holidays 2012

Well. 2012 definitely went out with a bang.

Ben and I spent a long action packed week road-tripping around the Midwest to celebrate Christmas with both of our families. (One of the unexpected perks of being married is getting a double holiday!) I'm very glad that we got to spend time making fun memories with so many people we love, and I'm not taking for granted that our grandmas are still healthy and "with it". We were only missing my sister Ella who is teaching English in Slovakia (hi Eelie!).

 Well, all the revelry finally caught up to me and on Sunday I got hit by the cold virus that's apparently making rounds like the plague. I'm looking forward to getting back into a healthy normal routine again!

From Indiana to central Illinois to Michigan and back to Chicago, here's a few shots of the laughing, eating, drinking, animal snuggling, and celebrating that happened.

2012 was a huge year full of extremes. Moving three times, getting married, multiple jobs, and making it through a quarter life crisis (yes, they definitely exist) will take it out of you, and I'm happy to be able to look back on the memories from the other side.

I have absolutely no idea what 2013 has in store. For the first time in...possibly ever?... there are no graduations, weddings, moves, or other big events pre-scheduled on the calendar. I'm wishing for a calmer, happy and healthy year for myself and everyone. Cheers to a fresh start!

Happy New Year!

green Christmas detox smoothie

I am kind of in shock that Christmas is less than a week away !!! It's my favorite time of year but I don't really feel like I'm in the spirit yet...maybe because it's still relatively "warm" outside (anything above freezing feels warm this time of year) and we've hit a new record of days with no snow in Chicago.
 

This Saturday Ben and I are kicking off our great Midwest holiday tour, hitting Indiana, central Illinois, and Michigan all before New Year's, and I've been rushing around trying to finish last minute errands and presents. But first I wanted to share this green smoothie, because I have a feeling I'm not the only one who wants to inject some extra fruits and veggies into my diet before the holiday madness truly descends!

 

 

Green Detox Smoothie

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

-1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped

-1/2 small apple, peeled and chopped

-small handful spinach

-1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

-a few ice cubes

-a splash of juice to get things moving in the blender

 

Add ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

 

This is definitely a smoothie (as opposed to juice) and is pretty pulpy from the apple. I've made green smoothies with spinach and frozen banana before but I've never tried to add other fruits or veggies. The cucumber gives this one a fresh taste and the vanilla yogurt keeps it sweet. Overall it's an interesting combination. I think I'll experiment with different fruits next time--I'm thinking oranges and frozen banana chunks....

Here's another healthy recipe to try for lunch: wheat berry and bean salad from Oh She Glows

I generally followed her recipe except used quick cook barley instead of wheatberries (because that's what we had and it's faster) and topped it off with goat cheese (because I'm not vegan).

I hope you stay sane and relaxed in the last few days before the holiday weekend!

 

Christmas in Chicago

This weekend my mother in law was visiting, so we met up downtown to witness the annual spectacle that is Christmas in Chicago. It's definitely magical and beautiful blahblahblah but let me tell you, Saturdays in December are craaaaaazy. Be prepared. We spent a few hours wandering the floors of the store formerly known as Marshall Field's, which I love visiting for the gorgeous architecture alone (see above and below). It also sells those delicious mint chocolates called Frangos, and I might have grabbed an impulse buy of Frango chocolate mint liqueur (best. find. ever). 

And then we attempted the Christkindlmarket, which is an adorable little German-style open air market set up in Daley Plaza, featuring delicious food and booths selling gorgeous hand blown glass ornaments and other kitschy Christmas things. I had been there once in high school for a German class field trip on a weekday and it was awesome. However, this Saturday it was INSANE. There were so many people crammed into the plaza that it was almost impossible to even get to the booths, let alone move! We instantly became claustrophobic and had to get out. (But if you're visiting the city I still recommend checking it out! It's like the Christmas version of the Bean.)

MASS CHAOS

Apparently this weekend was also a huge Christmas themed all-day bar crawl in Wrigleyville called TBOX.  The Addison red line station smelled like a frathouse and the streets were packed with a river of drunk people in elf and slutty Santa get-ups. Never a dull moment...

I was exhausted once we eventually made it home but I finally feel like Christmas is here!