Skier v Someone Who Skis

I don't classify myself as a Skier.  I definitely fall under the category of Someone Who Skis and usually it's not very well!

Twice in my life I've 'stood on some sticks and thrown myself down a mountain', a la Matt Bellassai.  But I do fully embrace the "look".  I'm just a poser. 

This trip to Keystone, Colorado was really just a reason to get away with the girls.  Drink too much, eat too much!  You know, the good stuff.

Like this wine.  It's delicious!  Dry Creek is located in Sonoma County, California.  Almost a year ago, my best friend and I wine trailed in Sonoma and it was amazing.  I can embrace trips to snowy locations, but I'm definitely more of a warm weather destination kind of girl!

What's your idea of the perfect vacation?

Viva Las Vegas

I'm on a mission to get all of 2014 highlighted before it's gone and I've yet to post anything about our recent Vegas trip.  This is the second year in a row that we've went out to LV for the National Finals Rodeo with our friends Maggie and Shawn. 

Sunday night after getting checked in at MGM and promptly headed to the bar.  We didn't venture to the dance floor as the drinks were more easily accessible where we were at, but Trick Pony was that evenings entertainment.

Bright and early Monday morning our group met "my" Ag girls for our breakfast that I wrote about last week.  After spending two hours visiting and eating, our group disbanded and we went on our merry way.  It was time for some SHOPPING!!  To Cowboy Christmas we go! 

Shortly after arriving at the convention center, we ditched the boys and us girls walked aisle by aisle looking for anything we couldn't live without.  Shockingly, it took quite some time to find that one item that breaks the ice!  For a minute there I was concerned I wasn't going to find anything I couldn't absolutely live without... Ha.  I should have known better!

My first purchase was a leather cuff made from an old leather belt that still has the white buckstitch threading.  I'm a sucker for cuffs.  And buckstitch!

I also pulled the trigger on some gorgeous turquoise earrings.  These puppies are going to get a LOT of use!  Like people may think I don't own anything else.

After grabbing an early supper, we headed over to the Thomas and Mack for Round 5 of the NFR.  This year marked the 30th anniversary that the rodeo has been in Las Vegas!  And for the last 28 years, the rodeo has been sold out.  I find that pretty impressive!

 The NFR always presents the American flag in fine fashion!

Grand Entry!

Following Round 5, we caught a cab out to South Point for the Buckle Presentations that air the following day on RFD-TV.  The go-round winners all bring their family and friends on stage and spend a few minutes recapping that night's events with the announcers.

The highlight of Round 5 was that Joe Frost won the bull riding and brought Clyde and Elsie Frost on stage with him.

Remember me talking about Lane Frost, well Joe is his cousin.  Talk about carrying on the family tradition!

Surprise, surprise, Tuesday we did more shopping.  I have to say, I was pretty picky about what I wanted and didn't want this year.  This year I gravitated to well-made leather goods and quality clothes that I didn't already have anything similar to at home.

LS Shirt//Small Town Gypsy, Dress//Wrangler, Wallet//Appaloosa Trading Company

The headband and earrings below are some of my "quality" 2014 purchases!  I adore them with the serape' dress I purchased last year in Vegas! 

Headband//Running Roan, Earrings//The Jewelry Lady, Dress//Tasha Polizzi, Boots//Minnetonka

When we got back from the rodeo, we headed to our fave hotel bar and ended up rubbing elbows with The King of the Cowboys, aka Trevor Brazile!  If you're not a rodeo fan and his name means nothing to you, let me give you some stats:

12 All Around Cowboy titles
21 PRCA gold buckles
And more than $494,000 in winnings in 2014 alone!

He's kind of a big deal!

Wednesday, you guessed it... more shopping!  We had to go back for the stuff we initially passed on and couldn't live without.  No rodeo tickets for Wednesday evening, but we did get to go to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace! 

Dress//Francesca's, Denim Vest//Kohl's

It. Was. Epic!

