here's to cozy fall weather

Well, it's been kind of a gloomy week; rain, clouds, cooler fall weather...you get the picture. I really do enjoy hooded sweatshirt weather, but it makes it so difficult to get out of bed in the mornings to get ready for work. I would imagine most of you can relate to that feeling. Luckily coffee brews quickly and the waking up process doesn't feel so awful anymore.

On a slightly gloomy note, my birthday dinner which was moved to The Butcher Block in NE Minneapolis instead of the Red Stag, was sub par. Bummer. I will say that the food was good! We ordered the rigatoni alla norcina and the chicken parmesana to split. Both items were really tasty, but I preferred the rigatoni; the sausage was tender with great flavor and the truffle cream sauce was deliciously silky. The chicken was juicy and lightly breaded which made me feel like I wasn't inhaling a deep-fried piece of chicken. It was served on mashed potatoes which were also good, but nothing to write home about. If I was forced to go back, I'd get the rigatoni again. The food was good, but that was it. The service was awful; sorry Katie (our server) but your lack of service was the only thing we really remembered about our dining experience. She greeted us 10 mins after we had been seated, brought our bottle of wine with two different wine glasses and then told us that she "forgot her wine key and would be right back." She set the bottle and our mismatched glassware on the table and then stopped by two other tables to take orders and delivered food to a third table before returning to open our bottle of wine. She spilled wine on my napkin...woops (it can happen) and did not check on us the entire time we were eating. We waited another 10 minutes for her to take our empty plates away from the table...and that was just the service.
Have you ever been to a restaurant that you felt shouldn't really be in the space it's at (like the tables are all too close together and there really isn't a good flow?). That was how I felt about The Butcher Block. Our table was near a corner along the wall that has the open kitchen. It was also right next to the door to the bathroom, which was not marked and customers were confused about where it was located. The entrance to the place was also a bit confusing, it was like walking into a mall entrance and thinking you're in the wrong place or that a book store should be at the end of the hall not a restaurant.
I say Give it a shot for yourself and let me know what you think! I wish I would have tried the Red Stag instead...next time.

I hope I don't sound too harsh for the above review, however I was a server for over four years at a decently nice restaurant that had legitimately good food (that I still go back for) and I know the lack of service would have been noted from management and I would have been in trouble for that performance. So all in all, I may be a tougher critic, but I think I also am more lenient in the same respect.

On another good note: Our kickball team won it's forth game in a row last night; unfortunately, I was not there to help kick butt! I was at home meeting with one of our contractors to discuss his quote/bid for a kitchen remodel! Super exciting, but we'll see how our 2nd contractor meeting goes on Friday for another quote/bid.

happy 29th! (a few days ago)

YIKES! It's official, I have one year left in my 20s, and then it's time to start a new decade, which is kind of exciting. This year I didn't make a big deal out of my birthday, maybe because I'm finally growing up (just kidding) or because I didn't want to fuss over it and plan a whole ordeal and organize it. I'm leaning towards the 2nd option. There have been several occasions I have planned in the recent past and I think I've almost reached my planning quotient for 2011.

So, what does a 29yr old do for their birthday? Well, this one celebrated with a tasty Dairy Queen cake! YUM. I made fish tacos for the boyfriend and I (he was going to make dinner and I revamped it a little bit), and we settled in with the movie Hanna (it's about a child-assassin). We are officially celebrating on Friday with a night out! I'm kind of lame on school/work nights; I like to go to bed around 10pm. I think we are going to check out the Red Stag in NE Minneapolis.  We've heard mixed reviews but have wanted to give it a shot for ourselves. Review to be posted.

I think I will kick off my 30s (next year) with a bucket list that I need to prepare this year. It would be fun to start a new job or have my own business, travel a little more, get my butt kicked into shape, go back to school (MBA or maybe just some web design classes)...so many things!

On another good note, we recently had a couple of contractors come to our house to look at our kitchen and measure it out for a remodel quote! I'm so excited! Anyway, we are meeting up with those contractors at the beginning of next week to go over their numbers and findings. I have been looking at cabinets and counter tops for the last 2 weeks finding the exact items I want in the update. Keep your fingers crossed that the price is right!

And, the MN Muscle kickball team is still undefeated!

Thursday...

You know what that means...I am 3/4th of the way through my week of vacation.  It has been a nice, relaxing and somewhat productive week.  I didn't set any expectations for myself and in doing so was able to accomplish a few things on my list without feeling like I didn't get specific items taken care of.  What did I do?  I finally got around to painting a floor-length mirror (we bought our house a little over a year ago and this nice mirror was left with it, but needed to be repainted), and my bookshelf.  The bookshelf was a couple weeks in the making; I primed it a couple weeks ago and it has been sitting in the garage waiting for me to come back!  I can cross two things off my list.  I have a few other items I'd like to get sorted out, specifically our laundry problem...we have no problem washing, it's the folding and putting away that seems to be the issue. 

