Inside View of The Roof

Open all year long, The Roof is 7,000 square feet on the 27th floor of The Wit Hotel featuring spectacular city views, roaring fire pits, plenty of seating to lounge with a group of friends, including a suspended over the city glass enclosed table for 8 people, flat screen T.V.’s, and live music or featured DJs. I have to say this hotel and lounge reminds me of my favorite hotel in Miami or New York City, The Gansevoort Hotel.

Outside at The Roof

When I go to The Roof, I really enjoy the drink menu with unique cocktails like the  Cucumber Ginger Mojito which is my favorite drink on the menu.

About to enjoy my favorite drink at The Roof: Cucumber Ginger Mojito

My friends and I crave the Hand Cut Gourmet Fries! The fries are a must have every time! The Roof’s menu also has 20 Italian inspired small plates that are great for sharing.

Hand Cut Gourmet Fries, Yum Yum!

The Roof is perfect for a girls day or night out. You can plan an eventful fun time with the girls around your visit to The Roof at The Wit Hotel.

Day Drinks at The Roof

• Start your day by shopping on State Street with tons of fabulous shopping a few blocks from The Wit Hotel including; Macy’s on State Street, Zara, Nordstrom Rack, Sephora, Filene’s Basement, Old Navy, H&M, and more.
• Treat yourself to luxury with a Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream Pedicure at Spa @ theWit
• By 4pm you will be ready to head up to The Rood and endure in a refreshing cocktail.

The Roof at Night

• Start the night with a delicious dinner at one of The Wit Hotel’s trendy restaurants, Italian restaurant cibomatto or State and Lake an artisantal American restaurant.
• Or with the Chicago Theatre right next door be sure to check out a show at this historic landmark or close by is the Theater District or the famous House of Blues located in Marina City (the corn cob buildings).
• End the evening with drinks at The Roof overlooking the gorgeous nighttime views of the Chicago.

Me at The Roof

So if you are visiting Chicago or haven’t been to The Roof it is definitely something that should be on your to do list.

I have been to NYC a few times and each time there was a huge wait and lines that were around the restaurant. However, this time I called a few days ahead and was able to get a 9:30pm Friday night reservation. Yes! Finally! I was so excited!

That Friday we got to the restaurant and was seated shortly after 9:30pm. As I looked around I noticed that there was many collectibles and knickknacks all around the restaurant. Lots of the knickknacks you could buy as well as souvenirs.  It was smaller then then it looked on the movie, but had a great charm, very quaint actually.

Serendipity 3

Serendipity has a great menu with many foods choices, and a huge desert menu. I decided on the A Summer Bries, which was fantastic. Then of course I ordered the famous frozen hot chocolate which was amazing and just how I imagined it to be.

Me enjoying the famous frozen hot chocolate

I really enjoyed my experience at Serendipity. I would greatly recommend it as fun place to go when visiting NYC. We had great service, good food, fantastic desserts, and I was definitely happy that I was now able to check it off my list of must places to visit.

If you would like to visit Serendipity 3 here are a few things to remember.

• The restaurant has limited reservations each day so call in advance.
• Reservations are only if you plan to eat off the menu not just order dessert.
• You can’t order desserts to go.
• If you are just planning to try their amazing desserts be prepared to wait about 40mins or longer. If you have a party of two you will be seated a lot faster.
• You can purchase frozen hot chocolate in the store, online, or now in Williams Sonoma stores.

If you have experienced Serendipity 3 I would love to here your story!

The NYC location:

This weekend (August 6th – August 8th) bring in your Lollapalooza wristband for 15% off all weekend long.)

Then come back to District August 11th, 2011 from 7:00pm to 11:00pm to celebrate their 5^th year of The Fashion District: Hot Ice. This hot shows showcases swimwear, shades, and fur fashions from Meekis swimwear (http://www.modelmayhem.com/662544), Protégé eyewear (http://www.malachiartese.com), and is headlined by Elan Furs (http://www.elanfur.com/). These fashions are more than just your everyday bikini and cover-up.

