Girl by the Lake

home decor: rustic chic

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:29:15 -0500

I have LOVED (read: become slightly obsessed) decorating my new little apartment! For the most part, I sold everything I owned when I left NYC. I’m now discovering that doing so was a bit of a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I get to start over completely. A curse, because I HAVE TO START OVER COMPLETELY! The expense + amount of time it’s taking to find pieces I love has been more than I expected, but I’m loving the process regardless.

Today’s decor post is all the items I’ve purchased so far. I’m still waiting for some to arrive, but I can’t wait to start pulling things together. More importantly, I’m about to enter the really fun styling stage. Adding some pops of color with a vase, a throw pillow, a new lamp…the possibilities are endless!

I’m calling my apartment style Rustic Chic, mainly because I’ve been using a lot of wood & metal elements juxtaposed against clean, sharp lines.

So tell me, what do you think? Any suggestions for what I could add next? I’m all ears!

Shop This Post!

Steak & Cilantro Breakfast Hash

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:54:00 -0500

Lately, I’ve been experimenting a TON with new recipe ideas. New fish recipes, new pasta ideas, easy and healthy snacks, etc. While most of the new recipes I’ve been testing are not yet blog worthy, I must say I love having a refrigerator packed full of new & different ingredients! Said fridge really does help make breakfast, one of my favorite meals of the weekend, a fun place to play. Enter leftover steak, cilantro & fresh veggies.

I’m a breakfast scramble/hash junkie, but I must say that today’s recipe has replaced this guy as my favorite. Maybe it’s my love for Mexican food spices, or maybe it’s the fact that I’m a hardcore carnivore…whatever “it” is, I just know you will love the playfulness + depth of the flavors in this hash. I prefer to keep the egg yolks runny when baking the last few minutes. E thinks this is weird, but I almost see the yolk as dressing or syrup. It helps tie everything together into a bite of extreme yumminess!

Also, for extra kick, add some crushed red pepper flakes or sriracha sauce once you get the hash into your bowl. Let each person adjust the spice level themselves…everyone wins!

Steak & Cilantro Breakfast Hash (print recipe)

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Skill Level: Easy

Ingredients:

1 lb. precooked steak, seasoned with salt, pepper & taco seasoning

2 cups red potatoes, diced into bite size pieces

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small white onion, diced

1 small tomato, diced

1 lime, juiced

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

3-4 large eggs

¼ cup grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 400°

Combine vegetables and seasoning (potatoes through pepper) in an oven safe baking dish. Bake covered for 30 minutes.
While vegetables are cooking, cut steak into small, bite-sized pieces and chop cilantro.
Carefully remove baking dish from oven. Increase oven heat to 425⁰. Stir in steak and cilantro.
Break the raw eggs over the top of all your ingredients. Use as many eggs as you’d like!
Cook for another 10-12 minutes or until the eggs reach your desired readiness. Remove from oven + sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Do you have a favorite breakfast dish? Is there something you just have to have a least once a week in order to live? Let your inner drama queen fly on these questions. A girls gotta eat, right?

Happy Monday!

diary: march round up

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:44:00 -0500

Hello and happy Wednesday! I wish I could say Chicago is having beautiful weather, but we’re currently getting one fine beat down from a nasty thunderstorm. With rain comes gloomy thoughts (or maybe only if you’re me? Especially when it’s crazy-raining on a work day?), so I thought now was a great time to do a round-up from last month. There have been so many changes and I don’t want to forget them!

New Apartment:

On March 1^st, I became the “owner” (read: renter) of a junior one bedroom in Gold Coast. I must admit I was super nervous to do this whole live-alone thing, but I am absolutely loving it so far! Especially when E really isn’t that far away at any given point of time. For the first time EVER, I feel this insane sense of freedom and inspiration to make this space a place I love. From my bedroom, to the kitchen, to even my little balcony, I’ve never been so consumed with finding the best pieces to create this special space. If I’m being honest, I’m probably spending a bit TOO much time on this project, but whatever. It’s my HOME, and I can do what I want!

Job/Career:

I almost giggled a bit typing “career.” Is it bad to say, that over the last few weeks, I’ve started to feel increasingly lost when it comes to my future career? My 23-year-old self knew what she wanted. Even my 25-year-old self did. Suddenly, I’m 26 and have so many questions. To say I’m frustrated, scared, and confused is just the tip of the iceberg. I won’t elaborate too much here, but I really need to get on with some soul-searching. I’m reading Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In. I know it’s cliché to jump on this bandwagon, but she really roped me in with the Kindle sample.

