My Latest Obsessions

Happy Friday - wow, for some reason this week has flown by. I'm 18 weeks TODAY - wahoo - 4 and a 1/2 months along- wild - fruit/veggie to come on Monday! Have a fabulous WEEKEND!

So, for this week's latest favorites I'm featuring a good friend of mine's favorite chef Jamie Oliver. She sent an email to a bunch of us to relay that her favorite British chef Jamie Oliver's new series, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, debuts Friday, March 26th.

My friend Bridget adores his use of the British terms "lovely," darling," and "smashing." And I have to say, so do I - who doesn't love an adorable guy that cooks and has an equally adorable accent. I will be sure to set our DVR to Mr. Oliver's six-part series - where he heads to Huntington, West Virginia to do something about the city that has been called the unhealthiest city in America.

(Photo by Telegraph.co.uk)

Mini Moments

The other day I was driving down the highway and noticed a Coca-Cola sign that read "Enjoy a Mini Moment" - it was an ad for their 7.5 ounce mini cans. The campaign is trying to reach the "health conscious" by giving consumers a better way to manage their calories. The ad itself made me think of the concept of enjoying "mini moments" - below are a few of my mini-moments: 

• Dunkin Donuts (Coconut flavored with skim milk and 1 splenda), however, now I opt for the decaf sans the splenda (due to little Baby Carr). 
• A one on one breakfast or lunch with a friend. 
• Listening to a VM message from a friend that I have not heard from in awhile. 
• Sitting down with Peter for dinner after a long day. 
• Potbelly sandwich (turkey) - YUM! Something about it makes me smile (maybe because I don't live down the street from one anymore and when I have a chance to eat one I get super excited). 
• Listening to the girls chat in the backseat of the car (never fails to make me laugh - as their conversations can be so hilarious). 
• Enjoying a cup of Graeter's Ice Cream (from Cincy!) - fave flavor = black raspberry chip - YUM! 
• Writing a note to someone on my new stationery. Side note, and I always jumble the two words stationary and stationery and this seemed to help me- "A common school house trick for remembering the proper spelling is to remember station-ery means pap-er." 

This leads me to the MANY MINI MOMENTS from our wedding. Pen Carlson recently posted our wedding on their blog (and oh my gosh, btw, I love their new intro on their site - totally rocks). The mini moments they captured during our wedding weekend make me smile. Side note, I love the last line of our photographer's intro/hello= Have a riot. Be you. We'll be us. 

What are some of your mini moments? 

Week 17 - A turnip

Happy Monday! Hope all of you had a nice weekend. I had my four month appointment last Friday and I'm now in my 17th week - wild - time flies!

Little Baby Carr ("BC") is now the size of a turnip. His/her skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone and he/she is around 5 inches long from head to bottom. Little "BC" can now move his/her joints and his/her sweat glands are starting to develop. 

I was reading more about what is going on with my body at this stage in my pregnancy and read something about dry eyes. Interesting, because I just went and got an updated pair of glasses because lately my contacts have been driving me nuts! It is funny how most of the little things that seem to be a bit "off" are due to being prego! It is amazing to me how your body changes when you are pregnant - all the things that are happening for the little "turnip." 

My Latest Obsessions

Happy Friday! Well, happy "FUN" Friday as the girls say. We've already done the Happy Dance this morning. I'll have to get it on video - pretty funny. So, one of my latest obsessions has turned into a tradition that Peter and I hope to continue for years to come. 

I hope all of you had a fabulous Valentine's Day last Sunday and enjoyed the long weekend. Peter and I happened to be in Milwaukee last year during President's Day weekend for a Marquette game (Peter's alma mater) and the two of us had dinner before meeting up with a bunch of friends for the game and so forth. We had such a blast that weekend that we decided to make it a tradition.

So, about a month and a half ago we decided to head up there for the night and head to Coerper's 5 O'Clock Steakhouse for dinner (same spot as last year). Seriously, the restaurant is awesome (and HILARIOUS) and you feel as though you stepped back in time (think 1960s!) - as neither the ambience nor the decor have changed in decades! I don't even know really how to describe it - old school for sure (they give you about 2 tablespoons of butter on your bread plate / salads w/a lazy susan for your choice of 3 dressings / waitresses that have been there for YEARS and YEARS). Even Rachel Ray agrees - as last year she listed it as one of the best places to grab a juicy steak. We had an awesome dinner - loved chatting w/our waitress and just laughed (as the place is just so funny). 

We bopped around Milwaukee for a bit before we had dinner and it was just so nice to hang out and not have an agenda or schedule. We stopped by Alterra for a cup of coffee - one of the best coffee stops I have been to in awhile. It was so hard to walk way from the display of GOODIES as they looked so yummy! 

My Latest Obsessions

Wishing all of you a wonderful long weekend and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. Hopefully all of you have fun plans. Peter is off to the Daddy/Daughter Valentine's Dance tonight (super cute!) and then tomorrow the two of us are off to Milwaukee for the night. It has been a fun filled week for the girls of Valentine's Parties / lots of pink, red and white / valentine cards (which totally brought me back to my days in gradeschool as I LOVED exchanging cards) / and lastly TOO MANY SWEETS!

Now, I wouldn't pay this much for a high chair - but wow - isn't this High Chair pretty fabulous (and dare I say, "rad")?! And w/the production limited to 1100 units - your little guy/gal would sure to be hot to trot and eating in style in this chair!

