Friday's Letters

Dear Winter -

 I am over you.  Seriously, seriously over you.  I'm tired of the cold and the snow and the terrible driving.  We got yet another storm this week and they are calling for one next week as well.  Please just go away.  I really want it to be flip flop season.

Dear Peanut Butter (veggie) Burger I ate last night -

You were amazing.  Seriously amazing.

You had peanut butter, a bit of mayo, fried onion straws and pepperjack cheese.  I know you were so unhealthy - but so delicious!  Nick had the 'real meat' version, which also included bacon, he agreed it was fabulous!

Although - we were both put into immediate food coma's... yikes!

Dear Bridesmaids Movie - 

Ever since a co-worker made a reference to you this week I can't stop quoting you.  I've even listened to the soundtrack on repeat all day.  It doesn't hurt that you take place in 2 of my favorite cities.  Milwaukee & Chicago..  Ahh.. love.

Dear Milwaukee - 

I miss you.  I miss you a lot.  It's been 2 1/2 years since I lived in 'the state of Milwaukee.  When I was talking to the above mentioned co-worker about the movie, he asked me if I enjoyed Milwaukee.  This led to me giving a very long explanation of all the reasons I love Milwaukee.  It ended with him telling me that if my current job doesn't pan out - I should really look into being an 'ambassador for the city of Milwaukee'.  A girl can dream!  :-)

It Nick and I were just chatting this week about how we wish it was summer in 'the state' and we could go and patio drink somewhere ...

Dear Chicago - 

I'm so excited to see you this weekend.  It has been far too long.Hopefully our flight isn't cancelled (please refer to the previously mentioned snowstorm).  I have big plans to eat brunch at one of my fav spots and to imbibe in some adult beverages with some good friends.  

No matter how many times I visit, I am always looking forward to the next trip.

In the words of Will Smith "We all know Chi town's got it goin' on"....

First Things First! Link Up!

 

 Today I'm Linking up with Halie @ Penguins, Pasta & Polka Dots to share my 'firsts' 

 First thing I do at the gym 

I've recently gotten back into the gym habit.  I used to be so dedicated, then work/grad school/wedding planning overtook my life and I fell out of my routine.  Now that I'm getting back into the habit - I would have to say the treadmill is my first stop.  I usually try to get in a good run and then decide what I want to do next.  If I time it right, I can usually get my run in and then drop into one of the Yoga classes for a cool down.

(note - I do not look as good as any of these people when I'm actually working out)  :-)

 First Date with Current Significant Other

Technically Nick & I met online - even though we'd gone to college together and had some friends/rec sports league in common.  Our first date was April 3, 2009 at Bar Louie in downtown Milwaukee.  We met up for 'a drink' and ended up staying for four hours!!  

First email address

hmmm...  I think I had many, many email addresses - I believe the first one was erin_britney@hotmail.com - oh yes - I was a huge Britney fan  (it's Britney bitch...)

Remember her back then? 

Before this...

Before this loser...

Before this unfortunate incident...

So glad to have you back Brit Brit.... 

Let's dance until the world ends..

Weekend Shenanigans

Hello there!  

I'm linking up again to share my weekend Shenanigans

Thursday

We went and saw Skyfall at the cheapie theater by our house.  I'd never seen a James Bond movie before (to my knowledge) and I actually really liked it!

I think living a life like that would be so fascinating!  Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a secret agent running around with a hidden gun looking for the 'bad guys'.  

Friday

We set out in search of a good Lenten fish fry.  Being from Wisconsin, you could literally go to any bar/restaurant/church and find an awesome Friday fish fry...  This has been a struggle for us since we moved to Minnesota.  We ended up at a bar near our house...  It was less than appetizing.  We won't be going back.

However....

We had the 'pleasure' of being seated next to 2 interesting groups.  One was one of the most dysfunctional families I've seen in awhile.  It was a mom, dad and their teenage son.  The mom spent the whole time yelling at the dad about the bill/what he did with his wallet/how many glasses of wine she wanted to have.  The son spent the whole time yellling at the mom about how he was apparently having digestive issues (he was quite graphic, I'm censoring this post) and that she needed to stop drinking her wine so they could leave...  and the dad just sat there and took it - without really putting up much of a fight..

It was quite ridiculous.

After they left - this couple sat down at the table they had been at.

They did this the entire time.  I literally don't think they spoke to each other...