“So please ask yourself: What would I do if I weren’t afraid? And then go do it.”

That’s what hooked me. I’m listening, Sheryl. Hands in lap. Eyes fixated, kind of listening.

Chicago:

Up until this week’s rain session, I was starting to understand why everyone here freaking LOVES Chicago summers. We were having great weather. People were opening up their windows. Exploring. Restaurants were offering outside seating. Life was looking up!

It’s exciting to finally experience what everyone has been telling me. Apparently, I’m going to LOVE this city once Summer hits. Cubs games. Shopping. Beach. Water. Exploring.

Yep, this definitely sounds like a city I could get behind.

Other things:

Wedding season is about to gear up. I’ve shopped and the dresses are at my alteration shop. Now, onto picking out shoes.
I DESPERATELY need a new haircut/style. I’m thinking of jumping on the ombre bandwagon. Or maybe I’ll just stick with what I know. Who knows!
A puppy! Ok, biggest reveal of the post! I just began my search for a little pup. More to come on this soon!
Eating habits. I’ve fully dedicated myself to slowly making changes to how I consume food. Hopefully more of an update to come at the end of this month!
Exercise. ~~(what exercise?)~~ I HAVE NOT BEEN GOOD ABOUT THIS. GOING TO TRY HARDER.

So that was March. Here’s to a fun April!

Happy Wednesday!

Spicy Oven-Roasted Chickpeas

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:11:47 -0500

For last week’s inspiration post, I rambled on (and ON) about wanting to carefully change my eating habits. Outside of how I choose ingredients for the big meals I make, I’ve also been laser-focused on how I snack.

A few years back, I attempted to cut out snacking all together. I’ve somewhat stuck to the mantra of three meals a day, but sometimes I have one of those days where I’m just freaking hungry. Since Doritos might be my favorite thing EVER, this is really one area where I need to focus. So today, I’m introducing one of my newest (and easiest!) obsessions: roasted chickpeas.

The flavor in this recipe is EXACTLY what I was going for. The spices deliver heat while the lemon and oregano pack the flavor. Simply put, I had to seriously restrain myself from eating the entire batch in one sitting!

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas (print recipe)

Makes 3 cups - Prep Time: 10 minutes - Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Ensure chickpeas are dry by patting with a paper towl. Using a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Evenly spread chickpeas on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for roughly 40 minutes or until crisp.

For you hummus lovers out there, this snack is a great alternative. Not only is every little bite packed with flavor, but these little guys can be eaten on the go. Throw some in a small baggie and take to work or keep a large batch in your kitchen for snacking in between meals.

Enjoy!

I thought really long and hard about possibly playing an April...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:32:46 -0500

I thought really long and hard about possibly playing an April Fools joke here on the blog today. Alas, I just couldn’t come up with something “interesting” enough to really make it worth the effort of pulling together a post. So, here I am posting about my latest obsessions instead!

I also hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. The weather was absolutely beautiful here in Chicago! I walked around so much on Saturday, I had to rest pretty much all of Sunday. #pathetic!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking long and hard about changing my eating habits. At first I thought I wanted to go on a diet/cleanse, but then I realized that I’m not a dieting/cleanse kind of person (and neither is E, go figure). So, with diets/cleanses crossed off my healthy lifestyle check list, I then started thinking about how I could systematically change how I think about food in my kitchen. I so often shop only by price. I’m a store brand buyer and deal stealer. (essentially, I’m a BOGO freak at the grocery store) So if I want to change the food in my kitchen, I ultimately needed to change how I “think” about said “food.”

The only issue with all of this is that I really don’t know where my food is coming from. What does “organic” really mean at a grocery store? Do all natural foods still contain preservatives? What things are best made at home? The questions are endless, and the answers are just as confusing.

With all the confusion swirling in my head, I decided to take the advice of a dear friend and start by changing one thing at a time. Baby-steps, if you will. Today’s inspiration post is all about easy, DIY-Kitchen Essentials that you (and me) can make at home. Below is a list of all the links!

Today is just Part 1, so PLEASE let me know if you have a favorite DIY Kitchen project/idea. I’d love to feature it next time!

Happy Monday…here’s to a great week! (hopefully.)

Let’s get real. Sometimes, I just need to watch some...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:30:39 -0500

Let’s get real. Sometimes, I just need to watch some Biggest Loser finale and blog about some chevron. And tonight is one of those nights. So let’s get to it!