Some of the best food I've ever had in my whole life!  There's really not enough exclamation points to describe it.  And I was too busy "mmm"-ing to get an decent pictures of the food, but if you're going to be in Vegas to yourself a favor and get a reservation!  For appetizers we split the lobster tacos and the tiger shrimp.  For entrees, Matt had the lamb chop, I had the pork tenderloin and the Beitz's split the massive porterhouse.  Each plate came with sides, but we also had the sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.  Everyone passed on dessert because even our hollow legs were full!

And all good things must come to an end... Thursday afternoon we flew home to blustery Illinois.  #wompwomp  

Turkey Time with Family

Last Wednesday, we loaded up the goof troop and headed for Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving with Matt's family.  Despite snow, rain and narrowly killing my husband, we made it safely! 

After unloading the car and feeding the hungry pups, this girl poured herself a LARGE glass of red wine!  It was divine. 

Bless my sister in law and brother in law's hearts for putting up with 13 family members and 2 extra dogs!  Everyone converged on their house Wednesday night and Jennifer managed to get everyone settled, fed and hydrated.  Not only did she make food for Wednesday's supper, but also breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, the turkey and several fixins for dinner and breakfast Friday before everyone headed back out!  Super woman. 

Thursday morning was pretty low key.  Lots of catching up over coffee and breakfast casseroles.  Midday we started getting motivated to get our turkey dinner prepared!  The boys handled frying the turkey, while most of the gals made appetizers, sides and desserts. 

 

 

 

Matt's family also likes to indulge in craft beer, good wine and mixed drinks!  I fell head over heels for this recipe for an Apple Cider Moscow Mule...

Several of us headed out to battle the calories and snapped some great photos of the beautiful TN scenery!

After our walk, I put the hurt on some online shopping and knocked out several people on my Christmas shopping list.  Kohl's strikes again!  I also took advantage of Courtney's 50% off sale at Cowgirl Crush... Excited to see everything come in the mail this week!

Most of Matt's family took off back to their respective states (IL, NC, FL) after breakfast Friday morning, but we decided to hang out for another day!  And after being relatively contained by four walls, the four of us were ready to escape to town.  The four of us had lunch out, did some shopping and then headed back to the house to check in on the pups. 

Speaking of the pups... My girl Haddie was a rock star!!  She was a little timid (obviously), but warmed up to everyone pretty quickly!  She also found a buddy in Matt's cousin's daughter, Eve.  I was a touch apprehensive with the baby crawling all over, but Haddie handled it like a champ!  Everyone was smitten.

After an impromptu session for Christmas card pictures, we all headed into NashVegas!  The last time the four of us were downtown it was rainy and freaking cold, so the mild temps were so awesome!  We had supper at Demos' Restaurant and then went for drinks/live music on the patio at Rippy's.  Let me tell you "Rocky Top" sounds so much better when you're actually in Tennessee!

Sadly, our trip had to come to an end and it was time to go home Saturday.  On the way home we stopped for lunch at an old college fave, 17th Street, which is famous for pork barbeque!  We rolled into the lane at home around 5pm and EVERYONE, human and canine, was excited to be out of the car.  The rest of the night we seriously lounged on the couch and did nothing!

To round out the weekend, Matt and Bella got up and went duck hunting Sunday morning at the God awful hour of 4am.  Like the smart kids we are, Haddie and I slept in!  I was going to take Haddie for a run, but the 25 mph winds kept me in my pjs watching Christmas movies and decorating our big Christmas tree.  I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out this year!  Be on the look out for pics!

Linking up with Biana.

Adventures of a Conference Wife

Obviously 21 posts in October wore me out and I needed a break... Ha! 

Not really, I just assumed my role as 'Conference Wife' to my bestest pal and was busy livin' and not blogging.  But if you missed me, I wasn't absent from Instgram.  That would just be crazy!

Allis told me about two weeks ago that she was going to talk with her boss about flying in from CO to attend a conference in Chicago the first week of November and if it all panned out could I come up and hangout? 

Uh, let me check me calendar.  Yes, duh!  I'll be there!

