November Restaurant Reviews

Need some awesome Midwest Eats?

Check these out:

Red (Des Moines, IA)

*An awesome array of Chinese features with a much fresher feel that won't make you regretful you ate there. Might I say they have elegant decor and free chocolate fortunes?

The Girl and the Goat (Chicago, Ill)

- A great array of drink and tapas with a loud atmosphere. I think my favorite thing may have been the fact you could share a large goat's leg or that the bathrooms had individual stalls...

Bluephies (Madison, WI)

 -An awesome fusion restaurant with a huge menu ranging from quiche to meatloaf to quesidillas. Only complaints? Too much to choose from!!

MENU

Any other ideas?

Reasons Ann is awesome.

Ann Flood is awesome and the best because:

She gifted me with a cross necklace that doesn't bump around or get in the way ever.

She said I can have her Bodum French press. O hot dayum.

She takes me on road trips to Terre Haute, Indiana (dream big.) and Chicago, Illinois

She appreciates French food and culture

Even if I cried every single day she would still answer her phone

She understands good humor

Never too cool

She is so active, and supports reasonable laziness at times!

Reasons Ann can tone it down a bit:

Sometimes I think my friends like her more than they like me

It is impossible to give her a gift as awesome as she is

I always want to come home and never grow up

It's a lot to live up to.

Don't you agree??

The good ol' days.

Books and excerpts from childhood that are so awesome and I definitely did not understand at the age of 5...

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-The Velveteen Rabbit

Other Classics:

The Giving Tree 

Goodnight Moon

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Thankfulness

Blog! I have abandoned you for far too long!

Since it's Thanksgiving week I thought I would blog about what I'm thankful for....

Free christmas lights 

Free statues from homeless people in the ped mall :)

Asian slaw recipe that I just tried!!

I lost the recipe but click here to find a similar one....

new boots!

Also:

roadtrips to Indiana and Chicago with my mom and sister

having a good run that enlightens your whole day

really strong americanos

awesome friends

lyfe

:)

Old Man Drinks

So, I'm not often one to go for lots of hard drinks, but today I saw a book called "Old Man Drinks," and I decided if I do decide to let lose it will be the way an old man does.

Some old man drink recipes:

"Satan's Whiskers"

-1 ounce gin, 1/2 ounce grand mariner, 1 ounce of vermouth, 1 ounce of sweet vermouth, 1 ounce of orange juice, 2 dashes of orange bitters

"Rusty Nail"

1.5 ounce of scotch whiskey, 1/2 ounce of dramboie scotch whiskey, 1 twist of lemon peel

"Perfect Manhattan" 

 three parts rye (whatever that means), half part of dry vermouth, half part of sweet vermouth, dash of bitters, and drunken cherry "on the rocks"

These men look like they could definitely go for an old man drink! The ingredient "vermouth" seemed to be very popular in old man drinks so maybe once I learn what this is I can get to business!

Life is not that Important.

So today I was thinking.  WEIRD. But I started to think about a bunch of different situations.  Like what if I was a waitress forever, or a runner forever, or a teacher, or a coach.  And then I realized life would pretty much be the same.  I would still every day come home and find happiness and try to serve.  There will never be a big red sign that says, "Hey Betsy,  this is exactly what you should do with your life." And so then I realized this was good.  We are all just a spoke in the wheel and together the world will function.  No matter what I choose to do or where I am led or how long I spend in certain places it will still be possible to find little amounts of joy every day and the majority of the good stuff in life is made up by encounters with others and making the best of what you have and just being content. So... that's pretty cool.

See. No matter what happens I can always do things like this! I think I really wanna make these tea container herb growing pots.

Rock Steady.

Oldies sampler.

Rock Steady- Aretha Franklin

Alison- Elvis Costello

I shot the sheriff- Bob Marley

Imagine- John Lennon

For What it's worth- Buffalo Springfield

Okay! Next time that I am singing or whistling a great old tune no more pretending you have never heard of it before.

Thank you!

ilovetothinkthis.

Brisk air.

Heartbeat.

Discomfort.

Pain.

Freedom.

Joy.