Foux da fa fa

Over the weekend, I ventured down to the Southside neighborhood of Hyde Park. Lately, this area has gotten a lot of recognition as Prez Obama's home, but it is also home to my older brother :) The bike ride (from 1200 N to 5700 S) was a lot more demanding than I had anticipated on my old Schwinn cruiser, but the sunset views of the Skyline on my upon my return made it all worth it. Actually, the true motive for my visit was to check out this small French bakery that my brother recommended to me.

Unlike some French-style bakeries around Chicago, Bon Jour Bakery & Cafe is actually owned by French ex-pats. The woman behind the counter who was obviously the owner, spoke French with her hankerchief-headed employees and offered several pastries that aren't frequently seen around here. To begin, we ordered a palmier that was seriously sweet and perfectly crisp. My brother ordered a delicious little roasted pepper and goat cheese panini. Then, we took three different macarons to go. I would have definitely ordered more but these little bites of heaven weren't cheap at $1.65 a pop. We got lemon, cinnamon, and lemon-basil. They were all fantastic, but the lemon-basil, which was recommended to me by one of the adorable employees, was incredible. The flavor began with a sweet herbal basil taste then finished with the clean and tangy taste of lemon. Beautiful!

Afterwards, we wandered over to Jackson Park to visit the Osaka Garden. This is a little getaway just South of the Museum of Science & Industry leftover from the Columbian Exhibition in 1893. It is absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful, if you live nearby it is definitely worth taking the time to find. And with this beautiful weather that has finally arrived, why not?

Bake It Pretty...aka HEAVEN

Amidst final exams, I've come to realize that taking breaks is practically as essential to achieving good grades as the actual time devoted to studying. At least that is how I'm rationalizing my time spent away from the books. Here is one of the many treasures I've found while avoiding tax laws and the principles of auditing. Yipee!

Ok...WHOA. Must purchase this ASAP, we're clearly meant to be together!

F. Scott Fitz

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."

An Oldie but a Fantastic-ie

i cannot/will not get over this song. beirut is going to be at the pitchfork music festival in July. oh oh :)

Memorial Day & Extries

Last night I had a dream that there was anarchy in the U.S. and it was every (wo)man for her/himself. Totally and completely freaky and I woke up pretty spooked, very Children of Men. So after getting ready, I hopped on my new bike, Cat Ballou, and I rode off to work. Because of the holiday, there was hardly anyone on the streets and I arrived at work only to find that it was CLOSED, argh! Really not a big probalum but the uneasiness leftover from my dream hadn't really lifted yet. The weirdness continues, there are about 100 gigantor plague-like mosquitos hiding out in the vestibule between the outside and the museum in my apartment building. Hopefully, this strange morning is not indicative of an even more disturbing week ahead.

On a different note--this blog called Cake Wrecks is highlarious & definitely worth checking out, see below. Happy Memorial Day, lovelies!

It's that time

The worst part of going to a university with 3 terms rather than semesters is that I'm taking midterm exams while they finish up their finals. Rude! The weather has taken a turn for the beautiful and it's the perfect time for bike rides and love. However, I cannot enjoy this as I cram for tax, auditing, marketing....etc. The end is in sight, but I have had little time to cook this week. On a happier note....

CANNOT wait to see this:

Where The Wild Things Are



oOooo or this:

Paper Heart

Green Pizza

For all you Napervillains,



Check it! Green pizza delivery, compliments of http://napervilledummy.blogspot.com/ (Jay Jay)

GLAM. ya dig?

For ze ladies:

You M-U-S-T check this place out. Not only do they sell legitimate organic beauty products, but their facilities are powered by wind/hydro energy, they give 10% of their proceeds to Global Green USA, and all around environmental love. They have a wide array of products that are sure to please everyone. These products are pure, gentle, and natural, who doesn't want that? As the self-proclaimed suppliers of "beauty with a conscience", think of it as the earth-lover's Sephora. (Or click on the pic below to see the actual Sephora's natural collection, although I'm not sure they aren't pulling a fast one on us. Many of these may be pseudo organic. Be cautious, puhlease!)

While those things are just very nice, I think that the most significant thing to note is that YOUR MAKE UP CAN BE VERY HARMFUL TO YOU!!! ! !! In my life, the most disturbing products are nail polish and mascara because I use them almost daily. However, practically every product you can think of is either tested on animals or contains chemicals that are harmful to the environment (hairspray, shampoo/conditioner, perfume, eyeliners/shadows, foundations, lipgloss). This industry is not, i repeat, is NOT regulated by the FDA, allowing many companies take advantage it. This info will likely scare even the most ardent OPI "Lincoln Park After Dark" and Dior Show addicts...

