Road trip adventures: Grand Rapids, MI

It is 10PM.

I finished my run at 8PM.


I still haven't showered.


I'm kind of gross that way :-)


I chose to do some work (I'm sick, I know), catch up on blogs, and write this post instead of showering. Aren't you glad? (sarcasm).


How was your weekend, blog friends? Zak and I took a road trip to Grand Rapids (MI), to visit his sister and her family. We used to hang out with them frequently when they lived in Chicago, but there was something about a 700 square foot high-rise condo that didn't mesh well with having a baby :-) They moved to Grand Rapids earlier this year, and this was our first trip to their new town. 


It was also our first trip with both dogs in tow. They did surprisingly well on the road!

Here's how the weekend went: We pretty much either a) played with baby Zeke, b) went out to eat, or c) took photos with baby Zeke. It was great! 

Saturday, we managed to catch some of the Herman Miller Grand Cycling Classic (US Finals Criterium) races through Downtown Grand Rapids. It was pretty cool to watch! Team Bissel (yes, the vacuum cleaner) owned the race, at least the one we watched.

source

Later, we checked out Stella's Lounge, a punk rock bar with a killer whiskey list and a giant, mostly-vegan menu. We went early, and the music wasn't too loud or anything, but was pretty hilarious to take a baby there. We had to take advantage of their cool mural outside for a mini photo shoot.

Stella's menu was indeed impressive, mostly because of the 200 types of Bourbon and whiskey available. I didn't want to be *that girl*, at least not while hanging out with Zeke, so I opted to try the "Hellbent for Lentils" vegan burger with "Chronic" fries. Holy delicious.

They call these "chronic fries" for a reason - highly addictive!

Hands down, the best burger I've had this year. And 100% vegan!

Zeke said that once he can eat solid food, he will have to try this burger.

Baby fist bump!

After dinner, we headed to Jersey Junction in East Grand Rapids, for dessert: ice cream!

Cake batter ice cream. It was pretty swoon-worthy.

"There she goes with the weird food photography again..."

All in all, it was a fantastic night. More foodie adventures and Zeke photos to follow!

You do the talking: Have you ever had vegan bar food? We have a great place in Milwaukee called Palomino that is pretty fantastic, and has a similar rockin' vibe.

Are you a whiskey drinker? I seriously love whiskey and Bourbon. It's kind of my thing! Only a little bit at once, though. I'd rather order a high-quality whiskey on the rocks and sip it over a couple hours, than order beer after beer.

The Core Four

Hola friends! Hope that your Friday is going well.


A quick update as I'm spending the evening with my family - sister Annie, my Mom and Dad. The core four :-) It's all about these folks, I can be a stressball and worry about things that won't really matter in the long run, then I drive out to my parents house and get brought back down to earth, immediately. The time spent with my family is truly priceless to me.


Today, Annie and I went to pick up her bridesmaids dress for an upcoming wedding... it's unique. Not just one, but three different colors. With a green flower applique on the sash. 'Nuff said.


Afterwards, we stopped by Kopps so that Annie could witness the glory that is red velvet cake frozen custard. It was glorious, as usual

Pardon my Google imagery. But you get the idea.
(source)

Tonight, we grilled out and are enjoying my Dad's special gin & tonics. Delicious.


Running Update: Yesterday, I knocked out 5 miles in the drizzly rain. It was cool outside, so the combo of the temperature and rain made for a refreshing, albeit very difficult run. 


I'm headed out for a long run in the morning. See ya tomorrow for a mid-day update!

Vacation!

Good evening. And it has been a good evening. I'll get to that in a second.


Thanks to all who stopped by and said hello on my last post. It feels good to be back in an active blogging role! This little piece of the Internet would be nowhere without your awesome support, so thanks again :-)


I am up late and enjoying tonight because - wait for it - I'm on VACATION! If you hear a loud whooshing   noise, that's me exhaling. I've taken three much-needed days off from work, and am ridiculously excited!


Reason for Excitement #1 - My sister Annie is coming home for a visit!!!

