Sunda!!

After a tiring week in New York for work, Doug's "aunt" (not real aunt, but he calls her aunt Christie) was in town. I love this woman. She is incredible. Therefore, when she's in town, there is not a question in my mind that I'd choose to participate (or not) at a dinner she organizes when in Chicago. I just go (even if I've been heavily drinking, not sleeping, staying in a hotel for multiple days in a row, and chowing on waist thickening Italian restaurants for the past few days). We went to SUNDA. Once you go Sunda you don't go back. I want to live in this restaurant, purchase all the furniture, and could probably eat everything on the menu for all my snacks and meals for multiple days in a row. This place is a HIT, let me tell you. 

Although hard to find, at its address at 110 W Illinois, it's on the North side of the street if you are walking west from, in my case, the Ivy Room, where Doug and I are most likely planning to hold our rehearsal dinner. There is blue tile outside of the restaurant, which in no way prepares you for the interior which rests ahead. Walk inside the front door, and you're taken to a modern vintage Asian American escape of multi-layered long communal tables, a bar area, and a sushi bar with an elaborately textured straw hanging art collection dripping down the wall. Very cool. 

We ordered a bunch of things (thanks to Katie, my future sister in law's knowledge of the 1/2 price appetizers until 7:00pm with a 4-square deal) from the appetizer menu including a mushroom and green bean saute dish, Oxtail pot stickers, and edamame, followed by multiple sushi rolls, the Ocean Garden Salad, and delicious red wine. 

I'd highly recommend this place. Check out the website and have a visit for yourself! Just be careful of the restrooms in the basement--I'm sure the long stairway gets harder to treck down after a few of the luscious cocktails on the menu! 

WEBSITE 

Cheers, 
Mish 

Valentine's Day at Mrs Dunn's

{Look at this little nugget! So cute!}

{He named all his strawberries "Jerry, Terry, Larry"}

{I continued to crack up}

If anyone knows me in the least, it's apparent that I like chubby babies. Little kids I find adorable, I call nuggets. No I don't want one, but I love fat fingers on little kids. I know it sounds creepy, but just move past that fact for me. I want to share my experience doing community outreach with our partner charter school at work. We fund their first grade class programs, and go and spend time with the cuties each year a few times on specific holidays (this time was Valentine's Day in particular). I had the best time ever. I had a dance party, some stimulating conversation with the cutest little chubby boy in the room, and have been happy about it all week. Some photos of our strawberry making festivities are included.

{Dance party continues}

{Woo! Hoo! Maybe corporate America isn't for me?}

Best of February List

Hello Friends, 

Just some loose ends that I had to point out before I forgot. 

Best Film of the Month: Cedar Rapids 

Ed Helms plays Tim Lippe, a nerdy tidy whitey wearing Insurance Agent, who find that he has no idea what he's in for when he's sent to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at an annual convention. What happens at the convention stays at the convention. Dry humor finished off with witty writing and fantastic characters including John C. Reilly {Chicago native!}. A MUST SEE. I'm excited to purchase this. I don't even buy movie's anymore, that's just how good this one is. 

Best Health Product: Thin Thin Dark Chocolate 100 Calorie Bites
If you have had Think Thin, you know how great these protein bars are. Plus, this is a new flavor. I'm personally very excited about their putting this on shelves. Get these at Whole Foods.

Best Make-Up Product: Benefit Erase Paste  

According to Sephora Online, "Benefit Erase Paste is a concentrated, creamy, blendable concealer that instantly brightens and camouflages all-in-one. It has an innovative formula which makes sure signs of stress and fatigue are a thing of the past. These three brightening neutral shades give every gal correction perfection." I learned about this product when getting my make-up done for my engagement party. I thought it would be a fun thing to do. This was the best product I bought last weekend. 
Sephora Website to Purchase  

Best Song to Run To: You! Me! Dancing! {Los Campesinos}
This is the best song ever. You'll recognize it from a Bud Beer commercial. No, I didn't find this song by myself. I found it via Doug, my hub to all good music. I may regret admitting that, but it's true. I like 80's music and don't really know anything past that other than what he recommends. Get on Groove Shark and listen to this immediately. If you aren't in a dance party within 5 minutes, call me and I'll owe you something. Plus, I suck at lyrics to songs. This chorus has like .001 items to remember "YOU! ME! DANCING!" I can do that. 

Enjoy the rest of the month! 

Cheers, 

Mish

Valentines Day My Way

On Valentine's Day, Doug and I ventured to Hot Chocolate for BRUNCH. We have yet to eat brunch there & let me tell you, it was spectacular. For those of you who don't know about our tradition, it involves eating brunch on or the day before Valentine's Day as close to dinner time as possible. "Brinner" (breakfast for dinner) is my favorite, but unless cooked at home, it's pretty hard to pull off at a restaurant because their menu schedule (unless you are choosing to eat at a diner, which we did do one year, and it was actually excellent--who can beat pancakes and milkshakes for 14 dollars total?). I hate Valentine's Day. It's a made up holiday. The only reason I like it, is because of the flowers. Sorry for partying.

I ordered the smoked fish plate (trout and salmon with cucumbers, capers, and tomatoes, and noodle kuggle on the side!), along with a fresh seasonal fruit plate and Grey Goose Bloody Mary. I was thinking off the joke that Steve Martin tells in "My Blue Heaven" (worst movie ever that the Goldstein family LOVES) when he tells a bartender he "wants the drink from the night that Mary was killed, call the Bloody Mary." Doug ordered a potato pancake dish with Pork Belly and sunny side up eggs. 

