Quality Friday: Sweet Home, Chicago

There is no doubt in my mind that Chicago is, and always will be, home.

Last weekend, Mark joined me on my business-trip back (as I promised he would!), and we enjoyed packing in every free moment of our six day visit spending time with family and friends. It was exactly the vacation that we needed, and our time spent with loved ones was refreshing and rejuvenating (though never quite long enough).

Even weather in Chicago was absolutely perfect, so similar to the amazing California weather that we enjoy on a daily basis. Last weekend almost made me forget that there are terribly cold winters and stifling hot summers to contend with:)

We were graciously hosted by Mark's dad, allowing the two of them to spend time quality time together while I worked on Monday and Tuesday. Here's a brief recap of our visit:

Friday afternoon, and after settling in and enjoying lunch with Mark's dad, headed out for an evening with my family at Brandon's girlfriend Shruti's parent's home. BJ and Nimmi prepared an amazing feast of Indian cuisine, which we enjoyed immensely, along with their warm hospitality.

Saturday afternoon, we met Mark's family at our traditional meeting spot, Carson's, where we got to spend a few hours enjoying their company. Afterward, we headed out for an evening of fun and games with Mark's poker buddies - a truly fantastic crew.

Sunday, we went to church in the morning, then to Brandon's for a quick lunch, to the Grafton for a few drinks, made a quick stop at Melissa and Steven's to give Mark a tour of their new home (and to meet Cosette) and finally to Orlando's for the rest of the evening.

Sadly, my camera only made its way out on two occasions, both on Sunday, so here are the few photos I have to share:

Daniel, all grown up at 18, and getting ready for his first year in college!

Grill-master, Brandon, whipping up lunch at his place.

Me and my Jonny. I can't tell you how much I love every one of my brothers.

Michael, Audrey, Kjersten, Melissa, Esther, Mark and Steven at The Grafton.

I love these ladies!

Monday night we enjoyed a huge dinner at Randy and Vivian's, and Tuesday, met up with Mark's cousins for dinner, drinks, and some outdoor Olympic viewing in Wicker Park. And on Wednesday we had lunch at our Greektown favorite with Mark's dad before spending our final afternoon and evening at my parent's house.

Just like every trip back, it was over far, far too soon. This Quality Friday, is dedicated to the the moments spent at home and the memories created with our favorite people on earth. WE LOVE YOU, CHICAGO!

Quality Friday: Making Every Minute Count

Last weekend's trip back to Chicago was as Jam Packed as could be. Really, is there any other way to do it, when you only have a few brief days to spend with family and friends?

I'm amazed at the number of people I was able to see and the number of things I was able to do in the short time between Saturday evening and Tuesday afternoon. My spirits were lifted, my belly was full, and my eyelids were heavy by the time I headed back!

Saturday night, after dinner and wine at home with Dad, Jonathan and Casandra, I briefly stopped in at Melissa and Steven's to hug and spend a few moments with Orlando and Esther.

Sunday morning began early with brunch at Starbucks/Tre Kroner with Melissa, Ann-Marie and Kjersten, followed by church at Edgebrook.

The Original Brunchettes.

Immediately after church, I picked up Leslie and we cruised downtown to the Greek Islands where we met Norman for a lovely lunch. I wasn't even remotely hungry when we arrived, but who can resist a plate full of taramasalata and an order of pastitsio?

Just a few hours later, I had my third meal of the day at a restaurant - dinner at Garcia's with my parents, brothers, Shruti and Casandra to celebrate Dad's birthday. I've missed so many family events in the past month - Jonathan's college graduation, Mom's birthday and Mother's Day, Brandon's birthday on Wednesday, and Daniel's high school graduation tonight - opportunities that I'd have to spend time with my fantastic family if we didn't live 2000 miles away.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

After allowing the day's worth of food plus cake to settle, Jonathan and I even went for a run at 11pm on Sunday night!

