Zippin’ through West Virginia

Well, it’s safe to say that Brian and I had an amazing vacation this past weekend.

We left bright and early Friday morning and made the 7 hour journey to our first stop – Ravenswood, W.V.  Ravenswood is just over the Ohio/West Virginia border (the Ohio River separates the two) and surprisingly, the road trip went by really fast.  We made a few pit stops along the way for a beer or two and packed some interesting snacks to keep our bellies full:

Have you had this before?  I can’t say I like it, but I can’t say that I don’t.  Freeze dried food is weird.  I feel like I’m on a space ship or something.

We arrived at my cousin Leah’s around 4:00 p.m. ET and got a grand tour of their estate.  Yes, I said estate.  They have a gorgeous house that sits on top a very large hill with acres of forest and open space.  To get up to their house is an accomplishment in itself.  Think very narrow winding roads and lots of gravel!

We lounged around for a while, recovering from our long journey and enjoyed a delicious home cooked meal before heading out and exploring their town.  Small towns are so cute and quaint and really put a lot into perspective when you come from a big city like Chicago.

Everything was so peaceful, beautiful and quiet.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and eating some more before heading out the next morning to complete our journey to Oak Hill, W.V.  My aunt and uncle live in Oak Hill and when we arrived Saturday afternoon, we were able to witness the end of their annual town parade.  People were lined up along to streets to get a glimpse of the high school band and Ms. Oak Hill.  My aunts best friend, Marilyn, has a house right in the downtown area where we were able to enjoy some snacks and beer as the parade passed on by.  Whenever I watch parades that have High School Cheerleading Squads and Pageant Queens, Taylor Swift songs always start popping in my head.  I’m weird.

Once the parade was over, we quickly headed to their house to drop off our stuff and get ready for our big zip line excursion.  My aunt and uncle were generous enough to book two adventures for Brian and I when we were in town: Zip Lining and White Water Rafting.

I had never zip lined before, so needless to say, I was pretty pumped!  The canopy tour was through a company called Adventures on Gorge, whom also guided our white water trip.  They are basically the Walmart of adventures in West Virginia… a one stop shop for anything you want to do.

The first part of the zip lining adventure was learning about our gear and what to do on the zip line.

Once we all passed our tests, kidding…there were no tests, we headed into the forest!

The tour consisted of 10 zip lines which varied in length between 100 – 730 feet.  According to our guide, we reached up to 35 miles per hour on some of the zip lines and although in my head I thought that was kind of slow, when you are zipping past trees and over rivers it becomes a lot faster than you think!

The trip also consisted of walking over a couple creaky sky bridges and hiking to gain elevation on our trip.

We learned a lot about the forest in West Virginia and how the community is trying to protect their beloved Hemlock trees from the Japanese parasites that have invaded the area.  Our tour guides, Lauren and Jake, had names for each of the Hemlock trees and showed us how they inject the insecticide they are using to help protect the 800 year old trees.

Lauren and Jake also had other ‘words of wisdom’ along our trip like “If you see a moving stick… it’s not a stick.”  🙂

Bottom line.  It was awesome and you should do it.  Next time Brian and I visit, we are going to do their Gravity tour… which is another zip line adventure where you reach up to 60 mph!

After our tour, it was time for food and beer!

Everytime I visit my family in West Virginia, a trip to my Uncle’s restaurant is always a must (former-owned restaurant… he is now retired and living the dream).

Behold Dirty Ernie’s.  The place where I grew up filling baskets of peanuts for each diner and learning the Dirty Earnie’s “Happy Birthday” song with all the waiters.

I ordered the local trout and it was just as good as I remembered.  Some things never change 🙂

Stay tuned for my recap on our rafting excursion tomorrow!

Take me home country roads…

Well, Brian and I are driving down the highway now on our much anticipated road trip to wild and wonderful West Virginia!

As I’ve been telling my friends and coworkers about this trip, a lot of folks have been asking… why West Virginia?

A lot of my family lives or has lived in the beautiful state, so it holds an extra special place in my heart.  You see, my great great grandfather (I think that’s how it works… my grandpa’s grandfather), Caesar Barbera, immigrated to this wonderful country from Italy and went to work in the Coalfields of West Virginia in 1900.  According to my late grandfather, George Barbera, “When he landed on Ellis Island, he was asked if he wanted a job. He said, ‘yes.’ He hopped a train and came to Thurmond. He had to walk to Glen Jean where the coal company gave him a job loading coal.”

