Twitter is magical. It can bring together people with similar interests and with a lil bit of creativity, can generate some wonderful ideas. Hence the case for Pizza Rustica, Victorian Truffles, Gino Rocco, and me. What began as an innocent … Continue reading
LA. City of Angels. La La Land. No matter the name you use to refer to Los Angeles, the city and surrounding area is absolutely amazing. Let’s backtrack a bit – I have traveled. I have traveled a lot domestically … Continue reading
Lagunitas Beer Circus is the kick-off to a summer of lovin’ (drinking) All I do is win! On social media. Seriously, over the past few years, I have been so lucky and winning on Twitter and Facebook. My most recent … Continue reading
I was recently invited to attend a social media “first taste event” for Potbelly‘s new FLATS as they were unveiled at a local Chicago location. Want to know how it went… read on!
First – I arrive promptly at 6:03pm (because you know, fashionably late!) to be greeted with a fresh, full sized, soon-to-be-launched frozen Raspberry Lemonade.
Helllooo summertime favorite (if the weather ever gets above 70 degrees). Don’t sweat (get it?!) – they will be available in June.
Next – to those who RSVP’d to the event were treated to 1 of 2 flats: Mediterranean or A Wreck. I opted for the Mediterranean version. It was filled with yummy goodness of hummus, tomatoes, artichokes, cucumber, and feta.
I devoured that like a professional! All while sipping on the frozen raspberry lemonade and snacking on my fav flavor of PopChips barbeque.
Just when I thought it was over and would just hang around for 30 minutes mixing and mingling with others listening to the live music….oh no. Stop. ANOTHER sampling of FLATs – Grilled Chicken and Cheddar, Turkey, or Italian. Now, granted I am Italian, but it included Roast Beef (and well, I don’t eat cow) so I went for the Turkey.
The fun part – we were tasked with uploading a ‘selfie’ using the hashtag #FlattenedByFlavor but let’s be honest, I don’t really do selfies so my newly made blogger friend Jalpa took a photo of me. I upload and continue on devouring my chips and flats.
Upon my surprise, the Potbelly crew chose a winning pic – and it was me! I am the proud recipient of a Potbelly giftcard. I will certainly be utilizing come May 6th when the flats make their debut.
Finally – upon leaving we were gifted with SwagBags! Including a dozen mini (fresh) chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, some hot peppers, a t-shirt, and other things. Do you know how many of my twitter followers were jealous?! (I apologize for not having a photo of this!)
Between the raspberry lemonade, the flats, the PopChips, and swag…all in all a very successful event. Now I must go try to flatten my tummy from eating so much food.
For more information follow Potbelly and PopChips on Twitter.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” ~Henry David Thoreau
You know that feeling of checking something off your bucket list and having a life long dream come true?
Yah, it is pretty magical!
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Europe. A friend of mine already had plans to go, and well, YOLO*. What began as a half-hearted ‘Let me look into it’ turned into a dream come true. All my life, I always dreamed of being spontaneous, booking a flight to Europe, wandering around, just because.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
Check.
I flew into Dublin and had a 12 hour layover (Dublin was SUPER cheap to fly into). Having only 12 hours to enjoy, I stopped at a nearby pub, made friends with the locals where I learned that Garth Brooks is still popular and taught my newly made friends what an Irish Car bomb is and what *YOLO means.
Then the next day, hopped a flight to Prague to meet up with my friend.
Prague, you win.
It is like a fairy-tale. Very clean, preserved. It’s like walking back in time. I had heard it is a beautiful city. Words don’t do it justice. It’s like walking through a real-like Hansel and Gretel. Although it isn’t a very touristy city (as in comparing to Rome with so many things to see and do) it is a nice, relaxing, walkable city that transport you into a dream. Here are some pics to make you jealous:
Plus the most magical souvenir of all (because I love puns!)
After 2 days (and I do say, 2 days was just enough to dabble in the gloriousness of the city, although 1 more day would have been perfect), it was back on a plane to head to Amsterdam.
This was just as I had imagined. Canals lined with buildings. Bikes galore. Coffeeshops. A tad disappointed upon our late arrival, hardly ANY restaurants were open past 10pm. Why not eat some pizza then…after devouring pizza that would put any pizzeria in Italy to shame, back to the hotel to rest up for the next 2 days of touristy stuff!