I’ve been building my My Design Pinterest board for over one year now, YET, I’ve never noticed (until recently) how obsessed I seem to be with the chevron pattern. Rugs. Artwork. Throw pillows. Curtains. Hardwood floors. Brick floors. You name it, I’m apparently obsessed with “it” in a chevron print.

So for this week’s inspiration post, I’m showing a few of my favorite chevron examples from my board. In my perfect world, I’d have some chevron hard wood floors + a few other accents here and there. I love the timelessness of subtly installing the pattern without color.

So tell me, what’s your favorite design obsession as of late? Are you obsessed with chevron like me, or do other patterns/trends have you mesmerized?

I hope everyone had a great Monday! Here’s to a fun rest of the week!

diary: sunshine

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:53:00 -0500

The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.
- Oprah Winfrey

Today, I am thankful because the sun is shining.

I am thankful for my family & my friends.

I am thankful for E. For his support. His determination to love me despite my shortcomings.

I am thankful for my job. My career that I am building.

I am even thankful for the stress my shoulders carry. Brought on by learning a new job. Living in a new city. Building a new life.

I am thankful.

And because of that, my heart is full.

test kitchen: roasted eggplant dip

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:43:37 -0500

Excuse me while I sit here in Heaven for a minute. THIS DIP IS DA’BOMB. Absolutely delicious. Amazing. Love it!

Do you want to try it yet? If not, you should.

I love finding recipe gems involving really simple ingredients/steps. Looking to share the recipe soon!

diary: an oldie, but a goodie

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:15:00 -0500

Today is a wear-my-old-ratty-leopard-shoes-because-i-love-them kind of work day.

oh and that white cord? that would be connected to my HEATING PAD. yes, I am 80 years old and hurting.

Any magical back remedies I should know about? Help!

photography: city winery

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:07:28 -0600

City Winery, West Loop, Chicago

Last night, Eric and I had a BLAST tasting Oregon’s best Pinots @ City Winery. We used to go to attend tastings all the time in NYC, so I must admit I was excited to do something that brought back old memories while also helping me fall in love with Chicago a bit more.

Happy Friday! I hope you all enjoy this upcoming weekend. I know I will…the weatherman is telling me that we might hit 50 degrees!

photography: rainy city

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 09:06:31 -0600

I took this picture a few weeks back, when I was sleepy and not really paying attention. It has quickly become one of my favorite Chicago pictures to date. Love!

I’ll try to get a fun picture of the snow in the city today. Fingers crossed that the snow storms gives me enough snow to build a snowman with!

diary: new apartment!

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:22:31 -0600

Loving that I now officially have a new apartment all to myself! And by all-to-myself, I mean no roommate(s). Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved living with roommates…I guess I’m just beyond thrilled to have a space that is all my own!

The space that you see above is currently filled with boxes, bags, and a bit of wishful thinking for what type of little home I can make for myself. I’ll share more pictures soon!

Life annoucement: I move into my new apartment this week!...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:15:00 -0600

Life annoucement: I move into my new apartment this week! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO! I’m actually only four days away, but who’s counting?

I honestly didn’t expect to find an apartment that I love so quickly, but I did, and here we are! My brain has been abuzz with ideas of how to decorate + what type of style I want to achieve. All I have to say is thank GOODNESS for my Pinterest boards, where I’ve been virtually prepping for this big move for almost a year.

My DIY Projects board is one of my favorites. So, today, I’m going to share a few of my favorites from this board with you…some of which I’m already working to install in my own new place:

There were so many great DIY’s I wanted to share, so make sure you head over to my board to check them out!

Have you ever DIY-ed projects for your home? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience/results. Otherwise, I’d love to know which above project you think I’ve already chosen for my new space. Winner gets something…even if only street-cred.

Finally, happy Monday! Go ahead and get after this week. We’re already closer to the weekend!

also, if you like this post, I just KNOW you’re gonna love this one: DIY Home Bars. Enjoy! (or you COULD just go ahead and catch up on all my inspiration posts here…just sayin’)

Captain Wentworth, Persuasion by Jane Austen Five years later, this quote still gives me...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:00:00 -0600

Captain Wentworth, Persuasion by Jane Austen

Five years later, this quote still gives me butterflies. Favorite Jane Austen book. Best quote in a book. The most honest, gut-wrenching love story I have ever read. Just plain, stupid, I’m-crazy-about-you love.

Happy Valentine’s Day. Here’s to constant, encompassing, never-ending love!

diary: woohoo! apartment fun!

