A Birthday, A Burger, and A Bout

Saturday was a very special girls in my life's 7th birthday so we met up with her family and a few of her friends for a night of good food and RollerGirls.

We started a rainy, chilly Minnesota evening with dinner at Burger Moe's in Downtown St. Paul. Shawn and I like to order two different burgers, cut them in half, and trade. We had the Blue Sky Burger which is a beef patty smothered in blue cheese, mushrooms, and onions. It is one of my favorite blue cheese burgers in the area. We also had the Saute Fe Burger which is a beef patty with Monterey Jack cheese, a thick and spicy salsa, and fresh sliced avocado. It was amazing and now one of my new favorites. The service is decent, the food is good, the portions are huge, they have a full bar, and the prices are competitive. If you are looking for a good burger in the cities, I recommend Burger Moe's. I think they might even have a small parking lot next door.

For the main event of the evening we attended the Minnesota RollerGirls 9th Season Home Team Championship Bout and, as always, it was a blast. The season ended with the Garda Belts (Heidi's team of choice) ousting the Dagger Dolls for third place and the Atomic Bombshell's knocking the Rockits out of the Championship and landing the first place title, taking home the coveted Golden Skate.

If you have never been to a RollerGirls Bout I highly recommend it for a fun Saturday evening out. At the start of every evening the run through the rules with demo skaters so everyone knows what is going on. It's very easy to pick up as you start watching.

And, who doesn't want to see a bunch of girls on skates beat up on each other? I mean, really?

The first thing we do when we get to the Bout (not game, not match, but Bout!) is find the "Black Eye" booth. For $1 they will paint up your face to make it look like you were in a bar fight. Just tell people "you should have seen the other guy" if you catch them looking.

Heidi and Sophia are all ready to watch some RollerGirls!

 Next, stop for a picture with your favorite RollerGirl such as Roller Cat, a co-worker of the Birthday Girls Nanna. How cool is that?!

L to R: Piper (Birthday Girl!), Emma, RollerGirl whose name I am not sure of, RollerCat, Maddie, Sophia, and Heidi in front

 After all that you get to find your seats and watch a the first half of the derby.

Rockits are in Red and Atomic Bombshells are Orange

 And just when you think you can't be having any more fun it's half time so head down to the main floor and dance like no one is watching. But everyone is watching and you are on the big screen a million times.

I honestly took 10 pictures of them dancing and this was the best I got. These girls know how to have a good time!

Don't forget the air guitar!

And one last picture with RollerCat before she has to head back out and try to make up some point for her team.

Head back to your seats to watch the second half which is always packed with a lot of action as this is for all the marbles!

And finally celebrate when the Bout ends because you know you could never skate like these girls, while wearing the little outfits they wear (and somehow don't fall out of), and you really could never take a skate to the jaw with such grace. So no matter who won, you are still excited and want to cheer for the ladies who just spent the last 2.5 hours entertaining you and making your night one to remember.

Atomic Bombshells win the Championship and the Golden Skate!

Well, at least that's how the night goes down for Heidi and me!

Hugs and one last HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish sent out to Piper. I hope all your dreams come true and that 7 us your best year!!

Kara

Christmas In Fargo

This year our Christmas season is very spread out. We started on Friday with dinner with our good friends, continued with a day in Fargo to see family, then back to the cities for a few more celebrations here that will go until this weekend. I just love having my entire vacation being filled up with love and family!

Like I said, we spent a day up in Fargo which is about 4 hours northwest of our home. We went up there to see my Step Mom's family. This was the first time we made that trip.

In fact, this was the first time my Step Mom and her siblings were all together with their parents for 30 years! We loved being a part of this special day for them.

Heidi had been fighting a fever and headache for a few days so before we hit the road we hit the Target Clinic to learn she had some virus and just needed rest.

We headed right up to my Step Aunt's house where we had a very nice Ham dinner with all the sides. The Vikings game was on the TV and the family gathered around talking, really getting to know each other a bit.

We were so happy the trip worked out and we were able to see family we only see every 5 years! I just wish I would have taken some pictures!!

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Fargo and pretty much had the entire hotel to ourselves. I would be shocked if someone told me more than thirty people stayed there that night. My parents and Step Uncle stayed in the room across the hall from us so Heidi ran back and forth spending time in both rooms.

