Five Things I'm Diggin'

Here are five things I'm into right now.  Where to begin as I've got a little catching up to do.  I'll start it off with my favorite discovery of the year.  You are going to be shocked I know when I start the list off here...

1. RED COW!  This little local gem opened it's doors in my blogging fog days so I didn't get to really tell you how much I love the joint.  I know you all see the Facebook check-in's and patio shenanigans on Instagram, but I truly love this place.  It's the neighborhood equivalent of the Cheers Bar but I imagine the food and wine at The Cow are far superior.  Of course the burgers are standouts, but for me I tread heavily across the appetizer menu.  Ahi tuna crisps, homemade potato chips and dip, three different poutines, scotch eggs, cheese curds, and the pastrami sliders...omg.  I don't care for pastrami, or sauerkraut, or pretzel bread, but I bit into this baby one afternoon and I was smitten. In love, actually.  Three on a plate is more than enough so there is always one to bring home for later.  Wait, did I list the fish tacos?  Delish!  Grilled cheese? Amazeballs.  And did I mention the cute owner, Luke?  He's The Best and will always greet your table with a genuine smile and a funny quip.  And he seriously knows his beer and wine so get your tail in ASAP but just please don't take my favorite table.

2.  How about this FALL we're experiencing?  After the most offensive, depressing, lousy spring on record, we deserve this.  Here we sit in the first week of October and my garden is still pretty fresh, there are ferns (albeit a little scraggly) in my pots, and barely a leaf has littered my driveway.  A little A/C in late September is always welcome and a Homecoming parade in shorts is pretty cool.  I love it.  It's my favorite time of year and even with the monsoon that blew through here last night, it still sort of feels like late summer.  I will take it for as long as Mother Nature wants to cooperate because this rocks!!

Watching the Homecoming parade on a perfect fall day

3.  And speaking of fall, I'm also diggin' football this year.  Yeah, I know the Vikes suck the big one (except when they're in London!?) but we are lucky enough to have a great crew in this neighborhood that likes to spend Sundays worshipping the 49er's, the Bears, the Seahawks, and God forbid The Pack.  This season we were lucky enough to inherit a proper Man Cave in the 'hood that Mr. Howell tricked out in a pretty serious fashion.  The Cave seemingly attracts all kinds of fans and I know that when Mr. C rolls the garage door up on Sunday mornings an interesting collection of folks are going to show up.  As long as this weather holds, count on the chili being served, the beer being chilled and the team flags flying high.  And even when fall does begin to fade, the boys have plans for heaters and fur blankets, which I will make sure to share pictures of! And I can't talk about football without mentioning how proud I am of Mr. C for being brave enough to become a Badger for a day to escort me to a game at Camp Randall.  It was a spectacular day with a spectacular win so here's a shout to Bucky's cutest new fan!  

4.  So last spring I started chatting with my brilliant friend/hairdresser about how I was contemplating bangs. Yes, bangs.  Fringe.  Not since 1983 have I had hair touch my forehead but for some reason last April I got stuck on the idea of bangs.  Brilliant hairdresser says, "No way.  At least not until Fall."  Okay.  I patiently waited for the calendar to hit September 22nd (first official day of Autumn) and I start calling her.  "Should I?  Shouldn't I?  I really should, right?  What if I hate them?  What if they bug me?  What if they make my nose look big?  My face look fat?"  And so on and so on... I think she finally got so fed up with texts, photos and nonsensical chatter on the matter that she graciously slipped me into her first cancellation and had the scissors moving before I could even say, "Should I really do it??" Boom. Done.  Hmm.  I llike them.  I like the change.  I like the feel of fringe on my forehead, but mostly I like that I did something I normally would never do and I must thank my stylist/friend that encouraged me when everyone else said, "Don't Do IT!"  She  told me to jump in with both feet and said in her confident "I'm almost 40 and you're almost 42 so make it happen"  voice,  "You will look stunning.  Your pony is going to look amazing.  And your top bun, to die."  Obvi.   If I see you on the street and you don't like my fringe, do me a favor, smile and tell me that my pony looks amazing.  The only draw back is that I looked like Nikki Sixx when I woke up this morning.


5.  Which brings me to another obsession...The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx.  I read this little number on our last road trip and it is flat out addicting.  Couldn't put it down.  Crazy shit.  Who knew people would ever think to down a pitcher of hot tub water and snort coke immediately afterwards for the ultimate high only to purposefully puke?  And locking yourself in a closet (naked, I might add) with a shotgun because you believe the security system on your wall is out to get you and there are midgets hanging from your trees?  Now that sounds like a blast!  Not to mention shooting up in your xxxx??  Good times.  And the man is still alive to tell the tale.  If you enjoy rock star memoirs (I was not aware that I did) this is the read for you.  Graphic, shocking, sad, captivating, moving, all rolled into one serious page turner.  Nikki collects his diaries from years on tour in the hey day of Motley Crue to truly shock the pants off of his readers.  This book is like crack ( I assume)...read it.  

That's what I'm diggin' this week.  More next week.  Happy Thursday!


Writer's notes-

*Don't be offended but I am not going to reveal where said brilliant friend/hairstylist works.  That would mean that I won't get called up first on the cancellation list and it will make it harder for me to schedule my bang trims.  It's too bad though because she does the BEST blowout in town!  Email me directly if you really like my fringe and want her number.  And also, I don't think I look like Reese Witherspoon, I just really like her hair.

*The Man Cave depicted above is not at my home.  Don't come to my house on a Sunday morning looking for a bowl of chili and a beer.  If you would like to join us on any given Sunday, once again email me directly and I will reveal the address of The Cave.  And FYI, Nikki Sixx might be making a surprise appearance in November...

