Donating: Andonaka Well Project - Madagascar

Happy Hump Day Everyone!!

I'm so thankful to hear that all my friends and family are safe on the East Coast! Thank you to everyone for your texts and messages!!

Many of our friends have been fortunate to take jobs across the globe to give back. My biggest dream would be to go away for a year and do the same but that's still on the check-list at this point :)

While I cannot be there actually helping out in the village I wanted to do my best while I'm here in Chicago. My oldest friend, Bryan is in Madagascar and has been for the past year and a half. He's been helping to aid the village in improving their over all lifestyle. Since he's been out there he's taught the men how to fish to supply more food for their families and now he's building a well for the village. This well will supply 1,500 people with fresh water. 

There are tons of times when you receive facebook invites to help donate to one charity or another, but they do really make a difference. Bryan had to raise a total of $550 to fund the building of this well. He was able to raise the money in record time last week and he's emailed to say they're starting on the project ASAP.

It's a great feeling to give back and I encourage everyone to do their part. You can learn more about future projects here:  Andonaka Well Project - Madagascar

Please join in their effort to make clean water and effective sanitation available to everyone on this planet!

Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Show: Great Finds and the best all around cleaner

Hey Everyone!

I cannot believe that I didn't mention this yesterday! I went to my first Jewelry show this past Saturday. A friend of mine and I were mixing up a drink at our Halloween Party on Friday and she mentioned the Jewelry show at the Crowne Plaza the next morning. She's always told me the best things about these shows and I was dying to go.

Of course after a night of partying, you're not always inclined to be up and ready to hit the crowds and endless rows of goods, but we were up and on the road by 10AM. We made the short drive to the Crown Plaza by O'Hare and ventured into the Valet parking section. Thank goodness we heard about this through my friend's Mom! It's just $20 to park the whole time and it's Valet! You really cannot beat that. I drove to the Lululemon warehouse sale in the same venue and we paid about the same and had to park on the other side of the street and make our way through crowds to find our actual show! Note to self.. always try the Valet option (especially when it's a little chilly out).

After a short wait to register, we headed in to meet my friend's Mom and Aunt. We quickly found them at their favorite vendor, so far. They had been moseying around this same spot for about 20 minutes before we approached and their baskets were adding up :) I was able to snag a pair of earrings for $6 that perfectly matched my green bauble necklace that I received from a great friend for my Birthday this year. I was in heaven with this booth! They were selling the below bauble necklace for $10 and most other necklaces were around the same price, if not lower!! I couldn't believe my eyes!

After gazing through most of the merchandise we ventured over to the most amazing all-purpose cleaner I've ever seen. They started out in 1986 for jewelry but the list of what they can also clean around your house is insane! We saw them demonstrate cleaning my friend's aunts ring as well as her watch. They looked practically brand new after just two minutes of rubbing. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am SOLD! I need to purchase some to clean my whole apartment and my jewelry while I'm at it.

Check out Worley's Wonder here: http://worleysonline.net/worleysonline/home.html

We quickly tired from exploring most of the booths and headed out to reward ourselves with a lunch in Hinsdale. The cutest downtown I've ever seen. Shout out to Rodney :)


They have an international Gem and Jewelry show on December 7th until the 9th. Sue Babe and I might need to hit this up while she's in town. Let me know of any other shows that you come across! These are the best places for great deals on everything from socks to fine jewels.

Have a great Day!

Quick & Easy Chicken Recipe

Happy Monday everyone! As always the weekend flew by but only because of all of the good times that were had. I hope everyone was able to get out and celebrate in the Halloween fun.  Today I want to introduce you to some of my go-to food blogs. I love looking through all of the recipes and try a little something new from all of them.

My all time favorite has to be  Whit's Amuse Bouche. Whitney is one of my good friends and her cooking skills are out of this world! Her blog is the best spot for cooking, booze and DIY projects. I highly recommend checking out Whit's blog, you will not be disappointed.


Now my dream would be to cook like Whitney every night but I'm not sure how she does it. I like to plan dinners on Sundays, in between watching football and running errands.  It's tough making dinner for just one but there are simple recipes that you can make on Sunday to have for the week. This is definitely one of those. This is the Juicy Parmesan-Crusted Baked Chicken from another one of the food blogs I follow Shrinking kitchen. This an easy, quick chicken recipe that adds a little extra to your typical baked chicken.

