Toast in Lincoln Park - Chicago

On Sunday morning we got up and went to brunch in Lincoln Park.  We were excited to some of the neighborhoods surrounding down town Chicago.  Joseph Yelped the restaurant that we ended up going to Toast.  We got on the train, and walked to this quaint restaurant which had a VERY long wait. People in Chicago truly enjoy a good brunch on Sunday mornings.  One of the main reasons the wait was so long was there were not very many tables.  I was totally fine with the wait because it gave us time to go explore the neighborhood! I love walking around unfamiliar cities, especially when you are about to eat a large meal!

today...

Today was one of those days you wish you could get back in bed and start the whole day over! Susanne and went to Peachtree City, GA to take our certification test for teaching.  Somehow in the middle of June I wind up with a cold -- and this did not mix well with the standardized test.  Susanne and I waited in the Sandy Creek High School cafeteria like cattle waiting for the slaughter... for a good 3o minutes, until they released the heard of anxious test takers to their assigned test taking rooms.  Susanne and I inch down the hallway to face or destiny, and out no where pop up my friend Alex from class... it felt somewhat of a comfort to see my school friends -- we were in this together! Well, we finally sit down in our assigned seats, and have a long list of instructions read to us before we could begin the test.

FINALLY the moment arrived where we are allowed to begin the GACE.  I had been studying for this test for weeks, I was nervous... and my stomach was making sure I knew that I was really nervous... I was trying to ignore the nervous jabs of pain as i worked my way through the problems of the GACE.

4 hours go by and one by one people begin to hand in their tests.  I am always one of the last people to be finished, so what would be different on this day.  Susanne and I meet back up in the hallway after passing in our test and give a huge sigh of relief... but are we relieved? it was not a walk in the park... it was mentally exhausting! We drove home contemplating what a whirl wind we were just put through... After getting off the exit, Susanne decided she was going to go and sit on her couch all night and think about nothing. I decided to go home and do the same. Before the test I had high aspirations of celebrating the burden being lifted from my shoulders, but all i wanted to do was sit on the couch.  My nose being so stuffy does not make for a good celebration after all!

James went to Verde and got the take out for us... it is just so darn convenient .  I got some great soup to help clear my nose, which worked for a few minutes... but solve my stuffy nose problem!
Does anyone have any advice?

I have confidence that tomorrow is going to be a better day -- no test anxiety, no test, no drive to south atlanta.

James and Pizza

Tonight James and I had a miscommunication via text.... which turned out to be a great thing! He offered to make us gourmet pizza on the grill... I instantly shot down the idea because I was trying to be healthy... He interpreted my text as "No, I do not want to eat healthy..." so - he jets off to publix to gather supplies for his first attempt at pizza on the grill.  I meanwhile think we are having something very healthy, without a pizza involved. I get a text about an hour later asking where our rolling pin is... I worry for a moment that he might have misunderstood my text about having pizza for dinner.  I am enjoying a spontaneous cocktail with a friend... and casually shrug off this text - surly he is just wondering where the rolling pin is post move right?

Well - I get in the car to drive home, and I call James to report that I am on the way home. He proudly says "dinner will be ready in 25 minutes, and you know what we are having"... I said "no... I have no idea what we are having?~! " Well, it turned out to be pizza on the grill... and let me tell you  --- it was delish!
 The pizza was packed with vegetables that he has grilled before putting them on the pizza, so they were nice and soft! I hate when veggies get all dried out on pizzas!  When I walked in the door I could tell James felt really bad for making something I was not excited about... BUT - it turned out great... miscommunication happen... we are all human - and who can really interpret my texts all the time anyways? Anyone still reading knows, sometimes I saw things in a way that totally make sense to me, but not to anyone else!
I am glad we ate pizza tonight, and so glad that James took the time to make something he wanted to make. I am thankful for my husband who is willing to deal with my choppy communication patterns... As we all know if we stop trying to understand how the other communicate we are doomed!

Skillet Barbecue Shrimp

cooking light recipe

The other night James and I were trying to figure out what we could make without going to the store.  I feel like we always end up needing 2 ingredients at least in some recipe that I am trying to make that night. I guess you could say I have not perfected planning our meals for the week ahead... That would be too easy! Anyways, James' parents had given us some really good shrimp from Jacksonville last time we were there. I wanted to make them... and I flipped through my favorite cooking light cook book --- and I found this great... and VERY easy recipe for Barbecue Shrimp.  WE HAD ALL THE Ingredients too!!!!

this can be made in under 15 minutes!!

We peeled our shrimp prior to cooking... but how good do they look in the picture?

we served the shrimp with Couscous, and Brussel sprouts! 

this was a great - quick meal... I was surprised at how good it was... we will be making this again! Thank you for the shrimp Brent's!!!

Deep Dish Pizza

James and I walked to Giordanos Pizza for some of Chicago's ever so famous deep dish pizza. Giordanos has won best stuffed pizza several times.  They have several locations around the downtown area, but Joseph strongly suggest that we patron at the original location... along with 100's of other tourist!
Giordanos was chosen "best pizza in America" by NBC, and get this... I just read that you can have a Giordanos pizza delivered to your door anywhere in America! WHAT?>? Come on --- that takes the excitement out of getting to eat at the best pizza place in America.
So - James and walk past the location that is right where we were to get to the original... bc the original is the best ( so they say) as we are walking it starts misting rain, and the winds have picked up significantly since the morning... we just wanted to get there!! We walk in and it is PACKED - of course it is packed it is Saturday at the "best pizza place in the world!" So we are determined to wait. They have their wait times down to an art, you go ahead and place your order before you sit down so that the pizza will be ready to come out shortly after you are seated.  We decided on getting the small veggie stuffed pizza. I thought we needed some veggies mixed in with all that cheese we were about to eat.  After placing our order we inched our way toward to crowded bar, and shared a beer from the local brewery while we waited on our table. Goose Island is the name of the local Chicago Brewery in case you all were curious. They have great beer options, one that is called 312 is most like Blue Moon.
Anyways, we were finally seated and our pizza came out in a flash.  We both devoured two slices of thick, cheesy goodness! I have to say it was good - but I am not a stuffed pizza kina person! After eating there I timidly admitted that I did not see what all the hype was about and several people quickly agreed. I think stuffed pizza is something that we all need to try in our lives, but in the end think crust or regular hand tossed will remain my favorite!

CHICAGO!

James and I spent last weekend in Chicago,  and we had a great time! We stayed with our friend Joseph, who generously shared his cozy apartment with us! He lives right downtown in what they call the Loop.  The view from his Apartment was amazing, he lives on the 36th floor of a high rise.


Joseph and I realized that we shared something in common --- trying new restaurants! He has loved living in Chicago and trying the 1,000's of different dining options! I was blown away by all the different places there were to eat!!! How does one ever begin to pick where to eat! Apparently YELP is really big in Chicago, Joseph uses it often when he is looking for a new place to try.  I have never really used Yelp in Atlanta, but I think I will start!!

We did LOTS of walking in Chicago, which maybe counter acted some of the eating!!!

Falafel on Flat Bread

YUM

I bought these the other day at Trader Joe's, and then promptly purchased wheat flat bread and hummus.  I decided to make myself a Falafel wrap.  I must say it was very tasty!  James was envious! He was too hungry, so made himself lunch before I got home... if he had only waited an extra ten minutes he could have enjoyed this as well! I just heated two Falafel in the microwave for 1 minute, then put them inside the flat bread with some hummus on one side. I then used our panini press to warm it up! SO good!