Accosted by an Eyebrow Evangelist

While in Chicago, my friend Lisa and I spent some excellent quality time shopping. We had stopped at Barneys to take a look at the shoes they had on offer, and while downtown, had thoughts to step into Sephora before heading out to a few excellent boutiques.

Now me, I was not blessed with eyebrows that anyone can do much of anything with. They're sparse, and I use a filler to make them look less anemic. In the past couple of weeks, my found myself running low on my usual product, and thought that I'd get a Sephora staff member to recommend something new. So I left the house that morning with bare brows, and turned to stare down the world. With my skinny, skinny bare naked brows.

While crossing through Barney's make-up section, a man who reminded me of Jonathan Antin, in all his pseudo-Euro-trashy glory, who had been applying make-up at the Nars counter, shouted at Lisa and I.

"Ladies! I'm free over here!"
"Oh, well, that's good for you", I replied.

He was insistent, "Let me do your eyes!"

I shrugged. And wandered over. He had a nice suit, and seemed passionate about setting something about my eyes that he thought was wrong, right. And, hell, I needed something for those shivering, naked eyebrows.

Turns out it was Claudio Riaz, who has been making the rounds of Barneys locations with his brush line.

Riaz' Instant Brow Brush + Nars powder eyeshadow = something magical.

Check it out - nekkid on the left, all Riaz-d up on the right.




This man gave me eyebrows for my birthday. That's not something to be taken lightly. As he turned his too-intense attention to Lisa, who was rightly horrified, as she has excellently defined brows, we scampered to the cash register, me with brush and shadow in-hand, leaving Claudio a little bit richer, and with the certainty that he had turned out a lovely pair of brows on to the world.

A Birthday Weekend in Chicago

I am back from a wonderful weekend in Chicago, wherein I turned 34. I spent the weekend with my friends Lisa and Matt, and we had excellent meals, and experienced excellent shopping.

First, the meals.

Before the shopping began, Lisa and I had lunch at Karyn's, a raw food restaurant. I was delighted to find that it was just as good as NYC's Pure Food and Wine! We shared the following, and I very much wished that Karyn would put out a cook(construction?)book:

Appetizer:

• Crimini Mushrooms stuffed with a Nut Pate and Topped with a Light Gravy

Mains:

• Basil Scented Ravioli (wrapper made of jicama) with a Macademia Whipped CrËme Dressed with a Sun-Dried Tomato Puree
• Taste the Riches of the Ocean with this Creamy Sea Wrap, Filled with Avocado, Crunchy Walnut Pate, Sweet Onion and Basil Wrapped in a Seaweed Crepe

That evening, Lisa, Matt and I went to Moto. We had the 5 course tasting, Matt and Een had the meat version, and I had the vegetarian. We had the same basic courses, with vegetarian proteins substituting the meats, and without meat ingredients in the purees, sauces and reductions.

Menu:

• Edible menu was a very thin, crisp cookie printed with edible ink, accompanied by a slightly salted pear gelee an pear reduction .

Courses:

• White truffle brulee with a white truffle biscuit (veg) / maple and bacon biscuit (meat)
• Pan fried tofu (veg) / cod (meat) with soya miso puree and pan fried puffed rice
• Crispy hash browns, hard boiled egg with spinach (both were perfect cubes) with a kind of beans I can't remember (veg) and thin slices of beef (meat)
• Wee flourless chocolate and black tea cake, wee vanilla and lemon cake enrobed in gelee with raspberry
• Coffee ice cream with a cup of warm almond biscotti flavoured creamy liquid. The ice cream was freeze-dried, and you dipped it in the cup of warm liquid biscotti

Although Moto definitely has that molecular gastronomy bent, the flavours on the plate would be in place with any other high end, more traditional restaurant that I've been to. Both Moto and Karyn's were absolutely amazing, and it's really hard to choose a favourite. Out of everything, though, I do think that the white truffle brulee was the champion of the day.

