Disappointing Pizza

I have to say, I was not impressed with Giordanos pizza tonight.  We ordered sausage stuffed pizza and it was soggy. :( I don't know if I've been spoiled with Lou Malnati's pizza, but I don't think I will be going back to Giordanos. 

It sort of makes me sad.  I grew up on Giordano's pizza.  The restaurant is down the street from our house.  I have probably had hundreds of pizzas from that restaurant, it used to be my favorite pizza!  And then I moved out to Palatine, and someone introduced me to Lou Malnati's. Lou Malnati has a butter crust.  I don't know how they do it but the crust is AMAZING.  Lou Malnati also makes its own sausage and seriously, its to die for. 

Needless to say, I haven't had anyone's stuffed pizza other than Lou Malnati's for a few years. Until tonight.

Personally, I think Ginos East has amazing thin crust, but Lou Malnatis takes the cake with stuffed. 

"Real Kitchen" Hit the big time!! Well, sorta.

Yay for Real Kitchen!  Real Kitchen is one of my favorite to-go places of all time.  See former blog post here. 

And someone finally gave them some recognition.  Go here for a video on real kitchen.  (They don't let people embed it.)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I LOVE Real Kitchen... The cupcakes are to-die-for!  In the center of each cupcake is... well... the only way I can describe it is a - flavor pocket.  If you have a caramel cupcake they put a pocket of caramel in the center of the cupcake.  Its gooey and delicious.  Similar if you have a lemon cupcake, they put a lemony gooey delicious flavor pocket in the center. 




I really have a taste for Real Kitchen cupcakes now...

Some people REALLY like Halloween

The coolest part about the below video is his bio.

"2011 Halloween Light Show -- Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO.
4 singing pumpkin faces, tombstones, hand carved pumpkins, strobes, floods and thousands of lights. Most all lights have been changed from incandescent to RGB LED so power consumption is a lot less than previous years. Also DMX added to show. All lights, faces and props are custom made (DIY) by me except for the roof line which are CCRs. Controlling channels have gone up 8X from last year. 1144 channels. Light-O-Rama. Riverside, CA"



House Light Show also can be found here.  I'd suggest going to his personal site and looking at the other videos. Very cool. :)

Very interesting blog - Exercise

Back a few weeks ago I was talking about how I think exerciser people try to trick us non-exercise folks into believing that you get addicted to exercise.  Now, unfortunately, I have not experienced this addiction yet. I have been slacking on the exercising also, which is why I probably aren't addicted yet.

But anyway, I found this blog.  Here Its called "Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit."  Its a real life journey from an "obsessed with being fit" man to a couch potato, back to an "obsessed with being fit" man.  This gentleman is a certified personal training through NASM (whatever that is).  May 7th (of this year) he weight 193 lbs.  5 months later (Oct 15th) he weighed 263 lbs.  His measuremetns increased: waist - 13 inches, chest - 4 inches, neck - 1 inch, and hips - 11.5 inches. Of course all of this is fat.  He has said that his diet is unrestricted and he wont exercise during his "fat" stage. 

I think the most interesting part of the story will begin in about 2 weeks when he starts the "fit" stage.  I can't wait to read it. My goal is to implement his "fit" plan starting January 1st. 


Personally, I think that not only will this journey help people like me (I'm not 60 lbs overweight, but I don't workout nearly as much as I should) but I think it will also help him become a better personal trainer when dealing with .... well.... (lets be blunt) fat people.

FYI - apparently this blog has gotten a LOT of press lately so his site is extremely slow. 

AMAZING new "to-go" place

C has officially given up milk.  He has lactose issues.  So when we don't have any energy to make dinner, we usually are stuck with ordering Chinese (pizza is out of the question).  Usually this isn't a problem, but ya know... sometimes its nice to have something other than Chinese for take-out. 

On Friday, C found this AMAZING place called "real kitchen."  Click Here Basically, it is 3 chefs who decided to create a to-go restaurant where you buy dishes, sandwiches, salads, soups, desserts (you name it).  All you have to do is heat up the meal at home.  C had the Coq Au Vin, and I had some small things.  Twice Baked Potatoes and Greek Orzo Salad.  I can't vouch for C's food, but mine was AMAZING.  We also ordered some wonderful bread and 2 cupcakes.  C had the caramel cupcake (TO DIE FOR) and I had a cherry pistachio cupcake.  They both had creamy centers.  Honestly, while my cupcake was amazing, I had a taste of C's and his was WAAAAY better.  Jealous!

