Our old apartment in Chicago didn’t make grilling very easy. We couldn’t have a grill on our tiny wood landing out back and since we were on the third floor, it was a real commitment to grill in the building’s courtyard. Not to mention lighting a grill meant smoking out all our neighbors. It did […]
I’m not sure how it could possibly be October already. The weather this week—high 70s/low 80s—hasn’t been doing much to get me in the fall spirit, and since Chicago winters seem to stretch on forever, I’m trying to savor this last taste of summer while I still can. But I’m also ready for a taste […]
I recently received this year’s batch of Girl Scout cookies. To be honest, I completely forgot I had ordered them! When they arrived we were well past the cleanse and eating a much healthier diet on a regular basis. Several boxes remain in my closet to be enjoyed on some to-be-determined occasion, though I must report that […]
We made it! The cleanse is done…kind of. For the next couple of weeks, we will be slowly reintroducing foods back into our system to see how they affect us. On Monday, we tried gluten, which we’d already been trying to cut back on before beginning the cleanse. Wednesday,it was yeast. Today? Dairy. I can’t […]
Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since I started this blog. Where does the time go? There are so many reasons I love blogging. Obviously I love sharing my recipes with you all, but it’s also really nice to review the past year and look at all of the great […]
One of the fun holiday traditions I miss out on every year is joining my mom and sister for their annual cookie baking party before Christmas. It’s not that I miss the cookies — my mom packages and freezes a bunch for me to enjoy when I arrive home on Christmas Eve. What I do miss, […]
Halloween is my mom’s favorite holiday. She decks out the house, inside and out, with decorations that she has collected over the years. Although I haven’t been home for trick or treating in years, I can perfectly imagine her excitement as she waits for the neighborhood children to ring the doorbell. When I went away to […]
Once upon a time, I used to run. I used to run a lot. This past Sunday was the annual Chicago Marathon, and as I sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee, I glanced at the clock from time to time and thought, “The winner will cross the finish line in about x […]
The leaves outside our third floor apartment windows are starting to yellow and float to the ground one by one. And in the fall, I start to crave the smell of baking apples and cinnamon. They can try to immitate this smell as many times as they want with candles and plug-ins, but nothing beats the real thing. My first […]
Bananas are a wonderful fruit. I try to eat one every day either on its own or in a smoothie. There are many other great uses for bananas, such as pancakes. And banana bread! Fortunately, banana bread is something that I can bake. During the summer, bananas go from a ripe yellow to spotted and brown […]
The first 4th of July that I knew Evan, we weren’t dating just yet. One year later, we had been dating about eleven months and had no plans for the holiday. On a whim, I suggested going to Michigan to visit my hometown of Ludington for the weekend. He said yes. I found a last minute […]
