Irina's

Last night we met Jared's cousin and husband for dinner at Irina's. We decided on Irina's after several other options fell through, in case you were wondering Le Jardin and Azaela's are no longer open. I've only been to Irina's one other time for L's birthday a few years ago and my experience was far from pleasant, the bartenders were not only out of every thing you could imagine, they also served a bright green long island and showed off some crazy Russian magic tricks, all while we were entertaining ourselves cheering on USA in the Olympics.

Our experience wasn't much better this time around. The drinks were expensive, the service was slow and the food was okay. When we walked in I saw a nice dining room with white table cloths and candles but we were instead seated in the bar where pictures of Russia flashed up on the wall from a projector. I chose the stuffed salmon which had feta, sauteed spinach and bacon but after sawing through a toothpick they left in, I wasn't too thrilled to finish my dish. My meal also came with a potato and grilled veggies, the roasted garlic mashed potatoes were bland and I got two measly burnt pieces of asparagus.

For a positive our company was great and Jared enjoyed his beef stroganoff.

spring fever

with the warmer temps last week and with snow back in the forecast today, i realized i definitely have a case of spring fever. i have found myself looking at swim suits, sun dresses, sandals and thinking of all the things i want to do as soon as it gets warmer.

here is my list so far:

*farmer's market
*run around grey's lake
*rent a paddle boat
*visit the meredith test gardens for a picnic lunch
*thursday summer concert series at jasper winery
*run another road race
*go to an outdoor concert
*attend a baseball game
*sit on a patio

please hurry up spring!

bittersweet

I have worked my last shift at the Buckle and for those of you who know me well, your next response might be "for how long?"
After graduating college I joined Buckle full time in their Management Trainee program. I had always been a Buckle shopper and thought it might be a good start to my career. My first day I came home in tears I hated it, who knew there was so much to know about jeans, but soon I got the hang of it and my goal was to be the top seller every day and the best manager I could. Soon the hours became too crazy, I had only worked there 6 months but it felt like years. I had another job offer and decided to leave the Buckle.
Not too long after I was shopping and was recruited for Christmas help and three and half years later I was still there. I love the Buckle...I love the thrill of selling, the people, their customer service model and the discount was nice as well. It was kind of like the gym, I hated the idea of going but once I was there, I really enjoyed it.
But it had to end, my current job is requiring a lot of hours these days and it was hard to get motivated to go to another job after just working a 10 hour shift. Hopefully now with my evenings free, I'll have no more excuses not to go the gym, menu plan or blog. :) But who knows, maybe someday I'll find myself back at the Buckle.

la mie

i'm a little late in posting this but better late than never. i had one of the best dining experiences a couple of weeks ago at la mie, jared took me there for my birthday lunch. it was so good i can't get out of my head, i might have a new obsession. it was also on the top 100 list, so another one has been checked off the list.

the atmosphere is trendy with a European feel, the food was simple but exquisite and the service was great. i also ran into an old friend that works there, so that was an added bonus.

i had a greek salad with hummus along a homemade vegetable noodle soup with fresh pasta. jared had an apple, avocado salad with a flank steak sandwich. my friend also sent us home with a bag full of their amazing pastries including a pear tart, a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and my favorite a lemon meringue tart.

another reason i may love this place so much is because it reminds me of a little bistro, le rendezous, i visited when over in Scotland. everyone else on our trip was touring some golf course, you may have heard of it, st. andrews (known as the birth place of golf and where they frequently play the open championship) while calista and i were walking around the campus of the university of st. andrews looking for prince william. on our way back we found this lovely restaurant and it was one of the highlights of my trip. i had a panini and homemade carrot soup. we eventually made it to the golf course long enough to get a picture on the green of the 18th hole. la mie is the closest thing i have found to replicating that delicious meal.

Valentine's Day

I know there are a lot of Valentine's Day haters out there, some may think it is a fabricated holiday for card companies to make some extra cash. I will admit I was shocked to find while shopping for a card for JH, I flipped one over to find it cost $6.79, it wasn't gigantic in size, it didn't sing or record your voice, it was just a card, a little pricey in my opinion. I won't bore you with the history of Valentine's Day but if you're interested you can find it here and for those of you who don't want to click through, Hallmark didn't invent the day.

Valentine's Day has always been my favorite, even as a kid I wanted to volunteer for that party above all the rest, I would carefully pick out my valentine's cards and put a lot of thought into who would get which one and delicately decorate my shoebox that turned into my personal mailbox for all the special valentines I would receive.

