neighborhood deli

This weekend on the big 2-8, we ventured into the blek weather (snowy, then cold and rainy) for lunch and a special undisclosed birthday errand! The surprise was a visit to the Chopping Block, an adorable cooking store and culinary school of sorts, where I got to choose two classes for my present from Brian! I've never actually taken a cooking class before but we've been watching sooooo much Food Network lately that I'm super excited to be a participant instead of a voyeur.

After the Chopping Block, a sign for a wine tasting caught my lush of an eye, so we wandered into this little gem.

Isn't it so cute? The downstairs contained the meat shop, fresh produce, and some delicious artisan cheeses, and the upstairs featured the wine and vodka tastings. Two comments about this experience.

One: a benefit to living so close to Wisconsin is that cheese is freaking delicious, there are a million varieties, and it doesn't seem ridiculously overpriced. Although I have to say, the Tillamook medium sharp cheddar that I discovered on our honeymoon still reigns as the best cheddar I've had. Perhaps a new taste test is in order?! Just kidding. That made me into a crazy apple lady, hated by checkout cashiers around the world.

Two: I am such a sucker for tastings. I tried a raspberry vodka that ended up in my glass at home a few hours later. I tried a delicious Portugal wine that I would've bought if I could've found it on the shelves. I tried a Jack-with-basil cheese that I absolutely would've bought if we hadn't been heading to lunch, where it would sit unrefrigerated. I tried sushi at the grocery store(!) a few months ago and it has been my go-to quick sushi stop ever since. What is wrong with me??? I definitely feel a little obligated to at least faux-consider the product after I've just helped myself to a mouthful of it, but I know that I don't have to buy it, according to social norm standards. I just have to buy it according to my taste buds' standards. If it doesn't taste like pigs feet, I'm in.

Although it may be a dangerous habit, I want to go back to the deli (maybe after our cooking class tonight?!) and see what deliciousness might be up for grabs. And maybe grab some of that Jack cheese. And by maybe I mean definitely.

it's like china...

...but smaller.

Last weekend we were supposed to go skiing in Colorado with some of our Tejas friends, but we had to cancel because it was going to cost way more than is appropriate for a long weekend. We should've been proud at being responsible adults for five minutes, but instead, mostly just me because I'm a baby we were sort of mopey. Believe it or not, getting home from work on Friday at almost 9 did not help shake the thought that I should be in a hot tub in CO after a long day on the mountain. WAH WAH.

We thought about substituting in a day trip to Michigan or Wisconsin just for fun, and then realized that was dumb too because oh yeah it's freezing there and the only thing to do when it's freezing is go skiing and now we're back at square one. So instead, we opted to stay put and explore our own backyard by going to Chinatown!

In general, I haven't been able to do as much exploring in the city as I'd like, because when we had time we didn't have money and now that we have money we don't have time and/or it's gross weather, so I feel like my explorations are really just beginning. Brian's suggestion for walking around C-town was perfect because despite the below-freezing temps, there were BLUE SKIES for five seconds so hail-mary-mother-of-God I was determined to be outside.

Nǐ hǎo, sunshine!

I've never been to a Chinatown before, and I was surprised to actually feel transported to another country for a few hours! Although it was pretty dirty and the smells may or may not have conveyed rotting fish intestines, it was fun to walk through the shops and pick up some much-needed chopsticks and bamboo (how American am I?).

We learned from some statues/plaques in the square that the boar (me) should avoid the monkey (Brian) at all costs, and that I also should not be put in charge of money. Although my good financial decisions were why we were there in the first place, so take that Chinese zodiac! The candy shops left a lot to be desired, mostly because I'm not interested in bean paste or dried baby fish. Does that make me a bad person?

That's the baby fish. Right there in the sample dish. Riiiight there.

Fortunately I thought our lunch was delish, although again we didn't score too many points on the adventurous scale with our sesame chicken and pot stickers. The restaurant had some killer TV shows playing, so I can officially check "Watch shows with poor singing, awkward costumes, bad sets, and terrible scripts" off my list for the year.


After a few hours in Chicago's China, I wouldn't say I'm jonesing to fly across the world to see the real mccoy, but it was definitely a fun way to spend the afternoon before the clouds rolled back in. Later, China!

a long winter

On weeks when the sun is off doing its own thing, the little things make a big difference!