Sunday morning I headed up to Chi-town to collect Al from the airport and then we went to check into our hotel.  We stayed in a swanky hotel a block off the Magnificent Mile, which was perfect!  After we got settled and drank a bottle of wine (priorities!), we ventured out.  We ended up at a small, hole in the wall bar called Pippin's Tavern for a snack and some brews.  When we left Pippin's we did some more wandering and stumbled (not literally) on Jake Melnicks.  Allis and I always split a couple different items on the menu and here we tried the hand-cut BBQ chips, cobb salad and the special macaroni and cheese... BLT!  Freaking yum!  The macaroni and the Vander Mill Totally Roasted cider were a toss up for me, loved them both! 

 

Monday we got up and went for a run down the lake front, which was good to offset the booze and mac n cheese!  For brunch we ended up at Sunny Side Up and again split a few of the daily specials.  After we finished, the rest of the day was spent traipsing all up and down Michigan Avenue.  So much shopping!  And the people watching, second to none.  Around 3 o'clock we both couldn't stand it any longer... we needed nourishment and libations. 

Enter The Purple Pig. 

We had high hopes for this little place and it didn't disappoint!  I mean when your slogan is 'Cheese, Swine and Wine', can you go wrong?!  Embracing the Mediterranean cuisine and extensive wine list, we dug in for the long haul.  I highly recommend the Brussels sprouts salad and sheep Gorgonzola paired with the Reserve de Sours Rose'.  Simply put... It was epic!

After tearing ourselves away from The Purple Pig, we headed to Trader Joe's.  One of our traveling traditions is to hit up a market or some cases Walgreens, and spend one night at the hotel in our PJ's just chillaxing.  It's always one of my favorite things we do, no matter where we are! 

Tuesday morning we got in a workout in the hotel fitness center and then Allis and I went our separate ways.  She headed to her conference and I was off to tackle the city on my own.  I ended up checking out Millennium Park and doing some shopping on State Street. 

I was a little early to see any of the Christmas windows at Macy's... Maybe Matt and I'll head back up a little later this year? 

Around lunch, I headed back to the hotel and busted out the work I brought with me.  See, it's not all fun and games.  I did some work too!  When Allis got back from the conference, I insisted we head to the Signature Lounge that's on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building.  While the drinks and waitstaff are a bit over-priced and pretentious, you can't beat the view! 

From the Hancock Building, we excitedly made our way to Eataly!  Matt's family and countless bloggers have been raving about this place and I was dying to go for myself!  Paige put together a fantastic post about the experience that is Eataly, I was too busy stuffing my face and gawking to get too many pictures...  #sorrynotsorry  We ordered the meat and cheese platter, the shitake mushrooms and a bottle of champs! 

Matt's cousin, Flannery and her roomie, showed up as Al and I were just deciding to head over to the wine counter.  Broke, post-college kids have great timing.  Several glasses of wine later it was time for gelato!  More yums. 

Not ready to head back to the hotel... We went back to The Purple Pig.  It. Is. That. Great.  And why order anything different than what we already knew was awesome?!?

You won't be surprised to read this, but Wednesday morning we didn't work out.  Shocker.  We slept in and then went back to Sunny Side Up for brunch.  Really, why mess with a good thing? 

After brunch, Allis and I said our 'See ya laters!' on a street corner on The Mag Mile.  Nothing too long or drawn out., just two pals knowing that we'll see each other again soon! 

Facts About Me #blogtober14

Hmm, what's a blog without sharing some personal details about yourself, right?

Isn't what keeps you coming back post after post is that you relate to someone you've never meet through cooking or maybe a mutual connection (for me this is farming, the Midwest, agriculture or horses)? 

Any time I write a post that describes me I'll tag it 'farmer's daughter' which doesn't exactly tell you everything you need to know about me, but I hope it gives you a good idea!  I want it to convey that I'm intensely proud of my farm background.  And also that I'm a daddy's girl!

But there's more...

I'm a crafter, but I'm quite terrible at posting tutorials online here.  I get wrapped up in the making and forget to stop along the way to take pictures.  For instance, I had the best of intentions post a step-by-step how to for my FALL lalalala sign that's decorating my porch.  These are the pics I have on my phone:

Step 1: Stain your unfinished wood.

Step... Well, damn that didn't go as planned!

Purple is my favorite color.  Shocking, right?

For me, it's a toss-up between a good margarita (i.e. lots of tequila) and a glass of wine (read... not sweet).

