Behind the Curtain

What to knit...

pictures from Knitty.com

I'm going on a loooong cruise in July and am trying to figure out what I should knit on the boat. Its is tough: I need something that  I won't get bored of, but something that isn't too difficult (because I won't have access to the internet or books to help me figure something out). Right now on my list is Fetching and Coachella.

I'm concerned about Fetching (left photo) because I've never knitted mittens before - I would also prefer to knit something I could use this season. Coachella (right photo) scares me because I've never knitted anything that is a top. In fact, knitting sweaters, vests, all those things that actually have to fit your body properly, scare the crap out of me. Although I like the idea that I'd be knitting something I could use this season, maybe even on the cruise. I was reading through the pattern and I'm a little in the dark of how holding the stitches (for the arm holes) and such would work. Advice or other patterns anyone can suggest?

Bleeding Heart Bakery

Yesterday it was raining something crazy in Chicago. I got stuck in a good downpour while running errands and decided to duck into a bakery for shelter. It ended up being Bleeding Heart Bakery, which I have been meaning to check out since I got back in town. It is the first USDA certified organic bakery in the US and has labeled itself as punk rock pastry.  (Apparently it is extremely hard to get the 100% organic seal - your foods can't even be delivered on a truck that has non-organic food on it.)

I wanted to get a good sampling of what they offer, so I ordered a bunch of things to take home and have over the next few days. So far I made it through the raspberry scone and this raspberry and pecan crumble thing, shown in the picture above. They were both freakin' delicious. Like, seriously some of the best baked goods I've ever had. Sweet sassy, I can't wait to eat the other stuff I bought. If you are in Chicago, I highly recommend you stopping by Bleeding Heart (on the corner of Chicago & Damen) and get yourself a little slice of organic pastry heaven.

How do you like your eggs?

A few days ago I woke-up a little earlier than usual so I could make breakfast for Crock and I before work. It was my first time poaching eggs and I used two methods: the good ol'fashion way & the cling form trick. I tried the cling form trick first, which can be found on the very bottom of this page. Basically you put the egg in cling form (saran wrap), twist it closed and pop it into the hot water. This method did not work very well for me, perhaps its because I used generic brand cling form. The problems I found with this method was that the pouch with the cooked egg was far to hot to open. When I finally got it open the egg white stuck to the cling form, leaving me with very little egg left to eat.

I tried the traditional method after the fancy one didn't work out for me and was quite pleased with the results. I ended up cracking the egg in a coffee mug and then sliding the egg from the mug into the hot water (technique via Martha Stewart). It turned into this wonderful banshee looking thing while cooking and came out tasting darn good. I layered the poached eggs on top of a toasted baguette and slices of bacon (Crock's version got hollandaise sauce). It was a great start to the day and something I think we will definitely repeat.

Does anyone use tricks in cooking their eggs a specific way? I'd love to hear about them.

Eatin' & Printing

A bit of a busy weekend, but in the fun way...
• attended the Literago launch party on Friday and ran into Nicole Balch of Pink Loves Brown (who designed the Literago logo).
• worked on a custom order of business cards (seen above) which are enroute to Australia as I type.
• ate a hella good hot dog at Hot Doug's, known for its gourmet sausages. Talk about gourmet, my hot dog had black truffle butter and paté on top of it!
• watched the wonderful movie Paris, Je t'aime. If its in your city, I highly suggest you see it. My favorite was the story with the mimes & the last one with the American tourist woman.
• lastly, we had our Sunday brunch at the new Orange location on Roscoe. Just like the original location, everything was wonderful, but with half the wait. How lovely.

Recipes I need to keep in mind

photo from VeganYumYum

French Yogurt Cake
Knit Night Cupcakes (pictures above) and the tutorial on how to "knit" marzipan.
Best Scone Recipe
Vanilla-Sugar Crusted Grapefruit-Cranberry Muffins
Blueberry Hand Pies

All recipes via Tastespotting.

Tea Time

image from Rose & Radish
At Rose & Radish, and I'm in love with this apple cozy.
Oh yes, and these other things:
Cupcake plate
Sugar handle
Camilla Engman's tea towel

The quest may have ended

Please excuse me while I bask in my item hunting prowess...I think I finally ended my "vintage-looking bathing suit that I can actually swim in" quest! (Click to view the image larger.)

I found this mix-and-match on Land's End, of all places, and its pretty affordable. You can find the top here and the bottom here.

I like the Kelly Green one, but I have cute navy beach shoes that match with this one, so I'll probably go with navy.

Fabulous Things

• What Katie Did is having a sale and hosiery deal. (NSWF)
• Pare Umbrella has some great new umbrellas. My favorites are Jack & Bean Tree, Antique Japanese and Picnic.
• A new little website, Instructables has awesome step-by-step guides to creating some nifty things. Miss Donovan has two tutorials: A deluxe ribbon dispenser box and envelope book.
• Spiralling has cute new Decole goodies.
• Travel with Simply Photo with her project Lets Travel To.
• The new season of Foyle's War started on PBS' Mystery! this past weekend. You know what I'll be doing every Sunday night. Find out when it airs in your area here.

Lolling About

Ooops! Sorry for the silence over the last few days. I have been fully enjoying finally having time for myself. Oh how wonderful it is to be able to read non-academic books and actually consider making the recipes I find in magazines!

I picked up two magazines the other day, Donna Hay & Olive. I have been a big Donna Hay magazine reader, but the Olive purchase was an experiment. While Olive was an interesting read, it is definitely geared more to people living in London. Meanwhile, I want to cook every damn thing in the Donna Hay magazine.

Unfortunately I haven't had time to sew this week, but I am hoping to dust off the old machine in the next few days...

Bella Vella

For most of my life I was never a fan of breakfast. I was always too rushed or preferred to sleep in and grab a large lunch. But in the last few years, I've fallen in love with breakfast, especially brunch. My friends and I had a Sunday Brunch ritual in Savannah, and now that I'm in Chicago I'm continuing it here. This weekend we went to a new breakfast place, Vella Cafe.

Donovan has been raving about Vella after tasting a crepe of theirs at a farmers market, so we decided we just had to go to the actual restaurant. All of us loved it and really enjoyed the that it was different from the other breakfast places we frequent. If you live in Chicago, you should definitely stop by. It is located right under the Western stop on the blue line, so you can just ride the El there. What was really great about it is that at 10:30 on Sunday it was busy, but there was no wait. Quite lovely.