STRAWBERRIES

I just want you all to know that you can get a case of strawberries at Stanleys on elston for .99 cents! GO NOW! HURRY!

Co-op at Sprout

Sprout home will offer boxes of locally grown, fresh organic produce from Prospera farms on a monthly basis starting in June. Pick up is on the first Tuesday of the month. Missallfun is really into this and on board.

New/old Denim to debut Milwaukee Ave.

I was just thinking how Levis on Michigan Ave. is really where its at but the tourist staring up at the buildings and blocking the sidewalk makes it a tad of a project to frequent. Whenever I do make it, I usually buy. Its such a good price for quality denim that last. No really, like forever. Imagine that! Anyway, I got a tip from a hood spotter of mine and via supertalk.superfuture, discussion for superbored global shopping experts(I just love their concept). missallfun learns of Levis opening up on Milwaukee ave.! hooray. Im so over the usual suspects and cant wait! Just awesome! Now all the neighborhood needs is a proper deli.

I could live off these!

Missallfuns next culinary go...
Photograph by Dwight Eschliman for The New York Times

Recipe via New York Times

Walnut, Pear and Roquefort Madeleines

Unsalted butter, for buttering the molds

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup buttermilk
3 ounces Roquefort, crumbled
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and diced
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter 24 madeleine molds or minimuffin tins (bake in batches if needed). Combine the flour and baking powder in a small mixing bowl. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper. Add the oil, buttermilk and cheese, and whisk again until well blended.

2. Sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated — the batter will be thick. Don’t overmix; it’s O.K. if a few lumps remain. Fold in the pear and walnuts and stir to combine. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them by two-thirds.

3. Bake until puffy and golden, 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for a few minutes, unmold and serve warm. Makes 24 madeleines. Adapted from “Chocolate and Zucchini,” by Clotilde Dusoulier.

The S. Pelligrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurants

The 2007 list is in and Chicago snagged two spots of only 8 USA spots on the list. Of course Trotters made it again at the 30th spot but newcomer and HIGHEST new entry, Alinea made the list at #37. I cant believe I missed my invite to this amazing place!!!!! It will surely take an adventurous dinnermate and another 6 months to get in.

Here are the top 8 USA spots:
#4 The French Laundry
#9 Per se
#18 Jean Georges
#26 Le Bernardin
#30 Charlie Trotters
#32 Daniel
#37 Alinea
#40 Chez Panisse

More shoes

storage that is. Im liking the simplicity of the horizontal shoe rack at Design Within Reach. clear up those floors ya know? comes in two different sizes.

OGO oxygen water

so missallfun is a sucker for packaging and a full out water snob. Im sure I mentioned that before? That being said, I was struck by this OGO water, apparently it has 200mg of oxygen per liter, about 35 times more then other products. cool, Im so into this kind of thing. Tasted it, awesome. Ive been reading that its selling like crazy in Europe. Cool little bottle that didn't weigh my bag down. 3 bucks for a tiny bottle(Iloveminnies), a tad pricey but the good life is worth it!

Corporate wine still sucks!

Ive eagerly been waiting for Cellar Rat Wine Shop to open and this weekends weather couldnt have been a better kick off. Dean the owner couldnt be more enthusiastic, down to earth and inviting. He has a great little space and missallfun wishes him well. Finally an alternative to factory made wines and its in the hood!!! Dean also promises there will always be something special open to try. yummy

Back support

Beach Chairs! what a great idea!

Green Flor

I really go wild for Astroturf so when I received my new Flor catalog at work today I was so happy to see the Green Acres collection. I just love this, perfect for a city girl from Wisconsin!

Earth Month Candle at Aveda

all procedes go Global Greengrants Fund, helping protect clean water for children and families around the world!

Ghetto Gourmet

thanks for the tip Francis! well they are back. a restaurant that you have never heard of before because it doesnt exist. it does but doesnt. a fantastic coursed meal at a secret location with people you dont know! Ive heard about GG and other versions similar but now at my fingertips i can purchase my tic. missallfun loves this!

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG 5:55

5:55 scheduled to release April 24th!