What to Wear...

I need help.  

Another big 40th celebration coming up this weekend and we have been asked to dress as rock stars.  From any era.  I'm a little stumped, but here are a few of my ideas.  

Does Sharon sing?  Would this count?

The hair alone would be fun

Okay, this would be just plain WRONG..

Pretty Easy

Kinda sleazy

Sweet.  Looks like Mr. C, right?

Did Slash have a singer companion or just groupies?

$5 goes to anyone that can identify this fella.  

Hint- he does not live in Minnesota and likes to paint his toenails.

Afterglow

What can I say?  Grandview Lodge might never be the same again.

  

Words are not enough- very simply "thank you" from the bottom of my heart to the Grandview Gang for making the trek in your "Up North Chic" attire to eat, drink, laugh, and dance like teenage fools with me.  You are an amazing collection of individuals that I adore more than you know and I am still basking in the afterglow of my birthday weekend.   I am blessed and thankful to have every single one of you in my life- you truly made me feel special and sent me off to "40" in style.  Thank you!!!

And to you my dear sweet Mr. C, you continue to blow me away each day and I not only love you for your thoughtfulness, kindness and sincerity, but for your unique displays on the dance floor, your ability to piss off bridesmaids, and your talent with Power Point.  I love you!

Thank you!!

xxoo

It's My Birthday. Almost.

We're less than a week away, people.  40.  The big FOUR OHHH.  Halfway to 80, 20 away from 20.  You follow me?  "The back nine", as my brother-in-law likes to say.  Why does it all sound so ominous, and so, old?  Well, I'm here to tell you it's not.  40 really is the new 40, if you know what I mean.  Own it.  I intend to.

I love my birthday.  In fact, for me it's never just a day, it's more like a week.  And so mine began yesterday.  I got my first gift- a Clarisonic.  It rocks, but is it a hint?  I am forgoing Botox for this new little device that has already changed my skin.  If you don't have one, I suggest you go find one.  Even if you aren't 40.

I got my first card today from my sweet Mother-in-Law who is always on it with the cards.  Touching, meaningful words and blessings.  She rocks.

We are going out for a swanky family lunch at Meritage in St. Paul and I am considering it part of the celebration.  Why not??

I bought some new shoes at Ladyslipper today that I am going to wear to my party Saturday, which by the way, in case you hadn't noticed I am very excited for.  An incredible weekend blowout with all my favorite people from near and far and we are going to spa, relax, eat, drink, laugh, dance, and party until we can't anymore. 

Happy (almost) 40th Birthday to me!  I can't wait!

  

The Gap

My dear friend Rachel gave this to Mr. C in a birthday card over the weekend.  I instantly loved it and pinned it to my bulletin board.

It seems fitting because I just finished my first resume and cover letter in ohhhh....maybe ten years?  And then actually got up the courage to send it out. 

Never mind the extremely large, unaccounted for GAP in my work history.

Never mind technology was a totally different animal when I was in the workforce- can you say dial-up with that horrible, actual "dial-up" noise you had to endure while you patiently waited to be connected to your server?

I remember when they came into our neighborhood (in California, no less) to actually "lay the cables underground".  

Groundbreaking.  No pun intended.

My, some things have certainly changed out there, but drive, creativity and energetic minds remain the same .  Just because I haven't been involved professionally in the work force doesn't mean I have not kept up; that I have not paid attention.  My resume can't possibly convey my experiences over the past eight years, and let me tell you, some of it kicks what happens in the office setting.

I'm just sayin'- don't exclude The Mom's of the world from re-entering the workplace just because they have that dreaded GAP from staying home to raise our kids.  
They, we, ME have been giving birth, breast feeding, potty training, nurturing, making meals, nursing colds, wiping noses, tears and various other body parts, negotiating squabbles, soothing hurt feelings, losing sleep about what happens at school, fretting over every decision right down to "should I buy organic or non-organic milk??"

(The answer in my book is organic.)


But anyway, we've got something to give, to contribute, something valuable to say.

Don't dismiss what happens in The Gap.

Thoughts on Summer...

Yup.  It's that time of year again, and for THE VERY FIRST TIME in my 10 years of having kids, I don't want it to end.  That anxiety I wrote about back in June, you remember, that summertime "what to do with these crazy children" anxiety I was expecting to swallow me whole, proved to be a bunch of nonsense.  

We had fun.  Serious fun.  

My kids water skied for the first time, super successfully.  I water skied, for the second time in my adult life, successfully.  We went to concerts.  We played with our favorite families.  We completed our first serious road trip and are already planning our next.  Mr. C and my eldest climbed a mountain, a friggin' mountain!  And that's how I feel too.  I feel like I climbed a friggin' mountain this summer, hit the summit, took a deep breath and enjoyed the view.  Now that we have launched (no, cannonballed) Mr. C into his 40's, I am ready to join him there myself this fall.  I still remember every birthday I ever had as a kid at places like Davanni's and Cheap Skate and that weird hibachi place in Shelard Park.  And my favorite one of all- my 24th birthday when Mr. C took me to The Cabin for the very first time.  

Now I'm almost 40??  I certainly don't feel like it, but I'm looking forward to it, actually.  All that metaphorical mountain climbing I did this summer has prepared me, and I am ready to cross that line into a new place in my life.  

 I am sitting on the precipice of the Big 4-0 with my legs dangling, and it feels good.  My babies are getting older and will all be in school- their needs are different, they need me differently, and I believe it will be important for them to see me need something for myself.  What that will eventually be, I don't know yet, but I feel like I am looking out on a vista of possibilities.

Oh, and by the way, did you vote today? 

 If not, vote here.  And do it every day until September 9th.  

Every.  Single.  Day.

Thanks.