It is never too early for one to start thinking about anti-aging. Honestly, I wish I had thought about it sooner. It is easier to prevent wrinkles and aging then reverse it once it happens. One of my favorite everyday face serums is Kakadu C. I love how lightweight it is, and it just absorbs into the skin within minutes of putting it on.
Here are some benefits of Kakadu C:
It is rich in antioxidants: Vitamin C is a very powerful antioxidant which has shown benefits in anti-aging by boosting collagen production.
It has antibacterial properties: which can be beneficial in fighting against pimple causing bacteria.
Fun fact, although I am not going to eat this serum, the kakadu plum has weight loss benefits when consumed daily.
Over all I love this daily serum. I add a few drops into my normal daily moisturizer and apply it to my face.
What better place to go for date night then a place that has beer flights!? First Draft is a premium craft beer stop located in the heart of South Loop. It is a hole in the wall kind of bar, but it was packed even on a weeknight. It seemed like a lot of happy hour people were still there around dinner time! The inside reminded me of a college bar. Unfortunately they were short staffed that night and the service was terrible, but the beer, pretzel balls and cheese curds made up for the bad service. We ordered the burger since it was on special and got a side of mac and cheese. It was actually pretty good. It was more a “fast food burger” as opposed to a gourmet burger. This is definitely a spot to get good drinks and appetizers and watch a game.
I have been trying to make sure that we have breakfast every day, even on mornings I have work and have to run out of the house early. I think it is important to incorporate protein into breakfast and one of my favorite ways to do that is with peanut butter and oats. Overnight oats require no effort in the morning, not even a blender! I have been trying a lot of different combinations, but my all time favorite one is still blueberry.
All you do is put a cup of oats in a bowl, add almond milk along with your ingredients (I did blueberries, blanched almonds and cinnamon), and put your container in the fridge until the morning.
Some other ingredients that I love to add into my overnight oats include: banana, chia, coconut flakes, strawberries, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter, apples and much more!
Remember, there is no reason to skip breakfast, especially when it can be this easy!
Can’t believe it is already fall! My favorite thing about summers in Chicago are all the beautiful rooftops around the city! One of my all time favorites has always been London House Rooftop. It is a great spot in the middle of the city with an AMAZING VIEW. You can see the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and the Magnificent Mile all from one place!
I think any date night that starts on a rooftop is automatically a successful date night.
Punch Bowl Social is a new spot in the West Loop, it is essentially an adult playground. They have one of the largest spaces and it is great for large groups. They have lounges, arcade, bowling, duckpin bowling, virtual reality, karaoke, tartania, and backyard games. We have been here a couple of times with different groups of friends and it is always a great time! The best part of this place is, you can go in the morning or afternoon and have a good time, but you can also come here at night. The scene and crowd changes as the day goes on!
The drinks are good, and there is a large selection of specialty cocktails and beers available. The food here is actually very good, the last time we went here I tried ordering a SECOND BURGER since it was so good.
The best part of my night was my #1 fan taking pictures for me before we left!
I love trying new recipes, and this was a crowd pleaser. I love a good pancake breakfast, but its not necessarily healthy so I decided to take a healthy spin on pancakes, and it was shockingly amazing.
Ingredients:
2 cups of Oats (blend to flour consistency in ninja)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I tend to add more because we love cinnamon)
2 large egg
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large banana
Just mix up all the ingredients, and cook them over the stove (1/4 cup of mix per pancake). Be careful though, they are harder to flip then regular pancakes, your first few may break.
Everyone says “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. But did you ever wonder why? Well for starters, from the name, you are breaking your fast from the night before. It is thought that eating a balanced breakfast contributes to better memory and concentration, a reduction in your bad cholesterol (also known as LDL), and may help reduce your chances of getting conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Generally your blood sugars are low when you wake up, and by eating your first meal early, you increase those levels giving your muscles the ability to work all day, and remember your heart is a muscle. It beats around the clock to give you life!
What if I told you people who eat breakfast are thinner than people who don’t eat breakfast? According to a research study done by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the fact is that people who have a balanced and complete breakfast are thinner than people that don’t. This doesn’t mean you can eat a doughnut for breakfast… the key is balanced and complete.
We are obsessed with making eggs and generally pairing it with fruits, but lately I have been on a smoothie bowl kick. For starters they are so yummy, and you can get very creative them them, and above all THEY ARE EASY! I generally tend to sneak protein in them however I can with ingredients such as peanut butter, chia seeds, almonds and dry oats. The dry oats make a good thickening product but be careful, whenever I make smoothie bowls with oats it seems like I am full for hours.
Not only do they look pretty, they are also delicious. This is a quick and easy way to not skip the most important meal of the day. If you don’t want to blend the smoothie in the morning you can do it the night before, then add the toppings in the morning. I think having a smoothie in a bowl and eating it with a spoon keeps me fuller longer because it makes me feel like I actually ate something versus drinking a smoothie and being hungry 30 minutes later.