I am currently still wearing items in my closet (laughing in the process though as things are starting to fit a bit differently). While I would love to outfit myself super stylishly like Heidi Klum does when she is prego I have decided to air on the budget conscious side. Klum has designed two maternity lines (Lavish for a Pea in the Pod and Loved for Motherhood) and herlines debut tomorrow. I might have to take a peek!

The Elsyian and The Purple Pig

Last week Peter and I met up w/our good friends and attended a reception hosted by the gals at Jet Set Travel. Both of us used them to book our honeymoons. The reception was at the new Elsyian Hotel in Chicago (which btw is a very sleek spot). The gal at Chicago 312 Dining Diva wrote a detailed description and overview of the new spot. Looks like The Donald (via his Chicago Trump hotel) is up for some competition! 

We briefly stopped by the reception and then headed to The Purple Pig for dinner. I was anxious to check it out - as I still try to keep up w/the latest restaurant openings in Chicago. All four of us LOVED it! So yum. I enjoy restaurants with small plates - as I find it fun to order a bunch of items and try a little bit of everything. Their menu totally ROCKS.  D.Tamarkin (who I happened to go to HS w/) wrote the following Chicago Time Out article on the restaurant before they opened. This is a great spot if you are on the Mag Mile and want a little nibble (you don't find too many hip/cool spots in this touristy area of Michigan Ave.). 

Below is what we ordered: 

Antipasti

Salt-roasted Beets with Whipped Goat Cheese & Pistachio Vinaigrette 

Butternut Squash with Pumpkin Seeds, Brown Butter & Ricotta Salata  

(Both of the above were my favorites - lately, and ever since our rehearsal dinner at The Bristol I have been craving beets - oh, that and maybe being prego!) 

Salad

Endive and Arugula with Covadonga Bleu Cheese & Orange  

Carrot, Avocado & Fennel Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette  

Fried Items (LOVE that they title these items as "FRIED" items - simple and obviously to the point) 

Pig’s Ear with Crispy Kale, Marinated Cherry Peppers & Fried Egg

Brussel Sprouts with Thyme and Lemon  

Smears

Whipped Feta with Cucumbers(umm, yum, one of my faves) 

a la Plancha, etc.

Chicken Thigh Kebabs with Fried Smashed Potatoes & Tzatziki  

Pork Blade Steak with ‘Nduja & Honey  

Week 15 - An Apple

So, our little gal or boy is now about the size of an apple! Cute. He/she now measures about 4 inches long and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. I also read that even though his/her eyes are still fused shut he/she can sense light. So, if we shined a flashlight against my belly he/she may move away (pretty cool). 

OMG, so last Friday I discovered Ryan Maconochie's adorable and quite unique baby book. I started "trolling" (oh no, I'm starting to sound like my mom - we use that word when we are "surfing" the internet) around on his site and came across the "Today It's the Size of A" poster he created (you can buy it here). Be sure to click on the other images (especially slide 2) to see how folks used the poster. I love it as I know I seem to become attached to whatever fruit/vegetable little Baby Carr is during a particular week. He was amused by the various fruit/veggie comparisons when his wife was pregnant - too cute. 

My Latest Obsessions

Happy Friday! I'm trying to imagine that I'm basking in the sun (hence the imaginary beach scene above). Wishful thinking! Enjoy the weekend. Here are some of my latest faves - enjoy! 

I have always loved the designer Tracy Reese. I am always drawn to her dresses. So, due to my current growing belly, I have put off all shopping per se - so I wanted to pass along this great special that I saw on Daily Candy Deals. Tracy Reese just launched a web boutique - and now you can take 25% off all items including her Frock and Plenty line - use code TRDC25 at checkout. Quite a deal! Maybe time for someone to buy a fun spring dress (for those who are sick of WINTER). 

I came across these adorable X and O s'mores from Williams-Sonoma (made by Two Hearts Bakery in San Fran). A cute gift to send to someone for Valentine's Day! Some of Two Hearts Bakery's current offerings are available through Williams-Sonoma, Neiman Marcus and Dean and Deluca. fiance 

I have a dear friend who lives in London and when I saw Gwenyth Paltrow's latest Goop post on London. I took a peek. My friend and her husband are off to London next fall to visit our friend and her fiance. I spent a semester abroad in the city of Bath England (and loved it dearly) and would love to take Peter to London and then head to Bath to show him where I studied. 

Check out this cute (and unique) baby book. And even more fun - the arty baby journal was designed by Chicago creative Ryan Maconochie, who wanted a quirky way to preserve memories after the birth of his daughter. 

Week 14 - A Lemon

Happy Monday! I hope all of you had a great weekend. We had a friend's 40th birthday celebration at Prickly Pear Friday PM (which btw is a super cool spot - unique space and has this cool library upstairs of cookbooks), a wedding Saturday PM, and Margaret turned 4 on Sunday. Peter and I were laughing last night as the weekend was a comedy of errors starting with the girls getting sick Friday afternoon and then Peter on Sunday. At the moment (knock on wood) I'm healthy - and hopeful to stay that way! 

Wow, so little Baby Carr is now the size of a lemon (about 3 1/2 inches long if he/she were to stretch out) as I'm now in my 14th week. The little guy/gal can now squint, frown, grimace, pee and possible suck his/her thumb! I was chatting with a friend Friday night and she made me think about the fact that right now I'm really two people (kind of an interesting concept to think about!). I think this thought also hit home too when I was at my doctor on Friday for a check up and heard the little guy/gal's heart beat. Pretty amazing.