The last couple of months, I have been spending a lot of time back home. If you remember from a post from the last time I was home, I mentioned having lunch with an old high school friend. After re-connecting and talking on a weekly basis, we became closer and have since become "official". Here's a little snippet of what we've been up to:

I came to see "Spelling Bee", a musical which he directed, which was hilarious. I ended up going to the show twice! Once by myself and the next night with his family and mine. My mom and her husband met his parents and aunt at the show. 

The next day, Eric took me to the church that he attends downtown Chicago. I was a little hesitant as to what to think before we arrived. It was a beautiful building and everyone was super welcoming. As I sat down and read my program, this little note sealed the deal for me! I fell in love with their philosophy. 

Afterwards, we drove to my mom's for Sunday Brunch. My older sister, Grace, came over and we just sat in the sun, drank mimosas, and enjoyed each others company. It was the perfect day!

Yum, yum, yum. Sunday brunch is my favorite meal :)

Meet little Charlie! My mom just got a new puppy and we played with him all afternoon. He is so sweet! Stay tuned, more trips and experiences to come. Just keeping busy, busy, busy!

Peaches & Cream.

Once a week, a few friends and myself get together to cook or bake whatever is farm fresh for the week. We've made an apple pie, blueberry and vanilla tart, whiskey soaked cherry pie... and the list goes on and on. I have pictures of several of these concoctions but I haven't the time to blog! Ay!

A couple of weeks ago, Meredith, one of my good friends traveled to Georgia to visit her best friend and brought back Georgia Peaches, which she handpicked! She threw them in her luggage, with a hope and prayer that they would make it back safely. Here is what we did them those beauties:

Derek's Famous Guacamole. 

Our new friend and neighbor in e300 made this famous guacamole. It was pretty delicious. I MIGHT even say it is a close second to mine ;)

Hand Picked Georgia Peaches.

Here are the little beauties! What to do, what to do? I pulled out ALL of my cooking and baking cookbooks and we sat down and narrowed it down. 

Georgia Mint Lemonade.

In the midst of deciding, I threw together some cocktails. Random parts of Jeremiah Weed, Vodka, fresh squeezed lemonade, and a Peach Simple syrup, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint. Yum!

We always have the need to snack and drink while baking/cooking. Something salty and sweet? The perfect combination, if you ask me! 

Within the last couple of months, I think that I have mastered the art of pie crust making. I am pretty sure that I can do it in my sleep now.

 After "blanching" the peaches and pulling back the skins, I cut them up, them in a big bowl and got the filling mixture ready. 

After tossing the peaches in the random mixture of dry ingredients, I threw in a few splashes of whiskey. Why not, right? It's kind of secret ingredient, so don't tell anyone ;) 

After letting the mixture sit for a minute, I threw everything into the pie baking dish, and topped the pie with some of the extra dough. Into the oven it goes!

After about an hour of baking, viola! Perfect Georgia Peach Pie. 

I topped the peach creation with a sweet glaze and fresh peaches. 

We didn't have any ice cream but I had some heavy whipping cream and quickly made some vanilla bean whipped cream. The best part? It tasted and good as it looks. Several more food posts to come :) 

If I hadn't mentioned it before, I haven't been cooking as much as I used to. I live by myself and cooking for one isn't as fun as cooking for a crowd so any chance I have to cook for anyone, I jump at the opportunity because I do truly love doing it so when Bethany told me to come over to her house to help her cook for the family, I jumped at he opportunity. 

I had a few things in my fridge (surprisingly) and I brought over fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil from my patio garden and made a little caprese salad. 

I also brought over some fresh sage that I thought we could incorporate with the fish that she had. 

I made a little mixture of panko, salt, pepper, garlic and the fresh sage to cover the fish fillets in. 

Once covered, I pan-fried the fish, while Seth and Bethany grilled some steak and oven roasted some rosemary potatoes. 

Little Quinn was loving everything, she is such good little eater, not too picky at all :)

The finished product. What do you think? I love to cook and eat, of course! 

Accidental Fashion Industry Show.

A couple of weeks ago, Bethany, Seth, Jenn and I attended the Accidental Fashion Industry Fashion Show at the Brenton Skating Arena. I had heard amazing things about the show in the Fall and I knew it was a "Must Attend" event. One of my great friends Lucy Shay was a producer so I knew it would be fabulous. 

