Mark and I have been going to a movie theater in the Bolingbrook Promenade called iPic. At first I was against going here, because it was very expensive, but now that we have gone a few times, I really like it!
The Movie Watching Experience
You can reserve your seats online, and much like when you buy concert tickets or tickets to a play, you can look at a seating chart and select where you want to sit. The nice thing about this is you no longer have to arrive 20 minutes early (or more, depending on if it is a new release or not) to get a decent spot. Mark and I usually show up about 5 minutes before showtime and our seat is waiting for us.
Another thing I really like is that there are never any teenagers or children here. As far as I know there is no age limit, but because the tickets are more expensive than your average theater, I have found that teenagers and families with children go to a cheaper theater in the area. This was especially nice when we went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2 only a week after it came out and there were no screaming or annoying teenagers. Everyone in the theater was an adult and it was a very positive experience.
Ticket Prices
There are several ticket options. I highly recommend becoming a member online (it's free!) because the ticket prices are $4.50 cheaper for members (did I mention that it's free??).
Premium Seating is usually in the first five rows or so, but the theater is set up in a way so that even if you are in those rows, you can comfortably watch the movie without craning your neck. In my opinion, there really isn't a bad seat in the theater. These tickets for a member are $13.00 each (only $3.00 more than a regular theater?) and for a non-member are $17.50 each.
Premium Plus Seating is further back from the screen and the seats are recliners. They will also provide you with a blanket and pillow and the people in the premium plus seats have a waiter to bring you what you want to eat or drink. The prices are $18.50 for a member and $25.00 for a non-member. I personally don't think this is worth it or necessary, but it might be nice for a treat or a special date night.
Food
Just like the Hollywood Boulevard and Hollywood Palms theaters, the iPic serves food as well. There is a nice bar and restaurant area that is very chic looking, with modern decorations and low lighting. They have pool tables, couches, and cocktail tables. You can get your traditional movie food items such as popcorn, candy, and pop, but they also have a menu you can choose from. Unlike the Hollywood chains, a purchase is NOT necessary. However, if you are interested in the menu, you can click here.
We did choose to eat there the last time we went and were unimpressed with the service, the food, and the price. I ordered the bite size nachos which were actually quite delicious; however, were not worth the $13.00 (since there were only 6 nachos on the plate). Mark ordered the grilled cheese panini and tomato bisque and really liked the sandwich but said the tomato bisque tasted like spaghetti sauce from a jar (which it very well could have been!). At $13.00 we could have made it at home a lot cheaper and probably a lot tastier.
The theater also sells cocktails, draft beers, and buckets of beer.
The service wasn't the best, because we were there at a popular time when several movies were starting within the hour. It seemed like the kitchen was backed up and it took a while to get our food. The waitress was pleasant though.
There are pictures on their website if you'd like to see what the theater looks like. You will definitely feel more classy going here than you would an average AMC or Cinemark movie theater.
--T
Friday, November 23, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
A Kitchen Tip
I learned this at a cooking class at the library that I took recently - not sure if it's old news or not:
If you need to squeeze the juice out of a lemon and don't have a small juicer (like me - I only have one of those heavy duty ones that would be pointless to lug out for one little lemon), use a pair of tongs (salad tongs, bbq tongs, whatever).
Put the lemon in like so:
and squeeze the handles of the tongs until you get all the juice out. It's really quite effortless!
--T
If you need to squeeze the juice out of a lemon and don't have a small juicer (like me - I only have one of those heavy duty ones that would be pointless to lug out for one little lemon), use a pair of tongs (salad tongs, bbq tongs, whatever).
Put the lemon in like so:
and squeeze the handles of the tongs until you get all the juice out. It's really quite effortless!