I once accidentally flushed a pair of sunglasses. Then there was the time I broke my orthodontic retainer by slamming it in the car door...

More often than I'd like to admit, I accidentally put my underroos on inside out and don't realize it until much later in the day.

I really want another dog.  Matt isn't convinced.  I'd prefer a corgi, aussie or another lab, but I'm also open to any Heinz 57 variety that I may come across at a shelter!

I love the character dynamic on Criminal Minds, but the show's content usually has me hiding under a blanket with my hands over my ears!

Any party where I can wear a costume is a good party in my book! 

I hate bugs that jump.

One of the greatest summers of my life was spent at the Victory Junction Gang Camp in North Carolina, where I was a counselor in the horse barn.  VJGC is designed to let kids with chronic and terminal illnesses just be 'regular kids' even if it's just for one week during the summer.

 

Linking up with Helene and Taylor.

Vacation Recap, Days 5-7

The last half of my vacation to the East Coast was spent in New York City.  I had originally planned to fly home Tuesday midday, but everyone convinced me to stay a little longer so they could take me to the city.  Let me tell you, they really had to twist my arm!  I was able to get things squared away with work and graduate school to stay the extra time so I did and boy am I glad it worked out!!

Tuesday morning after breakfast, all five of us loaded up and hit the road to the big city.  It takes about an hour to get from Dan and Laura's to the outskirts of NYC, but obviously with traffic and what not it took longer to get into the actual city.  When we first got to town we headed to SoHo to go to Kelsey's favorite store.  From there we headed to Little Italy and Chinatown and did some window shopping and browsing at the store fronts there.  We ended up finding some cute purses and jewelry that no one could say "No" too.  By this time we were all starving and decided that lunch was next on our To-Do List.  The last time Laura and Dan were in NYC they found Heartland Brewery and wanted to share it with us.  I had the most amazing plate of Tex Mex Nachos and a delicious adult beverage, sorry no pictures.  After lunch we wandered in and out of some of the boutiques and shops around Seaport.  I was also able to see the Brooklyn Bridge!

I had great luck shopping in that area and ended up with three dresses and a bunch of accessories thanks to Dan and Laura.  I'm telling you these two people are the best EVER!

After leaving the Seaport area we headed to our hotel.  For our impromptu trip to the city we stayed here...

The hotel was commissioned by William Randolph Heart in 1926 as a statement of love for Marian Davies, whose picture is located everywhere through the hotel.  Many old time Hollywood celebs have stayed at this iconic hotel back in the day and it really is beautiful!

Around 6:00PM we hit the city streets to walk to supper, but along the way we went by...

 For supper we went to Gallagher's NY Prime Steakhouse.  This particular restaurant has been serving great steaks in NY for 85 years!  That's a lot of beef!

We dined on clams, crab cakes, crab cocktail, sauteed baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms and of course some very delicious steak!  I had the signature "The New York Strip" which is dry aged to perfection for 21 days.  To wash it all down we drank several bottles of champagne and toasted to great trips, great friends and a great meal.  After we left the restaurant we headed to Times Square, which was really magical at night.

Times Square is certainly a big draw for tourists and I had no shame picking out magnets, key chains and signs to bring home for Matt!  Somehow we also found ourselves in this store with giant statues, where Kelsey found some of her relatives!

Isn't the resemblance striking?!?!  Love you Kels!

By this time the rain set in and we took refuge in the the BIGGEST M&M store I have ever seen!  There was just about every colored M&M you could imagine, as well as clothes, jewelry, and statues of the characters.  Do you have a favorite character?  I've always like Yellow, he crack's me up.  I also had the opportunity to try the Dark Chocolate Mint M&M's, holy cow they were yummy!  The rain had begun to let up and we decided to brave the sprinkles and head back to our hotel.  Along the way, Kelsey climbed into a fountain on a dare.  Did you know you can get arrested for that?  Oppsy!  Thankfully, we didn't get caught.  To wrap up a great day we all had dessert and drinks in the bar of the hotel and then headed to bed.