This is what I wore. Electric blue pants, a crisp white shirt, a black suit jacket, and a cute bow tie from Vitae. This fabulous ensemble caught the eye of the DSM Style Hunter. He snapped a couple of quick pictures and I was on my way. I didn't realize how awesome they turned out until I saw them on Facebook. I have received SO many great compliments to the point where a client pointed out to me, "Your picture is the epitome of happiness and I want to blow your picture up and stare it all day long."

The weather and overall night was perfect. Everyone was freaking out because of the rain but it actually cooled the hot weather down and made it amazing. The view from our seats was gorgeous. You could see the entire city scape and sunset. 

Besties :) Such a great depiction of how fabulous the night was. The fashion, the show, the people, everything was so perfect. We had an amazing time. 

Our group picture before leaving my apartment. Everyone was dressed to impress. Don't you think? Such a great looking group, right? :) 

Miss Lucy, one of the show producers, looking amazing and also one the DSM Style Hunter's pick. Amazing, amazing show Lucy, can't wait for the next!

Most of the pictures posted here are courtesy of Bethany. Check out her blog here. She is amazing. Such a great shot and a perfect image to capture the greatness of the night. 

Two of the most fashionable men of the night? Duh. 

Dam to Dam: Done.

Yes, you better believe it... I trained my body to run 12.4 miles. Did I think I could achieve it? Maybe not at first, but once I had run 11 miles, I thought to myself, "What's another 1.4 miles, right?"

The most important part of running Dam to Dam? For me it was all about the outfit. The close the race got, the more and more I was worried about what I was going to wear. I kept thinking to myself, "How many people are going to see me?!" I knew I had to run out and get something quick and I did! What do you think?!

Race Day. We had to stick these little "GPS" trackers on our shoes. Apparently they don't have GPS but I was convinced they did. They track your time... also known as GPS to me ;) All the same thing right? Oh technology. 

I thought the buses were picking us up at 7:00 a.m. I was obviously very confused because the race started at 7:00 and the buses were picking us up downtown at 5:00 a.m. Ugh. How do we look for being on a school bus at 5:00 a.m.? We were actually kind of delirious. Haha.

We had been planning on meeting up with our friend Mike and his friend but didn't think we would actually find each other since there were thousands of people around but Mike found me. He was looking for the "red, mock turtle neck shirt". 

Jenn and John Hansen managed to capture the "joy" I was feeling at 12ish miles. To be completely honest, I was checked out at 11 miles. My body started cramping and I was fighting to keep running, there was no way I was going to give up!

The only way I could reward myself? Americana brunch, of course! Crossing the finish line was such an accomplishment and I was SO proud of myself. I run with music and it motivates me to keep running. As I was struggling to finish, the last song that came on and I stared at the finish line was "The Only Exception" by Paramore. I don't know why but as I ran, holding one of my best friends hands, and listened to it, I became super emotional and teared up and I crossed the finish line. If you have ever run and trained maybe you would understand but I was a little overwhelmed but SO happy.  

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a fabulous event in Waukee at Schade Winery hosted by the Burt Family, before heading out to Chicago for my mom's wedding reception. 

Schade Winery in Waukee.

A winery in Waukee? Who knew! Most of the people who attended and/or heard of it later had no idea.  The winery itself was very serene. I couldn't get over how I had never heard of it. All I wanted to do was have a picnic one the beautiful lawns that they had. 

Music, Wine, & Food.

The musical program was setting up when we first arrived. From the parking lot, we were escorted to the front lawn in golf carts. They had a couple of bars setup featuring the wineries best wines. 

Dinner Reception Location. 

 The event was catered by Maid-Rite and everything from the food to music to company was amazing. They had a live auction and swag bags. The evening was just perfect. 

A very special thanks to the Burt's for the invitation. It was a magical evening for a great cause. So honored to be invited and able to enjoy great music, food, wine, and friendly and fun company :)

City Bakery.

Have you been to City Bakery in the East Village?

Eggs & Avocado Breakfast.

It opened late Fall and has been a hidden gem. They don't do any advertising or social media marketing at all which is why most people don't know what or where it is exactly. The owners of La Mie opened this cute little cafe in the same place that Bagni di Lucca used to be.

They used to only be open for lunch Tuesday thru Friday but have recently extended their hours to accommodate breakfast goers as well as Saturdays for those strolling around the East Village. I hope it stays open, the food and service are amazing... but you shouldn't expect anything less since they are the masterminds behind La Mie :)