January and February 2024

These past months have just whizzed by! Weather has really thrown me off and while it has been really nice to not have snow I do miss the cold.

This is what I have been up to……

My French friend, Morgane, threw a Raclette party and it was AMAZING!!! My friends in college used to throw raclette parties all the time and I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I smelled the delicious cheese.

Love all the delicious food and spread

First round of many

With my friend Sunny, love her! She is so wholesome and sweet ❤

Morgane then made us fresh crepes and OMG they were AMAZING!!! Like as soon as I took a bite the delicious butter and sugar just melted in my mouth and it tasted like heaven. OBSESSED!!!! I got the recipe from her but per usual they didn’t taste quite like hers but ugh so good nonetheless

So good, I had 4 of them AHHHHHH

Met up with my friends at the local Ski lodge by us

Of course had to enjoy a Bloody Mary

With my friends Becca and Gloria! I always have the most fun doing anything with them

At night we met up with our other friend Jen to play purse bingo. Sadly, none of us won but that’s ok it was still fun

Love how stores and everyone got into the holiday Lunar New Year. Even my favorite skincare line had gifts to give out and with a cute bag that the kids already stole to put legos in it lol

Hello my true love Shake Shack

My friends from Chicago came to Minnesota for a taekwondo competition and it was so nice hanging out with them for the couple of days that they were here. I met them up at Mall of America and then the following day had dinner with them.

With my friends! I am still always in shock how I have know them for so long and it always feels like no time has passed when I meet them up after months of not seeing them. I text my girlfriends almost everyday so we don’t really miss anything or need to catch up and when we do meet up we just comment how big our kids have gotten and watch them all play together. For dinner though we left our kids since it was a late dinner.

We love Twinsfest which is like a kickoff to baseball season. Logan always asks to sign up to their clinic they have in the morning and this year he did it again with one of his besties. They had a blast and I love seeing Logan so happy.

After the clinic was over we took Logan to the baseball stadium to walk around and enjoy the festivities that they offer to get us pumped for baseball.

Logan got this free hat from the baseball clinic in the morning and he insisted on wearing it all day.

If you look closely me, Dan, and Logan are on the screen up there

I didn’t know they were still taking our pictures and Dan per usual making me laugh while walking away

Some delicious barbacoa flautas from our local Mexican restaurant

More pho and Dan got a banh mi sandwich at the new Viet place they opened up by us

I spend a lot of time at the batting cages with Logan but I love it! Whenever he asks to go which is a lot we are always happy to take him and watch him.

Prepping Lunar New Year gifts for some friends

A walk when it was like 42 degrees Fahrenheit which is incredibly warm for Minnesota in our winter months

Celebrating February! I love Valentine’s Day and in general February has always been a favorite month since I was a little girl. It has Valentine’s Day so lots of pink and candy and my favorite brother was born in this month and a cherry on top was one of my sons was born in this month. A glorious month indeed!

One of my best friends Camille moved to Minnesota for a year and sadly she had to leave me now that her year is up. She is visiting Asia for 3 weeks so she had to pack up before her trip and I miss her so much! This was the last dinner we had with her before her big move back.

My friend threw her daughter a Taylor Swift Murder Mystery Party and it was so much fun! Here was some of the decorations.

She ordered in Olive Garden and it was so good! I wish I had parties like this when I was little.

We got glazed donuts and some candy to make friendship bracelet donuts, they came out so good!

Again more Pho, I feel like every winter I just constantly crave Pho so I tend to get it like once a week until Spring hits and then I move on to something else

My friend Jen hosted a Galentine’s Day party and it was cute

Photo shoot fun with my friends Becca, Gloria, and Jen

We got these cute matching pajamas for only $10 at some store in Mall of America

Jeez, more Pho LOLOLOLOLOL Clearly when I become obsessed with something I don’t let go until I get sick of it but that takes awhile

This pho though is pretty decent and since it is located in my suburb I go there a lot

Meeting up friends for a Galentine’s Day dinner

Here I am with a new friend Kelly, she is sweet!