My family has been rooted in West Virgina for a long time and in a way I still feel very rooted there as well.

I used to visit my family down is southern W.V. at least twice a year.  All of my first cousins, except two, lived there… Here’s us taking a really awesome photo.

Dorks.  I’m really rocking that sweet vest.

We were/are all a tight knight group.  For almost as long as I can remember my grandpa and grandma were the rock and foundation of our little clan.

(Here they are centered, holding hands at our Barbera family reunion)

After their passing, it always felt a little strange to be going back without them there.

Now time has gone, and it’s been almost 3 years since I’ve had a proper visit… so I’m incredibly excited to visit the place that has given my so many wonderful memories.  I’ll be staying with my cousin Leah and her family tonight who live on the Ohio/West Virginia border.  Tomorrow, we will be packing up again and making the trip down to gorgeous southern West Virgina to stay with my Aunt Connie and Uncle Ron.

I’m sure we will be visiting all the old favorites like the restaurant my Uncle used to own, Dirty Ernie’s Rib Pit.

Brian and I are being treated to a white water rafting trip and zip lining in the canopy which will be awesome!  What I’m looking forward to the most, however, is just spending time with the family… reminiscing about the good times and the great times to come 🙂  Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, y’all!

My Favorite Protein Pancakes

Howdy!

Well this week started with a bang, I have so much to get done before our road trip to West Virginia it’s unreal.

The good thing is that I had a nice and relaxing weekend to get all geared up for an ultra productive week.

Friday, my coworkers and I enjoyed some adult beverages after work.

This delicious New Glarus Wisconsin Ale brewed with Cherries.  Yum.

… and the Southern Tier Brewing Pumking at home.

(no, I didn’t buy the whole case unfortunately).

You might be thinking… Lindsay… it’s just way to early for such fall type drinks.  Well you are wrong, my friend.  This girl right here lives in the Midwest for a reason.

In keeping with the shotgun fall cuisine, I woke up Saturday morning craving my favorite protein pancakes:

The Best Protein Pancakes Ever

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 

• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 6 egg whites
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbsp. almond milk
• Chocolate chips
• Banana slices (garnish)
• Almond butter (garnish)
• Pure maple syrup (non of that fake shit)

Directions:

1. Mash the banana in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together.
3. Cook like regular pancakes… add some chocolate chips if your heart so desires
4. Top pancakes with some fresh banana slices, a dollop of almond butter and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.  bada bing bada boom.

These pancakes helped fuel our morning workouts at the gym.  I opted to do one of the Spartan WOD’s:

3 vertical jumps (max effort).  Fully recover after each set.  Repeat 3 sets of 3 jumps.

Split Squat Iso Hold.  Accumulate 60 seconds per leg.  Fully recover.  Repeat 3 sets

Accumulate 60 seconds in High Pull-Up Hold then accumulate 20 push-ups.  Fully recover.  Repeat 3 times.

Run 30 minutes – zone 1.  (aka – slower pace)

I was super sweaty after this one.  I typically sweat a lot, but the gym was humid and hot from the weather outside so it just tripled everything.  My running partner, Lindsay, probably would have been embarrassed if she was with me 🙂

Saturday evening, Brian and I attended the 40th birthday of one of our good friends.  I was so busy eating the delicious appetizers and tasting the signature cocktails that I forgot to take pictures of this wonderful event.  After 5 or 6 cocktails… it was a Liiitttllee hard to get up in the morning.

We had big plans to visit the suburbs, however, so there was no time to waste.  It was the PERFECT day to spend outside by the pool.  Bailey thoroughly enjoyed rolling around in the mud pits that have accumulated from all of the rain we have been getting.

She was pissed when we had to give her a cold hose bath.  Basically, she participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

P.s. I saw this on insta this weekend and couldn’t stop laughing…

I can’t even.

 

Lovin’ Lately II

Happy happy Friday, my friends!!

Here are some things I’ve been drooling over, obsessing over and all out lovin’ lately.

Grilled Tomato and Herb Bread << Such an easy weeknight meal and a great way to use up those extra juicy and ripe tomatoes that are overflowing in everyone’s garden.

My Big Family Renovation << Stumbled upon this show on HGTV the other night and literally CANNOT stop watching.  This family is so cute and crazy, I love them!

Moscow Mules << I’m a sucker for after work drinks on the porch and these have been our go-to to make.  All you need is:

• Ice
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1 tbs. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup chilled ginger beer
• 1 lime wedge

(makes 1 glass)

Easy peasy!

