The Pumas: Puma Cabana Racer II !

My new Puma Cabana Racer II, the best feline ever found in an alley in Chicago.
Except maybe for this other one.

Say Pink Wall!

Finally finally the music party happened! We ate, we traded, we posed.

See them all on Flickr. If you care… about awesomeness!!

Starved Rock Park

Starved Rock Park, somewhere in Illinois. The latest in creepy people on the road, tick warnings, great food, hiking trails and time well spent with your lover. If you have one. And if you like him/her.

Go to Flickr because the photo gallery in WordPress scares me; it’s so the-opposite-of-intuitive.

Random Chicago This Summer

4th of July in the suburbs with Jason, and Sunday in Pilsen with Charlotte.

Superlicious Milk Chocolate Toffee Banana Bread

In the kitchen again! And this week, honoring Passover and its 10-day fight with yeast, I decided to make some bread before the matzoh party begins on Tuesday. Although, in the Schwartz residence, matzoh party happens every day :)

Let’s do this, you know how: mix, bake, eat, clean, repeat step three, look at the pretty pictures.
This recipe makes one 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 in. loaf of bread, more than that is gluttony.

BUY/BORROW/STEAL THIS:
5 oz. sugar
3 oz. margarine
1 egg
3/4 cup mashed bananas (about 2 bananas)
1 oz. sour cream (or apple sauce)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup toffee bits, walnuts or chocolate chips

DO/ORDER SOMEONE TO DO THIS:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
2. In a med-big bowl, cream sugar and margarine. If you don’t know what this is, read this. It’s basically to create air bubbles in the mix, to make the bread fluffier. Use room-temperature margarine. Beat by hand or mixer.
If you’re too lazy, do it with a whisk for a bit, and adding ingredients little by little; the difference might not be too much in this bread… I mess every recipe up and usually get away with it, so give it a try like this.
3. Add egg, mashed bananas and sour cream. Mix until blended.
4. Stir in vanilla.
5. Combine flour and baking soda, add to banana mixture.
6. Add toffee, walnuts or chocolate chips.
7. Pour into greased pan and bake at 350ºF for 35 to 40 minutes, but check it after minute 30.

EAT/GIVE/THROW THIS:

Mmm! plate from CB2, walnuts from Mexico, toffee bits from Hershey’s, flashlight from Home Depot.

Aujourd’hui: Museum of Science & Industry And Creepy Blog Stats

This is the creepiest thing. Between yesterday and today my humble blog (your humble blog) got 1,249 hits. 663 yesterday, 586 today.

WHAT?!

This is way creepier than when I saw a car moving next to me and thought that my car was the one moving. Or that one time when I ran into someone from Monterrey on Michigan Avenue. Orrr, that other time when I was quoted saying “I’d never live in the US, that’s for foos!”

The funniest thing is that the post everyone in the Internet seemed to be so interested in, was this one. About the food pyramid! WTF :)

Anyway, after that awesome Internet moment (very possibly robot-made), here are my pictures from the Museum Of Science And Industry.
Now, things that surprised me from this city trip:

1. How far it really is from the Loop
2. How easy it is to get there if you don’t count the bus ride you have to take
3. The amazingness of the Fairy Castle
4. Their genetically modified frogs
5. Their gigantic enormous tremendous city of Chicago model
5. How unsurprised I was when I finished going through it

I did, however, took some pretty pictures and had a great time hanging out with Talia.

Today’s special: Bad typography and salmonella water

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Orray gotta go, I have to go write something about mitochondries and carbs.

Out And About In The Cold

Wow, I can’t believe it took me like 3 weeks to leave the apartment after coming back from Mexico. It’s just too cold. And snowy. And my levels of serotonin are all over the place- my birthday is coming soon.

Anyway, I went downtown for a bit and took these. Then I went to the Museum of Science and Industry with Talia and took some more, but those will come later.

En Mexico La Fiesta Es Mucha

Batch 2 of our December pictures.
I’m too lazy for my blog.

Click to go to Flickr for the real thing, I’ll keep posting fo sho.

Mexican Curiousness

The first batch of our most ridiculous Mexican memories!

Take 1: All fun

Take 2: No fun

Ratatoing!

The metal boxes that looked like Owen Wilson!

We saw this on New Year’s Eve, but we figured partying + buying art + having plastic surgery the same day and in the same place would be a bad idea.

I broke our Christmas tree’s base while I was moving it after we finished decorating it, so we did what you do in these situations: you steal cement blocks from your neighbor to fix things a bit. Then you hide them with presents!

For some posing reason this scenario reminded me of this American moment so much.

Coca-Cola around the world: “Tome conciencia” (“Be aware of things”)

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Sorry I haven’t been writing but I’m feeling 3005C blue (coated) and I’m not in the mood.
I’ve been, however, taking a lot of pictures and going places (brainy places), like museums and brainy streets, so I’ll post something image-y later :)

Mexico December Edition

This last December Jason and I went to bruise-y Mexico for 4 weeks, here’s pretty much what happened:

Week 1:
Hanged out at home (Monterrey, 25º40′ N  100º18′ W). Ate a lot. Set the Christmas tree. Saw grandma after 3 years apart. Saw old friends. Planned a trip to Real de Catorce (23º42′ N  100º59′ W; about 3 hours south of Monterrey). Went to Real de Catorce. Got bitten by a horse. Yelled at some tour guide. Sang good old Mexican rock songs from the 90s at a Real de Catorce bar. Came back from Real de Catorce. Loved it.

Week 2:
Had bad weather for one day. Spent Christmas with the family. Played Wii with the sister. Saw my dad playing Wii. Vandalized the streets with my little cousins. Went to the dentist. Planned our New Years trip to San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato (20º55′ N  100º45′ W; about 7 hours south of Monterrey).

Week 3:
Went to San Miguel de Allende. Had a sore throat for that whole week. Then got sick to my stomach the second day. Then Jason got sick the fourth day. (Then I started eating ice cream and it all went away). Walked and walked and walked. Bought art and presents. Took 1,000 pictures in one day. Went to Guanajuato and Dolores Hidalgo because we were feeling patriotic. Spent New Years with the family. Played with fireworks (no injuries here, can you believe it?!). Went back a day early because Jason wasn’t feeling well :(

Week 4:
Back to Monterrey, back to eating. Visited a lot of family. Ate lots of Rosca de Reyes/ -Gâteau des rois for extra fanciness- for the first time in Mexico in 3 years. Bought books and magazines that added too much weight in our luggage (again). Hanged out with the cool kids… then got a black eye as a goodbye present.

When we came back to Chicago I immediately missed running outside in 80ºF everyday, eating at home, hanging out with my sister all the time, and driving without feeling like a felon. Also, I hate snow.

Curious pictures coming soon!