I really wanted to taste the zucchini fritters, but they were out of them that day. :*(

All I know is C and I will be back, (possibly sometime this month) because that place was amazing. :)

Real Musical Talent

Its been a while.  I left on Friday to drive to St Louis and came back yesterday.  C and I went to visit his family and also watch the Brewers play the Cardinals (Brewers won btw.)  But, that is where I've been.

This morning I saw this video.  Real Talent I have no idea who this girl is, but seriously, she is AMAZING. Honestly, I am not a fan of a lot of today's music.  I mean, I like to listen to it, but I don't think the artists are very talented.  I think their song writers and publicists are very talented, but I feel like the actual singer is just a voice/image.

Until I saw the girl in this video.  I feel real bad for her.  She has more talent in her little pinky than a lot of pop stars have in their whole body.  I wish people like her would be given the chance at a contract.

Glass Art

I guess you could say I really enjoy non-traditional "paintings."  Or perhaps a better description is 2D sculpture.  In addition to the Copper art at Irish Fest (See previous Post) I loved the glass "paintings."  I don't know how to describe the Copper or Glass Art without calling them paintings.  In actuality, they are flat wall hangings (framed) which are etched into a design.  Therefore the glass art is a large piece of glass that has a design etched into it, thus creating a "painting" similar to a black and white painting.

The vender at Irish Fest had a small amount of Celtic Art, but also had a ton of Non-Irish ways he could create something for you.  My favorite "painting" is of the tree of life. Website Here I absolutely love how intricate and detailed this design is.  Also the meaning behind the picture is fantastic.  Unfortunately, I have extremely expensive taste and this piece is out of my budget.  So I have two ideas.  I plan to contact the artist to see if his non-fest prices are more reasonable.  Or, I'll wait to buy it when I have more money and am not trying to save for a downpayment on a house.

To be honest, I have no idea what makes me think or believe I'll have more money later in life.  Especially if I buy a house and buy a "fixer-upper" (which is what I expect is the only thing I'll be able to afford as a first home.)

But anyway, I am also in love with the wedding invitation keepsake.  (No one who attends a wedding with me is allowed to give this gift.  This is now my new favorite wedding gift, so don't steal it!)  So, if you can't really see below, the artists creates a framed "painting" with all the verb-age that is on the wedding invite. 

Copper "Sculptures"

C and I went to Irish Fest a few weeks ago.  We went in 2010 also, and C has gone for the past 15 plus years.  Irish Fest is the largest Irish Festival in the world.

Basically Irish Fest includes eating, drinking, Professional Tug-Of-War competitions, drinking, concerts, eating, Irish Dancing and more drinking.  There is also an area where all the native Irish dog breeds show up and educate everyone.  It is actually a lot of fun and the food is traditional "feel good" Irish Food.

One of my favorite things to do is go shopping.  Last year I discovered a lady who "paints?" .... "etches?" ... (I'm not really sure what to call it) designs in copper.  Website Here Most of her stuff, at least what she brings to Irish Fest, has a Celtic spin on it.  One of my favorite pieces is a Celtic Horse (Left).  I saw it last year at Irish Fest, and I was in love.  Last Novemeber she offered it to me at an extremely reasonable price (1/2 off) however, I have my heart set on a custom piece of Rags and Myself.  (I did find it amusing that she brought this same piece to Irish Fest this year and her price was not the 50% off price she quoted me... Just goes to show sometimes its better to speak to the artist and pay shipping then to get it at the fest).  Anyway, her custom prices are quite steep and at the moment I can not justify spending $300 plus on a piece of art.

However, one of these days, I will commission her to create the picture for me.  It will be of Rags and me walking toward the barn.  I don't think I'll get the picture any time soon, and it will probably be after I buy a house, but someday I will get one.

Post Secret - Favorite blog of all time

Alright, so I already posted about my favorite video blog of all time, but now I'm posting about my favorite blog, of any kind, of all time.  Post Secret.  I admire Frank because I have no idea how he thought of it.  I'm astonished how well it took off, and I admire that he doesn't "sell" advertising space on the blog.  