Between lunch and dinner, Lisa and I went to a number of shops. I took pictures of the cuteness that came home with me.

At Habit, I picked up this brass necklace.



At Renegade Handmade, I bought this Erica Weiner bronze necklace of a mouse pelvis:



And this mounted bunny head, by T&A:

A Final Chicago Post

Only the stuff of excellence that I haven't already mentioned, mind you.

Eating at:

• Spacca Napoli for pizza, Napels-style
• Campagnola for refreshing, summery Italian
• El Tapatio for excellent Mexican that even vegetarians can eat

Shopping at:

• Tangerine
• Habit

And running at 6AM along the lake. Along the lake!

The Chicago Haul

Sterling Silver Jess Necklace by Figs & Ginger



Swiss Dot Swing Dress by Alice + Olivia, inner shell silk, outer dress silk/cotton.



And from Anthropologie:

• Ruched Babydoll T by Velvet, in mushroom brown
• Mercury Rising Surplice T by Deletta in clover green
• Light weight bright blue wool boatneck sweater with 3/4 sleeves by Knitted Knotted that's not on-site

Charlie Trotter's: A Love Letter

Last night, Lisa, Matt and I ate at Charlie Trotter's. My expectations for the night were high, and were more then met by each and every aspect of the evening; excellent dining companions, impeccable and friendly treatment by the front of house staff, and food who's mere memory will be making me flap my arms like a goon for months to come.

Arriving at Charlie Trotter's, we were brought to a table in the upstairs back room. The room had four tables in total, and was simply lovely and elegant. Some would say the decor itself was dated, but I think those people stink. The notion that a restaurant has to have a slick and modern look to be current is a sad one. The building itself just felt good, if that makes any sense. The picture to the left shows a few angles. In the bottom left image, you'll see the table that we sat at in the corner, by the window and wall of wine.

Matt and Lisa made the excellent decision to partake of the premium wine pairing with their meal. Due to my light-weight almost never drinks status, I asked Fletcher, who, along with Molly, a sommelier with a delightful passion for her job, were responsible for revealing our courses to us as they appeared at the table, to recommend a single glass of red for me to nurse throughout the evening.

Lisa and I opted for the Vegetable Menu, and Matt partook of the Grand. Shall we take a look? But of course.

1st Bread:

• Individual miniature baguettes

1st Course:

• Vegetable Menu: Machta Green Tea Tapioca with Spring Peas & Green Apple
  
• Grand Menu: Scottish Langoustine with Cucumber & Ginger

2nd Bread:

• Oatmeal square shaped roll

2nd Course:

• Vegetable Menu: Steamed Twelve Season Miso Cake with Spinach, Easter Egg Radish & Preserved miniature carrots
  
• Grand Menu: Poached Cockles with Preserved Celery, Serrano Ham & Roasted Mayan Scarlet Peppers
  

3rd Bread:

• Miniature rosemary bagel

3rd Course:

• Vegetable Menu: Tempura of Summer Squash Blossom with Capers, Zucchini & Heirloom Tomatos
  
• Grand Menu: Alaskan Black Cod with Picholine Olives, Artichokes & Stinging Nettles
  

4th Course:

• Vegetable Menu: Morel Mushroom Cannelloni with TIny Sage, Summer Leek Custard & Roasted Shallot
  
• Grand Menu: Rabbit Loin & Leg with Turnips, Fingerling Potatoes & Mustard Greens
  

5th Course:

• Vegetable Menu: Grilled Red Plums with Poached Elephant Garlic, Amaranth & Thai Long Pepper Infused Merlot
  
• Grand Menu: Crawford Farm Lamb Loin & Rack with Garlic, Aged Manchego & Parsley
  

Palette Cleanser:

• Vegetable Menu: Watermelon Sorbet with Sake Gelee & Cucumber
• Grand Menu: Canteloupe (Sorbet) with Feta Cheese & Spearamint
  