One of my favorite memories with my friend Calista is we were supposed to be studying for a Marketing test we had on Valentine's Day and instead spent all hours of the night making homemade valentines and decorating cookies so we could distribute them the next day to our boyfriends. We obviously did something right because we both passed the test and married the valentine we had that year.

Another reason Valentine's Day was always so special is we would wake up to find a Valentine's Day poem written for each of us and posted on the door from my dad. Now that I am not living at home, I still receive a poem via email from my dad each year. Don't go thinking my dad is some romantic sap, he would never admit to it, but his poems always rhyme and are short and sweet.

Even today, I love sending cards to my friends and family, baking treats and making others feel special and loved on this holiday. The day is about much more than chocolates, cards, flowers and gifts, it is about letting those around you know they are loved.

Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo

Just Try and Ruin My Day

I am not going to give you my list of excuses for not blogging lately but today I had a revelation, blogs are a powerful thing. I follow a blog entitled, Just Try And Ruin My Day. Brian was diagnosed with cancer 10 months ago and I heard about his story through an article I read on the Cedar Rapids Gazette, found his blog and have been following ever since. I read today that he passed away, I was filled with sadness and tears, I felt like I lost a friend because through his words I got to know him. Brian loved life, I could tell that even through his fight with cancer he was still enjoying every day he had. I have to keep reminding myself life is not about our jobs, our homes and the day to day chaos, it is about fulfilling a much bigger purpose. My heart and prayers go out to the Pritchard family, thank you for reminding me that "life is a blur. live it."

The Social Network

I'm not claiming to be a movie critic of any kind but I did thoroughly enjoy "The Social Network" and would recommend checking it out. The storyline was completely captivating and you get drawn into the social phenomenon of facebook. And hellooo...it has Justin Timberlake in it so how could it be bad.

And for an added bonus, check out this gem of a story I wrote for "The Simpsonian" back in 2004 about this thing they call facebook. I was in Beginning to News Writing and my professor submitted this story to the Simp and to my surprise it ended up on the front page and I spent the next year writing for the paper.

*****

Any restaurant with a five-star review in Des Moines is definitely worth checking out in my mind but when the critic compares it to the likings of chef Thomas Keller's The French Laundry, I must pay a visit. Watch out Baru 66, I will be visiting soon.

Dos Terrible

Last night I went to Dos Rios (or Dos Cabos as some like to think it is called) with L and N for a less than thrilling experience. This place gets a lot of buzz so I've tried it on several occasions all to be left utterly disappointed. How it managed to be a top 10 restaurant on the top 100 list is beyond me. I'll start with the positives, the company was fantastic, the ambiance is unique and the gauc is hard to beat, but after that it goes down hill fast.

It started with trying to make a reservation, their "sometimes we take reservations policy" is confusing. In my opinion if a customer wants to make plans to eat at your restaurant, they should rewarded and you should take their name down. After arriving the db host handed us a buzzer, then gave a rehearsed speech about our wait going by quickly, the bartender being entertaining and some rule about closing out our tab before leaving the bar area. I wasn't impressed with his attitude to say the least.

Then comes our server, she was beyond awkward, couldn't manage to make eye contact, give a friendly smile and barely said hello. It's not that difficult to strike up a conversation with three lovely ladies.

The food was mediocre. It is a Mexican restaurant for goodness sake, I have had more flavorful food at Taco Johns. I ordered tamales, one of my all-time favorite dishes and in one word I would describe them as blah. When you're asking people to pay high dollar for this type of cuisine, it should impress.

When it was all said and done we managed to spend $100, don't worry for those of you who read my previous blog, we had a gift certificate so it knocked the total down to $5o, but if someone is going to spend money in your restaurant, they need to be taken care of from beginning to end.

Despite our not great experience at Dos Rios, we had a fab time at the Cashes Rivers cd release party. It was my first time to the Mews and I am looking forward to going back as well as purchasing the new album.

Gaga for Gaga

Lady Gaga here we come! L, N and myself will be spending St. Patrick's Day with Miss Lady Gaga herself live and in person in Omaha. I have heard rave reviews about her show and am so excited to see what all the buzz is about. There is no doubt that she is a little out there but I love her creativity, free spirit and hello she makes some great tunes! We better start thinking about our ensemble, I think we'll have some competition. Now the countdown to March begins...