We stayed at the Sofitel at the Chicago Water Tower.  I really love this hotel, and would strongly recommend it.  It sits a few blocks back of Michigan Avenue, so it is a little quieter, but right in the middle of things still.  It was easy to walk or use public transportation to most everything in town that we wanted to see.  The rooms were nice and very clean, and just minimally decorated in a way I find relaxing.  There were awesome full length mirrors covering the closets so it was easy to style yourself.  And to top it all off the bathrooms were huge, with a wide array of really nice amenities.  What more can a girl want you ask?  A lobby filed with fresh flagrant flower displays, helpful staff and a great lounge and restaurant that’s what, and they got you covered there too.

So the night I landed, Hubby took me to the most beautiful place.  The Bloomingdales Home Store in Chicago… YeeGods this place is awesome.  Four or five floors of nothing but beautiful home decor, in an old Synagogue that itself was amazing.  Not only that, but they had the new Diane Von Furstenburg plates and bedding.  Heaven, heaven, heaven.   Then we had dinner at Moto.  The super modernist, molecular gastronomy restaurant of Chicago.  And it was so much fun!  I can’t even describe the food and the courses, but I have pictures!  If you like fun dining and don’t take your food to seriously I would recommend it.  There are places rated much better food-wise, like Avec, but this was fun and Hubby and I like all the work and creativity put into the dishes.  The staff was so nice, they were low key and down to earth, and it made the whole thing relaxed and fun.

Friday we ate an early lunch at Grahamwich, Graham Elliot’s sandwich shop. This was really, really good. YOU MUST EAT HERE!  I had the jarbrito tacos which had nicely flavored soft meat and crunchy plantain bits, they could have used a touch more acid, but that is a light quibble.  I also had a bite of my Hubby’s Reuben, which was really good, juicy and just succulent as can be. We also got the short rib sandwich and I ate all the guts out of my half. That was fantastic, the pickled onions, chip pieces, short rib that was rich and soft, but not runny and sauce that was creamy, but had a nice acidic balance pull it all together and it was so rich and crispy and tart all together. That was a great sandwich. It was very hipster in terms of scene, but I liked it, a lot.

After our tasty lunch I convinced Hubby we should walk down Michigan Avenue to see some of the great buildings.  This turned into quite a long walk all the way to the Field Museum, but it was a nice day and we needed to burn off all those Grahamwich calories.  On the way we stopped into a poster store that had amazing old vintage posters on the bottom floor that were amazing and rare.  It is one of those big online shops, but just seeing some of their neat, rare art deco posters up close was fun.  We also stopped into the Chicago Architecture Foundation store which is neat too.  After finally arriving at the Field Museum (and as a note if you don’t love to walk don’t try this it was a long walk), we had a great time seeing the exhibits in their neat vintage boxes with hand painted backgrounds.  I felt like I was in another era walking through the botanical section learning what families plants and veggies I love are from.  I did not know the apple tree was in the rose family.  I don’t think this is probably a favorite museum for kids, but I would certainly recommend it for any adult that enjoys art and botany.

That night we had our obligatory Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill. I started with Duck flautos in a tomatillo sauce. This was just fantastic. Slightly spicy, crisp outer shell, rich meat, but the tomatillo sauce with toasted herbs and spices was just amazing. I am sure it is in his cookbook and would be worth it if you had some time to make it. It was an excellent dish. Hubby had chorizo tamales which were good, but it had so much sauce, meat, greans and etc you couldn’t really taste the tamales, so while it was good, my starter was better. For entrees he had an entree with chicken, rice and spinach which had a light sauce that I want to say was tomato based. His entree was really good, I liked it a lot. The spinach was fantastic and the sauce was light but flavorful. I had chicken enchiladas in mole poblano. It was very rich and sweet, but nicely balanced with black beans. The meat and tortillas were very good, the mole was very complex, but good. It isn’t something I could eat often, I couldn’t finish it just so rich, but it was very good. We were too stuffed for dessert. I also had a very good blood orange margarita. The service wasn’t stellar. We waited a long time for drinks, silverware, our order to get taken we ordered second drinks, but finished our entrees before they came so the waiter asked if we still wanted them and we declined. I understand it is exceedingly busy there all the time, but at the same time, it is always like that so I expect them to be able to better deal with the madness.  If you can get the reservation for Topolobampo, I would bet it is well worth it.

Later that evening we had fun catching up with Megan at her very chic apartment.  A place I wish I could just teleport to with a bottle of wine and stories to tell.

