To Do in Chicago this Summer: the Food Edition

It's not officially summer yet, but this week has really felt like summer. Of course, this makes me really look forward to all the Chicago restaurants with lovely patios.

Graham Elliott opened a new bistro, last week, called, g.e.b. Apparently it has two patios! We're going to check it out with a friend on Thursday. I can't wait!Source: dailycandy.com via Emily on Pinterest

I'm excited to go to Big Star and eat on their patio. We may go later this month with Mr. F's cousin, Brian! Source: google.com via Nicholas on Pinterest I'm really excited for their tacos. How good does this picture from Facebook look?Apparently it's tacos de borrego, marinated, braised lamb shoulder, radish, roasted scallion, and queso fresco.

We're also hoping to go to Kuma's Corner this month with Mr. F's cousin.

Source: kumascorner.com via Emily on Pinterest

 I want to order the "Lair of the Minotaur". (Yes, I'm a huge nerd. It's a burger with caramelized onions, pancetta, brie, and bourbon soaked pears.) 

Source: foodrepublic.com via Emily on Pinterest

My carpool buddy has recommended I go to Pequod's Pizza in Lincoln Park. They have caramelized cheese crust that's supposed to be amazing.  Source: pequodspizza.com via Emily on Pinterest

The Billy Goat Tavern is another burger place we'd love to try!

Source: blog.irishtke.com via Tony on Pinterest

The Red Door in Bucktown and the Butcher & the Burger in Lincoln Park have neat patios too. The food looks pretty awesome too.

Source: purewow.com via Emily on Pinterest

One of my favorite Italian restaurants, Piccolo Sogno, is opening another restaurant called, Piccolo Sogno Due (Little Dream Two). It's also close to me too!

The old manager from LUSH moved to City Winery. I'm excited to check it out after it opens August 1st. It's a music venue, restaurant and bar.

Source: michiganavemag.com via Emily on Pinterest

On a non-food note, I really want to make friends with a person with a boat in Chicago this summer!

Source: Uploaded by user via Emily on Pinterest

Sunny Art Festival and Flower Photos from the Weekend

Mr. F and I enjoyed walking around the Wells Street Art Festival on Saturday. We had a leisurely lunch at Benchmark and had fun people watching.It got up to 90 degrees and I accidentally burnt my back, even with sunscreen!We loved walking past all the fun booths and street food.Our favorite booth had metal animal sculptures. We thought the cats were particularly cute.The one on the right even looked like our cat, Lily Thomas.After a few hours of sun, we were exhausted, so we walked home and enjoyed watching John Carter in air conditioning.

Source: fc09.deviantart.net via J on Pinterest

 It was visually stunning and it made me want to travel to Moab, Utah (where it was filmed)! 

Source: google.co.in via Emily on Pinterest

Sunday, we enjoyed $6 burgers on

5 Star Bar's patio.It was sweltering but we still walked around  West Town to check out the beautiful rosesand gardens.How was your weekend?

My Shutterfly Photo Book from Kodiak

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My favorite thing about blogging....

is posting pictures. Here are my favorites from Pinterest today!

Source: etsy.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: everlytrue.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: shopruche.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: fuckyeahbaroquehorses.tumblr.com via Adriana on Pinterest

Source: inesdelreves.tumblr.com via Adriana on Pinterest

Source: stylemepretty.com via Emily on Pinterest

From Kodiak to Chicago via SeaTac

This is last Monday. We left a cool, cloudy Kodiak and saw fantastic views over the Pacific Ocean. (By the way, did you know Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States?)We also flew over beautiful mountains on the way down to Anchorage.Kuky even posed in front of the Alaskan Range at the airport in Anchorage.We went over a gorgeous glacial lake on the way to Washington.Mr. F got really homesick when we flew over Seattle. Although, I bet he doesn't miss the commute across 520! We had a layover for a couple of hours in SeaTac, so we stopped at a local wine shop to ogle over the Washington wine.We laughed when we saw this label! It's great wine too.

This week in Chicago, we enjoyed temperatures in the 70s and 80s, which is about 40 degrees warmer then Kodiak!We met friends at the Do Division street festival on Sunday!

Fossil Beach in Kodiak, Alaska (Family Vacation Day 4)

On Sunday morning, most of our family took a trip in the 15 seater van for a hour drive to Fossil Beach. (My youngest sister decided to sleep in.)Apparently, there are less than 100 miles of road on Kodiak Island. We drove to the end of one of these roads past Pasagshak and the Kodiak Launch Complex. We also saw free-roaming bison and baby bison, on our way! When we parked, the fossil cliffs were prominent against the slightly cloudy blue sky. Since the rain was holding off,  Mr. F and I immediately went exploring.My sister's boyfriend found a neat sea creature called a chiton. We also found a beautiful waterfall.For lunch, one of my mom's childhood friends built a driftwood fire and showed us how to roast hot dogs with nearby sticks. We all got a kick out of it,especially my dad! We all enjoyed our gorgeous lunch view too.

After several sandwiches and hot dogs, we hiked over the top of the fossil cliffs to look for whales.Unfortunately, we didn't see whales, but there were fantastic views and old World War II bunkers to explore.Aunt Tina and Janie enjoyed posing for a few pictures.Chris found some bald eagle feathers. We even got a group picture of our Fossil Beach gang, before it started raining, and we all piled back into our periwinkle van.

My sister, Katie, stood in line for more crab legs while we were driving back from Fossil Beach!

On our last evening in Kodiak, we went hot tubbing and out to dinner with family friends. My mom, uncle and grandmother were so happy to visit with old family friends throughout this trip!

Did I mention that the sun doesn't set until nearly midnight? This picture was taken at 10:30pm!

My 86 year old grandmother, Tootie, was such an inspiration throughout our trip. She went everywhere with us and never complained, even when cold. She even made friends with a nice couple at the hotel who took her and my grandfather all over town sightseeing! 

At the end of the night, my mom made friends with local fisherman, and asked for some older net for her garden!It was a great last night to spend with the family.