Monday and Tuesday were filled with meetings at work and a chance to gather hugs from friends at the office, enjoy snippets of their lives and a few minutes of face time. And on Monday night, after a team dinner (yes, another one!) at Carlucci's, Melissa and I headed out to see SATC, followed by cosmos at the new Velez Luce home (where I also spent the night in their chic guest room)!

Chicago, I love you. I miss you when I'm gone, and enjoy every moment when I'm back. The only thing that could have made the weekend better is if Mark had been there, too.

Next time, I'm bringing him back with me. Period.

Okay, time for an update

I've been battling the longest cold that I can remember in recent years (12 days and counting), and I am sick of being sick! My cough is starting to die down, my voice is almost back to normal, the eye infection is gone, and hopefully I'll be rid of what remains, soon.

On top of being sick, a recent promotion at work has kept me more than busy. I feel like all I've done in the past two weeks is work and sleep. And work. And sleep.

As a result, I realize that I've failed to share some of the fun we've been up to. So here you go:

Two weekends ago...
Melissa and Steven came to visit us, and we had a great time catching up with dear friends. Wine tasting was at the top of our list of things to do (surprise, surprise!) and we enjoyed our first introduction to Sonoma County wines. We discovered that the feel of the Sonoma tasting rooms is different from Napa - more relaxed and laid back, generally providing more personal attention, and often the tastings are free!

Our first stop in Sonoma.

We were all quite happy with many of our findings, including a newfound favorite. Honestly, every SINGLE wine we tasted at Williamson was delicious, prompting us to join our first wine club!

Other weekend highlights included a trip to Bodega Bay on the California coast, enjoying Mark's performance in a concert at school, more wine tasting in Napa, and visits to Muir Woods and other San Francisco highlights.

For once, I didn't take a single picture on my camera, letting the true photographers do all the work. Melissa has posted a few more photos here (and I'm looking forward to getting a hold of the rest sometime soon!).


And last weekend...
The temperatures soared into the 80's - even in San Francisco! As much as I love warm weather, I was feeling sick enough to want to simply sleep all day. Thankfully, my husband rescued me and suggested a leisurely afternoon drive into SF on Saturday, where we enjoyed walking along the bay, soaking up the sun, and some of our favorite San Francisco eats.

Yes, it was even warm enough to head to the pool for a few moments on Sunday (or, rather, sit by the pool as I tried to catch up on work)!

chicken soup for the soul

are you wondering how i'm doing with my 2008 goals, seeing that we are in week 3 of the new year?

well, i've certainly been working on item number 1! i have to admit - some of my culinary attempts have been less successful that others, but i'm working at it and learning along the way:)

and in an effort to keep myself accountable, i've joined this group of ladies in creating a new blog - menusbythemonth.blogspot.com - a place where we can swap menus, store them for future reference, and share them with others who might be interested in suggestions.

hope you enjoy it!

that being said, here's the the first recipe that i tried out in the new year. in fact, i made it twice in one day, and liked the repeat version share here better that the first, thanks to some wonderful suggestions from my husband.


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audrey's cilantro-lime chicken noodle soup

(adapted from ina garten's, barefoot contessa family style)

1 whole (2 split) boneless, skinless chicken breast

olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 quarts chicken stock (homemade is best, but wolfgang puck's was a fine substitute)

1 cup onion, sliced

1 cup medium-diced celery

1 cup medium-diced carrots

2 cups wide egg noodles

juice from 3 limes

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

place chicken breast on a sheet pan and rub with olive oil. sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. roast for 35 to 50 minutes, until cooked through. when cool enough to handle, shred the chicken meat.

bring chicken stock to a simmer in a large pot and add the onion, celery, carrots, noodles and lime juice. simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the noodles are cooked. add chicken and cilantro to heat through.

sweet home, chicago

last week brought me back home for a few days, and boy were they busy ones! i packed in as much "seeing people" as i possibly could, and here's a bit of a recap of the little taste of home that this quick trip brought!

