Recent Happenings

I've been a busy blogger lately! Between my day job, personal life, and blogging, I've been going nonstop recently and some very fun things have been going on. You always get to hear about fun things I'm doing with my hubby, friends, and family and I occasionally share with you the travels that my day job takes me on. Today I wanted to share some fun things that have been going on lately in my "real" blog life...

First off, I'm over at So Hungry I Could Blog today taking part in their $6 Snack series. This Chicago-based food blog is a really fun read and they run a series dedicated to food and drinks (many submitted by readers) that you can find around the country for $6 or less. I'm sharing a favorite there today, so go check it out... here's a hint: I found my $6 Snack in New York City!

It seems I am everywhere this week! You can also check me out on the Chicago Food Bloggers blog answering their 5 Questions and over at Johnny Moneyseed giving my tips for how to be a foodie on $75/week.

[L-R] Me, Jocelyn, Chef Hubbard, & Kit (photo c/o Kit)

I joined a group of other food bloggers like Jocelyn from Grandbaby Cakes and Kit from The Kittchen at the James Hotel for a little pastry-centric celebration. Jove T. Hubbard, pastry chef at David Burke's Primehouse (in the James Hotel) was recently selected to travel to France to represent US in the World Chocolate Masters Finals, so the folks at David Burke and The James hosted a lovely little sendoff event for him.

Here's a peek at the pretty little treats they served: so delicious!

If you'd like to watch Chef Hubbard (and virtually cheer him on!), you can watch live on www.worldchocolatemasters.com starting today.

Have you heard of Darby Smart yet? It's a really fun service where you can purchase and receive a kit at home to create a variety of different DIY projects. They send you everything you need, instructions on how to make them, and you can link to tips from other users on what to do, how to alter them, etc. I had an opportunity to try out this scented soy candle kit and had a blast figuring out the process and mixing my own colors and scents-- and they came out great!

I met up with Sadie from Table 4 One at 694 Wine & Spirits in West Town for a few of my favorite things: girl talk, good wine, and a lot of cheese. She always has tons of fun dating stories and I was so excited to meet her at 694. I love this place-- it's cozy and laidback and they have a really different (and delicious) wine selection. I don't think I have ever described a Pinot Noir as tasting "like butter," but this one did-- and it was amazing!

I won a contest! The photo and recipe for one of my favorite brunches Huevos Benedict won the Cuisinart Point & Shoot Photo Contest. They sent me this fabulous 6-Quart Multicooker-- you can slow cook, saute, or steam is this bad boy... so excited to try it out!

Monica from Caravan of Style organized a brunch for a bunch of blogging ladies, which was so much fun! It's always so great to catch up with these girls and to finally meet some of the writers behind these great Chicago blogs too!

photo c/o Nicole at Cedar & Rush

From left to right in the photo above: Lindsay from The Garden Apt., Kit from The Kittchen, Nicole from Cedar & Rush, Monica from Caravan of Style, me, Rachel from An Eventful Life, Kat from A Girl & Her Food, and Sierra from Posh Meets Pavement.

The brunch was held at RM Champagne Salon, a fabulous little European-inspired restaurant and champagne bar tucked away in Chicago's West Loop. The place is lovely, the staff took great care of us, and the food was great-- a buffet of small brunch bites and eggs made to order; along with a few glasses of bubbly, of course!