I heart waffles! I recently purchased what I thought was to be the best of the best of waffle makers - the All-Clad Belgian Waffle Maker. I have to say I have yet to make a successful belgian waffle in this thing. I have tried numerous recipes, cooking spray/not, butter on the iron, more batter, less batter, I mean everything to get that perfect crispy on the outside fluffy on the inside waffle .... but nothing works. I even called my local Williams Sonoma store to see if maybe I got a faulty one - they said they would replace it, but I keep trying thinking it's got to be me ... right?! Read the reviews of these babies online - fabulous, everyone loves 'em. What on earth could I be doing wrong?
bundt cake
It's the little things that get me all excited. I spotted a Nothing Bundt Cakes store opening in a little strip mall not far from the mall I frequent and was so excited. They opened today, so you know I had to stop in and pick up a few bundtlets to sample! The cake is moist and has just the right amount of cream cheese frosting. Ohhhhh, this could prove to be dangerous for me. 
coming and going
Sunday ride
The beautiful weather we've been having has really inspired me to get out of the house! Be outside. Soak it all in! Saturday was beach day - loved every second. And today I dusted off the bike - yes, I really had to dust it off, it has been that long since I rode it - aired up the tires and took a 4 mile spin. This must be what it feels like to live in California.
I heart bread
I love it when I find a new local business to support. I read all sorts of good things leading up to the opening of a new bakery called Hewn. They hand forge their bread fresh each day and let me tell you... they have spoiled me for all other bread. It's the most perfect combination of crispy crust, pillowy middle and so much flavor you don't need to put anything on it - just eat it as is! I picked up their aged cheddar this past weekend when I stopped in (in addition to my usual croissant and baguette) and OMG! I am in love!
So glad to have such a quality artisan in the neighborhood! 
10 on 10 { aug 2013 }
It's the tenth of the month and that means ten photos in ten hours!! I love this challenge - gets me out and about with the camera to find beauty in my day. And I really love it when the tenth falls on a weekend! Woot! 
Visited the hair salon this morning - aren't these foils just the most attractive thing? I wanted to get a better photo, but the salon was busy and people were looking at me strange trying to take a photo with my iPhone of my foils. I'm sure they were like wtf? :)
Ran a bunch of errands - picking up the necessary supplies for my last Ravinia show tomorrow.
Whipped up a batch of my famous roasted almonds. They are the easiest things to make and a huge hit! If you like almonds, you need this recipe!
2 c. sliced almonds 1/4 c. sugar 1/16 c. water salt (I use pink himalayan)
Combine sugar and water - basically making a simple syrup - in a microwave save bowl or cup. Microwave for 1 minute or until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour over almonds and quickly stir. (The syrup should be just enough to coat the almonds - you do not want any liquid standing the bottom of the bowl). Evenly spread on non-stick cookie sheet and generously sprinkle salt across top. Bake at 325 stirring every 10 minutes until golden. (30-40 min depending on your oven). Enjoy!
And then decided to whip up French Macarons too! I'm just a domestic diva today!! I found a new recipe (here) that worked beautifully should you wish to give them a try. They are the fussiest cookies I've ever made, but SO worth it! I'll whip up some salted caramel and chocolate ganache to fill these babies in the morning!
Hope you had a beautiful day! Thanks for stopping by.
by train
Have you ever taken Amtrak? I embarked on my first US train trip this past weekend from Chicago to St. Louis - the Lincoln Service. I was very excited for the adventure - something new and different. It's about the same amount of time to drive, but so much cheaper! The price of the round trip ticket is the same as ONE tank of gas in my car. And, I can get up and move around, read, watch movies and surf on the free wifi! Win win, right!?!
I took the Metra commuter train from Evanston downtown - stopped in the French Market for yummy snacks. This was only my second ride on Metra - I would totally take it if I had to commute downtown daily, so much nicer than the L - minus the somewhat bossy ticket guys. 
Walked a few blocks over to Union Station - it's such a beautiful building, but just not well kept. I feel like it could be so much more! They have this big amazing grand hall with a few benches in it - nothing else. It's kind of an appendage to the area where the trains actually queue and depart. Once you get into that area it's a hot mess! People with all of their luggage all crammed into one small room with a few super crappy seats. You REALLY have to listen for your train to be called and they try to pull some folks up first (seniors and business class) and there is no PA system - it's just a guy standing in a door yelling above the crowd. I have to say I was kind of surprised by this whole process. Train travel has been around for so long, you'd think they would have a perfected system in place. 
I chose to pay for the upgrade to business class ($20 more each way) and I am SO glad that I did. The business car is spacious, quiet and you get a free USA Today and beverage. Now that's all superb till there's a delay on the train and the run out of water. So get your beverage early! And since the car is the first car behind the drive car, you really hear the whistles. And they are required to blow that thing anytime they cross a intersection. It's much louder than I would have ever imagined. 
What I did love about train travel is the view! I sat and took a ridiculous amount of photos - if only the windows had been clean. I loved seeing little kids standing in their back yard waving at the train, buildings painted with memorials, corn fields and industry. 
We rolled into St Louis just shy of 11 PM - right on time. Would I take the train again, yes, I suppose I would. But still don't think I'd love it for long trips. It will not replace my air travel, but it was a fun adventure and great alternative to driving myself!!
moleskine + milk = fabulous
So I got my second photobook from MILK, the Moleskine Photo Book - and this one is just as fabulous as the first one I got! I made a 2012 in review book and love it! It's got the same flexibility as a Moleskine, same type of smooth paper and image quality is superb. Oh and it's even got the signature pocket - perfect for holding tickets, cards or any kind of memorabilia from the year! I am still hoping they will get a larger variety of templates, but think this may be my annual book of choice! 
Smurf spotting
Ran across this cutie on top of an old mailbox this morning. I loved the smurfs as a kid.
10 on 10 { july 2013 }
Hello! Happy Hump Day! I actually remembered the 10 on 10 challenge today, and was able to be out of the office for part of the day - that means only a couple of photos of my desk! *wink* I shot everything from within the VSCOCam app and edited in the app as well. I find it very hard to get a good focus out of this app. Anyone else have this problem? And I find the images very 'noisy' compared to ones I take with other apps... I think I am going to have to go back to the SmugMug Camera Awesome for taking photos and use VSCO for processing ... again.
Anyway ... here's my day.
[ shower ] [ tea ] [ kitty ] [ jobiste ] [ roadside weeds flowers ] [ work ] [ workplace humor ] [ gelato for the co-workers ] [ walk through the park ] [ and a stop at the beach ]
Go check out everyone else's day over on Rebekah's blog at a little bit of sunshine!