Here is the recipe:

Gather

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds

1/2 cup fat free greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Step by step

1. Preheat oven 425˚F.
2. Place greek yogurt and cheese in a small bowl and mix.
3. Put chicken breasts on baking sheet (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy) and spread yogurt mixture evenly atop each.
4. Next evenly sprinkle bread crumbs on top of each breast.
5. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165˚F.
6. Tops will be golden brown and chicken will be incredibly juicy.
7. Season with a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, if desired.

Nutrition

WW PP 5; Calories 227.7; Total 4.0g; Saturated Fat 1.8g; Monounsaturated Fat 1.0g; Cholesterol 87.1mg; Sodium 301mg; Potassium 406.3mg; Carbs 6.5g; Fiber 05g; Sugars 1.5g; Protein 38.8g

I recommend trying it out sometime! Before I head out for the day I would like to leave you with a great party recipe, as we're in the 8th week of Football season. It's another quick and easy recipe that is so yummy!

Skinny Taco Dip
Servings: 24 • Serving Size: 1/24th of dip • Old Points: 1.5 pts • Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 59.2 • Fat: 3.6 g • Protein: 2.2 g • Carb: 4.7 g • Fiber: 0.6 g  

• 8 oz 1/3 less fat Philadelphia cream cheese
• 8 oz reduced fat sour cream
• 16 oz jar mild salsa
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 2.25 oz black olives,

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and taco seasoning andmix well with an electric mixer. Spread on the bottom of a large shallow glass dish.Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and black olives. Serve with baked tortilla chips.

Check out more of Gina's recipes at her blog: Skinny Taste (another one of my favorites)

Grouper Like the Fish?

Happy Friday Everyone! Gosh it feels like this week took so long to be over! I hope everyone is excited for the weekend and cannot wait for it to be 5pm.. I know I can't.

Well I promised a great post for all walks of life and I believe I will deliver today. What do you think of when you first here Grouper? A bizarre fish....a weird internet tool...surely not a social club that sets up a group of girls and a group of guys.

Ladies and Gentlemen that is just what it is. Grouper is a "Social Club" that matches up two people based on their Facebook profiles. They setup a date for them to meet for drinks, but the best part is they're not alone, they get to both bring two friends along.

I was a little skeptic about a year ago when we heard about it from a friend that wanted to try but I thought I'd give it a shot after I read about it again on my daily email from Thrillist. Grouper originated in NYC and has had great success over the past year or so with setting up local singles.

Last night was my first. Picture this. My two wing women and myself head out to Gilt Bar for a few pre- grouper drinks and food in the pouring Chicago rain. Our date was at 8pm in Logan Square so we had about an hour to get ourselves a little relaxed before we headed over. After some delicious "Bee's Knees" Cocktails and a few appetizers we ventured out to meet our men at Letizia's Fiore. (Side note.. when I first found out we were going there I thought they were sending us to a Bakery but this is a very quaint Italian restaurant and bakery. ) Letizia's Fiore Logan Square

We hopped in a cab and had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  Skip was our amazing cab driver that went to great heights to get us there right on time. (Call Skip for your West Side Cab needs at 773-677-2677, he's amazing!). He was starting to make us a little nervous when we told him what we were doing.

We proceeded to run into the restaurant, as it was still raining cats and dogs out there. Cristina greeted us with the biggest smile at the door. She is the cutest woman ever and was so excited to have us there. The place was deserted and there was just the three of us, Cristina and two other girls that were there to do the same thing. Cristina asked us if we'd like to wait before we head downstairs, as our men we're not there yet. The ladies and I thought for a second and said we'd rather just head downstairs and order a drink. Her look of shock said it all and she took us down the stairs. We were almost down the stairs when we spotted a group of three guys all the way at the one side of the room. They looked so nervous and we insisted in telling them that Sorry we weren't they're dates. They're dates were still upstairs waiting for their third to join before heading downstairs in the pack.

