Amazing article on cancer immunology

If you're interested in cancer research, check out the journal article written by Dave Binder!!  I will be honest, I don't understand much (if anything) of this, but wanted to share it on my blog because it's amazing research that will impact the ongoing battle against cancer.

http://cancerimmunolres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2013/06/25/2326-6066.CIR-13-0058.full.pdf+html

A BIG thank you to Dave and others out there working hard every day to develop innovative treatments for this disease.

Furniture in a box

Working hard for many reasons, the most recent... so that hopefully one day I can purchase furniture that doesn't require at-home assembly.

In the past month I have built, okay thats a stretch...assembled two bar stools and a ladder bookcase. 
Pictures below as proof.

I know this sounds strange, but the allen wrench(yes I know what it's called now) really hurt my fingers, so I used an oven mit to tighten the screws, and it worked!!!

Here's the finished product(I made two):

Ladder bookshelf - This was actually done over the course of 3 evenings.  I had to screw the shelfs to each side of the structure, and there was a little piece inside the wood shelf a few inches from the outside hole that the screw needed to go through...meaning that you had to align the screw perfectly in order for it to go in.  Not being able to see the little piece in the middle was frustrating and took several tries to get it to work.

Obviously haven't put much on the bookshelf yet, just added two framed photos to make sure it worked :)

Easy, quick & light summer recipe: Salmon with lemon, capers, rosemary

I would like to share one of my favorite go-to recipes that's perfect for a light summer dish with minimal ingredients/prep time. Salmon with lemon, capers and rosemary is a delicious meal for one, two or many!  The directions are very straightforward and easy to follow, I wouldn't change a thing!  Even my dad(a non-salmon lover) LOVED this dish!

Ingredients

• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
• 4 teaspoons capers
• 4 pieces of aluminum foil

Directions

Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. Serve in the foil packets.
Per Serving: Calories: 377; Total Fat: 25 grams; Saturated Fat: 4 grams; Protein: 34 grams; Total carbohydrates: 2 grams; Sugar: 1 grams Fiber: 0 grams; Cholesterol: 94 milligrams; Sodium: 451 milligrams

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/salmon-with-lemon-capers-and-rosemary-recipe/index.html

Pic from when I made this dish in Florida with Alex.  We paired it with a glass of white wine and green beans!
















On a separate but similar note, I'm a huge fan of finding recipes on FoodNetwork.com.  I love the digital recipe box feature that allows you to create an account and store all of your favorite recipes by category.  This is also convenient if you are not at home and need access to one of your recipes remotely!  Only note is that the flash feature is not available on the iPhone.

Self-checkout nightmare

Is anyone really a fan of the self-checkout line in grocery stores?  I am NOT and everytime I think about giving it one more shot, I almost instantly regret that decision.  The alert to "wait for attendent" seems to appear after each item I scan.  Why is something created to eliminate lines and store traffic actually doing the opposite??  Every time I visit the store, the self-checkout lines are longer than the regular checkout lines, which leads me to believe they should be abandoned all together.

Costco has opted to eliminate them, CEO says that employees do a better job.  Could not agree more!
http://www.businessinsider.com/costco-is-eliminating-self-checkout-2013-6

officially a South Looper

Sorry I've been MIA lately and a little behind with the blog posts.  This past Saturday I made the BIG move to the South Loop!  Naturally, the move wouldn't have been a move without a little chaos...starting with the movers showing up 90 minutes late and ending with my new landlord not answering his phone and then showing up 30 minutes after my truck arrived with keys to the new place.  That being said, now that all of my stuff is INSIDE the apartment I feel pretty good and think it could actually be kind of fun opening all of the boxes.  Sort of like pretending it's Christmas and opening gifts of your own old stuff.

So here's a couple pics I've taken just to give you a sense of where I am in the unpacking process.

Pic of the living room...yes we have an extra bed propped against the wall..any takers?

Boxes featured were courtesy of the Mrazek wedding.