• wednesday afternoon, my plane landed and i got to see snow on the ground!
• quickly headed to my parents, let myself in, tiptoed into the living room (not that it was a surprise, but still), and was greeted with squeals and hugs from my mom and dad. dad's first comment was "i'm having trouble getting to your blog...can you help me with that" :)
• daniel was home, too, and jonathan got home shortly afterwards, having just finished his last final (congrats, jonny!) - we all headed out to dinner, and enjoyed a scrumptious meal.
• brandon joined us for dessert, and after some light shopping in downtown evanston, mom and i headed over to see his NEW CONDO!!! it really is gorgeous. proud of you, brandon!

• thrusday, i headed in to work for the day, and then had a delicious dinner out with my work team.
• i left and got to my old high school just in time for my brother, daniel's, concert choir performance. they sounded amazing - great job, daniel!
• mark's dad, norman was there, too. and i got to see my choral conductor, mrs. brown, from my own concert choir days! as in, the teacher from the class where mark and i met almost thirteen years ago. i haven't seen her in over 10 years!
• afterwards, the family enjoyed a relaxing night at home - brandon's girlfriend, shruti, was also at the concert and hung out later with us.

• friday brought another busy day at work, which i got to break up with a wonderful lunch with my dear friend, lindsay. i really do miss her.
• after work, i stopped by my friend precious' home, for a quick visit with her, and to meet her beautiful twins! jakob and jaimie are beautiful, and i'm so happy for this wonderful family.
• after picking up some wine, i met melissa for dinner at a local favorite (seriously, they make good everything), and even ran into our friends mandy and don, who were having dinner there, too!
• we got to spend the rest of the evening enjoying melissa's beautifully decorated pine scented home and some catch-up bff time. and i finally got to see her spain photos:)

• and saturday morning, i woke up for an early flight home. snow was falling, beautifully covering the ground, and it felt like christmas to me. ahhh.

i can't wait to head back next week. it'll be fun for mark and i to be there together this time, and we're looking forward to a wonderfully busy week. save some snow for him, okay?

the flavors, sights and sounds of the mission

on sunday, i spent the afternoon enjoying wonderful company and this cool san francisco neighborhood.

my freshman-year college roommate, shannon, was passing through san francisco on her way to a conference in boston [from her home in new zealand!], so she, vlada and i met up to do some exploring in san francisco. and to catch up, of course! shannon's high school friend kate, who also lives in the bay area, and vlada friend sean [now a friend of mark and mine as well!] who lives in the mission, also joined along on the adventure.

sean, vlada, kate and i - stuffed to the brim and walking off our super burritos. mine was a carne asada and pollo combination, with black bean and all the fixin's. mmmm, mmmm good.

these drawers in s.f.'s only pirate supply store, are filled with goodies from sea salt to eye patches

and the shop next door [wish i could remember its name] has a display of orchids next to coolest old wooden wheelchair.

stem, an uber-cute floral boutique, also sells gifts, housewares, candles, stationary.....
...and children's clothing and accessories.

freshman year roomies, enjoying aMAZEing icecream. shannon's tried the sam's sundae [chocolate ice cream, bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt, and fresh whipped cream], and enjoyed its unique and intense flavors, and i loved my salted caramel and pumpkin combination.

[and on a side note, as we were outside enjoying these treats, we witnessed a crazy car accident....a car full of girls smashed into a parked car at a "T" intersection, and proceeded to jump out of the car, leave it sitting in the middle of traffic blocking 2 lanes, and RAN FROM THE SCENE! thankfully no one was hurt. crazy!]

and here are just a few of the murals that this area is so famous for:

i have to say, i really enjoy this area - its diverse and interesting with a wide variety of food, shops and sights. its not in the least touristy, and has the feel of a "real" san francisco neighborhood.

so, readers, what are your favorite neighborhoods in your favorite cities? and why do you like them?

enjoying the week

a week at home? it feels like its been a L O N G time since i've had one of those. it has been wonderful to to spend weeknight evenings with mark, to sleep in my own bed at night [which, by the way, i now love. time certainly won us over on that purchase].