Saturday was St. Patty’s madness. We ate breakfast at Cafe Grand Deluxe, which I believe is owned by Cheesecake Factory brand. Places were so crowded at this point we just wanted some food and they could get us in fairly quickly. I had an egg white omlette and it was good, I mean nothing to write home about, hee hee hee, but definitely an adequate place to stop with lots of variety.  The river was green, people were crazy.  But it was fun to see the madness.  We met up with Megan and toured the Chicago Cultural Center which is just stunning.  If I got married in Chicago this is where it would have been.  The beautiful Tiffany domes and detailed mosaics covering the building just make it a magical place.  We walked through Marshall Fields, toured Millenium Park then ended up at the Art Institute of Chicago.  Wow this place is gigantic, we couldn’t come close to seeing everything.  I also found the layout very confusing if you just wanted to pop in and out to certain exhibits and not follow their routes.  The coolest part of the museum were the mini-rooms which shouldn’t be missed.  I love the Art Institute’s massive collection- well worth paying admission (something us DCers just don’t understand).

That night we went to the lounge at Sixteen at the Trump Tower for cocktails and a snack. I love this lounge, I think it is akin to drink at the W Hotel in DC (which used to be the Hotel Washington, but this place has better drinks).  I bet the hotel rooms are amazing too, especially if you get a view looking up or down Michigan Ave.  The view from the lounge is really beautiful, the cocktails were really well done, I had a ginger cocktail, Vodka, Domaine de Canton and perhaps something else, with a candied ginger rim, it was very well blended with a nice mixture of flavors. My friend Megan had a whiskey, maple syrup and bacon cocktail with some other things to balance out the sweet and that was really good. Hubby had the least appealing, I can’t even really remember what it was, he didn’t get a second of it, he had something else. But sitting there drinking cocktails, watching the skyline light up, and catching the fireworks was a great evening. If you want the iconic cocktail with nice view this is the place. We ate samosas and beef satay both of which were really tasty.  We spent a good portion of our night talking, laughing and just enjoying life from that beautiful lounge.  In the summer they open up the terrace there and I am sure then it only gets better.

That night we ate dinner/more snacks at Bin36. This place had a fantastic wine list, a very good selection of wine flights, a huge selection of cheese and was a great place to hang, casual, but buzzing with a great open feel. We all got different flights, I had the Habla Espanol which had wines from the new world and old, they were all very good. We had a lavender and coffee encrusted cheese, mortadella, salami platter which was very good. Hubby had a cheddar flight which was awesome. Then I had a beet and crab salad, which had a touch too many beets and not enough other components to balance them out. But was pretty good. My friend had sausage, polenta and an egg which was like having really good breakfast for dinner. Hubby had fondue with soft pretzels and apples which was good. We mainly just wanted snacks and hangover food to suck up all the liquor from the day. We then drank at some different bars that night trying to find a good St. Patty’s place but they all seemed to be packed to the gills.

Next day we tried to go to Yolk which was packed, so trying to hit up some museums quickly we just ended up at Potbelly. We then headed up to the Museum of Science and Industry.  This is an amazing museum.  It is the place to take kids, or anyone like me, who likes to be a kid whenever possible.  I watched in awe as trains went through the replica of Chicago, walked up  stairways filled with working pumps, motors and machines you could turn on and off, create a tornado, tsunami and avalanche in the lab, and so much more, this place was epically cool.

Later that day we went to Marshall Fields/Macy’s which was a ton of fun. I wish their cafes had been open that day. We got lots of chocolate from the candy department- I had never seen Moonstruck chocolates before and they are so cute, especially the little animals. I got a bunch for my Mom as a thank you for watching Max and a couple for me including penguins!  They had an amazing selection of anything and everything. That store is just nuts! We ended up grabbing a quick dinner before heading to the airport at Flacos Tacos which was surprisingly good, the chicken tamale was incredible and the tacos were really good. In retrospect we could have eaten somewhere nicer, but we didn’t know how long it would take us to get to the airport, through security and all that jazz, but it ended up being a breeze.  The whole trip was so much fun, I wish we had more time, but another trip now that the weather is warmer wouldn’t be bad either.

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This week I am blogging about china.  I absolutely love my set of china, and it means the world to me that it was from gifts for our wedding.  To me it will always have significance as a celebration of our marriage and as the start of our family traditions together as a couple.  Many people get china from their wedding or from a family member, but what if you don’t?  Not to worry there are some good sources out there, so you can get some fabulous china as a celebration of whatever you would like to celebrate as soon as you get it and can eat on it!

First off scour large antique shops.  I really like the Factory Antique Mall in Verona, Virginia.  They have lots of china and depression glassware.  I have also had good luck at the Ivy Cottage in Wilmington, North Carolina.  But I see things all over the place when I am just wandering.  Recently I passed up an adorable glass set of dinnerware in Garrett County at Cabin Fever Antiques that I am a little upset that I didn’t buy.  It had lots of color and personality and was at a really good price point. There is another set online that I am deeply coveting, that I am not putting on here for fear you all will buy it before I can get approval (Honey, I will find  a place for it I promise!) .   But in our area you can even check out the consignment shop at Fort Meyer for some interesting finds from time to time.