We had this amazing view!

Okay, so maybe Amazing is not the right word... One would think we were out in the middle of no where USA but we really were right next to a mall and a lot of shopping. I guess none of it was on this side.

What this view really said to me was COLD! And it sure was! We haven't really gotten below zero here in Minneapolis so the -4 with all the wind was quite biting. But we weren't really dressed for it either. For some odd reason Shawn and I were not wearing coats. Honestly not sure what what was about.

After we checked in we ran out to grab a light dinner at a place down the road called Smiling Moose Deli. I have one rule when I travel - I do not eat a places I can have at home! So thanks to Yelp we found this really great little Deli and had a nice dinner.

Chicken Cesar Salad and Tomato Basil Soup - no one else wanted to let me take a picture of their food. Spoil Sports is what I call them!!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for the night. Heidi was still under the weather so we just made it an easy night of watching movies and relaxing.

And maybe a little bit of bed jumping. But how can a seven year old stay in a hotel and not do some bed jumping?!

Christmas Eve we woke up to a nice hotel breakfast and a quick swim before loading up the frozen cars and driving back to the cities.

The drive back was so peaceful. There weren't too many cars on the road, it was that crisp cold where the sun shines and warms up the car, and we saw an amazing sun dog for about 45 minutes!

A Sun Dog is when there is a halo around the sun

 

Even though Heidi wasn't feeling well most of the trip we still had a wonderful time. I don't have an Act of Kindness to report during these two days so I am going to cheat a little bit and call our trip an Act of Kindness. My Step Aunt and her family extended an Act of Kindness to our family by opening their house to us and allowing us to be a part of their Christmas celebration. THANK YOU Sue, we love you!!

 

 

Hugs!

Kara

Love Is A Four Letter Word

Sunday night Erin and I took the night off from our motherly duties (and my packing) to attend the Jason Mraz concert. Boy, am I glad we did that!

We started our night off with a nice dinner of shared apps and soup at a place called Fire Lake Grill House in downtown Minneapolis. It was such a warm and cozy place that we later realized is actually the restaurant for the Raddison next door.

We went for wine and ended up with this awesome Crispin Hard Apple Cider in 22 ounce bottles. It was Honey Crisp Apple and I have been dying for another one since we left the bar. In fact we wanted to ask the bar tender for a paper bag so we could take it as a roady!

After dinner we walked over to the Target Center to find our seats and arrived just before Christina Perri started her opening set.

Let me tell you. That girl is amazing. 

You may remember how much I love her via this post here.

To be completely honest, I went to this show for Christina Perri. I really do like Jason Mraz but for me, it was all about C.Perri. And she did not disappoint. She belted out every song and totally rocked Jar of Hearts.

My only wish? That she sang it twice.

Jason Mraz was pretty A.W.E.S.O.M.E too. Do your self a favor and watch this video. It was one of the top three songs of the night. (but don't let the kiddo's hear it!). Jump to the 2 minute mark if you don't want to hear the banter.

Erin and I enjoyed the people watching as much as the show.

There was the lady who stood the entire show. Which would have been fine but no one else was standing! She was just standing there, stick still, and then she left with about 3 songs and the encore left.

And then there was the lady who danced by herself.

And then four women to Erin's right. Two late teen aged girls and their mom's. We cannot figure out who from that motley crew actually wanted to be at that concert. One girl sat with her legs swung on the seat next to her and her head rested on her hand the entire show. The next girl stared at her friends across the stadium the entire show. Head resting girls mom did not speak, crack a smile, clap, or anything really at all the ENTIRE show. And starring girls mom sorta of got into it but she seemed like one of those people who would smile and nod at her neighbors grand kids kindergarten concert. They were really something.

The girl to my left was a bright flashing photographer so I am pretty sure my retinas are scarred for life.

And finally there was the super drunk girl who not only spilled beer on the lady in front of her and did not apologize but let her boy friend deal with it but she got in a screaming match with said boy friend during the encore then stormed out of the arena only to meet him at the top of the stairs. Bet she called in "sick" on Monday!

If you ever get the chance to see Christina Perri in concert please, please take it. Then tell her I sent you. Because we are BFF's now. She totally knows me because I follow her on Facebook and twitter. So, you know. That means I am like her favorite aunt now. Right?

Right?

