On Changing Seasons

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Summer, for us, has been a season of stay.

Stay in Michigan. Stay by the beach. Stay in our new state, our new house, our new everything. It has been a season of exploring this amazing hidden gem that is West-and-Northern Michigan, and the unreal, crispy clear water and white sand beaches it holds.

It. has. been. insane. <--in a goooooood way. I have become accustomed to gorgeous vistas, hot dune climbs, and the wavering bumps of riding in a boat. I've had a permanently packed beach bag for three months, and yeah, I've actually used it, sometimes many times in a week.

Can you blame me?

But, that season of sunny relaxation is waning, giving way to something also great but entirely different. Next up is fall (duh) and lades and gentleman of the jury, it is already here.



Fall is shaping up to be a season of go. Go to weddings. Jetset to Florida, Atlanta, Boston, and so on. Go tour wineries up north, go to the Florida keys, go to Chicago. Go, go, go.



And I'm okay with it. The leisurely summer has been a blast, but I am a fast paced girl, and I am more than ready to see what kind of crazy productivity this "go" pace brings with it.

Have some suggestions on fall "go" activities for me? Leave them in the comments below :)

Cheers to Fall!

WHAT'S ON YOUR DOCKET THIS SEASON?

• What are your favorite fall activities?
• Any locations you like to visit in the fall?
• What fall foods are you most exited to make?

P.S. Like those pics? Follow me on instagram!

"Kitchen Sink" Long Island Iced Tea

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This may resemble a Long Island Iced Tea in look and taste, but the ingredient list is much more forgiving. You see, when I received some Iced Tea flavors in the mail from Tradewinds, I was determined to whip up something that was delicious and familiar. But, I was tired of finding cocktail recipes that required specific ingredients that I never have on hand.

What ever happened to kitchen sink drinks? Throw in everything but the kitchen sink, they say. A little of this, a little of that, times that by two or three, and voila. You've got yourself a cocktail.

"Kitchen Sink" Long Island Iced Tea

Note: 

• While there is no specific ingredient list you must use for this cocktail, there are a few guidelines to follow so that your flavors turn out well balanced and... well... appetizing.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Iced Tea. I used Tradewinds Iced Tea, and I combined sweet and unsweet, at a ratio of about 1:3 (meaning a bit more unsweet than sweet, because I was trying not to load this baby with sugar). Feel free to adjust as you see fit!
• 1 oz Citrus. I used lemon juice, but feel free to use anything you have on hand. Fresh lemon, lime, or orange? Squeeze that baby! Have some "Real Lemon" on hand? I'm not judging. That works!
• 1 - 1.5 oz White Liquor. I used Bacardi white rum because, you guessed it, I had it on hand. Also great would be Vodka or Blanco Tequila!
• 1 - 1.5 oz Brown Liquor. I used Fireball Whiskey, which I cannot recommend enough due to its ability to add a cinnamon taste to the tea. That said, other great contenders include unflavored Whiskey, Dark Rum, and Bourbon.
• .75 oz (1/2 shot) Sweet Liqueur. Any liqueur that has been sweetened with a fruity flavor will work here! I used Triple Sec, but Chambord would be delicious, too!
• Sweetener, to taste (Optional). I added 4 drops of NuNaturals Liquid Stevia, but you could also either opt out of this or add a half ounce of simple syrup or a half packet of sugar.
  
   

Directions:

1. Set a highball glass aside. Use a second glass and fill with ice, then add ingredients above.
   
   
   
2. Pour into your highball glass and serve plain or with a straw!
   
    

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you have any favorite "kitchen sink" foods and drinks? I love kitchen sink salads! They are such a great way to use up any produce you are worried you won't be able to finish. Throw it in there!
• Do you have a favorite drink of summer? I used to love Chardonnay as a summer beverage, but last summer I was totally into Effen Cucumber and anything cucumber/lime/mint flavored was my summer jam! Check out this Effen Cucumber Mint Martini if you're jonesin' for one right now!

Tulip Time Weekend

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First things first. The beauty of snapchat is that I can do things like this and not be completely hated by everyone I know:

I made my way to the deck on Thursday and spent some time working out there with the dog. It has turned into a habit. Basically, any time it looks reasonable out there, I drag my computer out and throw on my visor (lame looking but saves my eyes from wrinkles when I work in the sun). And it. Is. Glorious.

This past week has been Tulip Time in my husband's hometown of Holland, Michigan. It's a week long celebration of all things Dutch, and the schedule is packed full with dancing, crafts, and history.

