Living the Suite Life

This past Saturday Wes and I hosted some friends over for a mimosa brunch.  The conversation and people were top notch, and I think my baked eggs turned out pretty good as well.  

The one thing I wish I had taken a picture of was the mimosa bar I set up; it was so cute!

(Baked omelet eggs and homemade hash browns.)

Saturday night we headed to the Buck's game to celebrate Carin's 25th birthday!  

She got tickets through Marquette and we got to sit court side for the warm up. 

(Wes and I court side for the shoot around.)

(We ended up meeting back up with our friend from brunch who were siting in a suite for the game. 

 Nothing like watching a NBA game in style!)

(There was a "cookie challenge" during the game for one of the guys in the crowd.  You had to place a cookie on your forehead and then get it into your mouth without using your hands.  The guy on the jumbotron lost; but, Wes seemed strangely talented at this task.)

(The catch in action.  Not to mention this is a Girl Scout cookie.  

These Girl Scout's are getting smart these days and selling cookies everywhere!)

(Girls in the suite! Obviously none of us were all too interested in the game, 

but the Bucks did pull out a win!)

 

(After the game we headed to SPiN Milwaukee for a little ping pong action.  

That's right, this is a ping pong bar, how cool is that? There's only a few locations across the US:

New York, LA, Milwaukee, pretty cool company, huh?)

(Carin and I right before her birthday was over, hope you enjoyed it!)

(Wes and I taking selfie's while everyone else was playing.  

It took about 20 shots for him to smile and be normal. Typical Wes.)

I'm over this Hump Day and ready for the weekend!!

Until next time...

Artsy Fartsy

This weekend was a blast.  We actually completed all the things on our to-do list and had a great time while doing it. Some of my good friends are out in Tahoe skiing this weekend so this gave Wes and I a chance to catch up with some people we don't get to see as often, which was really nice.  On Friday night we got a little mature and fancy, details as follows. 

Friday night Wes and I decided to try a tapas restaurant that one of my coworkers recommended.  One of my New Years goals is to eat at 36 new restaurants before we leave Milwaukee.  It's a lofty one, but we're already on the right track by trying out the places below:

1. Zarletti:  A super swanky italian restaurant in the heart of downtown.  Delicious!

2. Slick Willies: A bar in South Milwaukee with one of the best burgers around.

3.  Outback Steakhouse: I'm only counting this because we got it fo free!  And I've never had free Outback.

4.  Toscana's Italian Ristorante:  A small family owned Italian restaurant with delicious spaghetti and meatballs.

5.  La Merenda:  This was out newest addition to the list, and a real winner.  See below for more details.

(This was Wes and I's first experience with a tapas restaurant, and I can assure you it will not be our last.  The easy going pace of the meal, and the overall atmosphere of the restaurant we top notch.)

(Even their drinks were delicious.  Wes started off the night with the concoction called a Dark&Stormy.  Which consisted of Ginger Beer and Rum.  So upscale.)

(Wes and I basically didn't speak the whole meal, unless we were talking about how amazing the food was, how great the restaurant was, how much so and so would love to come here with us, etc. etc.  We basically have a restaurant crush of La Merenda now, and these wonderful empanadas are just one reason why.)

 After La Merenda we met up with Emily and headed to the Art Milwaukee exhibition at a recently re-opened hotel that I can not find the name of.  Oh well.  We went to support one of our friends, Matt and his organization MakerSpace.  They are a bunch of cool engineers who like to nerdy out about things like 3D printers.  (did yall know those exist? I didn't until Friday night!)

(Me getting my rhythm going on their apple piano.  So cool!)

(A close up view of the set up they had.  They also had their 3D printer out; Matt gave Wes some Star Wars ring that he made with the printer and Wes started freaking out.  Oh boys.)

(There were all sorts of other artists and exhibits going on around the three levels of the hotel lobby.  It was really neat to see the artists, and even more interesting to watch the people who came (clearly Wes agreed).  I told Emily that I didn't know this kind of culture existed in Milwaukee.  Her response?  "I think most of these people must be from Bayview."  Haha.  Bayview is a very diverse-artsy-crunchy-granola kind of community on the South side of the city.  It's got some great restaurants and some fabulous hair salons.)

(The gang peaced-out from the Art Show a little early and headed over the The German Beer Hall to pick up Matt's credit card that had been there for over a month.  (There's one way to reduce your monthly spending.)  The German Beer Hall is an interesting place that you definitely have to be in the right mood to go to.  i.e. I met some people their two weeks ago and thought it was lame, I went there this weekend and thought it was awesome.))

(One of the best things about this bar is their game.  Simply called The Stump Game.  I'm sure there's something more technical associated with it, but no one really bothers to care.  You buy a strange nail from the bartender for 50 cents and hammer it in to the stump with a large (and very heavy) hammer.  The last one to drive their nail all the way in (a beer stein has to move smoothly over the nail head for it you to be considered finished.) has to buy everyone who played a round of shots.  It's really a win win game.)