From walking throughout the city to shopping to apple pie* to canal cruises to I Amsterdam to Heineken – I’ll be sure to make a trip back (I didn’t do the museums – I know SHAME!). Maybe you’ll understand why – look at this!
*this, THIS apple pie, looking all sweet and innocent. UNTIL I take a bite and boom, raisins. Lets just say, you all probably know how that ended up. Thank you @Chicagoista for rescuing me.
Exactly.
Next up – back to Dublin.
Sorry to report – Dublin is somewhat a dud. I even tried to make a fun pun at customs in Amsterdam…
Border Patrol: Where are you headed to?
Me: You can find me in the ‘Dub (you know, a play off of 50 Cent’s ‘You Can Find Me in the Club’ – note, puns do NOT translate well).
One positive aspect – Guinness.
Here’s a few photos to document our day in the Dub:
Notice a trend…beer in Prague. Heineken in Amsterdam. Guinness in Dublin. My kind of souvenirs.
And that, my dear friends, is a recap of my whirl-wind 1-week-Euro-adventure-to-check-off-my-bucket-list. Until my next trip…
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain
As many of my friends know, I’m a food aficionado. No. Joke. I’m a mix between a Food Network star and an 8 year old. From whipping up fun, new creative dinners to delicious desserts to eating Lucky Charms cereal, potato chips and a Bloody Mary…I cover it all.
That being said, I can also be quite picky and lazy when it comes to preparing food (reference the Lucky Charms for dinner comment above). Quick, easy, yummy meals – um, yes please!
**Blog Update: Relished Foods has been rebranded to Home Chef even better… now have a larger selection of meals than ever before (8 to choose from every week), with options to satisfy a range of dietary preferences like gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian. Check out their latest menu!
Enter Relished Foods. ***read through the entire post to receive a special offer!
As their website states: Fresh Ingredients and Recipes Delivered to Your Door. No confusion there, nope, none at all.Their Director of Product & Growth recently contacted me, offering me the opportunity to try it out! Sure thing.
I was impressed with his responsiveness and when I mentioned that I don’t eat red meat, they accommodated! Fast forward to last week, I find a box outside my door.
Opened to find (padding and ice packs) and 3 paper bags with clear labeling, 3 individual meats (vacuumed sealed and frozen), and 3 separate recipe cards.
Talk about making things easy! Literally, everything was pre-portioned/measured, garlic cloves were peeled, all ingredients were clearly labeled. Insert happy dance here!
The first night, I made the Panko Crusted Cod. Simple, fresh, delicious. Cod is usually not my first choice, but I was craving more!
A day later, I made the Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Pan Seared Chicken. Quinoa, you’ve won my heart.
I’m a checklist person by nature so here is a recap of the PROS and ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
PROS:
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Excuse me while I go prepare the Lamb Meatballs with Creamy Polenta and Tomato Ragout (who wants to join me?!)
Ok, so I’ll enjoy the yumminess by my lonesome, but that doesn’t mean you too can’t relish (see what I did there?!) in this. You can save 50% on your first order by using discount code ‘Wits&Pieces‘ at checkout (only valid for 1 week from today). Come on, get going…you know you want to. Guys and gals, easy way to impress your significant other!
If my blog doesn’t wet your palate, go ahead, check ’em out on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, or on their blog. Happy cooking and eating!
DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional photographer. The images were taken with my cell, very hastily, I might add, as I was starving!
Just a lil tease…
stay tuned for upcoming blog posts about:
I know, the suspense is torture 🙂
First, I must apologize for the delay (ahem, 2 months late) for this post.
Second, I’ll try not to bore you with all the fun I had and make you jealous.
