Entries from November 6th, 2009

Celebrating with Wine, Cheese, and Pizza

November 13th, 2009 · 2 Comments

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Triple XXX Cheese Flight :: Bin 36, River North, Chicago

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Sauvignon Blanc vs. Chardonnay :: Bin 36, River North, Chicago

Anjum and I planned to take Aimee out for her birthday and Aimee insisted we also include my engagement, so there was a lot of celebrating to do last night! We walked over to Bin 36 and each got a flight of wine. Mine was the Sauvignon Blanc vs. Chardonnay flight.* We also shared the Triple XXX flight of cheese that included an American mozzarella, Brie, a goat cheese, Camembert, and one on the end I can’t remember. On the side we had apricots and figs and some truffled honey. Delicious, delicious, delicious. We need to do this more often!

Aimee and Anjum surprised me with a gift, which was a gift bag with a bunch of wedding magazines in it. It was fun to look through them, although I’m so not in a wedding mode yet. Someone needs to knock me on the head and remind me that when you get engaged then you have to plan a wedding. I think Dallas and I were just so excited to get engaged that when people immediately ask us when or where the wedding is, we have no answer just yet. But it was fun to page through and look at the different stuff. A lot of it is way more than anything we want, I think. One of the magazines was a destination wedding magazine and that was fun too.

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Wild Mushrooms, caramelized onions, taleggio cheese, hazelnuts, truffle oil :: A Mano, River North, Chicago

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Buffalo mozzarella oven dried tomatoes, basil pesto :: A Mano, River North, Chicago

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Classic margherita: Tomatoes, basil & mozzarella :: A Mano, River North, Chicago

After our cheese and wine extravaganza, we decided we should probably eat some real food. Downstairs at A Mano they were having their $5 pizza night so we ordered a few pizzas and had a bit more wine. Great night! I need to go out with the girls from work more often!

*Note to self: Favorite wine of the night was the 2008 Domaine Des Fontanelles Sauvignon Blanc.

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He liked it so he put a ring on it.

November 11th, 2009 · 81 Comments

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The Whiteness of Bones by Susanna Moore

November 10th, 2009 · No Comments


finished 11.10.09

I thought I’d really like this book about two sisters, Mamie & Claire, who grew up on the west side of Kauai and moved to New York City, but I didn’t really. It was ok, not great. I only finished it to finish it and there were some brutal scenes near the end that made me wish I’d just put it down. I thought I’d like seeing New York through their eyes, but it was a pretty bizarro New York. I did like the scenes describing Waimea town and Koke’e and the Waimea River and other things on Kauai, though. There just wasn’t enough of that to make me like the book.

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Logan Square Farmers Market at the Congress Theater

November 9th, 2009 · 2 Comments

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Great news! The Logan Square Farmers Market has moved indoors for the winter! From 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Sundays, stop by the lobby of the Congress Theater and check out the winter market. They expect to run through March, with a few Sundays off for holidays. I assume then they’ll go back to their outdoor location on the boulevard.

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The winter market plans on still providing locally produced agriculture products, so expect root vegetables and fruits that have been “put up” by canning or drying. Although, right now there are still a ton of apples at the market. And cider! I got a bag of honey crisp apples and some cider for Dallas. I’m told that throughout the winter you can also still get greens and mushrooms that they grow indoors or under glass or plastic. And there will still be farm fresh meat and eggs. Of course, all the baked goods and prepared food items will still be available. Along with the apples and cider, I got some lettuce and 2 bags of homemade granola.

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As well, the winter market may also showcase Logan Square Chamber member businesses. All in all, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to have issues running the market through the winter, which is exciting.

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I’d never been to the Congress Theater before and thought it was funny that my first trip there was not for a concert, but for the farmers market!

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Our Block Got New Streetlights

November 6th, 2009 · 2 Comments

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Logan Square, Chicago

A couple weeks ago our block got new street lights. Our old ones were very dim and sparse in between. It could be a bit spooky to walk home sometimes on our quiet street. These new lights have the tall lamp that illuminates the street and a shorter one that illuminates the sidewalk. Just in time for the shortened daylight hours, our street is nice and bright.

There’s been a flurry of activity on our street with utilities companies doing work. Just this week the city redid some of the street and sidewalk areas. Last winter our street was pothole after pothole, plus we have speed bumps. Maybe with these improvements it our street won’t be like driving through a minefield!

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