with all of this talk about kfc's double down, i really want to try one now.

maybe after may 1st...

"I ordered a pizza at Papa John's and asked for extra peppers.."

ahahahahhahahhaha. totally asking for extra peppers now.

(via serious eats)

Chicago's Best Flights - Grub Street Chicago

let's do these this summer.

denim moto jacket..?

i'm still looking for a denim jacket-y thingy. it went from wanting a jacket to a shirt to me just giving up. i didn't like how stiff denim jackets were and the shirts didn't have enough structure and just looked like i was throwin on a rando boy's shirt and walk of shaming.

after a shopping adventure with caroline and reading this article by fabsugar, it's gotten me thinking i should look beyond the jacket and consider something different.

cue in the alternatives i found.

jcrew

american eagle

gap

thoughts??

Tender Greens

sooo finally getting around to sharing some meals i had in LA. here it goes -

i'll give it to them. food in LA is pretty awesome. i really wanted to just think the food scene would be like most things in LA -- pretty superficial and all about the showiness with very little legit substance. while famous names and huge restaurant groups are huge part in LA's food scene, there's are a ton of smaller places with really good food (and prices!!). one of the best examples of this was tender greens.

matthew and i randomly found this place were aimlessly driving around wanting a salad.

the decor was clean and modern, with light wood floors and booths and windows everywhere. but honestly, after being in LA for a few days I wasn't that impressed. i mean, c'mon this is the area where even the convenience stores have cute logos interiors.

after reading through the confusing menu board, i chose the salmon nicoise (it was supposed to be tuna but they were having issues with their local tuna supplier so they were substituting salmon in the meantime. yeah, for reals. LA's consciousness about food is redonk.) the reason i say the menu board was confusing is because as we walked down the line from to go and pay, we saw all of theses crazy delicious-looking goodies we missed out on - a kobe beef sandwich , mashed potatoes, roasted root veggies, breads, lemon and thyme chicken soup, and more. the board wasn't organized well for us to really know what they had. sadness

but with that said, the salmon nicoise was a great choice. my only semi-complaint i had was my salmon was grilled-to-order, which made me wait a little longer. that kind of sucked because i had to wait in the front, super-hungry, and checking out everybody else's amazing orders and the dessert case. (and i think they were conspiring to get me to buy 5 cupcakes haha.)

but all joking aside, it was seriously okay. i'd rather have a freshly cooked piece of fish than save a few minutes of awkwardness and have a gross overcooked piece.

so this is what i finally got --

(my camera being semi-decent. woooot)

i love nicoise salads because there is so much going on. salty capers and olives, sweet sherry vinegarette, crisp/fresh green beans and tomatoes, tender greens (hehe), and rich roasted potatoes. and like i said earlier-- they added everything to-order so the potatoes and fish were warm while the greens were room temp and the veggies were cold. it added another layer of complexity to the dish. me, temperature and texture freak really appreciated it. and the quail egg and toast were just some more yummy bonuses.

there's not really much more to say about the culinary aspect of this because nicoise salads are pretty standard and this wasn't much a huge variation on it. but what was extremely great was how well this was done and how reasonable the price was. it really shows how important good quality local ingredients are to a meal.

this salad and a hibiscus tea was $13 and some change. pretty amazing. too bad i can't try other items on their menu. if you're in the LA area def check it out and lemme know :)

Rachel Bilson in Preen

(picture from the huffington post)

i always love rachel bilson. i mean, i was team anna in the first season but w/e.

this outfit is awesome. love the structured top mixed with the free flowing ruffles. the thick neoprene-y material makes this dress sporty but it's still chic with the feminine ruffles and bra-like top. and the neutral color with her cool toned make up is so prettyyyyyyy

but this dress retails for $1700?!??! redic.

(ps i kinda want nude patent leather pumps now...)

i wanna do cool and grown up things this summer.

let's save some money and maybe do one of these events :)

(via 312 DD)

new jm...

too bad i'm not going to his concert next month..

but yeah, i'm not really digging it that much. its kind of boring. but i'm sure if i were there seeing it live i'd be in love with it.

thoughts??

woooo viral youtube videos

ak;sfjafhl;aweflkjalfsd CRIZAZY.

(via bwe blog)

Food and Wine's Best New Chefs 2010

• Roy Choi, Kogi; Los Angeles, LA
• Missy Robbins, A Voce; New York City, NY
• James Syhabout, Commis; Oakland, CA
• Matt Lightner, Castagna; Portland, OR
• Clayton Miller, Trummer's on Main; Clifton, VA
• Jonathon Sawyer, The Greenhouse Tavern; Cleveland, OH
• Jason Stratton, Spinasse; Seattle, WA
• John Shields, Town House, Chilhowie, VA
• Mike Sheerin, Blackbird; Chicago, IL
• Alex Seidel, Fruition; Denver, CO

(via yumsugar)

wooooooo blackbird!! went there over winter break :)

beer. bourbon. bbq.

holy jesus.

swong's choice for the ncaa national champion team.

ya, so i don't really care much about sports. i'm a fairweather fan and i don't deny it. the only reasons i go to sporting events are because they're excuses to DD, to hang out with friends and to know what people are talking about in convos about them.

when illinois isn't playing, i ask the following questions to decide who to cheer for:

• is the school in the big ten?
  
