I heard some statistic a few months back that referenced how a ridiculously high percentage of people who listed “guacamole” in their online dating profiles ended up either being contacted more frequently or some other measure of a “good success rate” in such things. Which made me at the same time crack up that this was something a study measured, but also double think whether I’d listed that on my own when Aaron and I met. (I didn’t, sadly.) But apparently he must have sense

Guess what time it is? For this month's Tipsy Tuesday, we're going with a winter must-have. Aaron and I have both had a fond place for mulled wine ever since we went to the Chicago Christkindlmarket when we were first dating. I'd been multiple times before that in the years I've lived here, but this is the occasion I remember with the most fondness. It was freezing that night - a classic Chicago 4 degrees, not counting wind chill - and the gluhwein in small, ceramic boots was

The Christmas Baking Quest continues! Today's endeavour (<-- clearly my spelling has been watching too much PBS this week) is one of my go-to snacks for Christmas parties, gift boxes, party favors, and cheese plate accessories. These simple spiced nuts are incredibly easy to whip up and always a hit. In fact, these are what we used as favors for our wedding a couple years ago. I made several large batches of these and stuffed them into muslin bags, embellished with a custom s

Fall has been a bit standoffish this year. It's nearly the end of October and the past month and a half has been far too dominated by 74 degree weather and green-leafed trees. It's October, Chicago! Get your act together. But at long last this week has delivered those wonderful, rainy Autumn days I've been missing. It's 58 outside and has been drizzling for the past five hours, which means I can don my wool socks and cozy up with hot cider and things made almost entirely out