Have I mentioned our dog, Bella yet?  She's so sweet!  She's a mostly white with a few black patches, lab-pitbull mix, which basically means she has lots of energy but is 100% lover.  She currently has allergies and her muzzle is red and irritated, her eyes are goopy and her toes have been itchy.

VACATION!!!

I officially start my week-long vacation in t-minus 2.5 hours!  I'm more than REALLY excited!  I have been tempted to use more than one exclamation point on all of the above sentences, but refrained because I didn't want to seem too ridiculous.

It has been quite a fast week; we won our first kickball game on Tuesday night and the days have flown by since then.  We also had a contractor come over Tuesday evening to check out our kitchen and get specs to give us a quote!  I'm really excited about that too.  I would LOVE an updated kitchen.  It would be absolutely wonderful.  I actually have dreams about it ;)

What am I going to do next week while I'm not at work?  That's a really great question; one that is easily answered by...Whatever I want!  There are a few random projects that I have half started and should really finish.  I may venture to Winona to see a good friend of mine while she is in town for the Holiday weekend-she also has next week off.  I also have bridal shower invitations that need to get in the mail; and I just got those back from the printers this afternoon.
Here's a sneak peek:

My weekend kicks off in full-swing with a wedding at 5:30...Happy Labor Day Weekend!

bachelorette party weekend

My best friend is getting married in October! We celebrated her bachelorette party and last several months of freedom this past Saturday evening. It started out with a Hawaiian-themed BBQ at my place followed by a hotel room, and then a night out in downtown Minneapolis. There was a great group of ladies and the night was a lot of fun!
Here's a few photos of the BBQ:

 

After we finished the BBQ we headed downtown Minneapolis to The Hotel Minneapolis to get ready and have a few more drinks.  The hotel was really nicely decorated and I wish I would have taken a few photos of just the hotel and the room.

And for the night out downtown:

Thanks to all the help I received on the food, we had tons of leftovers and I thoroughly enjoyed those all-day Sunday.  My headache was tolerable with tasty snacks throughout the day.
 Top: The group ready to go out!
Middle: The Bride and I
(I'm the MOH)
Bottom: The bride enjoying a classy stripper pole!


  










 

On a back-to-reality note, our kickball team has its first Fall League game tomorrow!  We play every Tuesday night...Let's hear it for the Minnesota Muscle!  Rawr!

I make Lists

I have been planning my best friend's bachelorette party for the past month and it is finally arriving!  We are starting with a BBQ at my place and then moving downtown to dance the night away.  I can be a little bit of a stress ball, so the past month has been lots of list making.  It is one of my ways to stay organized.  Tonight, I'll be taking my list to the grocery store to pick up the last of the party items needed for Saturday.  I'm really excited to have it all taken care of and be done shopping.  HOWEVER, I did find a cute pair of black heels last night while I was out shopping with the Bachelorette for her party dress.  You can find these at DSW.

You may notice the time I am posting this...you can say I'm taking a well-deserved "break" from work.  During my break, I am also working on finishing my 3rd bottle of water for the day!  You can add that to the list of things I have started this week; trying to drink at least 3 bottles of water during the work day.  I have always enjoyed drinking water, but I know that I don't drink nearly enough.  I really believe that water is the cure-all ingredient.  It takes care of headaches, keeps your skin hydrated and looking great, and I guarantee it takes care of quite a few other ailments.

Items to watch for: Party photos & Garage Decorating from this coming weekend

a first for me

I'm 100% new to the blogging world! 
A little about me:
I'm a Minnesota born girl; I love water (drinking and swimming), hooded sweatshirt weather and campfires. My favorite season is by far Spring-Summer-Fall.  I know, I was supposed to narrow it down to one, but honestly I love the seasons!  I even like Winter but in very small doses.  I need snow on Christmas Eve.  It doesn't feel like Christmas and the holiday season without snow.  I do not need below zero temperatures or snow into April.
I live in Minneapolis, but would probably LOVE Colorado.  Being outdoors makes me happy.  I have been known to smile up at the sky.
I love the contrast in colors and the vibrancy they create; it's inspiring.
I'm a graphic designer by choice :) and luckily it pays the bills.  My goal is to have my own business where I can either sit in my pajamas at home on the cold winter days and work, or take my computer to the park and enjoy a coffee while people watching.


Okay, enough about me (for now) and on to the point of my ramblings; to catalog my thoughts & feelings, to show off cool projects I accomplished, to brag about a job well done, to intrigue you with my talented cooking skills (or knowing how to read a recipe) and to just keep track of what's going on around me.
Enjoy!