September 22, 2010

FAIR-est of Them All.

I walked around the Wicker Park Renegade Handmade Art Fair about 2 weekends ago (after eating brunch with Doug's parents at "Feast" in my jazz pants). Although it was partially raining outside on the Saturday that I went, I was overall, extremely impressed. I also had the sudden urge, after witnessing the immensely creative talent being displayed, to go back to my apartment and start spontaneously bursting into craft projects using organic fabrics. Okay maybe that's too far, but either way, I was super impressed. I mean we are talking people who crafted pillows from old scarves, and letter-pressed band names etched across a photo of a Chicago landmark. Seriously interesting stuff. Above is the pillow that you'll see in an earlier post where I introduce everyone to my coffee table and couch. It's the print of a blue line El Train that is inked into the fabric with which the pillow was created. On the back second 1/2 of the pillow is a darker shade of gray tweed fabric. Super cool, eh? Totally hipster. I felt as though it added a nice touch to the preppy modern yet classic couch we purchased for the living room.
PILLOW: Zerobird Studio,
(Click to View Website)

I'm super excited to
share these posters I purchased (which we have yet to frame). I think these are pretty unique and adorable. It's amazing how something as minor as a couple of numbers in an area code can represent the two people that live in our apartment-"847" and "312". Of course, I'm an "847" since I am from Wilmette, inspiration to Mean Girls and the land of Range Rovers. Don't worry, I wasn't privileged to one of those $50,000+ vehicles at age 15. Doug, on the other hand, who is representing the "312" area code, is the person who had an Atlanta number, followed by a Champaign number, then when he interned in Leo Burnett, had a Chicago area code. Might be TMI, but hey, sorry, these posters just got my thinking of how defining an area code on your cell phone can be. It makes me thinking of the scene in Sex and the City 2 when Carrie Bradshaw is talking about being an "old New York" area code person versus the "new New York" when she has to get a new cell phone after throwing hers into the beach in Mexico after Big didn't show up at their wedding. Mish, stop going on tangents, move on. Back to the posters, these are prints that we will figure out where to hang in our apartment.
POSTERS: Area Code Project (Click to View Website)

Craft Fair Website

September 19, 2010

Crust is a Must!

Crust on Division is pure awesome. It's so much more than just pizza. I love restaurants that have more surprises on their menu to prove they are far from a specialized at only one area, and can actually offer a variety for their customers.

I liked everything about this place: from the red plastic water cups (boyfriend and I agreed at dinner that we do love a nice plastic water cup, not sure why), to our hippie waiter (that needs a haircut but was personable & practically squatted on the ground when he took our order so the sun wasn't in our eyes in the outdoor patio where we were seated). Most importantly, the food was fresh, and the ingredients well selected to create perfectly executed dishes.

We went after work this past Friday. I was not in the mood for pizza, since I had eaten it a few times within the last couple of weeks, so I actually ordered other items on the menu. I know what you are thinking "Mish you are crazy. You went to Folklore and didn't order steak and then went to Crust and didn't order pizza." Well if that's the case, you are probably right, but I guess it's a testament of how I have committed to stay true to self as far as determining what cuisine I'm in the mood to eat (not just what I'm "supposed" to eat a a restaurant). I think that it just proves that many places I've recently tried in Wicker Park have a breadth of items regardless of what your hankering is for.

To my surprise (I didn't do much research prior to attending dinner), everything was locally grown and totally organic. I got the sweet potato appetizer that was basically olive oil marinated sweet potatoes and pecans. It was a cold dish that was topped with sea salt. I know it sounds simple, but I could probably have had 14+ more servings, considering that it was seriously the perfect combination of sweet to salty, plus you really can't beat a locally grown ingredient at the peak of its season perfectly prepared. YUM. Also, I decided to get the beat salad with spinach and goat cheese. Another fantastic choice perfectly prepared. Doug got a pizza, slightly spicy with sausage on it. Of course, I tried some and picked off most the sausage (but don't worry, I tasted it a few times) like a wimpy girl, but the pieces I tasted were insanely juicy and well cooked, with a slight brown glaze on the top. Excellent.

By the way, this is perfect time to eat there at the weather isn't too hot. They have cute tables (of course I like the chairs! they are super cute and I think from IKEA) that are lined with green flower planters, sitting on the wide Division Street. It's perfect for people and/or chubby baby watching. We were so relaxed after our meal as a result of this environment, in fact, that we forgot the to-go box of pizza (oops! Sorry Doug, I know it was on my side of the table).

And P.S., they do have a side bar as well (the venue was much larger than I originally thought) so I will not hesitate heading there for some cocktails at the bar in the near future (they had great wine choices, a handful of micro-brews, and also some seasonal cocktails! Woo!). Seems like an awesome spot to be, regardless of your intended drinking/eating amount. The people are nice, the prices are reasonable, and I'll be back to eat again soon. I suggest you do the same.

Cheers,
Mish


Click to View the Website

In My Element.

Our house is coming together! Yeah baby! We only have roughly 2 million more things to purchase/paint & organize, but at least we are taking steps in the right direction. I have to keep reminding myself not to freak out prematurely and to remember how much we have ordered upon our arrival, and also, of course, how blessed and thankful I am to have a home to build. I never thought it could be this much fun, and also now completely understand why the home decorating industry is such a large and successful one. I seem to have been a stingy Jewish blonde my whole life, but suddenly when it comes to items that I will "use for years to come" in a new home, cost is not something that I focus on as being such an important factor.

In the photo above, I wanted to share my new coffee table that was just purchased. I know it's kind of stupid that I am trying to show the table but you can barely see it. I guess I'd like to display how much I enjoy it's size and shape in relation to the couch. It fits very nicely (despite it being a tad of an impulse purchase before a meeting one day at work). This is the website photos of it from CB2, Crate and Barrel's sister company. Have a look at the beauty shots of our coffee table titled the "Element Coffee Table." I think that the stone is very interesting. I wanted to get something a bit different in coloring and texture other than wood and or glass for something that we were going to end up putting our feet on. I'm not sure if the West Elm white tray is going to last on top of there, but for now, I am digging it (Doug not so much, but he's being a good sport about it, thanks Doug!).

Now that it's in the photo, I'll also share that our couch was purchased from West Elm. It's in the Walton Collection. Click for more information. We decided on the neutral tone very quickly as well. Luckily, I'm living with someone who has similar taste that I do, because if we see something that we like, we can choose pretty quickly that we 1. Want to own it 2. The color of it (although Doug is color blind, we both seem to like simple and basic color palettes rather than super bold tones--this might change as we accessorize further, but for this point in our lives, we are trying to get a clean canvas of items to work with as we grow into this home together). I'm looking forward to continue to decorate together & learn more about how we are going to visually represent our personalities within this space.