Stitch Fix << I just received my fourth or fifth fix and while I didn’t love everything I got, the stylist really listened to what I requested.  I have 3 weddings coming up and so she sent 5 dress options which was awesome!  A couple of them were a little too summery for fall/winter weddings; but I am definitely keeping this one for a wedding coming up in September.  Love the color and the pleating, it’s probably something I wouldn’t have picked out myself.

This Writer’s Leather Chair from West Elm << Brian has a big leather chair in our current apartment that has definitely seen better days.  We’ve been on the hunt for a new one and I am amazed by the high quality and low prices that West Elm has to offer.  I could get lost in that store for a whole day.

Black Trench from Banana Republic << I can’t believe it’s almost coat season, but I have been keeping my eye out for a new trench coat as the one I have currently is from the beginning of college.  I love black trench coats and this one from BA is the perfect length/fit.

The TV Apparently Kid << C’mon… this kid is too cute.

Total Body Bliss Tone It Up Workout

At some point in the weekend I broke on of my toes and it has been swollen all week.  I’ve done a lot of low impact workouts so I don’t irritate it more, and this has been one of my go to.

Now go enjoy your Friday! – Cheers!

PRO Compression Love & Discount

Good morning, sports fans!

Yesterday was a glorious, productive day.  Work flew by and I was greeted at home with a perfect-to-me running day.  I don’t miss you one bit humidity!

Brian, surprisingly, was also in a good mood so we decided to tackle a post-work run together.  We made out way through the East Lakeview/Lincoln Park area taking in all the sights and smells of what seemed like a cool October day.

We ran passed the zoo and said hello to the monkeys and zebras and finished back on our street with 4 miles under our belt.

You know what I have really been loving lately?  My PRO Compression sleeves.  Oh you thought tube socks had gone with the 70’s?  Think again, my friend.

Lately I’ve been wearing them during my runs and after my conditioning and strength exercises.  On days like yesterday, when it was randomly 62 degrees in July, they also give me a warmth layer factor which comes in handy during out Chicago winter months.  Compression socks/sleeves are said to:

• Increase the blood flow in your legs
• Aid in faster recovery
• Decrease muscle soreness and fatigue
• Look badass when you are flying by in neon pink – this is my own professional opinion
• Wick away any moisture and prevent those dreaded blisters (for socks)
• Stabilize the zone though the sides to your mid food.

Are you a golfer?

Throw on some sleeves or socks the next time you play 18 holes.  The purpose is to delay muscular breakdown and fatigue that comes with the time it takes to make it through a whole game.

With all of the new-to-me conditioning exercises and strength training that has come with my company’s kFit 60 day challenge, I have embraced this aid in performance and recovery.  When I first tried compression socks, I was worried that they would feel funny on my legs and I wouldn’t like the material.  Although the socks/sleeves are tight (compression, duh), I immediately felt the support and padding they provide which is both comfortable and magical 🙂

My running buddy, Lindsay, and I both sported the PRO Compression sleeves during out latest half-marathon in June.  Although the course was challenging, my recovery was not.

On days when I feel I need to pay a bit more attention to my muscles, I wear them to work under my jeans or pants – no one knows!

PRO Compression offers their socks and sleeves in an array of fun colors and patterns – my favorite currently being their Neon Yellow and Pink Swirl marathon socks.  So fun!

I highly suggest you give PRO Compression a try and see how you feel after your workout/training.  Visit the PRO Compression website and us the discount code ‘PINK’ for 40% OFF your entire purchase at their online store.  If you’ve been on the fence about trying these, the discount is a great way to try them out with little risk!

 

Tweet: I #KeepItTight w/ @PROCompression! Use the code PINK for 40% OFF your entire purchase! http://ctt.ec/W2UDL+ @fitapproach #sweatpink

Disclosure: I was provided a free pair of PRO Compression calf sleeves to try out, but all opinions expressed on my blog are my own.

Tune it Out

For no real particular reason… yesterday was just a ‘blah’ day.

The work day was fine, went by fast.

I got in a good workout with my kFit crew that involved lots of squats, push-ups, dips, lunges and a beautiful skyline.

My dinner was lean, green and tasty.

Sweet potatoes, kale, avocado and egg.

But after dinner, I felt like I was in some sort of ‘rut’.  There are all kinds of ways I like to de-stress, like going for a run, walking Bailey, or hanging out by the lake.  Sometimes, however, I just need a night to tune everything out.  My go-to for ‘tune out’ days are movies and music.

