Pimm's Wins!

You know I'm no high society English woman, but apparently my preferred beverage suggests otherwise? I was introduced to Pimm's & Stormy at Table Fifty-Two during Chicago's restaurant week this year. It was the most perfectly refreshing alcoholic concoction I'd ever tasted. Pimm’s No 1. Liqueur, Fentiman’s Ginger Beer, simple syrup, fresh lemon and cucumber served in a mason jar with crushed ice and a straw. I'm no "mixologist" (ugh), so follow this recipe at your own will knowing I still don't quite know what its proper name is... You've been warned!

Start with a good ginger beer, not ale! Fentiman’s is great but we decided to try Bundaberg due to the ridiculously awesome packaging. I died when I saw the pull tabs! You'll also need everything else listed above/seen in the photo above.


Slice your cucumber and lemon; I go overboard here because I love fruity drinks.


Here's where I normally curse the apartment gods for not giving me an ice machine built into our fridge! A bunch of cubes just has to suffice.


I repeat, I do not know what I am doing (!), however, I follow a 1:2 ratio and pour about 3-3.5oz of Pimm's over the ice.


Then divvy up one bottle of the ginger beer so each glass gets about 6oz. Pour in simple syrup (to taste), add your fruit and stir! I usually give my remaining lemon half a good squeeze into each glass, too.


And you're done! Sip it with your pinky sticking up and then you'll want to move on to illegal grilling on your standard Chicago faulty wooden back porch... Also see: How we spent our Memorial Day.


Our brand new, little, itty bitty baby grill is just the cutest grill there ever was! It looks even more adorable with tons of stuff crammed in.


Princess and Muscles helped to supervise our family's grilling experience, and overall I'd say it was a pretty rad day. Pimm's was involved, so that's a given. :)

The Sandwich to End All Sandwiches

I mean, really... This sandwich will murder any sandwich you've ever loved. Hands down. It isn't entirely my own creation, I found and modified the recipe from theKitchn.com, however, I am completely confident mine is better.


I soft boil two eggs and set them aside so they can cool. As a rule after boiling eggs, I crack the shell to make sure the peeling process isn't a pain after I've placed them in a bowl of cool water. It always helps.

I cut my asparagus into slices length–wise using a paring knife and place them in a skillet over high heat with oil and minced garlic. After searing the asparagus spears for about 6-8 minutes, they should be charred and delicious.

Earlier in the day, I dice about half of a red onion and put it into a container with vinegar so it can pickle as much as possible. I suggest an hour or more if you have the time! I've tried it with both apple cider and red wine vinegar, both were great.

I cut one large baguette in half and remove the center so all of my toppings won't slide out while eating. Once the bread is hollowed out, I spread mayo and dijon mustard generously.

Each sandwich is topped with one sliced egg (careful if you soft boil yours, they will be gooey), 1/2 of the asparagus, 1/2 of a sliced avocado and a generous amount of your pickled red onions. Season with a dash of salt and fresh pepper.

Andrew and I have eaten these sandwiches for lunch and dinner about 10 times in the last two months. They're that good. Plus, avocados just make everything better.

NOTW: Take 2

Hooray for new nails! This week's manicure was inspired by my vast collection of fat quarters. Because they're just so easy to hoard and I haven't been putting them to good use, I figured why not?


One perk of being obsessive about nails and therefore nail polish, is almost always having the exact colors I need to replicate whatever my inspiration may be.


See? Perfect match! From left to right: Sinful Colors in Pull Over and Unicorn, L.A. Colors Color Craze in Palm Tree and Nuclear Energy.


My brush skills need some improvement (take a look at that right hand) but making the leaf shapes wasn't too terrible. I think I'll take a stab at ombre nails next week. We'll see!

NOTW: First Edition

It has been SO. LONG. since my last post. I am totally embarrassed and I'm just going to move right along... Deal? Instead I will be writing weekly posts about my nails. Last summer I peaked with these bad boys and I want to get back to that!


For this manicure I used four colors. In the order of the photo above: Santee Plus in Vikini-Green, Sinful Colors in Cream Pink, Love & Beauty in Purple/Black, and Wet & Wild Wild Shine in Black Creme.

I managed to do a whole lot of eating with these nails...

Please note the cilantro accessory in my hair that Andrew didn't tell me about!
Leopard print nails have been everywhere for ages and yet I had never tried them. They're super simple and there are tons of tutorials all over the internet, so I won't go into detail on how to get this look. Unless, of course, you'd like me to! Just let me know and stay tuned for more nails next week. :)