Category Archives: Guest Bloggers

Team Road trip

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So there we were…the driver (Justin), the “navigator” (Erica) and then there was me…the annoying 24 year old girls who still asks, “are we there yet”, (some things never change mom!). So there we were Friday morning on our way to Kansas City, Missouri to our friends Mike and Alli’s wedding! Of course, it’s not a road trip without fast food, Justin and Erica had there eyes set on a Chicka-fil in Des Moines. While I am partial to cheese balls and McDonalds on my road trips, I thought I would absolutely try out this Southern favorite (and I didn’t have much of a choice…and hey who doesn’t like chicken nuggets?)! That was Iowa… Now here comes Missouri, a pretty boring state to begin with but then you finally hit Kansas City. KC is an awesome city and completely exceed my expectations! Alli and Mike picked the perfect area for us to stay in with plenty of outdoor shopping (halls is my new favorite store. Just like Dayons), museums and restaurants! Did I mention it was 95 degrees and humid AND sunny!

Hey driver…are we there yet?

The wedding was beautiful, but of course I knew it would be with Alli’s impeccable taste! Check out FB for some pictures of the fun wedding!


So now we are on our way back to equally as hot Minnesota. 6 hours to go I think. No doubt we will pass these lovely and convenient convince stores/gas stations, yes people I am talking about none other than Kum & Go gas stations! (yes that is really what it’s called…do you honestly think I could make this stuff up?) I hope they have cheese balls…

Are we there yet?

Lots of Love and happy road tripping!

Allison

Dana’s Dining Hot Spots

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My friends are the best! Thanks Dana for guest blogging.

Two New Restaurants in Two Nights

One of my favorite things to do is explore our city through food. Born and raised in Minneapolis and yet there are always more restaurants for me to try. Well this weekend, I crossed two more restaurants off my list and I was truly impressed and excited to tell friends about them and go back for more…


Broders Cucina Italiana

http://www.broders.com/cucina-italiana/index.html

Friday night after watching the Royal Wedding, Alison, Erica, Amy and I jumped in the car to see where we would end up. Some of us were hoping to try Broders Pasta Bar for the first time, but the wait was too long for our hunger level, so we ventured across the street to check it out. What a good decision that we stuck with one of the Broders options!


The Cucina Italiana had all sorts of gourmet Italian food on the shelves and you could even buy fresh pasta. We walked over to the food and stared up at the menu on the wall for a few minutes contemplating our orders. Everything looked/sounded so good! I went with the chicken parmigiana (with pomodoro and provolone cheese) served with penne pasta. They were out of the breaded chicken, so it was prepared with grilled chicken instead of breaded. I decided that next time I might ask for the grilled chicken again, since it had so much flavor. The sauce tasted very authentic and it was a perfect size portion. I loved that they had all sorts of Italian fixings (oregano, fresh cracked pepper, balsamic vinegar, etc.).


We even got to choose a free dessert since they ran out of the breaded chicken. Things were working out well for us! I wanted to order the pistachio cheesecake since I hadn’t seen that anywhere else. It was a nice presentation and I liked how they sprinkled pistachio nuts on the top. It was a perfect way to end our meal. Despite the fact that you go up to the counter to order at Broders Cucina Italiana, the quality of the food was impressive. I can only imagine what’s waiting for me across the street!

Curry ‘n’ Noodles

http://www.currynnoodles.com/

Saturday night I went with Amy and our friend Abby to this cute little restaurant called Curry ‘n’ Noodles, located on Mainstreet in Hopkins. They serve authentic Indian food and it comes out surprisingly fast. We were all eager to share a few dishes, so we asked for the waiter’s recommendations.


Here is what we ordered:
Aloo Tikki – aka Indian potato pancakes
Paneer Tikka w/ veggies- Paneer is an Indian cheese and I kept mistaking it for tofu because of the same texture.
Garlic Naan – so much better than plain naan
Chicken Tikka Masala
Blazing Haaka Noodles w/ chicken
* All served with jasmine rice


The food was truly amazing. I rarely have the chance to eat Indian food, but when I do, I really enjoy it. I especially like the two sauces that came out with the food: one had a mint/spice flavor and the other was sweet. The restaurant was filled with people of all ages. At one point during dinner, I looked over at the table next to us and the father was holding a long noodle up in the air for his daughter to put her mouth to. In most restaurants it would seem like he had poor manners, but at Curry ‘n’ Noodles, it just worked. It was very sweet.

The wait staff at Curry ‘n’ Noodles (not to be mistaken with Korean Noodles when said out loud) were all very friendly and attentive. They made it a pleasant dining experience and it was nice to find a place with delicious food and still make it to a movie down the street at the Hopkins Mann with a few minutes to spare.

All in all, the weekend was nice and relaxing and I enjoyed trying two new dining hot spots around town. I am energized when I discover a new restaurant and it always seems there is more to do, see, and eat in Minneapolis/St. Paul! This city might never get old… and I love it!

Graduation Goggles

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It’s Sunday and it makes me very happy to have friends who show interest in being guest bloggers. Jaron has previously written on the blog. I am so jazzed he came to me to offer up another entry. If you haven’t watched the episode of How I Met Your Mother that he is referring to… I highly recommend you do this NOW (or in the next few hours :) Thanks Jaron for guest blogging!


