20 Birthday Questions to Ask Your Kids

Last year we asked Mia 20 questions on her birthday and here are her answers this year...

This little lady speaks, thinks and acts like such a big girl and we couldn't be more proud. The day after her 3rd princess ballerina birthday party last year,  she decided she wanted a Lalaloopsy 4th birthday party. Surprisingly, she didn't change her mind throughout the entire year so a Lalaloopsy party it was. Check back soon for DIY details from the party!

First Day - 2013

Today was Mia's "first day" of school. Since her daycare/school pretty much goes year around, Mia was a bit confused as to why it was her "first day". After all, she was just at school last week! Then Mia proceeded to ask if everyone's parents have first day of school signs to take pictures with. Haha I'm guessing probably not. She's only changed a little since last year, right?!

She We truly love her school for the teachers, friends, activities, clean space and convenience. Now that she's 3.5 years old, there won't be any tears or accidents this year! Love how she can write her name now!

Free first day of school printable from MOPS.org

Ravinia Family Picnicking

This summer we were able to take Mia to Ravinia twice. Once for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and another time for Aida, our first time listening to the opera!

Of course I brought some Polka Dot Riesling to cool us off on a hot and humid summer night. And we never picnic without cheese and crackers. Mia already looooves cheese like Mommy does! Doug and I enjoyed a light salad that I prepped the night before topped with rotisserie chicken that I shredded before we left.

We love spending as much time as possible outside!

Mia's been to Ravinia three years in a row now. I love that we are starting family traditions from the get go! Although she does want to go back to Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park like last year's Jazz Festival. What summer traditions do you have??

BurgerFest 2013

Last weekend was one my favorite street festivals in Chicago - Burgerfest! Being in it's fourth year, the turnout is getting better and better. To my surprise, the line to get in on Saturday evening was down the block! 

By 9am, I blended up pitchers of frozen strawberry margaritas and pina coladas while the fridge was stocked with cold beer and water. By noon, we picked out our spot under a shady tree and posted up our chairs until 7pm when it started to get crowded. Between Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner and Sunday dinner, Doug and I managed to hit up 9 of the 14 vendors for a total of 12 different sliders/burgers!! 

There were solid offerings that were the same as last year: Butcher & The Burger's bison burger and other one where they don't melt the cheese enough, two sliders from Cortland's Garage {pictured above}, two sliders from Goose Island, Rockit, Select Cut, and Mrs. Murphy's (not very memorable). 

My favorites this year were the spicy chorizo slider from Hamburger Mary's with pico de gallo {their tatertots and fried cheese curds are good too!}, Stanley's burger with special sauce, lettuce, tomato and red onion and the two offerings from Square Bar & Grill. One was topped with cajun sauce and sausage and the other one - the Belmont - consisted of two full sized patties, peanut butter, bacon, plaintains and cheese. Totally weird sounding, but it worked!

Our favorite cover bands were A Thousand Julys for current hits and jams from the 90s and Wedding Banned closing out the fest with all the songs we loved when slamming T-bombs at Brother's.

Traditions like these make us not want to leave the city! 

20 Birthday Questions

My baby girl turned three recently and here's what she had to say when I asked her 20 questions on her birthday. I hope to do this every year to see how her answers change.

This little girl is full of personality where Doug and I can both see so much of ourselves in her. Already. At age three! We live for her big cheeky smiles, she amazes us every day with how much she knows/remembers and we couldn't be happier with our little family.

Princess ballerina birthday party pictures to come soon!

Thanksgiving 2012 Recap

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win customized art for a child's room!**

Coordinating family schedules with siblings, siblings' spouses, and siblings' spouses' families is always a challenge. We managed to fit it all in this year by...

Hosting Thanksgiving lunch Thursday afternoon. I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I successfully got everything on the table by 1pm. Good ol' grocery store flowers rearranged...{wire basket from Target's $1 spot}

Mia liked helping with everything from throwing ingredients into the brining bag...

 ...to mixing the herb butter...Turkey Tom was 13 pounds this year and we're still working on leftovers...

...washing cranberries, mashing potatoes, licking the masher clean, and whisking ingredients for dessert...

Oh yes these curlers are from my tight, bouncy, heavily hairsprayed ponytail cheerleading competition days....

Love her hair curled, even if it doesn't last very long.

