Foodie Funnies

I recently discovered that you can listen to stand-up comedy on pandora! And I'm not necessarily a fan of stand-up comedy, and particularly.. the bacon craze. Yes it's delicious, yes it makes a good base for pastas but man, does it make me feel guilty.

When I heard Jim Gaffigan's bit on bacon, I knew I'd have to share it here:

Aziz Ansari--Sheets

I'm not normally a fan of stand-up, but love this piece on sheets. I can totally relate and couldn't stop laughing.

Garlic & Good Fortune

Yup, a continuation of my love for alliterations, as applicable to my life.

First of all, this awesome video on how to peel garlic in a flash! Just "shake the dickens out of 'em" apparently! I will have to try this one, as I'm mildly OCD and tend to peel of each layer individually, partially to cleanly peel the garlic skin, and partially because I find this process super cathartic.

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.

I love garlic, I put it in everything. One time +1 gifted me a garlic press to simplify the process, seeing how I go through a bulb a week. Yes, I may be stinky, but I'm well fed and full of those healthy natural antibiotics garlic gives.

Now for the good fortune.

So my little sister (who we'll reference here as T.B., aka the teen brat) is my complete opposite. She doesn't get excited, she could care less about getting her license and her answer to everything is, "chill out. whatever." I, on the other hand, have been told I'm a drama queen who excessively uses the words "OMG" and "[insert large dramatic gasp]" more than enough.

So Wednesday morning, I woke up and found that T.B. had texted me at 12:01 saying, "I'm going to homecoming Saturday. FYI." WOOOO!!! My little no-frills, no-giddiness sister is going to homecoming! I'm so excited for her. Now she's apparently banned me from the taking photos portion, but I'm planning on going anyways and thoroughly embarrassing her with photos of a day she won't want to forget.

Because c'mon if you're big sister doesn't do this for you, who will?

Music Monday

Missing having a piano. Maybe it's time to invest in a proper keyboard?

Today's Music Monday is the lovely song by Ron Pope.

MJ Back in Town

Last night, JP and I headed to the opening night at MJ's new Chicago restaurant:

via Glut with Guts

The whole night felt like a throwback to all that was awesome in the 90s, MJ era of Chicago sports, stiff drinks, before all the frills, and 90s hits like this one, singing over the crowds:

Not to mention, I got to meet one of my favorite new persons!

via Glut with Guts

What a (Chicago) star-studded night! I geeked out over getting to meet Valerie Warner, not only is she a great news personality, but she was genuinely sweet in person, even when I awkwardly asked her if she'd take this photo with me.

Fun story: we spent most of our night just 3 feet from MJ and Scottie, only a security guard standing between us. Everyone else was gong ga-ga over MJ and Scottie, but not our JP. Being a fan of the "Real Housewives" of all urban areas, he alone was shouting "Larsa!! Such a fan! You're beautiful!", which garnered a glance and a smile from Larsa!

I love these kind of Chicago night, and even more the fun I have with my +1s of the evening!

Chicago: Love-Hate

It's hard to hate Chicago when it's gorgeously autumnal outside, with leaves changing color, painting the city of concrete a whole different array of hues.

via Glut with Guts, with Neighbor J

But I know that soon, the dreaded winter is coming. When hibernation becomes a life-necessity, and being social during the weekday (at least for me) is a bottle of wine and movies on the telly. It's dreadful, really.

I hope that once that feeling sets in, I take a look at this video, and remember the great things this city has offered me, and the incomparable memories I've been blessed with here.

My favorite memories of  Chicago? They're so varied and blurred, but below are a few of my favorite ups and downs.

• My first clear Chicago memory is when my friend Miko and I traveled into the city to visit SAIC and DePaul. We were so lost and confused, and had a great adventure from being lost and confused.
• My first day of college, when my parents just dropped off my stuff on the curb and waved me goodbye (typical middle child treatment). It was the first time I've ever had to handle everything on my own, including schlepping my own stuff.
• My first boyfriend, and getting to see the city through giddy puppy love eyes.
• My first heartbreak, and seeing the city through lovelorn eyes.
• Leaving to study abroad in Morocco (and later Budapest), hugging my parents goodbye, and walking bleary-eyed through the grand international terminal in O'Hare.
• Returning from abroad and seeing my parents at the airport. It filled my heart with so much love, every time.
• My first corner office, with the view of Navy Pier and the lake's clear blue water.
• Getting that diploma

via Glut with Guts

Sitting here appreciative of the opportunities I've had, and looking forward to the many more ahead.

Thanks, Chicago. Sorry for the love-hate.

So Logical

 

It's amazing none of us have had this logic before. This is going to be my main method from now on.

Music Monday

Happy Monday, all!

Tune Tuesday

Because I didn't have Music Monday!

If I could choose one song to be the theme song for my life, it would definitely be the song below. A little bit of zen and melancholy, with some off-beat mishaps along the way. Enjoy!

Re-Learning to Co-habitate (part 1)

Last year, I lived alone. It was lovely. I learned a lot about myself and my living habits, and discovered a love for cooking, a love of silent moments in my closet (I know this sounds weird, but I had a really large walk-in that I'd like to spend time in) and an extreme appreciation of the radiator in my bathroom (I would stack towels atop the radiator box so my towels would be nice and toasty for when I stepped outside my shower).

I recently (and by recently, I mean four months ago) decided I wanted to live with a roommate again, partially for financial reasons and  mostly because I wanted to combat my reclusive, individualistic nature. Enter Sharx, my politically-minded roommate who has mad lust for interior design and an under-appreciated singing voice (she can belt out Adele like no one else I know).

via Glut with Guts--Sharx and I

Sharx and I met when we were en diák vagyok Budapesten (students in Budapest, Hungary). We become close friends through our time abroad together and now share a quaint little 2.5 bedroom apartment in the St.Bens/North Center/Lincoln Square area, a conglomeration of a neighborhood I've really come to love.


Things are great, we share similar quirks (we once spent an entire night "practicing" our Spanish and French, only to end up laughing the entire time) and a comfortable balance (e.g., our furniture meshed well together; I cook, she bakes). 

Only one thing: she's wrong.

via Current Configuration

Read more after the jump!

Labor Day Recap

 Sometimes, a girl just needs some fresh air for some fresh perspective. So for labor day, +1 and I packed up a car and headed south west to Starved Rock State Park. I haven't been here in ages, and it felt nice to be able to recognize the familiar camp grounds and trails, and to see new hiking paths I haven't been down before.

Note: Feel free to skip the boring photos above, as they're mostly of the rock canyons and such. My favorite photos after the jump!

Fall Farmers Market

via Glut with Guts

There's something amazing about having a farmers market amongst the concrete towers of the Loop. Especially when one strolls past and the brilliant hues of yellows and reds of summer's final flowers lure you into the market.

Read more and see more photos after the jump.

(Belated) Music Monday

Sorry in advance for the bad quality.

Autumn, where have you gone?

I thought Autumn had arrived...

via Glut with Guts--Budapest, Hungary

Read more after the jump!