She made such a tasty cocktail

Wine flight at the restaurant

We went to a vineyard that had my friend Gloria’s New Year’s Eve piano player Cole playing so we had to come out to support him

Tried out a new crepe place that opened up in our suburb. It was ok, really cute inside and food was pretty decent. A tad too pricey and my loyalty still lies with Cafe Astoria so I wouldn’t be able to give this place an unbiased opinion

I don’t know why I couldn’t get past how the crepe looked lololol

I have had lots of crepes in my life and I always judge texture and how it looks/taste and this felt very uncrepelike but again my bias is showing. It tasted good and that is what mattered

We got tickets to see the Jason show which I am not going to lie I had no idea who that was but it sounded fun and went with Gloria and Becca

There we are on TV!!!!

We then went to lunch afterwards and it was really good and the place was decorated so cute for Valentine’s Day

At our favorite Thai place in St Paul called Pad Thai the names of restaurants here always have me cracking up

Love this mango and sticky rice dessert way too much

Logan had a party and this was his cake

Dan and I had an igloo dinner in Hudson, WI

Loved it and we hope to go again if not this year definitely next year!

I have no idea why Dan got a burger because he doesn’t even like red meat so of course he didn’t like his meal

But I LOVED my prime rib meal and would love to go back to get it again. He did like his cocktails, appetizer and dessert but knew he ordered wrong and so we both want to go again.

Again at this Viet place in St Paul that clearly has a choke hold on me

I can’t give up on my pho

Took Dan out to one of my favorite breakfast places in St Paul

Valentine’s Day brought lots of kisses, hugs, flowers, love letters, and sweets from my favorite boys in the world

Dan took me and Scott out to breakfast while the other 2 boys were at school

My sweet gifts from my #1 Sweetie

Dinner was so good at night at Holman’s Table

This cocktail was so good and wish it was part of their regular menu

Loved my Sirloin

Dan of course got the chicken

The desserts were so cute!

One of my gifts from my boys! I am so sad I don’t have my original but it was nice to have it in my collection again. This is one of my favorite albums of all time and a rare album that I can listen to it from start to finish without skipping any songs

Scott loving his space puzzle lolol

Celebrating Logan’s birthday just me and him at Benihana

We met up with Gloria and her son Andrew who had his actual birthday on this day and we got delicious milkshakes at the Sugar Factory. I had never been there before but I can see how cute it is and a fun way to celebrate a birthday.

Margarita flight at our Mexican restaurant we frequent and love

Logan spent his birthday at his favorite place, The History Center

He loves this bison and it is his favorite exhibit lol

They have this Charles Schultz exhibit that is the creator of Peanuts going on right now and Logan loved being able to trace the characters

Greetings from Minnesota

We then got lunch at one of his favorite places, Cafe Latte

At night we celebrated and opened gifts

A basketball cake for this celebration at home

Again, at this place!!!! This is why I like posting I didn’t even realized how much I went here but it was a lot!

It is restaurant week and of course we went to my favorite Viet place but instead of ordering off their special menu I stuck with my usual Rib Eye Pho lololol

Finally dyed my grey hair away and feeling young again

Dragged Dan to another concert he had no interest in going but per usual he had a decent time. The only negative was that no alcohol was being served so he had to go next door to get a drink and had to drink it there.

We went to see Mehro at 7th St Entry which is located right next door to 1st Avenue which is a very famous music venue in Minneapolis.

They had some seating and us oldies much appreciated it lolol

Loved how small and intimate is was in the venue

Got to meet Mehro and he was so sweet and love him even more now. We both look terrible but still love that I got a picture with him

He signed my vinyl ❤

More restaurant week eats, this was at Holman’s Table that I also went to for Valentine’s Day

This was at Bullvino’s a Brazilian Steakhouse where they come around with various meats and cut it right off the rack and you pick it with the little tongs they provide.

I was in heaven with all the meat, Dan was not lololol But like a true ride or die he came along and kept me company while I ate to my heart’s content. He did love this pineapple and got it multiple times. I told him next year I will be going again so not to be surprised when we have to go back

Hi

Last minute bracelet making before our Europe trip!