Brunch at The Pump Room

The Pump Room is a Chicago Classic! A Chicago Landmark open in 1938, Booth One, perhaps the more renowned table in the country, attracted the most attention. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall celebrated their wedding in Booth One, as did Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. Liza Minelli grew up in Booth One and has fond memories of dining there with her mother, Judy Garland. Ms. Garland immortalized the restaurant in the lyrics to “Chicago”, with the words “we’ll eat at The Pump Room/Ambassador East, to say the least”. And of course, Frank Sinatra held court in Booth One countless times. I had some lovely oatmeal and dipped my bacon in blueberry syrup. Yummy

A stroll through Lincoln Park Zoo

Pink Flamingos!!!!! Their pink or reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments (like the pigments of carrots) in the algae and small crustaceans that the birds eat. What a site, Lincoln Park Zoo is always free and always fun!

Zuli on Dogster

This weekend missallfun met a few new friends but one liked her scarf as much as she did so she deserves mention. Our dear friends in wicker park have their Zuli on dogster, think myspace for dogs. missallfun doesnt have a dog yet but when she does you know, insert name here_____ will most def have his/her own profile. The site is super fun, obviously. Check it out, make friends, make dogs?, walk, dig, chew, give them treats, whatever

New Martha

Just picked up my new Martha Stewart Living while I was at Fox and Obel last night. Her pink guest house really makes me happy and her watermelon margaritas look delicious! Here is the topper, watermelon chunks frozen to serve as ICE!!!!! Martha takes her silver patron seriously and doesnt dare water down her drink. Idontcareifyouhatemartha! I worship her. Missallfun approved!

Happy Weekend!

What a great way to use all my leftover wallpaper!

Easy Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta

Recipe courtesy of Food and Wine:
Panna cotta is an eggless custard, typically served unmolded. But Reidt’s vanilla bean panna cotta is as creamy as a crème brûlée—so creamy, in fact, that he serves it in ramekins.

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
• 2 1/4 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
• 3 tablespoons water
• Mixed berries, for serving

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds. Bring the mixture just to a simmer over moderate heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until evenly moistened, about 5 minutes.
3. Uncover the cream mixture and bring just to a simmer over moderately high heat. Remove from heat, add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Remove the vanilla bean and save for another use. Pour the panna cotta mixture into eight 4-ounce ramekins and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the panna cotta is set but still jiggly, at least 3 hours. Serve in the ramekins, with berries.

May Food and Wine

Finally it arrived! It really brought joy to my cta bus ride into work. May is missallfuns birthday month and she needs to fuel for her 27th birthday!!! Im making the lovely panna cotta to kick it off.

Furnished modern church

Is sacrilegious to say that missallfun would consider being religious if this was her church? Im guessing the the faith is much more modern then I remember. St. Bartholomew's Church by Maxim Velcovsky. dezeen is one of missallfuns frequent stops for a reason. Who new my favorite chairs could be so holy!

ahhh so much fun stuff out there!

See, missallfun can recycle! Cd spindles at lunch, at the park this summer, on the road! I have a large one sitting at my desk now that will snugly fit two yummy bagel sandwiches for missallfun and her sweetie. Im trying this for him when he takes me to IKEA this weekend!

Bagel + CD spindle = perfect fit. (link via core77, image from)

mum balls

Via design sponge.
You'll need:

Floral Foam (the green stuff)
Mums (any color you like)
Floral Pins
Army Knife
Scissors


- Use your knife to carve the floral foam into 1" - 2" spheres

- Snip off the heads of your mums

- Soak your foam spheres in water one at a time just before you are
ready to assemble each (the foam retains some of the water and will
keep your mums looking fresh)

- begin attaching the mum heads to the foam sphere with your floral
pins. Continue until you have covered all of the green foam with
mums. Now you have a mum ball! Proceed to the next.

Thanks to Maggie at Stems Floral Shop in Red Hook, New York for the instructions.

cool guns

missallfun loves rulers. find these at my new favorite site www.roseandradish.com

I like the city views

thanks apt! the urban rail is really neat. Ive never been a huge fan of the kitchen rail system but after seeing this idea I am sold. The panoramic photoscape is rather nice. Im also thinking personal work, family photos, that trip to spain, paris. too much fun! This would be wonderful in one of those cramped city kitchens. Sorry NYC, I do heart my Chicago kitchen!