Never mind! Please enjoy my links!

Hugs,
Kara

Dining Out: Cocoa & Fig

A few months back my friend made a very important connection. I work downtown. Her favorite confectionery is downtown. Therefore, I must bring her a box of French Macarons.

I had never heard of this place before. It really is very close to my office but I had never even walked past it.

That does not mean it took too much to talk me into making a pit stop at Cocoa & Fig.

Fast forward a few months and now it's the same friends birthday. I knew right away I would be picking up a dozen French Macarons for her to enjoy, and if she feels extra nice, share with her family and co-workers.

Do they not look simply divine? And they are! Staring from left to right - Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Pistachio, and Raspberry. I so wish the Pistachio were mint. Oh, what about a chocolate cookie with a mint filling? That would be amazing...

If you have never had a macaron, it is a sandwich cookie made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, ground almond, and food coloring, filled with ganache or buttercream. I also found it interesting to learn that macaroons are naturally gluten free!

While standing in line I found this little sweetie just calling my name.

She is a Carrot Cake Sandwich cookie. Um... Yes please! Let me tell you how delightful this little sandwich turned out to be. A soft carrot cookie with the perfect amount of walnuts filled with a slightly sweet filling. I could have eaten three!
Cocoa & Fig has a retail store front on the Skyway Level of Gaviidae Common downtown Minneapolis. They are on the Saks side.  Their lovely website is located here.

In their store window they have a variety of treats including cupcakes, French Macarons, Valrhona Chocolate Bouchons (Brownies), Oatmeal or Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies, Flourless Cakes (gluten free!), and Cake Lollipops.

They also provide speciality cakes for birthday, weddings, and other events, cupcakes, and many, many other desserts.

Their staff is extremely friendly and their website is very user friendly, complete with menu and prices.

I highly recommend you check out Cocoa & Fig to satisfy your sweet tooth! I can't wait to go back as soon as I calculate how many miles I will need to run to negate that carrot cake cookie...

(Cocoa & Fig did not ask me to write this review, I paid for the products received, their staff doesn't even know I exist, I just really like their product and wanted you to know about it.)

Where to Eat: The Lodge of Robbinsdale

One Saturday night a few weeks back we found ourselves kid free at dinner time. When this happens we try not to miss an opportunity to open up our dinner options to include restaurants we may not want to try with a slightly picky seven year old in tow.

After asking for recommendations on the trusty old Facebook and searching yelp we ended up at The Lodge in Robbinsdale for Prime Rib night. Those of you who know me, I mean really know me, know I am always on the lookout for a restaurant who serves a trusty Prime Rib. One that is good every time. One where I can order my medium rare slice and it comes out medium rare. One where it comes out warm but does not have grill marks on it. I cannot begin to tell you how much of a disappointment grill marks on a Prime Rib are!

Oh, sorry, where was I?

Yes. The Lodge of Robbinsdale. The Lodge is located at 4080 W Broadway right next door to Bill's Gun Range just off County Road 81 and Hwy 100 in Robbinsdale.

They offer a sports bar style menu with a good variety of food, reasonable prices, and a full bar. The dining room is split into a bar side and a dining room side. If you are there for dinner, not pool or drinking, I highly recommend the dinning room side. The bar side is rather loud.

Like I said, we went in with the intent on ordering Prime Rib but for no real reason I changed my mind and decided to order off the menu.

We ordered the Lodge Wings with Buffalo sauce. They had the perfect level of spice for me and surprisingly they were not too hot for Shawn either.

We also split The Cowboy Burger. The Cowboy can be ordered as a Hamburger or a Chicken Sandwich. We opted for the burger since we also had the wings. We ordered it Medium and it came out with the right amount of pink. I was pleased with the use of thick cut bacon as I am easily annoyed with the microwave bacon some restaurants have switched to. And as a BBQ sauce connoisseur, I was impressed with the smoky flavor in the sauce. Overall, this was a solid burger and I will order it again.

Next time I will remember to take a picture of them food. I had just gotten home from a work trip the day before where I spent the week suffering from seasonal allergies. I developed this insane cough that hung around for about a week. My friend and I called it My SARS (Stupid Atlanta Respiratory Sh!t). Well, the short story is that it took all my focus to keep my cough under control and I had no capacity left over to remember to snap off a few photos. So for today, you will just have to take my word!

