Pebble Bowls from Mud Australia or the Lastra Collection by Vietri?

New dishes for the holiday season would be great! 

This is the Lastra collection from Vietri.  I love the organic shapes and gray is one of my very favorite colors!

But these Pebble bowls from Mud Australia also call my name, loudly!

I think flatware in gold would be a nice change, too.  It's jewelry for the table!

Due Ice Oro

Will you be serving dinner at home, traveling to see relatives or is a fancy brunch your style?  All of my kids will be home for Christmas, and I am so excited to have everyone in one place for a few days!

Alba Console from Pinch Design

I am still thinking about what to do in my dining room and I just came across this beautiful piece from Pinch Design.  I am inspired to create something similar.  A few boards, a saw, some glue and a coat of paint could give me a similar, if not heirloom piece.  What do you think?

Alba Console

Chicago in a Weekend

What did you do while you were in Chicago?  I ate.  I ate and I did all the touristy things and it was soooo much fun.  The purpose of the trip was to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday.  She and her husband had never been to Chicago, so my husband, his parents and my #1 child met for the weekend at the Omni on Michigan Avenue. 

Omni Hotel

It was not a bad location.  Zara and the Apple store were just outside my door and Neimans and Saks were visible from my window.

The first night we had dinner and cocktails at Gibson's.  I had been told by a friend that Gibson's had the "best meat in town"!  The food was delicious, the martinis were great, but the place was really crowded.  And it might have been the loudest restaurant I have ever been in!


Gibson's

Don't you just love the first morning of a trip?  I always wake up early, excited about the possibilities for the weekend.  The husband and I like to have our coffee and tea and then take a long walk to get our bearings. 

Wake up!

As soon as #1 Child arrived from NYC, we headed out on an Architectural Boat Tour of Chicago given by Wendella Boat Tours.  You're given the history of the Chicago skyline as you cruise along comfortably in a riverboat.  It was great to do this on the first day, because for the rest of the trip we were knew what we were looking at.

This is also the day we had our deep dish Chicago pizza.  It was good, but I think I'm more of a thin crust New York pizza kind of girl.

We had the best meal of the trip on Friday night.  I got recommendations from some of my blog friends about where to eat.  I was definitely steered in the right direction.  If you are ever in Chicago, or if you live in Chicago, you must go to The Bristol! 

Thank you Jess, of Makeunder My Life and Brigitte of Covet Chicago.  This was one of the best meals I have ever had!

Appetizers:

Monkey bread pull apart with dill butter and sea salt

Duck fat fries with house ketchup and garlic aioli
Apple salad with marinated manchego cheese and hazelnuts

Dinner

Citrus cured sockeye salmon with French melon and lime

Head on prawns a la plancha, with anchovy butter and tarragon

Squid ink linguine with lobster Bolognese sauce

Dessert

Chocolate sabayon with Nutter Butters

Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the Willis Towers Skydeck.  Where, if you dare,you step outside the tallest building in the western hemisphere and the third tallest in the world. At 1,353 feet in the air, the Ledge’s glass boxes extend out 4.3 feet from Skydeck.  It is really scary!

Glass Ledge/Box

The glass ledges are way up there at the top of the building!

The street is 103 floors below us!

The rest of the day was for shopping but the weather was not cooperative!  It got called and rained, which made it difficult to get around.  The girls managed to get to a few shops while the boys found the LSU football game at a big sports bar called Timothy O'Toole's.

I did start my Christmas shopping!



Jonathan Adler store

We accidentally found Design Harvest ( a home furnishings event) while we were looking for vintage stores.  Post 27 was our favorite!

#1 Child sitting on turquoise blue sparkly couch at Post 27



Original Penquin for #2 Child

Dinner Saturday night was at Carmine's.  Not my choice, and I don't think I would go back.  The food was somewhat bland and it was really loud and crowded.


Carmine's

We spent the final morning of the trip at the Art Institute of Chicago.  What a beautiful museum!  I could have stayed there all day.  The highlights for me were in the new Modern Wing, the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit and the Thorne Miniatures Collection.

The Eye, 1932, Magritte

 













Coco Chanel, Henri Cartier-Bresson

Thorne Miniature Collection, California Hallway, c.1940



























The final meal of the trip, and one of the favorites was at Quartino, Ristorante, Pizzeria, Wine Bar!  There was a Fellini movie on the television, $5 Proseco Rose and loaves of fresh bread stacked in piles.  Dee-licious! 

Post lunch, I made my mad 15 minute dash through Zara (as posted yesterday) and then sped off to the airport!  It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to go back!  Next time, I'll get my shopping mojo going!