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:55:00 -0600

hi there. I probably shouldn’t be sharing JUST yet, but I simply cannot help myself!

here’s the thing: I may have just landed a super sweet/awesome/first big girl apartment ever! And as much as I should be holding back dreaming up big plans for this space, I simply can’t help myself.

Let’s see…other thoughts: Pinterest is the best thing ever. Especially when you’ve been cultivating a home decor board for over a year…

picture above is my new “design board” one-pager-thingy that I threw together in about 0.3 seconds upon receiving the exciting email from my broker.

adult life score.

recipe: Pulled Pork Sliders w/Spicy Cabbage & Jalapeno Slaw

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:25:18 -0600

To build on yesterday’s post, I’m just going to go ahead and start posting some pictures of recipes I’ve made, LOVED, made again, LOVED even more, photographed, and hated the pictures. Today’s recipe is a diamond in the rough I tell ya…so I can’t let a few not-so-great-pictures keep me from posting!

new mantras are always about BELIEVING, right??? I have to admit the perfectionist in me is currently yelling, “DON’T DO IT!”

So, without further ado, I’m just going to tell you why these pulled pork sliders are so awesome. First, I’ve always wanted to master making homemade pulled pork without a smoker. Secondly, on my VERY FIRST ATTEMPT, this recipe was discovered, slightly modified, and BOOM: a masterpiece. Top it all off with some spicy cabbage and jalapeno slaw + a side of dill pickles!

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Sliders (print recipe)

Prep Time: 15 minutes - Cook Time: 5 hours - Serves 6-8 people - Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

1 (2-3 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder

1 large white onion, sliced thin

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup cider vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons liquid smoke (I used the hickory flavor)

1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 ½ teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoons dry mustard

½ teaspoon garlic salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Rinse pork roast under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a large plate cutting board.
Place onions in large Dutch oven (or similar style pot w/lid). In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.
In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, liquid smoke, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle about 1/2 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.
Cover Dutch oven; cook for 3 hours. After 3 hours, remove from oven, and pour remaining vinegar mixture over the pork and onions. Replace lid and cook for another 2 hours.
Remove from oven. Using two forks, shred meat and onions while still in the pot. Serve on slider (or regular) sized buns. You’re welcome to add your favorite BBQ sauce, but I don’t think you’ll want to!

Spicy Cabbage & Jalapeno Slaw (print recipe)

Prep Time: 10 minutes - Cook Time: 5 minutes - Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:

½ small green cabbage, thinly sliced (do not shred!)

½ small purple cabbage, thinly sliced (do not shred!)

2 medium sized jalapenos, halved and thinly sliced (remove seeds if you wish)

¼ cup white vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Prepare just before serving. Feel free to adjust vinegar/mayo/salt/pepper according to your personal preference.

I’m curious if anyone out there has ever attempted to make oven-prepared pulled pork? How is your’s different/similar to mine? I’m always up for trying new things! Regardless, you have to promise to make this soon! I just know you’ll love it + make people think you have mad skills all at the same time!

diary: welcome to your new box

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:23:00 -0600

Last Friday marked two special occasions for me.

First, it was my birthday. Don’t laugh, but I had a little bit of what might be called the birthday blues. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I had a wonderful day: flowers + dinner + fun out with friends + thankfulness for another year. BUT, in my world, this birthday meant something different: I was officially moving to what I like to call the “late twenties box.” Please don’t laugh, but you know how, when you take surveys, you’re always asked to check an age box? Well, my friends, I’m checking a new box these days. Ha! I couldn’t pin-point why this was making me blue, yet, there it was.

Secondly, Friday was the one year anniversary from when I kicked off a new direction for my blogging life. I changed the name. I started sharing recipes. I added structure to my posts. I started making blogger friends. I started learning more about how freaking awesome this fun world of blogging can be.

But with that big change came many other changes in my life. A decision to quit my job. A decision to leave New York and move to Chicago. Doing all of this without a new job. Traveling to Europe for the first time. Learning to be alone for long periods at a time…aka, learning how to job search effectively. Finding and starting a new job. Apartment hunting in an unfamiliar city. All of this in the last year.

Throughout these major life changes, I attempted to keep Girl by the Lake unchanged. I wanted structure: recipes, wine features and inspiration posts. Yet, and in hindsight, this world of self-imposed structure was only hurting how I ran my little creative outlet. I found myself sitting in states of stress or bitterness as I frantically searched for new recipes to use for the blog. Not feeling inspired? Doesn’t matter, we need an inspiration post this week! Not enough daylight to take quality pictures for recipe posts? Well, I’ll just use my entire Saturday/Sunday to plan/cook/photograph five recipes for the month! If you’re looking for a moral to this story, let me help you: something so VOLUNTARY should NOT be this stressful.

