A Grand Day

Last Sunday, I picked up my mom and we headed to Grand Avenue in St. Paul on a very sunny but slightly windy and chilly (54 degrees) day.  Part of her birthday present from earlier in the month was to take her out to lunch and do a little shopping on Grand.  We started off for an early lunch at The Tavern.  I had taken my parents there once before but she loved it and wanted to go back for their walleye.  So she had the shore lunch and I had some pasta salad and some stuffed mushrooms.

We walked a couple blocks down the road to a place called Lillians where with a little bit of coaxing from my mom, I purchased a necklace and earrings set.  I wanted it but was reluctant to spend money but she said I would be thinking about it after we left and she would have been right.  The picture does not show how vibrant and sparkly it is in person.

We then went across the street and visited Pottery Barn and Quince and then finally settled at our last destination of Golden Fig. I had purchased two vouchers from Eversave for $20 worth of specialty products. After we perused the store for quite some time and picked out some goodies, we were told at the counter that our voucher was only good on Golden Fig specialty products, which doesn't really leave much to purchase in the store other than some spices, drink mixes, herbs, etc. so we put all the stuff back and had to start over.  The Eversave deal was very deceiving and difficult to understand that the voucher was only for their homemade products, which was further validated by the woman at the counter that said this happens ALL.THE.TIME.  I love the store and have purchased things from there many times but boo to Golden Fig for not making this deal at little more easy to understand.  I felt very disappointed about it especially since the one voucher was a gift to my mom.  We ended up leaving with 3 bottles of spices each, which we paid $1 out of pocket for each.  Not a very exciting birthday present for my mom in my opinion. 

I settled with these

Overall, we had a fun time together.  I dropped her back off at my parents house and hung out with them for a couple of hours before going home.  I'm bummed I forgot to take a picture of my mom and me though!

Heather's Birthday

This past Saturday, I went out for Heather's birthday.  Fortunately, a couple of my favorite girls, Kristi and Ang were also invited and we met up at Big Bowl in Rosedale for dinner first along with my high school buddy Rich and the rest of the group were friends and family of Heather's fiance, Jeremy.  (Jeremy proposed to Heather the Tuesday before on her actual birthday.)

Despite Heather having made arrangements for 14 people for dinner, Big Bowl sat us at 2 separate tables and a booth.  Big Bowl apologized and we received free appetizers.  I sat at the booth with Rich, Ang and Kristi while the others at a tables across the aisle from us so we didn't get to socialize much with the others, which was ok since I didn't really know any of them.

We all hopped in our cars after dinner which was after 10 pm at this point and went to Grumpy's down the street where we were meeting Heather's sister and some of her friends for karaoke.  We arrived around 10:30 pm and karaoke was just getting started.  I normally try to stay as far away as possible from karaoke.  I am a terrible singer so you'll never see me sing.  Multiple people from our big group sang and some of them take it very seriously along with some others that were there.

One of our other friends, Becky was there as a  part of Heather's sister's friends group which was unexpected.  She is dating my longtime friend from elementary school and high school, Miles, so she called him up and he and our other friend Matt came up for a bit to visit.  It was fun to see all of them again since I hardly ever get a chance to anymore.

Happy Birthday Heather!

Thank you to Kristi for all of the photos!

Kristi, me, Becky

Heather, me

Heather, me, Kristi, Ang

Me, Becky, Matt, Rich, Heather Krist and lurking, Miles

Matt, me, Heather, Rich, Miles, Becky, Kristi

Benefit Reminder

I just thought I'd remind you all that the benefit for my aunt is this weekend so if you want to come out and support or just plain have nothing to do, I'd love to see you there.  There are over 100 items for the silent auction and there will be food and a band there.  Hope you can make it!  Scandia sounds far but it's just right next door to Forest Lake!

It's All In The Eyes

Look how much of a difference eyes can make.  The first person is Zooey Deschanel first with brown eyes and then with her normal ice blue color.  The second photo is Megan Fox, again with brown eyes and then her normal blue color. The picture barely looks like Megan having what appears like a lot of plastic surgery.  Which do you think looks best?  They both definitely look different.  I have brown eyes and have always wanted a different color (I'm ok with them now but still wish for a different color occasionally) so I will probably always lean towards the blue looking better.