Movies

Julie and Julia

I think because I love Paris so much and the fact that I REALLY love food (especially French food), this movie never really gets old for me.

It’s Complicated

Again, with the food.  It’s a comforting thing and I like to fantasize that I could own a giant house and successful bakery and be just like Meryl Streep.

October Sky

Classic for me.  My family is from West Virginia and my great-grandparents grew up in Coal Mining towns so this movie has always comforted me.

Tunes – all oldie’s but goodies 🙂

‘I’m Not Trying to Forget You Anymore’ – Willie Nelson

‘Fields of Gold’ – Sting

‘Days Like This’ – Van Morrison

‘If It Makes You Happy’ – Sheryl Crow

‘Cocaine’ – Eric Clapton

‘Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues’ – Buddy Guy

‘The Nearness of You’ – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

What helps you ‘tune out’?

 

Memorial Day Weekend Pt. 2

After running the Soldier Field 10 Miler on Saturday, Brian and I were busy busy busy. We enjoyed our complementary beers in the finishers area and then immediately headed out for Brunch with the other Lindsay and Brian.  Schubas is this great little bar/restaurant close to our apartment which was perfect because we did not have too much time to spare. By this point in the day I was starving and immediately ordered a prosciutto and egg sandwich accompanied by a couple mimosas 🙂

After brunch, we headed home to shower and get ready for the afternoons events:

1. My sisters graduation party at my parents house
2. My best friends birthday party at the Arlington Race Track

If I have not mentioned it before on this blog, I grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois which is about 45 minutes northwest of Chicago. It’s a pretty large suburb that has really developed into a hot spot for dining since I left after high school. Another major attraction that competes with the local dining scene is the Arlington Race Track.

Once we arrived at my parent house, we said hello to the relatives, dropped off Bailey and then immediately headed to the track to spend some time with my friend for her birthday. The track was PACKED with people celebrating the Memorial Day holiday and everyone was in their best derby gear. It’s funny, my friends and I would go to the track all the time growing up in just regular clothes – shorts and a tank. Now, you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything less than a maxi dress, wedges and a floppy hat. Girls.

(throwback picture because I was too busy socializing to take any pictures!)

The visit was very short lived as we needed to head back home to get the graduation party started! I had a lot of relatives from all over the country fly in to help celebrate and there was a great turnout of our family friends as well.

On the menu for the party:

Italian beef (it’s no Chicago grad party without this staple)
Pizza
Pulled chicken sandwiches
Lots and lots of various sides

One of my favorite items of the evening was this Kale salad mix that my mom picked up from Costco that everyone at the party went nuts over. I love Costco!

The party was a great success and went out until the wee hours of the night.

Sunday morning we took our time to sleep in and enjoy the beautiful weather outside before heading back to Chicago for a BBQ at a friends house.

I decided to make my Zesty Broccoli Salad to contribute to the party and I’m glad I did because it was one of the only ‘green’ items at the BBQ 🙂  Not that anyone really complained about that fact or anything… haha.

(Did I mention that these two above got engaged this weekend?!? SO EXCITING!)

To say we are very fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing family and friends is a huge understatement.  The weekend was full of so many fun activities that by the time Monday came around both Bailey and I needed some good ol’ rest.

Ta ta for now.

Vega Bar Review & My 9 Mile Run

Annnnnndddd just like that it’s Monday again.  This weekend was a perfect mix of some much needed ‘me time’, fun with friends and relaxation with Brian and Bailey.

Friday after work, I went on a little shopping excursion by myself 🙂  I went to Nordstroms and Banana Republic to find my little sister a college graduation present (ahhhh!) and some clothes/shoes for me.  It was a very successful outing, however, I cannot go into detail of what I got due to the fact that my sister is probably reading this blog as we speak!  Later that evening, I met Brian and his family out to dinner to celebrate his cousin’s birthday.  She chose a quaint little Italian place in the heart of Old Town which was perfect because I needed some good carbs before my run on Saturday.

Ms. Lindsay met me at my apartment at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday to start our 9 mile training run.  It was a sunny, blue bird day in the mid-forties, but my oh my was it windy.  We did a simple down and back along the Lakeshore path: 4.5 miles south and 4.5 miles back north.

The run south was amazing.

