More Pics of John's Surprise Party

Happy 70th John!!

Ok, while I am finally diving back into blogging...and (gasp) trying to get caught up on about 3 months of fun events, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the other big birthday we celebrated as a family this fall.

My step-dad John turned 70 in October and we had a SURPRISE party for him here in Minnesota and let's just say it was a big surprise! he thought he was going down to the hotel lobby for a casual dinner, but found about 70 friends and family members waiting for him. He was totally shocked! A few friends came that he hadn't seen in many, many years.

Lindsey, his oldest granddaughter did a great job planning locally while my mom got things together and orchestrated getting him to Minnesota for the weekend from Missouri. In addition to providing the cake, Paul and I were the "excuse," John thinking he was coming to MN to look at a house we were thinking of buying.

Happy 70th Pat!!

Paul's mom turned the big 7-0 on December 11th. I hope I can be as active and look as young when I turn 70! We all went out for a nice birthday brunch on Sunday at Majestic Oaks CC and it happened to be a Breakfast with Santa event so I'll have more pics to post shortly.

Third Time is the Charm, Apparently...W San Francisco

After two failed attempts this year to stay at W Hotels in Minneapolis (see earlier post about Valentine's Day disaster) and NYC (my Spring illness causing us to bail on our 5 day trip to NYC), we finally spent a fun filled 3-days in San Francisco at the W Hotel, which we really loved. The interior decor was much more "eco friendly" and different than other W's I've stayed in, but we loved it just the same. One of our favorites was the little light up Buddah in our room. His message, "the greatest meditation is a mind that lets go," was definitely one that we both needed on our short get away!! If you are ever in San Francisco the Blackberry Lemonade cocktail at XYZ Bar is also not to be missed! Cheers!

Go Spenser!!

We finally made it out to see one of Spenser's football games a couple of weeks ago! He played hard and we sure had fun watching him play and playing with Abbie on the sidelines.

Cupcake Break!!

Given the fact I have been too tired/busy/lazy/overwhelmed the past couple of months to blog about anything and given the fact just this week I (again) renewed my VOW to stop talking about getting healthy and getting in shape and actually DO IT, I find it humorous and, I admit, a bit sick that I am taking a few moments to blog about the heavenly cupcake I stopped to pick up on my way to the airport at the famous Sprinkles of Beverly Hills (Scottsdale, AZ location)! The vanilla with milk chocolate cream cheese frosting was so good I think it was worth a couple steps back on my fitness plan. In my opinion, some of the frou frou cupcake places I've been to just don't live up to the hype, but I was impressed with Sprinkles. For some time now rumor has been that they are coming to Minneapolis and I encourage all friends and family reading this to go to www.sprinkles.com and click on locations to vote for Minneapolis as the next city for a shop to open!!!

Last Saturday's Date Night

We had so much fun at Pazzaluna and Kooza, I am ready for another Cirque show asap!! Maybe a winter trip to Vegas is in order... ;-)

Kooza Pallooza!

Paul and I had a fab Kooza-Pallooza date night on Saturday (Well, actually I guess it was a Kooza-Pazzaluna date night). We had a great dinner at Pazzaluna in Downtown St. Paul (pic forthcoming), followed by great seats at the latest Cirque du Soleil show under the big blue and yellow Chapeteaux!!

If you like Gnocchi, definitely check out the tomato basil Gnocchi at Pazzaluna.

It was a great night to be out and about and Kooza did not dissapoint. Being confined to a smaller stage under the tent it was not quite as elaborate as LaNouba, which I saw a few years ago in Orlando (highly, highly recommend if you find yourself anywhere near Disney World) and also different than "O" which Paul has seen in Vegas. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic show. We both agreed the "Wheel of Death" was probably the best part. "O" and The Beatles Love Show are both at the top of my list to see next! Maybe we can find a time to go to Vegas in 2010. I think Kooza is playing through August 8th, so catch a show if you can!

St. Paul Shops, Eats and Sweets!

Last Saturday I met up with friends on Grand Avenue in St. Paul for a great lunch at Cafe Latte (if you have never been to Cafe Latte I highly recommend it for a casual dining spot), ice cream at the Grand Street Creamery (is that what its called?) and fun shopping. One of my favorite shopping spots in St. Paul is Karma, a cute little botique on Grand Aveune. I almost always find at least one cute little gem at a reasonable price point! This trip, a cute little green corduroy cropped jacket for a steal! Can't wait to wear it. Despite the rain, we had many, many laughs all afternoon.

Tavern on France

Last weekend we finally checked out Tavern on France with our friends Julian and Dawn Janes. It was a great casual dining option and I thought the prices were pretty reasonable. It also looks like it has a good Sunday Brunch which might be worth checking out with our "Brunch Bunch" some month and some nice Happy Hour specials! We had eaten on the patio at Via before the restaurant transitioned to Tavern on France and are so glad they kept the patio in tact. It was a beautiful night to sit on the patio and get caught up with old friends. I particularly liked the build your own salad--quite tasty!! If only I had remembered the camera...