I finally put my finger on the birthday blues feeling over this past weekend. I’m starting to understand that I will never truly thrive in complete structure. I need to feel freedom.

So, let me sum up this long (sorry!) entry. This blog is my life journal. I want to capture all the moments in my life here. Moments of travel. Moments of complete boredom, complete sadness, utter happiness. Moments where I discover a new recipe that I just NEED to share. Moments of sharing new wines and cocktails I’m drinking. All of these pieces make up my life. These moments are who I am.

Here’s to a new year of blogging. A new year of trying new ideas. A new year of only posting one recipe if that’s what I want. A new year of showing you a picture of my new nail polish color that I’m obsessed with. Starting immediately, you’ll see labeled subjects in front of each post. There are no goals here. No expectation of adherence. Just me, throwing some ideas of my life on a computer screen.

Here are the subjects as of today:

Look for more changes over the next few months, as this girl is growing up! Happy birthday Girl by the Lake!

travels: blue skies {Phoenix}

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:39:00 -0600

Ahhh, warm, sunny skies. Blue. Cloudless. So awesome.

Soooooo last week.

Last week, I jumped ~~more like begged~~ at the opportunity to attend a conference in Phoenix, AZ. I had never visited Arizona before, so I was filled with anticipation. Cacti + mountains + warm weather…such a warm (literally) welcome for my southern bones.

The weather was incredible. The conference was a success. But the best part? My rental car. All of my fellow coworkers were given soccer-mom-style vans, and I somehow received a Mustang. AND, it was electric blue..I mean, we really needed drive the point home, right?I have to admit…I was a bit mortified when I first saw the car. This kind of car is NOT my style. But after putting my foot to the gas pedal for the first time, I was so completely sold on the experience. So much fun!Especially when I got to use the car to see sunrises like this:and afternoons like this:Awesome trip. I highly recommend any cold fearing people to get on a plane and visit there soon.Happy Monday! I hope everyone is successfully recovering from what could only have been epic Super Bowl fun.

It’s also snowing and feels like the North Pole here in Chicago today. Yay for us me.

Beach anyone?

Oh Chicago. How you toy with my weather emotions. First,...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:45:00 -0600

Cold weather imspired fireplace love. Doesn't get much better than this!

I'm normally not a fan of stark white walls. But just look at how the beautiful tile frames the fireplace and pops against the white. So chic!

Rustic. Chic. Enough said.

I'm loving the wall of fire wood to the left of this fireplace. Such a great idea!

Give me a dark gray wall + a geometric mirror, and I'll give you one lazy person with some tea + a book in hand.

Paris. (This is the word that popped into my mind when I layed eyes on this fireplace.)

I love everything about this room. Bold use of blue + beautiful browns + some mounted deer antlers? My family would be proud.

Oh Chicago. How you toy with my weather emotions. First, you’re FREAKING (and I seriously mean FREAKING) cold. Then, you snow. Yesterday/last night, you pelted us with icy rain. And today? Foggy. Misty. Humid. And almost 50 degrees. All of this is one week!

This weather pattern has me seriously messed up, so I’m happy to be jumping on a plane to Phoenix, AZ tomorrow morning for a work trip. I never realized I would be so happy to feel some 60 degree, humidity-free atmosphere on my skin. Thanks new job!

Now on to today’s inspiration post. To do so, we’ll need to dive back into the world of freakishly cold/neurotic weather patterns. Throughout the past week, all I’ve wanted is a warm + cozy fireplace in my apartment. Considering E’s apt. is on the 34th floor, I guess I’ll have to keep dreaming for a bit longer…but just check out the images in today’s post. I would seriously die to live in any of these homes!

feel free to check out more home decor ideas over on my Pinterest board. Click the button!

Are you lucky enough to have a home + fireplace? Just a fireplace? More importantly, which fireplace (of the 6 shown above) is your favorite? Personally, I’m torn between 1, 3 & 6!

Happy Monday!

diary: snow!

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:51:00 -0600

I don’t know what I was expecting for my morning when I woke up, but my lack of accurate weather forecast reading gave me one fun surprise: Snow!

I must say, while Chicago is already such a pretty city, there’s just something about everything being covered in white that makes me smile.

Now that I’m fully up-to-speed on the weather details, I’m a little bummed this is all we’re going to get. Fingers crossed there’s enough snow to build a snowman next time!