After dinner we decided to go back to the cheapo theater (can you tell we love this place!) and see 'This is 40'.  We had some time to kill, so we hit up a wine bar across the street first.  It was our first time going there and I think we'll probably go back.  It was super cute and cozy and we ended up scoring a seat by the fireplace (a huge perk - considering it was 1* outside!)  For some reason the pic of us didn't turn out?

Saturday

I went and got my hair cut.  I've always had fairly long hair and recently have just become sick of it.  I wanted to cut it shorter and go for a different look.  I have naturally curly hair - so going short is always risky - you don't want to end up looking like a poodle.  I had searched around for a salon that got good reviews for cutting curly hair, I went and gave it a try.  Here are the before and after pics... 

The new style is still growing on me...  I'm not sold yet..

The rest of the day Saturday was pretty relaxed.  Nick had gone and gotten a massage in the morning.  We went out to lunch at myburger and then got frozen yogurt at Yogurt Lab.  Lunch was good, however we were fearful for our lives at the yogurt place.  While we were in line to make our yummy eats, a stampede of poorly behaved children came in.  They were literally yelling/pushing/screaming to make their desserts.  It was horrible!  And to make it worse, the parents didn't say anything, didn't try to correct their behavior and didn't even apologize to the other customers that were (literally) being pushed out of the way by these kids.

I just don't understand why some parents let their children behave this way??  I understand kids will be kids and no matter how much you try to teach them good manners - sometimes they just act out - but some of these kids were probably close to 10 years old - so they should have been plenty old to understand how to wait their turn. 

After that traumatic experience we went home and spent the rest of the day chilling on the couch. 
It was glorious! 

Saturday night we checked out another local restaurant for dinner.  We'd never been here before and had heard rumors that it was a good place.  The menu was slightly upscale bar food - with a lot of local/natural ingredients.  We LOVED it!  We'll definately be back!  The food was good, there were great drink specials & the music playing in the background was fabulous! 

So it totally grossed me out that my trout came actually still looking like a trout...but once Nick cut the head off and got the 'meat' out - it was super yummy.

Sunday

More househunting.  Yuck.  We went and looked at a few loft/condo's in downtown Minneapolis.  We (think) we have decided we want to be downtown and be in a walk-able location.  This pretty much rules out any single family home - so we're now on to the mission of finding the 'perfect' condo.  We looked at 3 units in the same building - they were unique to say the least...

They were all ground level units and actually had a 'basement' level as well.  So we would have gotten a TON of sq ft - which was great.  However it wasn't overly 'usable' footage due to the industrial/loft layout.

Plus the building didn't have parking.  You had to rent out spaces in a parking ramp a few blocks down.  This is a HUGE downside - especially in the winters when its -20 and you would have to walk a few blocks to your car.  I think this is untimately the deal breaker for us..

Here are a few photos of the building..

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!!

Happy Valentine's Day!! & Link-Up

This morning Nick & I exchanged Valentine's Day cards...

His card to me.....

My card to him....

Clearly we have different opinions of this holiday..

Happy Valentine's Day to my Valentine!!!

I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day!

Ever wonder if your spouse really knows you?! Well now is the time to find out!

HOST:

The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife

CO-HOSTS:

JanLoves, The Marvelous Flight of Cara, Delightfully Dunn, From Awkward to Art,
Planned in Pencil,   Jessica Who?, Northern Belle Diaries, You and Me are We,
The Family Darr, Songbirds and Buttons, The Grace of Southern Charm, Just Simply Live,
Pretty Living PDX, The Lemonade Diaries, Life as I know it

How long have you been married?

Nick: almost 2 months

Erin:  almost 2 months

Where was your first date?

Nick: Bar Louie Downtown Milwaukee

Erin:  Bar Louie Downtown Milwaukee

Where was your first kiss?

Nick: Parking lot of my apartment

Erin:  In the parking lot outside of Nick’s apartment

Who first said, "I love you"?

Nick: Erin

Erin:  me

What were your wedding colors?

Nick: Chanukah blue & silver

Erin:  Royal blue & Silver

Who is her celebrity crush?

Nick: ?

Erin:  Probably Brian Williams

If she was ordering drinks for both of you what would you each get?

Nick: Leinies for me and a cider for her

Erin:  Probably a Miller Lite for Nick & a UV Cake & Pineapple for me

What is the best meal she has ever cooked you?

Nick: She doesn’t cook – although she does make good omelets

Erin:  I don’t cook

What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you?