From Reddit

Resuming Dinner Dates

It's been awhile since I went out with my grandpa.  The last time we went out was for our big family dinner on February 15th.  I got sick a couple of weeks after that so I had to cancel and so we just decided that our dinner outing would be the fish we had at my sister's house for my mom's birthday the following week.  Fast forward two weeks later and my grandpa had to cancel because he was sick so one week later, we were able to finally meet again on our normal "off" week, which will now become our "on" week.

We ate at Ray J's in Woodbury.  It's just like your average sports bar/American bar food place and the food was just average as well.  My grandpa was still kind of weak from being sick but you could tell we really boosted his spirits that night and he was very happy to be resuming dinner dates and just getting out of the house for some food and company.

It was raining out so that isn't dandruff in M's hair

Fresh Guacamole

Check out this video.  It's awesome!

Zoya Spring Blooming Color Haul

I took advantage of the Zoya Spring Blooming Color promotion a couple of weeks ago and I received my package this past Monday.  Don't they look lovely?

Colors from left to right: Caitlin, Pippa, Coco, Paz, Midori and Bevin

 

 

For those that haven't tried Zoya, it's a must.  I polished my nails with the color Cho last Sunday and they still haven't chipped yet.  It's by far the healthiest formula as well as the lowest-maintenance nail polish around.  

Cho- My color still going strong

If you've never tried Zoya and would like to, here's your perfect opportunity.  They have a Share the Love program which helps both of us out.  If you click on the link below, it will direct you to Zoya's website.  Once there, create an account and a $5 coupon will be credited to you to be used on an immediate order.  Once you sign up, order and pay, I will get a $5 coupon as well for the first customer and up to a $15 coupon for five customers. Sign up for pretty nails!  Plus, I've never paid full price for a bottle of nail polish yet.  They have promotions going on quite frequently.

Click over here! ► ►► https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/FC3DDA

And if you want to wait until April 1st, the Beach & Surf collection is coming out.  I think I'll need Shelby.  

 

As for all my friends that are current Zoya customers and you participated in the Spring promo, show off the colors you got on your blog.  I know Ang and Kristi did it and what about you, Krysten?

Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey...I'm obsessed.  There's only two seasons so far but another is in the works but won't be aired on PBS as part of Masterpiece Classics until January 2013.  I don't know if I can wait.  I finished both seasons in a little over a week and I want more. 

It's a period piece, set between 1912 and 1920 so far and follows the lives of the Crawley family as well as their servants.  You'll learn about Lord Grantham and his history with the castle and his American wife, Lady Cora Grantham. You'll fall in love with the characters and hate some of them just as much but they all captivate your attention.  You might have a crush on Matthew like I do or hate Mrs. O'Brien and Thomas with a passion.  

And who cares about the media saying that Downton Abbey is not historically accurate or that some of the grammar wasn't used in that time period.  It's a fictional TV show and I highly recommend it.

Tell me...have you seen it or heard of it?  What do YOU think?  

Season One:

Season Two:

 

St. Patrick's Day

Have you recovered from your St. Patrick's Day hangover yet?  I didn't even have a sip of alcohol but we did venture out a little bit and was surrounded by beer at least for a little bit.

One of the first things I did was call my dad so I could hear what he says to me every single St. Patrick's Day: "Top 'O the morning to you.  Will you be hoisting a few later my lassie?"  And of course he says it in a perfect Irish accent.  And if I call and my mom answers, she also says it to me.

The weather was gorgeous so we hopped on the motorcycle and went out to breakfast at Coffee Cup in St. Paul.  Piles of hash browns are what I look forward to there.

Next stop was the Ale Jail in St. Paul where one of the employees had the ultimate surprise waiting for M...a certain kind of beer that is rare around these parts and to a beer geek like M, it was like Christmas morning.

We then went to Flat Earth Brewery as M had to return a growler and wanted to get another but they were all out of the brew he wanted.  They did however have a little St. Patty's Day party going on with music and of course, beer.

