Exploring!

So since my UPASS expired today I was determined to get as much use out of it as possible. Hold on to your hats because this post is covering yesterday AND today!

Yesterday

My friend Sisi from U of I and I met up for brunch at this place called Earwax in Wicker Park. If you're not allergic to hipsters, I'd recommend the chocolate chip pancakes at this place. Best ones I've ever had! I saw it in a magazine, and then a friend recommended it to me at the beginning of the quarter. After Earwax we went downtown.  I had never been in the actual old Water Tower so we took a quick look around. The exhibit was fashion photography which was really interesting. After we went to Argo Tea. Although Argo is a Chicago staple with the original just a few blocks away from me, I had never been inside. For the record, I was never much of a tea drinker until a month ago when my throat was sore and I discovered Tazo passion tea. At Argo, I got a pom tea which was really good. Not overly pomegranitey either.

Today

Today I went down to Holy Name Cathedral for mass. Wow! What a cathedral! I had been wanting to go for about a year but never got around to it. They have so many times for mass so I went to the 12:30 service.

After mass I went to Nordstrom Rack and American Apparel to use my Groupons I bought last week. A new Nordstrom Rack opened at the site of the old American Girl place on Chicago. I had never been to American Apparel either. I found a cute dress at both locations so it was a successful shopping trip. When I got back my friend Emma came over and we tried 2 new recipes in the kitchen. First, we made some cranberry white chocolate cookies I found on the back of a Craisins bag. They turned out sooo good!!

Then we started on dinner. My friend Crepes of Wrath, hooked me up with a wonderful recipe of Apple and Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops. This recipe called for a lot of spices and was not the quickest to make. They turned out wonderful though! I would definitely make these again. They were very filling as well. If you want the recipe, check it out here: http://crepesofwrath.net/2010/05/05/apple-and-bacon-stuffed-pork-chops/

Posted via email from Carrie Emge

Black Friday [Grocery] Shopping

Today I went shopping on Black Friday; Grocery Shopping that is. I had my first grocery shopping adventure in the cold as well. Grocery shopping is different in the city than at home. I have to carry my groceries back to my apartment as I don't have a car or boyfriend to help carry my stuff. I was smart enough to bring my gloves so my hands weren't freezing by the time I got home. Instead of going to Dominick's I initially went to Whole Foods (AKA Whole Paycheck) and accidentally bought $8 grapes. Oops. When I was in the bread section I became inspired to try & find a recipe for those extremely delicious cheddar biscuits that Red Lobster serves. So when I got home I Googled it and went with the first link

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Red-Lobster%27s%C2%AE-Cheddar-Biscuits

Of course I didn't have cheddar cheese or garlic powder so a trip to Dominick's was made. With only 4 steps and 5 ingredients they were really easy to make... and boy were they delicious!

See the full gallery on posterous

The bottoms got a little brown but they tasted pretty close to the real thing! I took this picture after I already ate two, in which I proceeded to eat another ;)

Posted via email from Carrie Emge

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A Chicago Style Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This was my first Thanksgiving away from Freeburg. I stayed in Chicago this year and volunteered for the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago. 2 weeks ago I went to "Parade School" at the Museum of Science & Industry where I learned my duties as a "shuttle escort." Today I woke up @ 4 AM to be at Congress/Wabash by 5:15. Let me tell you, an empty foggy campus at 4:45 AM is creepy. After checking in and eating a snack size bag of Famous Amos cookies, I headed down to Daley Plaza (the site of Christkindlmarket for the Holiday Season which I am anxious to check out!). As a Shuttle Escort I was in charge of escorting Mary Robin Roth from Light Opera Works to the performance area for rehearsal and then her performance.I was done by 9 so I met up with my roommate from last year, Courtney, and watched the parade. I was expecting the weather to be a lot worse today (sleet, windy, freezing temperatures), so I layered up like an onion. I wore yoga pants and knee socks under my jeans. Up top I had a LS shirt, T Shirt, crew neck hoodie, zip hoodie, and regular winter coat. I definitely wasn't cold, that's for sure. I got back to LP around 11:30, changed, and went to my cousins' house which was really enjoyable.

Now a list of things I am thankful for:

1. My family-they support me so much

2. Friends-both old and new, many of my best memories in life involve them. They make me laugh Adrienne, I am thankful God put you in my life.