Annie and I haven't spent real life time together since January (though we talk nearly every day online), so this weekend can't come soon enough. She arrives on Thursday evening!

Reason for Excitement #2 - Tomorrow, my Dad and I are headed to Miller Park for a Brewers Game! We haven't gone to a game, just the two of us, since I was a little girl. It's about time we had another Father / Daughter Brewers outing!

Reason #3... I'm watching an awesomely bad movie, I Want to Marry Ryan Banks, starring Bradley Cooper (way before he did The Hangover!) and Jason Priestley. 

Ooh yeah. Quality film.

The synopsis: When movie star Ryan Banks (Jason Priestly) finds his career in trouble, his best friend and manager Todd Doherty (Bradley Cooper) comes up with a reality dating show where women are chosen to live with Ryan, who will ultimately select one of them to wed. But when the audience's favorite, Charlie Norton (Emma Caulfield), falls for Todd, Todd is torn between his feelings for Charlie and his friendship with Ryan.

A guilty pleasure movie, for sure. Thank you, Lifetime Movie Network. Vacation is off to a great start!

I leave you with more gratuitous puppy photos... 

Farewell, 2009!

I can't believe that it's New Year's Eve!

This year seemed to go by so quickly. It was packed with happy moments, some sad ones, some I'd never like to think about again. Some milestones were had:

- I graduated with my B.A. in Communication

- I traveled to Colorado Springs and Las Vegas for the first time, also visiting Boston and Nashville for the second time

- Zak and I celebrated our five year anniversary :-)

- I discovered a new fitness passion, horseback riding

- This blog was created in June! It's been an excellent creative outlet, and I just love being more involved within this excellent community of bloggers. Can't wait to do more!

Last year, I had one main New Year's resolution: to spend more time with family and friends, and I feel that I definitely did that! I took two trips to see my sister, visited with my parents more often, and feel closer to everyone as a result. I'd love to see my girlfriends more often, but in the meantime I love our dinners and occasional nights out.

Some resolutions that I have in mind for 2010:

Personal goals:

- Research and buy my first home (with Zak!)

- Put as much money as possible into savings

- Get engaged? :-D

Fitness goals:

- Continue to be as active as possible, each day

- Continue with horseback riding lessons, and start on the trails in the spring!

- Find a good yoga group and practice at least once per week

- Get back into running shape, and possibly do a race in the spring / summer

Healthy eating goals:

- Make at least 3 healthy dinners per week (planning for leftovers). For me, the big thing is dedicating the time to make this happen.

- For lunches at work, limit eating out to once per week

- STOP frequenting coffee shops, take advantage of the free espresso at work

What are your resolutions and goals for 2010?

Tonight's plans include a concert with Spoon and Jay Reatard at our largest venue, the Riverside Theater. I've spent every New Year's Eve for the past 6 years, at work! Luckily I am able to bring Zak and some friends along with to enjoy :-) What are you up to for NYE?

Five more sleeps 'til Christmas...

Can you believe that Christmas is a mere five nights / four days away?

This weekend was a great time with a holiday party hosted by my dear friends Jason and Heather. I didn't get any photos, but let me just say Zak chose to wear his rockin' 'ugly' Xmas sweater and it was a big hit. I tried out a new dress and may be repeating it on New Year's Eve! Earlier in the day, I fulfilled some maid of honor duties by trekking to Stone Manor Bridal in Cedarburg with my bff Stefanie. Her wedding gown arrived and we went for her first fitting! I cannot divulge photos of the bride (her fiance might read this blog!), but I had fun "holding" a veil while she tried others on...

There's a lot to be excited for this week... my sister is coming in from Colorado on Tuesday evening!! I haven't seen her since September and while we talk nearly every day online, it will be so great to give her a big hug and spent some quality sista time ;-)

Christmas Eve will find my family of four gathered together, enjoying our now custom Tom & Jerry's and exchanging gifts. Then there's Christmas Day, and lots planned with both the families, and coincidentally it will be my final day as a 27-year old. That's right, Saturday I will turn 28!

