Category: Food

Relaxing Weekend & St. Patrick’s Day

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This past weekend was pretty low-key. We saw a movie on Saturday, She’s Out of My League, which was actually better than either of us was expecting. We were planning on going to a hockey game (the Chicago Wolves) in the evening but felt too lazy to bother. Good thing we hadn’t pre-ordered the tickets.

Sunday we went to the Chicagoland Home & Energy Expo but it completely and totally sucked. It turned out to be a big room in a hotel full of tables where people were trying to sell services or products. I was hoping to get ideas on how to remodel our bathrooms upstairs but I felt like you do when you walk into a furniture store and all the sales people attack you. So we were in and out within five minutes. Thank goodness it was free!

We ended up at the IKEA nearby instead. This one is not our regular IKEA so it was interesting comparing the layout between the two. I prefer our IKEA actually, but we did come home with a few items, including some chocolate bars and cookies. Too bad they both suck!

We had lunch before driving back home and spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

And now it is Wednesday, my glorious work from home day! We’re going out for dinner with some friends to celebrate the holiday, which is really just an excuse to have a good time. Looking forward to a Reuben sandwich, though, since I hate the cabbage part of corned beef and cabbage. :)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day whether you’re Irish or not!

Flowers, Dining, and LOLing all weekend

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What a fabulous weekend! Friday night we went to Qdoba with friends before heading to BINGO. I’ve been counting calories in order to lose weight, so I got a half naked burrito and half salad off their Craft 2 menu and was surprised by how tasty the salad was considering everything amounted to less than 800 calories. I didn’t win any money at BINGO, but we did win a coupon for a free game in March so that’s nice.

Saturday we were up early for our visit to Garfield Park Conservatory after I realized it had been years since we’ve been there. We intended to get there as soon as they opened at 9 am, but we had to make a pit-stop at my work first to retrieve something I left there by mistake in my haste to leave on Friday.

I love the conservatory because admission and parking are free. Plus it smells like Spring inside. It also reminds me of my grandparents’ house since they had a lot of vegetation near where they lived. I wish I could bottle that smell.

We spent about an hour and a half at the conservatory making sure we covered every square inch. By then it was getting pretty crowded anyway, so we decided to grab lunch. I consulted my Yelp app and found a place featured on Diners, Drive-In, and Dives that I had bookmarked last year. It’s called The Depot, and we scored parking right in front and only had to wait five minutes for a booth. We made it right before the lunch rush; once we were seated the front of the place quickly filled up with waiting diners. The food was delicious! You can read my review on Yelp.

After lunch we made a pit-stop at Target before going home to relax for a few hours before heading back out to meet a group of friends at Bahama Breeze. We ran into some of Joe’s coworkers at the bar while waiting for our group so we had some drinks and chatted until everyone arrived for dinner.

After dinner we headed to the Laugh Out Loud comedy theater. Joe and I thought it was pretty funny even though I don’t think everyone agreed. It’s definitely different than seeing a stand-up show since everything is improvised on the spot based on audience suggestions. But that’s what makes it so much fun – no two shows are the same. I’d like to go back for the later show since it’s adult only.

After the show we walked to the nearby Gameworks for more drinks and fun. And once we grew bored of that, we went back to Laugh Out Loud for their free audience participation show. One of the guys in our party ended up getting on stage to participate in a sketch. He then proceeded to try to get myself and another girl to go up there. No way, buddy! I cannot think on my feet like that. I give those improv comedians a lot of credit as they are very talented.

This morning we headed to Walmart for a few things and then saw Cop Out which wasn’t great, but wasn’t as terrible as the reviews made it sound. Seann William Scott’s character was hilarious. It probably would have been better if Kevin Smith had wrote it and not just directed it. Or maybe he’s just losing his touch. I didn’t think Zack and Miri Make A Porno was that good either. We did see some very interesting previous, however. I want to see all three movies they advertised, particularly the last two:

She’s Out Of My League
Hot Tub Time Machine
Kick-Ass

On the way home we swung by this restaurant called Omega to get some soup for lunch. They have the most amazing cream of chicken with rice soup. I used to eat it at their Downers Grove location years ago and found out through a friend that they had a Schaumburg location too, so I had to get some. You can’t beat the price either – $5.25 for a quart. It is well worth it.

And now I’m just pooped. I think all the running around finally caught up with me. Couch time!

Garfield Park Conservatory photos at Flickr

69…. cent dark chocolate

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Did you know that Target’s coupon policy states that they will accept one manufacturer’s coupon AND a Target coupon for the same item, unless either coupon states it’s prohibited?

I was doubtful until Joe went to the store on Saturday and I asked him to get me the new Hershey’s Special Dark Pieces (like Reese’s Pieces). I sent him with the following:

  • Rebate form (they were out of stock initially) for $2.69
  • Hershey coupon for $1 off
  • Target coupon for $1 off

They took all three and I got to try the new candy for 69 cents.

Verdict? They’re ok. Very similar to dark chocolate M&Ms, albeit a little crunchier.

Domino’s Pizza Revisited

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So last night we got around to spending the $10 Domino’s gift certificates I received. Imagine my surprise to learn that two pizzas are $22! Wow, I didn’t think Domino’s was that expensive. No wonder they gave me $10 to begin with; it only covers one pizza. I will say this – the garlic butter crust on the one pizza was actually quite good. I’m not sure I’d order from them again, however, since I could get a much better Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza for the cost of their two flimsy pizzas but at least they didn’t taste like cardboard like they did in the past. ;)

Rats, Shopping, and 24

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Templeton

Templeton says hi! He and Nutterbutter are doing well. They’ve been moved up to K’s room (hence the blue carpeting) until Spring since their regular space in front of the fireplace gets drafty in the Winter.

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We did our little once in awhile Sunday circuit this morning which included breakfast and shopping at IKEA, a stop at Petland to see all the furry pets, and Bed Bath & Beyond. At IKEA we purchased some more ceramic bowls (in purple and blue) as part of my quest to rid the house of plastic-ware. I also got two smaller light purple glass bowls which would be perfect for ice cream since you can’t fit more than a few scoops in them. I need something to help me moderate my snacking!

Bed Bath & Beyond is where I finally found something to cook a single egg with so that I can put together my own egg and cheese McMuffin. I’m becoming addicted to McDonald’s but they are $2.87 with tax and I know I can make them myself cheaper than that. I couldn’t decide between this single fry pan and these egg rings, so I got both.

We almost ended up getting another hamster too. I know, after I already said I’m done with hamsters. But this one wasn’t only cute, it was friendly and calm! The opposite of Oreo. It had longer fur but we could hold it without it squirming and trying to get away. We took turns petting it while the other held it and it wasn’t fazed at all. It was very tempting to get it but I’m rather tired of the weekly cage cleanings we have to do as it is so I decided to wait for now. Maybe after Oreo has passed on I may give another hamster a shot now that I know some nice ones exist out there.

We found ourselves in downtown Geneva in the afternoon so we could check out a record store I had read about on Yelp. I even scored a Cure LP! Then we decided to check out a new restaurant for lunch but as luck would have it, all the best reviewed places aren’t open on Sundays so we ate lunch at a cute Mexican place in St. Charles instead.

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In other news, I found out that Case-Mate has a site where you can design your own iPhone case. It’s a bit pricey, but then again, it’s a one of a kind case. I’m not sure if I’m going to order one, but I sure had fun designing a few of my own.

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Why do the weekends always fly by? I know, stupid question. At least we’ve got the season premiere of 24 tonight! Jack is back! I’m going to nosh on Joe’s homemade chicken & dumplings while we watch.