Hey, hey! The weekend is nearly upon us and I can’t wait for it to officially start. We’re heading to Wrigley Field to see a Cubs game with family and we can’t wait to cheer our beloved team on! My cousin Zoe has never seen them play before and I’m so excited for her to finally experience the magic of Wrigley Field. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also stoked for an authentic Chicago hot dog. We make them at home relatively often, but they just taste better when you’re at the ballpark.
Because it’s Friday, I’m sharing a list of my favorite things from this week. I love getting recommendations from others, so let me know what you’re digging in the comments below!
Homemade Chicken Stock
Temperatures dipped into the upper 60s and low 70s this week, which I decided meant it’s officially soup season! I’m a big soup lover and try to get in the habit of making homemade chicken or vegetable stock at least twice a month during the fall and winter months. I make mine using root veggies I have on hand, onion, garlic, lots of peppercorns and a large chicken. I cover it all in filtered water let it simmer on the stove for a couple of hours before removing and shredding the chicken and straining the broth. It makes the house smell delicious and gives us a ton of chicken to use in tacos, sandwiches, soups and salads all week. I usually freeze half of each batch of broth and then use the other half to make some homemade soup the same day.
Rhinegeist Beer In Indiana
James and I first discovered Rhinegeist beer when we took a trip to Cincinnati for our “minimoon” the weekend after our wedding. We fell in love with the atmosphere at the brewery and the impressive list of IPAs. We’ve tried to snag some six packs to bring back to Indiana every time we’ve been in Ohio since then, but now we won’t have to! Rhinegeist started distributing in Indiana this week and I’m thrilled. They have lots of great beers, but their Truth IPA is among my favorites. There are tap takeovers happening all over Bloomington this week to celebrate Rhinegeist’s arrival and I’m hoping to grab a pint before they kick all of the kegs. I saw a rosé ale cider of theirs at the grocery store, which I’m dying to try. It sounds like the perfect middle ground when I can’t decide between beer and wine. Cheers to more great beer in the Hoosier state!
Cat Cuddles
For those of you who don’t know, we’ve got two cats who pretty much rule the house. They can be a bit high maintenance at times — especially Lucia. She gets extra cuddly after we’ve been gone for a few days, which I fully embrace. She’s been by my side nonstop since we got back from vacation and I couldn’t resist asking James to snap a picture when she appeared to be planking on me earlier this week. Pets are the best.
No More Trash Tags
You know you’re an adult when … you get excited about your trash service! Let me explain: up until now our city required residents to buy trash tags for each bin of trash they wanted crews to pick up. Residents could only have trash cans that were 35-gallons or smaller because the city still had people manually unloading them. It was a pain in the butt when we had large parties and found ourselves with excessive amounts of trash or when we were taking our cans to the curb and realized we had to run to the grocery store to get tags. We will pay extra in our monthly bill for these new trash and recycling containers, but it’s so worth it for the convenience! #adulthood
What are you loving this week?