Fireworks Over Lake Michigan

I took roughly seven thousand pictures of fireworks this weekend. This one was my favorite because it captures all of the things that I remember most: the sparks from the fireworks trailing into the water, the smoky sky, the insanity and the lights of Navy Pier against the inky calm lake dotted with hundreds and hundreds of boats. 

Too beautiful!

Illustration: Beach Ball Girl

Come onnnnnnnnnnn weekend.

The Air & Water Show By Sea

I love the Air and Water show. I do not love the crowds at the beach.

This year, I crossed a major To Do off of my bucket list, and joined 18 friends on a boat for an incredible summer Sunday that I will never, ever forget. There's a thumb in the picture of me diving into the water in my shorts and tank top (we thought it was going to be too cold to swim), but you better believe that happened.

Heat Wave

Sorry we've been blacking this week.

Oh, what do I mean by that?

Blog slacking, obviously.

I've been really weird about combining words lately. Someone threw two noodles into the lake over the Fourth at Lake Geneva and I screamed, "twodles!" Ali wasted no time informing me that was prettyyyyyyyy lame. I'm pretty sure the heat is getting to me. It recently occurred to me that our world right now is as hot as a Bikram yoga studio, and I don't even like hot yoga!

I know complaining about the heat wave is lame and I've already done it like 16 times, but seriously, all we can do is eat cold food and practice dolphin flips in the pool.

So, today we're heading to Oak Street Beach for a change of scenery. I know you east and west coasters probably think we're nuts going to a lake and calling it The Beach like its Cabo San Lucas, but seriously, Chicago's beaches are incredibly beautiful.

Yep, we import palm trees. Via this great photo gallery.

I stumbled upon this awesome photo gallery from the Chicago Tribune archives when searching for photos to prove it to you. Pretty cool (and maybe a little humbling) to realize that my fellow Chicago residents have been doing the exact same thing Ali and I will be doing today to beat the heat for pretty much ever... just with a lot more Playboy.

Turkey & Feta Burgers

I don’t know about you, but every time my windows are open and I get a whiff of that glorious grill smell from one of my 2,695,597 Chicago neighbors, I’m guaranteed to spend the remainder of the day majorly craving a big fat burger. (Sorry, veggie friends!) However, since I don’t want to be a big fat anything, especially during bathing suit season, I save the burgers for special occasions. Our mama happens to make the best burgers in the world, so it’s worth waiting for. Or, you know, that one I ate last night after a few Corona Lights at a friend’s pool. Summer Sunday night totally = special occasion, right? :)

I feel like a lot of flavor can make up for a lack of finger-licking grease pretty darn well, so I make some version of turkey burgers just about once a week with various combinations of spices and add-ins. Last week, I made turkey burgers with reduced-fat feta mixed in, topped them with green olive tapenade and served with arugula and tomato salad. They were pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, so I thought I’d share.

Fancy cell phone photo via moi

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Turkey & Feta Burgers

Makes 4 huge or 6 normal sized burgers

• 1 package of ground turkey (I use 93/7 – but do 99/1 if you’re feeling extra healthy!)


• 4 oz. crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese


• ½ cup finely diced onion


• 1 tsp garlic


• 1 tsp salt


• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)


• 1 egg, beaten


• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

• Green olive tapenade (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients, mix with your hands. Form into patties. Grill over medium heat until cooked through.


2. Top with green olive tapenade if you’re into that kind of thing.


3. Enjoy!