CHICAGO GREEN FESTIVAL

One weekend only! Mark you calendars for April 21-22. visit the site for info.

A Close up of my spring windows.

Easter Bunny visits missallfun and co!

The Easter bunny was so good to missallfun this year. Her favorite malted eggs, stuffed bunny, purple grass, purple basket, slippers, organizing trinkets to die for! My almond cornmeal cake was a hit and coloring the eggs were too much fun. lots of artist in the house. Thanks to little miss bossy and all her supervision, the eggs were just gorgeous! Vibrant hues of green,pink, blue, yellow thanks to Paas! My natural dye recipe of onion peels courtesy of Martha was some work but nonetheless stunning. Easter dinner at missallfuns grandmas house was pleasant and filling. Till next year!

Brewers vs Cubs

Saturday started off strong with the Brewers game in Milwaukee. Miller park waas so much fun and really nice. Brats, Beer, Nachos, missallfun style! The Cubs won so Ari was happy about that.

missallfun out for Easter

Have a great weekend! Ill be attempting these lovelies. Thanks Martha!

Coco Rouge

Exterior shot by Erika P. via www.yelp.com



Ive been to Coco Rouge a ton of times and am a big fan of their Mexican Hot chocolate but last night I tried the Madagascan hot cocoa which is now on my top 5 yummy things to get in Chicago. As I waited for my tab the Pork Chop and Applesauce Toffee jumped out at me. Try me! It was amazing! They always make me happy at coco rouge. A tad broke but happy. Almost forgot about the ever changing 2 buck lollipops. ohhh the good life is so worth it!

SHOPKOMODA

Last night after work I ran around to look for some easter treats at the new boutique Komoda in Ukranian village. The sweetest, most charming store with everything from candy to air plants. Sherri the owner has really done a wonderful job with the interior and the buying. You really cant go in there with out buying something fantastic. Some of my purchases included 3 furry little chickies at .75 cents each (perfect for my easter windows) and a stunning tillandsia air flower for $4. check it out. missallfun approved

Intermix Chicago

ok so I dont know what the hell happened to the Chalet wine and cheese shop but I do know that I am slightly embarrassed/ecstatic about Intermix moving in. The NYC based fashion outpost is scheduled to open this month at Rush and Delaware in Chicago's Gold Coast area. A sure hit! It also plans to open a second in Lincoln Park this may. missallfun cant wait! read the full story by Sandra Jones in the Tribune.

Sole Treat

Impulse buy. comfy. go with everything. Steven $89.95. love them.

Easter Dessert: Almond Cornmeal Cake

Im making this cake for my lovely family. Thanks Giada!
* 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
* 1/2 cup cake flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
* 1/4 cup almond paste, softened
* 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 4 large egg yolks
* 2 large eggs
* 1/4 cup sour cream
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the cornmeal with the cake flour and baking powder.
2. In a food processor, combine the softened butter and almond paste and process until very smooth. Add the 1 1/4 cups of confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract, and process until light and fluffy. With the machine on, add the egg yolks and whole eggs, 1 at a time, processing in between additions, until smooth. Add the sour cream and process until fully blended. Scrape the batter into a large bowl and stir in the dry ingredients.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface. Bake in the lower third of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the cake is golden, puffy and pulls away from the side of the pan. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely. Turn the cake right-side up and sift confectioners' sugar over the top before serving.
Recipe courtesy of Food & Wine. Yummy....

Blogging Nick Olsen

We love the mirrored glass switchplates at Arnev Products. Very 40's Glam.

Perusing Jayson Home & Garden

We have seen these little stools everywhere. yellow, blue, red and white have become quite the staple in interior decor. Today was my first time seeing them in gold. Just love it! Zip over to our friends at Jayson Home & Garden in Chicago. As the weather warms up the little guys transition nicely into the garden as side tables for resting drinks. missallfun approved!

missallfuns new toy!

so a few months ago I discovered this little radio in my parents basement and couldnt believe they had been hiding it all this time. I recently brought it to its new home in Chicago. Its currently living on my kitchen counter. I had so much fun with it this weekend. Its much more fun to listen to NPR on an old school radio!