Zoo Lights

A perfect date night....

Veronika & Peter's Engagement Party

Congratulations to Peter and Veronika!

It was wonderful to celebrate your engagement and looking forward to the wedding next year!

Sugar Bliss!

Thanks, Erin for introducing me to Sugar Bliss! The Carrot Cake cupcake was a "blissful" ending to my dinner tonight - looking forward to trying the other goodies in the coming days!

My Kind of Town

One of my goals this year was to become a tourist in my own town and learn more about Chicago - with my new membership to the Chicago Architecture Foundation - this should be very achievable! I hope to grow this wall-collage with photos of some of my Chi-town excursions!

Chicago Humanities Festival

I hadn't attended the Chicago Humanities Festival before; but, when I got a mailing from WBEZ earlier this fall I was intrigued to check it out! I attended three different events - which were all very unique & interesting in their own ways: Jane Austen and the Body, Dan Savage and "The Perfect Meal". Looking forward to next year's festival!

Festival of Wood & Barrel Aged Beers

It was another fun year of beer tasting at the Festival of Wood & Barrel Aged Beers. I tried so many beers, that I honestly can't remember all of them - a few favorites were the Red Poppy, Black Xantus and Imperial Coffee Stout. A highlight of this year was making it into the VIP area - thanks Puccini!

Bonsoiree

Ursula and I enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Bonsoiree on Sunday evening! The food and wine were excellent and I was so glad that I tried this local neighborhood gem!

First course: Salad of baked fish, radish, beet, chard and all kind of other goodies. :)

Second course: Porcini mushroom soup with a foie gras dumpling, thai basil oil, shaved truffle and crispy cauliflower. This was my favorite dish of the night - the soup was so rich & savory.

Main course: Braised short rib, lamb meat ball, parsnips with black sea salt, crispy potato shoe strings, sugar snap peas, crispy kale and a wasabi-apple sauce. Yum!

Dessert course: Pink peppercorn pound cake with a creme anglaise, huckleberry ice cream, raspberry sauce, caramel drizzle and chocolate fudge mounds. The perfect ending to a satisfying meal!

Graceland Cemetery

I recently became a member of the Chicago Architecture Foundation - and could not think of any better way to spend my Halloween afternoon than on a tour of Graceland Cemetery. The cemetery is beautiful and very well kept - and it was a beautiful, sunny and crisp fall day. Aside from the occasional rumbling of the train - it was an oasis from the hustle and bustle of the city.

We saw the graves of many distinguished Chicagoans - ranging from Marshall Field to Louis Sullivan to Daniel Burnham to the Pullmans, the Palmers, the Kinzies, the Kimballs, the Carsons, the Piries and the Scotts. There was even a headstone for a Whipple.

Halloween Pub Crawl

A "super" time was had by all on the Halloween Pub Crawl...