Desserts - Shared:

• Poached White Peaches with Rolled Oats & Lavender (Ice Cream)
  
• Indonesian Chocolate (Ice Cream) with Pine Nuts & Pandan Broth
• Organic Buttermilk with White Pepper, Toasted Milk Ice Cream & Nutmeg
• Chocolate, Tea (Ice Cream) and Caramel
• Another ice cream / sorbet-based dish with a red wine-based twist
• Another ice cream / sorbet-based dish of a trio of lemon and chocolate paired flavours
  

Dessert - Individual

• Small cups of gently flavoured, uncooked meringue with a stick of dark chocolate for scooping

I really believe that this was the first tasting menu that I've experienced where I adored everything that was set in front of me. Each dish, as it came to the table, became my new favourite of the night. Because I am fickle like that.

And another because: Because I like lists, here's what I've been able to pull out as things that will be sticking in my mind for a long, long time:

• Fletcher's excellent sense of humour. When I remarked, as I tend to do, about the laughably large size of my wine glass, he quickly grabbed a glass that was bigger then my head from some magical closet nearby, and set it in front of me.
• Molly's deep knowledge of wine, and her delight in finding Lisa's similar love. She made recommendations for Lisa's future wine shopping expedition, and made sure to tell Lisa to use her name with one of her suppliers.
  
• The plates and cutlery fit so well together, and the plating of each dish? Amazing.
• The smell of the miniature rosemary bagels. And really, the smell of each plating, and the way that the flavours of each developed in my mouth. With each course, every forkful seemed to reveal a different aspect of each dish. Complex, but, at the same time completely understandable.
• Favourite parts: the miso cake; the heirloom tomato sauce; the morel cannelloni and leek custard - the cannelloni was actually a morel filling surrounded by skin of leek; the flavour pairing of grilled plums and garlic; the thin layer of chocolate covering a thin layer of caramel under a scoop of tea ice cream; lemon and chocolate
• And finally, Molly taking us on a quick tour of the kitchen, and the fact that each and every one of the kitchen staff took the time to look up from their station and acknowledged us as we tried to move through the room as quickly and unobtrusively as possible. Lisa's calling out of "behind you" caused more then one to take pause and ask which of use had worked in a kitchen. Which was awesome.

I congratulate and thank those at Charlie Trotter's for an amazing experience. And to Lisa, Matt for being so awesome and clever for coming up with the suggestion to eat there.

The end.

July is Tourist Month

And last night, Frontera Grill was over run by the jean short wearing lot of them. I wonder how many were there because the food is excellent, and how many were there just because Bayless is famous enough to have been on a multitude of television shows. There's something very wrong about arriving at a restaurant, one that doesn't except reservations, mind you, at 5:30 to be told that it would be a good two hours before they could even think about seating you.

Thankfully, the wonderful Blackbird was able to fit us in, and I don't think we could've had a more lovely meal. The Pinenut Gazpacho was summer in a bowl, and the Buckwheat Crepes were a perfect entree to follow. The dining room was light and airy, and the front of house staff was a delight. So I'm pretty happy that we couldn't get into Frontera, to tell you the truth.

Tonight? Charlie Trotters. Dude.

At Blogher yesterday, I sat in on a couple of technical sessions - accessibility standards and traffic drivers - that made the conference completely worthwhile. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get into the panel discussion that's playing host to Amy Sedaris this afternoon, but I have a feeling that the room is going to be bursting at the seams.

Props to Blogher for:

• Technical sessions
• Amy Sedaris
• Sponsor AOL's awesome swag - a Casauri laptop bag
  

Not so much with the props to Blogher for:

• Unfocused Community Building session
• Caterers who (a) put bacon in the only green salad on the buffet, and (b) decided that vegetarian baked beans would be an excellent vegetarian meal option in the middle of a sweltery, muggy summer.
  

