Alley Find

Hello again!  It's been awhile since I've posted anything in this blog, though I've been thinking of many great things I should write about.  I'm going to try to start updating this blog a little bit more regularly.  One thing I've been excited to post for a long time is a make-over project Dan and I did this fall.

One day on our way to HavesTime (our amazing local grocery store), Dan saw this shelf in the alley.  It wasn't really the best color, but it was made of solid wood and we both saw potential in it.

At first we tried to strip off all the paint to reveal the wood underneath, but it was a discouraging task.  The wood underneath seemed to be two-toned and it was hard to use the harsh chemicals inside our not-so-well ventilated apartment.  So in the end, we ended up just deciding to put on a fresh coat of paint and some knobs from Anthropologie.  I love looking at the hardware at Anthro and I have always wanted an excuse to buy something from there .  I was so happy to finally have a chance!  

Dan made the final decision with the blue paint color.  At first I was skeptical, but now I love the blue color against the white walls of our apartment.  I experimented with some brown paint on top to give it a more weathered look, and I like the way it turned out.  

It was so satisfying to finally finish the shelf!

This weekend was a great weekend where I hung out with people I haven't spent time with in so long.  The freshly fallen snow outside made everything seem even more magical!  I would post some pictures, but I didn't take any.  :(  I need to remember to take more pictures!  

I will leave you with a photo of some of my great friends at our Christmas party - love all these girls!!

Spring Time Cooking

I've taken some pictures of some food I've made, but keep forgetting to blog about it, so here we go!

This is a recipe for a Quinoa Citrus Salad that I got from a Cooking Light magazine. You can find the recipe here. I had to make a few modifications to the recipe though based on the ingredients I could find. I didn't have kumquats, I don't really know if I like beets, and I couldn't find blood oranges. So, I used regular oranges (which worked fine), a grapefruit (I didn't love the flavor and don't know if I'd use that again) and shrimp (because I had some in the freezer).

It's a pretty simple recipe and not that hard to make if you don't mind spending a little bit of time chopping some things up.

The finished product. I'm not the best photographer and can't capture all the citrus-y goodness that is in each bite. It's a wonderful dish to make in the winter when you're craving something fresh!

Another adventure in cooking: One day I decided to make some rosemary focaccia bread. It was delicious! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the finish product, but here is some of the dough. I actually don't remember where the recipe came from, but it was good!

To go with the focaccia bread, I made some tortellini soup. This recipe I got from my good friend Maria. It is delicious and so easy to make.

Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and put a dollop of pesto on top and it's delicious!

The last recipe I've made is Balsamic Asparagus. Of all these recipes it is probably the easiest and so delicious! All you do is blanch some asparagus, cook some cherry tomatoes in some olive oil and a little bit of balsamic vinegar. Then mix the asparagus and tomatoes together and sprinkle goat cheese, salt and pepper on top.

So yummy!

Winter in Chicago

I keep taking pictures of things thinking that I'll blog about them, but then I never do. So this blog post is a combination of everything I've meant to blog for a long time. Enjoy!

SNOW DAY!!

It was so fun to be in Chicago for a record breaking snow storm. Chicago Public Schools had a snow day for the first time since 1998 and Dan couldn't have been happier! He actually came home from school and recorded a song about snow day's because he was so happy!

Our car was buried by snow. It was fun to be out on the streets shoveling though. I finally met some of our neighbors!

Taryn and Kiera are really cool and have matching coats/vests.

We walked around Chicago and Amanda just carried her shovel with her everywhere!!

A happy snow man in the gazebo in Wells Park.

SATURDAY MORNINGS

Dan and I have a really great tradition of making waffles together on Saturday mornings. We've got the best waffle recipe and it's great just to sit on our couch together, eat waffles, and talk. We've haven't done it for a couple Saturday's though because we've been busy and I don't think it's too healthy... It's delicious though!

COOKING AND BAKING

Maria came over one Saturday afternoon and she had a really great recipe for some Asiago cheese bread. It was so simple. All we did was caramelize onions, sprinkle some Asiago cheese and then put the onions on top. Braid the bread, put it in the oven, and it's delicious!