• have i heard of this school before?
• do i like their school colors?
• how fun are their head coaches?
  

soooo who do i want to win monday's game....? lets compare the two teams.

duke --

• no, it's in the ACC.
• yep, applied there. one of my fav blogger (and ppl in general), sarah, goes there. and scheyer went to my high school.
  
• duke blue is really pretty
  
• coach K is a legend. it's really funny to watch him when he gets angry too.
  

butler --

• nope. don't even know what conference it's in.
• i've heard of it...
• their blue is alright. kinda boring and dull compared to duke's tho.
  
• omg brad stevens is super interesting. please check out his wiki page. he has an econ major from depauw and worked at eli lily. he quit that to become a volunteer high school coach and worked his way to become the head coach for butler (in the meantime working at applebee's to pay the bills). oh and he's only 33 but totally looks like he could be 20.

ok, so the only thing butler has going for them is their coach.

but c'mon. seriously.

look at him.

^SO ADORKABLE.

so yeah, it's between the school with the prettier blue whose games i have actually watched before and the school i know veeeerry little about but have a cute, nerdy head coach.

clearly, i'm having a hard time choosing.

Some legit cool events going on in the c-u

Some more awesome finds in the DI..I clearly have great study skillz
1. There's another art theater..and it serves wine and beer! They're having a free showing of the director's cut of donnie darko this saturday. I mean, donnie darko isn't my cup of tea but it cool that this theater is showing "cool" movies like this (and serves alch!) ill be home this weekend anyway but Ill def keep checking out what they have in the following weeks. [The art theater, 126 Church st]
2. Ebertfest. This was going on when I first visited here senior year of hs. I remember cuz our hotel wasd filled w random ppl all wearing ebertfest shirts. I'm gonna google the movies but so far "Synecdoche, New York" looks interesting. I actually don't know anything bout the plotline but the pic shows that it stars phillip seymore hoffman! Haha I suck.. [April 21-25, Virginia theater]
3. Cory chisel is gonna be in town this friday. But again..I'm gonna be home. If u want something diff to do..(maybe make it a fun pregame?) check him out. I heard about him from metromix a few years back. He's kinda blues-y, kinda folk-y, and he has a pretty sweet raspy voice. [April 2nd, 10pm, Cowboy Monkey]
4. 5th annual C-U edible books festival. Don't know anything about it. Will def google it later. But "edible books"..? Does that mean there will be eating involved?!?! Too bad I have class/sleep to do on tuesdays :( [april 6th, 12pm, University YMCA on wright]
4. Pokemon fan club at the rantoul public library :) :) [april 7, 5:30pm, rantoul public library]

(I realized that every event detail basically has me saying "idk much about it..I will google". Sorry ill edit this post later w better info)
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This could be interesting!

And it falls during moms weekend too! Oh, and if u couldn't tell I'm checking out the DI instead of studying..whoops
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Now that free coffee mondays at DD's is over..

There's now free coffee fridays at clys! Score.
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(my babies at lolla)

so i'm not really much of a boater and i honestly can't remember the last time i went on one. i'm going for a boat ride today with some friends out hurr.

so this is perfect -- i have a legitimate use for my sperries and not for looking like an old man. but wait.. i didn't bring them with me because i couldn't find them before flying out here.

ohhh the irony.

sooo my first LA celeb sighting kind of turned out bad...

(ok, so she's more of like a quasi-celeb, but that made my title too hard to write)

matt and i met up with his friend sarah for a late dinner tonight. after not wanting to wait an hour for half priced japanese bbq (sadly), we stopped by a street that was close by with three restaurants that seemed like good possibilities.

we decided to check out breadbar, but then left because they were closing in 45 minutes. as we're walking out, we see their chef walk out to greet their diners.

matt notices here and says to me, "steph, turn around...that asian chef, you def know her! she's like a top chef...or something?"

i turn around to see this portly asian woman. i totally recognize her face and remember she was on the food network. my first thought -- OHH SHE'S THE WOMAN FROM THROWDOWN WITH BOBBY FLAY. SHE MADE THOSE POTSTICKERS.

i may or may not have said that quite loudly....and within earshot of her.

as we continue walking, and matt keeps telling me that i'm wrong and she's someone else, i realize...shit, he's right, it's not that throwdown woman. we actually saw debbie lee from the next food network star.

i went kind of crazy in front of a woman getting her identity completely wrong. GREEEEEAAAT. whoops my bad.

ps -- bobby flay is currently staying at the hotel sarah works at. going over to lay out at the pool tomorrow. will let you know if i actually see him. and i promise not to confuse him for rocco or w/e.

Pizza ala checca

From my friend's dads pizza place. Oh she happens to be an iranian armenian. No bigs haha. This has melted mozz, no sauce, on thin crust. Then it was topped w fresh tomatoes, basil and feta. Soooooo gooooood. The cheeses were salty and complimented the sweet, fresh tomatoes really well. And well basil is my fav herb so I was def loving its peppery/fresh awesesomeness. Altho I am a chi-town girl I enjoyed the thin crust and its perfect combo of chewy and crispy. Delishhhhh!

In case you're wondering this place is called panini's pizza and its on sunset. Adam sandler, linds lohan, klhoe and LO happen to be a big fans..u know, w/e its LA haha
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Spotted in LA

Red velvet whoopie pies!!
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MISSING:

(taken during my cruise around alaska...from my old camera obvs)

i can't find my babies :(