Lulu and Pizza Dreams
Hey guys! Happy Monday! Hope you’re having a great day so far 😀 After the AMAZING Summit events in Chicago, I’m back in Valdizzy with my Pilot and puppers <3
Here are some of the weekend’s highlights if you’re catching up on the blogworld this morning:
–Getting into Chicago and Dinner with Ange, Sabrina and Gena
–Shopping with Gena and an HLS Zumba class (taught by Diana and myself)
It was quite a crazy awesome trip 🙂
On Sunday morning (after Sabrina and I escaped from the ghosts and went to a different hotel in the middle of the night), I met two lovely ladies + a ladies man (he’s 12) for a swanktastic brunch.
We dined on the patio at Hub 51, which has a fabulous (and healthy!) brunch menu. They also offer dinner + clubbin’ at night.
I started off with a fresh OJ:
and rolled with the veggie egg white omelet for my entree
+ a side salad – when I started to pick the cheese off, the server noticed and brought me another one sans cheese
Brunch was INCREDIBLE – I was muy impressed with Hub 51.
I also loved the fact that in the ladies’ room, there are TVs that stream video from the bar area and restaurant so you can spy on your date from the powder room.
Genius, right??? 😀
After brunch, the four of us went to Lululemon so that I could make my first *real* Lulu purchase. Before now, the only thing I owned from Lulu was a headband, and I now have a new pair of yoga pants and a tank 🙂
Brunch buddies:
Gina (who is a Lululemon ambassador and marathon machine!), myself, and Kelli (you might know Kelli from CelebTV.com, Fox News or CNN). I had so much fun hanging out with them Sunday morning.
The girls with Nick, Gina’s little bro, who was awesome company as well 😀
Hope to see you guys again soon <3
After brunch and shopping, Mara came to chill at the hotel, we grabbed Gena from her hotel and hit up Whole Foods for a snack attack.
I snacked on a goat’s milk yogurt, coconut water + a local peachie
Look who walked up while we were gabbing!
Jenn! We were so excited to see her face 🙂
I spent next couple of hours chillin’ with Mara before I had to catch my flight, and I did manage to have some of this before leaving Chi Town.
Deep dish Chicago Pizza. Whole Wheat. Veggie. No cheese. I die 😀
I got my flight back to Jax, the pilot and puppers (!) picked me up, and we made the late night trek back to Valdizzy.
I just woke up about a half hour ago (and it felt goooooood) and am off to grab some bfast, get a workout in, and start to tackle laundry mountain. All after watching the finale of Next Food Network Star- please don’t tell me who won!! 😀
Hope you have a happy Monday and I’ll see ya this afternoon!
xoxo,
Gina
Something to talk about: Deep dish or thin crust?? What’s the best pizza you’ve ever had? The one above takes the prize for me, fo sho 😉
Opensky: For those of you who wanted to hit up the 20% off Garlic Gold deal and the link was broken on Friday, a working link can be found *here*. The Garlic Gold kit includes 3 of my all-time faves (vinaigrette, olive oil and crunchies) for $20! We have 50 available and the other ones on Friday sold out in a couple of hours! *Click here* if you’d like to hit up the deal. Thank you again SO much to GG for partially sponsoring my HLS trip <3
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oh dear lord that pizza looks amazing! where has that been all my life?!?!?! i don’t really discriminate on the pizza…as long as it’s got cheese i’m sold 🙂
Deep Dish — Giordano’s will always be my fave! I can put away 4 slices of that pizza. It is my heart’s happiness 😉
DEFINITELY thin crust, well, NYC style… but I’ve had Chicago deep dish once (it was sent overnight!!) and it was so yum.
I keep saying this, but NEXT year for sure I’ll be going to HLS… I would not have missed the wedding I went to for anything, but I am continually bummed when I see all the photos of “friends” I want to meet in person!! 🙂
Giordano’s deep dish veggie pizza in Chicago….the amazing buttery crust cannot be beat 🙂
I LOVE that you can spy on your date from the bathroom! he he
That pizza looks ridiculous! YUM!
Wow!! I usually don’t like pizza without the cheese, but that looks absolutely scrumptious!
I have yet to make it to a Lulu store! I had a 185 mile relay race this weekend and kept seeing all the cute running outfits from that store! I need to definitely update my wardrobe with some of their stuff!
What a FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!!! 🙂 Thanks for the awesome re-caps 🙂 Omgosh, that pizza looks heavenly.
