21 April, 2014

Transition: From Windy City Living to Sage & Serendipity



 I'm excited to announce the official re-brand of my blog; now going by the lovely name of "Sage & Serendipity"! 
The journey to Sage & Serendipity has been long and full of surprises. When I first set out to take my blog to the next level, I only had a vague concept of wanting to transform the space. I knew I wanted my own domain, to clean up the overall look of the blog, and make some changes to better present my content. I had a ton of ideas but was overwhelmed with the to-do list that would turn all of those ideas into reality.
I've been lucky enough to have the help of a fantastic friend, Stephanie. She's got a great grasp on what it takes to write a meaningful blog and is full of ideas on every single aspect that goes into creating a site. One of the first things we talked about was the idea of creating a brand, and this has been the key driver in transforming my blog.

I LOVE the concept of branding. I am by no means a pro at creating a personal brand, but I'm extremely interested in the topic and have experienced the process of branding in several different settings throughout my career and personal life. Basically as a blogger you are your brand. Of course when you write a blog post you are representing your personal brand. But with social media whenever you tweet, post on facebook, snap a pic for Instagram, etc. and share that information as an extension of your identify as a blogger that item is representing your personal brand as well. Therefore a key to successful branding is to streamline your content so that your followers know what they are getting when they turn to you.

I worked with Stephanie to develop content areas for my blog. I really wanted to restructure what it is that I’m writing about and of course think about how these posts will provide value to you, the reader. I looked at my past few months of blogging and developed a post plan to better configure my blog. You can see these areas on the new site: Chicago, Work Life, Food and Travel. I feel that all of these items represent who I am and in turn are a good summation of what you can expect when you turn to Sage & Serendipity.  

This brings up another topic to touch on: my blog name change! I did not originally set out to “re-create the wheel” with a new moniker. But as I looked at the elements of this re-brand, I realized that I wanted to better capture my purpose as a blogger and the best way to do so was to launch under a new name. I love alliterations and wanted a name that was a bit more whimsical. Sage is my favorite herb and I grow it every summer as a part of my little herb garden. It also is used to describe someone possessing knowledge, judgment, and experience, which is inherent in blogging. Serendipity is defined as the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for, or more simply a pleasant surprise. I am a firm believer in karma, fate, and the concept of everything happens for a reason. I’ve always loved the idea of serendipity (my AIM screen name in middle school was “Serendipity”) and it became a frontrunner early on in the blog name brainstorming process. I love it and hope you do too: Sage & Serendipity!

I still consider myself a novice blogger and this space is very much a work in progress. But nonetheless I am excited to move forward with my new brand. Thank you to those who are making the transition with me from Windy City Living!  My editorial calendar is just bursting with topics to share with you and I can’t wait to get started!

17 April, 2014

TÊTE Charcuterie

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a special preview night of new Chicago hot spot TÊTE Charcuterie. The concept is simple: a creative dining experience surrounding charcuterie, the art of meat curing and sausage making.

The night started with cocktails at the bar, obviously.


I knew I had made the right cocktail choice, as I had barely finished uttering the name of the drink before our waiter starting nodding in approval. Known as the "Jackson Blues", this smooth and refreshing number combines vodka, green tea syrup, lemon and sparkling wine. 

While you sip, you can enjoy a show as the charcuterie is plated.


And take pictures with your friends!



On to the food! TÊTE Charcuterie has an open kitchen design, allowing you to view food as it is prepared, plated, and sent out to the floor. 



Pork belly, the most delicious item I sampled. It is seasoned perfectly and just melts in your mouth. 


Sausage and spicy mustard. 


Mortadella with pistachios, coriander and white wine. 


Assorted meats and the heavenly bread. 


The design and decor of TÊTE Charcuterie are simple, warm and inviting. I loved the vibe of the restaurant and the laid back attitude of the staff.








The "Ehhhhh" cocktail, which must be ordered with purpose in your voice: dark rum, averna, maple and egg. I would describe this as a rougher, tougher eggnog and it makes a perfect nightcap. 


I would absolutely visit TÊTE Charcuterie again; it's the perfect place for cocktails and a few plates to share with friends before a night out. Do yourself a favor and order the pork belly; you will not regret it! 

TÊTE Charcuterie is located at 1114 West Randolph Street and their website can be viewed here.


Note: I attended this event as a part of Chicago Food Bloggers and free of charge, however the opinions in this post are solely my own. 

14 April, 2014

Stan's Donuts & Coffee

Sometimes in the nutrition battle, you just have to let the foodie part of you win. And that's exactly what happened when I made the decision to check out Wicker Park's new doughnut shop Stan's Donuts & Coffee. After many strong willed moments since this place opened, I finally caved and made a stop in over the weekend to pick up a box of goodies. Oh. My. God. If you are going to have a calorie splurge on something sweet, this is the place to go.

Stan's is a Californian import-a cult favorite that has made a splashy debut in Chicago with this store. It couples it's best selling donuts with Chicago based Intelligentsia coffee and tea products.

This adorable shop is located on Damen Ave., smack dab next to the Damen blue line stop. The bubblegum pink logo and wall of Kitchenaid mixers are guaranteed to catch your eye as you walk by. And if that fails, the sweet smell of sugary perfection will stop you in your tracks.

They have a huge glass display filled to the brim with different donut options. While the line was 12 people deep, it moved quickly. The design of the shop is so that it sections off the front door, counter and line to one side, and places tables to the other side. This allows customers to sit and enjoy their treats without having people walking through the same space to be able to order.  Flavors I picked up were:

-Original Glazed
-Boston Cream
-Nutella and Banana
-Lemon Pistachio Old Fashioned
-Biscoff Banana Pocket
-Maple Long John

I feel like I have to disclose that I did not eat all these donuts by myself! They were shared, though I did make it a point to sample each of them. It's hard to pick a favorite. What I loved about the donuts was that they weren't OVERLY sweet. You didn't get that sickening feeling after one bite from something so overladen with sugar. The donuts were yeasty and the flavors were fantastic. If I HAD to pick a winner it would be the lemon pistachio, though the Nutella and banana was pretty spectacular as well….oh man and the glazed…ok I can't do it. You really can't go wrong here.

I highly recommend stopping in sometime soon for a sugary treat! Check them out here.