Next up search the internet.  Ebay, Etsy and Replacements Ltd are all good places to check.  Start by browsing some manufacturers your like.  Lately I have been into Noritake.  And if the set isn’t complete, see if you can find replacements on Replacementsltd.com Here are some finds I thought were cool:

This set of Turquoise Lifetime China really reminds me of the Greenbrier china and is in great condition.  $175 for a large amount of pieces.

And these Floral Napkin Rings are a bargain at $8.50, and are cute as can be.

Although $400 sounds steep, for this Noritake 59pc set it is a really good deal if you compare it to per piece costs. It will have all the pieces you want without having to buy additional pieces.  And it is beautiful, classic and in wonderful condition.

If you want something with clean lines that is also a bit more modern, check out this Mikasa set.

And then last but not least is this very fun 30 pc Set of WS George Shabby Floral China for a bargain price of $35.00.  I love how cute and fun this set is.

For me thinking about china reminds me of all the family dinners and special moments you spend together with family and friends. Not that anytime can’t be special regardless of dinnerware, but as a child I always remember how fun it was to eat off the fancy plates, it was a big deal, and I guess deep down to me it still is a big deal and I want to translate those feelings of happiness to all the people I get the privilege of having over for dinner.  Plus with Thanksgiving coming up, maybe you can con your way into being where people come for dinner, I mean you have the new china that needs to be used right?

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But let’s face it when it comes to dining you just can’t afford the gold or sterling silverware that used to be customary in yesteryear, and it is so pricey you feel bad even putting it on a registry.  But with many of the beautiful china styles, with amazing colors and warm hues out there you really do need a classy set of gold settings.

The solution: Seletti Midas Cutlery.

Normally available on Yoox.com or Bloomsburystore.com, it is all sold out right now because it is fabulous, but don’t despair  because The Conran Shop Online has a full 24 piece set for $225.00.

This is gold plated steel cutlery with a matte finish.  Allowing it to blend with modern and classic china sets.  I think it would even look particularly stunning with mixed plates or plain white casual china, as well.  And it comes nicely packed in a china box, small enough to actually fit in all those places you would want to store your china.  I am really quite smitten with this set of silverware, actually less smitten more absolutely covetous.  So get it while it isn’t sold out.  And if you are looking for a nice wedding present for those brides out there who aren’t registering (ahem bad idea) I think this would make a really nice present that any modern couple would find quite pleasing.

*Sigh* If only I had seen this BEFORE Christmas.

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It is the Flora pattern by Villeroy and Bach.  My favorite are the pink plates below.

The major problem though is that they do not match with the decor of my current house.  (Well the blue would, but I love the pink)  Well Hubby would also  claim that the other problem is that I just got new china and I have rather recent new casual dinnerware and I just put in all the cabinets we can and it now just fits all my current china, as well, details, details.  But if these match your house please register for them or buy them and take good care of them and then pass them on to me, ok? (Ahem, I know of a few certain brides who NEED to register, at least for china)

What makes them so appealing is that they look very similar to the rhododendron china that is used at the Greenbrier which is just stunning china.  They have stood the test of time there looking so classic.  The rhododendron china was used at my wedding, and is used during regular tea and dinner service their and just looks amazing.  They would be perfect for my Aunt who has beautiful pinks and greens in her home and her dining room.

They are on sale, as well.  So girls that need china and have a beautiful classic apartment or house, really think about these, yes they are bold colors, but Dorthy Draper never feared color and look how great her creations turned out.

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Girls this is snack set:

Snack set meet the girls.

I recently happened upon snack sets at my wedding shower.  The person throwing my shower was having a tea, and borrowed glass snack sets from her church for the event.  I also then noticed that my MIL to be in 17 days had snack sets in her glass cupboard.

Snack sets are small serving plates, a little bit bigger than a dessert plate, not as big as a dinner plate, with either an indentation for a cup to rest, like the snack set above, or a walled off section for a cup to sit.  This completely solves the problem of carrying a drink and plate, and not being able to snack on either.

I think a snack set would be perfect for a cocktail party where you are serving hor d’oeuvres, a tea with sandwiches and cookies or even to start a dinner party before the food is served.

The one hang up is that most drinks you serve at a cocktail party are not meant to be served in a tea cup.  The solution would be to find some stemless glasses that would sit in the indentation or walled off part of the snack set.

This picture shows you a good view of one that has dividers.  I think a stemless glass would sit in there.  This set also comes with a small serving bowl for fruit, trifle, pudding or even a small salad.

Some other snack sets I thought were super cute:

This one from Replacements, LTD.com.  I know normally this site is to replace broken items, but you can order multiples and make yourself a full set.

This china one with gold rim from Granny’s Treasure Box.

This blue one from Tias.com.

And this vintage milk glass from Robin’s Nest.

They have all sorts of patterns in glass and china, you can even get high end Fenton art glass snack sets, or Federal snack sets.

Once my new china cabinet is built, and I have a home for a snack set, I will be acquiring one, with some stemless glasses.

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