Valentine's Day Weekend

Tweet this!
We celebrated Valentine's Day weekend in Chicago, and spent some time visiting with my parents as well. My husband and I headed up to my parents' on Thursday night.

On Friday morning, I worked most of the morning and then headed to the gym... downstairs. I had a 6 mile run planned, and busted it out while watching - you guessed it - Netflix. Once 6 miles were up, I spent a while walking and then did some abs.

I followed this until mile 6, when I started 'freestylin' aka jogging at 6mph

There is clearly something wrong with my Polar Heart Rate Monitor, because there is no way this is accurate. It was a good workout, but my heart rate definitely did not reach 204 (I would have probably felt on the verge of death if it had). What's up with that? Do I need to replace my battery?

Did I die and come back to life?

Once my workout was done and dusted, I took a shower and started getting ready for Valentine's Day errands. I realized that I had packed nothing red or pink to wear, and I am a festive girl so this was unacceptable. I took the liberty of raiding my sister's closet and came up with this. The benefits of having a same-sex sibling who is a similar size.

I'll take it!

After I was sufficiently dressed in Valentine's worthy garb, I headed out to pick up some Valentine's Day necessities for the meal I was preparing. My dad recently had surgery and my mom has been busy taking care of him, so I wanted to make a nice meal not only for my husband but also for my parents. I headed to Mariano's Grocery to pick up filets, brussels sprouts, sage, dried apricot, and arugula.

En route, I savored the green juice I had brought from Holland the day before.

My dad had requested a chocolate cake, so my next stop was Portillo's to pick one up. They make such a good chocolate cake, and I am more of a cook than a baker anyway, so it was definitely worth it to leave this one up to the pros (also: less mess to clean up). 

I also picked up lunch for my dad, husband, and I. I went with a chicken breast, sans sandwich, and the staff at Portillo's kept yelling out that I wanted mine "nudie." It was funny. 

Once I got home, I ate my nudie, did a little more work, and then poured myself a glass of wine around 4 as I prepped for dinner. 

My husband knows how to give gifts. While I gave him a Gymboss workout timer, he gave me a David Yurman. Clearly I got the better end of the deal, honey.

I made an appetizer of dried apricots with melted aged cheddar cheese and sage, which was delicious and hard to stop eating. I also prepared roasted brussels sprouts with parmesan and maple syrup, a side salad of arugula and whatever veggies/nuts I could find in my mom's fridge/pantry. My husband roasted up the filets around 6:30 and we went to town.

Dinner fixings, and yes, that would be my plate with two wine glasses. 

After dinner, we were all pretty full and tired, so we laid low. My husband and I started watching the new season of House of Cards and we went to bed early.

The next morning, we met my friend Sara and her husband at Meli Cafe. It is both of our favorite lunch spot in the city, so there was not even a discussion about where we would meet for brunch. It was just Meli's, assumed.

Double fisting like a champ

After brunch, my husband and I headed over to East Bank Club for a workout. My friend is a member and gave us a guest pass for the day, so we made sure to get in a killer workout and took our time.

We left sore and happy, so clearly it was a success. Afterward, we headed to West Loop. I had my final laser hair appointment at Ellehome Med Spa, and it was a painful but necessary fifteen minutes.

Post-pain, we headed back to my parents' house. I had been steeping lemon rind and vodka at my parents' for a while, so I finally strained it and combined with homemade sugar syrup to make some homemade limoncello (I used this recipe). 

God bless my parents for putting up with all of my weird experiments...

My aunt and uncle stopped by, and we hung out with them for a while before having Bill's Pub pizza for dinner and ordering a movie.

Sunday consisted of a lame attempt at a workout (I was cranky, it happens randomly sometimes), an awesome church service, and a visit from our best man. It is always nice to see people you love smiling!

On the way back from church, we had stopped at Sunset grocery to pick up some dinner fixings. I was surprised to see that they now offer a beer counter in the grocery! My kind of shopping, but probably not at noon on a Sunday.

We put together a delicious meal and then spent a few hours helping my parents re-do their internet and wireless set up. Or, I should say, my husband did that... and I sat on Realtor.com and played house.

You win some, you win some.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• How was your Valentine's Day? 
• Do you have any Valentine's Day traditions? I am not much of a traditionalist, and I end up changing  things up all the time, but I love learning about other people's traditions so I can try them out!

P.S. WANT TO WIN A MONTH'S WORTH OF POP CHIPS!? My giveaway is open until this Friday, so be sure to stop by and check it out!

Christmas Chronicles

Tweet this!
Christmas has come and gone without much activity in the blog world, and I'm actually pretty happy about it. I made a decision to leave my DLSR at home, but I did bring along my trusty Nikon Point-and-Shoot to chronicle my Christmastime adventures.

I am now up in Northern Michigan at my in-laws' ski condo, so stay tuned for some more holiday fun. For now, here is my Christmas!