Oh, and lots of parades, rides, and carnival food.

On Saturday, I begged my husband to take me to the parade. I guess the regulars around here are over it, but I was not going to miss going to Tulip Time the one year I am actually living here. So, sir.

The parade was awesome, and we decided to walk against the grain so we could see it all in less time (typical). There were tons of marching bands, which my husband is fascinated by and even knows a lot of the music to. There were also a lot of people in Dutch costumes (see the people in the parade above).

After about an hour of parade watching, we were ready for a cocktail (this parade is in the afternoon, not morning). We went into a restaurant off of the main strip that has delicious cocktails. Like, they have a whole menu just for martinis. I had this peach drink which consisted of peach vodka, whipped cream vodka, and mango puree. It was naturally sweet and delicious!

After cocktail time, we stopped in a nearby store because my husband suddenly wanted to buy a skateboard. We spent almost an hour in that shop, and then headed outside to the carnival food. My husband and his brother both bought "Elephant Ears," which are apparently kind of like a huge, fried pastry the size of a personal pizza. It was covered in sugar and cinnamon.

My thoughts? It was tasty enough for one bite, but I wasn't in love with it. There must be a major nostalgia component to everyone who loves them. 

That night, after walking around all afternoon, we hung out back at the house... and we were even more active. Remember how I mentioned my husband wanted a skateboard? Yeah, well I tried it, and let's just say I'm not gonna quit my day job.

On Sunday, we started the day with church. Afterward, it was still beautiful outside, so my husband and I sat out on the deck for a bit with the dog. 

Once we'd had enough sun and heat, we went on a walk in the nearby forest preserve and got some steps in. 

While we were on our walk, we came up with a plan for the night. We drove up Lake Shore Drive to Grand Haven and went to a seafood restaurant called Grand. It is built inside of an old theater, and they did a great job renovating it so that it still has the same old school charm.

I had a delicious martini that was extremely strong (whoops) and my husband drank beer. He got fish and chips, while I got a huge chopped salad.

Once we got home, I was ready to hit the hay. A combination of an active weekend, in the sun, and a boozy cocktail or two was enough to put me into sleep mode.

Next weekend, we will be packing to get ready to move into a new house. So, cheers to a fun weekend in the sun with a dark weekend in boxes on the horizon!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Are you taking advantage of the nice spring weather?
• What's your favorite go-to cocktail?

Easy Paleo Grilled Carrots

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First off, can I get an amen for spring? I feel like I have been holed up inside for months - oh wait, that's because I have. Now that spring has... well, sprung... I can't get enough of it. Running. Walking. Grilling. Check, check, check.

When it comes to grilling, we are going crazy with the filets over here. My husband is a grillmaster, so we are in pretty good hands with the meat. But then come the sides. We're doing paleo over here, so that means fruit or veggies. When it comes to veggies, I don't feel like standing at the stove while it's gorgeous outside, just because I'm trying to throw together some veggies to serve with said filet. Know what I'm sayin'?

So we just figured... hey... two birds, one grill. Maybe that was a bad analogy... Okay, on to the food!

Easy Grilled Carrots

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch carrots, washed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Start your grill!
2. Cut some of the greens off of the carrots. I like to leave about half an inch, just because I think they look really cute and authentic on the plate with a smidge of green left, but you can feel free to chop it all off if you don't dig that idea.
3. Place carrots on a large plate and lightly drizzle olive oil, then turn them around with your fingers until they are evenly coated. 
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, turn around again, and sprinkle again.
5. Grill on low heat for 20 minutes, turning two to three times in between. Remove when soft. 

Notes: 

• Leave them on a little longer if you like them burnt! I do :)

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What are your favorite spring time recipes?

What do you make most on the grill?

Herbed Mint Grapefruit Cocktail

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I recently posted an update on what the heck I do all day as a blogger, writer, and freelance marketing consultant (try fitting that on a business card). At the end of my day, despite having just gone out with my husband to buy a case of beer, I decided to treat myself to a hand crafted cocktail.

I tend to make recipes up on the fly in life, but especially in cocktails. I never have the exact ingredients for a recipe I've found online, and I much prefer peeking in the fridge/pantry to see what I've got to work with. It's a creative challenge! 