Wednesday morning Dan and Laura headed back New Jersey and left Kelsey, Luke and I in the city to be collected by Tommy, my chaffuere.  We had breakfast downstairs in the hotel and then headed towards Central Park for a carriage ride.  While it may be touristy, I didn't care I needed some horse-time!  Joey took us on a great trip and our driver Ian told us all about the park and neighborhood.

 After leaving Joey, Kels and I broke off from the boys who wanted food and headed to Forever 21 and did some more serious shopping!  We both did really well here and came home with some cute clothes.  From Forever we walked down the block to Macy's.

This store is seriously HUGE!  Seven floors and a whole city block huge!  Ladies, there is TWO floors of just SHOES!  The building itself is really cool, my favorite feature is the old wooden escalators.  Talk about historic. 

This is the last photo I snapped in the city and it's very "New York"...

Someday I hope to come back with Matt and actually go up inside.  That and do some of the serious tourist attractions too like the Statue of Liberty and a Broadway show!  Crowds aren't really Matts thing so it might be more like dragging him...

Leaving the city we went through the Lincoln Tunnel, which spurred an entire conversation of Elf quotes!

"I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel."

" I'm a cotton-headed ninny-muggins."

"SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!"

I seriously love love love this movie!

Once we were back in NJ we were all spent!  Exhausted hardly covers it.  The evening was spent watching movies, eating Chocolate Covered Pretzel ice cream, and relaxing. 

Thursday after packing and breakfast, Tommy showed up and took me back to the airport in Philly.   Matt and Bella both showed up in Bloomington to collect me, talk about the welcome wagon!  I'm not sure who was more excited to see me, Matt or Bella?  The trip out to New Jersey was wonderful and I'm so grateful for the Muirhead/Young family for having me out to see them!  I'm ready to come again whenever you are! 

Components of a Great Trip!

Last month, Casey threw down a challenge to all those Fresh Face Friday linker-uppers.  In place of simply linking up, she asked that we write in response to a specific prompt!  Fun right?!

And I don't know about y'all, but when someone else does half the work by giving me a topic, creating blog content becomes way easier! 

Today's prompt was 'The Greatest Trip of Your Life'.  In the last year, I've gotten to go on some epic adventures {Disneyland, New Jersey, Colorado, Puerto Rico} so picking just one was a bit of a struggle!  After doing some thinking drinking, Puerto Rico really stands out in my mind.  And instead of just rehashing the awesomeness when you can read about it (here, here and here) I want talk about what makes a great trip!  So with out further yammering on my end...

Stellar Companion, Check.
My pal Allis is the bomb.com.  She is literally the reason this trip was possible!  You see, I'm what you call a Conference Wife.  Do I really need to explain that?  Basically, she goes to really awesome places for work and she asks me to tag along!  And traveling with Allis is awesome.  We both enjoy a plan, like to do some researching before we pull the trigger, but are always up for an adventure!

Food, Check.
Every great trip has to be accompanied by great food.  The food in PR didn't disappoint!  We treated ourselves to an amazing meal at Marmalade and ate mofongo with the locals.  Both were delicious!

Drink (Food's Bestie), Check.
We may have drank the pool bar at the hotel out of Bombay Sapphire gin.  Please don't judge, their concoction was delicious.  Allis also introduced me to a delicious Spanish wine, Tempranillo!  To be clear, it wasn't all about the booze.  The fresh squeezed OJ was fantastic. Oh, but I forgot to mention the margaritas...  Maybe it was all about the booze!

Scenery, Check.
Allis and I decided that we wanted to do some local sightseeing, but would rather explore some of PR's hidden gems rather than the touristy places.  After asking our concierge, he recommended La Cueva del Indio and it was so worth the winding roads, rain storms and U-turns!  The view from our balcony didn't suck either.

 

Adventures, Check.
Salsa dancing by the beach.  Exploring Old San Juan.  Kayaking in the bioluminescent bay.  Gambling with Brown Dog.  Paddle boarding.  La Cueve del Indio.  It was all fantastic!

Now it's your turn!  As this month's Fresh Face Friday co-host I want to hear all about the greatest trip you've ever taken!

Welcome to the

FRESH FACE FRIDAY BLOG HOP!

Hosted by: Casey @ We Took the Road Less Traveled

This week's writing topic: 

Tell us about the greatest trip of your life!

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