Sweet, Sweet Chicago, Day 1.5

Chicago makes me smile. That's pretty much the best thing that any city can do, I think. So I guess it's a pretty good thing that that's where I am right now.

I arrived mid-afternoon yesterday, and was promptly whisked away from the utility vest wearing masses at O'Hare by my lovely, lovely friend Lisa. We headed into the city to check me in at my hotel, and headed off in search of CYCLING GOLD.

Matt, Lisa's husband, rides bikes. And when I say he rides bikes, I don't mean that he meanders about the roads like I do, I mean that he gets his ass in races and he picks up points, and sometimes performs magic tricks at the same time. Last night, we all headed down to the velodrome just outside of the city to watch some excellent athletic craziness go down. There's nothing finer then sitting outside with friends you haven't seen in person in a good year watching people ride around and around in circles, sometimes at speeds that make your head spin.

Also, athletic feats provide excellent fodder for the mocking. Because we are horrible, horrible people. Dry humping and disco? I can't even begin to tell you about it.

This morning, after the gym and food shopping for breakfast at Fox and Obel - yes, I've gotten to that point where I've traveled so much that I refuse to eat every meal in a restaurant - I walked on down to the Navy Pier for the start of the BlogHer 07 conference. Where I am now. Blogging. Because I am an utter, utter nerd. In my defense, however, the welcome session that's occurring at this very minute has devolved into what I can only describe as a 700-person theatre game masked as an introduction tool.

Theatre games give me hives. And instead of being a useful tool, they make me feel like a tool. So I have retreated to one of the session rooms, and am patiently waiting for the session-y bits of the day to start.

This evening, we're going to see if the excellently hirsute Rick Bayless' restaurant Frontera Grill will allow us to sample their wares. This is where I clap like a goon.

Oh, people are starting to wander into the room! So post this I will, and see you in a bit, kids.

I Am Chicago

I'm heading off to Chicago for a while. The Job is sending me to BlogHer, due to our plans to increase participation in social media outlets. And I'm sending me to hang out for a couple of days after the conference ends to spend time with dear friends, Lisa and Matt, and their awesomely handsome and lovable furry faced boys, Otis and Eddie.

Plans for nerdiness? Check.
Plans for dining? Check.
Plans for shopping? Check.

Excellent.

Four Things

I am excited: I'll be eating at Charlie Trotters with lovely, lovely friends next month.

I am delighted: I emailed David Lebovitz to tell him about how much I love his new ice cream recipe book, The Perfect Scoop, and to relate my successful substitution of homemade, natural peanut butter in one of his recipes, and he wrote back! There's nothing more excellent then when talented, busy people display excellent, witty manners.

I am a dick: I once decided that it was important to know how many push-ups (real push-ups, mind you, none of this girlie stuff) I could do in one go. Count: 46.

I am gleeful: Canada's Next Top Model has evolved from embarrassing to awesome (fierce!) in the space of a season. Thank God for Jay Manuel, and the extra production budget and guests that having him as host brings. The best thing heard on last night's episode? "Whose penis is this?"

What Will Happen When Knut Grows Up?

Though it is inevitable, of course, I think capturing wee Knut while still wee is key. So here's the little man, by CreativeThursday, print available via her Etsy Shop.


Unrelated and random, this morning, I found myself delighted and may have clapped my hands like a goon. Why? Headed to Chicago at the end of July.

The end.

I Mark Time in Haircuts

In almost a whole haircut from now, I will be in Manhattan, shopping and eating and spending time with lovely people. Without a conference to attend to take away from my time striding around the city.

I feel like this is going to be the summer of traveling for fun. That means I'm watching you, Chicago and Vancouver. And I'm coming to get you.

Not like that paragraph wasn't creepy or anything.

In randomness, as if I need proof of my shortness, I bought a pair of cropped pants this weekend. And had to shorten them by two inches so that they'd actually look cropped on me, like they're supposed to.

I sometimes forget about the actual fact of my size. Apparently, I do need proof of my shortness.

The end.