I Back the Bid!

It's hard not to have Olympics fever ... when you're surrounded by signs reminding you that cities across the globe are vying for the 2016 games! Lucas and I just got back from an amazing trip to Chicago -- a first time in the Windy City for us both.

Our birthdays and wedding anniversary all fall within about three weeks of each other, so we decided to take a quick trip instead of doing presents/dinners/etc. for each one. When we arrived on Friday afternoon, we dropped our stuff at the GORGEOUS Hotel Allegro:

(They even sent up a yoga bag for me to use for free during the stay, and had a 24-hour fitness facility ... so I didn't get too behind on training)

And headed over to Rick Bayliss's Topolobampo restaurant, where we had the best.Mexican.food.ever. All sustainable, all fresh, all authentic -- all incredible.


I had the Cuatro Casitas, which had little tasting-size portions of porky goodness, corn tamales, grilled shrimp, warm tortillas and salsa, mole ... and more.

After that, we did the tourist thing for the rest of the afternoon, walking all around the city, including the Riverwalk, Millenium Park, State Street and more.



We had tickets to see Twelfth Night, so we stopped at Fox and Obel for finner. It's like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's ... great baked goods, fresh cheeses, wines and a big deli in the back. I had an awesome grilled veggie panini ... a little too greasy, but delicious anyway.

Twelfth Night was amazing ... they had this big pool of water set up at the front of the stage, and ALL of the characters used it in some way -- I don't want to give away any of the surprises, but if you're in the Chicago area, I highly recommend seeing the show.

Plus, it's playing at the gorgeous Navy Pier. During the summer, I'm sure this place is busier, but it was pretty cold, so all of the rides and food stands were shut down.


On Saturday and Sunday we did more of the typical tourist stuff ... we hit pretty much every park and museum, walking most of the way. Yup, my feet were DYING by the end of the weekend!



I loved the Green City Market:



So did Lucas, because you could taste everything, and he found this HUGE serving of blueberry bread pudding for only $5!

The zoo is one of the best FREE things you can do in the city!

We saw Wrigley Field AND Soldier Field.


We also met the world's largest and most complete T-Rex skeleton: Sue.

One highlight of the weekend was our trip to the Frank Lloyd Wright district in Oak Park. You get to take a free walking tour of all the homes he designed in the area -- it's a fantastic neighborhood, with lots of historic homes. Lucas (the architect) was in photo heaven.



Just like our trip to Seattle and Portland last year, we found lots of great local shops selling fresh bread, produce and more. We had some amazing food on this trip!


The weather ... meh. Friday was nice, Saturday was okay, Sunday was MISERABLE (the Sears Tower was closed because of zero visibility!) and Monday was back to being okay.

We were able to hit the Museum of Science and the Sears Tower before boarding a plane and heading back home.



Overall? Chicago was an AWESOME city, and I really enjoyed the visit.

I had a few "this is what is wrong with America" moments when it came to food and eating -- and had a bit of a breakdown at the Chicago airport -- but I'll save those stories for my next post. We'll keep this one positive. :)

Ethical Eating and Other Thoughts

I have had this post half-written in my head since this morning, but acchhh!! Where has the time gone? I have a very early start to my Monday morning, so I will have to make this quick.

Before the deep thoughts, let me tell you how the weekend started ... with some sad Syracuse Orange fans.

We met our friends Jim and Jackie at one of our favorite places -- Firkin Kegler, a really cool bowling alley/arcade/restaurant/sports bar that has huge screens at the end of each bowling lane. During football season, it's a great place to go because they have all the games, and hey, it's a BOWLING alley.





But when we got there to watch the Syracuse-Oklahoma game, the game wasn't on! Rather, the girls working behind the ticket counter couldn't find it. Grrr!

So we rushed across the street to Orlando Ale House, which thankfully WAS playing the game, and the wait for a table was only 20 minutes. We grabbed a seat and hoped for the best. But, our guys didn't bring their best skills, and I drowned my sorrows in a plate of onion rings. :)

It was pretty gross ... it's been so long since I had friend food, or junk food of any kind, that I had to have a pre-bed snack of Tums just to get to sleep.

On Saturday, the bad luck continued. Whenever possible, I like to go to the Farmer's Market to buy fresh, organic, locally-grown fruits, veggies, coffee, beans and more. But when we showed up, the vendors were all packing up! We got stuck going to Publix ... bummer.

And it really was a bummer. I've been giving a lot of thought to the idea of ethical eating. It's not as high and mighty as it sounds -- it's simply knowing where your food comes from, and ideally, who grows it. It's buying in season, from local farms, dairies and more, to protect the people in your community, and to get the freshest, most healthy goods available.

It is, in many cases, more expensive to buy organic. But the truth is, you're investing in your health, and just by cutting out TWO Starbucks coffees or TWO fast-food meals, your shopping is paid for.

So, ethical eating was the theme of the weekend, especially after I went to the Florida Film Festival and saw the documentary "Food Fight."