I am happy to turn 28, but a little hesitant to be closer to the big 3-0. This past year has been so incredible, with travels and time spent with friends, graduating from college and discovering a new passion in horseback riding. Hopefully my 28th year will continue with the positive changes and personal growth. House hunting? Applying for business school, hmm?

As for the actual birthday itself, nothing huge is planned as of yet. It's great to have a Saturday after several years of weeknights :-D

In preparation for this weeks events, I've been cooking and baking up a storm. Here are some recent foodie meanderings...

Caramelized onion, baby bella and spinach frittata.

Vegetarian refried bean dip with dos salsas and creamy havarti.

Wonderful frozen banana soft serve. Gena, this recipe did change my perspective!

And finally, a petit dessert with baked sweet potato.

Now that Internet service is plentiful and ready, I hope to post more frequently. Coming soon: Zak and I visited his sister and her fiance in Chicago a couple weeks back. While there we experienced some great Indian / Nepalese cuisine, and visited a favorite brunch spot. Reviews and photos to follow!

Jungle Jack Hanna, Bon Iver, and million dollar meals

Before we get into things - Here's a friendly reminder to please, please enter my first ever giveaway contest! You have until 6PM central time tomorrow (Monday) - please do enter by leaving a comment. I wanna buy one of you that CD, and your support means a lot to me!

Thank you :-)

As another weekend winds down, I find myself relaxing at work listening to a great show... Bon Iver. Justin Vernon (singer, aka Bon Iver) was the spokesperson at AIDS Walk Wisconsin earlier today in Milwaukee, and the concert serves as an extension of this outreach effort. It's great to have worked on a show that benefits this very important cause.

This evening, I visited our newly redecorated catering / hospitality area tonight at the Riverside (our biggest venue) and must say - it's sleek, sophisticated and stylish. Felt more like an upscale restaurant than anything! I got to sample one of the desserts, which was some type of lemon creme confection.

Pardon the iPhone photo. That's some gorgeous Milwaukee skyline in the background. This is what the rock stars see when they dine at the table I was sitting at.

Earlier today, I started things off on the right foot with this lovely breakfast.

Plain organic Stonyfield Farms yogurt, one chopped plum, raspberries.

Whole wheat toast, topped with PB&Co honey peanut butter.

OJ in a favorite mug. This b-fast made me feel like a million bucks.

Check out that glorious pile 'o produce in the background. Zak went grocery shopping. I am a lucky lady.

The big activity for the afternoon was a live animal show with 'Jungle' Jack Hanna, at the Pabst! Zak's adorable niece and nephew had their first visit to the theater, and got to meet Jungle Jack himself. Guess who else got to finally meet him?

!!!!! This woman! Can you tell I was super excited?

Jack Hanna is one of my favorite human beings... he has educated so many thousands of people about wildlife conservation through his TV appearances and shows. His sense of humor is one of a kind, he's a gifted communicator as well. He's also quite the humanitarian.

It was a great time with Ben, Elise, and of course the grownups, Taylor and Jen. Hoping to arrange another outing soon.

Later, I enjoyed this super salad prepared by Chef Zak.

It had a little bit of everything, and on the side I made some Texas Toast.

I inhaled it :-) Fresh vegetables and fruit feel so different in my stomach than other foods. Back to that million dollar feeling! Good stuff.

It's now after 10PM and I am thinking of heading home. Sweet dreams, blog friends!

