Pancakes and Pilates

This was definitely an "off the diet" weekend. Friday night John and I decided to try a place just down the street from the apartment called Perennial. We must have walked by it 40 times and finally decided to go after we read a good review. It was amazing. Black truffle gnocchi for an appetizer and I finally got to try pork belly, yum. Surprisingly it wasn't as expensive as we thought and we will definitely go back often.

Saturday I was supposed to go to pilates with Tracey but it was postponed until Sunday. So we decided to go out to the Pancake House instead. I'm totally stuck on these blueberry crepes and just can't order anything else there.

That night we before we shopped at my favorite grocery store Whole Foods, we stopped into a popular mexican restaurant Uncle Julio's Hacienda. I couldn't believe how packed it was at 5:30 so we wound up eating at the bar. Another great find, it was awesome. I found out the next day at pilates that it is sometimes referred to as the "Hacienda".

After pilates yesterday I started cooking for John's super bowl day. White bean dip, bacon wrapped cheese and crackers, and lobster mac and cheese.

I'm hoping to have a productive day and week. Today I have a 1:00 appointment at the culinary school. I'm still not sold but we'll see, worth checking out.

Here are some pics from the weekend:

Yes, it was 5 degrees ouside.

These flowers were on the table at Perennial. They are almost a perfect match to my wedding bouquet ( a mini version).

Ruby glued to the TV for Kitty Half-Time on Animal Planet.

My lobster mac n cheese.

I'm Up!!!!!

Ok, so I've been away for too long. Let me just say that I have completely lost some motivation. I'll blame it on that really great job that I totally had falling through. It just kinda punched me in the stomach when they told me it was on hold. So, it was like starting from square one...again. And now, the job market is tough, so I'm trying to come up with new ideas.

Idea One: Culinary School. This was my first idea when I was moving! But I let it fall by the wayside for some reason. Well, I have an appointment with an admissions person on Monday at CHIC (Culinary and Hospitality Institute of Chicago). We'll see how it goes. It may be too pricey but it may be the right choice for me now.

Idea Two: Yoga School. I've always talked about getting certified to teach yoga. I love my new studio and I know they are having a cert program start soon. Something I will look into further.

Idea Three: Keep pounding the pavement in higher ed. I kind of pushed my field to the side, but recently have been applying for jobs at colleges and universities. It wouldn't be the worse thing I guess, even though I wanted something new. But, I do believe University Registrar being my last title is hurting me. Some may think I'm over qualified for let's say an advisor position. Oh well.

Idea Four: I guess there is no fourth idea. But, John and I have been talking baby, but that is not the ultimate solution. I still need to get my shit together first.

I have decided to keep up with this blog at least every other day. I am so jealous of Melissa and her wonderful blog http://labellecookie.blogspot.com/. She writes all the time and has great pics! She'll be happy later on in life that she documented her life. I'm going to give it another shot.

Today I'm planning on yoga at noon. John and I are going out to eat tonight so I need to pick a place. Always tough in a city with so many great options. Last weekend we went to Avec in the West Loop before we saw Wicked. It was an all around amazing evening. The best thing at Avec were their bacon wrapped dates....yum. Here are some pics from that evening:

Happy 2009

This holiday season was a good one. John and I were missing friends and family but made some sweet memories of our own. Our first Christmas in Chicago was memorable and we are so grateful to be so fortunate. We are so curious though about where we'll be next Christmas. Here in Chicago? Back in FL or somewhere completely new? Who knows but the mystery is always exciting. Tomorrow is back to business and I'm hoping to get some concrete info on my potential job opportunity. I still have a good feeling.

This week, I have mostly been dieting :( and playing guitar hero with John (so addicting). We've been to the gym a couple of times and i was able to get to yoga once. This coming week I'll get back to my routine.

I had a lunch date with my friend Tracey yesterday. We met in Bucktown at Bin Cafe. We're both dieting so ordered boring eggs and fruit but it was still good and good company. It was nice to meet a girlfriend out, makes Chicago feel more like home.

Still writing on gearlive. Will post something tomorrow.

Lazy Days

I haven't written in awhile. I've been kinda busy with my other blog but mostly I lost a little motivation over the holidays. I'm starting my new post for gearlive today so hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things this week.

John and I had a great Christmas. I got lots of new yoga stuff including a new outfit from lulu lemon! I made a really yummy dinner for us on Christmas day; a standing rib roast and my favorite mash potatoes.

Now, we are officially on a diet! I'm starting to fat flush today and my goal is to lose 10 pounds! I can do it!

We lost the cord to my camera so I can't post pictures easily....I'll get some up soon.

Job Update

Today was a good day. I finally heard from the consulting firm and I am still in the running. I have another phone call set up for tomorrow morning. If I get it I will either be traveling to NYC or New Orleans (I'm secretly hoping for NYC). I have a feeling this will work out.

I posted my first story to Gear Live and I think it was a good one. I have a few more ideas and I think this will be a lot of fun to have on the side. Click here to link to my post.

Yoga has been amazing. I'm really enjoying the studio and the instructors at Yoga Now. I've been switching between Ashtanga and Vinyasa and really feel great. My plan is to stick with it at least three times a week.

Good times....

Blogging for Real

So a few weeks ago I submitted some sample blogs to a few ads I found.  I actually heard back from one of them and they loved my stuff!  They want me to submit a few stories to their site and I will get paid (we're talking pennies people). Hey, it's something to keep me busy so I'm up for it. The website is www.gearlive.com, it's mostly a techie website but they have a lifestyle/woman's section called Girl Snark(which isn't very good at the moment).  Not sure what I'll post.. probably stuff a little less specific than what I put on this blog, but the same idea; adjusting to marriage, dating, etc.  I might even write about how much I hate Angelina Jolie... cuz I just do. 

STILL waiting to hear about the other job.  My contact called me Monday and I missed the call, playing phone tag now.

PS John is mad because I called him up at work and yelled at him for eating the last packet of oatmeal. Well!!  It was 16 degrees this morning and I needed my oatmeal!

The Weekend

This past weekend my Dad came to Chicago for a visit.  It was short and sweet but I think he had a great time and really loved the city.  We tried this Italian place in the West Loop that was the best we've had in the city so far. It was called Viaggios and anyone who visits us and wants Italian, we will go there :)  We also went to one of the best Blues bars in the city called Kingston Mines.  Great music and I think my Dad really had a good time.

For the most part, the past week has been frustrating, but improving from the week before.  I have a possible job opportunity which sounds great but I'm still waiting to hear something.  I won't go into details until I know more about it myself.  John has been amazing the entire time and very supportive of my decisions.  I'm going to take a moment and talk about how lucky I am to be married to him...

When John and I first met, I must admit that it took him awhile to get my attention.  But he got it... and when he did it was like ying and yang. We fell in love pretty quickly and had an easy an amazing dating relationship.  I knew he was the one because it was so easy.  There was no drama like there was with the others and John truly had an interest in me and my life. He wanted to be there for me when I needed him. That was the BIG difference....he wanted to be there for me.  The ex's were only there sometimes and it was always on their terms.... they had a hard time compromising.  When a man sacrifices things he normally does for the woman he wants to be with, you know he's a keeper.  This unconditional love John gives me has not changed one bit since we've been married.  He always puts me first. And in return I always put him first.  We're lucky that we like a lot of the same things but I sacrifice for him and he does for me.  And when he spends the entire weekend with me and my Dad, happy as a clam, I realize again how much he loves me and how good we are together.