What I Wore: Stripes and chambray

As I mentioned here, we blew through the Steel City for a few days last week. It rained the entire time we were there, except for the morning we left, isn't that just our luck? The upside was that it was in the high 40s, which is far warmer than in Chicago. This is what I wore on the second day, leather jacket from London, chambray shirt Old Navy, cardigan Shae via Filene's Basement, pants G200 in Macau, scarf New York & Company, ankle booties Modcloth.com, and white leather belt ASOS. And look Ma, no gloves!

Travel Diary: The Steel City

For a whirlwind few days last week, we left the cold of Chicago for the freezing rain of Pittsburgh. Baby Max had his very first adventure away! He did great on the flight going there, but was not so happy on the way back. The trip included far too much time being restrained in his car seat and stroller: air travel, a private driving tour of the city, an interactive robot exhibit, and being wined and dined with new business acquaintances and also old friends. And, woop woop, the limo service that was arranged for us is the same the Steelers use, 'cuz that's how we roll! Check out some snaps of the Steel City, old but with charm and character. But would you believe I didn't even remember to get one picture of Max there?!

Pamela's Diner –– I'm told President Obama likes to eat here when he's in town.

roboworld at Carnegie Science Center

random city scenes

brunch at Meat and Potatoes with our old friends from Chicago

Daily Max fix

Cute baby. That is all.

6 days, 5 nights

I've been single parenting for the last six days while The Fella is out of town at a conference. (In beautiful Santa Fe. Jerk.) I am so looking forward to when he returns tomorrow because I need a break!!!! 

No, in all seriousness, Max is a great baby, and a really fun one at that. Sure, he has his fussy moments (what baby doesn't?) but by now, I've pretty much learned how to stave it off. In fact, I think he learned how to laugh this week. We even had our first "laughing contest" today. I was "standing" him up above me, and this long strand of dribble started trickling out of his mouth, sloooowly making its way down onto my chest. It made me laugh so hard, that the sound surprised him. His eyes got real big, his mouth widened into a big smile, and then out came this full-out, guttural belly-jiggling laughter! Which only made me laugh even harder, even more. Every time I laughed, he laughed. This went on for 10 minutes. I think he was really feeling this emotion. He's like a real, little person now!

So, what else did I do during these six days? For the better majority of it, subzero temps forced me to stay in hibernation, so I was feeling a little lot stir-crazy. Rather, all kinds of crazy. Bless Annie for coming over for a little adult conversation.

I remembered to feed the dog for all her square meals (although I did second guess myself tonight. Did I? Didn't I? Oh, yes).  

I shoveled the car out of a mountain from Friday's monster snowstorm while Max waited patiently in the car––there must have been at least a foot of snow surrounding my car. On both sides. All so I could return a library book before it became overdue and avoid the dollar-a-day fine. It was worth the trip because two movies we had on hold came in, Horrible Bosses and Bad Teacher, both of which saved me from utter boredom after Max went to sleep for the night. (Horrible Bosses was funny in a really ridiculous way. Like the main characters, it made me think how I wanted to murder my boss. Hypothetically speaking, of course.)

Max and I practiced "sitting" all week. At 13.5 weeks, he suddenly has the newfound ability to sit upright without support! Sure, it was for all of two minutes, and he doesn't do it every time, but I read that most babies will only start doing this at five months! It's amazing because literally he went one day lurching his head foreward into his chest, absolutely refusing to use his neck muscles (and looking a bit like a little zombie baby), to the next day, sitting upright and proud! He is freakishly strong... 

Today I gave FurFur and Max a long walk because there was finally a reprieve from the rain storm we had yesterday. Dreary, cold, and extra windy, but at least the rain (and thus, the snow!) was all gone.

I didn't put away all my dishes each time I used something. When you're alone, no one cares if you leave spoons and forks...and plates and glasses...lying around.

And I called the airline and TSA to verify that the travel agent who booked our upcoming trip to Pittsburgh––and misspelled my name––did in fact alert them to put my correct spelling on some List. I have enough to worry about traveling with a baby for the first time, that I don't need to be turned away at the security checkpoint for identification issues! More on how this trip goes later this week, stay tuned...

Gung hay fat choy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

My first "lai see" (lucky money in a customary red envelope)!

A check? What's this? I only take cash!

Outrageous chocolate chip cookies

So it turns out you really can bake something good with only one egg and zero milk! That's how my kitchen was looking. BARE. Today's monster snowstorm officially derailed my plans to pop over to the store to pick up Pillsbury cookie dough and yet I was still having a hankering for cookies. Phooey. So I asked the Twittersphere what I could possibly bake from scratch on a limited supply of pantry staples, and my friend suggested this recipe for Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies (also see below). I ended up baking the cookies longer for 14 to 16 minutes, and they turned out just right. Also, it's a good thing I recently decided I like peanut butter.

Now if only I had some milk...

{ In storm related news, I brushed the mounting snow off my car 3x tonight. }

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased or buttered cookie sheets. 
 
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Serve on a pretty plate.

Baby Max, 13 weeks

Remember when Baby Max couldn't really hold his head up not too long ago?

{ 8 weeks }

Look at the difference a few weeks makes! He's now 13 weeks old, and since the above photo was taken, Max has increasingly gained mobility and coordination. (On the downside, he's also lost a lot more hair!)

{ taken at 12 weeks }

For example, we now always find him completely rotated 180 degrees from how we put him down to bed the night before. Sometimes he is still even wrapped in his swaddle. I'd like to know how he does it! He just looks up at me from the crib with a big, innocent smile. Baby Houdini?

Baked figs & honey

{ before }

A cold wintry night calls for toasty, warm baked goodness like roasted figs with honey. They turn a lovely golden brown/red color when finished. Just assemble figs in a shallow baking dish and pour enough pomegranate or orange juice to cover the figs halfway. Then drizzle with honey (be generous!), add pecans, and dust with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until figs are soft. Serve with Greek yogurt and more honey!

{ after }

The weekend, succinctly

It feels great to have an old friend from another chapter of your life come into the present one. I reflected on this because for the second time in a week I got together with my high school friend, Melissa, who happens to live in Chicago now, too. Earlier last week, we had attended an interesting discussion held by Slate about entrepreneurs and the future of the workforce, featuring Google Chicago founder Kevin Willer and Top Chef Stephanie Izard. Over the weekend she and her partner hosted a Harry Potter Marathon at their place, where Max watched his first Potter movie! 

She and Chris are cool. They live in a converted funeral home and have all kinds of cool themed parties. The Potter-thon featured homemade mulled apple cider. I wish I had known I could wear my jammies. Oh, and her cat Wombat likes to brush her hair.  

{ handmade by the Wu Lai aboriginal tribe in Taiwan, a gift from Melissa }

I wish all my girlfriends lived in the same city. Then it'd be one big party!

One Year Ago: Quintessential Maui, part 5

On our last day in Maui, we went for an early morning kayak trip out in the ocean, where we spotted whales! Besides getting insanely sick at sea, it was cool kayaking in Maui's beautiful blue waters. I've only kayaked in Miami and Chicago, and canoed once in Tortola.

This was followed by an impromptu stop at a market where a lady demonstrated screen-printing on an antique printing press and The Fella created his own artwork on it. Perhaps I'll turn this into personalized notecards as a memento... 

We had a few hours layover in bright, vibrant Honolulu, so we took a quick trip down to the beach. Unfortunately, I am semi-dressed for returning to the throes of a Chicago winter.

It's been fun looking at old trip photos, exactly one year later. If only there was a way to conjure up actual Hawaiian sunshine on my face, then things would be golden. For now the memories will have to do.