First of all, I have some good news. I get lots of emails from readers asking me where they should eat when they visit Chicago. While I’m not in the business of restaurant reviews, I am always happy to suggest some of my favorite places. I have finally gotten around to creating a guide to Lottie + Doof approved sources for good food in Chicago. You can find it HERE or through the menu on the left. I’ll add to the guide as I remember favorite places or find new ones. The page also links to a very useful Google map with the same information. Thanks to Bryan for his help getting this up. It is just the beginning of a bunch of exciting improvements around here. Next up- that recipe index which is woefully incomplete and out of date.

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After all of those cookies, I need a break. I’m going to take a little time to relax, visit some friends and family in Los Angeles and get my kitchen in order for another year of fun here on Lottie + Doof. Thanks to everyone who has been writing to say they are baking cookies, I love hearing that. If anyone is looking for another delicious edible gift to make for their friends or family, I highly recommend the caramel corn recipe over at Orangette. I am kind of obsessed with it. I have made it 3 times in the last week and ate my fair share of the stuff. It is pretty perfect. And if you’re looking for a last minute gift or a way to spend some cash from Grandma, check out the L + D Gift Guide.

I hope everyone is enjoying time with friends and family and looking forward to 2010! Be back in a week or so with some good food. xo

Hanukkah is here! Christmas and the New Year are right around the corner! Here are some suggestions for kitchen-related things you might like to give or receive! 10 things I love. I hope you do too! Check in later today for the 11th cookie!

These salt & pepper shakers from Heath Ceramics are one of my favorite things—beautiful and really nice to use. They have a good weight to them.

Fennel pollen! Peggy Knickerbocker wrote, “If angels sprinkled a spice from their wings, this would be it.” read more+++

Strange things are occupying my mind lately. For a couple of weeks at the start of September I was obsessing over wall sconces. Our new place is in a beautiful early 20th century building but somewhere along the way some seriously ugly wall sconces were installed. I was on the lookout for a suitable replacement, and I gotta say- the options are slim. Well, the options are actually vast, but I wasn’t finding anything even close to what I was looking for. Then, one day I stumbled across the work of Yael Erel and Avner Ben Natan at Lightexture and fell in love.
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I just returned from a week in Montreal and thought I would share some photos before I resume the normal programming here at Lottie + Doof.  I am really growing to love Montreal and feel a strong connection to it beyond it being Bryan’s home town. It is so vibrant and exciting during the summer months and if you are interested in eating good food, Montreal is the place for you. I am by no means an expert, but in my experience there are three restaurants that have really captured my heart. They are all perfect at what they do and manage to combine outstanding food, beautiful design and some of the best service I have ever experienced. I already raved about Au Pied de Cochon, so I now present Cluny Art Bar and Olive & Gourmando as well as some photos from the rest of the trip: read more+++

Things don’t always work out for me. Sure, it seems like everything I make turns out perfectly and tastes delicious, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes things fall apart— literally. read more+++

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You’ve undoubtedly heard of Miracle Fruit before. I first read about these magical little berries in the New York Times last summer and have been curious about them ever since. We used Bryan’s birthday as an excuse to have a couple of friends over for dinner and flavor trip. read more+++

My friend Sophie Buhai is one half of the design genius behind Vena Cava, a women’s fashion line that launched in 2004 and has been rocking the fashion world ever since. The duo (which also includes my pal Lisa Mayock) won runner-up honors in last year’s prestigious CDFA Fund Awards and have garnered countless accolades from the fashion world and their loyal fans. If you’ve read a fashion magazine in the last few years you have undoubtedly heard about Vena Cava. Their clothing is consistently beautiful, relevant and smart and always has a sense of humor. The only problem I see with Vena Cava is that they don’t make men’s clothing—yet. I keep begging and hopefully one day I’ll be spending my paychecks on VC menswear. read more+++