Meekis Swimwear

Elan Furs

Protégé eyewear

Get to the show before 8pm (show starts at 8pm) to enjoy a complimentary glass of champagne! Guests can also enjoy ½ price bottles of wine, ½ price salads or nosh on the event’s “Hot Ice” menu.

Want even more? Dine at District the week before the event and get a free drink voucher for the night of the show.

District Bar

170 West Ontario Street
Chicago, IL 60654-3737
(312) 337-3477

What is your favorite girl’s night out spot? I would love to know!

Thanks to Skirt PR for the event information.

Well one of the benefits of living or visiting in Chicago is that even in the dead of winter you can still find something to do without freezing your buns off. The theater, concerts, museums, comedy clubs, unique restaurants, lounges, bars, and of course fabulous shopping!

Chicago is one of the best cities to shop. Most people head to Michigan Avenue to shop. However, have you checked out some of Chicago neighborhoods such as Lincoln Park (Armitage and Halsted), Wicker Park (Milwaukee, North Avenue, and Damen), and the upcoming West Loop (Fulton Market)  for a unique and fun shopping experience?

If you haven’t and your looking of something different and fun to do instead of sitting inside having the winter blues; why don’t you invite you friends or you mom and plan a trip to one of Chicago fabulous shopping districts.

May I suggest checking out the upcoming and trendy West Loop?

Fix Boutique

Fix Boutique at 1101 W. Fulton Market is one of the trendiest and hottest boutique in the West Loop area. Owned by two sister who are inspired by fashion for the Chicago season, which is a huge benefit it’s boutiques customers. However, the best part is if you shop now through Jan. 14th you can receive 20-50 % off select winter merchandise throughout the store.

Check out some of the current merchandise on sale:

Elizabeth & James Foliage Dress, $486 regularly priced, $340 on sale

Pencey Pieced Dress, $472 regularly priced, $344 on sale

Generra Zip-up Shirt Jacket, $203 Regularly Priced, $142 on sale

Gerren Ford Zipper Dress, $318 regularly priced, $159 on sale

After shopping at Fix Boutique check out some of the other great boutiques in the neighborhood:

2  Sisters Boutique

Bess & Loie

Heidi Hess

Koros

Tribeca

Bess & Loie

After a few hours of exploring the West Loop why not enjoy a great meal at one of the many fabulous restaurants in the district:

Avec

The Grocery Bistro

Pan Hellenic Pastry Shop (Greek Bakery) ~ Greek town is next to the West Loop

West Gate Coffee House

Izumi Sushi

The Tasting Room

Izumi Sushi

Enjoy your fun, filled, shopping day in Chicago’s West Loop! Please let me know if you have any questions about Fix Boutique, where to go, or what to do!

I have been seeing lots of great drink recipes for the holiday season, so I thought (and I have seen things similar to this) why not instead of using martini glasses for drinks use martini glasses to show off your food. They are the perfect shape to serve food in, don’t you think?

Here’s how.

Tomato soup is one of my favorites so as an appetizer serve tomato soup in a martini glass and garnish with basil and cheese.

Or set out chips and serve guacamole and salsa in martini glasses.

Who doesn’t love potatoes? They are really yummy especially with all the toppings. As one of your side dishes at your holiday party serve each your guests mashed potatoes in martini glass.

Mashed potatoes with all the toppings

As for the desserts well, you can use martini glasses for all types of desserts and served in a martini glass would make them look absolutely mouth-watering.

I would pick chocolate mousse with raspberries, English trifle,  mango sorbet or even tiramisu.

Chocolate mousse with whipped cream

Target.com has 10 plastic martini glasses for $13.99 or 6 glass martini glasses for $23.99.

What would you serve in a martini glass?

• Flake imitation crab (1 package)
• Lump tin crab (1 tin)
• Italian bread crumbs
• Large pasta shells
• Ricotta cheese (small tub)
• Parmesan cheese
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• lemon juice
• Alfredo sauce

Similar to what we made.

1.

Boil water, once at boil add pasta shells. (I would say each person will eat 4 to 5 shells each.)

2.

In a mixing bowl break apart imitation crab into small pieces, then add tin crab, about half cup of bread crumbs, half tub of ricotta cheese, egg whites (from one egg), Parmesan cheese (about half cup), and lemon juice to taste. This mix makes about 18 large shells.