We sat down to our table and the bartender came by to take our drink orders. He started to tell us about all of the funny Grouper's that he's witnessed and he assured us that we'd have a great time. We nervously waited for our guys to come down the stairs and at about 8:15 two out of the three appeared. Mike and Pat were the first to arrive and were hilarious. Mike, Pat and the fashionably-late Dan were our dates for the night. They grew up together and had heard about Grouper through Mike's co-worker. Mike and Pat had tried it out for the first time with the co-worker and forced Dan to sign up.

We could not have asked for a better group. We were in stitches for most of the night and enjoyed getting to know all three. Now, when you sign up you have to say Two Truths and a Lie and we proceeded to go around the table and see if we could all guess. Mine were, I'm a huge Jets Fan, I was a Gerber Baby and I'm training to climb the Willis Tower. Obviously I was not a Gerber baby, but they were shocked with the Jets fan comment, but then again who isn't!

One of the best parts of the night was finding out that none of us even live close to the place that they sent us to. It was a great place with a wood-burning oven with delicious flat bread and an extensive collection of old cell phones. We proceeded to take pictures with the Zack Morris phones throughout the night.

After learning a little bit more about the guys, Dan (who was my grouper setup) actually worked at Ogilvy with me for a short time. He's in broadcasting and worked in the Studio here. Small World.


All and all we had a great time and ended up finishing up our drinks and headed to Longman and Eagle. The guys were so much fun to get to know and I highly recommend trying Grouper our for all of you single ladies and gentlemen. It's a great way to meet new people no matter what you're looking for. If you've tried or have any questions about joining please reach out, I'd be happy to share more about our experience. I'd like to thank my amazing wing-women that joined me last night, you both are the best! Thanks for joining me on this crazy adventure!

Here's the website if you want to join: Grouper


                        I'm off to power through my crazy work day to make it to the weekend!

Arch Apothecary

Hello Everyone! I must apologize for being so late posting today and also for the subject matter. While most ladies will find it helpful this is not a fun topic for the guys. I promise that my next post with entertain both!

If you're not already aware it has been 75 and sunny for the past three days here in Chicago. It's been absolutely pure heaven :) While I had the intentions to try out the Water Taxi yesterday, I opted for a wonderful stroll home from work. Walking home is one of my favorite things to do after a hectic day at the office. The walk is about two miles and is so enjoyable especially when the weather is just right.

My friend and I decided to talk a different route home and we discovered so many new places to try! I will add them into my notes to make sure we cover them here. We took Wells Street all the way North from the River (in case anyone wants to try). We stumbled upon a great Irish Pub (Brehon Pub), as well as some new restaurants to try. I cannot wait to try them all.

While walking, I remembered about this Eye Brow shaping bar that had been highly recommended to me by a good friend. Since it was also on Wells, and as it turns out, just two blocks from my apartment building I thought I should give it a whirl.

Arch Apothecary on N Wells is the cutest shop specializing in Beauty, Styling and Brows owned by a true Chicagoan. I haven't tended to my brows professionally in awhile so I stepped in to see what the place was all about. There was no one in the store when I walked in around 6:00 pm but was quickly greeted by Vanessa. She was so bubbly and excited to get started. I sat down on the high chair while she gathered her tools. The makeup displayed all around is absolutely divine. I wanted to get everything done. Of course I'll save that for another day but they definitely have a lot to offer us ladies.  

As Vanessa was getting ready to fill me on what she wished to do, I quickly realized that I was not slacking in the eye brow beauty department. She quickly drew the lines as seen above and below and explained each and how they should all fit within your face. Thank goodness I wasn't too far off, but I still turned red, embarrassed for not being a proper lady and knowing all of this.

Vanessa was pretty speedy and I was done in about 10 minutes. She was such a sweetheart and made my brows perfect. While she was waxing she was telling me about the private make-up parties that you can host in the store along with some of the other new brands that they carry. For $20 you can walk out with perfectly shaped brows just like Natalie's below :)

Check out Vanessa and all that the Arch Apothecary has to offer at their location on Wells along with in Rockford, IL. Here is the link if you want to get a sneak peak: http://www.archapothecary.com/

I hope to have quite the entertaining post for you tomorrow. 

Wish me Luck!

Baume & Brix Review

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

The ladies and I ventured out last night to taste the newly open  Baume & Brix for my fancy October new restaurant for the month. This is the brand new River North restaurant just above The Grid that was reviewed yesterday from the gallivanting this past weekend. Baume & Brix is owned by Epic owner Steve Tavoso with his business partner Jeff Krogh. The co-executive chefs are Thomas Elliott Bowman and Ben Roche, both formerly of iNG and Moto and chef de cuisine Nate Park who also worked with the guys over on Fulton Market.