It must have looked good, because a few of you asked me for the recipe. Here it is:

Herbed Mint Grapefruit Cocktail

Prep Time: <5 Minutes
Calories: 80
Ingredients:

• 1/4 grapefruit, cut into pieces (size does not matter, as you will be muddling them)
• 3-4 mint leaves, ripped or cut in halves or quarters
• 1 tsp chopped basil (I actually used dried basil this time, but of course fresh is best!)
• 1 tsp stevia, sugar, sugar substitute (or 3 drops Nunaturals Liquid Stevia)
• 1.5 oz gin (or vodka)
• 3 oz soda water

Directions:

1. Muddle grapefruit, mint, and sweetener in the bottom of a glass.
2. Add gin and soda water. Stir.
3. Serve!

What about you?

What is your favorite cocktail recipe?

Do you ever create your own cocktail recipes?

Memorial Day Weekend

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After a couple of eventful and exhausting weekends, Justin and I were pretty thrilled to have a long weekend to relax at home. I worked from home on Friday, and was done working by 3, so I decided to take the pup on a run over to Wicker Park.

I shamelessly stopped at Six Corners to take a "selfie" with my dog in front of strangers.

There's something really energizing about running with my dog. That huge happy grin she's got in the picture above? It is pretty much glued to her face any time she is taken on a walk or run. For some reason, it makes me really happy to see her so happy. Plus, she's a fast one, so it makes me push myself a bit harder.

"Mom! Can't I get in?!"

Once we got to the fountain in Wicker Park, she wanted to drink and get in. Let's just say I only let her do one of those things.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, cut your damn hair.

When we arrived back home from our run, Justin was already home from work, so I hopped in the shower and got ready as fast as I could. This included half-blow drying my hair.

We went back to Grange Hall, because they are known for their huge burger selection and my fiance loves burgers, so I wanted to take him there. It's about a 15 minute walk, so we headed over and got seats at the "bar." I ordered the summer salad and had a side order of baked navy beans. Both were delicious.

You're tasty and I love you.

My fiance got a really good burger on rye (he informed me that this is actually called a "Patty Melt?" I had no idea). The burger, I hear, was very good... but the comical part of it is that it doesn't come with fries. $13 for a burger with no fries. So, we paid the extra charge and bought a side of fries and guess how big it was? Get ready...

Why are you so small?

Yeah. I was a good wife-to-be and managed to not steal his fries as I usually do. BUT, this move on my part meant that we were still a smidge hungry. We decided to turn it into an excuse for a long walk, so we headed from West Loop over to Michigan Avenue, where we walked around for a while before popping into the Forever Yogurt on Chicago Ave.

Where have you been all my life?

They had a new flavor - salted caramel popcorn - and it is not a joke. I seriously cannot stop thinking about it. Hint hint, Justin. #TakeMeBack

Let the Pain Begin

The next morning, we slowly ramped up to the day, and then I went over to take a class at The Mercury Method in Wicker Park. Since it was a pilates class, I decided to just run over there and get some cardio in. As it turned out, I got an awesome 15-20 minute run in going there... but then on the way back, I was so freaking tired (the class is almost 100 degrees, so it's draining) that I just walked crawled home.

I speed showered and then got ready for book club, which was just around the corner at Lindsay's house.

As usual, the spread of food was delicious. Generally, there is some very healthy stuff, and some naughty (but still fairly natural) stuff. This time, as it turned out, everyone kept it pretty light and low calorie. Which meant it worked out perfectly that I brought CHOCOLATE CHILI TRUFFLES! Recipe coming this week. They are #yumstown.

One thing that beats good food? Good company.

After book club deteriorated into a few of us playing Fruit Ninja on Kinect (I'll spare you the action shots, but I have them for future reference blackmail), I went home to retrieve my fiance, and we walked to dinner.

You know how sometimes, it's just impossible to find a place to eat? That's what happened. I suggested Lush, Jaipur, Mana, Habana Libre, and Shaman, before my fiance finally agreed to FatPour... which, as it turned out, had an hour long wait once we got there. Unwilling to wait for that long, we called Old Oak Tap and they said they could get us in immediately. Good decision, for sure.

I went with Shrimp 'n Grits for my meal and it was absolutely delicious. I cannot recommend it enough. The shrimp was perfectly tender and had its tail removed (I hate doing this myself because, quite frankly, I just find it to be too slimy and gross and I don't like touching my food).

I also went with our server's suggestion and had the Champfleur to drink. It's champagne with elderflower liqueur. It was like a slightly sweeter and more floral champagne. #chwinning.

