Greyhouse Coffee.

I spent the last 6 days traveling around Indiana, hounding staff (college students) for my team this summer.  I was with 7 of my co-workers and we had quite the week.  It consisted of meeting new people, interviews, coffee shops, 5 different colleges, restaurants, seeing friends, laughing (a lot), no sleep and donuts.  My favorite place we went this week was a little coffee shop in West Lafayette near Purdue University.  It's called Greyhouse Coffee and Supply Co.

I loved the decor.
The food was delicious.
The coffee was rich and smooth.
It was creative, yet simple.
I couldn't get out of the leather chairs because they were so comfortable.
They had crepes and gelato, two of my favorite things in this world.
Oh, and the bathrooms were super cute.

I took some pictures of my favorite things so you wouldn't miss out!  Take a look.

More pictures of the week to come.  Stay tuned.

not sure if anyone cares.

I'm not sure if anyone cares, but if you're interested in hearing about what Dave's doing in Haiti click here.

The teachers and students from Wheaton Academy are keeping a blog about daily happenings.  It's been really fun to read what they're up to and what God is doing in and through them.

NOTE: this post is for those of you who have no life or who are really bored.  Both of those things describe my current state.

what a month.

seriously.

I was on my way to a meeting in Indiana this morning and I stopped at McDonald's to get a cup of coffee.  Oh and a hash brown.  It's impossible for me to go to McDonald's in the morning and not order a hash brown.  Anyway, I pull around to the pay window in the drive through and the lady says, "Oh you have a very young face.  Wait, are you old enough to be driving?"   She wasn't joking.

Seriously lady...come on.

yum.

We had some amazing food in Paris and we ate a LOT.  Here are some of my favorites:

Paninis

At this restaurant we got the most amazing crepe; it was warm with roasted apples.

Goat cheese, olives and tomatoes on toasted bread.

Berthillon - the most famous ice cream in Paris - raspberry and pear

Banana and nutella crepe

Crepes on the streets

So many different types of cheese!

Those were just a few of my favorites.  Of all the places I've had the opportunity to visit, I liked the food in France the best.  You should probably go visit soon so your taste buds can be delighted!

simple.

Have you ever wondered why in the world you have so much stuff?  I do.  I guess that's what I get for shopping at Good Will, too much stuff that I had to buy because it was only $1!  

I've especially have been feeling this way after our trip to Paris this past weekend.  We stayed in a quaint little apartment in the city.  It was simple and clean.  None of the walls were painted.  Nothing was cluttering the TV stand (that's our stuff in the pic) and there weren't a million side tables like at my house.  It was refreshing but still felt like a home.  Florence, who owned the apartment, was so sweet.  She told us to help ourselves to her tea collection and added extra details to make it a fun place to stay.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the apartment we rented and have the urge to go clean out your house (like me).  

a mini trip.

This past weekend I was the luckiest girl in the world.
I took a mini trip with my mom and sister.
A mini trip to Paris!

We had an incredible time.  Our days were spent sight seeing and exploring the streets of Paris.  We saw Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles.  We went to a cheese and wine tasting, ate European style (3 hour) dinners, haused down crepes, chocolate croissants and a few glasses of wine.  Here are some pictures from our trip.

Me and Brooke

Outside my favorite restaurant 

Notre Dame

Cheese and wine tasting

Breakfast  

The lock bridge 

That's just a brief tour of my weekend.  I will get into more details next time!  Hope you enjoyed your weekend.

secret adventure.

If you're ever in Chicago here's a secret adventure for you to get a beautiful view of the city.  Surprisingly, it helps if you're a girl in this adventure.

Go to the John Hancock Center and go to the elevators for the signature lounge.  Say that you are going to the bar to grab a drink.  When you get to the 96th floor, go directly to the women's bathroom where you will get a clear and unblocked view of the city.  

I did this last weekend with a few friends that were visiting and it was amazing.  The best part is, it's free!

so so weird.

Have you ever seen this ad?
I have one question...who in the world came up with this?

It's pretty much the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

They are haunting me...they are all over Chicago!
HELP!

Exploring Chicago

Since we've moved to the city, we've been exploring a lot. I've seen a lot of cute restaurants, unique boutiques and amazing homes. Here are some of our favorite places so far.

Ann Sather's
Ann is known for her Cinnamon rolls. Two rolls are served as a side dish to your meal. They are delicious.

Longman & Eagle
This is a Whiskey Bar located in Logan Square.
It earned a Michelin Star and supposedly had a 4.5 hour wait for dinner over the holidays! Here I enjoyed my new favorite beer, Noire de Chambly. It's amazing, you have to try it. The food was also incredible. I ordered a pork belly BLT.




Mindy's Hot Chocolate
Thanks to Phil and Becca for this discovery. This cute little place is located in Wicker Park. I ordered the seasonal heirloom salad and Dave got a burger with an egg on top. The food was satisfying but I've never had anything like their hot chocolate. It was a dessert in itself. It was rich and smooth topped with their homemade square marshmallows. Marshmallows are one of my favorite foods and it was my first time to eat square shaped ones. It was a special moment for sure. You can order both their hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows online.

(I didn't take this picture)

Enjoy Urban General Store
Enjoy is a cute boutique shop located right in my own neighborhood, Lincoln Square. It sells a whole bunch of stuff that you don't need but you would find great pleasure in. For example, bacon dental floss, glass milk cartons, coffee ice cube molds and so many other crazy things.


Glenn's Diner
A pan-fried, shrimp po' boys sandwich was the best shrimp sandwich I've ever had. It was actually my first shrimp sandwich but was it was really good. It won't be my last! Glenn's is a casual setting with amazing food. Their meatloaf sandwich was on Food Networks, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Nadeau's Furniture with a Soul
Amazing furniture. I could end it there but I'll tell you more. Honestly, they have some of the coolest pieces I've ever seen. All the furniture is imported from Indonesia and is all at wholesale price. Check out their website to see some of their pieces. You will fall in love.

Random House
This is one of the coolest homes I've ever seen. We spotted it when exploring Lincoln Park. It's a perfect blend of old and new. They kept the outside of the original house and created a courtyard garden between the old exterior and the new building. The new building is really sleek and modern. I wish I could see the inside. I can only imagine how sweet it is. Here's the best pictures I could get with my phone.





Hopefully there will be a lot of new discoveries to come as we continue to explore the windy city!