Fireplace: Done

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Last night, Nat and I enjoyed the fireplace for the first time.  The temps were low enough outside to make it worthwhile.  Now that it is done, I'm thrilled with how it turned out.
My nieces and nephews have already brought over a bag of s'mores fixings, so I'm certain we'll put it through it's paces this summer.

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Lou Malnati's Salad Dressing Recipe as Published in the 60's

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Earlier this winter, I wrote about the old Lou Malnati's menu and mentioned that as I was waiting around for my pie to finish up, I spied an old Chicago Tribune article posted on the wall that included the original Lou Malnati's Italian Salad Dressing Recipe.  The Tribune reporter called it "prized".  We were set to host a little pizza party over the weekend, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  Here's the article as seen through my mobile phone's camera.
I'm not a wine drinker, so the fact that the recipe called for Burgundy wine didn't strike me as odd.  I went shopping at Angelo Caputos in Addison - a really incredible shopping experience - and when I got to the wine section I found Burgundy wine was carried ONLY in those HUGE jugs.  And they were dirt cheap.  The only issue is that needed just 4 ounces.  We ended up with a whole-lotta-wine that Nat won't drink.

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Tears and tantrums were in full effect as we walked by, stopped and then moved on from this Princess fairytale castle at Costco.  Both of the girls were doing their best to make me bring this monstrosity come home with us.  It is meant to be used outside, but in our old house, we had a plastic version of a building like this in our basement, so I suppose you could easily bring this inside and use it your basement.

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Lou Malnati's Sweet Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

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**NOTE**  If you're looking to make your own version of this dressing, you should check out the recipe I posted back here:  Lou Malnati's Salad Dressing Recipe.

Last week, I was in the Elmhurst Lou Malnati's picking up a pie and noticed that they're NOW selling a bottled version of their salad dressing they've called "Lou Malnati's Sweet Vinaigrette".    That's the second consumer packaged good they have in their take-out shops - with the first being Lou Malnati's Tomatoes.    They sell it in 16 oz jars.

I didn't catch a price, but I did catch a photo of the ingredient list.
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