Dining Delights | Peaches Prattlings

{September 27, 2016} A fun evening…fund raising

Yeah, puntastic!

Tonight, my team went out to support a great coworker and cause.

JW is on the board of directors of CEP, the Center for Economic Progress. This is a fantastic organization that helps low-income, working families as a trusted provider of tax and financial services. http://www.economicprogress.org/

The fundraiser was to acknowledge the program, supporters, staff and volunteers.

Well…we were also there to fundraiser, of course! One of the reasons we were fundraising is the mobile unit, just like the magnet in the photo. It will be used to travel into neighborhoods to perform their great services.

The mobile unit has been procured, but…as JW said in her presentation, it is sad on the inside…why? It’s empty! So…we need to raise funds to fill and stock it! Computers, workstations, supplies, you name it.

How did we accomplish some of this tonight? Text CEP to a number, get a text with a link to a fundraising site, clever! When you submitted your donation, you saw your name scroll on the big screen, sorry, missed my name!

Now, the excitement was to see what we could raise in 5 minutes and someone was going to match it. What did we raise? Almost $9000! Not too shabby! Go JW and CEP!

It was an exciting event and as it was winding down, the team went a few blocks down the street to have some dinner, the fundraiser was appetizers and an open bar. We continued the good times, especially when JW got there. We ate, drank, chatted and laughed, another great team I’m lucky to have been placed with!

{September 22, 2016} A team outting…a coming class!!

So much fun!

Two team dinners in a row? Sounds good! This time, a cooking class, fun!

We went to The Social Table for a fantastic evening!

When we arrived, appetizers were waiting, toast points with chickpeas, butternut squash, tomatoes, olive oil and pepper. A yummy way to start!

The kitchen was set, the table was set, everything was…set!

We were making a brussel sprout and kale salad, fresh pasta with carbonara sauce, minus the meat, tomato soup, stuffed peppers and chocolate cake with ice cream.
Rachel and Ian were our chef/instructors and they were fun and patient and encouraging and remembered each of our names and called us to do things, that was impressive!

Everyone chopped, sliced, diced, pureed, mixed, folded, whipped, you name it, we all got to do it!

We prepped, cooked, drank, chatted and laughed, it was fabulous and so much fun! We talked a little work here and there but most of all we laughed and really enjoyed the process and each other’s company.

When it was all done, we sat down to mange! It was fabulous!

[Yes, my friends, every piece if food had some form of dairy and I tried it all, except the chocolate cake with ice cream. I’m paying for it, but the experience with my coworkers was worth it! Every once in a while, you have to go for it]

If you have never taken a cooking class, it’s worth it. This is my second, it’s more fun with an intimate or smaller group and if you know everyone, you can relax a little more.

{September 21, 2016} Breakfast then back to the grindstone

It was such a great weekend with CKM, do I have to go back to reality?

We had to set an alarm this morning…boo…but we had a schedule to keep.

I got up first, showered and took my stuff to my next hotel, came back and then we went to Lou Mitchell’s for breakfast, it’s part of where Route 66 starts, they say it starts there at their restaurant.

After breakfast, the one thing we had not done yet, the one mode of transportation left…the El. Off we went, easiest way to get to the airport, traffic can be bad.

We took the El to the airport, chatted along the way and then it was time to say goodbye, sad, but we’ll see each other again soon. Who knows where we’ll travel to next!

Back on the El to work, lots going on! Then a team dinner, drinks at a rooftop bar before, a really good dinner then drinks at the hotel.

Now, I’m ready to crash! Goodnight!!

{September 19, 2016} Another fabulous day! Museums and football! Top that!

Our last day in Chicago was definitely a memorable one!

We started off at Yolk for breakfast, pretty good if you ask me.

From Yolk, Uber to The Museum of Science and Industry. This was great! There were parts that reminded me of the Boston Museum of Science.

We saw old wagons, a submarine, airplane, made tornados, watched a cool movie about sharks, planes and trains..just to name a few things!

Then it was time for lunch and on to The Field Museum of Natural History. There, it was dinosaurs, ancient China, ancient Egypt and some really bad pick up lines!

Did they mean this to sound like a pick up line!?

After The Field Museum we headed back to the hotel, drop off some stuff, get Bears hates, we had our shirts…we need to represent!

Back to Soldier Field…joined all the rest of the fans, a good mix of Bears and Eagles fans. How do I know? Because I don’t think there was anyone not wearing something representing one of the two teams. The seats i got…somewhere in the clouds, also known as Eagles territory!

we were at the tippy top top row!

An amazing weekend!! Where are we going next????

{September 18, 2016} Another great day touring Chicago…and no trips to the ER!

We had a lot to do and the ER was not on the list!

We woke up on our own, nice. As we were not that impressed with breakfast, we ate leftover pizza, what could be better to start the day?

Our first stop…the Crown Fountains in Millennium Park. They are two towers that project videos of faces while water falls from them, a very cool piece of art.

These are great to see and play in, especially on a hot day!

Next, The Bean. Yup, if you don’t know it, you have to see it. It’s a giant metal bean…yeah, just go. Can you see us?

