high tea? yes please.

free one saturday or sunday afternoon? say around 3? have a group of 8 or more waiting to be charmed to pieces? well, you're in luck. perennial's weekend high tea hours are just the thing.

snack on fresh baked goods, mini sandwiches and desserts - not to mention all the tea you can take. or, if you're feeling adventurous, for an extra fee add unlimited mimosas, bellinis or the house sparkling to your tab. it is the weekend after all. may as well make it count...

okay maybe tea and adorable tiny desserts aren't your thing, their brunch menu sounds fantastic. aaaand not surprisingly, so does their dinner. they are also doing a sweet corn tasting menu through september. wowza.

best of all, perennial uses mostly local and sustainable produce and can be found directly across from the green city market, which they proudly support.

eat up. its for the good of the community.
now, who wants to join me?

back to school special: a giveaway!

anticipation. the simple action of looking forward to something. its amazing how that can get you through a rough patch or those long weeks when nothing seems to be gong your way. its one of my favorite things.

august has always been filled with this emotion. for so so many years it meant back to school time. it meant a fresh start, a new tennis season, stacks of clean notebooks, new friends, new teachers and new things to freak out about. but best of all, it meant it was time to go school shopping! you can't very well start your brand new school year in a grimy shirt from the year before.

this was quite the event for us kids growing up. grandma would give us a little allowance (that could now barely buy a pair of jeans) and mom would come along to pitch in for a few things as well. it was always a game to see who could spread their money the furthest and oh so exciting coming home with new things to try on a thousand times in your bedroom before figuring out what would be the best for your big first day.

life doesn't quite work like that anymore. years, months, seasons run into each other and its not often you get a fresh start or a funded pair of jeans from you grandma.

well, i'm here to talk about both, sorta...

1) the least exciting for you...a new beginning. i'm starting a fulltime job at the end of the month. after a year of contract work, i'm going to be an official 5 day a week employee. i'll sure miss my tuesdays or long weekends, but its time routine becomes, well, more routine.

2) I'M GIVING AWAY A PAIR OF FREE GAP JEANS! the lovely powers that be at brand about town hooked me up again. this time i got a cute faded jean jacket that i just adore for me and a coupon for one pair of FREE JEANS for YOU!

to enter my jeans giveaway just leave a comment about your favorite back to school purchase. winner will be choose at random and contest goes through monday (8/23) at noon. winner will be notified that evening. *contest is open to girls and guys!*

for the record, my absolute favorite back to school item was a pair of gold corduroys i got in 5th grade from kids R us. funny enough, i found a practically identical pair last year on GAP's sale rack. lovely coincidence.

good luck!

this ones for the locals

free things to do in chicago: if you're not a fan (or haven't given them a thumbs up) on facebook, i suggest doing so. mulitple times daily they post things that are totally free to do around town. as someone who considers themselves pretty in tune with things, i'm constantly shocked at how many of their posts are brand new to even me.

here's a lil taste of some cool things out there:

• free movies at lincoln hall: this wednesday (8/18) they are starting their monthly free movie nights. this time "they focus on Chicgao's own John Cusack in “High Fidelity,” also starring Jack Black combined with another record store flick, “Empire Records.” Lincoln Hall would like to know how many are coming so please go to their Facebook page and RSVP — if you do, there’s another freebie for you – free popcorn!" - sounds like a pretty sweet deal. not to mention how wonderful this venue is. its like a cleaned up version of the vic's brew and view. ummmmm and there is karaoke afterwards. LIKE!

• free homemade pizza company pizza in old town: august 17th – 19th, 4–7 each night. "HPC invites all to join in the three-day celebration that includes meeting the founders (Chicago natives), children’s games, dough tossing demos and free samples of pizza, salads and cookies." nice!

• free legal advice: The Chicago Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service will host its next FREE monthly Call-A-Lawyer program on Sat., Aug. 21, from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteer attorneys will give free legal advice over the phone to Chicagoland residents who call (312) 554-2001. never know...

• free music: free download of chicago’s suns debut indie album, then come August 20 for the album release party. are they good? no idea, but it won't cost you anything to check out.

not in chicago? i'm sorry you should be. i kid, sort of. but just google "free in your city" and see if you can reap some internet savvy benefits too.

happy saving!

bits & pieces

prizes • beaches • celebrations • pups
life has been happening.

most noteably consuming, my little lulu has been sick. seems she caught a lil bug and now she's all dehydrated and out of sorts. which in turn has also made her mom out of sorts...but we're getting better over here. hopefully she'll be back to herself soon. i *almost* miss throwing the ball for 5 hours a night.

keep your fingers crossed for the little one!

taco time!

some nights all i can muster out of life is chips and salsa for dinner...or if i'm feeling fancy, a lean cuisine. other nights, i spend hours in the kitchen preparing, inventing and experimenting. this is an experiment below, i applaud.

generally when i do my weekly grocery shopping, i come prepared – list in hand and dinner ideas fresh on the brain. however, life doesn't always allot time for that now does it? so this past week, listless, i had to get creative on site. cue a sale on pork chops and an abundance of farmer's market produce already in the fridge. what do you get? pork tacos with summertime salsa. mmm.

what you need:
• 3 pork chops, sliced thin
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• pineapple juice (just whatever is left over from the can)
• sour cream (as much as you'd like. i, like a lot)
• cumin (sprinkle in meat and add to sour cream for an extra little kick)

• 2 fresh peaches, diced
• hearty handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small can of sliced pineapple (could definitely use fresh, but i wanted to BOGO my efforts with the canned juice from above)
• handful of basil, chopped
• juice from one lime
• a few swirls of olive oill (i'm very precise)
• salt and pepper to taste

how to:
start with the salsa. literally, just mix it all together. the longer this sits between serving the better. great if you make it the night before or even just 30 mins and let it hang in the fridge till you're ready for it.

for the meat, in a large skillet get your onions and garlic going with a little bit of olive oil. then add the pork and remaining pineapple juice with a few shakes of cumin. let it marinate and cook through. shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. then its time to eat.

dish out in your favorite tortilla shell lined with that dressed up sour cream and top with your fresh salsa. i also added spinach to mine for a little extra greens.

see, it's super simple. mostly just a lot of chopping. put on some tunes and rock out in your kitchen and it'll be bon appetit in no time!