Beautiful food pictures

I really need to learn how to take photos like this! I tried to take pictures when Cinthia was prepping for dinner the other week. But they surely didn't look like these! It would be so awesome if the ladies behind Sunday Suppers taught in Chicago. Wow...their dinners look beautiful. Wouldn't you love to be a guest at one of their suppers?

Ok, I'm out for the week. Jennine's getting married tomorrow! Hallelujah~ it's supposed to be sunny and 81!

A month of eating

With Cinthia in town, I feel like all we've been doing is eating, eating and more eating. Seriously, it's a miracle we still fit into our BM dresses (we tried them on last night). Phew!

Here we are at one of my favorite restaurants near my house–Caffé de Luca. I was too busy enjoying my food to take a picture of it. Hehe.
On our mini-trip to New Buffalo, MI, we dined at our hotel's restaurant–Bentwood Tavern. I discovered my new favorite wine, Round Barn's Riesling. Gosh, it's good! Super light & sweet.
Pierre Anne Creperie: We randomly found this cute, French creperie in New Buffalo. The owners were French and spoke with an accent. I loved it! The service was superb. It seemed like the food came out in mere minutes! And it was absolutely delicious.
Back in Chicago (Lakeview), we had breakfast at Uncommon Ground. Not only did everything sound good on the menu, it all tasted delicious! I wanna go back to try all the other mouth-watering dishes.

We definitely ate a bunch more places. We've been eating out almost everyday! Ugh...so unhealthy, but SO good! More reviews to come....

M.I.A.

It's been crazy, hectic the last few days. There's been a lot of wedding prepping and errand running.  I've had to go to a wake, a funeral, a wedding, a wedding shower, and a big family birthday dinner all this weekend.  Talk about exhausting!  It's going to be quiet for a few days so I should be able to post a photo update soon.  But the madness is going to start up again.  Jennine's wedding is this Saturday, and we, BM's, have lots to do!  It's going to be an outdoor reception, so I hope for a cool, dry, summer evening w/ no mosquitoes.  

Beautifully simple jewelry

I've been doing a lot of shopping these last couple weeks since my friend is in town. We've checked out shops that I've been meaning to peep into. At one of the boutiques near my house, P45, we discovered some really beautiful jewelry by another local artist, Sarah McGuire. Her pieces are all handmade in 18k gold or silver.

The cutest children's book!

As my friends and I were shopping along Southport, we stopped into Candyality, a candy shop. They had the cutest children's books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a local author. I love supporting local artists and businesses. The illustrations (by Jen Corace) are adorable. There is "Little Pea," "Little Hoot," and "Little Oink." "Little Pea" is my favorite. For more info, click here. If I had kids, I'd definitely pick up one of these...actually, ALL of them. Hehe. I was tempted.

More DIY Crafts

Lighted Paper Pennant Garland – Similar to the Flag Banners, this garland is attached to a string of Christmas lights...perfect for a warm, summer evening party. Thanks for the ideas, Cindy!

Tea Light Lanterns – My friends and I were planning on using vellum paper to make similar battery-operated tealight holders. We were going to use 1/2 a sheet of 8.5"x11" vellum to make a cylinder. But we were having trouble figuring out how to weigh down the paper (since it wasn't going to be attached to the tealight.) This tutorial just gave me a good idea. We should just make the cylinder smaller so that they can be glued to the tealight. That way we don't need to worry about anything blowing away! The personalized letter adds a very lovely touch.

DIY party ideas

Jennine's wedding is quickly approaching. The girls and I are in charge of decorating their backyard wedding. Here are some cute, very feasible, DIY projects that can dress up any party.

Hanging Paper Flowers

Cupcake Stand – The super talented, PetiteMandoo, did a spectacularly wonderful job decorating for her baby's 1st birthday party. She made a beautiful cupcake stand out of styrofoam and paper.

Flag Banners

It's that time of year again...

I really hate it when the stores start coming out with cold weather clothes. It's just an indication that the inevitable cold is just around the corner. Do we really need to be reminded in July? Summer clothes are always so much cuter. Don't you think?

Anyway, I'm on the hunt again for a pair of tall, black, flat boots. I didn't have any luck the last couple years. The boots I found were always too tall (covered my knees) or too loose. Why don't they make shorter tall boots for us vertically challenged? Is that really too much to ask?? Cross your fingers. I hope I'll get lucky this year and find the perfect pair.




(Ok, the last pair of boots aren't really what I'm looking for, but they're darn cute.)

New Buffalo, MI

Our friend, Cinthia, is finally here for her month-long visit from Houston. =) We started off her vacation with a mini road trip to MI. Ahh...I love how it was so close. Just a 1.5hr drive! There was a lot of laughing, really good food, and some really DELICIOUS wine. Round Barn Riesling is my new favorite–light and sweet. Just the way I like it. I'm going to be a little MIA now since Cinthia is here. I shouldn't even be updating now. I have to make sure my guest isn't bored!

Mini Girls' Trip

I'm going on a mini girls' trip to Michigan today. Cross your fingers that it won't rain! It's supposed to be really nice tomorrow. Yay! We want to go bike riding and go to the wineries. Who knew there were wineries in the Midwest?? Have a great weekend everybody!

Lovely Jewelry Find

Check out the lovely jewelry I found at this site! I love how they're simple yet different and really affordable. And they're made in Chicago!

Oh so much closet space!

We finally decided to retire my husband's dresser. The bearings had long fallen out and the drawers were at the point of being impossible to open and close. So we replaced the dresser with an Ikea wardrobe (or 4..). Q and I literally spent hours at Ikea last week deciding on a wardrobe combination. We had to choose the frame, doors, handles, and everything inside. We spent the last two evenings building and assembling. I think we're pros at assembling Ikea furniture now. If you have any, we can build it! Ha. Ha. Actually, I don't want to touch another piece of Ikea furniture ever again. It's SO much work!

It was too hard to take any pictures during the process. So these images from their website will have to do. Imagine 4 gargantuan wardrobes standing 8 ft tall and 40" wide. Wowser. I hope they don't make our bedroom seem too small. Now I have more than enough storage. Yay!

I'm so glad the bout of stifling heat and humidity is long gone. I can actually open the windows to enjoy the cool air. Now, what to wear when the temperature is nice and cool? How about these yummy finds I found online? A perfect outfit for a casual dinner outside.

[click on the image to enlarge.]

J.Crew Final Sale

Here's a reason to shop at jcrew.com – an additional 20% on their clearance items! Happy shopping!

I made this Antipasto Pasta Salad for a BBQ once. It was super easy to make and super yummy. I think I'm going to make it again this holiday weekend. I took the advice of some of the reviewers and omitted and substituted a few things. Here's what I used:

• 1 pound seashell pasta
• 1/2 pound Mozarella or Provolone cheese
  
• 1/4 pound Genoa salami, chopped
• 1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 package of grape tomatoes
  
• Newman's Own Balsalmic Vinagrette
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and cool under cold water.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, salami, pepperoni, cheese, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir in the dressing. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. Just before serving, pour a little more dressing over the salad, and mix well.

How lovely...

Here are some professional photos of the paper goods I made for Christine + Will's wedding. You can view the rest of their gorgeous wedding pics here and here by the fabulous Jessica Strickland.