Sources: George Clooney says Coconut Cream Pie Larabars Looking Good

Happy Thursday, everyone! It's been a looooong but fun week. Lil' Sister Annie turned 23 on Tuesday - Happy Birthday again! I have to take a second to say what a proud big sister I am. Annie has accomplished so much at such a young age... halfway through her Masters in Psychology, and working on her PhD at the same time! She is a beautiful person physically and mentally, is a gracious hostess and chef, and inspires me in every way. Lately she's been impressing me with her hikes around Colorado Springs, and I am excited for her summit of Pike's Peak this September which she's doing for charity. Not to mention she's got impeccable taste for music and food, and an overall lust for life! I just love her so much and am so happy that we've got an awesome sisterly relationship :-)

Back to this week... Thanks to a ton of shows at work (6 total!) and an old friend who was in town on Monday / Tuesday off the Blink 182 / Fall Out Boy / Panic at the Disco tour, I've gotten my fair share of late nights this week! Did some time at the Safehouse - my favorite bar in America, and also Riptide, a great seafood bar and grill on the Milwaukee River. Today, Zak surprised me by suggesting we get lunch - he works really far from Downtown where I am, so we usually never get to do these kind of things. We bought sandwiches and enjoyed the sunshine, eating al fresco by the river. The weather is gorgeous and hopefully will hold out for the weekeend!

Tonight, we have Lykke Li at Turner Hall Ballroom and everyone around the office is pretty stoked for the show. We booked it what feels like forever ago, and it's crazy that it's finally here. Openers are Miike Snow - a couple members had produced Britney Spears' "Toxic" under a different artist name - and Esser, whose song "Headlock" is currently stuck in my head. One great thing my job has done to me over the years, is that I can appreciate all genres of music, and I feel like tonight will indulge my dance-y electronic side.

Now, on to the product review! Y'all ready for this?

Decided to try out my second ever Larabar today, the Coconut Cream Pie flavor, as an afternoon snack. How does this bar compare to the Pecan Pie bar, reviewed earlier this week?

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! I prefer this flavor very much over the Pecan Pie Larabar.

How does this bar stack up, nutritionally? Let's take a look, stats are thanks of MyFitnessPal.com:

Nutrition Facts

Larabar - Coconut Cream Pie

Servings:    of 1 bar

Calories

200

Sodium

5 mg

Total Fat

10 g

Potassium

300 mg

     Saturated

7 g

Total Carbs

27 g

     Polyunsaturated

1 g

     Dietary Fiber

5 g

     Monounsaturated

2 g

     Sugars

21 g

     Trans

0 g

Protein

3 g

Cholesterol

0 mg

 

 

Vitamin A

0 %

Calcium

2 %

Vitamin C

0 %

Iron

6 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

The good:

- Flavor is great - all coconut, with the delectable flavors of almond and hint of mellow cashew

- The texture is grittier than the Pecan Pie bar but very pleasant, with detectable pieces of shredded coconut and nuts. 

- Ingredient list on the package says this bar has "Unsweetened Coconut, Almonds, Cashews, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil," fine by me. I love that there are so few ingredients and that all have recognizable names!

- 10% your daily value for Copper again (LOL - so weird) as well as Magnesium

- 5g of fiber! That rocks.

- George Clooney recommends it... at least this picture makes it look like he does

I've had my Onion desk calendar stuck on Clooney's Feb. 3rd headline since... well since Feb. 3rd of this year. Isn't it hilarious? "Sources: George Clooney Looking Good"

The iffy:

- Fat content = Yowza! I had read a review of this bar from Tina, who loves this product but points out it has 7g of saturated fat! The label says that of the remaining 3g of total fat, 2g are monounsaturated and .05g polyunsaturated. This goes beyond my fat smarts so I am going to need to read up on what this exactly means.

- 200 calories, 3g protein = not what I typically look for in a bar. As I said with the Pecan Pie Larabar, I'd rather have high protein for so many calories. I realize that for a product that's mostly nuts and coconut this is average... however I look for more.

The Verdict:

I like prefer this flavor over the Pecan Pie bar, however will probably not purchase very often. I will save my dough for packaged bars that are higher in protein / other nutrients. I think it's a great once in a while indulgence, but a little too much of a splurge calorie and fat wise to be a regular snack item. I'd rather eat more food to feel full :-)

Some questions - please feel free to leave comments!

What is your favorite flavor of Larabar? 

What is your favorite packaged energy / granola / fruit bar?

What is your favorite George Clooney movie? ;-)