Luck of the Irish

With it being St. Patrick's Day Weekend and Tuesday being St. Patrick's Day, I couldn't resist searching for ways to celebrate the luck of the Irish.  Here are some festive green snacks and boozy treats I've come across to make over the course of the weekend.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top o' the Mornin Lucky Charms Pancakes:  Recipe Here

Leprechaun Crunch:  Recipe Here

Tipsy Leprechaun:  Cocktail Recipe Here

Clover Artwork:  Vandy Massey

{whatever wednesday}

{Paris Fashion Favorite:  Karl Lagerfeld Transforms the Chanel Runway into a Restaurant}

{Health and Fitness:  18 Foods You Can Eat At Night That Won't Make you Fell Bloated in the Morning}

{Thrift Obsessed:  A few of my finds from Perennial's Clothing Swap on Sunday}

{Fitspiration Find:  Chin Up Apparel - Coffee and Cardio Tank}

{Currently on Repeat:  Echosmith - Bright}

Shoesday Tuesday

Currently Craving:  Halogen 'Olson' flat, $89.95

Travel: Chicago Photo Diary

As they say, better late than never.  I've finally through and edited my thousand pictures I took while in Chicago.  Back in December, one of my closest friends, Marti, and I took a girls weekend to the Windy City.  By closest, I mean we've known each other since 7th grade, which means we've lasted through the awkward stages, the boys and breakups, the college years, and celebrated some pretty amazing things together.  During our planning, an adventurous weekend away from St. Louis couldn't have been more welcome.

During the visit, Marti and I fell in love with Uber, visited the most hipster of hipster bars, devoured a pizza pie, almost vomited at the top of the Willis Tower, attended a Prohibition Repeal Party, hit up the Forever 21 discount store, and were graced by the presence of the voice of an angel (aka Sam Smith).  A direct Allisonism from this hipster of hipster bar called Estelle's, "The veggie burger smells and tastes of sawdust and armpit, and the shots remind me of last weekend."  That being said, I don't recommend eating there, but if you're looking for Jameson shots and a drunken night, Estelle's is your scene.

Reception sucks in a big city with so many tall buildings so don't be surprised if your GPS directs you the wrong way numerous times.  It took us about an hour of walking in circles and asking for better directions to finally track down Giordano's Pizza.

One of our Uber drivers took us past the Chicago Theater on the Saturday we were there, where they had changed the marquee to read, "Fitz and the Tantrums and Sam Smith TONIGHT."  Immediately, we hopped on StubHub and were able to wrangle tickets for $35 a piece.  Absolutely amazing show.  If you have the chance to see Sam Smith perform live, do it.

After a jam packed weekend of going non-stop, Marti and I concluded that as much as we enjoyed Chicago, we would probably never want to live there.  So, until next time, Windy City!

{Giordano's Super Veggie Pizza}

{City Streets}

{Scenes from the Allegro Hotel}

What caught my eye while booking was the decor and every little aspect of the hotel.  Colorful, modern, chic.  It was great calling this "home" for the weekend.  Jumping on the bed and pulling an R. Kelly "after the show, it's the after party.  And after the party, it's the hotel lobby" may have been slightly frowned upon but girls just wanna have fun.  Nice little tidbit: if you live in the Midwest and book on their website, they offer discounted rates.

{The Bean}

{Scenes from The Chicago Theater}

Not even a Sam Smith show would be complete without selfies.

{Untitled}

{Christmas Cheer}

{The Willis Tower}

Fun fact:  It would take more than 346 of me to reach the top of the tower.

Olive Juice

Lately, I've been a huge fan of the monochrome looks.  Layering different shades of the same color can be done, as long as it's done right.  This particular day, I went with various shades of olive.  As accessories, I went with a gunmetal, gold, and silver pyramid bracelet, black messenger bag, and tortoise shell Ray-Bans.  Topped with a black bowler and bottomed out with black oxfords.  How do you feel about the monochromatic look?  Would you wear it?

Top:  Target

Joggers:  Forever 21

Jacket:  Urban Outfitters

Messenger Bag:  Prada

Shoes:  DSW

Sunglasses:  Ray-Ban

Accessories:  Style Your Space's Sparkle Shoppe Boutique

{whatever wednesday}

{Wednesday Wisdom:  Dr. Seuss}

{Little Bite of Happiness:  Sprinkle Cookie from Russell's on Macklind}

{Allisonism:  In Reference to Flo Rida - GDFR}

{Life Hacks:  21 Incredibly Important Diagrams To Help You Get Through Life}

{Must Watch:  Diversity & Inclusion - Love Has No Labels}

Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili

This past weekend, the weather forecast called for some serious snow fall in St. Louis.  We're talking 6-7 inches of this stuff.  Snowy days always give me a hankering to make something delicious.  Knowing that the chances of bundling up and venturing out on Sunday were pretty slim, I figured there's no better way to spend a Sunday stuck at home than in the kitchen.  I was inspired by this Jalapeno Popper Turkey Chili and put a spin on it to make a vegetarian version: Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili.  Comfort, creamy, healthy and delicious, this pot of Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili was the perfect cold weather recipe.  Not to mention, the next day leftovers were even better.

Chile Popper Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients

2 tbsp EVVO
1 med. red onion, diced
1 can chopped green chiles
4 sweet potatoes, cubed
3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, chili powder, and cumin (add more to taste)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa (I used hot)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Block of low-fat cream cheese, cubed
Shredded Mexican-style cheese
Sour cream and tortilla chips (optional)

Directions

1.  In a large pot, combine EVVO, onion, sweet potato, green chiles, and garlic; cover and cook on med-high heat until sweet potato is tender, stirring occasionally.
2.  Add cayenne pepper, chili powder, and cumin.  Mix well.
3.  Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, broth, salsa, and cilantro.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
4.  Add cream cheese and stir well to melt and mix.
5.  Serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

See the original recipe here:  Jalapeno Popper Turkey Chili