3. DePaul-offering me so many opportunities to new experiences. The fact that I am able to have and college education

4. DAB-Introducing me to so many friends and allowing me to meet some people I'd never meet otherwise

5. My apartment-a place to live is even better when you have awesome people living with you =)

6. Chicago- changes in the seasons, great comedy, so many

7. Food- so good. So many new things (& restaurants) I've tried this year

8. Church-for giving me sanity time

9. Snuggies-for keeping me warm and cozy in my apt

10. My macbook pro, Annabel- writing papers, blogging, shopping, maya projects, e-mails, skyping, web development, and watching funny videos; we've been through a lot

11. Police, firefighters, military members, EMT's, etc- for doing their jobs

12. Google Calendar- Keeping me organized since 2009

13. Comedy- Always able to put me in a better mood, especially this video

 

Gobble Gobble!

Posted via email from Carrie Emge

Fall Quarter done!

I am officially now on break! It's a weird feeling of not having any more assignments for 6 weeks but I'm so excited! I went home this past weekend to see my family for an early Thanksgiving which was fun. I saw some of my friends too. Thursday I'm volunteering for the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade and have to report for duty at 5:15 AM! It should be a neat experience though.Then I am going to my cousins' house for dinner.

Looking back on the quarter, I sure have learned a lot. I learned how to use Maya and made an actual person! I attached my final video project for viewing purposes. I made Snooki in case you couldn't tell who it was. I also learned a lot about film, using Final Cut Pro, how to use an actual video camera.  From this, I made 2 short videos. In my ethics class I learned how to determine if something is ethical. Psychology absolutely blew my mind away. The class was a lot of work, but I had been wanting to take psych for a long time.

Download now or watch on posterous

EmgeCarrie_Caricature_FINAL.avi (52354 KB)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Posted via email from Carrie Emge

And finals week begins!

Although it really doesn't feel like finals week when you are at home, waiting for the pizza to be done. Yesterday I turned in my final video project and then came home to see my family because my dad's side does Thanksgiving the weekend before. Today I dyed my hair (darker brown and it looks good!), visited Schmitt Music, and then finished my Ethics paper. Not a bad day =) Tonight I'm seeing Harry Potter!! Like many people, I am very excited for this. Sunday I fly back to to the Chi. Tuesday I have my Psych test, & turn in my 3D modeling project and then I'm done!! I'm looking forward to this break, especially my trip to FLORIDA!! I won't be totally bored during my time in Chicago. Besides being in pep band, I was just hired as a campus tour guide! I'm excited for this, even though December will be a cold time for giving tours.

Well the pizza's done! Until next time...

Posted via email from Carrie Emge

My first time... At Trader Joes

Today I experienced Trader Joe's (or TJ's) for the first time. At home the closest one was in like West County so I never went. Last year I didn't have to do much grocery shopping since I had a meal plan. This quarter I've been so busy and Dominick's is close and pretty convenient.

Since today was a nice day and I found myself with some free time I went with my roommate who could fill a book with her love for TJ's. I didn't need any produce since I'll be home next week so I bought some frozen entrees: Chicken Parm, pork potstickers, and some cod ( the fish, not the video game. It's sad that I felt the need to clarify that). I also bought some delish peanut butter filled pretzels. I had eaten these while visiting a friend of my mom and had forgotten all about them until now.

Overall it was a pretty good trip. Here are some pictures for documentation purposes

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Carrie Emge

My first time... At Trader Joe's

Today I experienced Trader Joe's (or TJ's) for the first time. At home the closest one was in like West County so I never went. Last year I didn't have to do much grocery shopping since I had a meal plan. This quarter I've been so busy and Dominick's is close and pretty convenient.  Since today was a nice day and I found myself with some free time I went with my roommate who could fill a book with her love for TJ's. I didn't need any produce since I'll be home next week so I bought some frozen entrees: Chicken Parm, pork potstickers, and some cod ( the fish, not the video game. It's sad that I felt the need to clarify that). I also bought some delish peanut butter filled pretzels. I had eaten these while visiting a friend of my mom and had forgotten all about them until now.  Overall it was a pretty good trip. Here are some pictures for documentation purposes   
See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Carrie Emge

City Symphony!

Although I finished my City Symphony almost a month ago, I learned editing in Final Cut Pro today. In the lab we were instructed to make a "remix" of our city symphony. This was my inspiration:

I know, super cheesy, kind of dumb, but from that, I made this:

Freeburg, I love you!

Posted via email from Carrie Emge