The Girl and Her Dog

Sometimes when you’re hungry you just want to eat something RIGHT. NOW. And sometimes you’re kind of craving fast food, but you don’t really want McDonald’s or Subway, so instead you opt for Portillo’s. Or, if you’re from Wisconsin where all they have is Culver’s, you mispronounce it and call it Por-tee-los. It happens. And today was one of those days.

Somehow, the chopped salad from Portillo’s always seems to satisfy the hunger pains. What’s your go-to fast food?

[photo via stolenmomentscooking.com]

This past weekend, I attended what is known as a mud run. People all across Southern Wisconsin wake up extremely early on a Sunday morning, don their crappiest workout clothes and proceed to run through five miles of obstacle course nonsense, followed by a mad dash through nasty, cold, sopping wet mud.

Eww gross.

He will probs kill me for posting this.

And yet, the Madison Mud Run of 2011 saw over 1,000 participants. Must be a Wisconsin thing. Ha, kidding. Sort of.

Either way, I was witness to this whole event and despite my early morning grumblings and crabby attitude due to the cold and wind, I still have to give credit to all those who participated; especially because I know I will never be one of them.

On Friday, I trekked from the Chicago Lawn neighborhood all the way North to Ravenswood (as mentioned here) to meet some family for pizza at a charming little place called Spacca Napoli.

My uncle who lives in Portland was in town so it was a real treat to get to see him and everyone else, except for my dad who was lame and stayed in; which resulted in a hilarious little texting match between him and my aunt. It was probably my cousin, however, who stole the spotlight, per usual, (Prodigal Son – am I right, Kel?) when my aunt called him out for being just a little bit tips.

Even better, I discovered this charming place across the street from the restaurant, called Urban Pooch. Sounds like my kind of place. I’m not so sure Frasier would fit in, though.

A canine life center; doubtful Frasier would fit in.

The only people missing (besides my dad) were these two:

Hour and 15 minutes from Chicago Lawn to Ravenswood. Whaaat.
That’s okay, yummy pizza, tiramisu I actually like + great people made it completely worth it.
Discovered a posh new hangout for city pups, Urban Pooch.
Undecided on whether I like the South side or the North side better. Thoughts?
Frasier is an annoying pooch when he only gets one walk a day.
The weather needs to consistently stay warm so two walks are not out of the equation.
Promptly falling asleep from 9pm to 1030pm after returning home? Hmm.
Seriously lame?
Or seriously cool?
Apparently your idea of cleaning is spraying a little Lysol around?
I see that you missed that huge pile of litter that needs to be swept.
Gag me.
Busy weekend ahead.
Eeep.

[image via we heart it]