We spent a few days around Christmas up at my parents' house, North of Chicago. We had all of the typical Christmas Eve ingredients: a roaring fire, lots of glitter, a brightly lit tree, and far too many presents underneath it. Hey, I'm not complaining.

We went to 7:00 Church with my family, and had to snap a picture when we got back. Please notice the ridiculous, contortionist pose my dog is in. She's scratching her ear, but it looks like she is trying to model.

We all pitched in to prepare a Christmas Eve meal. As my sister and I prepped a salad and set the table, apparently a few other family members broke into the Patron...

I started the meal with a pomegranate champagne toast. It was somewhat formal and a bit religious, but seemed fitting for Christmastime. As soon as we toasted and I sat down, my brother stood up to perform his toast... a rendition of the locker room speech from the movie Miracle. It was the yin to my yang.

After dinner, we sat around in the living room for a few hours to open gifts from my parents and gifts that we gave each other. The dogs enjoyed it.

We tried to get to bed early, but it ended up being 1 or 2 am, so we all slept in.

The next morning, we hung out in our Christmas jammies and drank some coffee. My mom made some delicious french toast using european bread, and we paired it with mimosas before getting to the presents from "Santa."

And there you have it! Christmas Chronicles. Hope yours were festive, too!

Last Day at Villas Caletas

Tweet this!

Packing for Costa Rica

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 1

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 2

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 3

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 4 - Surfing

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 5 - Monkeys!

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 6 - Last Day

Traveling Home from Costa Rica

On our last full day in Costa Rica, we made sure to revel in the beauty that is breakfast. Another cup of coffee? Sure. More cheese? Of course. More cream? Yes please. Just make it last longer...

We spent the earlier part of the day lounging by our personal infinity pool. We wanted to soak up the sun and the view.

In the afternoon, we headed back down to the ocean side. 

It didn't take long for my husband to notice a rock growth out in the water, which we would be able to get to only for a very short period of time while the tide was out. We tried to time it right

As we got out there, we realized our window of opportunity was closing fast. We had to scramble back, but we got a great shot of the beach from afar, so it was well worth it.

We decided to hang out on the other side of the beach, where the rainforest was a little bit more accessable. I made friends with a bird. It was very loud, so... I guess we had that in common.

My husband found me a heart-shaped rock. He was excited to give it to me. God bless this awesome and sweet man!

We had some chips, guac, and salsa before leaving the beach. And, of course, some boozy smoothies. 

We headed back to the villa on the last shuttle of the day and quickly got ready. I tried to actually curl my hair - despite doing some serious moussing the other day, this was the first time my curling iron had touched my hair on the trip. It was probably not worth the time - thanks, humidity!

My husband and I headed up to the botique and shop area of the resort. We had been eyeing some jewelry the entire trip, and my husband surprised me when he declared that he wanted to buy me not one, but a few pieces of jewelry.

He gave me two pairs of earrings and this gorgeous ring. It's a Costa Rican pearl and will forever be known as "The Honeymoon Ring." Why not? #blingbatterbatter

We had a cocktail at the main restaurant as we watched the sun set. Then, we went up to the nicer restaurant, which was only open on Saturday and Sunday.

We ordered what was probably the most expensive bottle of wine I've had in my life - but it was from the best winery in Costa Rica, so it seemed like a must. It was delicious.

We both started with a spinach and tomato salad, complete with some parm and balsamic glaze. 

Then, we both had some beef tenderloin. Mine was served with a side of coffee butter, which was absolutely delicious and reminded me a bit of red wine, chocolate and whiskey steak.

Whiskey Marinated Steak with Chocolate Red Wine Reduction Sauce

Tweet this!

Since I posted a recap of my weekend, I've had numerous readers and friends ask me for this recipe. For those of you who are wondering, yes, it really was that good.

Basically, one day, I was feeling particularly cranky at work. I'm generally a very positive person, but occasionally things get too complicated. On this particular day, I was feeling very irritated, and then a thought entered my mind: This would all be better if I could have whiskey marinated steak with chocolate wine sauce.

All it took was one moment, that seed of a totally random recipe to be planted in my head, and from that point forward, I was hooked on the idea of this dish. My coworkers have heard me repeatedly bringing it up, asking them if they thought it would work or professing my excitement over this imaginary dish.

Finally, when my fiance and I made plans to visit my parents over the weekend, it seemed like the perfect experiment. My parents are (almost) always willing to try my edible concoctions, and my fiance is a WONDERFUL griller (it's not as easy as it looks - I'm pretty sure I'd suck at it).

Thus, with a random thought during the workday, this recipe was conceived... and, over a weekend in the Northern Chicago Suburbs, it was born. Happy Birthday, Recipe!

This recipe would be perfect for a homemade Valentines Day dinner, or a romantic gourmet meal.

Whiskey Marinated Steak with Chocolate Wine Reduction Sauce

Serving Size: This recipe is for 4-6 filets. If you're making it for two, cut it in half.