I recently had to go to London for a work conference. Granted, I had been to the great city 10 years ago. Albeit for only a weekend as a poor college student studying abroad. However, now that I was going for a work gig (hello – dream come true!) and I had (some) money, I decided to extend my trip and enjoy some personal time. Well, personal time turned into my mother and Aunt joining. In efforts to keep you interested – unless you would like to see my 4 page Microsoft Word spread sheet itinerary – I will do just the top 10 highlights of my trip:
10. Sightseeing! There are so many wonderful things to see in London. Upon landing, all jet-lagged, I opted to do the double-decker tour bus. Really, it’s a fabulous way to acclimate yourself around the city and it allows you to see every tourist sight you could imagine (and then some). I had purchased tickets ahead of our trip from The Original Tour. I swear, I could have spent 3 days just taking advantage of everything they offer. I highly recommend this company. And to prove of everything we saw, here are some photos:
Big Ben and Parliament
Westminster Abbey
London Bridge/Tower Bridge (technically, London Bridget isn’t fancy, it’s the Tower Bridge that is iconic)
and Crown Jewels (we couldn’t take pics of the Jewels so I got this guard outside instead)
London Eye
Red phone booths
Kensington
9. Afternoon tea! I’m Italian, so coffee runs through my veins. But, while in Britain…do as the Brits do and indulge in afternoon tea. I opted to go big and fancy (and pricey!) at Brown’s Hotel. It. Was. Worth it. Never ending finger sandwiches and desserts and who would have thunk, that I’d enjoy some white tea. I highly recommend it (see what I did there, HIGH…tea…)
8. Dirty Dancing! Musicals are not in my top 10 things to see and do, but we were staying in the theatre district in London. Surprisingly, the one show that my mom, Aunt and I all wanted to see: Dirty Dancing. PHENOMENAL. Plus, there were drinks.
7. Day trip to Brussels! I had originally intended on doing some sort of day trip. We considered Bathe and Stonehenge – both about 2 hours away. Also, Paris. Granted….going to Paris is practically on everyone’s dream list, buttttt I’ve visited. Twice. So the next foreign country within 2 hours – BRUSSELS. I hadn’t heard much about it – that could be good or bad. I thought – beer, chocolate and waffles. Count me in. I wasn’t necessarily disappointed, but I won’t make a special trip back to visit.
6. Buckingham! Our hotel was literally a mile down ‘the mall’ (it’s just a really long road). There weren’t any tours available to go inside, so we had to settle for admiring from passing by. And I passed by – twice daily – to and from my work conference. Here are some snapshots:
5. Changing of the Guards! While at Buckingham, of course we had to see the Changing of the Guards. It was a lot longer than I recall from 10 years ago, but we lucked out and got front row seats!
That, that would be a horse’s ass. The bobby on horse patrol was working. Like I said, we had front row seats!
*There was a little incident the day before (some random guy with a gun tried to enter…) so security was intense!
4. Food! I didn’t remember the food being all that wonderful. Not to mention, after living and visiting Italy I knew what good food was. Surprisingly, it was alllll good! I actually even really liked the Italian food from a local chain, called Prezzo. Convenient too since it was located directly across the street from. We also found an adorable cafe within immediate walking distance called Embankment Cafe. Cute, good food (and coffee!), and affordable.
Also stumbled upon a typical British pub near the hotel – The Sherlock Holmes. The door men and service was great, fish and chips and even a scene dedicated to Sherlock Holmes!
3. The Hotel! The work conference was being held at the swanky London Hilton on Park Lane. We did have the work conference discount but we opted to stay elsewhere. At Club Quarters Trafalgar Square. Awesome location, nice rooms, affordable, secure. Can’t complain!
Views from our room! That folks is Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column
2. Shopping! I wish I had more time do SHOP! Even the grocery stores are awesome-sauce. Of course I went into vacation mode and hit up the souvenir shops – where I got my now favorite sweatshirt and tshirt. Perhaps the greatest discovery: TK Maxx. So we have TJ Maxx in USA and TK Maxx in Europe. What’s next…TL Maxx?
1. David Cameron! And the number one experience (random at that) was seeing the Prime Minister! Upon returning from a work reception, we exit the black car and see black private town cars and about 4 police officers standing outside. Of course my instinct was that something had happened. I ask if it is ok to enter the hotel and one female officer said
“oh absolutely. You are in the safest part of London right now.”
Me: “oh, why is that?”
Her: “The Bravery Awards are going on right now – 300 officers from across Britain are being honored.”
Me: ” Um, what are the Bravery Awards?”
Her: “Exactly what it sounds like – example: a cop ran into a burning building to save a family.”
Me: “oooohhhh.”