I've been to a post secret event (pictured) and I think I liked it more than the blog itself.  I saw a ton of postcards that the "regular" public was not legally allowed to see.  I guess Frank's lawyers thought certain secrets were not appropriate for the public eye.  These secrets were very strange and very moving.  

Several times I have thought about what my secrets are.  Like what I would send to post secret if I wanted to send something.  Honestly, (I don't know if this is good or bad) I don't have that many secrets.  I thought about telling the secret that I still get afraid of the dark when I'm at home alone.  But then I realized it wasn't really a secret because I've already told people that.  It actually took me a long time in order to think of a secret that was truly a secret.  There are certain parts of my life that most people do not know about me, but I don't qualify that as a secret.  I believe a secret is something no one else knows.

I think my secret is:  I still have no idea what I want to do when I grow up and I don't know if I'll ever know what I want to do.  I think being a vet would be nice, but I don't have the motivation to go back to school.  I think being a nurse would be nice, but I don't know if that's only because I could work 3 days a week and have 4 days off.  I think I would like to be a teacher, but I don't know if I really want it.  At this point in my life all I know is what I don't want to be, and I have no idea what would truly make me happy.

Horse (Saddlebred and Arabian) Art

http://www.artbycrane.com/

Alright, I am in love with basically everything on this website.  I can not wait to get a house so I can decorate it will all of this stuff. (Or at least 1 room)  Maybe I'll have a guest bedroom that is horse themed... or maybe the office or something.  I really don't know but I HAVE to have a horse themed room somewhere.  Otherwise where will I put all my pictures of Rags and "trophies."

To be 100% honest.  I kinda want to buy this photo album and re-do my entire show book.  I absolutely LOVE this photo album. Haha. 

Hm... I have a couple of Rags old shoes... I wonder if she could do something with those?  That would be a real cool thing to have.



I'm also in love with this.  The only thing that makes me sad is IDK if I can ever wear it. :( I'd have to see if there were any nickle in it and usually silver colored gold has nickle in it. She offers it in silver only, but I love the dual color better.

God, I just love her stuff.

Anyone tried Skittle Vodka?

Skittle Vodka has to be one of my favorite things of all time.  What you do, is you take a bag of skittles and separate it into colors.  You put the skittles in the bottom of mason jars and fill it with straight vodka.  Then you keep it in the fridge for a week.  Each day you have to shake the jars.  

 

After a week you have to strain out the skittle parts.  We used a very fine strainer, but a coffee filter works too.  When they are strained you are ready to serve!  Its fantastic if you mix it with Sprite or 7-Up.  I wouldn't recommend drinking it straight (although I suppose a shot would be OK) because it is PURE vodka.  

The picture above is the finished product.  When we made this we had a little mis-hap with an ice machine and the orange skittle jar.  We placed the skittle vodka in the freezer instead of the fridge.  Lets just say we had orange skittle vodka ALL over our freezer.  The vodka didn't explode, its more like the ice machine ate the jar.... long story.  

Anyway, highly suggest this as an adult beverage to serve for summer parties. :)

AMAZING picture - Courtesty of Chicago Trib - June 2010

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time.  This picture was taken a year ago by a member of the Chicago Tribune.  For those that don't know Chicago's skyline, the tower on the right is Trump Tower and the tower on the left is the Sears Tower.  The Sears Tower recently had its name changed to the Willis Tower but in my mind it will always be the Sears Tower.  For about 25 years the Sears Tower was the largest building in the world.  It still is the tallest building in the United States. Trump tower is the 2nd tallest building in Chicago and for a year or two was the building with the world's highest residence above ground-level. 

This picture was taken during a gigantic storm.  The Trump tower was turning their lights on for the first time.  Trump tower was recently finished being built and that night was essentially their "opening" (even though at this time people were already living there.)  The picture was accidentally taken.  I think it is amazing, and honestly a once in a lifetime experience.

Apple Boats are AMAZING

C and I are on a diet.  Since we moved right next door to the EL station, both of us have not been getting the exercise we used to.  A year and a half ago I walked 2 miles a day to commute to work.  Today, I walk about 100 ft.  Don't get me wrong, its REALLY nice to not have to walk that far, but my physique is showing the lack of exercise.  So, the only way I can enjoy sweets is through a photo. Haha.  