So, this week on How I Met Your Mother, one of the best sitcoms on TV, a new term was introduced to me. “Graduation Goggles”. The term was in reference to Marshall and his new decision to leave GNB. The term can be used to describe the feeling one gets when they decide to end something (in this case, Marshall’s employment), and it suddenly becomes unclear as to what the negative connotation was of the situation for which you are ending.

I instantly fell in love with the term as a great way to describe the emotional state that one is in when faced with these situations. For those that know me, you know that I have moved a lot since college, and, when the opportunity is presented to me to take a new role in a new city, I am psyched. Then, usually a few days before or after I make the leap, Graduation Goggles set in, and I suddenly realize that things aren’t that bad.

For those of you that know me, you also know that I tend to go on my fair share of dates, searching for the one that is out there for me. This is where the term Graduation Goggles is more apropos. Graduation Goggles usually comes to me in between relationships, where I take the time to reflect on past women from my life, and realize that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed, and I made a mistake. And then someone else comes around and takes my mind off of things, and changes my focus, and I forget about it; at least for a while.

While reflecting on this term, I also think back to some great advice from many good friends, and that is:

1. Everything happens for a reason
2.If it was meant to be, it will
3.Seconds never work in a relationship

All of the sudden, the reason the term is what it is makes sense. I think back to high school, and all of the yearbooks that I signed those last few days. The most famous words are “Keep in touch”. C’mon. The truth is, for most of the folks that I wrote that down in their book of memories, and visa versa, PLEASE DON’T! But at the time of nostalgia, it made sense.

At the time of nostalgia, it makes sense to remember the good from the situation (in fact, the song that they were playing in the background on the show was Sarah McLachlin’s I Will Remember You), but things happen for a reason, and if it was meant to be, it will. Graduation Goggles are only temporary, and you can’t discount the value that you as a person bring to the situation. Don’t forget that you are worth what you make yourself worth, and if you spend your time looking out of Graduation Goggles, you won’t be able to see and experience all that life has to offer you right in front of your face.

Amy to the rescue!

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I’m feeling a bit like I am stuck in a rut lately and I am desperate to get out of it! How is the best way to do that you ask? I’m thinking a guest blogger every Saturday. Who will be helping me write? Well that is the fun… you will just have to check back and see :)

Thanks Amy for being my first guest blogger!

 

It is not every day that us Minneapolitans make the long trek to St. Paul.  So when Erica asked me to accompany her on her journey to St. Paul on this cold Saturday afternoon, I was happy to oblige.
 

 
The mission was to buy some gloves.  Special winter gloves that work on your iphone touch-screen.  But what started as a single mission to find gloves and maybe some lunch, turned into a full on multi-sensory St. Paul adventure!  
 

 
Here are some of the fabulous things we discovered today and want to share with you:
 


*No Crack Super Hand Cream by Restoration Hardware-
This hand cream works wonders on dry winter hands and it’s subtle alluring scent stays with you in a pleasant way without overpowering.  

Check it out: http://www.restorationhardware.com/search/results.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&ise=true&query=hand+cream&_D%3Aquery=+&hidden=&_D%3Ago=+&_DARGS=%2Fsitewide%2Fincludes%2Fheader%2Fsearch.jsp.header-searchform&go.x=0&go.y=0
 
*Across the street was an unassuming looking store called The Golden Fig.  We almost didn’t walk in but I am sure glad we did.  This store is a Foodie Haven.  Everything is locally made in the Midwest and most of their products are made in the Twin Cities.  The Golden Fig has wonderful things including a line of their own seasonings and sugars, baked goods, chocolate, salsas, and oh so much more.  I walked out with a Rosemary Orange Balsamic Vinagrette that I can’t wait to cook with.  We may or may not have found dark chocolate with sea salt inside by local chocolatier B.T. McElrath.  

Check it out: http://www.goldenfig.com/
 


*Our next stop was Bread and Chocolate on Grand Avenue for lunch.  We enjoyed turkey paninis with carmelized onions and chips dipped in a tasty red pepper spread. 
Bread and Chocolate also has a fabulous bakery.  The Amaretto Chocolate Chunk Cookies, the Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones and the Apricot and Chocolate croissants caught our eyes.  The next time you are in St. Paul, be sure to visit Bread and Chocolate.  

Check it out: http://www.cafelatte.com/bread_chocolate.html
 
*Next I took a trip down memory lane and showed Erica The Red Balloon Bookstore, a Minnesota classic.  Despite a trip on some ice, we both made it there in one piece.  The Red Balloon is an adorable children’s bookstore and I can’t wait to bring my kids there one day in the future.  Emphasis on the future.  

Check it out: http://www.redballoonbookshop.com/
 
*Next I had to show Erica Ten Thousand Villages.  Ten Thousand Villages is a store filled with jewelry, housewares and other gift items.  Everything is made by artisans in other countries and the women and men always earn a fair living wage for their goods.  I found a necklace I fell in love with and as I purchased my necklace I exclaimed to Erica, “I’m helping women in India!”  If I knew every time I bought something that I was helping women in other countries, I’d be in trouble.  It’s a simple and heart-warming justification for shopping.

Check it out: http://stpaul.tenthousandvillages.com/php/stores.festivals/store.homepage.php 
Our day today helped me forget my stresses and enjoy the smells, sights and tastes of Grand Avenue.  I recommend taking this adventure with a friend some day soon!  Thanks to Erica for being a great shopping companion and for letting me guest write on her blog!