We treated ourselves to the intricate menu that is broken into four sections of Explore (small plates), Summit (entrees), Conquer (desserts) and Divide (large format dishes for sharing with a few people). Although I have not had the pleasure to try Moto quite yet, they did say in the reviews that they are very similar to Moto with utilizing quality ingredients, like foie gras, naked lobster, pig tails and present them in both gorgeous and surprising platings.

Surprising platings were right! The four of us all tried a selection from the Summit section. The best plating had to be the  special Pork Chop that came with Pine needles that were light on fire at the table for aroma. Two of the other ladies tried the Beef Short Rib with Red Curry with coconut, fried lemon and gai lan and the Maitake Mushroom with cauliflower, gruyere and chimichurri. I tried the Black Cod which was highly recommended in the Yelp reviews and by our server.

                                 Black Cod with forbidden Rice, charred leeks and aromatic broth

It was a beautiful plating and very delicious! All of the ladies enjoyed theirs as well but there was one slight problem with the Maitake Mushroom. Make sure when you order it ask that it's not cold :(  Other than that the Summit's were a success.

When sitting down at the table initially, I glanced at the Divide section where the Cookies & Milk were featured. These have to be the best part of the entire menu, at least for now because I have not explored the other Conquer portions that I will need to try.

Please do me a favor and make sure to add these to your order when you go to eat here. You will need to place your order while you're ordering your starters or summits because they do want to allow 30 minutes to freshly bake your 12 cookies. My picture will not do these cookies justice but they were perfectly gooey and rich. They come in the cutest white cookie jar and served to you table side from the Jar. The cookies were the perfect way to end the night paired with the malted milk in the tiny mason jar glasses.

         Please excuse my picture as the cookies started to stick together because they were so gooey!

 There wine list is also selected to match with all of the food that you pick. It is not a daunting list and the bottle that we tried was a mix of Muscato/Pino/Reisling and was a pleasant surprise. All and all the ladies gave me a thumbs up for the dinner. The food was delicious and the atmosphere is unique. I highly recommend trying out at least once and please be sure to order a little something different for everyone so you can take full advantage of their menu and pairings. Just be sure to have your Mushroom be warm instead of cold :(  I will be going back to grab a drink at their bar after work someday. It looks to be the perfect after work watering hole or the start to a grand night out on Hubbard Street.

I'm off to enjoy this beautiful Indian Summer weather today and taking my first ride on the water taxi! I'll be sure to report all about it tomorrow. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Off the Grid

Please welcome one of the new bars on the scene of River North...The GRID. Located just below the newly open Baume & Brix restaurant and next to East Bank Club and the Merchandize mart, The Grid is ready to serve you.

The ladies and I tackled this new bar for their first opening night this past Saturday after dinner at Grass Fed. The space is just below the grade but full of windows to make it feel as thought you're not fully underground. The upscale, rustic decor has a lot of wood, metal and beam ceilings with five communal leather couches with four vent less floating fireplaces.

At first glance, we were impressed. It was just after 10pm and it was not too crowded as we made our way to the bar for our first drink. I highly recommended ordering a straight spirit vs. a mixed drink. Whitney was able to have two very healthy pours while their mixed drinks are pretty mediocre.

We made our way around the open space and tested out the leather couches in front of one of the fireplaces. It was nice to sit and relax with our cocktails but we were shortly interrupted by the Miley Cyrus look-a-like hostess telling us that unless we ordered bottle service we could not sit there. So much for communal leather couches.

After moving on to another table in the corner, we surveyed who was in the bar. It was a complete Sausage Fest. Well let me say that again, it was indeed a complete Sausage fest with a little bit of a metro feel. Ladies, I recommend exploring just to look at some of the merchandise. The crowd had a fratty, club-like feel with all walks of life. There was flannel, button downs and even guys in suits. We couldn't tell if the ones that were dressed to the nines were down from dinner upstairs or just dressed up to party in the club.