(Me getting my hammer on in VICTORY!)

(It's a really funny game.  The guys try so dang hard and then end up missing the nail head half of the time.  Me and Emily took things at a slower pace and didn't have to buy anyone shots. Winning!)

(There's also fun things like a live polka band, and a man blowing a alphorn.  Who doesn't enjoy these little surprises on a Friday night?  Clearly I'm a fan.)

Off to the Chili Cook Off!

Until next time...

This Weekend

This weekend I am excited for:

1. Gallery night in the Third Ward.

2.  Hosting a brunch on Saturday morning for friends.

3.  Going to the Buck's game Saturday night to celebrate Carin's Birthday.

4.  Attending Milwaukee's 7th Annual Chili Cookoff at Potawatomi Casino on Sunday.

It's going to be an action packed weekend; hope yalls is just as exciting! 
Check back for a look at the adventures above.

Until next time...

Barbara's Meatballs + Jordan's Spaghetti Sauce

The summer before last I had an internship in Houston, TX.  Since my family lives in Arkansas ,figuring out my living situation was a little difficult.  Thankfully my good friend Chris and his family opened up their home to me for the 6 weeks I was there.  And let me tell you, his mom Barbara, she can cook; and not only does she cook, she grills.  Now Houston in the summer is hot as hell and creating anymore heat in your house (using your stove or oven) is just plain dumb.  So Barbara being the smart woman that she is utilized her grill.  She made chicken, burgers and all the other normal stuff; but, she also made desserts.  Cookies. Blackberry crumbles (my personal fav). and all sorts of other treats.  It was awesome.  She would also make a large batch of meatballs and freeze them for use throughout the summer.  I had never had meatballs not at a restaurant so I was in love with the meal.  I asked Chris for the recipe over the Holidays and finally had the time last Sunday to make them.  See below for details. 

 

(I made a double batch, and added a little extra cheese to her recipe (for those of you who know me, duh.)

but these suckers turned out phenominal.  Not to mention I got to use fresh beef from my grandparents farm in Arkansas!)

(Balls rolled and ready for the oven!)

 (Ready to be eaten as a tasty meal!)

I may cook and bake quite a bit and I think I'm alright; but, I am by far the worst cook in my family.  It's a running joke that I can't make scrambled eggs or grilled cheese (both of which are thinga I still struggle with today). My sister, Jordan, on the other hand, is an excellent cook. But, she can be rather... vague with her instructions. It's not her fault; she's always been this way.

  I remember when we were growing up and still living in Texas (circa 1995. I was 5 she was 8.) and Jordan put cinnamon in her applesauce one day.  I thought it tasted magical and asked her to get me the cinnamon.  She refused to get it for me and told me to just look in the spice cabinet (because all little sisters have cooties and are gross to hang out with). My 5 year old self grabbed something that was a similar color and thought, eh, this will do. 

 I had grabbed Season Salt. My taste for applesauce has yet to recover.

Now I am much better at insisting she send specefics on her recipes (no more measurements of "a healthy portion of           .").  She makes a fabulous home made spaghetti sauce and I thought it would be the perfect companion to Barb's Meatballs.

 (Canning the spaghetti sauce not only allows me more space in my over crowded fridge,

but it was a great excuse to use my new masonrow.com stamper.  How cute!)

 (No fancy title needed for this recipe!)

(The super yummy and fresh salad my neighbor Carin made for Wes and I when we went over for spaghetti on Monday.)

 (Wes is so weird.  We were sitting at Carin's bar eating dinner Monday night when he gets up and says

"I'll be right back" all of the sudden and walks of of her apartment.  Carin and I just look at each other like, what the heck is he doing?? 

He comes back with a handful of green onions and proceeds to keep one in his left hand, eating it raw, for the rest of the meal.  EW.)

Let me know if you'd like either recipe!

Until next time...



Snow Bunnies

Wes and I hit the slopes yesterday for the first time this season.  I hadn't been skiing since Freshman Year of college, and Wes hadn't been since he was ten.  He was super adventurous and decided to snowboard, I on the other hand stuck to my skis.

We went with some other people that work at Cooper in my program and had a great time.  The weather was phenomenal during the day (the warmest I've ever skied in), but the wind became ferocious that night (gusts up to 45mph!).

(Headed in to Alpine Valley! As you can see the day started out pretty dreary (and by started out the day, I mean it was 2:30pm.))

(After we got our tickets and rentals the sun decided to pop out for a bit!)

(Matt was my ski companion for the day.  Everyone else in the group was a newbie skier/snowboarder except for the two of us.

We got our system down and were able to get a run in, and get back on the lift in under a minute.  

(that should tell you how badass we are annnnd short the runs were...))

 (Wes and I at the top of the mountain as the sun was setting.  It's crazy how fast the sun goes down in the North!)

 (The lifts and runs shut down from 6-6:30pm to be re-groomed for night skiing so we all headed inside for a much needed warm up.  