of course, there was a bit of a trade off for my week of "local" travel. i spent upwards of four hours a day commuting from our home, located about 30 miles northeast of san francisco, to a client site about the same distance southwest of the city. 60 miles equals 60 minutes, right? maybe on the weekends or in the middle of the day, but not this week for me - i seemed to hit traffic in at least one direction, every day. never mind that i left home between 5:30 and 6:00am [thank you, starbucks double tall lattes], or tried to head out before or after rush hour. sigh.

two things made the commute more bearable. in fact, they made the week downright enjoyable!

the first, that the highway that i chose to take between san francisco and palo alto is breathtakingly beautiful. at sunrise, the fog was still so thick that the mountains weren't even visible and only the largest trees near the road could be seen, paving a captivating path. mid-day, the lush, rolling hills and green trees could be seen for miles, and at time the lakes to the west are even visible. yesterday, i stopped at a vista point to take some photos, attempting to capturing a bit of the beauty. and this evening i found that sunset is equally gorgeous.

even better than the beautiful scenery is that being in palo alto [have i mentioned that i love that town? reminds me of evanston in so many ways], is that i got to hang out with vlada a few time!

on monday evening, we did some shopping [and incidentally, i purchased yet another suit. seriously, i need to make a decision and make some returns], and then i enjoyed dinner with the newlyweds. after michal headed back to class, vlada and i grabbed our new favorite dessert [let me tell you, the fresh strawberry and shaved chocolate toppings pair perfectly!], and then i got a preview of the best of their wedding photography.

and this afternoon, i stopped by for a quick visit and to drop off some baked goodies.

vlada time twice in one week? what a treat:)

quality friday: miami's best

business travel last week took me about as far outside of my standard west-coast territory as is possible. admittedly, i wasn't thrilled with the prospect of heading to miami - i knew that the long flight and airport travel time would fill up an entire work day, that the three hour time change would be difficult to adjust to (especially since my daily schedule started at 7am EST), and that the weather would be hot and humid (and BELIEVE me, it sure didn't prove me wrong).

i also knew that having colleagues there with me would make lunches and dinners enjoyable, and they certainly were. yet the thing that made the trip worthwhile for me on a personal level, was an opportunity to visit with a dear friend whom i haven't seen in years.

chryso and i formed a wonderful friendship during the many (manymanymany) hours that we spent in lab together doing our undergraduate independent research projects, and as teachers for a fantastic program that brought local grade school students into a university setting to learn to love biology.

six years later, we were able to pick it up right where it left off. we talked about our families as though no time had passed, and i felt thoroughly welcomed into their home and their lives. i was quickly reminded of the warmth and love that chryso and her husband lambros share, as we enjoyed a delicious dinner together and shared stories and much laughter over coffee afterwards. they are amazing, these two! not only in their professional lives where labmros is a lawyer and co-founder of a charter school, and chryso is completing her residency in pediatrics, but as parents as well. their beautiful, charming and sweet daughter, zoe, is clearly the pride and joy of their lives.

i don't think that a happier family exists in miami, and it made my week - and thoroughly brightened my trip - to spend an evening with them!

chryso, zoe and lambros in their gorgeous new home

congratulations, vlada and michal!

over labor day weekend, we enjoyed the gorgeous outdoor wedding of our dear friends.

the afternoon was perfect for san francisco in late august - sunny (not one bit of fog, nor a single cloud in sight), breezy (as you can see from the pictures below) and altogether lovely.

we are thrilled that we were able to share with them in the love of their wedding day, and look forward to building our friendships in their new marriage.

congratulations, vlada and michal - we hope you two are enjoying your honeymoon!

the san francisco skyline from treasure island - a view equally as stunning at night

a lovely bride...and her classy ride

walking down the "aisle"

first dance as husband and wife

with the new mr. and mrs. bortnik

the brunch club goes orange

i must say, the rest of my week in chicago was just as fantastic as the first half! unfortunately, work has kept me so busy since i've returned, that i haven't had much time to write about it!

i was thrilled to be in town for the august brunch club gathering, and have finally found some time to post my review of orange.

check out other reviews, and stay tuned for future chicago brunch club appearances!