So many people were out running, walking and biking and the sun felt great on my face.  At one point I turned to Lindsay and thought that I might have to stop quickly to take off my long sleeve because I was getting too hot.  That decision quickly changed once we made our turning point.  We were so busy talking/gossiping on the way down that we didn’t really notice that we had the wind to our backs the entire time.  When we turned to back north, the run turned into a whole different ball game.  We fought a really strong headwind the whole way up which made for some really great training, but my feeling of overheating turned quickly into being too cold.

Despite the way back being super tough, we did manage to stay on pace the whole run which we were very happy with.

After our run, we grabbed Bailey from my place and made our way over to Starbucks for some iced coffee.  Instead of ordering my usual whole grain bagel as my post-run fuel, I brought a long some new Vega Protein Bars for us to try.

Late last week, I received a box of Vega bars to try out from the company that included all of their popular bars and flavors.  What I loved right off the bat was that the bars are all plant-based, Non-GMO, gluten-free and made without artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.  The protein bars we ate contain 15 grams of protein which is a plant-based protein from whole grain brown rice.

I choose the Chocolate Mint and Chocolate Coconut flavors to bring with me on our coffee run, both of which were delicious.  The chocolate Mint has hands down been my favorite of the bunch because it legitimately tastes like a thin mint.

In terms of taste: These bars rock.  They are not chalky like a lot of plant-based protein bars are and all of the flavors I have tried are delicious.  I’m usually not one to crave chocolate after a workout, but the chocolate in the protein bars are not too overwhelming.  I find that there is a perfect balance with the sweetness of the mint flavor and the natural richness of the cacao.

In terms of nutrition: The protein bar has 15g of complete, multisource, plant-based protein, 2.5g BCAAs, 2 g glutamine and 1 g Omega – 3.

Where can I buy these?  Most GNC, Whole Foods and Vitamin Shoppe’s carry Vega Bars.  Otherwise, you can also order them via Amazon.

Besides the Vega Protein Bars, I have also really enjoyed the Vega Snack Bars.  These babies are awesome to have around while you are at work.  Instead of grabbing something unhealthy around 3:00 p.m. when my stomach is rumbling, I have been grabbing this healthy alternative.

My favorite flavors have been Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup (ummm yah, delicious) and Cranberry Almond.

Coworker approved as well!

Disclosure: I was provided a free box of Vega Bars to sample and review, but all opinions expressed on my blog are my own.

What’s your favorite protein bar?

Xmas Came Late & Running Mile 8

Good morning, friends!  I hope you all enjoyed the weekend!

I was very much looking forward to my Saturday all of last week as I finally got to use one of Brian’s Christmas gifts that he gave me – A wine tasting tour in Michigan!

He got a deal on the tour through Living Social, so I was not really sure what to expect going into the day.  I was pleasantly surprised, however, when we got downtown Saturday morning and saw a giant coach bus waiting for our arrival.  I will just say off the bat that everything about the tour, hosted by Cannonball Productions, was so well organized.  I was glad to see that having a bathroom on a bus full of winos was a top priority!

It took us two hours to get to our first winery – Lemon Creek.  We were immediately ushered into their tasting room where we got to sample five of their wines including their signature ‘ice wine’ for $3 extra.  Have you ever heard of ice wine?  I hadn’t either, but apparently it is a very popular staple in Michigan.  The grapes are picked during a chilly night – harvested at less that 17 degrees Fahrenheit.  Each of the grapes that are picked only create ONE drop of ice wine.  Since it is so concentrated, the wine is super sweet and is termed ‘The Nectar of the Gods’.  I’m not a huge fan of sweet wine, so this wasn’t really my thing, but Brian had no problem finishing off my pour 🙂

We were able to spend 45 – 50 minutes at each winery and although that sounded like a long time initially, the day seemed to go by very fast!  Lemon Creek was good, we enjoyed their Chardonnay and Dry Rose, but their pours were the smallest of the bunch…

Next on the tour was Baroda Founders Winery.  We were able to get a tour of the production room before our tasting and lunch began.  The owner himself gave us a tour and showed us how they make their most popular wine – Luce Del Sole ( which means sunshine).  I very much enjoyed the tour and that specific wine that he poured for us himself, but unfortunately I did really care for anything else that I tried there.

The final two wineries on the tour were my absolute favorite: St. Julian and Round Barn.  The woman who was assisting Brian and I with our tasting at St. Julian was phenomenal.  My favorite of our six tastings was their Syrah and I may or may not have taken home three bottles! Did I mention that their pours were over double the size of Lemon Creek?  Win!