--T
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Homemade Dog Treats
It's no secret - my dog, Lucky, is somewhat spoiled. We love him so much! He's such a good dog (he loves everybody, loves to cuddle, he is a good watch dog, and he is great with children). So once in a while, he deserves something special! I have a dog treats cookbook that I have used for homemade dog treats in the past, but that was over a year ago. I took it out again tonight and made Lucky some "Fall Bites." They have pumpkin in them, which is good for digestion, and other healthy ingredients. Because the treats are homemade, you know there are no chemicals, preservatives, or anything nasty that shouldn't be in food.
They turned out well - although I probably made some of them way too big, so will have to break them in half. The recipe said to flatten them into round circles, but that was boring so I used a fire hydrant and a bone cookie cutter that my mom's friend (thanks Debbie M!) gave to me.
They don't look the prettiest, but the important thing is that Lucky loves them!
Fall Bites
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is okay)
4 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together the pumpkin, molasses, water, and vegetable oil. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda to form a soft dough. Roll the dough into balls, put on a baking sheet, flatten them, and prick with a fork. Bake for 25 minutes, or until hard and crisp.
Fall Bites will keep up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Recipe from: The Healthy Dog Cookbook by: Joanne Anne with Mary Straus
They turned out well - although I probably made some of them way too big, so will have to break them in half. The recipe said to flatten them into round circles, but that was boring so I used a fire hydrant and a bone cookie cutter that my mom's friend (thanks Debbie M!) gave to me.
They don't look the prettiest, but the important thing is that Lucky loves them!
Fall Bites
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is okay)
4 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together the pumpkin, molasses, water, and vegetable oil. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda to form a soft dough. Roll the dough into balls, put on a baking sheet, flatten them, and prick with a fork. Bake for 25 minutes, or until hard and crisp.
Fall Bites will keep up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Recipe from: The Healthy Dog Cookbook by: Joanne Anne with Mary Straus
Friday, November 2, 2012
Crustless Pumpkin Pie
I love pie and would take pie any day over any other dessert. While I prefer fruit pies, fall does not seem complete without some pumpkin pie. At a recent get together, my good friend, Katie, brought a crustless pumpkin pie that happens to be a weight watcher recipe. Each piece of pie is only one weight watcher point! Wow!
Here is the recipe:
1 can evaporated skim milk (the recipe calls for a 15 oz. can, but I could only find a 12 oz. can at Meijer. It worked just fine).
1 15oz can pumpkin (NOT pie filling, just pumpkin puree)
3/4 cup of egg substitutes OR 3 egg whites (I used egg whites)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cups Splenda (or sugar) or add to taste
Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into 9" sprayed pie pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes then bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife is inserted in the center and comes out clean.
You could top the pie with fat free cool whip.
Enjoy!
--T
**Recipe courtesy of Katie Neumann**
Here is the recipe:
1 can evaporated skim milk (the recipe calls for a 15 oz. can, but I could only find a 12 oz. can at Meijer. It worked just fine).
1 15oz can pumpkin (NOT pie filling, just pumpkin puree)
3/4 cup of egg substitutes OR 3 egg whites (I used egg whites)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cups Splenda (or sugar) or add to taste
Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into 9" sprayed pie pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes then bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife is inserted in the center and comes out clean.
You could top the pie with fat free cool whip.
Enjoy!
--T
**Recipe courtesy of Katie Neumann**
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Detox Adventure
For a while I had been wanting to do a detox - nothing major, just a "reboot" of my system to clean out any toxins.
I found one on a website I visit frequently called SkinnyMs.com, and it was a three day cleanse.
Here is the link to the detox diet: http://skinnyms.com/three-day-cleanse-detox/
The menu is pretty much the same for the three days:
Upon waking up: drink a room temperature glass of water with lemon and ginger root in it.
Breakfast: your choice of one of four different smoothies/juices.
Mid-morning snack: various vegetables and almonds.
Lunch: salad with homemade dressing.
Mid-afternoon snack: consisted of various vegetables and almonds.
Dinner: homemade vegetable soup.
Before bed: a cup of chamomile tea.
So how did it go for me?
