An Itch

After 4 days of visiting and traipsing around the city with my high school friends, it’s down to just me again.

Ho hum…

But maybe that’s a good thing. I probably need the sleep. Blood shot eyes confirm this.

After spending a night out in Wrigleyville, a day of shopping the neighborhood, block parties, a trip to the zoo, cheering friends on in races, eating out at a few local spots, movies, etc, we still weren’t done.

Clearly, this means we need to fuel up with breakfast again.

I still hate the word moist. Gross.

But anyway, I finally had an excuse to make Jessica’s Cake Batter Pancakes. There is no better way to impress your guests than with funfetti. And I had an itch for something sugary. Surprised?No you’re not. Don’t lie.

For the record, the sugar rush from the pancakes and the powdered sugar glaze will energize you for the entire rest of the morning. Promise.Just be mindful of the pancakes as they cook. Otherwise, you’ll end up with one black sheep in the bunch.I always burn at least one. Often more. 

Believe it or not, we fought over who would eat it. I ended up tossing it because I had made a recipe and a half and there were WAY too many pancakes. And no one really wanted it. We were just being polite. A rarity that sometimes happens in these parts.

Afterwards, we rode the train down to Michigan Avenue. Because we all had an itch to shop. However, our most important stop was our first one of the day:We wanted to say hi to Marilyn before the rain in the forecast became a legit concern.

This 26-foot statue of her from The Seven Year Itch was debuted on Friday. My friends arrived on Friday. Coincidence or fate?This is the first, but not the last, of many trips to say hey. That I am sure of.

After sweatin’ it out on the Magnificent Mile for most of the afternoon, the decision was made to stop off for a little happy hour celebration.

Which put the trip back home in the thick of rush hour traffic. Before a Cubs game.

Not the brightest move.

But hey- when you’re thirsty, you’re thirsty…

After coming home and cooling off, the three of us decided to sweat through a second outfit for the day and head to a bar advertising $3 burger and fries and dirty trivia night.

We were there for the food. And only the food. I swear.

Yet held our own up until the 3rd round.

Either way, a good way to end the extended weekend. Leaving me here. Once again.

I’ve still got a couple of days of recovery before another weekend hits me with full force.

Plenty of water will be involved. Along with a few of these:Because if I don’t watch it, my body is going to start figuring out where to stick all the grease and sugar for safe keeping.

Yikes.

Happy Hump Day, kiddos!

Planning Ahead

Often, not always, but often, I like to do things a little over the top. Make a production. Get a little overly dramatic about mundane things.

In a good way, of course. It’s fun. It’s appreciated. I just like to. Ok?

Blame the Leo in me if you have to. (Insert shameless birthday plug here- it’s only 10 days away! Prepare for mental breakdown…)

Anyway, this weekend I have a couple of houseguests making their yearly trip to Chicago. Having out-of-towners come in is always fun for me because I get to show them MY city.

Yes, it’s like I own it.

I also get to do things like make a big deal out of meals. As a single girl, I don’t often make a big deal out of everyday dinners. What’s the point? It’s not time efficient. And God knows if there’s one thing I’m always short on, it’s time.So I wait. And wait. And wait for people to come visit.

And then when they finally come, it’s so ON.Breakfast is the meal I’ve been focusing on this time around. It’s the most important meal of the day. And how bad of a friend would I be to deny them anything but the best?

So I creeped on Andrea’s blog (again) and found these amazing muffin/donut creations.

I didn’t even have to break out a mixer!

Or cupcake liners- you break them out of the tin while they’re still warm to dunk them in butter and sugar/cinnamon goodness.Obviously, this was the part where I burned my fingers a little (because it’s not baking with Amy unless someone gets hurt). But it was worth it. These muffins were easy and quick.

As in, I made them while my roomie watched a dvr’d episode of Two and a Half Men.  It was pure luck that I had nutmeg on hand for this one. JUST bought it a couple weeks ago randomly. Often, I skip it if a recipe calls for it, but this time I think the muffin would have been lacking without. Whew!

My thoughts? Andrea was right. It’s like eating an old school sugared donut.

A perfect addition to balance out any breakfast. You know I’m right.I also threw in a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. For good measure.

But switched them up by adding a simple glaze of powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.Just like how grandma taught me.

Because you know I’m not going to do the same thing twice… right?Variety is the spice of life. BAM.

My guests aren’t coming until later today (and won’t have breakfast until tomorrow morning), but I baked everything Wednesday night for good reason.

1. It was something I could make ahead of time and really it was the only night left open before they get here.2. It had been too long since the last time I visited my friend Jaime and baby Summer. And I never go over there empty-handed. I made a baby shower promise to provide a constant supply of baked goods.

Plus, Jaime probably wouldn’t let me through the door without treats in hand.

Sort of kidding. Just sort of.Baby Summer and I hung out together while her parents ate dinner together for only the second time since she was born. I didn’t mind helping out.

Don’t get any ideas, mom.

Cinnamon Swirls

Because breakfast happens to be my favorite meal of the day, I constantly am looking for new ideas.

Because I have a week of early days at work coming up, something easy to transport and eat at work will be necessary.

Because I loved the oatmeal quick bread so much, surely there would be something else I could make similar to it?

And possibly better?

What about cinnamon swirl bread?

I had the ingredients. I had the open Friday night.

The only thing I didn’t have was a loaf pan. This really hasn’t been a hinderance until recently. But until I remember to pick one up in one of my Target shopping sprees, I’ll make due with what I’ve got.

The recipe, like many that I prefer, was pretty simple to follow. My only change was to swap out the all-purpose flour with whole wheat- just a personal preference. 

My favorite part was the layering using the cinnamon and sugar mix…Shake it… shake it… shake it like a Polaroid picture…

Maybe it was the lack of a loaf pan, or maybe it was just my mediocre oven, but I took the bread out after 40 minutes thinking it was done.  Good thing I tend to massacre things like chicken breasts to make sure they’re fully cooked through. Because I cut through the middle of the loaf and it definitely was NOT. 

Another 15 minutes later… perfection.You can even see the layers!  Sort of.

The end result had the hint of sweetness of a cinnamon roll.  However, if you are looking for gooey layers- stick with the rolls because the layers are strictly cinnamon and sugar and do not have the buttery component.  Just a heads up on that. 

Although if you’re looking for a variation on that… why not check out the cinnamon roll pancakes I made last summer? They really were like a flattened cinnamon roll…

This bread was meant to be for all next week.  It probably won’t last that long.  But we’ll cross that bridge once we get there…

Happy weekend everyone! I’m off to get as much done as I can today (including a 5-mile run) so I can fully enjoy the Hustle up the Hancock tomorrow AND the Sunday Funday that comes along with it. ;)