Dan's New Year's Resolution was to eat healthier, so we've been making couscous salads and they have been delicious! Below is one we made with grapes and pomegranates. It was so good and went well with feta chicken.

And for dessert - chocolate cake with a dark chocolate glaze! Delicious and great to share with friends!

Christmas in Review

We had such a good holiday season this year. I love Christmas time and Dan and I had a great time with both our families and were grateful that we could be home.

Before we left Chicago, Dan and I were able to make use of our "smitten," a gift I made for Dan a couple years ago as a Valentine's Day gift.

When we were at home we were able to go ice skating on the rink in our backyard. Santa came out for a surprise visit on Christmas morning!!

We also were able to go ice skating up in Goffstown. One day Dan, Abby and I shoveled off the pond so that there was a nice large area to skate on.

We also were able to enjoy a couple days skiing. It was a beautiful day in the glades in Cannon Mountain.

Abby made us some hot chocolate cooking over the wood burning stove. I think that stove is one of the coolest things ever!

On our last day of vacation, back in Chicago, I made Dan some breakfast in bed. (I wouldn't let him eat it in bed though!) But we still enjoyed a delicious breakfast on our last day of break. The croissant is from Beans and Bagels, the coffee shop across from our apartment, and is one of the best croissants I've ever had!

Now that Christmas is over, I'm ready for spring and warmer weather! Unfortunately it's supposed to be 3 in Chicago tomorrow with a wind chill at about -29... I guess it's not spring yet!

I also completed part 1 of my new years resolution - clean out our closets! It took me a while, but now that I've cleaned the closets out, I can finally say that I feel settled in our apartment in Chicago.

Christmas in Chicago

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I love spending time with family and friends, seeing all the beautiful Christmas lights, and the anticipation of the season. This weekend was an exceptionally good one that really put me in the Christmas spirit!

This is the Christmas tree in our apartment that my husband put up for me when I was sick over thanksgiving break. He's so great!

Last weekend was the Christkindle Market in Lincoln Square. This picture is one of the reasons why I love Lincoln Square. These men were playing Christmas carols while there were everyone was shopping around the square.

This weekend we went to the Christkindle Market downtown. We were able to catch the Christmas el!

Then we went to Daley Plaza. We got some warm drinks to warm up and they came in these fun German boots!

It was a fun weekend in Chicago, but I can't wait to go home to New England soon to see family and friends there!

Getting to Chicago

So I've named this blog life in Chicago, but I haven't really talked much about life in Chicago (or even updated it much for that matter). I thought I'd post a few pictures from the fall about how Dan and I first made it out here to Chicago after our honeymoon.

This is a picture of all of the stuff that Dan and I were some how able to fit in our car and bring to Chicago.

These road signs amuse me. We came across this sign in upstate New York on our trip from Boston to Chicago. When I first came to Chicago a couple years ago, I didn't understand why people gave directions using north, south, east and west. In New England, no one gives directions that way. I think this road sign explains it all.

It was great to get back to Chicago and reconnect with old friends that I hadn't seen all summer!

My mom told me one of the things we had to do was take a picture of our first meal together in our new apartment. Now this was maybe our 2nd or 3rd meal, but it was our first meal on our table and using our silver ware and everything!

After we'd been in Chicago for about two weeks, we took our first vacation together to Virginia Beach for Melissa and Tim's wedding! It was great to see them get married and be a part of their celebration. This picture of Dan, Jill and I was taken after we'd jumped into the ocean!

That's all for tonight, I'll update more later!

First Post

Well, I have done it. I've entered the society of bloggers. I was inspired by my friend Nikki and her super cute blog. I'll be honest, the only reason I wanted a blog was so that I could pick out a cute background. It took me while to figure out, but I finally did!

So now here's the blog. I plan on mostly uploading pictures on here because I'm not a very good writer, but a picture's worth a thousand words!

This is a picture I took last a couple weekends ago when my husband and I went to and got a pumpkin and some mums!