Day 1 was a breeze. I followed the menu exactly and was surprised at how FULL I felt all day long. I did not feel like I was depriving myself of anything, nor did I feel hungry. The only problem with Day 1 was I chose a detox smoothie as my breakfast and it was disgusting! I was literally drinking/eating a full glass of vegetable pulp. It took me my whole ride to work to down it. Ick.
Day 2 was okay as well. It was a little harder on day 2 to eat the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, because I was starting to get tired of vegetables, but I stuck to it. Since I did not enjoy the breakfast smoothie on Day 1, I chose a different one that was coconut milk, spinach, and a banana, which was SO much better! I really liked it.
Day 3 was difficult. I woke up that morning and felt weak and nauseous. I decided to skip the morning smoothie and the mid-morning veggie snack and instead ate some grapes. I really didn't have much of a desire to eat. I did eat my salad at lunch, but when I came home, I skipped the veggies and had grapes again. I also had a small bowl of my mom's homemade chili. So I guess I cheated, but I was listening to my body and my body needed more than just vegetables on Day 3.
I noticed that I was peeing a lot more while doing this, so I do feel like a lot of water and toxins left my body. My stomach is flatter and not so bloated. I lost 5 pounds total, which could very well come back if it was just water weight. But I do feel good and intend to continue to make healthy eating choices. Today I am off the detox. This morning I had 2 kiwis for breakfast, I'm having more of the soup for lunch with some carrots and hummus, and for dinner I'll have my mom's chili again. I'm sure some leftover Halloween candy will make its way into my stomach sometime today too. Nobody's perfect, right? ;)
--T
I found one on a website I visit frequently called SkinnyMs.com, and it was a three day cleanse.
Here is the link to the detox diet: http://skinnyms.com/three-day-cleanse-detox/
The menu is pretty much the same for the three days:
Upon waking up: drink a room temperature glass of water with lemon and ginger root in it.
Breakfast: your choice of one of four different smoothies/juices.
Mid-morning snack: various vegetables and almonds.
Lunch: salad with homemade dressing.
Mid-afternoon snack: consisted of various vegetables and almonds.
Dinner: homemade vegetable soup.
Before bed: a cup of chamomile tea.
So how did it go for me?
Day 1 was a breeze. I followed the menu exactly and was surprised at how FULL I felt all day long. I did not feel like I was depriving myself of anything, nor did I feel hungry. The only problem with Day 1 was I chose a detox smoothie as my breakfast and it was disgusting! I was literally drinking/eating a full glass of vegetable pulp. It took me my whole ride to work to down it. Ick.
Day 2 was okay as well. It was a little harder on day 2 to eat the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, because I was starting to get tired of vegetables, but I stuck to it. Since I did not enjoy the breakfast smoothie on Day 1, I chose a different one that was coconut milk, spinach, and a banana, which was SO much better! I really liked it.
Day 3 was difficult. I woke up that morning and felt weak and nauseous. I decided to skip the morning smoothie and the mid-morning veggie snack and instead ate some grapes. I really didn't have much of a desire to eat. I did eat my salad at lunch, but when I came home, I skipped the veggies and had grapes again. I also had a small bowl of my mom's homemade chili. So I guess I cheated, but I was listening to my body and my body needed more than just vegetables on Day 3.
I noticed that I was peeing a lot more while doing this, so I do feel like a lot of water and toxins left my body. My stomach is flatter and not so bloated. I lost 5 pounds total, which could very well come back if it was just water weight. But I do feel good and intend to continue to make healthy eating choices. Today I am off the detox. This morning I had 2 kiwis for breakfast, I'm having more of the soup for lunch with some carrots and hummus, and for dinner I'll have my mom's chili again. I'm sure some leftover Halloween candy will make its way into my stomach sometime today too. Nobody's perfect, right? ;)
--T
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Le Chocolat Du Bouchard
My girlfriends, Andrea, Katie, Nicole, Stephanie, my sister Kristin, and I went out for a girl's night last week to a chocolate cafe in Naperville called Le Chocolat Du Bouchard. Most of us had not been there before, and I'm pretty sure we will all be returning!
