The Rundown v. 31

I have been on the road a lot in the past month! I have some really fun travel posts coming your way from NYC, Costa Rica, and Finland.

Last week I flew to Finland and to explore the country with 4 other “influencers” and I had the time of my life. I returned to Chicago on Sunday and have been writing and playing catch up on life since then.

I do have a big piece of news for you. My family has opened a small inn called the Kilburn House in my hometown, Kennebunkport, Maine! I have been busy building a website for the new business and my parents are preparing for their first guests.

While most of the past few weeks has been spent traveling, here is a summary of what I have been up to when I have been at home.

I attended a media preview of the Field Museum’s new exhibition, Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment. Each photographer’s work has a completely different style and subject matter, and I thought it was wonderful to highlight a small group of female photographers.

Charles and I went to an event celebrating British food and drink at the residence of the Britain’s Consul General in Chicago. It turns out that gin is one of the British products most imported to the United States, and we tried cocktails from several different British gin producers.

The Windy City Blogger Collective hosted an event to celebrate the opening of Snap Kitchen in the Gold Coast. They specialize in making seriously delicious healthy food to go. Sometimes I stock up on food there when I am having an especially busy week.

We spent one of the first warm sunny days of the season at the Glunz Spring Beer Fest at Sheffield’s where we got to try a wide variety of beers and ciders.

I have been going to as many Flywheel classes as I can. I don’t love spinning, but I love that I can burn 750 calories in 45 minutes. It’s easy and effective, which is just what I need.

I went to the James Beard Eats Week Kick Off Soiree with Charles and Lauren, where we tried bites from some of Chicago’s top restaurants. We especially loved the pierogi from Art Smith’s soon-to-open restaurant, Blue Door Kitchen.

Jocelyn and I were each other’s dates to the James Beard Awards, and we danced the night away at the Girl & the Goat afterparty. You can read all about it here.

We also attended a dinner hosted by Infatuation and AmexGold at The Duck Inn, a restaurant I had been wanting to try for a long time.

We feasted on risotto, flatbread, duck, and a whole roasted pig paired with beer, wine, and cocktails.

And because we weren’t sick of each other yet, we previewed Formento’s new dinner menu with our friend Jenny. The new menu launches on June 10th is a lighter more Mediterranean take on Italian cuisine. The crispy vegetable salad, palermo prawns, and carpaccio calabrese are pictured here. (Don’t worry, their famous chocolate hazelnut cake is still on the menu).

The Windy City Blogger Collective hosted a fun brunch at DL Loft – you can read more about it here.

Some friends and I spent a morning in Rosemont brunching at the Ashburn at the Loews Chicago O’Hare and shopping at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. This would be the ultimate activity for a rainy summer day.

Charles and I tried the new menu at Ranalli’s. It’s so close to our place and they have really great thin crust pizza and one of my favorite patios.

I have also been working to create more video content. I teamed up with the United Fresh Produce Association to make a video highlighting how Chicago restaurants use produce in creative ways.

And I worked with Pre-Brands to make two videos featuring beef recipes. You can find the recipe for Sirloin Steak Pizza here, and the recipe for Beef and Quinoa Stir Fry is here.

And if you want a sneak peek at my videos from New York City and Finland you can head over to my YouTube Channel.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend everyone!!