SO happy you made your first *official* lulu purchase! Its addicting… I have a feeling this is only the beginning 😉 I am an ambassador for them in SF and LOVE it – just attended their first official Ambassador Summit in Vancouver – check out the photos… so fun!
http://thecarolineinthecity.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/the-lululemon-athletica-first-ever-ambassador-summit-speechless-so-speechless/
Hope all is well Gina and thanks again for your inspiring posts!
I miss your face already 🙁 but, i gotta say, that pizza was on my top ten list for sure! Love you!!!
i miss you too, friend! it was so much fun hanging out this weekend <3
love you!!!
Wow that pizza looks amazing! I love pizza without cheese — for me the toppings and crust are the best part! The best pizza ever? There is a place in MN called Punch Pizza (it might be a chain, I have no idea) that makes fire grilled pizzas and the crust is to die for. I love when it gets big huge bubbles in the crust!
That pizza looks better than amazing!! Please tell where it’s from!! I’m a pizzeria uno and giordano’s chica..oh can’t forget gino’s on superior (chgo)!
There’s a place called Pequod’s in Lincoln Park (Chicago) that’s to die for! Carmelized cheese along the crust…delish! It’s pan, but I normally go for a thin, cracker-type crust.
Had to let you know your blog is so inspiring and I’m slowly changing my ways. I made my first batch of almond milk this morning to use in my protein shake, and I’m finishing up old protein powder while I wait for my first shipment of Sun Warrior! 🙂 I want to be like Gina when I grow up, LOL!
thank you! <3
so glad you like the almond milk- you will LOVE the sun warrior!!
I don’t think I could choose! Sometimes I love thin crust, other times I love really, really thick! It’s so good.
The majority of the time, I’m all about thin crust…but there is something special about Chicago deep dish! So great to meet you this weekend!
loved meeting you, too! 🙂
Definitely thin crust. I don’t see what all the fuss is about with the deep dish. I think the thinner the better.
I’m a thin crust girl, but that deep dish does look AMAZING!!! And you have to get it when you’re in Chicago, definitely!
So jealous of all your summit fun!!! Looks like y’all all had a blast!
Haha Gina’s little bro totally looks like a mini version of my really good friend in college. He’s SUCH a ladies man! haha.
I’m definitely a fan of thin crust myself, although I do enjoy eating other peoples’ crusts once they’ve finished. Can you believe some people don’t eat the crust?!
NO. that is the best part 🙂
Looks like you had an awsome time Gina! Im so jealous, I gotta get my booty to chicago now, looks like so much fun:) I tried that goat milks yogurt the other day but the flav was honey, if you have yet to try it, do itttt !!(if you like honey;)
ps. welcome to the lulu hoarders… youll now be addicted:) money well spent tho, every purchase has lasted me years!enjoy!!!
Ahh last time I was in Chicago we went to Sub 51.. the club on the lower level of Hub 51!! So much fun. The best pizza I’ve ever had is from Marcello’s (also in in Chicago) the deep dish is to die for. They even make a gluten free deep dish that’s amazing too!
Your pizza looks so freakin good! I’ve never actually had a *real* deep dish pizza, but I have a feeling I would like it. When we order from round table… we always get regular crust, veggie with EZ cheese. If I could get whole wheat, I’d be all over it.
That pizza sounds super yummy! So glad you had a great trip!
I miss you so much already! And holy yum to the pizza!
I have to say, I love ALL kinds of pizza … usually, I go for thin crust. But for special occasions (and being in Chicago qualifies!), it’s deep dish for me.
I really like Hub 51. They have a brussel sprout salad that is so good. I also love the screens in the girls bathroom, I also love that the guys don’t have screens in their bathrooms! So the gals can spy but the guys can’t. lol!
ahhhh! i didn’t know the guys didn’t have that! hahaha, love it. you KNOW a girl designed that restaurant 😉
yum the pizza looks amazing! Do share your new lulu treats with us!!! I don’t own anything…yet!
k i’ll take a pic of them today!
I love regular (whole wheat!) crust pizza. I don’t know if I could do deep dish. The thought of the crust being mushy at all grosses me out like none other.
The tvs to spy on the dining area = genius!