quality friday: enjoying friends, old and new

mark and i have been having a great time exploring the bay area together. we've enjoyed discovering new things to spark our interests, and taking advantage of the beauty of northern california.

in all that we've done, one thing that we have missed dearly are the moments spent with wonderful friends. we still don't know many people in the area, and miss the interaction with friends - from the lack of coffee dates and to poker nights, we feel the void.

last week, vlada and michal, my dear college roommate and her husband-to-be, invited us to a bbq at their home. they both have many friends - from college, previous jobs, and current endeavors - who are new to the area, and thought it would be fun to get us all together to meet one another.

these two have a wonderful group of friends, and we had so much fun getting to know new people, thanks to our gracious hosts. we hit it off quickly with a number of them, and mark even got in on a poker game the following tuesday night, thanks to these new connections!

we really appreciate you introducing us to some new friends in the bay area, vlada and michal. but more importantly, thanks for being so awesome yourselves! can't wait to celebrate with you at your wedding in a few short weeks!

audrey, mark, vlada and michal

high tea and good-bye drinks

ah, another fabulous weekend for the brunch club......

on saturday, they treated me to tea at the drake hotel, where we enjoyed finger sandwiches, fruit bread and scones with cream and jam, and a delightful afternoon of conversation in the beautiful decorated palm court lounge.


megan, kjersten, melissa and emily - thank you for toasting - and kissing - me goodbye in such style!

then on sunday night, the founding members and our husbands gathered for drinks at melissa and steven's home.

mark finally got to enjoy one of melissa's famous sex-in-the-city cosmos, we congratulated the newly wedded frisks on their three weeks of marriage, and got to meet wrigley, the new addition to the jennings' household!

brunch club husbands

i have been more than blessed by these friendships, and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these ladies so well. please think of me as you enjoy your monthly saturday brunches...i'm going to miss being with you!

tears and love....audrey

to the promised land....

yesterday, our dear friends vicky and vlad headed to jerusalem, for the first part of a new adventure in their lives!

in the recent years, vicky's talent for music has been centered in her jewish faith, and has developed from an interest into a passion. she has performed in a coed jewish a capella vocal ensemble and through teaching at a synagogue in the chicago area, has worked closely with, and been mentored by, cantors who have encouraged her in her art.

recently, vicky was accepted into the only cantorial degree program in the country, where she will be studying to receive a master of sacred music. the program begins with a "year-in-israel", followed by four years of study in new york at the hebrew union college. what an amazing opportunity for her, and the cause for the family's new adventure!

we are going to miss these friends of ours, who have been such an integral part of our lives here in chicago. the times we have spent together since graduating college have produced an abundance of wonderful memories. here are a few of my favorites:

• vicky and vlad got pulled over on the way to our wedding for speeding. when vicky explained she was running late for a wedding, and the officer, thinking she was a bridesmaid, let her go without issuing a ticket!

• hanging out together when vlada would come back to chicago to visit:

• being at vlad's graduation party when he surprised vicky by proposing with all her family and friends present
• at thier wedding, we sat at the "american table". the vodka bottle on our table was the talk of the night - we just couldn't seem to keep up with the consumption of the rest of the guests:) here we are with the lovely bride and groom:

• rushing to the hospital as soon as we heard that their first child, adam, had just been born. we were the first friends to meet him! adam has grown into a remarkably smart boy, who we just love being around! here's a picture of big brother adam, with his baby sister, michelle:
  

vicky, vlad, adam and michelle - we love you, will miss you, and are wishing you all the best!

congratulations to the new mr. and mrs. frisk!

on saturday night we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of our friends, ann-marie and david. from the music at the ceremony, to the delicious food at the reception, the event was absolutely beautiful!

the stunning bride and handsome groom were beaming all evening long - their love for each other perfectly evident. it was especially touching to see the involvement of their families in the ceremony - from their parts in performing the marriage ceremony, to sharing their musical and speaking gifts throughout the evening, the olson and frisk families exuded support and love for this couple.

the lovely bride and groom
brunch club ladies sharing another special moment!

we are so happy for you two! congratulations ann-marie and david - we wish you all the best!