I lived in Chicago when Eataly first opened, and I recently moved back to the city and can’t believe I’ve never been! We were in the mood for charcuterie one evening, and a few people recommended we go to Eataly. The minute I walked in I was in heaven! The first floor was a market: I think I wanted to buy everything. We walked right past the market and made our way upstairs. It seemed like I was in a different city, there were so many food options. There are currently 4 restaurants upstairs along with booths where you can buy fresh meats and cheeses. We decided to try Osteria Di Eataly and order a bottle of wine and the chefs choice charcuterie board. This is where it all started! We loved everything about that board!
After we were done, we wanted to get some fresh meats, cheeses and jams. Of course we couldn’t forget the imported crackers, so about $100 later, we had all the tools needed to make the perfect cheese board at home!
home made cheese board
This board was from Crate&Barrel, given to us as a house warming present from my cousin and her husband. WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BOARD! We can’t even count the number of times we skipped dinner and made a charcuterie board for dinner this summer. It has been a quick and healthy alternative for us (as long as you keep it easy on the crackers)! We can’t wait to go back to Eataly and try all the other restaurants there. In other news, Eataly is now on Instacart, so we are about to have fine meats and cheeses delivered to our door in the near future!
Udon & ramen are always a hit or miss in my opinion. Also, it never tastes as good as takeout: we found this out the hard way! I have had my fair share of terrible ramen, to say the least. We decided to check out Umai since it is down the street from our new building, and we needed a quick lunch on moving day! We were in and out in 20 minutes, and the food was actually very good. It was seasoned well, and came out piping hot, with so may different options to choose from. They even let you add ingredients to the bowl, for example, the one I wanted didn’t have an egg so I added it. The leftovers also traveled well, they separate out the noodles from the soup and pack them in different containers. This prevent the noodles from absorbing all the liquid and becoming soggy. Definitely going to be our favorite spot this winter when you need warm ramen!
After coming back from Mexico, I was itching to plan another trip to a warm destination to escape the Chicago winter. What better place then the sunshine state: Florida! We got into Orlando pretty late the first night, so unfortunately we didn’t do much except pick up our Chrysler Sebring convertible and check into our hotel: Meliá Orlando Suite Hotel at Celebration. Our first day in Orlando, we decided to go to Epcot, and do an around the world food and drink tour. We had an amazing day, to say the least. The weather was great, we got to try food from all around the world, and we had our fair share of drinks! That weekend also happened to be the International Flower & Garden Festival so we were able to see beautiful floral sculptures all throughout the park.
After our food/drink crawl around the world, we decided to jump on the monorail and go to Magic Kingdom. Unbeknownst to us, our tickets didn’t allow us access to that park, but we found out it is only $5 per person to upgrade our tickets. At the end, we didn’t even end up paying, because their card reader wasn’t working. We got to spend the evening at Magic Kingdom for the sunset. Unfortunately, we left right before the parade because there was a storm coming in that evening.
After walking over 7 miles, our day finally came to an end. We spent the evening at our hotel and had dinner at 360 Bistro Bar. Their menu is inspired by American family meals, and they have an amazing brick oven pizza!!
The next morning we were off to Universal Studios. One piece of advice: BUY THE UNIVERSAL EXPRESS PASS! We bought the pass from the beginning, and it was well worth it. Without the pass we would have probably done 30% of what we did. The highlight of the morning was going to Springfield USA (aka Simpsons World), drinking Duff Beer at Moe’s and eating a Krusty Burger.
Our next stop was: THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER! We had to take the train to get to another part of the park. Waiting in line to get on the train was well worth it…unfortunately, the express pass doesn’t work here. After we went on a few rides, we went to Jurassic Park, which was a water ride, and got soaked! Our last ride of the night was the HULK roller coaster, while we were in line for the ride, the ride broke down, and exactly when we decided to leave, it opened back up again. We essentially stood in line twice for the ride but it was worth it: especially to take the ride in the dark!
After another day of walking over 7 miles, we were ready for bed! The next day we spent visiting some family friends and grabbing lunch at Chuy’s. The rest of the afternoon was joy riding in the convertible, and exploring downtown Orlando. We even had time to relax and squeeze in a movie: I Feel Pretty. When we got back to our hotel, we relaxed at our hotel pool.
Our flight was not until later that evening, so we woke up that morning and had brunch at Holler & Dash, a Southern biscuit house.
After brunch, we went to the Orlando Outlet Mall for a few hours to kill some time. Our last and final stop after shopping was J-Petal, for a late afternoon snack and bubble tea. We ordered a savory Japanese Crepe, and the marinated beef on it was absolutely amazing! The bubble tea also came in a light bulb bottle that you can keep.
By this point, we were exhausted. We decided to return the car early and spend the evening at an airport lounge before our flight home. We got back to Chicago late and ended the night with some late night food at Devil Dawgs!
Living My Best Life 