3.

Mix all these ingredients together.

4.

When shells have boiled, drain and add to empty bowl. (At this time preheat oven to 350.)

5.

With a rounded tip spoon add filling to each shell. The best way to do this is to lay the shell on a flat clean surface and open with both fingers and drop filling inside. (Make sure they are stuffed!)

6.

When done stuffing all shells add them to a baking dish. Add a little Alfredo sauce to the top each shell, if you add too much it will take away from the crab taste. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

7.

Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, cheese will start to brown.

8.

Serve with Moscato white wine (Sutter Home is actually fantastic and one of my favorites.)

Enjoy!

1. Invites

Decide who you are going to invite and send out your invites at least three weeks early, you can make formal invitations or you can use evite through email.

2. Menu

Planning a menu can be fun and it’s chance to eat some of your favorite things. For a tea party here is an idea of what you might want to have for your tea party guests to enjoy.

• Tea bags (You can get British blend at any local grocery store but you can always use Lipton.)
• Cheese & crackers
• Mini sandwiches ( I will give you two great recipes at the end.)
• Victoria sponge cake (This is so delicious and my Dad’s favorite.)
• Champagne & Strawberries

3. Accessories

You can get all the accessories you need and even on a budget.

• Tea cups (Great places to shop, TJMax, IKEA, and World Market.)
• Champagne glasses (Target has some great deals for around $30, and you can add on some cute charms too.)
• Candles (Get soft scented candles enough to decorate where you will hold your party.)
• Table cloth (You will need something white or in a lite color, not overwhelming and bright.)
• Plates (Try to get ones that match your tea cups.)
• Silverware (Well you should probably have silverware.)
• Ingredients for recipes (see below.)
• Milk (2% and fat free)
• Sugar
• Strawberries

You can set table or setting to your liking.

4. Recipes

SANDWICHES

SMOKED SALMON

• Bread (You can get mini tea slices at stores or get creative and use cookie cutter shapes.)
• Mixed cream cheese, dill, lemon, and black pepper.
• Add cream cheese mix thinly on bread slices both sides.
• Lay smoked salmon over one side of bread, might have cut salmon to size of bread.
• Place other bread slice on top.

CUCUMBER

• Mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise,and Italian dressing mix. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours
• Spread mix thinly on bread on both sides
• Top with a cucumber slice and add some dill

CHEESE & CRACKERS

• I would get a mild, spicy, and soft cheese to add to a variety of crackers.

VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE

• Use a plain vanilla cake mix (Use will need two cake mixes.)
• Preheat oven and follow directions to make cakes. You will need two cake tins.
• When cakes are ready remove from oven (not sure? do the fork test, if the middle come out clean on fork the cake is done.) Take out of tins after about 5 mins and place on wire rack and let cool for about 30 minutes.
• Spread the cakes with the jam and the whipped cream, then carefully sandwich together.

TEA

• When guests arrive start boiling water in your kettle. When water has boiled pour water into cups and add tea bags.
• Or if you have a teapot add about 5 tea bags into boiled water.
• Let the bags stand in water for about 5 minutes.
• Pour into cups or remove bags from cups with a spoon.
• Set out your milk and sugar with spoons so guest can add to their liking.

CHAMPAGNE AND STRAWBERRIES

• Add one to two strawberries into champagne glasses and pour your favorite champagne into glasses.
• Serve with Victoria sponge cake.

Enjoy your tea party!

Fashion Sense ($1.99)

Bring a personal shopper with you every time you shop. Get ideas and tips on clothes that fits you best, this application learns more about you the more you shop.

Lucky at Your Service (Free)

Love Lucky Magazine? Now have it at your fingertips. Search for the hottest clothes, shoes, beauty products, and then find the stores closest to you where you can purchase you “Lucky” finds.

Pocket Closet ($0.99)

Clueless was one of my favorite movies as a teenager and I loved Cher’s closet. I still want a closet like that, but for now use this app to download pictures of your clothes, shoes, accessories and let this app create your pocket closet. Make outfits, track how many times you have wore something, and more.

Who What Wear (Free)

Find out what celebrities are wearing and how you can get it.