Marinade Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Whiskey
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
• 1 Dash Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 Shakes, Minced White Onion Flakes (or Onion Powder)

Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Red Wine
• 2 Tablespoons Sifted Cacao Powder (or Cocoa powder)
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

Other Ingredients:

• 4-6 filets (or cut recipe in half for 2-3) 

Directions:

1. Mix marinade ingredients and whisk well. Place steak with marinade in a plastic bag. Poke filets/steaks with fork, if desired. Let sit for at least two hours, but overnight is best.
2. Heat your grill! We like to cook our steaks "Rare Plus," so we start the heat out as high as possible so that we sear the outside quickly, without cooking the meat too much.
3. Before cooking the meat, begin making the chocolate and wine reduction sauce. Reduce wine (boil for a while, then slowly reduce to a simmer) until it is reduced in volume and slightly thicker. Then, add gradually add Cacao Powder and Brown Sugar, stirring well to break up any chunks.
4. Grill your steaks. Ours took only a few minutes on each side.
5. Place steaks on individual plates and drizzle with chocolate wine reduction sauce.
6. Enjoy!

The Coalfire Compromise of 2013 & Random Recipe Success

Tweet this!
You know how some weekends go by in an absolute flash? Welp, it's suddenly Monday again, and I feel like I closed my eyes and the world flipped from Friday to Monday. I might seriously think the world was playing a trick on me... if it weren't for my memories from the weekend.

THE COALFIRE COMPROMISE OF 2013:

Friday night, I felt full and wanted a salad for dinner. But, guess what? My fiance had his heart set on Coalfire, a local coal fired pizza joint that is quite literally on our block. We compromised and went to Coalfire. We both ordered a pizza. Naturally, he finished his entire pizza, while I had only a few pieces of mine and saved the rest for us to munch on as snacks throughout the weekend. We also enjoyed some beers and had a nice little date.



Now, when I said that we "compromised" and went to Coalfire, you thought I lost out on that deal, didn't you? Wrong. My end of the deal was that we went to the Container Store afterward. I know, what a hot date for a Friday night. Don't be jealous ;-)

 

My fiance found ways to entertain himself at the store. Some of you have inquired about how tall he is... well, here's the perfect picture. He is six foot seven. Tall peeps for the win!



Why did we go to the Container Store?
I'd been begging to invest in a bunch of boxes and organize the apartment for months on end, but it wasn't until reading Sierra's blog post on Friday that I finally pushed for it (and made what will forever be referred to as the "Coalfire Compromise").

I'll be posting some of the before-and-afters this week (as well as what my strategy was for easy organization that will actually hold up with time). I re-did my pantry, an in-wall shelving unit, and three closets.

For now, here's a sneak peak of the pantry...



Saturday morning, I got up early and made us breakfast. We'd stocked up on some Chorizo at World Market (which is located next to the Container Store, and thus we had to stop there), so I threw together a Chorizo, onion, and cheese omelet for my fiance, then some oatmeal with plain Greek Yogurt and almonds for myself.



Post-meal, we headed to the gym for a workout sess. We did weights together (kind of) for about 45 minutes, focusing first on upper body and then on lower body (which, according to Body By Science, is the order in which to do weights so that you optimize results and avoid a headache).

Post-weights, we did some cardio. I did a 35 minute run. The first half was more of a steady state run, while the second half was sprint intervals. Thanks to Netflix and Alias for the entertainment on thus run - though I'm somewhat perplexed as to how my iPad got so insanely dirty. Gross.



After the workout, we stopped at the bank to set up our joint accounts. It was relatively painless but felt like something to celebrate!



RANDOM RECIPE SUCCESS:
 
After the bank on Saturday, we headed up North to my parents' place. On the way, we met my mom at CostCo, and my fiance became utterly obsessed with the place. For the rest of the day, the joke was that we would catch him playing on his phone, and he would be on the CostCo website.



At my parents' place, my fiance and I cooked a delicious meal. For months, I've been talking about this made-up recipe that kept lingering in my head: whiskey-marinated steak with a chocolate and wine reduction sauce. I had never seen it before, but just had a hunch that it would be to die for. And it was. Don't worry, the recipe will be coming this week.





The entire back of their house is floor to ceiling windows, so it is occasionally pretty cold in the kitchen. I found my brother's thrifted "Season's Greetings from Minnesota" sweatshirt (dude, why do you own this?) and put it on as I cooked.




For dessert, I made a Creme Brulee recipe that was a twist on this protein Cheesecake recipe. I'm estimating that they are about 100 calories each. Again, recipe coming soon. Don't you worry :)



Sunday consisted of lots of coffee, church, and an afternoon of more organizing and cleaning. Since my beloved Revenge wasn't on, we rented The Campaign with Will Ferrel and Zach Gala... (cannot for the live of me spell that man's name, but I know how to say it now!).

Have you ever randomly imagined a recipe in your head? This happens to me occasionally, and included both of the recipes I made this weekend. There's something about making something you created from scratch that is just so satisfying!

Seen any funny movies lately? The Campaign was surprisingly funny. Also surprisingly raunchy... and it is always fun to see Will Ferrell as the bad guy.