Coconut Rice with Winter Squash

Most nights I'm just too tired to cook anything other than something from Trader Joe's. But on Monday, I made this rice dish with butternut squash and edamame. I'm such a slow poke when it comes to cooking, so it took me about an hour to prepare but tasted delicious!

Weekend snapshots

I've been suffering all week from a nasty cold but still managed to have a pretty great weekend. After subjecting Christine to my grumpy mood on Friday night at our Julius Meinl gig, I think I redeemed myself Saturday night when we went to the Chicago Blues and Bluegrass festival. We had dinner at Yuzu Sushi, checked out the CBB festival, and had dessert at Bleeding Heart Bakery.

On Sunday, Bonnie and I met up at the Lululemon warehouse sale in Rosemont. There wasn't much left in our size and we couldn't quite figure out how everyone around us seemed to have their arms full of products but we were happy to score a great deal on a couple hoodies. After the sale, we had breakfast for dinner at Denny's for the low price of $4...huzzah!

Tweet

Talitha and I ventured to Uptown on Monday for breakfast at Tweet. Inside the vintage art deco building, we found cozy booths, art filled walls, and sweet tea sets. We ordered traditional Danish donuts, called Dansk Ableskiver and corn pancakes topped with eggs, avocado, and cilantro with a side of chorizo and black beans. It was the perfect way to start off the week!

Lazy Weekend

 The cold temps and wintry weather sent me into hibernation mode this weekend. I lounged around the apartment and watched Friday Night Lights on Netflix, baked banana bread, and created a new blog for my violin students. I did manange to venture out a couple times to go to the gym, grab lunch at Budacki's Drive In and meet Megan for brunch at Cafe Selmarie. It was just what I needed before a busy week and weekend ahead.

Hello, Winter + Good Reads, travel edition

Patterns From Above: Amazing aerial photography.

Dreamy weekend home in Portugal.

I'd love to stay in one of these apartments while vacationing in Paris.

11 Artsy Maps.

This blogger's photographs have me dreaming of Europe.

and...

Thank you, Etta.

Let's go to the movies

One of my 2012 goals is to go to the movies more often. Four films on my list: Hugo, The Artist, Melancholia, and Young Adult. Have you seen any good movies lately?

*Images via Rotten Tomatoes

Kanela Breakfast Club

For our first breakfast of the new year, Talitha and I visited Kanela Breakfast Club in Lakeview. It's a cute place with exposed brick, chocolate brown hues, and classy chandeliers. We ordered the Stuffed French Toast with maple whipped ricotta, walnut streusel, and apple cinnamon chutney and the Lorraine Scramble with peppered bacon, gruyere cheese, charred scalions, and carmelized onions. Delicious!

Treat Yo Self

Do you guys watch Parks and Recreation? It's one of the few shows I watch each week and I love this episode of Tom and Donna's day of pampering. I'm proposing a 2012 Treat Yo Self day. Who's with me?

Food Lover's Cleanse

One of my 2012 goals is to eat better and I've been tossing around the idea of trying different cleanses and diets. I've had a hard time getting excited about any of the diets I've come across until now. The Bon Appetit's 2012 Food Lover's Cleanse is a 2 week healthy cooking challenge. They provide you with a shopping list and menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert. I'm excited to give this a try!

Good Reads...2011 edition

Photo via {Chicago Tribune}

Best and Worst Films of 2011.

100 Notable Books of 2011.

The Top 10 Top 10 Lists of 2011.

The story of a year through an excellent playlist.

Chicago Tribune 2011 Pictures of the Year.

Take Me Somewhere

This husband and wife duo bought a 30-foot sailboat and set out for a yearlong tour of the Eastern Seaboard. I think that is incredibly romantic and this song has me itching to take off somewhere on an adventure.

Kitsch'n on Roscoe

Before the holiday craziness, Talitha and I had breakfast at Kitsch'n on Roscoe, a cute retro diner in Roscoe Village. They serve classic comfort food with a little twist. We had the kitsch'n chilaquiles and coconut crusted french toast. The chilaquiles were so delicious, by the time I got to the french toast, I was too stuffed to fully enjoy them.

We have a lot of breakfast spots on our list for this year and I'm looking forward to exploring the city and feeding my belly one breakfast at a time.

2012 goals

Via {Design Crush}

I've never been one to make resolutions but this year I wanted to make a list of things to accomplish in 2012. Some are big, some are small but all are totally do-able. Here's to hoping I can cross more items off this list than my semi-successful 28 before 28 list!

1. Eat better (without sacrificing my weekly breakfast dates with Talitha).
2. Complete Suzuki Violin Book 7 training.
3. Schedule a photo shoot for Magnolia Strings.
4. Complete Orff training.
5. Complete Pilates Mat training.
6. Buy an iPad.
7. Pay off 1/2 of debt.
8. Learn to play the Ukulele.*
9. Throw an Academy Awards Party and actually watch all the Best Picture Nominees.*
10. Take a photography class.
11. Learn how to actually manage a blog.
12. Resurrect my sewing machine.
13. Run a 1/2 marathon (or maybe just the Shamrock Shuffle again.)
14. Declutter my apartment.
15. Start a dinner club.
16. Dance...in tap class, in zumba, around the apartment...just dance.
17. Volunteer at the animal shelter.
18. Ride bike in Chicago (Christine, I'm counting on you to help me with this one.)
19. Improve my Spanish speaking skills.
20. Go on a vacation.
21. Go to a Bulls game.
22. Use my Cross Country skis
23. See a movie in a theater once in a while.*
24. Try a spin class.
25. Go to a summer music festival in Chicago.

 *Notes:

#8- I'm still learning!

#9- Party, check. Movies, 2 down 7 to go.

#23- The Artist