On my menu {click links for recipes}, we had:
Turkey - not a fan of the gravy though. I'll try a different recipe next year.
Cranberry Sauce - Its definitely chunky with the minimal liquid in this recipe. My mom preferred it thinned out.
Apple, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Salad with Dried Cherries - definitely making this PW salad again.
Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits - a little too dry. Maybe I'll try again but mix it less to keep it lighter.
Roasted Vegetables- I also throw in green beans, zuchini and squash and use regular mushrooms and onions. Definitely cut the oil down from his recipe.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes - a stick of butter and a stick of cream cheese. What's not to love??
Corn
Blackberry Cobbler - this was so SO easy, light and delicious! I'm usually skeptical of recipes with just a few ingredients (only 5!) and minimal steps, but this was very good, especially for those who don't care for rich sweets.  Definitely saving this recipe!

Click here for my 2010 Thanksgiving recap. With my terrible memory, these recaps help me plan next year's menu!

But the feasting was just getting started. Friday we had Lou Malnati's for Halmani's birthday with a cake from Sweet Mandy B's. Their cake/icing is very rich, too much for Umma. Same time {two years ago} comparison!

Saturday we brought Grandma her last requests before she leaves for Thailand. Randomly paired, but still delicious - Great Seas chicken wings and Art of Pizza (yes, more stuffed pizza). We'll miss you sooo much Grandma!

Then to top it all off, I saw Breaking Dawn with my girlfriends and ended the weekend at RPM Italian to celebrate a 30th birthday. A lot of people mention the small portions at this trendy new spot, but I thought the pasta dishes were sized just right, especially with having appetizers and dessert. The buffalo mozzarella in the lobster caprese was soo nice and creamy. I wasn't a fan of the lemon in the fritto misto {fried calamari, shrimp and lemon} and the batter was very light, almost like tempura. My spicy king crab with squid ink spaghetti did have a spicy kick to it, but other than that, this dish wasn't too notable.

Ooooeee! That was filling! Can't wait for all the holiday get togethers this month!

 

Balsamic Vinaigrette Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

Just like last year, Doug's firm provided free lawn tickets to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the ever popular Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. We left the city at 615pm, got to the 'burbs by 645pm, but had to wait in a slow moving line for $10 parking. After parking and cleaning up Mia's potty accident, we were settled onto our blankie by 7pm...as were hundreds of other people.

Same time last year comparison!

In the hour before showtime, we snacked on plenty of cheese and crackers, grapes and nuts, salami and prosciutto and pasta salad with balsamic vinaigrette, grilled chicken, grape tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.

I made this pasta salad for a recent family party as well and my sister in law asked for the recipe. So here it is!

Ingredients:

- Grilled Chicken Breasts, sliced (I just discovered thin cut chicken breasts, huge time saver with just 3 minutes per side!)

- Pasta (penne, rotini or bow tie), cooked according to package directions

- Grape Tomatoes, halved

- Basil, chopped

- Mozzarella, cut into bite size pieces

For the vinaigrette (double if making a whole box of pasta):

- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

- 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional

- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 3/4 cup olive oil (I usually only use 1/2 this amount.)

Instructions:
Prepare the vinaigrette, according to Emeril's recipe. Combine all ingredients. Toss until coated. Enjoy!

The vinaigrette also tastes great on mixed greens for a light salad.

While the concert started at 8pm, intermission was around 845pm, right at Mia's bedtime. Having finished our bottle of wine and it almost being dark, it was the perfect time to head home after a wonderful (and cheap!) summer evening out. There's not much more I love than cheese, crackers, wine and laying on a blankie with my shoes off. Summer is quickly slipping away!

linked up with Cassie's "In about an hour" projects and:

BurgerFest 2012

After Jenelle's 1 year photo session, we headed out to one of Chicago's many neighborhood summer festivals - BurgerFest 2012! The vendors at this festival are getting better and better each year, so I have to write down what we had this year, so we know what to get next year! But first, here's a year over year over year comparison of how Mia's grown at this Fest!

What we ate:
Cortland's Garage - Their slider with the crispy bacon, fried onion strings and avocado was one of my favorites! It was also the critics' choice and with the longest line, everyone else must've agreed.
Goose Island - They tied for critics' second choice (with Butcher & the Burger). They offer a few good ones every year, but as you can see below, there's a bit too much bun for the meat on the little sliders. I like my meat and carb ratio to be 50/50. I didn't like the dark bun on their first burger (not pictured). I always love the pork slider with sriracha slaw (right). And I forget what the other one had (left), but I liked it!

