120/365

Good morning.  Lovely weather we're having isn't it?  Seriously.  Mother Nature, we get it - you hate MN, now move on.   Of course I'm grateful we don't have what the South has been dealing with, but Spring would be nice at some point before July.  


Anyhoooooo!  We went out to dinner last night at Duplex Mpls on Hennepin.  Such a cool little bistro like place.  It is literally in a duplex.   Loved it!  Lucas had the house made spaghetti
 tossed with house smoked salmon, shallots, diced tomatoes, peas and lemon tarragon cream sauce.  He said it was awesome.  I had the mixed greens salad with house smoked salmon, raspberries, walnuts and a lemon vinaigrette.  YUM!!  Our friend Julie had some rabbit and said it was awesome - I tried a little bit of the critter too - tasted like pork.  Lucas tried a new Belgian beer that he really enjoyed - I don't remember the name of it?  Nocturnum something.  I had a Violet Dream which was stoli vanilla, sparkling wine and creme de violette - wow.  It was such a pretty drink (deep purple in the bottom to clear at the top) and it tasted like I was drinking sweet vanilla violets.  Really different and good.

And lastly a picture of me and Lucas that my friend and dinner date Julie took.

I'm heading up to St. Cloud today with my mom and aunts for a bridal shower.  This evening I will be curling up on my warm couch watching movies.  :-)  Tomorrow brunch at the Original Pancake House.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

                                          

119/365

Happy Friday!  Yes I was one of those crazies that got up at 4:30 this morning to watch the wedding.  I was back in bed by 6.  :)  I went on a slight rampage on FB last night about certain people bitching about others getting up early to watch the wedding or even caring about the wedding.  I basically said I don't bitch about your stupid Super Bowl or NFL draft parties so beat it.  :-)  I mean really?  Is my interest in the royal wedding any different than anyone else's interest in a ridiculous sport?  No.  At least in 10 years people will still remember what Kate Middleton looked like - they aren't going to remember who the Vikings drafted.  Off the soap box.....

I thought the wedding was beautifully done - all the pomp and circumstance was there yet it was simple and understated like William and Kate seem to be.    Her dress was perfect.  I think it was fitting to her.   Very Grace Kelly.  I'm happy she didn't go too "poofy" - Diana's dress was awful but I can bet you $100 Diana had little input in her wedding dress.  Times have changed in the royal family since the days of Di and Chuck (thankfully).

Perfect picture.

I did think while Kate was walking down the aisle "OMG I would have needed a pit stop for water and a bathroom break" - that was the longest aisle ever.  I also loved when Harry looked over his shoulder to sneak a peek at Kate - he totally said something to William like "Bom chicka wow wow - your woman is hawt!"  LOL.  

Kate's sister looked beautiful too!  And look at those little flower girls!

Can we talk about hats???   I reaaaaalllly wish I could be British and wear some sweet ass hats to weddings.  My friend Sarah and her wife Maria came to the states when Sarah's sister got married and Maria sported the most beautiful bright pink hat here at the wedding.  I loved it!!  And I loved that Maria brought her culture to the States and wore it proudly!  I saw pictures from that wedding and I think everyone there had a picture taken wearing her hat, haha!  Ok, so you have the wild hats:

Fergie and Andrew's daughters - Beatrice is in the nude suit and hat - she always has the weirdest hats.  But good for her for being fashion forward.  See what I mean about the wild hats?  Bea at a different event:

Another wild hat - I think this is one of William's friends.  That hat is.... I don't know - makes her look like a unicorn or something.

The Beckhams.  I did NOT like Vicky B's dress.  She's pregnant - doesn't mean she has to wear a tent!  She's probably a whopping size 4 now.  I would have rather seen her in this dress, but FITTED.  Nothing wrong with seeing a baby bump.  Bless her heart for wearing those 7 inch heels while preggo though.  

The mother brigade:  Kate's mom, THE BIG GRANDMOMMA and Step Mom.  They all looked great.  I hate the Queen's purses - seriously, she has 91 ladies in waiting - make one of them carry it.

Singer Joss Stone - this is more my speed.  Love the coral dress and the simple hat.

Love this one too - Princess Victoria from Sweden.

HATS everywhere!!  I guess in England you accept the fact that you may not see what's going on in front of you at a wedding.   :-)

Happy weekend everyone!  We're eating at the Duplex in Minneapolis tonight - review tomorrow.

118/365

House is CLEAN!  Clean, clean, clean.  I love a clean house.  I wish it stayed clean FOR.EV.ER.

Just for fun:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? 

No - well my middle name is the same as my sister's but spelled different.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? 

Hmmm... I don't remember?  

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? 

Depends.  Its legible.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? 

Roasted Turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 

Canine ones

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? 

Yes.  

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? 

Never.   :-)

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? 

Yuppers

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? 

No - not because I'm afraid of heights or strings breaking and throwing me to my death - because working in a spine clinic I see what stupidity has done to some people's spines.  ;-)

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? 

I don't have one.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? 

nope

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? 

Stronger than I use to be - ROAR!

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? 

Oohhhh..... mocha, carmely goodness, vanilla, heath bars, toffee, yummmm....

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? 

If they look put together.

15. RED OR PINK? 

Depends on the situation.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? 

My hair color - I don't have one, thus I spend money to give myself one. :)

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? 

right now? no one in particular 

18. WHAT IS THE PAUL MCKENNA TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST? 

wtfrackity? 

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? 

no shoes - fuzzy socks

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? 

Trader Joe's Olive Oil Sea Salt Popcorn

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? 

Due Date starring this man:

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? 

