State side

I can't believe it's been two months since I've blogged. That's so strange. I feel like I always go through this weird disgruntled spell - usually in winter, when things are most depressing - where I abandon my blog and then one spring day I come back, tail tucked between my legs. I call this seasonal blog abandonment disease.

Some recent developments...


The job

Upon returning I was immediately staffed on a project and helped run the inception in Dallas. Now the work is being carried out with half the team in Chicago (myself included) and the other half in Dallas. It feels fantastic to be working from my home office and not to have to get on a plane every single week. The project is in its early stages. I'm feeling good that we will be in a position to deliver something awesome.


The move

The boy and I are back in our condo and are pretty much unpacked and settled in, barring a few last things. Moving was a grand adventure. We were on the verge of hiring movers but decided to hold off to see if we could do it ourselves and save some money. And we did! Well, the unloading of the storage unit into the U-Haul, at least. We had some much-needed help from the boy's brother and his fiancee when it came to moving things inside the unit.

One thing about living abroad is that it forces you to get used to not having so many things. Unboxing all of our worldly possessions felt strange. I was flabbergasted by how much stuff I had held on to. It was insane! I think I ended up donating about half of my clothes and a quarter of the books I was still lugging around from college. And even having pared it down that much, it still feels like so much, especially compared to what I was used to abroad.

There were some other things I loved re-opening though. Like mao jing bei - these Chinese towel-like blankets that are really comfy and soft. Like our nice salt and pepper shakers. Man, how I missed freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt. #yuppieconfessions


The wedding

Everyone asks me about this. And I'm like, what wedding? No, seriously. Nothing has progressed. Nada. If anything, things have only regressed. I feel like I'm standing still in the middle of a high-volume bridal highway, watching in a state of semi-terror as engaged couples are whizzing past me - confirming venues, buying dresses, sending out save-the-dates.


The birthday

I turned 26 on Saturday! It was also when the city was celebrating St. Patrick's day. Which in Chicago is a total shit show. Drunk people everywhere and a lot of green dye dumped into our river. This year I reigned my birthday in style by buying furniture (a kitchen table), dropping a ton of stuff off at Salvation Army (see "the move") and having a wonderful home-cooked meal with family followed by a few rounds of Ticket to Ride. It was a perfect birthday.


That's pretty much it for now. More developments to come as I rediscover stuff to blog about and organize my life a little more, both literally and figuratively.

100 Mile Challenge! + The Girl and the Goat

I completed the 100 mile challenge!

My first day of the challenge was July 23rd, which made the ending/31st day August 24th. In those 31 days, I ran a total of 100.8 miles.

Here's a graph summing up my weekly runs. It does not completely reflect the 31-day window because the graph's weeks start before the first day and extend after the last day of my running "month." But it's close enough. Huzzah!

I know some (crazy-ass) runners easily get up to 100 miles in a week, but for me, 100 in 31 was sufficiently challenging. Even though my runs took only 30 minutes on average, it took some planning to find that time and to make sure I also had ample time to warm up, cool down, stretch, and shower each day. About once a week I gave myself a break day and would compensate for those lost miles through longer runs on subsequent days.

The results of the 31 days of running? My pace overall became faster, easier, and more enjoyable. My face stopped resembling a beet after every run. My sexy feet blisters metamorphosed into sexier feet callouses. And after everything, I felt pretty darn good about how my legs looked when I put on a dress for my 100-in-31 dinner with the boy, heh.

As I'd mentioned a few posts ago, the celebration dinner took place at The Girl and the Goat. TG&TG is somewhat of a rising star in the Chicago food scene - mention you're going there and chances are some foodie in the vicinity will light up and gasp, "You have to try the pig face!"

It is also our city's most Yelped-about restaurant - and as such, notoriously difficult to get into. The boy made our reservations two and a half months ago. Two and a half months of talking to others who'd been, of poring over the menu, and of dreaming of this evening with vast quantities of drool gathering about us. It was with great trepidation and very high expectations that I stepped into the restaurant, my legs wobbly from a combination of soreness, excitement, and being in high heels (a rarity these days).

For being such a raved-about place, TG&TG was surprisingly down to earth. I immediately felt comfortable, like I had walked into a close friend's home (well, a close friend with really good taste). Wooden table tops, charred walls, high ceilings, solid utensils, and simple decor made it easy to focus on the food and the company. The waitstaff were all incredibly on point. Our waitress was a total badass/sweetheart who had no problem answering our questions about the menu or providing her opinions about the dishes. All with a genuine smile, as if she was truly happy to be engaging in conversation with us restaurant-goers.

She suggested a total of four small plates for us - but we couldn't pick (#firstworldproblem), so we loosened the notches in our belts and set about with five.