Watching the chefs prepare your meal = My Jam

On Sunday morning, we headed over to Jam in Logan Square to meet my fiance's cousin for brunch. There are so many brunch spots in Logan Square that we want to try, so it was hard to choose just one, but we made it happen.

I had the server's suggestion (apparently this is a habit of mine) and ordered smoked salmon with poached eggs and potato latkes. The eggs were poached perfectly and the salmon was wonderfully smoked.

There was a farmer's market right outside the restaurant, so we walked around for a bit after brunch. I almost bought asparagus and heirloom tomatoes, but we only had a few dollar bills and didn't want to deal with credit card machines at a farmer's market, so we ended up coming home with one thing: dill cheese curds. Priorities...

Once home, I changed and went to the gym for a Ballet Burn class. It was awful and boring and made me really crabby, so, once I got home, I decided to go on a run  (and make my puppy happy).

Best friends should run together, that's how it ought to be

Apparently, she now associates my running shoes with happiness, so as soon as I picked my shoes up, she got excited and started grinning and walking around in circles. So happy.

After my run, I realized that my parents were going to be downtown very shortly, so I hopped in the shower while Justin did a CostCo run. Send that man to CostCo and what does he come back with? Flowers. I am so blessed.

Once my parents arrived, we walked over to Randolph Street Market. It's like the pop-up-shop Disneyworld of vintage and DIY furniture and decor.

How many Carlys does it take to send a text?

I didn't make any big purchases, but there are a few items I'm interested in. They are there every month, so I figure there's no rush. My mother did buy some fresh potted herbs and a topiary, though.

After dropping my mom's purchases off at the apartment, we hopped in a cab and headed over to Southport. We put our name in at Tango Sur and then had a drink at Deleece.  

The drinks were wonderful, and dinner was filling. For the most part, everything was delicious, apart from some issues my dad had with his steak (first it was red and screaming on the inside, then they tried again and brought him a super fatty piece).

By the time we left, we were tired (red wine = zzzzzz) and ready for bed. I slept a solid eight hours before waking up to head to the gym for a Spin class and Bodypump class. After eating a Quest bar at an alarming speed, I made us a nice, healthy spread to chomp on as we marathon'ed a few of the new Arrested Development episodes.

Sabra Hummus, Wasa Crackers, Veggie Straws,
and tons of strawberries.

After more cooking (meals for the week) and TV watching, we finally watched the Blackhawks vs Red Wings game. I was really not into it, so I got ready for bed early. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Happy pup. Sleepy pup. How are you so flexible?

What did YOU do over Memorial Day weekend?

Blueberry & Chambord Patriotic Cocktail

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This cocktail is... complicated. On the front end, a burst of delicious blueberries and black raspberry liqueur speaks of freshness. A moment later, a rich, vanilla flavor creeps in, the remnants of well-infused Chambord.

Summer is, by far, my favorite time of year. I know I'm not alone in this, but I feel it very strongly. I pretty much whine and moan all winter, complaining about how much I despise Chicago winters. I even went down South to Memphis, Tennessee for 4 years of college, and thankfully was able to escape the cold... temporarily. I recall, as a kid, my mom trying to remind us to savor our summer days. And I also remember hearing her once say that, once you reach the 4th of July, summer suddenly speeds up and ends soon.

We only get about 10 weeks of wonderful weather each year in Chicago. And the whole city buzzes and hums and glows with delight.

So this year, on the 4th of July, I plan to take that moment to savor the summer. And to be gosh darn patriotic. Because the safety and comfort of wonderful weather deserves some red, white, and blue. And because, let's face it, what is better than a cocktail that fits the occasion? St. Patty's Bombs on St. Patty's Day. Whiskey Apple Cider in a mug while you sit in front of a fire next fall. And this delicious patriotic cocktail on the 4th of July.

Notice the Chambord? It's a french liqueur made of raspberries, blackberries, various herbs and spices and some vanilla added in. Why's it in this cocktail? Hello, people. The French helped us gain our independence, did they not? ;-) Gotta pay a little... homage. 

Blueberry & Chambord Patriotic Cocktail

Servings: 1 per recipe

Ingredients:

• Ice Cubes
• 1.5 ounces Vodka
• 1 ounce Chambord (if you don't have Chambord, a cranberry juice would only slightly change the flavor)
• 1 handfull Blueberries
• ~4 ounces Club Soda

Directions:

1. Fill a highball glass or tall mason jar with ice cubes. Add Vodka and Chambord.
2. Add half of the blueberries, then top off with club soda.
3. Sprinkle remaining blueberries on top and serve!