Butcher & The Burger - Why didn't they melt the cheddar cheese on their House Prime Blend Burger (with griddled onions and truffle mayo)?!? They lost major points for that alone. However, Doug wanted seconds of the Bison Burger with bacon, blue cheese and BBQ sauce. I thought it was a bit salty with the bacon, but the burger was SO juicy!
Hamburger Mary's - In past years, I don't think I cared for their Mary sliders with "Mary sauce." But this year, their burger stuffed with chorizo, topped with pepper jack cheese, chipotle ranch and fresh pico de gallo was SO tasty!
Rockit - Truffle Mushroom slider, yum!
Reggie's - The chorizo burger was ok, but with just a bun and patty, it was too plain. They had standard condiments to add on your own whereas every other vendor had very customized burgers and toppings. Definitely not a contender if you make me put ketchup and mustard on my burger.
Select Cut - Pretty standard, nothing outstanding.
John's Place - From past years, I don't recall their burgers being anything noteworthy.  So this year, I just opted for their sweet potato fries, which were decent.

Next year, I'll have to take pictures of each vendors' sign for better descriptions! And I'm too busy with a drink in hand and toddler at my side to take a picture of the actual burgers before I stuff my face!

How much it cost:
Sliders were $4-5 and full size burgers were $8-9. It's best to buddy up and split a few burgers with friends so you can sample as many burgers as possible without busting your belly. Mia ate corn, of course. Which will set you back $4 on the cob, or $5 in a cup. Considering I can buy 12 ears at the grocery store for that much, it hurts my heart a little. But, it is a festival after all. And they did have an array of toppings so you can make your own "elote." 

Also noteworthy:
It's most crowded on Saturday for dinner, so definitely avoid that time if you hate being surrounded by herds of sweaty people on hot summer nights. Throughout the weekend, bands fill two stages to give you plenty to sing and dance to. They had a lot more tables and chairs than in the past, so you don't always have to sit on the curb. I definitely favor BurgerFest over other Chicago festivals simply for the focus on good food. You're not stuck with standard festival fried foods that make you question what you just ate.

In addition to the four deliciously meaty meals over two days, it was a fun weekend with friends and family!

Look how big Erin is! And those adorable itty bitty pig tails!

The girls had fun being runners, just like Maya's track Coach Daddy! Even Jenelle was trying to keep up! We may have ended the day with tired cranky babies who needed naps, but it was still a good time with satisfied bellies J

Good Night Chicago - Museum of Science Industry

As you know, it was Mia's 2nd birthday last week. We ended her special day with cupcakes from Molly's.

But just like last year, we started the day with pancakes. Same time last year comparison!

I tried to get creative this year...

Last year we took Mia to Navy Pier for her birthday. This year we took her to the Museum of Science and Industry to knock out one more page of my DIY Goodnight Chicago book.

Just like last year at Navy Pier's Children's Museum, Mia loved playing in the water area at MSI.

For Doug and I, the model trains were the highlight of the day! The mini city was so cool!

I was in awe of the buildings and trains in this little model city just like I am of the real city!

(Side note: I canNOT wait to show you my latest from the A-Z photography challenge!)

I was amazed by all the details. I spotted Lasalle and the Board of Trade and the river and bridges just like in real life!

 I waited excitedly for the el and Metra trains to go by.

Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Thank you, MSI for a wonderful day!

Only 5 more pages to go!
     Good morning, Lake Michigan. (There's a lot: May 2010, May 2011, July 2011, and many more not blogged about!)
     Good morning, Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. Are we ready for a wonderful day? (Not sure this will ever happen.)

     Greetings, Navy Pier and Ferris Wheel.
     Greetings, Chicago River and bridges.

     Hello, great Chicago buildings, reaching up into the sky. or here

     Hello, kids and kites in Lincoln Park. 
     Hello, fantastic fountains.

     Good afternoon, gorillas. Isn't it fun to visit the zoo? 

     Good afternoon, sharks, fish, turtles and mammals at the aquarium.     
     Wow! Look at those dinosaur bones at the Field Museum of Natural History.
     Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry.
     It's nice to see you, art.
     Hello, historic Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile.
     Good luck, Chicago Sports Teams, you can do it. Can they??  (ETA - summer 2012)

     Just listen to those blues and jazz musicians. (This'll be something new for Doug and I, too!)
     Good evening, star gazers at the planetarium. Have you ever wished upon a star?

     Goodnight Chicago, sleep tight. Thank you for a wonderful day!

Here's Mia with her first camera! She totally wants to be just.like.mommy. And even took my stance saying, "Mommy do that." The Vivitar camera cost just as much as a Fisher Price camera, so I figured I might as well get the real looking one! She even said it looks just like Grandma's. Then she posed Daisy for pictures J

I'll be having wine & cheese flights on the Mag Mile tonight, followed by the Luminous Field at the Bean! Then Monday is a restaurant week dinner, mMmmmM! Have a great weekend!