Functional Art: Crucial Detail's Porthole Infuser

If there is one thing my boyfriend and I have in common, it's an inner mad scientist that often spills over into our eating and drinking lives.  We love a glass of good beer, anything wrapped in bacon, and will most likely never turn down a whiskey.  

A fan of the project/startup funding site, Kickstarter, I stumbled on a project by a local Chicago company, Crucial Detail, titled "The Porthole".  This functional piece of art was designed by Martin Kastner for high profile Chicago restaurant The Aviary and, while I am not always the biggest fan of fussy food and beverages, the simple and beautiful design of this piece had me at first click.  My boyfriend and I talk frequently about infused liquor and one of our favorites is (don't gag) jalapeno infused vodka or tequila, so when I saw it on a friend's Instagram, I remembered my initial awe and hoped it would make a good Valentine's Day gift.  

Floundering in Fitness

Via my instagram

Each spring we find ourselves inundated with a plethora of fitness heavy headlines: "Beach Ready in 4 Weeks!", "Get a Bikini Bod Fast!", "Shed Winter Weight Now!".  Each year I find myself rolling my eyes and getting a little salty when my gaze meet the shelves.

I've never had a beach goddess bod: not when I ran on my high school's cross country and track teams, not even when I worked out for two hours each night for months on end during my sophomore and junior years of college.  No simple five step plyometric inspired Tabata workout is going to melt my thighs in time for summer, so I typically take the cynical "like I give a sh*t, I'm funny!" approach to this workout festive time of year (to preserve my dignity, of course).  With that said, I've always been active, am pretty fit (but not a swimsuit model), and love to move and groove - just not in a competitive fashion.