Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Happy Tuesday and a very happy 4-day week to all of you!

I hope that your Memorial Day weekend was fun, relaxing, and a bit warmer than ours was here in chilly Chicago.  Brrrr... it's almost June! Where is the sunshine?

Weather aside, we managed to have a fun weekend in the city beginning with the West Loop Craft Beer Fest on Saturday. It was held right in our neighborhood (which was super convenient) and featured craft breweries from around Chicago and the surrounding areas. Some were more mainstream breweries like Goose Island, Rock Bottom, and Three Floyd's, but others were more boutique or fledgling brands that are harder to find in bars and liquor stores. We had so much fun sampling beer all afternoon and chatting with the folks that represent these breweries. They were truly passionate about their craft and about their brands!

Some of my favorite new-to-me brews included:

• Virtue Cider's Red Streak, an English-style draft cider.
• 5 Rabbit golden ale by 5 Rabbit Cerveceria
• BuckleDown Brewing's Belt & Suspenders America IPA
• Strawberry Blonde, An American-style blonde ale made with real strawberries by DESTIHL Brewery

I would recommend sampling any of the above if you find them at a bar or liquor store near you!



It was chilly this weekend, but I think our frigid winter is finally over (or I hope, at least) so we also decided to tackle cleaning our deck and doing some planting this weekend.

I love to have fresh herbs growing on my deck. They smell great and make cooking so easy, since I can just snip whatever I need as we go along.

 

I don't have the greenest thumb though, as you may recall from previous posts. We had a hot summer last year and our deck is shaded a lot of the time, so Alex affectionately refers to my urban herb garden as Death Valley or the bone garden most of the time. I am determined to prove him wrong this summer!

By the way, how adorable are these little herb markers that Alexis gave me for my garden? So much cuter than the plastic markers they came with.

We also made a little trip over to Glazed & Infused for some festive Memorial Day donuts. On our menu this weekend: a Strawberry Rhubarb-filled Bismark, a Blueberry Lemon Glazed, a patriotic Glazed Birthday Cake Donut with Sprinkles, and a Banana Cake Donut with Cream Cheese Frosting & Walnuts. I LOVED the banana donut. Hello, donut-induced holiday nap.

 

 

 

We ended the weekend in our favorite way-- cooking out with friends. Alexis hosted a BBQ for a few of us and it was a great way to end the weekend and to kick off summer. Even if the weather wasn't amazing.

I brought some bubbly and a Caprese-inspired pasta salad. I will be sharing that recipe with you tomorrow. I also wanted to give Mere a shout out for bringing us some freshly made pierogies straight from her grandmother's kitchen. Amazing!

Alex also broke out his new favorite game: the very inappropriate Cards Against Humanity. Check it out for your next adults-only get together and thank me later.

 

 

 

How are your holiday weekend?  Hope you enjoyed it!