Toast-y Brunch

Well, we survived Mother's Day brunch this past Sunday. We wanted to get something to eat and since I'm a "new mom" of a puppy, I got to choose. I picked Toast since we've lived in LP for 8 months and have never been...it's a super popular nabe spot with 1-2 hour waits as the norm. Not happening for a girl like me who needs to eat once she starts thinking about it - especially on Sundays!

C obliged and put our name in an hour before we thought we'd be hungry, which really worked out for us and we were seated on schedule at a cozy banquette table near the kitchen. The menu is awesome, a great selection of super sweet breakfast items, savory sandwiches, eggs and omelets run the gamut from crazy to Denver...the most outlandish, yet ultimately satisfying menu item was the French Toast Orgy. I can't even tell you how strange it sounds on the menu - but it was SO good. It's 3 rectangular pieces of stuffed, soaked French toast (mascarpone and strawberry, for us) topped with vanilla yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit. It's an enormous mess of goodness.

The other item we tried was the Lump Crab Benedict - the eggs were cooked perfectly and the truffle hollandaise was amazing. The crab vs crabCAKE is up for debate, though this is a healthier option, likely. Toast makes great homefries and the potatoes are caramelized and crispy - the onions are hard to resist/share (sorry).

Julies Meinl coffee was a great addition to the meal and helped perk us up after a late Saturday night. Both effective and tasty, I plan on many future Sundays at Toast...as long as C is up to the task of putting our name in early :)

Springtime in Chi-town

Well, it's spring in Chicago and we've yet to have a week that so truly announces it's arrival as this past week - sun, rain, warmth, brisk breezes. If with the good, comes the bad, then I'd say we had a pretty 50/50 split this week of either. I'm enjoying the flowering trees and the tulips and daffodils I see everywhere - here is a shot of LP near our house with the green grass and the budding trees:

So far, I think springtime in Chicago is a lot like the past 6 in Boston, though we haven't had a late snow (well, March was late for ME). Only 6 more weeks until it's officially summer!

I for one am quite excited for the outdoor Green City Market this weekend. After a false alarm last weekend, we are very ready to peruse the stands once again and scramble home to put it all together in some sort of veggie delight or fruit salad. I love, love, love the options and the freshness of it all. Plus, it's a fun activity with C and the pup! This weekend kicks off their 11th anniversary of bring local produce to the city. How better to celebrate it than with a 'lettuce fest'?

Target Pop-up Store

Being in the world of retail marketing as well as LOVING to shop, I find these sorts of things super fun!

Target does a lot for me - it was where my friends and I would go in college, nearly every weekend (where else can you get slippers, develop film, buy snacks, find a cute pair of earrings, and bring home some new music?) I love their advertising, I love their alignment with designers to bring chic to cheap, I just enjoy being there and purchasing (good for Target, bad for paycheck). Either way, I had to check out the pop-up store and was not disappointed.

There were racks and racks of clothes, shoes, bags, sunglasses, lip gloss, lotion. Fresh flowers, real lemons, fake cabbages (note: I saw a woman pick two up and compare them - weird), lamps, chairs, pillows - gorgeous pillows- and bedding. Pretty much all that you love at Target, minus the "boring" stuff.

Definitely worth checking out - but be prepared to roam the 3 floors with about 200 other people.