What an awesome weekend!! It seems you had a lot of fun 😀
I noticed that you did fly alone? Aren’t you afraid of flying alone? I would freak out 🙁 My fiancé always has to calm me down before a flight (which are our holidays!)!! So I can’t imagine flying all by myself somewhere 🙁 *creepy*
yup, i fly alone pretty often! when the pilot and i did the long-distance thing for a year (he was in nc, i was in az), i’d fly to see him every 2 weeks. at first, i was so scared, but i got used to it really quickly!
your post just blew my mind. they make cheeseless deep dish pizza??? i may just have to go get some!
Looks like you had a ton of fun! I love thin crust pizza myself, and the best pizza I have ever had was at the pizza place ( I can’t remember the name :P) in Milwaukee. It was, for me, the closest thing I have ever tasted to a perfect pizza! Just thinking about it make me hungry!
what a whirlwind trip and I love the recap! I love that Mara was able to show you the local haunts (yes, chicago deep dish is legendary) but even as a chicagoan, i never liked deep dish…thin crust baby! with pineapple and hot peppers. Weird, huh, but I havent had pizza in years. The no gluten/no dairy thing and even thought I could make it, I just dont. I live thru the memories 🙂
TVs in the bathroom…wow, they think of everything these days….haha!
Can’t wait to see more pics and hear more stories. That’s what I love!
Have a great week, Gina, and hopefully you get caught up on sleep, housework, etc and arent jetlagged after your whirlwind adventures!
Looks like you had a great time! I love pizza, doesn’t matter if it’s deep dish or thin crust 😉 Welcome to the world of Lululemon btw hehe
Thin Crust Fo’Sho’!! The BEST I ever had was the pizza I make…not to be modest or anything, lol.
Sooooo jealous of your pizza…my one major fail of the weekend!
I’m very bummed that I didn’t get to hang out with you more at HLS! But I’m glad you had a good time 🙂 And I may or may not be jealous of the fact that you tracked down whole wheat deep dish…!
I loved meeting you this weekend!! I wish I’d been able to hang out with everyone more, but I’m glad I finally got to meet the woman who introduced me to the bloggy world. Glad you had a safe trip home!!
I loooove Giordano’s deep dish pizza! Yummy! Although I could never eat it without cheese. The cheese is the best part! lol
Gina, where was that pizza from???? I’m a Chicagoan and am VERY interested 🙂
edwardo’s!
I’m in Chicago… I MUST go there! Ahhh. How did you get them to make it vegan? Did you just order deep dish with no cheese? Places always give me trouble when I ask for that
edwardo’s! i got a deep dish on whole wheat with no cheese 🙂
GAH! Thank you! Next dinner out – Eduardo’s, for sure. Your homemade za in your most recent post looks delish too. Pizza + your man is the best 🙂
LOVE those TVs in the bathroom…genius! And Nick is too cute!
I prefer thin crust…brick oven style. 🙂
deep dish!
That pizza! Oh my gosh! YUM!
What a day! Looks like you had an amazing time 🙂
I just about died when I saw the flat screen TVs in the ladies room! I’m from NYC, so I prefer NYC style pizza hands down (I also like thin crusted brick oven pizza)! I’ve had chicago’s deep dish pizza before, but it doesn’t satisfy my pizza fix. Maybe it’s just because I’m biased!
you look like you had so much fun! hahaha and i love the spying on date idea.
Deep dish! I was born and raised in Chicago so deep dish is a must in my life! I wish Valdosta had a Chicago’s Pizza likes Jacksonville does, I’d eat there all the time!
LOL those tvs in the washroom are hilarious!
I hope you enjoy your first real Lulu purchases. 😀
It all looks fabulous!
Never tried deep dish pizza, and though it looks awesome- I am a thin crust brick oven girl, through and through. I love me some greek pizza…. but the BEST I ever had was in Italy, natch. 😉
xo
Kris
Did you get that pizza at Eduardos? I LOVE IT.
Being a Chicago girl, I gotta say deep dish has my heart… however, I’ve never met a pizza I didn’t like. It’s absolutely my fave meal.
Love that the server brought you a new salad when he saw you picking off the cheese. Talk about great service!
I would eat there just because of that, but I’m no where near Chicago.
Pizza is one of my favorites. I prefer thin crust and cheese that stretches off of it when you bite it!! I’ll take any kind though.
la patilla is my ultimate fav…i was at sob’s for the live taping it was amazing!!! tanya beardsley is amazing, beautiful and so inspiring she is my girl crush for real!!
tanya is one of my girl crushes, too. she is AMAZING