We dropped off beer goodies and hopped in the car to go to Hudson, Wisconsin to a couple of  liquor stores over there where M shopped for rare beers.

All this sounds very fun for the non-beer enthusiast like myself, doesn't it?  At least I'm a good sport.  I can't see M spending 2 minutes in Sephora with me while I look at blush.

Since we were already in Hudson, we decided to venture a little further to River Falls and see if M's brother was home.  First, we stopped at McDonald's to partake in a little green.

M's brother wasn't home but we go back on the deck and visit a couple of their fuzzy babies.

Izzy and Shaggy

After a long, exhausting day of doing really nothing, we took a nap and then relaxed watching TV with one of these:

Green Sprite- I know how to do it up!

How crazy was your St. Patrick's Day?

Eco-Dinner

Last Thursday, I met my friend Tanya for dinner in Minneapolis at a place called Ecopolitan.  I've wanted to try this place for awhile and Tanya was my guinea pig with me.  I've been eating quite a healthy lifestyle since September 2011 and this place fits into my lifestyle.  Everything at Ecopolitan is raw, organic, vegan and gluten free. Sound kind of scary?  I know, even a tiny bit for me too but once I got there, I really liked the atmosphere. It's a tiny little place with maybe room for 20 people or so in a building that also houses other types of health services, such as an oxygen bar and a colon hydrotherapy.

I wanted to start out with a smoothie as they have lots to choose from but decided not to since sometimes smoothies can be filling.

We instead started out with the nacho cheese and chips, which consisted of "cheese" made from cashews and nutritional yeast mostly, and chips that looked like dehydrated flax crackers.  I was surprised at how spicy the cheese was but it was good.

For our entree, we both ordered the same thing, the Pesto Pasta which consisted of pesto sauce on zucchini noodles, with tomato, bell pepper, marinated mushrooms and walnuts on top of cherry vinaigrette dressed spinach.  It was fabulous!

We both skipped on desserts because we were full but I'd love to go back and try the cardamom and orange cookie.  I wish I would have brought one home!  I'll definitely be back and so will Tanya so most likely, you'll see us again back there at some time in the future.

As for Tanya and me, we talked our heads off and still always have plenty more to talk about.  I've seen here more this year than I have in some other years combined and I'm hoping we both can continue with this trend since we're both busy individuals but we must make time for our friends!

Minnesota Weather

It's been a fabulous week weather-wise here in Minnesota.  Of the last seven days, I think we've broken five records for temperature, some broken by 20 degrees or more.  Our normal high temperature should be 41 degrees and we've been hovering right around 80 degrees for several days, even rivaling Fort Myers.  This is Minnesota's March Madness!

Saturday-3/10

Sunday- 3/11

Tuesday-3/13

Wednesday-3/15

Friday 3/16

 

Saturday 3/17

Sunday 3/18

  

March Birchbox

I received my March Birchbox in the mail last week.  I discussed recently that I think I'm over Birchbox and just when I feel I'm ready to cancel, I get a box that I like.  March's box was one of the best I've received.  I guess I'll keep hanging on for a month at a time.

On the same day I received my Birchbox, I also received some makeup brushes I ordered from Makeup Geek.  If you love makeup and want to know more about the latest products and reviews, tutorials or order products from the store, check it out.

Benefit For My Aunt

As you may or may not remember, my aunt has polycystic kidney disease and there is a benefit that is being held for her two weeks from today, March 31st.  Please come out and join us!  There will be a dinner, silent auction and folk dance.  All the info you need is below but if you have any questions, please let me know!  And if you can't attend but still want to donate, that would be awesome!

3 Day Fundraiser

Last Saturday, M and I went to a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk coming up in August.  It was held in the banquet area of Jimmy's close to our house.  The team we supported is called Graceful Steps and I'm not sure of how many people are on the team but two of our friends, Mona and Taniya are part of the team.  They had a pasta bar, free beer, a DJ, silent auctions and meat raffles.  They had a great turnout so it looked to be a very successful evening.

Taniya and Mona

There's nothing wrong with the camera.  Yes, we are that white and they are that tan.