bonjour, little cookie.

We have found that it's always helpful to know a few basic words or phrases in a handful of different languages. Aside from hello, goodbye, yes, no, thank you, where is the bathroom, how much does this cost, and do you have a girlfriend, we'd like to add one more to the French list: macaron. It remains to be seen if these little cookies will catch on in the same way that cupcakes and frozen yogurt have, but given the trend's migration from Paris to New York, it seems as though a mini merengue sandwich storm may be headed our way.
So before the midwestern masses begin forming lines á la Sprinkles and Pinkberry..

..we highly recommend that you get your tush on over to Pierrot Gourmet. In addition to having fab food for a normal meal, this extension of the Peninsula Hotel is also quite dependable when it comes to macarons. On this past misty Saturday, we took advantage of the fact that PG is located in our 'hood and grabbed one of each flavor -- lemon, pistachio, dulce de leche, strawberry, coconut, chocolate mint, nutella, and chocolate. Since we couldn't be seated immediately, we took our 11am snack to Starbucks for a caffeine accompaniment, and while awkwardly sitting at the large communal table with a few other patrons who shot us judgy looks, we played food critics. We can't say one bad thing about the technique or texture, but a few of the cookies went a little too far into what we could only describe as "American." The dulce de leche and chocolate mint were like glorified candy bars with unnecessary ingredients stuffed in. A macaron is supposed to be light and airy, and that was muddled by the blob (technical term) of caramel in one and the taste of toothpaste in another. All of that aside, the lemon and pistachio were by far the best and most authentic, and we will most certainly be back for more.

We took K's canines for a stroll afterwards, and here's Chloe, strutting her tiny little waistline,
easily maintained due to the fact that we did not include her in the taste-testing.

a few of our (new) favorite things.

The St. Patrick's Day debauchery in Chicago, complete with 2 parades and a river dyed green, was particularly tolerable this weekend, dare we say enjoyable, due to the beautiful, unusually warm weather. We traded in our usual snow/sleet/rain/cold for 75 degree sunshine. We navigated the crowds of drunken leprechauns and slow-as-molasses tourists and popped into Nordstrom to cash in some notes for a fab Kate Spade watch and gold iPhone handset, Zara to score an amazing pair of pleated puppy-print shorts, and Anthropologie for a few knob options to (hopefully) complete the never-ending bedside table project. All in all, by far our most productive and sober St. Patty's to date.

 

a dose of dose.

This probably isn't breaking news to any of you Chicagoans, but there is now a great way to inject some variety into your weekend on one Sunday each month, and they call themselves Dose. It's a marketplace with various sellers hawking (not to be confused with 'hocking') their merchandise, be it housewares, fashion, food, or miscellaneous, and it's difficult to walk out empty-handed (yesterday's damage: jasmine tea and French macarons, on the tame side because we were so overwhelmed by the amount of goodness). The line-up changes every month, meaning you can justify going every month. Works for us, since there aren't many things we love more than a good justification!

Vendors of note include Babushka Bakery, Mineralogy Jewelry, Dinner Party Shop, Zora Jewelry, and Industrial Evolution. There was also complimentary beer on hand, but it was 10:45 in the morning and we are no longer those carefree and perpetually tipsy girls in Boulder, Colorado. Cue sad face :( We concluded the morning by taking a short stroll along the river (it was 65! and sunny! in March!), and upon B's arrival home Penny insisted she get some relaxing outdoor time as well, so the little princess claimed a deck chair. And ate a small spider.

And so begins another week.

off to the races.

It's a lucky thing for Big Joe's that I'm not a member of PETA, otherwise they would've been shut down about five minutes ago. Some of you may have not heard of this joint.. allow me to fill you in. It's your standard dive, but with a twist. Horses race, greyhounds race, but turtles? Sure, turtles definitely race now. I like to envision them lounging in cashmere robes, enjoying the comforts of a  spacious penthouse terrarium in the back room when not being expected to scoot their little shells two feet to the finish line, so let's pretend that I'm right. As part of my pal's birthday shindig, everyone's names were entered into the races. When I was called up to participate (and by participate, I mean have your name associated with a turtle that you have zero control over), the emcee said that I may have been the least enthusiastic looking person to ever be a part of a race. This was my fault, as I should have known that two beers would not be neeearly enough to make me comfortable with the evening's events. In other words, I should've had that vodka pineapple cocktail much sooner. Anyhoo, the turtle whose name I drew was Jolanda, who is also dubbed "the slowest f-cking turtle in the world," and obviously doesn't take shit from anyone. I was less than thrilled in knowing I'd never have a shot at winning the free t-shirt, but I have to say that I do recommend trying this out for yourself. Obviously Jolanda didn't win. Instead, she just sat there and stared at me while I debated snatching her up and running for the nearest available taxi, saving her from a life of empty competition, only to return home to realize that I had a new pet turtle. That didn't happen either. However, I did do something new and semi-exciting (again, drink more and you'll be better for it) in the dead of a Chicago winter and that, my friends, is the ultimate fete.

a weekend warrior of sorts.

Aside from everything else that exists on my never-ending to do list, I intend to treat myself by finding out which one of these pretty little things I should buy. The visual component has been nailed across the board, but what about the olfactory one? So now I get to look like a jerk at the department store, alternating between sticking perfume and coffee beans up my nose, and deducing which can come home with me and make me smell just as lovely as the bottle looks (or close to it). This life is clearly quite difficult, so wish me luck.

all available @ Nordstrom

In the meantime, enjoy an oversized glass of wine, a bit of relaxation, a good brunch, maybe even some errands, and whatever else your little heart desires. Here's a weekend mood board. Go for it, because the last five days seriously felt like a month.

Maybe Bed Bath & Beyond. I don't know. I don't know if we'll have time.