Before C and I got on this diet, he found this Swedish Bakery (originally named "Swedish Bakery") near our apartment.  They have the most amazing pastries, including what they call an Apple Boat (pictured below).  It is sort of like an open faced turnover. Mmmmm so yummy! I think one of the first things I have when I'm off the diet will be the apple boat.  

 

Anniversary Present

So, for C's and my anniversary he bought me 3 tickets to the Glee concert.  The seats were in the upper balcony and I was able to bring 2 friends to come with.  I brought C's aunt who is a major Glee fan, and a great friend of mine, and one of my high school friends.

Well, when we arrived at the concert, we were trying to find our seats, and C's Aunt asked an employee where the stairs to the balcony were.  He told us that he was supposed to be giving out tickets to people who were seated in the balcony, and handed us 5th row seats!  These seats were AMAZING.  We were at eye level to the stage, and could literally see the sweat on the cast. :)  The picture above is taken with my phone, so its not the best, but its obvious how great the seats were.

The concert was amazing.  Brittany needs to be showcased on the show as a dancer WAY more often.  She danced to a Britney Spears song (I can't remember which one) and was fantastic.  Mercedes is a fantastic singer, better than Rachel.  Mercedes gave me goosebumps (several times) when she sang, she was unbelievable.

It was really cute when Arty got up out of the wheelchair.  Obviously everyone knows the guy who plays Arty isn't in a wheelchair, but it still was really cute when Arty got up and danced. :)

Another wonderful moment was when Kurt "proposed" to Blaine.  Kurt said he had something he needed to propose to Blaine.  Kurt got down on one knee and said "Blane, will you... join Glee Club!"  I was gasping watching this.  I thought Kurt was proposing (marriage) to Blane.  Blane said yes. :)  I guess I was the only person in the audience who didn't read the forums/spoilers because this was common knowledge. Haha.

Anyway, Thank you C, the concert was amazing. :D

New favorite video blog

So... My new favorite thing.... http://hartoandco.com/  Its a girls video blog titled "My drunk Kitchen."  Guess what she does... She gets drunk, and cooks.  The thing is, I REALLY think she is drunk in these videos.  You can usually tell because of the eyes.  I really recommend taking some time and watching it. 
Some of my favorite quotes ....

The episode when she is making cookies - At the very end she says - I think we just made biscuits.

The episode when she is making tacos - I appreciate all food that comes in tube form.
She also decides to put vodka (I think its Vodka, or its rum) on her tacos in this one. HAHA

The episode when she is making grilled cheese - Towards the end of the episode, after the sandwich is already cooking in the pan, she said - I don't have any cheese, make sure when you are making grilled cheese to have some cheese.

Those are some of the highlights in the 3 episodes I watched.  She has 8 or so episodes total.  I'll watch more later.

Chocolate Vodka

Honestly, Whisky Fest was so much fun.  Not because it was a drunk fest (for others, not for me), But because I was able to talk to master distillers and owners of the brewers. I talked to an owner or master distiller (still can't remember, sorry) at Grand Traverse Distillery.  They distill whisky and wheat vodka.  I am a huge Vodka fan, so I was very excited to try the vodka.  It was one of the only booths that had vodka at the fest.

I was very intrigues by a dark vodka.  I asked the owner (I'm almost positive it was the owner) what it was, and he explained that it was a chocolate vodka.  He told me that his wife loves Chocolate and she asked him to make a Chocolate Vodka.  He then proceeded to apologize for the appearance of the bottle.  The vodka was bottled in an old wine glass, and had a table that looked like it was printed off a regular office printer.  It was very charming.  The owner told us that the vodka recipe had recently been finalized and the current (and first) batch was recently matured.  There wasn't time to make a proper bottle or label for it, but he wanted to bring it to the fest to see how it fared with the public.  Honestly... I think it was one of the best flavored vodkas ever.

The vodka wasn't sweet; I would say it was more of a cocoa vodka then a chocolate vodka.  It smelled wonderfully like chocolate, and tasted like cocoa (I can't wait for it to get on the shelves so I can mix it with hot chocolate.).  The owner explained that there were several sweet chocolate vodkas, and he didn't want to make one like that.  He said that if you wanted something sweet, there were plenty of things to add as a mixer, but you couldn't take the sweetness away.  And he was 100% right.  C's Dad bought us wonderful sweet chocolate vodka, and it tastes great over ice.  But personally, I think this new one is better.