obsessed with this week:

Angry Birds on my Iphone I am obsessed with this game. I find myself playing it all the time when i have a few minutes to spare. And I get so pissed when I don't win and the pig snorts at me.

Spartacus:Blood and Sand: yes its violent and gruesome in parts. But hello Andy Whitfield. *swoon*

beach bootcamp

I can't believe it's june already! and its summer!

I started going to a beach boot camp in the mornings. I'm trying to get myself to go every morning, but its been a struggle to get out of bed at 5 am every day, especially when your new puppy decides to cry every two hours. On the mornings i do go, i want to just lay down in the sand and go to sleep. its awful and horrible, and when its over, i feel so much better. Its a 20 min sand run (i power walk/shuffle) then a 40 min kettle bell work out. There's quite a sense of accomplishment at 7 am knowing i've gotten my work out in and i still have the entire day ahead of me.

So far i've dropped about 5lbs, but i've noticed my endurance has gotten better, and my overall strength is better. I've noticed my clothes are getting looser and are fitting better. My waist is becoming more defined, my arms are smaller and Ian said i feel lighter when he picks me up. My energy level is higher, although i still like to take my afternoon naps :)

FYC Friday

Fuck you Clown (FYC)

Mini update-we bought a condo! yay! go us! We close next week.

I havent read anything worth while lately, nor have had any decent margaritas. I think Ceaser's margaritas have changed because the last two times they've tasted like bananas. Which i dont mind, but still...

Anyways, this is more a  fuck you post to the assclowns of the world starting with Pricky Von Prickster. 

Mr Prickster-I understand that you want to play with your dog at the park. thats great. I understand that you dont like it when my dog jumps on you. However, DO NOT touch my dog when she is on the ground.  DO NOT shove my dog when she is on the ground after you have already pushed her off of you. DO NOT use force against MY dog as a way to discipline her. 

Asshat that insists on driving down the street the wrong way.-I live on a one way street running south. Asshat, please do not drive NORTH down the street.

Parents of the kids that go to school across the street-please teach your kids that walking up to a dog and yelling "bad dog" is not effective. Dogs bark-get over it. I dont walk up to your kid and tell them "bad kid" because they are screaming in the playground.

Ugh. I feel better. I realize that I need to stop humanizing Molly, and I may be a tiny bit obsessed and overprotective of my dog, but she is my baby.  

Tasty Tuesday

Its Tuesday-Tuesdays have no feeling. Think about it Monday-first day of the week, Wednesday means it is halfway through the week, Thursday pretty much starts the weekend, and then its Friday which means WEEKEND!

So to brighten up Tuesdays I have decided to make a favorite treat and post the recipe.

This week's tasty Tuesday's treat is....

Brownies!

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup of walnuts chopped (optional)

Combine dry ingredients (I use a whisk to make sure there are no lumps) Stir in melted butter. (Make sure to stir in the butter alone, so you don't cook the eggs) Add eggs and vanilla, stir to combine.

Pour into a greased 8x8 pan (I use glass). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Delicious! I added a cup of white chocolate chips into this batch to make them even more tasty!

PITA Saturdays

A recurring theme I've seen lately is a feature of the bloggers "Favorite Things", I've take taken a spin off of that and devoted a section of my blog to things that make me scratch my head and go "well that's/it/he's/she's stupid"

Poor dog park etiquette

Molly and I go to the dog park daily. In that time I have noticed some major PITA occurrences:

1.If you are afraid of dogs, dog parks might not be the place for you

2. To expect another dog to not want to play with your ball is foolish. Dogs love balls, dogs chase balls, dogs do not discriminate against balls

3. Dogs bark-to expect otherwise makes you an idiot

Bicyclists

1.You should stop at a stop sign and look both ways before you continue (thank you Officer Safety).

2.Riding and weaving between car lanes can lead to accidents and death (your death) stay in the bike lane.

3.Unless you are under the age of 10, don't ride on the sidewalk.

4.If your dog is talented enough to run next to you while you are riding your bike, bravo. Do not take them out on major streets and violate the rules of the road

5.Talking on your cell phone, smoking a cigarette, and riding your bike at the same time is not a talent I wish to see while you are weaving in and out of traffic.

"Twenties Girl" and Caoba Margaritas

I picked up "Twenties Girl" by Sophie Kinsella at the library last month. I have enjoyed Kinsella's books, the "Shopaholic Series" and my favorite "The Undomestic Goddess" have been favorites of mine.

"Twenties Girl" starts off like most of Kinsella's previous novels: young woman, down on her luck in the big city, dead end job, broke up with boyfriend, and trying to find love in all the wrong places. Kinsella introduces us to Lara Lingston,a lively twenty-something, and Sadie, Lara's very dead, but still lively great aunt who can't rest until her beloved necklace is returned to her.

Synopsis from Random House Publishing

Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in overdrive. Normal professional twenty-something young women don’t get visited by ghosts. Or do they?
When the spirit of Lara’s great-aunt Sadie–a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance–mysteriously appears, she has one last request: Lara must find a missing necklace that had been in Sadie’s possession for more than seventy-five years, and Sadie cannot rest without it. Lara, on the other hand, has a number of ongoing distractions. Her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, her start-up company is floundering, and she’s just been dumped by the “perfect” man.
Sadie, however, could care less.
Lara and Sadie make a hilarious sparring duo, and at first it seems as though they have nothing in common. But as the mission to find Sadie’s necklace leads to intrigue and a new romance for Lara, these very different “twenties” girls learn some surprising truths from each other along the way. Written with all the irrepressible charm and humor that have made Sophie Kinsella’s books beloved by millions,Twenties Girl is also a deeply moving testament to the transcendent bonds of friendship and family.

While the novel played out how one would expect, it wasn't as cheesy as I thought it was going to be. It wasn't some deep earth moving novel but rather a funny light hearted read. It was bit sappy in parts, funny and humorous with just a touch of mystery, along with a sweet love story thrown in for good measure.

What I enjoyed most about "Twenties Girl" was the portrayal of Sadie. As a 105 year old woman, Sadie was a decrepit old woman, living in a nursing home after she suffered a stroke. As a ghost, Sadie was an energetic twenty something, who loved music, dancing and "barney mugging and wanted reassurance that she did leave her mark on the world. The reader and Lara saw Sophie for who she was internally- a fun loving girl, not who she was externally.

Caoba

Mr C. and I went to Caoba one afternoon for lunch while searching the Wicker Park/Bucktown area for an apartment. One of our main requirements for our new home is that it must be within walking distance of a good Mexican Restaurant. Our critera for said restaurant

1. Awesome margartias

2. Great Carne Asada

3.Delicious Flan

Since the purpose of this blog is to find the great margarita, i won't bore you with the details of our lunch but rather our margarita.

It tasted like candy-like a sweet apple jolly rancher, not at all tangy and limey. It was good, but not great, not nearly enough tequila to compensate for the $22 price tag the pitcher carried. Would I go again? Most likely, everything else was delicious, but I would avoid their house margarita.