Everything Else

Alright, so this is the last one for today....just wanted to make up for my 6-week hiatus from the blogsphere!

Mark has been traveling quite a bit for work and I have made a few trips back to the Cities for various things.  Earlier this month I went home for my friend Tanya's baby shower which was actually really amazing.  I don't think I have ever seen a shower that big nor that organized so kudos to Emily and the other girls that helped with the event!

Last weekend I went home for an early birthday weekend.  Shaina let me stay at her house which we have deemed The Nest.  I love staying at the Nest because it always feels like a home away from home and also because Shaina has the best hair/makeup products and tools of anybody I know...seriously...anybody.  I got to use her super fancy bedazzled hairdryer and I now understand the difference between the cheap Conair kind I use and the nice, expensive ones....it really makes a difference!

Anywho, I got to Shaina's on Thursday night (St. Patrick's Day) and we avoided the pub crowd by going out for Mexican at Rojo's.  I'm not sure what the reviews have been like for that joint but I've been there 3 times now and I'm a fan.  The rice that comes with most of their dishes is DELISH and I think their tortilla soup (while not really traditional) might just be my favorite Stateside.


On Friday Shaina, Erin, and I all had the day off and we used our time wisely...to shop and eat!  We hit the MOA and IKEA and shopped from 10am until 6pm...it was bananas.  I had never had gelato from Paciuga at the MOA before so I got to try that and it didn't disappoint.  My fav flavors were definitely wedding cake and salted caramel...yum!  Erin definitely won the prize for most interesting flavor with her Guiness Chocolate.  It seemed appropriate since it was the day after St. Patty's Day but as Erin put it, "it really tastes like beer ice cream!"  Hilare. 

That night we had dinner at Roat Osha in Uptown which was tasty as usual.  I think Shaina and I pushed Erin over her limit of eating for the month though ;)  Even though I told everyone I didn't want any birthday gifts Shaina couldn't resist this and I have to say....it is perfect!  As most people know I am pro-cosmetic surgery/enhancements (well, a lot of them anyway...) and hope to one day have the funds to "upgrade" myself!

Saturday Shaina and I got our butts up and worked out which was rough since I was sore from walking around all day Friday.  That's right, I was sore from walking...I realize how ridiculous this sounds!  I had lunch with a friend and later Shaina and I went to the Eye of Horus for a Tarot card reading!  We were ill-prepared but both found it interesting nonetheless.  The best was when Corinne (our Reader) explained one of my cards to me that had 3 torches.  She told me that the 3 torches represented children and that she saw that in my future...say WHAT!?!?!

Later in the evening we had dinner at Il Gato (super tasty!) and finished up our humoungous dinner with some Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii!  Turns out Shaina is an MJ phenom and as one might expect my dancing "abilities" left quite a bit to be desired!  It was a blast though and I have to re-post this photo from my FB page because I thought it was hilarious. A jeweled MJ glove comes with your game but they stick this warning in the package:

I wrapped up my girls bday weekend with the 5-course brunch at the Nicollet Island Inn.  I had never been there before and had always wanted to try it and since I LOVE breakfast it seemed like the perfect choice.  The food was good and the company even better, I love getting together with these ladies!  A suggestion for anyone attempting this brunch - starve yourself the day before...it was a LOT of food, even for me!

Mrs. Rabbitt and I

Ladies that Brunch!

The weather up here has been pretty crazy but no worse than it's been in the Cities.  Lately we've been getting a lot of really cool sunsets so I've taken a few photos of those as well as some of the Snowpocalypse :)

View from our lower-level patio

Unfortunately the ice fisherpeople were always in my shot!

Otherwise Mark and I have both just been putting our noses to the grindstone.  I'm trying to figure out what I want to do after my current contract is up and Mark has been kicking some butt at work.  He is currently in the lead for Rookie BSM (Branch Manager) of the Year!  He's kind of a big deal ;)

Bijoux has been working really hard lately as well...here is the proof:

It's a wonder why we call her Princess!

This is Bijoux's new position while I work each day.  Under a blanket with a

 leg sticking out!

 

 

Getting a new toy is exhausting!