Here's the blurb and a trailer:

Fashions for food change as regularly as the seasons. As we begin the 21st century with an increased sensitivity about what's "green" as well as what's "healthy," how did we stray so far from the fresh vegetables and fruits of our farmer forebears? An overlooked part of the cultural revolution of the '60s incorporated a back-to-the-land movement that has resulted in some of the finest cuisine in the country. Organic farmers, inner-city activists, chefs, as well as renowned restaurateur Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, and The Omnivore's Dilemma author, Michael Pollan, anchor this homage to good food. The food revolution that has taken us, quite literally, back to our roots is chronicled in this free-wheeling film about American agricultural policy, its unintended consequences, and the Herculean and very Californian effort to get us to care about good taste--in food, that is. Highly entertaining and informative, FOOD FIGHT is narrated by Justin Kirk (TV's Weeds) and won the Audience Award for 2008 from the esteemed International Documentary Association.

Some of the biggest chefs in modern cuisine made appearances ... and guys ... this was the kick-in-the-butt moment I needed to do what I already knew was right.

Impulse buyer that I am, I rushed across the street to buy three books that were on my wish list already, and two that I got as a result of watching the movie. (Thanks, Mom, these are from you!)





(The Alice Waters bio and Clean Eating cookbook were not on the list, but most of the documentary was focused on Alice and Chez Panisse, and it was fascinating!)

I am not vegan, and I don't follow a raw diet. But since I do follow clean eating, I like the idea of putting some of these recipes to work, too. Besides, Gina from Fitnessista makes the most incredible raw macaroons, and the whole blogging world is talking about Veganomicon, so I had to see what the fuss was all about.

And I spent the rest of my birthday money on these beauties (that are already being put to work!)

A rice cooker (oops, photographed the Spanish side!), which we used to make filler for our grilled burrito dinner, and some extra for lunches this week:

And a food dehydrator for all the yummy raw recipes I will be making!


My mom used to dehydrate lots of stuff ... fruits, rinds, fruit leather ... mom, what else did you make? I currently have an experimental tray going: seedless green grapes, strawberries and brussels sprouts! Later this week I am going to add some orange rind and maybe some carrots.

I also stopped at Williams-Sonoma to grab a couple of other toys that were on my list -- a garlic press:

And some new kitchen towels and oven mitts. Faegan LOVES to steal these off the oven handle, so these will have a new drawer home.

And a quick trip to Target to get this SUPER expensive, super fancy olive oil sprayer:


Hee hee. I wanted to get one at Williams-Sonoma, but they were sold out. When I was looking up books at Borders, one of the cookbooks said a regular spray bottle is just as good as the expensive ones. So I'm giving it a try!

I know this is a long post, but if you have stuck with me this far, please check out a video we just posted on GrowingBolder.com. It's a story of an 8-year-old whose mother was diagnosed with and died from breast cancer within a year. She decided to hold a "Think Pink" lemonade stand to raise money for research. Her goal was $50. Look at what happened next:



If you enjoyed it, please consider embedding it in your blog, or passing the URL on to somebody you love. This little girl and her family deserve a huge community kudos for their amazing strength.

For those of you who track my exercise routine (I know you're out there) it was a fantastic weekend, which included a 28-mile bike ride on Saturday and a 6.5 mile run plus some weights at the gym on Sunday.

Friends, food, and films ... what a weekend.

Junior says have a great night ... get some sleep!

I Love the Funshine State!

Peek-a-boo! It has been an incredible weekend in Central Florida -- the kind the tourism board dreams about! The Sunshine State gets a bad rap, and it's true that we DO have problems; namely, crime, underfunded schools, pollution/lack of eco-friendly policies and dubious politics.

But this is why I love living here -- this weekend, we spent NO money and took in some amazing sights at the Winter Park Art Festival and Leu Gardens (wedding trivia -- we used pictures from a previous trip to Leu Gardens as table numbers!)











We also did a TON of work on the backyard, trying to get it ready for my first vegetable garden!

The weather stayed sunny but cool (mid-70s), so I knew this morning would be a perfect time for a bike ride. It was my first outing with the new cycling shoes and pedals, and it took a little driveway practice, but I was able to get in and out without crashing! Yippee! I even saw an alligator:

When I got home, I was pleasantly warmed up and felt like I had gotten a great lower-body workout, but my arms felt unloved. So I took care of that with one of the free Exercise TV on Demand programs, and let Jackie Warner do a little 1-on-1 Upper Body and Core work. My arms now feel loved, tired and beaten down, just the way I like them.

Come ON with that body!

After the workout, I got started on my weekly Clean 'N' Prep Sunday routine, but something got into me and I went even crazier than normal! I'm talking down on my hands and knees, scrubbing my beloved-yet-bane of my existence tile floor, baseboards and more.

My sore arms will feel THIS tomorrow, too! And if you don't believe me that cleaning is a workout, check this chart out. (Just noticed our klassy recycling system in that picture -- Sam Adams beer boxes! Oh well, I guess our system is an example of recycling itself.)

Once that was done, I moved right into my prep, so I didn't lose the momentum. This week, we will be dining on cantaloupe, strawberries, romaine lettuce, carrots, brussels sprouts, broccoli and more.








Plus, we have an overflowing fruit bowl full of yummy peaches, bosc pears, plantains, grape tomatoes and more!

(Can you spot the kitty in that picture?)

My biggest tip for prepping food? Keep a garbage "bowl" nearby, and just dump all of the leftover junk in it (or the sink) and that way, you only have to take one trip to the garbage. Yes, Rachael Ray gave me the idea.



And, as a reward, I made myself the lunch I was craving -- typical, but yummy nonetheless:

Phew! All that plus another win for my beloved Syracuse basketball team? What a weekend!