Her: “And the Prime Minister is in there as well.”
My Coworker: “Oh Laura, you should go flirt with him!”
Her: “I’m not sure Mrs. Cameron would appreciate that very much.”
Me: (bows head in embarrassment) “Great ok let’s go in and have a drink now!”
So I made my mother and Aunt indulge in a drink in the hotel bar while I casually (ok that’s a complete understatement) awaited for Mr. Cameron to exit. My mom thought I would be arrested for stalking but I just said I’m being American. Boom, after 30 minutes he walks out, hastily, but I was ready with my cell. Here is the half blurry photo from the unexpected spotting of the Prime Minister!
*That’s my Aunt Janet’s right eye.
After the whirlwind experience, I was sad to leave. London, you now have a special place in my heart. Who wants to buy me a plane ticket to go back? Or better yet, Prince Harry….call me!
Strength – you never know how strong you are until strong is all that you can be.
We’ve all dealt with unfortunate situations (and trust me, I’ve had my fair share in 2009 – that’s a separate blog post to come). One of my best friends growing up – from preschool through high school graduation – Ashley, had to endure the pain that comes with losing a child. In January 2013, her precious sweet baby Aden passed away.
Flash forward to October 5th, 2013 and her strength helped co-planned the area’s first annual 5k run and walk for SIDS Awareness with the help of SIDS of Illinois. About 300 supporters showed up to participate, raise awareness and honor the memory of those who are no longer with us due to SIDS. Here is an article, from the area newspaper recapping the event.
I urge you all to:
On a lighter note, there was this mini car that as a grown woman decided to try to fit in…yes, that would be me. My only question was “where are the cup holders”!
Also, it was held at my high school. I probably haven’t been back since I graduated. Shhhh, let’s just keep that year a secret for now! Shout out to Hall High School.
Here is a photo of Ashley with her husband, her son Owen, and baby on-the-way 🙂
Always in our hearts, in memory of Aden.
First – I apologize for my major delays in blog posts. Hard to believe that I am actually busy these days!
Let me back-track to the weekend of September 27th. I hopped a flight on American Airlines to Minneapolis. Instead of going directly to the hotel in the ‘burbs (the remainder of my immediate family were driving) I met up with a dear college friend/sorority sister Sara. Some drinks and food downtown.
A lesson in regional drinking delicacies….
I ordered a Bloody Mary. As the waiter brings it out to me, there’s this small side glass with what looks like beer. Strange – that doesn’t happen in Chicago! I thought, “oh THAT’S awesome, a free lil sidekick drink here”. Annnnndd I was wrong. I ended up pouring it directly into the BM, because I am all about efficiency folks. Sara then informs me it is a typical thing, called a ‘snit’ (insert mental image of me whipping out my iPhone to google that). Go figure, those Minnesoooootans serve this ‘snit’ along side with a BM.
Laura in Minneapolis – 1
Laura in Chicago – 0
And a few hours later – I get picked up from my family. Drive to the hotel in the ‘burbs and proceeded to the hotel bar (obviously). Arriving at 9:20 and supposedly being told the bar closes at 10, I made great use of those 40 minutes. I walked to the bar with determination, ordered my Whiskey Sour and I don’t think the bartender knew how to handle me. Didn’t get carded, didn’t ask any questions. After downing the first and returning for the 2nd within 19 minutes, he remembered my drinks. Finally after 3 quick refills, the bartender asked me why I was so determined and quick. I said it closes at 10!
He said it does not. Thus…we became friends.
I closed out my tab – and thought it was about 1/3 of what it should be but hey, I’m not complaining.
Time for beauty sleep and prepare for my cousin Michelle’s wedding.
It was supposed to be an outside wedding, but inclement weather moved it inside. It was a beautiful ceremony and wish Michelle and her new hubby Eric a lifetime of happiness.
Eating, drinking, dancing, mingling with my relatives = a good time!
After the wedding, I proceeded to the hotel bar to meet up with my bartender friend the who makes me my whiskey sours. I was THAT girl at the bar – making friends, drinking drinks.
I close out that tab andddd $5 mixed drinks.
New plan: wedding crash to go to hotel bars for cheap drinks.
Thank you Michelle and Eric for an excellent weekend. Until the next nuptials…
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