Happiness is the warm sun

So the title maybe a knock on a Beatles song, but Across the Universe was on t.v. the other day, so it's on the front of my mind.  It's true though, I'm happiest in the sun!  

This week has been utterly perfect and the weekend looks to be IDEAL!!!!!!  Here's the weather forecast for Saint Paul, MN

	THU 92	FRI 90  67	SAT 88  68	SUN 87  70	MON 89  71
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Last Sunday, Adam and I set out for the pool in my endless desire to soak up as much sun as I can before the 9 months of winter, bleak, and cold begin again.  It was roasting and packed at Como Pool.  Eventually we stared down/awkwardly lingered too close to enough families (who appeared to be packing up) to score two lawn chairs directly in the sun.  Three hours later, we peeled ourselves off the lawn chairs to find a lovely tan line - Adam's more pink than my bronze complexion.  Trust me, he has paid for it the rest of this week.  Sorry - no pictures since we didn't have a before to show the dramatic change.  

Either way, the best part about a public pool is the people watching!  Just a great mix of personalities and swimming abilities, no less.  Now yes, I understand when you sit by the side of the pool or in the pool you're going to get wet.  However, when someone is swimming past you doing a front stroke or "modified" front stroke doggy-paddle you don't expect these huge waves of arm-flailing-splashes to project out of the water.  It's a shock to the system ever time, but it's cool and refreshing so it's not going to rain on my parade.   The question I have to ask is, why don't these school aged kids know how to swim?  I personally was spoiled for having access to lakes and pools almost every day in the summers.  This obviously started my obsession with summer, sun and swimming!  

I leave it to you.....what were your childhood summer memories like? Were you someone who could pass the swim test and be the youngest off the diving board, or were you camped out in the shallow end?  

Life of Leisure

This weekend was jam-packed with food, friends, and a whole-lotta-fun!! Friday kicked off with us actually making a happy hour, and we certainly took advantage of it.  Here's our "light" dinner at Salut Bar Americain....beef tartar, french fries with bearniase, Salut sliders with more fries, and olive tapenade.  Needless to say, it was all delicious!  I certainly ate my fill....meaning I gorged myself until there was no more bearnaise.  Afterwards, we headed to downtown Minneapolis for the Foster the People Concert.  It was AH-MAZ-ING!!!! #concertphotos

I had expected a much younger crowd for the concert, but as it turns out when you don't buy general admission tickets most of the people sitting around you can legally drink and are notorious head-bobbing-little-body-movement dancing free spirits (or just inebriated)! I-loved-it!

Saturday turned out to be less than sunny, so it made for a rather dull day sitting by the pool waiting for the sun to peak from behind the clouds.  

Thankfully, the evening was spent tooling around Lake Minnetonka courtesy of our fantastic friends, Katie and Ryan, They invited us along on their two hour boat ride around the lake.  

How did we get such a chance at such a surreal experience?  Ryan won the trip in the Junior League of Saint Paul spring auction "Blue Jeans & Bling".  (Katie and I had both been on the committee for the auction last year.  It was a great success!!!!!)  

The group of eight of us had an amazing time soaking up the hot sun with a few tropical drinks before setting out on the water.  As you can tell from the pictures, we had an unbelievable time.  I really do have some of the greatest friends and met some wonderful people this Saturday.  It was seer entertainment being out on the boat!!!! Thanks Katie!!! 

I'm Blue

The last time I saw the Blue Man Group was 2006 in Chicago.  This was when Adam and I thought our birthdays were significant milestones, and he went all out with a full day filled with my favorite Chicagoan things.  We started off the hour and half drive down from Milwaukee with a pretty sweet birthday CD (2006 meant that burned a CD was still really cool).  We spent the morning walking through the Natural History Museum for the King Tut Exhibit and the Shed Aquarium (despite my immense fear of fish it was awesome to see the Sea Otters!).  Like I said, we use to think that birthdays were a BIG deal. 

Shed Aquarium Chicago, IL

Natural History Museum, Chicago, IL

If you're interested in more information on these magnificent buildings, I would highly recommend reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.  It's going to be a movie, but the release date has yet to be determined.  Here's the IMDB link.  

After a Chicago-style hot dog (the best thing to eat in Chicago besides Gino's pizza), we made our way over the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It's a great way to enjoy the city and escape the traffic noise for a leisurely walk in the heart of downtown.  The day finished with Blue Man Group on the north side of Chicago.  We certainly covered highlights of the city in about 8 hours - no rest for the weary!


 This time seeing Blue Man Group in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theater I knew a little of what to expect.  I had hoped it wouldn't be the same same as their Chicago performance 6 years ago (insert a feeling of getting old).  We didn't make a big to do about the show either, just a simple dinner of beer tenderloin and asparagus at home before heading downtown.   Sorry, I forgot to take a picture, but I can tell you it was absolutely delicious! 


The performance turned out to be almost the same as the performance we saw in Chicago with a few new twists.  Nothing is ever the same as the novis experience, but it was well done.  Adam and I were both very happy we decided to go, and it was a fun night out together!  Spoiler alter: music from the PBC piping is AH-MAZ-ING!


Big plans this weekend, I'll fill you all in on Monday with pictures this time!

Rules, guidelines, etc.

I've always admired those with extreme discipline: marathon runners, med students, etc. My motivation for anything comes in ebbs and flows, so I've decided before I get into the heart of this project I am going set-up some guidelines for myself.  


My blog is a creative outlet, and will not be a place where I will voice complaints of my current (less than significant) woes.  As in woe-is-me: I have a great life with a wonderful boyfriend and a less than gratifying job - I'm still trying to get it all figured out.  


Self deprecation is something I seem to tie into conversations.  From the number of "What not to say during an interview" articles I've read, that isn't a great characteristic.  To ensure that I'm always staying optimistic, I'm going to attempt to avoid it.  I will tie in several current reality t.v./celebrity anecdotes as I spend a significant amount of my free time reading Daily Mail and watching reality t.v. (a.k.a I'm obsessed with Bravo).  


This is a lifestyle blog, and current, my leisurely time consists of sports (mainly soccer and sometimes casual running), shopping, wine, beer, fancy cocktails and eating....lots of eating.  Prepare yourself for a whole spectrum of perspectives on my life, life choices (not necessarily always the right decision), and the random situations I sometimes find myself in! Realistically, I have set my post weekly minimum to 2 posts per week: one to recap the weekend and one from the week's excitement. It seems easy enough now, but who knows...post update scheduled for Mondays and Thursdays to start. (wish me luck!). /span>


I'm sure as I continue to write and critique myself there will be more rules/guidelines created.  Most importantly, I plan to write with a purpose typically for one of the following topics:
Fashion
Eating
Drinking
Houses (currently looking at house to buy)
Decorating
Vacations (or stay-cations if we decide to make the most of Saint Paul, MN)
....and let's not forgot the randomness that can be my life. 


Well----this-is-happening....I'm starting a blog!