It's a cute little cafe that sells specialty chocolates, teas, hot chocolates, gifts, and bakery items. They also have a menu so you can sit down and eat (or drink!) some chocolate.
I ordered a chocolate mousse cake, Stephanie ordered a chocolate torte, Nicole wanted to try their carrot cake, Kristin, Andrea, and Katie all had a brownie sundae. Many of us also got hot chocolate. I chose a Mexicocoa which was a Mexican Hot Chocolate. It was delicious!!
The cakes were so rich that maybe next time a few of us will share some of the menu items. I couldn't finish the whole piece of cake myself.
To check out their menu click here.
Here is a picture of my Mexicocoa - perfect for a chilly fall night!
And here is a picture of my chocolate mousse cake! Look at how rich that is! Yum!
We found out that they are expanding their store into the building next door. Construction begins in November. Once they finish construction they will have a candy bar - where you can go and rent out the bar with your girlfriends for a flat fee and try all their different chocolates. If the price is reasonable, we will definitely be checking it out!
If you are looking for a good girl's night, stop by Le Chocolat Du Bouchard. It's a nice change of pace from the typical dinner or lunch dates.
It's a cute little cafe that sells specialty chocolates, teas, hot chocolates, gifts, and bakery items. They also have a menu so you can sit down and eat (or drink!) some chocolate.
I ordered a chocolate mousse cake, Stephanie ordered a chocolate torte, Nicole wanted to try their carrot cake, Kristin, Andrea, and Katie all had a brownie sundae. Many of us also got hot chocolate. I chose a Mexicocoa which was a Mexican Hot Chocolate. It was delicious!!
The cakes were so rich that maybe next time a few of us will share some of the menu items. I couldn't finish the whole piece of cake myself.
To check out their menu click here.
Here is a picture of my Mexicocoa - perfect for a chilly fall night!
And here is a picture of my chocolate mousse cake! Look at how rich that is! Yum!
We found out that they are expanding their store into the building next door. Construction begins in November. Once they finish construction they will have a candy bar - where you can go and rent out the bar with your girlfriends for a flat fee and try all their different chocolates. If the price is reasonable, we will definitely be checking it out!
If you are looking for a good girl's night, stop by Le Chocolat Du Bouchard. It's a nice change of pace from the typical dinner or lunch dates.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Vegan Cafe Groupon
For those of you who read my previous blog post about the Vegan Cafe in Lockport, Groupon has a deal right now: $12 for $25 worth of food. Click here to be taken to the Groupon.
If you never got around to reading my Vegan Cafe post, click here to be taken to it. They serve only raw, natural foods, but everything is so delicious that you would never know what you are eating is healthy!
If you never got around to reading my Vegan Cafe post, click here to be taken to it. They serve only raw, natural foods, but everything is so delicious that you would never know what you are eating is healthy!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Free Fun!
Looking for something fun to do, but don't want to spend much money....or any money for that matter? Have you checked out your local public library?
Living in Bolingbrook, we belong to Fountaindale Public Library and they have events going on all the time.
Last week Mark and I went to a Mexican cooking night, where a chef cooked Mexican food right in front of us, explained each recipe and the process, and gave us recipes to take home. Then, when he was done cooking, we each got a plate of food to try his creations. It was informative, fun, and delicious! Check out the plate of food we each got below. Not bad for being free!
Some other FREE activities our library has:
Jewelry making class - make your own jewelry using provided supplies
Craft nights - on the first Thursday of the month you can bring your scrapbooking or card making projects and mingle and craft with others
Halloween Spooky Treats - Learn how to make treats such as witches fingers, a twinkie graveyard, and spooky popcorn. Sample in class and take the recipes home.