This was when the wind was starting to get cRaZy.)

 (The whole gang ready for some night skiing.  I have to admit, skiing in general is cool, but skiing 

at night is completely awesome.)

 (A look at one of the runs that night.)

 (Wes and I fireside after a long day.  At the end of the day the wind got absolutely brutal so we just decided to call it a day at 8:00pm.  

But Alpine stays open till 10pm on the weekends for night skiing, and with it only being a 45 minute drive from Milwaukee, we'll definitely be back.)

 (Wes took quite the tumble in the afternoon and cut his day short due to a self diagnosed mild concussion. 

This was how he spent the rest of the night at home.  Poor guy!)

Hope everyone had a fun weekend!

Until next time...

New Year

It's 2013 yall!  My, how 2012 went by fast.
When I look back on 2012 I can't even think of anything major that I did (besides graduate college of course).
It's amazing how the mind remembers things, or doesn't.

As you can see the blog got a new look.  We'll see what happens...

Here's a look at some of my most favorite Christmas presents from friends, family and of course myself;)


(Jordan gave me two stellar gifts this year.
A May Books Planner and a new Camelback water bottle.  She's helping me stay on top of two New Years Resolutions.
It's the simple, pretty, little things in life that can perk your day up! Thanks seester:))

(My Mom and Dad scored big time with this bad boy.  

A big Hells Yeah for a Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer! See below for the christening baking event.) 

(The first thing I made in my mixer was Double Crunch Peanut Butter Cookies.  

One of my Ne Years Resolutions was to cook more out of the cookbooks I already own. (I have a terrible habit of just googling whatever I want and then putting Martha Stewart or Real Simple at the end. Haha.  BUT this recipe came from another present from my mom; a cookbook entitled Easy Comfort Food.  And for once, the title of this cook book did not lie.  It was easy, yummy food.

(Present to myself:  A masonrow.com stamper!  Very excited about this one.  Although I was pretty bummed I couldn't get mine and Wes's return address due to all of our moving, I thought I picked out some pretty good ones.)

(New kicks courtesy of my Aunt Beverly and Uncle Kenny.  

It's much more motivating to go to the gym when you have cute shoes and clothes to wear.  

Don't you agree?)

(And "Arkansas" dish towel on display in my kitchen.  You can tell from the wrinkles that Wes didn't get the "this is a for looks towel, not a for use towel" memo. Shame, shame, shame.  I've been wanting one of these pillows for awhile (but which state? Arkansas? Texas? Wisconsin?) but I absolutely LOVE the towel.  And this is a much more economical and space friendly way to commemorate all the states I've lived in.  Thanks Mom and Dad!)

(In my last post I highlighted my new lunchbox from the Tory Burch Neiman Marcus for Target Collection.  For those of you who didn't rack up on the 70% left overs after Christmas were just plain dumb.  $5 for my lunch box, $12.50 for these super cute Derek Lim House shoes (leopard is always a no brainer for me), and $25 studded leather gloves (me and Jordan will be twinkies).  You just can't beat a great sale! I am sooo my mother's daughter.  Side note:  isn't that an adorable picture of Wes and I in the background?  It's one of my favorites.  It's almost 4 years old but Wes looks exactly the same.  How do guys do that??)

(My girl power pink toolbox.  Just what every girl needs!

Thanks Mom and Dad:) )

(My sister has a small vintage camera collection.  By small I mean she probably has 10-15, and now I have my very own.  I also finally had room to bring the deer antlers my Uncle Kenny let me have home.  One of the things I'd also like to start doing is having more fresh flowers around my condo.  This is one of the first tables I see when I get home from work everyday so the fresh flowers are an instant pick me up!)

Unfortunately the Packer's run at the Super Bowl was very short lived.  I blame myself for jinxing us.  

A.  I asked HR if I could wear Packer gear on Monday if we won; she said yes. 

(perks to working in a manufacturing plant)

B.  I talked smack about beating SanFran on Instagram.  How embarrassing.

C.  I made semi elaborate plans about what me and my friends would do the following Sunday for the Packer Game.  Unfortunately, those plans now have to be altered. (Go Patriots??)

(Obviously during the first half of the game.  At the time we were "givin em hell." In retrospect we were "scraping by.")

(At least some of my friends could sympathize with how I was feeling.  

I always know KB's got my back.)

(Since we aren't too diehard of fans we recovered easily. Thanks & Gig 'Em.)

(Tomorrow Wes and I will hit the slopes!  I'm so very excited to test out my new Eddie Bauer light weight down jacket and Columbia gator.  

I will be very easy to spot on the slopes.)

A preview of some Valentine decorations...

(Pretty little banners I made to decorate my kitchen with.)

(Simple hearts cut out of some left over Christmas fabric and framed.)

(My little love bird trapped in my mini cake stand.)

(Delicate hand towels.   Wes will have another chance with the "for looks only" towels.)

Have a great weekend!

Until next time...