Nick: She doesn’t really cook

Erin:  I don’t cook

What would she say is your most annoying habit?

Nick: shaking the box of Goldfish crackers when I eat them

Erin:  He comes home from work and IMMEDIATELY goes for this giant box of Goldfish crackers,  shaking it LOUDLY between each handful….drives.me.crazy!!!!!!

What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed?

Nick: reads

Erin:  reads

What's her blog's name?!

Nick: no idea

Erin:  the erin episodes

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Today I'm linking up with Jamie to share what I'm loving this week.

 

These breakfast wraps.

I'm obsessed.  

I find that I frequently go through 'food obsessions'.  I'll find something new that I like and eat it over and over and over again.  I'm not sure why I do this?  Anyways - I've had these every day this week for breakfast and even had one for dinner last night..They are so simple and yummy.  Just take a tortilla, throw on some peanut butter and then add granola & whatever fruits you like!  I've tried apple & banana and both are great!  It's also a great snack as well!

 

 

This movie date I have planned for this weekend with Nick

Ok.  So just to be clear, we aren't renting this movie.  Top Gun in 3D is playing at one of the IMAX theaters here.  Nick LOVES Top Gun - LOVES it.  When we were on vacation in San Diego a few years ago we had to go to Kansas City BBQ (aka the Top Gun Bar) and hang out for a night!

When he saw that it was playing at the IMAX, he immediately asked me if we could make a 'date' out of it!  :-)  Seriously, he is more excited than a kid on Christmas!

 

That we booked our hotel for our trip to Chicago next weekend.

We love Chicago.  When we lived in Milwaukee, it was just a quick 75 mile trip south - we would frequently go just for the day, usually taking the commuter train.  Now that we are in MN, the trips require a bit more planning!  We try to go a few times a year.  Nick & I both have friends that live there, so usually we end up meeting up for dinner/drinks with them. 

On our agenda for this trip is the Sears (Willis) Tower and a night out with our friends in Wrigleyville.  I'm sure we'll do some shopping along Michigan Ave as well!

 

 

 

The fact that we have another lazy weekend on the calendar. 

We spent so much of 2012 being so ridiculously busy.  Between both of us finishing up our MBA's and taking frequent trips back to Wisconsin to finish wedding planning - we just got a bit burned out on being away.  This weekend we really have nothing on the calendar (aside from our 'Top Gun' date) and I'm LOVING that!!



ok - I'm not sure why I found this polar bear being lazy so funny... but I did.  Plus - the snow seems fitting for MN!



 

What are you loving today??

 

 

Weekend Recap

This weekend Nick & I headed back to Wisconsin!  It was so so good to go home!!

We got into town pretty late on Friday night, so we didn't really do much...

Saturday 

I went bridesmaid dress shopping for my sisters wedding...it was a bit of a disaster at the bridal shop...

To start with - they wouldn't let us make an 'appointment' for bridesmaids dress shopping, they said they only reserved 'appointments' for brides.  Fine we said, we knew what we were looking for and they said they would reserve a few fitting rooms for us.  My sister had picked out her color and designer and had called ahead and they said they carried 'a bunch' of dresses by that designer.  

Turns out 'a bunch' was 6.  Fail!

We tried on what we could, and when the shop realized it clearly wasn't going well - they became quite snarky.  It was awful.  They told us they could take our measurements, so we agreed - but then they refused to show them to us.  (I'm sure they didn't want us to go order the dresses elsewhere...but they really shouldn't have offered to take them in the first place, they clearly knew we weren't ordering from them)

After we left the shop, we ended up going back to my parents house for lunch and then just shopped online and ordered our dresses.  It turned out to be fine - but the shop was extremely un-helpful!

These are the dresses (and the color) we picked 

(the long dresses are being hemmed to the length of the short one)

After the dresses were ordered and the 'non-family' bridesmaids left, we went over to visit my Grandma.  My Gramps passed away in December, so it's still a bit of an adjustment period for all of us.  When we got there, my Grandma gave us all hats she had knit!

So of course we needed to model!

 We spend Saturday evening just hanging out at my parents.  Nick cooked us up a delicious meal on the grill and we just watched a movie!  It was so nice and relaxing!

even the dogs were relaxed!

Sunday 

We got up early and headed back to MN....as you heard in my previous post, the roads were awful!!

We spent 200+ miles driving though this..

Yuck!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!!