First came the grilled baby octopus with guanciale in a lemon-pistachio vinaigrette. The octopus was delightfully chewy, the veggies just the right amount of sour, and the bacon added a surprise salty element that worked with the combination.

Next came pan-fried shishito peppers with a generous heaping of parmesan. Actually, the whole thing was quite a large portion - we found ourselves munching on the soft peppers our entire meal whereas everything else was consumed in linear succession. Despite being perfectly delicious, this was perhaps my least favorite item on the menu, which really speaks to how much I loved everything else.

Our third dish and my and the boy's favorite was the fried goat belly served with buttery lobster, crab, and fennel. With ingredients like that, how could it taste anything but absolutely delicious? I think we scarfed this down in record time. I didn't even stop to take a picture of it on my plate, it was so damn good.

Fourth came my second favorite, the kalbi beef ribs. While the ribs were perfectly sumptuous, it was the corn on the cob that left me at a loss for words. I have never eaten such perfectly cooked corn. And I likely never shall again. Every kernel was an intense, magical mouthgasm of juicy, buttery goodness. I know I'm starting to sound like a crazy corn lady. But truly, there are no other words for how good it was. This dish has forever set the corn bar at now unachievable levels.

And last but not least, the grand finale of pig face. PIG FACE!!! So far all the dishes had surprised us, and this was no exception. I'm not really sure what I expected - a flat piggy face oinking back at me, maybe. What we received was an artfully composed tower of what looked like meat patty, hash browns, and an egg fried to perfection nestled delicately on top.

This dish was about as decadent as it got. With every bite, I could practically feel my body undoing all its hard work and melting into an oozing blob of fatty fat fat. It was a glorious and outrageous journey - I think I came out of it a changed person.

By the time we'd managed our last bite of pig face (let's just take a second and reflect on how this sentence began) I wanted nothing more than to keel over and face plant into a nice, long snooze. But instead we got up and walked around to lighten up a bit.

All in all, 'twas a startlingly satisfying meal and a delightful way to celebrate achieving a personal goal. And in the grand scheme of things, it was not incredibly expensive either - our bill came to just under $100 before tip. We'd each ordered a drink as well.

I think my favorite part was how pleasantly surprised I was by each dish. The composition of flavors and presentation were just plain fun. For being one of the hottest restaurants in town, it wasn't pretentious, it wasn't overpriced, and it didn't take itself too seriously. I mean - how could they? Their piece de resistance is a pig face. I definitely would come back to try the other items on the menu - though I'd definitely be tempted to order the goat belly and the ribs again (that CORN!)

If you're saving up for a nice meal in the city or if you have a friend/family coming to town in a few months who you'd like to impress in a fun, laid-back-but-still-trendy atmosphere, take them to The Girl and the Goat. Just remember to wear stretchy bottoms, take deep breaths between mouthfuls, and enjoy the hell out of it.

Favorite simple summer meal

Ever since I took a cooking class at The Chopping Block, I've found more motivation to try different recipes and whip up home-made meals instead of giving into the temptation of ordering thai.

Some of my culinary adventures have been successes; others not so much. But today I wanted to share one that went unexpectedly well, took very little time, and is even pescatarian friendly, to boot!

The context: Early June on a hot summer day in Chicago. Hanging at the boy's condo post-work. He was feeling very tired and I was a ball of energy, so I gladly offered to whip up some dinner.

The goal: I wanted to make something summery and light that was still nutritious and wouldn't break the bank (buying groceries in this city can add up to more than what I'd pay at a restaurant, depending on the season/how careful I'm being!).

The result: shrimp scampi with Alfredo sauce and fettuccine noodles, corn on the cobb, spinach and avocado salad, and a handful of blueberries, just for that bonus kick of antioxidants.

Ta-da!

I followed this recipe from the Pioneer Woman (who is a domestic goddess) for preparing the shrimp. Then I let them simmer in a buttery-light-alfredo-sauce goodness over the stove while preparing the salad and boiling the corn and pasta.

Total time to make this was just about 20 minutes! The boy and I both loved it and were pleasantly surprised at how well everything worked together. It was the perfect summer meal - I highly recommend you give it a go!

the intersection of randolph and michigan

a funny thing happens randolph and michigan each morning when i cross it on my way to work. it's only something i witness in the morning, when hordes of people are grumpily going to work or noobishly excited about prancing around in millenium park.

here's the gist:

the setup:

and then,

after that, sometimes

finally,

it's nothing out-of-this-world crazy but it is something small i've started to look forward to each morning, just to see if today is the day that a noob attempts to cross, or if we can get a 100% optimization rate (i.e. all businessmen and noob tourists execute steps 1, 2, and 4 perfectly.) it's also something i've only found at this particular intersection and only on weekday mornings. all other times, people at this intersection follow the signs to the tee and there is none of this "go ahead" mentality during a red light.

curious. most curious.