On to the Art Institute of Chicago, just wow! Impressionist, contemporary, pre 1900, one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. It houses a few, to say the least, famous pieces. American Gothic, A Sunday in the Afternoon on the Grand Jatte, made famous in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, among so many others. I’ll just post a few.

By then, we had worked up an appetite! We headed to the West Loop in search of lunch and ended up at the Haymarket, which was around the corner from an arts festival, which is where we walked off lunch and enjoyed the festival and bought a few things.

After the festival we headed back to Navy Pier for another boat tour. The tall ships mislead us on their website, so we enjoyed a tour of the lake, it was enjoyable and informative.

And last order of business for the day, certainly not least, Buckingham Fountain, in Grant Park, made famous by being in the opening of Married With Children. This is truly an amazing fountain and at night, lights make it entertaining. It was designed like a wedding cake, what do you think?

Then we headed back to the hotel,,we were in the mood for something sweet. A nice relaxing time in the grand lobby, sorry, I forgot to take pictures!

Now, I’m talking to you and tomorrow…more adventures!

{September 18, 2016} Oh my…what a day! Sightseeing…a trip to the ER…more sightseeing!

Yup, you heard right!

CKM and I had a lot to do today! We started by not setting an alarm, definitely! Breakfast then off to see the sights…and boy, did we see them!

We had gotten the Chicago Go pass, that gives us three days to see up to 26 things on the pass. Will we do all of them? Doubtful but we can try!

First stop was to find the tour both to get tickets for the architectural boat tour. We left the hotel and started walking and I knew where I was, but we were in the wrong location. I we had walked the correct number of blocks,but apparently, I was subconsciously heading to work!

they raise the bridges in the fall to let the talller boats get to where they will be stored for the winter, cool!

So…we took a right and headed down Wacker towards Michigan Avenue and it was a lovely walk along the water. We found the place we were looking for, got our tickets for tonight, activity one, and then headed back down Michigan Avenue looking and taking in the sites.

the side of the building has stones or pieces of different structures all over the world.

One of the places we stopped was the Presbyterian church I has spent time at when I visited a few years ago, just stunning. So peaceful, just sitting there enjoying the view, the church bells, the serenity.

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We left the courtyard and as it happens, the Hancock Building was across the street, it was on the pass, so, activity two. It was great, no line, right up and wow, look at that view!

After the Hancock Building we headed towards Navy Pier and stopped at Ohio Street Beach, also known as Olive Street Beach and a snack at Olive Beach Cafe. After our snack, time to put our feet in the water! Ahhhh…

Eventually we got to Navy Pier, score! We got our tickets for the rides, activity three. The Centennial Wheel, which is way bigger than the one they used to have, it was much nicer. This one is on par with the huge wheels they are putting up all over the world.

After the Centennial Wheel, the carousel, I chose a dragon and CKM was on a zebra. Next, we could have skipped the giant swing, glad we did it last.

Now, time to walk down to the end of the pier, passing all big boats, party boats, dinner cruises and an arcade. On the way, we stopped in a stained glass gallery. Tiffany inspired windows, really stunning.

Then off to the end of the pier to enjoy the view, the sailboats, the lighthouse, the water, ahhh.

It was time for a snack, a pretzel, enjoy the music, the breeze and some good conversation. After a break, we started to head back to the hotel to charge our phones, get a bite to eat and then head to the boat tour.
We decided to walk along the water and we were on the walking/bike path, it was very crowded in one spot and I heard “look out!” The next thing I know, a red shoulder has connected with my chin, I fell on my personality, heard and felt my head hit the ground. I was stinned, to say the least!

Then I realized there were a lot of people around us and CKM was telling me not to move, no problem! I laid there while she dislodged my arm from a bicycle and eventually, I sat up, then stood up. My chin hurt and my jaw was killing me!

First thing I checked…my ring and then cell phone!

All of a sudden, two police officers came from somewhere and made me sit down again. They asked if I wanted to go to the hospital, I said no and they were making sure I was ok. Meanwhile, the kid who I collided with was very nice and apologetic, he wouldn’t leave until he knew I was alright.

CKM and I eventually walked away in search of a napkin as my hand was bleeding. A food stand owner was kind enough to let me wash my hands in his sink and about that time paramedics and fire fighters showed up, apparently someone had called.

They wanted to be sure I didn’t have a concussion or problem with tmj. The siren was pathetic! So sad sounding! We had a good laugh about it.

We got to the hospital and then we waited…and waited…and waited…finally, I reached out to two good friends, one, my neighbor in Atlanta, DG and CH, both medical professionals and in agreement. I wasn’t concussed, take ibuprofen, ice on and off, and if it gets worse, go back to the ER. Away we went.

My current injuries…a sore jaw, a swollen chin, I feel like I’m in Jay Leno territory! An extra bump that is turning very dark on my chin, a scraped hand, a small bump on the back of my hard head and a huge lump of a bruise forming on my left hip. Hey, when I go all out, I go all out!

Bottom line…I wanted to show CKM a good time!