Can you do that? Will we be okay?

Okay, moving on.
The Lodge also had a decent sized dessert menu that just appeared on our table sometime during our dinner. Everything looked great and we opted for the Apple Pie with Cinnamon Ice Cream. The pie was good but wasn't anything special. Next time I will try something different.

Shawn had a beer and I had a glass of wine and our total was just under $40. I thought this was a fair price for two dinners, one dessert, and two drinks.

While this is a place we tend to end up at when we do not have Heidi, I will bring her along on our next visit. But I will take care to check the Events calendar on their website first. Monday night is kids eat free night and Sunday they have a brunch. Saturday is the only night they offer Prime Rib. They have specials almost every night and a huge stage where they have bands most Saturday nights.

Our waiter was very friendly without being overbearing. He checked in with us at appropriate times and even though it seemed most of his tables were on the bar side he never made us feel like he forgot we were there.

We plan to check out their brunch and when we do I will let you know what we think. I recommend The Lodge of Robbinsdale to anyone looking for a good sports bar style dinner, with or without kids!

(The Lodge of Robbinsdale did not ask me to write this review, I paid for the products received, their staff doesn't even know I exist, I just really like their product and wanted you to know about it.)

Where to Eat? Old Fashoned Donut Shop

Often, after dropping my daughter at school in the morning, I will run into the Holiday Station Store on the corner to grab a muffin. More than half the time the muffin is frozen and I can't eat it right away. This leaves me very disappointed. And hungry!
 
One day when my daughter was home on her second day of strep we dropped the carpool off at the school and decided to check out this little shop.

I had very high expectations. There was a little donut shop near my house growing up where the neighborhood bought their donuts on their way to church or work, and where the older neighbors met up for coffee. I loved running in to pick out my favorite cake donut and seeing people we knew hanging out drinking coffee. I hoped that would be me some day.

That little donut shop changed ownership a number of years ago and my dreams were crushed. They stopped baking their donuts in house and all the charm was lost.

Anyway, I was expecting the same mom and pop bakers and that is exactly what I got. I was expecting homemade, fresh donuts and that is exactly what I got. It felt like a bit of my childhood was handed back to me in that moment.

Then I bit into the Old Fashion and it was like heaven. Melt in your mouth greasy with a crunch in all the right places. I can almost taste it right now.

I am here today to recommend to you, just for a quick breakfast or for any of your donut needs, Old Fashion Donut Shop! A quick google search told me the Delicious sign belongs to the Chinese Restaurant next door.

They are located on the corner of Douglas Drive and Medicine Lake Road in Crystal.

They are open everyday until noon but appear to be closed on Sundays. Their prices are comparable to any chain grocery store and on Monday's they have a sale where you can purchase up to 4 dozen donuts for $6 per dozen, this is about 40% off of the daily regular price.

I swung in and picked up a dozen to share with you and for my family to enjoy over the next few days.

 They have about 12 to 15 varieties of donuts, an assortment of muffins, and some rolls. I have not tried the muffins or rolls yet but they are on my list!

My favorite is the Old Fashion and the Chocolated Coated Cake donut.

They taste as amazing as they look!

I could not eat them all. Honestly I wasn't even willing to try them all since I don't like glazed donuts, but this one was calling my name. I had to cut it open and then try a few bites.

It's a cinnamon pastry with a glaze on the top. It was soft and cool, very pleasing to the pallet and called to be chased with a hot cup of coffee. Seeing as I am not a fan of the glaze two bites were enough for me but I just know my glaze loving friends would be all over this guy.

If you are ever in the area and you have a hankering for a donut, skip the gas station and check out Old Fashion Donuts. I promise you will not be sorry.

(Old Fashion Donuts did not ask me to write this review, I paid for the products received, their staff doesn't even know I exist, I just really like their product and wanted you to know about it.)

My Victory Over Chipotle

I have been really good the last few weeks about brining a lunch, not eating out, and getting to the gym at least 4 days a week.


I know that when I deprive myself of something I want; it makes me want it that much more.

Yesterday, this thought crept into my head. It said, Chipotle sounds good.

Then I saw a bag from Chipotle in the fridge at work. And that thought came again. Chipotle sounds really good.