Gilt (Free)

This exclusive members only site gives you excess to the best sales on designer clothing. Want to become a member? Follow them on Twitter and you just might get an invite. Then be one of the first to have access to sales online with this application.

Handbag Envi ($0.99)

Looking for a new designer bag or want to see what the latest bags celebrities are using, well this app has it all plus check out other apps Envi has for your iPhone.

Girl Drinks ($0.99)

Looking for that drink recipe you can’t remember, or in the mood to try something new? Use this application to find the best girly drinks.

Wine Ratings Guide ($1.99)

At the store looking for a new bottle of wine to try, or sitting at a restaurant and just can’t decide, use this application to help you choose that great bottle of wine.

Starbucks (Free)

Horay!! Everything I need at my fingertips, Starbucks lovers you know what I mean.

All Recipes (Free)

Can’t decide what to make for dinner. Just found out you have guests for dinner. This spinner app ( love the website so will love this too) will help you prepare meals in a flash.

iMirror ($0.99)

Perfect! Turn you iPhone into a mirror, need I say more…

Cran-Apple Peach Sangria

These are some of my favorite fruits in the Fall, so why not make some delicious sangria? You will need…

• Bottle of white white any kind you like, doesn’t have to be expensive
• 2-3 cups of cranberry juice depending on how much you like cranberry juice
• 4 peaches cut into cubes
• 4 apples cut into cubes
• If you like brandy you can add two shots just to give it a little kick

Mix everything together into a large pitcher and refrigerate for a least a few hours.

Delicious Cran-Apple Peach Sangria

Sparkling Cranberry Cocktail

This one is great for dinners, it’s quick and easy taking no longer then about 10 minutes.

• Bottle (well, depending on how many guests) sparkling rose wine or champagne
• Sugar cubes
• Cranberry juice
• Cranberries (optional)
• Wooden skewers (optional)

Grab your champagne flutes and fill the glass with your wine or champagne, drop one sugar cube into each glass. Add just a splash of cranberry juice to each flute. If you want to add cranberries put about 5 or 6 cranberries on each wooden skewer and place skewers into flutes, and now you have an eye catching delicious drink that your guests will love.

The Toasted Almond

This drink is great for after dinner or to sip while watching a movie. You will need…

• 2 shots of Kahlua
• 2 shots or Amaretto

Add to shaker glass filled with ice. Strain into small cocktail glass and if you would like add some sliced almonds.

Elegant Coffee

Delicious for after dinner anytime.

• Brewed coffee
• Shot of chocolate liqueur
• Shot of hazelnut liqueur

Add to a wine glass ingredients and milk together, add a splash of milk if you like. Then sprinkle cocoa powder on the top.

Enjoy, Happy Fall!

WINE

Yes, wine is much needed for your end of summer social event. Trader Joe’s has a great selection of wines. You can find wines from around the world, as well as the $2 wines (which are actually good) and mine and my boyfriends favorite the Boca Cabernet. Wondering how much to get? I would say the average person drinks two to three glasses, and each bottle is good for 2 people.

CHEESE & CRACKERS

I love cheese & crackers it’s one of my favorite snacks and a great appetizer for parties. Traders Joe’s has a great selection of cheeses as well as ready made platters. They also have a good variety of crackers including low-sodium, low fat crackers, and pita chips if you prefer those to crackers.

APPETIZERS

When it comes to getting appetizers if you don’t have time to prepare from scratch, Trader Joe’s has a great selection of appetizers perfect for your party. You can get little quiches, coconut shrimp, mini pizzas, dips, and more. You guest won’t even know the difference.

DESSERT

I love dessert, chocolate is my favorite. I think I drive my boyfriends nuts because I always want some kind of dessert. I can’t help it it’s in my blood. Anyway Trader Joe’s have the cutest and these really delicious mini cupcakes. They come in chocolate of course and vanilla. They are perfect for parties, just have a little something sweet without feeling two guilty.

So these are my picks for favorites at Traders Joe’s for you end of summer event. You have your ideas for all the foods items you need for your party now to time to plan the setting, place for your event, and don’t forget presentation!

Click here to find your closest Trader Joe’s.