This weekend I surprised my best friend Michael in Chicago for his birthday. Selfishly, I was in serious need of some time away from Mendenhall Street and thought a little adventure was the perfect cure for my wintertime blues. I purchased my ticket on Thursday for my Friday trip and worked out the details with Michael’s boyfriend Tommy for the big surprise. We spent the weekend shopping, eating, cooking and singing karaoke. And of course, we were required to cook one meal together in person.

In protest of the poor taste in year’s Super Bowl commercials, we opted to host a Puppy Bowl VI Party and made pulled pork sandwiches with homemade buns, coleslaw, sweet potato chips, and red velvet Birthday Cake. I’ll post the recipes this week.