Green

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? 

puppies, fresh laundry, fresh cut grass, Maui

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? 

Mother 

25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE? 

Beach House

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? 

If I have to watch, football

27. HAIR COLOR? 

Brownish with some highlights

28. EYE COLOR? 

Greeeeeeen!

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? 

Yup

30. FAVORITE FOOD? 

Right this second?  Fish tacos - good ones

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? 

Scary movies

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? 

Water for Elephants in the theater, Due Date right now 

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? 

Gray

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? 

SUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMERTOINFINITY 

35. HUGS OR KISSES? 

Kissing hugs. 

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? 

cheesecake

37. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO? 

if you want results, BOTH 

38. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION? 

If you have a computer you can watch television on it.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? 

Just finished Paper Towns!  LOVE IT.  I have Clockwork Angel to start.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? 

I don't have one.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? 

silence

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? 

both depending on the situation

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? 

Maui

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? 

I can party plan and multitask like nobody's business

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 

Olmsted Hospital, Rochester, MN, USA

47. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW? 

New Hope, MN

48. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE? 

Green

49. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR? 

Blue

50. DO YOU LIKE UNZIPPING 50 ZIPPERS? 

Random

117/365

What a day!  It was crazy yet good at the same time, haha!  First my delicious lunch:  Trader Joe's Arugula Caprese Salad with basil vinaigrette.  YUM.  And fresh blueberries in yogurt.  Double yum.

Check out my cute napkins that my friend Julie got me!  Love!  I am the "Queen" at work.  :-) 

Speaking of Queen, it was Admin Professional Day today.  Look at the AMAZING flowers my MD and PA sent me.  The colors are so beautiful!  Job well done Kevin and Sean!

My lovely Nurse Brown also brought me flowers and a bottle of Skinny Girl Margarita Mix!  

Dinner tonight was spinach salad with strawberries, feta, pecans and raspberry vinaigrette and chicken.  Delish.

And the best news!!  Today is suddenly my Friday - ok it caused my day at work to be fricken nuts, but that's ok.  I get a 4 day weekend.  :-)  I got a call today that we have a house showing tomorrow at 1!!!!  Thus I was like "OMG I NEED TO CLEAN!!" so I took tomorrow off to get the house spiffed up and get the dogs out.  We'll head out to do some errands while the house is being shown.  I had already planned on taking Friday off to do some spring cleaning (since its going to be 70) - open some windows, let the dogs be outside, etc.  Probably watch some royal wedding and then go back to bed, haha.  Friday night we're heading to an art show and dinner at Duplex in Minneapolis.  Saturday I'm heading to St. Cloud to a bridal shower with my mom and aunties and Sunday I'm having brunch with my friends Nancy and Jutta.  Happy Weekend everyone. :-)  Fingers crossed on the house showing!!

116/365

Progress.  Now if only we had sun.  Sigh.

115/365

Today it was beautiful!  60's, sunny.  Lovely.  I just heard the weather dude say a BAD, BAD, BAD four letter word.  And it doesn't start with f and end with k either.  Sigh.

114/365

Was the Easter Bunny good to everyone?  


I've been doing more research for the Mad Men Cocktail Party - apparently these parties are VERY popular thanks to the TV show.  I could read blogs all day long about them.  Some inspirational photos I've found in the blogs I'm reading:

I'm going to check out some local vintage stores and Ebay for ads and reading material as well.   :-)

This one kills me:

And something for the boys.

113/365

Happy Saturday.  We went to see Water for Elephants.  I really liked it (you know I'm a costume drama sucker).  There were a couple scenes of animal cruelty which were difficult to watch, but overall I really enjoyed it. AND Robert Pattinson can be something other than Edward Cullen.  Gasp!  I know. 

We went to the Edina Grill for dinner.  It was delicious!  I had a Ginger Peach Cosmo - OMG heaven.  It was soooooo good.  I could have had 5 but I didn't lol.  We shared sweet potato fries for an appetizer.  Yum.  I had the fish tacos for dinner which were awesome.  I LOVE FISH TACOS.  The fish was a litttttle spicy (hello I'm Norwegian - spice to me is pepper), but they were sooo good.  Lucas had a cheesesteak sandwich that he said was great and our friend Julie had steak and pierogies which she enjoyed as well.  Lucas had a drink that he called a "Suped up Manhattan" - it had cherries soaked in whiskey which he thoroughly enjoyed.  I might have to do that for my Mad Men party.  We all shared Devil's Food Cake for dessert.  Sinful and delicious.  

And a photo courtesy of Julie - pardon Lucas' red cheeks.  Whiskey soaked cherries in whiskey will do that to a guy......

And one of me enjoying my drink!

112/365

Today was a day of birthdays!!  My cousin Carson turned 11, my PA at work had a birthday and my nurse at work Lana.... well she turned 29 again.  ;-)  

Cupcake = good

Birthday at work = confetti.  Below:  Julie, official confetti monster.

Edward hangs out at everyone's cube on their birthday too.

Happy Birthday Nurse Brown!  She's not actually 60... we just hang up every birthday decoration we can find.  Happy weekend everyone!

111/365

The Easter Bunny came to town!!  I'm Amber.  I'm 29 years old and yes I get an Easter basket.  Don't hate.   My parents are cool. :-)  

Vinci says "OMG MOM!!  Granny sent the Easter box!"

 MMMMMM, Jif.

Chapstick obsession.

Basil and the orange gorilla.  Yes there is a canine Easter Bunny too.

100 calorie treats

My all time favorite.

Treats for the pups.

Vinci approves!  Thank you mom and dad (grandpa and grandma)!!  We are spoiled.  Love you!