Zumba - If you pre-register you can take zumba classes at the library.
Yoga - If you pre-register you can take yoga classes at the library.
Drawing from A to Z - Free drawing classes
City of Ghosts - An interactive ghost theater of spine-tingling stories and local history.
These are just the events our library has, but if you look into the public library for your town, I'm sure you will find something of interest. There are also many children's events and activities as well as events for teens. Having fun does not have to mean going broke! :)
--T
Living in Bolingbrook, we belong to Fountaindale Public Library and they have events going on all the time.
Last week Mark and I went to a Mexican cooking night, where a chef cooked Mexican food right in front of us, explained each recipe and the process, and gave us recipes to take home. Then, when he was done cooking, we each got a plate of food to try his creations. It was informative, fun, and delicious! Check out the plate of food we each got below. Not bad for being free!
Some other FREE activities our library has:
Jewelry making class - make your own jewelry using provided supplies
Craft nights - on the first Thursday of the month you can bring your scrapbooking or card making projects and mingle and craft with others
Halloween Spooky Treats - Learn how to make treats such as witches fingers, a twinkie graveyard, and spooky popcorn. Sample in class and take the recipes home.
Zumba - If you pre-register you can take zumba classes at the library.
Yoga - If you pre-register you can take yoga classes at the library.
Drawing from A to Z - Free drawing classes
City of Ghosts - An interactive ghost theater of spine-tingling stories and local history.
These are just the events our library has, but if you look into the public library for your town, I'm sure you will find something of interest. There are also many children's events and activities as well as events for teens. Having fun does not have to mean going broke! :)
--T
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Style Tips From Old Navy
I went to Old Navy today, because I felt the need to jump on the colored skinny jeans bandwagon (I got a purple pair). They had free style tip papers you could take, and I especially liked the color pairings one. It tells you which colors look good together (perfect for picking out tops for the colored jeans). There is also one on how to tie scarves and belts (neither of which I have added to my wardrobe yet).
P.S. Sorry for the crumpled picture of the belts - my dog, Lucky, felt the need to walk all over it while I was trying to take the picture.
P.S. Sorry for the crumpled picture of the belts - my dog, Lucky, felt the need to walk all over it while I was trying to take the picture.
--T
Simply Homemade
I'm always on the look out for places to go with my girlfriends, and I've always held places like Simply Homemade in the back of my mind. This is one of those prep kitchens where you go and make several freezer meals to save for a day when you don't want to have to plan a meal. I've always known about Dinner by Design which had a location in Tinley Park and one in Downers Grove. The Tinley Park one closed down and the Downers one only offers pick up options (they assemble it for you and you just pick it up - boring!!). I wanted something we could turn into a girl's night so I found Simply Homemade in Naperville.
This. Place. Was. Awesome.
When you register online for your date and time you also pick your menu items. Every month there are 22 different menu options and most of them include a side item. The items I picked for September were:
Fish tacos
Classic Pork Roast with Apples
Tuscan Tomato Bisque with a Bread Loaf
Penne Pasta al Forno with a Side of Green Beans
Beef Tips Italiano with a Side of Broccoli
I tried to pick things I don't regularly make. I make a lot of casseroles and a lot of recipes using beef, so I thought the pork and fish tacos would be a nice change of pace, as well as the tomato soup.
There are several meal packages you can pick from. You can choose 5, 8, or 12 meals which each serve about 4-6 (plenty for Mark and I plus leftovers), or you can pick 12 mini meals which serve 3 (good for people who live alone).
The menus you pick the meals from also include nutrition information (including weight watchers points) and many of the meals are really healthy. Four out of five of my meals were less than 400 calories per serving - the soup was only 153 per serving. Sweeeet!