Called Uber, made it to the boat tour with minutes to spare! A great tour, good guide, very funny and we learned some stuff!

After the boat tour, a brisk walk to Sears Tower. No line! Two amazing towers in one day! Activity four!

Every activity has a photographer, of course. If the photos weren’t $20 each, we might be interested. Here’s an idea…make the photos free if you have the pass, or at least half off. Just a thought.

Then to Giordano’s, next block over, for some deep dish pizza for CKM and pasta for me, worth it!

Back to the hotel to talk to you, then it’s going to be lights out very soon! Are you tired?
What a day! Did you feel like you were with us? You were! I wonder what tomorrow holds! Anything but another trip to the ER!

{September 17, 2016} Sharing veganism…sigh

As my dad always says..’sharing is caring’.

LJ and I met tonight to get some dinner at Kitchen 17, the vegan place that KP and I went to on Wednesday because she wanted to try the vegan deep dish pizza.

Guess what they don’t have on Fridays…deep dish pizza! Noooooo! But they do have scicillian style pizza which is thick, so we ordered that. Odd thing…it was round. But…fabulous! We also ordered spinach and artichoke dip, O M G!! So, two for two at this place! This may be my new favorite vegan place in Chicago.

After we finished, well, finished as much as we were going to…we decided on a milkshake, equally yum!

As we were waiting on the milkshake, there was a couple next to us who asked how we liked the pizza, we both said it was fabulous and offered them a piece! They declined but asked for vegan recommendations in Chicago, they had just moved there. He had been in Japan the last two years and she was from Atlanta, what are the odds?

So, we gave her the run down, and it was great having LJ there because even though I’m vegan, I can say something is great, if a non-vegan or meat eater says this food is good, it helps with other people. Some people think when I say something is awesome, it’s just because I can eat it, not true.

I also told them about Happy Cow, the veg-friendly app. You get vegetarian, vegan, veg-friendly and stores. The best part, it’s global, I’ve used it all over the globe!

All in all, a great evening! A good dinner with a friend, sharing vegan options with new friends and now…on my way to pick up CKM at the airport for the weekend! Wahoo!

{September 14, 2016} I ate deep dish!

Oh my, but it was fabulous!
I have been getting vegan restaurant recommendations since I got to Chicago and I’ve tried a few of them, so far all good. Tonight I tried another and was not disappointed!

KP and I were going to see sketch comedy and one of the places near the theatre was Kitchen 17, which was on my list and I’m so glad we went!

We ordered a “garbage” deep dish pizza and a buffalo “chicken” sandwich. If you don’t know what a garbage pie is, it’s basically everything, meat and veggies on one piece. The sauce was tangy, which KP loved. It also had ricotta, mozzarellaand some other goodness!

Since Chicago is known for deep dish pizza and I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to have some, think I was happy? You bet your sweet bippie!

One of the best parts, aside from having a non-vegan or meat eating friend share..this meat eating friend loved it! So it’s not just me saying it!

Will I be going again? Oh yeah! Want to come with me?

{September 10, 2016} The family is back together…ahh

PSM got home tonight, yeah!

The tables were turned this week, I was at home and PSM was traveling. I picked him up at the airport and we went off in search of adventure.

First stop? Furniture shopping, you’re jealous, I know! But we bought a bedroom suite, we really needed it, poor PSM has been sleeping on a futon mattress on the floor since we moved, that will not do! It’s being delivered tomorrow morning, the guy really wanted me to be able to sleep on it at least one night before i head back on the road.

Then it was a drive and a very nice long walk down the beach. Walking and talking, catching up, talking about everything and nothing, watching the sun go down with everyone else.

There actually aren’t a lot of places to eat in the beach so we went to a place we’d been before. The server was very nice, and funny, always a plus.

Then a nice walk back to the car, getting caught in a rain storm… with the you down on the car! Home to spend quality time with the puppy and lights out! He couldn’t tell you if her was coming or going!

It’s going to be tough to leave on Sunday, but it will be nice to come home again.

{September 8, 2016} What a day! Maui, ziplining and a luau, oh my!

It really was a great day! Only thing missing.. PSM, he’s in St Loius for work.

LJ is in Hawaii this week with her family and we knew we wanted to get tougher, so I flew to Maui this morning on Hawaiian Airlines, it’s a quick 40 minute flight.

We met up at the Hyatt on the other side of the island, I met her bf, JD and her parents, all very lovely people.

Bathing suits on, first order of business… the pool. A lovely little wouldn’t you say? I am still floored at this phone’s camera!!!

After the pool and the infinity pool, back to the room to change and off to ziplining. Oh my, so much fun!! I had done some ziplining on a small scale, when i was doing a challenge with a group, but not like this, amazing! When are we going again?

We did the medium zip, a trek up the mountain in a van, get set up with our equipment, back in the van for the first stop then zip, hike, zip, hike eight times, then van, remove equipment, van back down.

After ziplining, off for margaritas, chips and guac, we worked up quite a thirst and hunger.

Then back to the hotel too shower and get ready for the big luau! It was awesome! Great entertainment, fire, dancing, singing, food! They even made me a vegan plate!