We continued to get booted out of our second table and was seated by Miley, at the high-top communal "speed-dating" tables. We were sloshed between a couple on a romantic date and a group of highly-intoxicated guys. It was about 11:30pm at this point and the music kept getting louder and louder. We could hardly hear each other talk but kept trying their cocktails and enjoyed the scene.

Then we started hearing the beats of "Let's talk about sex baby..let's talk about you and me" followed by a classic "Who Let the Dogs Out". Both songs brought a dance party in the corner of the Sausage Fest. The Ladies and I quickly realized that we either had to quickly get to every one's level or vacate the party scene.

We did decide to move on to a little less club-like scene to catch up a bit more but we did enjoy the experience. I know that The Grid is just getting started and will take awhile to find out who they want to be. It is a cross between a club and a Lincoln Park college bar. The snacks that they serve downstairs are offered between $2 and $3 dollars and come in the cutest old school popcorn containers.

The owner, Steve Tavoso, was right that the area is missing a local bar, lounge and tavern and that is exactly the combination that it has opened as.  I recommend scoping out the scene for the entertainment of the crowd! Please go check it out and report back on what you think!

Get ready for the review of Baume & Brix, the restaurant upstairs from The Grid later this week!

Grass Fed Review

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I have the pleasure of telling you about a new spot that I tried on Saturday. My friend Whitney was in town from Denver for a food blog competition. Please check out her and her fabulous blog: http://whitsamusebouche.com/

After her long day of competing was over, we celebrated with a dinner at Grass Fed.

It's the cutest ambiance and has the menu listed on a blackboard behind the bar. I had not heard of this little gem before but Laura made the reso based on the reviews and we headed over. Now, Laura is a veggie and this place is a Steakhouse. Little did we know that the menu that was given to us when we sat down just said "$25 Steak Fix Menu".

Looking at the above, Whit and I both looked at Laura and asked if she wanted to leave. Luckily we were saved by our wonderful server and she explained that all of the specials and alternative options are posted on the blackboard daily. There is a Chicken, Mussels and veggie options in case you do not want Steak and everything comes with a starter salad, fresh homemade bread and their delicious fries.

The three of us decided to stay and enjoy. When you go make sure to try their delicious cocktails. I read a review on Yelp about the "Bucktown Mule" and it was everything that I was hoping for and more. It comes in the most adorable 8 oz bottle and poured into an overflowing glass of the biggest ice cubes. They do drinks right.

Whit and I both decided on the steak and Laura selected two sides of the seasonal Kale and Beet Ravioli. She highly recommends both options and the steak was very tasty, especially with the house fries and the jalapeno infused ketchup that accompanies. 

I saved the best part for last and so did they! We were finishing up our glasses of wine when the waitress asked if we wanted any dessert. Their three daily desserts are also posted on the blackboard. We decided we'd give one thing a try and I'm so glad we did. 

The three of us devoured the toasted mini-marshmallows, graham cracker cookies and warmed milk chocolate. This was by far the best part of the meal. I would send people just for this dessert. We even asked for spoons to finish up the remains of the chocolate. It was just too good not to.

Overall it was a fabulous girls night filled with lots of laughs, catching up and the best dessert I've had in quite some time. I recommend going if you want to try something new in the neighborhood or just looking for a steak that is very reasonably priced. I've also read that on Monday's they have Burger Night. I might have to go back on a Monday just to try that out. 

Let's Try Something New

Hello everyone! Welcome to A Pinch of New. I have been meaning to start this blog for quite some time now. Two years ago I made the best New Year's Resolution to try something new every month. From there it has turned into multiple new things per month and more. I want to attempt to try something new each and everyday and share my experiences with you.

At first it started with daring things such as Trapeze class in Belmont Harbor and a Half Marathon but it can be as simple as taking a new bus ride or walking another way home from work. Our lives are in constant motion but if you take just a little time to explore something different from your normal routine each and everyday you'll be amazed at the outcome.

To tell you a little bit more about myself, I am a true creature of habit. I love having everything planned out and leave little to the imagination which is why I made this resolution. We all need to get out there and explore. I moved to Chicago May 2008 and even after a solid four years here, I still have so much to explore. My friends have been so supportive and love partaking in the new adventures as well. It brings such joy and excitement to discover something new. Why would you deprive yourself of just a little extra happiness? Even if it's just for a minute.