{I love capers}

Hot Chocolate on Damen was FULL to the brim when we walked in. To our pleasant surprise, we only waiting about 30 minutes (walked up and down Damen store fronts for 20 minutes then came back and I talked about the cute babies in the restaurant...before we knew it, our table was ready). Doug also surprised me with flowers at my desk at work. So sweet that he knows I only like white flowers. Good boy for listening, Doug! Well done.

{Flowers from Doug on my desk at work}

I also appreciate funny cards to also be included in my Valentine's Day celebrations. I don't think the holiday should be made any worse with tacky cards. I got a Happy Valentine's Day Hot Tamale Card created by this quirky fun print shop in town that hand makes their cards, and additionally gives a good deal of money to helping homeless animals in the city of Chicago {awesome}. Plus I love tamales, not to mention that this card shows the "Tamale Man" that makes his way from Chicago bar to bar with a cooler of home made tamales. Best idea ever.

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day and that it involved minimal amount of red roses & Italian food. That's just way to expected in my opinion! 

By the way, here are some resources: 
La Familia Green Card Collection Website
Hot Chocolate Restaurant Website

xoxo,
Mish

Orange Crush

Since moving to Wicker Park, I have become obsessed with Olivia's Market on Wabansia and Damen. It is the cutest neighborhood shop with charming orange awnings and floral arrangements in the windows. This is my "go to" place to swing by right after going to Dailey Method. That's exactly the routine that I performed today. Leave Dailey Method, walk to Olivia's, and then walk out in 10 minutes containing a dark chocolate Vosges bar (today I choose a Red Fire Bar with chipotle chillies and cinnamon flavored dark chocolate), a floral arrangement of some sort (I choose fresh white Spider Mums) and some snacks and cheese. I fulfilled all of my requirements for the day, passing up the wine section since I knew my parents were coming down to give Doug and I the gifts that some people had brought us last weekend for our engagement party (some of which included wine). I love cute shops like this that keep the neighborhood charm in tact, sorry, Jewel-Osco on the corner of Milwaukee, but you loose in this category. I love the strip of Damen stores and the shops around the corners, like Olivia's. They make me love where I live more and more. Today during my visit, the lady at the register told me the new dark chocolate in stock. I actually found that flattering that she remembered me! I'd advise you stop on into this market and take a few minutes to browse the unique treats that line the shelves. You'll find something special that you love. Plus, how many shops in town offer flowers AND wine and chocolates? It's like my MECCA!

Check out their website.

Enjoy your Saturday,
Mish

Be Mine

How adorable is Kate Spade. Seriously, I'm obsessed with her new valentines. I don't really like Valentine's Day, but I think that if it's done in a way that is quirky and different, it can be quite charming and fun. I was watching Modern Family last night when Jay (Ed O'Neil) tries to trick his wife, not only does it not work, but she sniffed out his whole plan, and flipped his trick on himself sealing the deal with "I WIN!" I love it. That's something I'd say. Doug and I don't, by any means, do elaborate things for Valentine's Day, but we do have our own tradition of breakfast for dinner and a HUGE bouquet of white flowers to my desk at work {wink wink}. No I'm kidding, I don't care about flowers as much as good food {if you know me at all, this is not surprising}. Speaking of which, our tradition offers excellent meals at a lower price usually. feel free to share our tradition. I had to share these Kate Spade e-Valentines. They are fun. I have the perfect friend (bridesmaid Kim to be exact) who would particularly like the "More than Coffee" Valentine. Ironically, it's her boyfriend that may need the "Bacon to My Eggs" card, given previous Halloween costumes! I love it (they were bacon & eggs). Cheers!

xoxo
Mish

Eggplant Sandwiches

I have had eggplants sitting in my fridge for about 1 1/2 weeks now, and one of my biggest pet peeves is when I leave good healthy ingredients in the fridge, so I had to use them. I was so excited to cook when I was on the bus home with Molly. Per our usual routine, we sprinted our asses off from the 56 bus to the 70 bus that was sitting at a red light. I was cooking my experimental eggplant sandwiches while waiting for my friend Liz to stop by with her husband Mark. This turned out to be hearty, delicious, and actually very healthy.

a few slices whole wheat bread (seeduction bread from Whole Foods is best)
1 tomato, sliced into disks
A few slices of mozzarella cheese (or whatever cheese you have in your fridge)
1 eggplant
4 tablespoons of tomatillo salsa verde (or basically anything you'd like to spread on the sandwich, just cilantro is fine, but I wanted to use some of this that Doug had made for the Superbowl party we attended on Sunday) MIXED with Greek yogurt (about 2 tablespoons) to make a thick paste
salt & pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Slice the eggplant into thin disks & cover with PAM or with EVOO, salt & pepper. Bake for 10 minutes on one side, take out the disks, flip them onto the other side, and then stick them back in the oven for another 10 or 15 minutes. They will be brown and totally delicious. Layer the eggplant onto the sandwich with slices of tomato, and the special sauce. I threw the sandwich in the oven because it hadn't cooled down yet (microwave could work too). Doug even liked it even though he "isn't a huge eggplant person." That makes me happy. Enjoy!