When you go to Simply Homemade, they have their kitchen set up in stations and each station has a recipe on it for you to follow. All the ingredients you need to assemble your dish are at the station - you hardly have to leave your spot to find something. The directions are simple such as: Take a quart sized bag. In the bag put 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, etc. etc. Close bag. Take a gallon bag and add meat from the refrigerator. Close bag. Take a quart sized bag and fill with broccoli. And so on and so forth. It is so SIMPLE (hence, Simply Homemade, right?) Then you put everything in one bag and put a label on it that has cooking instructions.
Here is what the label looks like on my fish tacos:
Cooking Instructions are literally to cook the fish in a pan, sprinkle on the seasonings it came with, add the bag of salsa, squeeze a lime over it, shred with a fork and make your tacos. Voila!
At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About 10 minutes
and the Pasta:
Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, uncover and bake for 10-12 more minutes. All done!
At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About an hour
I made 7 meals (because two of the meals were rather large, so I split them into two containers for two separate dinners) for $105.00 and it only took me an hour to prepare them all at Simply Homemade's kitchen. I stayed longer to help a friend who was making the 12 mini meals. I consider that a great deal considering I did not have to grocery shop for 7 meals, did not have to do all the prep work OR the clean up, and it takes the guess work out of "what are we having for dinner." I am trying to save these meals for a day or week when I am too busy to think about cooking. Also, these are things Mark could easily throw into the oven and prepare.
If anyone is interested in doing this, let me know. I will definitely be returning!
Tonight I am making the fish tacos and will report back on how they tasted.
--T
This. Place. Was. Awesome.
When you register online for your date and time you also pick your menu items. Every month there are 22 different menu options and most of them include a side item. The items I picked for September were:
Fish tacos
Classic Pork Roast with Apples
Tuscan Tomato Bisque with a Bread Loaf
Penne Pasta al Forno with a Side of Green Beans
Beef Tips Italiano with a Side of Broccoli
I tried to pick things I don't regularly make. I make a lot of casseroles and a lot of recipes using beef, so I thought the pork and fish tacos would be a nice change of pace, as well as the tomato soup.
There are several meal packages you can pick from. You can choose 5, 8, or 12 meals which each serve about 4-6 (plenty for Mark and I plus leftovers), or you can pick 12 mini meals which serve 3 (good for people who live alone).
The menus you pick the meals from also include nutrition information (including weight watchers points) and many of the meals are really healthy. Four out of five of my meals were less than 400 calories per serving - the soup was only 153 per serving. Sweeeet!
When you go to Simply Homemade, they have their kitchen set up in stations and each station has a recipe on it for you to follow. All the ingredients you need to assemble your dish are at the station - you hardly have to leave your spot to find something. The directions are simple such as: Take a quart sized bag. In the bag put 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, etc. etc. Close bag. Take a gallon bag and add meat from the refrigerator. Close bag. Take a quart sized bag and fill with broccoli. And so on and so forth. It is so SIMPLE (hence, Simply Homemade, right?) Then you put everything in one bag and put a label on it that has cooking instructions.
Here is what the label looks like on my fish tacos:
Cooking Instructions are literally to cook the fish in a pan, sprinkle on the seasonings it came with, add the bag of salsa, squeeze a lime over it, shred with a fork and make your tacos. Voila!
At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About 10 minutes
and the Pasta:
Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, uncover and bake for 10-12 more minutes. All done!
At home prep time: 0 minutes
Total cook time: About an hour
I made 7 meals (because two of the meals were rather large, so I split them into two containers for two separate dinners) for $105.00 and it only took me an hour to prepare them all at Simply Homemade's kitchen. I stayed longer to help a friend who was making the 12 mini meals. I consider that a great deal considering I did not have to grocery shop for 7 meals, did not have to do all the prep work OR the clean up, and it takes the guess work out of "what are we having for dinner." I am trying to save these meals for a day or week when I am too busy to think about cooking. Also, these are things Mark could easily throw into the oven and prepare.
If anyone is interested in doing this, let me know. I will definitely be returning!
Tonight I am making the fish tacos and will report back on how they tasted.
--T
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)