Thursday, I was in the gym stretching after a very annoying run on the treadmill. I had packed a pair of low cut yoga pants instead of pants with a drawstring. I like these pants but they really are only good for yoga since they slide down with the slightest movement. I spent the entire thirty minutes on the treadmill adjusting my pants.

So, I am stretching, trying to keep my pants from falling off, and that thought gets really loud. It says, After that, you really should get some Chipotle. It would be really yummy and you totally deserve it for sticking out the workout with these annoying pants on.

I try to ignore it. I explain to the thought that my sandwich is going to be really good and I should just eat that.

By the time I made it to the locker room, I had made a deal with that thought. If the scale said a certain number, I would have Chipotle.

Walking to the scale, I changed my mind. The scale had to be 4-tenths lighter than that number or no Chipotle! And if I do have it, then no dinner tonight. I figured this would seal the deal.

I jump on the scale. I do a double take. It’s not the first goal. It’s not even the second goal. It’s 6-tenths lighter yet!

I was very amazed that the first thought through my head was not, Yeah, I get Chipotle. It was, That’s so awesome, I totally don’t want to run it with Chipotle now!

So, I went back to my desk and ate my sandwich, grapefruit, and yogurt.

And guess what? I don’t regret it. The sandwich was good and I knew I would not beat myself up at 3:30 when I was falling asleep at my desk from all those heavy calories.

My Cure For The Blues

Friday was the anniversary of the day I lost my mother.  It is a very hard day for me and my family.  I was very blue but I made it through.

We went swimming at the community center.

We had family time.

We ate White Castle!

Lots and Lots of White Castle!

Have you ever had a crave case?

Yum!

And, no, White Castle is not organic. But they do make their bags 100% out of recycled paper so that's good enough for me!!!

The Double Mega Burger

There is a small diner in Columbia Heights called Flameburger. If you have not been there make plans to go there as soon as possible. They have the best burger and onion rings ever! I also hear they have a fantastic breakfast but I have not tried that - yet.

They are known for their Double Mega Burger. It has the following:

1 bun

tomato

lettuce

onion - raw or grilled

4 - 1/2 pound hamburger patties (totaling 2 pounds of hamburger!) cooked to your order

8 slices of bacon

8 slices of cheese

Mayo

Shawn has wanted to try this burger ever since the first time we set foot in the place. Monday, September 21, 2009 was his night.

They are saying - hurry up and take the picture so we can eat!

Holy Cats!! That's a big burger!

I can't believe we ate so much!

I can't believe we ate the whole thing!

I think I am going to be sick...

But I get a button? That makes it all better!!!

YUM!!!

Okay, so not really. It was honestly the best burger I have had but between the three of us we did not eat the entire thing.

Shawn and Heidi ate two patties, the fixings, and the top bun. They also had a few onion rings.

I had one patty with no bun. It has 2 slices of bacon on it and some cheese. It was very YUM! I also had some onion rings.

We brought the third patty home for lunch the next day and gave the rest of the onion rings to Shawn's sister that night.

Two hungry guys looking for food after bar closed could have put that down. A family of three looking for dinner? Not so much.

No Farting!!

This morning we had breakfast with my parents, my Grandma Helen, and her Boyfriend Frank at Fat Nat's Eggs in Brooklyn Park. I love this place. The food is good and the service is even better. The waitresses are all older so they know what they are doing. This is a place where you can order coffee and know it will be refilled often. Not to mention the huge portions and reasonable prices.

By the restrooms there was a poster that looked like this one.



Heidi and I were waiting in line for the restroom. Here was our conversation:

"Heidi, check out that poster. It says No Farting."

"Why do they have a No Farting poster?"

"Well, I guess they don't want you farting in their restaurant."

Heidi, now worried that she will be caught farting says "what happens if they catch you farting?"

"I think they will fine you. Add a farting charge to your tab."

Heidi says "Oh, no..."

Then a waitress walks out of the ladies room and sees us looking at the poster and I say "She likes your poster, she is wondering what happens if she is caught farting."

The waitress looks right at Heidi and says "we will catch you and you will be in trouble!"

The waitress and I laughed and Heidi and I headed into the restroom. Heidi looks at me and says "I don't want to get in trouble! What if I fart in here?"

"Don't worry, I will not tell anyone..." I respond.

The good news is, she didn't get caught and there wasn't a farting charge on our bill!