My favorite part of Round Barn, however, was not their wine.  It was their signature bourbon and beer.  We also got six tastings there, as well as a souvenir tasting glass and the woman who took care of me could just tell that I was in need of a grand finale tasting.  She had a bourbon cocktail that literally knocked my socks off – psych! I wasn’t wearing any socks 😉  She had mixed their bourbon with one of their apple wines that had been mulled for hours and OMG it was like heaven in a glass – the perfect drink for a fall day.

While I got my bourbon on in the main tasting room, Brian ended his tour at the brewery.  Their beers were equally as delicious and Brian got a growler for us to enjoy on the bus ride back to Chicago.

 

Our Loot!

I would highly recommend this tour to everyone!  For $75 you get round trip transportation, copious amounts of wine, free lunch and a bunch of new friends.  I was also grateful that the tour got us back into the city by 6:00 p.m. as I had plenty of time to recover before my eight mile training run the next day!

I was surprisingly not too dehydrated when I woke up on Saturday, but I made sure to drink plenty of water and eat tons of protein to get my body up to par.

Lindsay and I both knew that there was a possibility we would be running during a Thunderstorm, but Mother Nature was pretty good to us!  Since we knew it was windy along the lakeshore path, we routed ourselves through the Lakeview, Roscoe Village and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.  With Lindsay’s wedding coming up in the fall, we always have so much to talk about that the run goes by quickly.  I swear she is the best running buddy, I don’t even bother bringing headphones anymore.

I felt pretty good after the run, my hamstrings and butt were super tight so I made sure to spend extra time stretching those out.

The rest of the night was spent on the couch eating DELICIOUS Thai food and watching Game of Thrones – EEEKKKKK!

Chicago Food/Drink Hot Spots

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

BAHHH.  I wish I was a millionaire for the sole reason that I want to frequent all of these restaurants every night of the week – without getting fat.  In honor of the spring/summer season approaching, here is my HOT SPOT list for Chicago restaurants/bars.  This may need to be a reoccurring post as my taste changes all the time and there are always new and exciting restaurants coming out each week!

I apologize in advance if this post makes your crave sushi, pizza, and slushies at 8:00 a.m. in the morning.

Chicago Restaurants I’m loving lately…

1. Kai Zan

I was first introduced to this amazing sushi place by one of my coworkers who lives in the area.  After my first bite of their famous ‘angry crab’, I was hooked.  Now, I stalk their Instagram feed daily to see what their newest creations are and when they have open tables available.

Note: Double the points – this place is BYOB.

2. Coalfire Pizza

There is something about coal burning ovens that really speaks to me… oh yah and pizza!  This Neapolitan style pizza place has my hands-down favorite margherita pizza in all of Chicago.  It’s something about their thin crispy crust and unique toppings that really make me go weak in the knees.

3. Pastoral

This little artisan wine, cheese and bread shop is just a couple blocks away from my apartment.  I can’t help but stop in every time I pass by and pick up some good stinky cheese and a fresh loaf of bread.  Heaven.

4. Kinmont

She had me at first oyster.  Have I mentioned that oysters are at the top of my list for favorite foods.  The collaborators behind Nellcote and Old Town Social have done it again – great addition to the Chicago restaurant scene.

 

Chicago Restaurants that really speak to me in the summer

1. Piccolo Sogno

You’ve heard me say this before, but Piccolo Sogno is my FAVORITE restaurant of all time.  Especially in the summer.  When you sit on their patio you completely forget your are in a busy city with your first bite of their parpadelle with spiced wild boar ragu.

It should be noted that I am referring to it’s original location on Halsted and Grand Ave.

2. Fish Bar

Another great restaurant that is just minutes from my apartment.  Their patio is in the perfect location for people watching and for dog mingling 🙂

3. Three Aces

Although I have only been to Three Aces once, it is on my list of go-to places for the summer.  Their patio is amazing with a great view of the Sears Tower ( not the Wills Tower, okay!).

4. Parson’s Chicken & Fish

Negroni Slushie.  Outdoor Patio.  Fried Chicken.  Enough said.

 

Chicago Restaurants I NEED to try (speak up if you want to go with me!)

1. Honey Butter Fried Chicken

2. The Radler

3. Cicchetti

4. Fat Rice

 

I need a cocktail… STAT.

1. Billy Sunday

2. The Berkshire Room

3. Chicago Distilling Company

4. Sportsman’s Club

 

You know who to call/text/email if you need a dinner date 😉  Have a fabulous weekend.