• Nail Polish: Just by the stench, it is pretty obvious that this stuff is chemically harsh, but since you probably can create a time line of your life based upon your use of it (starting with Barbie peel-off, onto Walgreen's stick-ons, etc.) we rarely consider how harmful it is. To begin, it contains several carcinogens and the fumes can lead to birth defects and all sorts of nasty things! http://www.naturalnews.com/020031.html. Furrrrrthermore, nail polish removers release toxic gases and remove the natural oils from your nails leaving both them and your lungs unhappy. Instead, check out Spirit's lines of non-toxic polishes and removers. Priti even has one that comes pretty close to LPAD <3.>

• Mascara: You've heard the story about the women who have gone blind because of their lifetime mascara usage, right? Well, after a little research, I've found that is unlikely. HOWEVER! The reason that we avoid blindness is because of frequent animal testing. Rabbits, chimps, and other helpless animals are held captive or murdered for their eyes only to test out our cosmetics. Sometimes I wonder how humans became so remorseless and digusting. These prints show how some people are speaking out against it: http://www.advertolog.com/paedia/prints/2008/04/14/200663/

I hope that I opened your eyes to the harsh and dangerous side of cosmetics that my mom never told me about on my first trip to the MAC beauty counter at the mall. Please be conscious of how your use of these products affects the environment and your health! Check if your products are tested on animals and the next time you're in the market for a new nail polish color or bronzer for this upcoming summer, check out Spirit.

Other green suggestions: Aveda, The Body Shop, Urban Decay & more here: The Leaping Bunny

SP09 BAAAAABYYYYYYY, or Tenessee: The Land of the Hungry Vegan

Earlier this month, we headed down to Tennessee for a low-budget Spring Break adventure. This trip was planned via Google Maps the night before we left, leading to several instances of getting extremely lost. However, that's what a road trip is all about SO hmph! Here are some the highlights with emphasis on the only vegan restaurant we could find near the Mason-Dixon. For realz, I ate Subway lettuce and tomatoes for every meal after the TJ's rations of wraps, fruit, juice boxes & candied ginger (a.k.a. CRACK) ran out.

First we headed for Alton, IL to check out the statue of Robert Wadlow, the Gentleman Giant. Here I am, picking his boogies.

Next, St. Louie, home of VegaDeli. Loved it here! It's location in a strip mall is surprising, I'd expec to see this place in a bigger city. In fact, I wish they would open a location in Chicago because the food was simple, modest, and delicious. Their menu changes daily, a feature that I often miss from non-veg eateries. I ordered a bagel 'wich with a side of raw beet soup. Both unique, both delish. My numero uno food on the top of my "Oh, How I miss Thee" food list is cheese. They put a pretty thick chunk of vegan cheese on the bagel (some of these fake cheezes are damn nasty, but this was way not nasty), balanced with some fresh greens, tomatoes, and other veg that went perfectly with the EVERYTHING bagel. First off, the soup was cold. I was like...wtf, but then I tasted it. The color was appealing right off the bat, but the pure taste and smooth texture blew my mind. Next! Jj ordered a bbq-esque SW that he enjoyed, with a side of gnocchi. We luurve gnocchi and while it didn't come compare to his Noni's, the fresh basil flavor was pretty rockin'. Overall, really cute and worth the stop.

While in the STL, we also stopped at the Laumeier Sculpture Park...AWESOME.

A few long hours later driving behind the Beverly Hillbillies, we finally arrived in Memphis. Actually, to save monies we stayed in West Memphis, AK. It was like 2 minutes away and about 30% less $$$. Anyways, we saw Graceland, an experience to say the least. It was fantastico. The rest of our time was spent listening to the free outdoor blues music and roaming the city. We stopped at Sun Studio and caught their last tour of the day. So lovely.

Next stop, Townsend, TN. Another money-saver, right outside of the Great Smokey Mountains and 15 minutes from the disgustingly touristy Gatlinsburg. I wish we could have stayed the whole week here because it was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!! We just hiked around the mountains and explored as much as we could in the short time that we were there. J's one wish was that we would see bears, and we did! 3 little black bears, 2 babies and their mom, really amazing.

Tennessee is a great state. Lessons learned:

• Research restaurants before making a trip
• Bring more snacky snacks
• Visiting Graceland causes some of your fellow patrons to become very DISTRESSED
• Drink as many lemons freezey drink things from Sonic as possible!!!!!

testing testing 123

watch me

jungle spots [giraffe]