The Great MN Get Together

Today Jared & I spent a full 7 hours at the MN State Fair! Even though it was the coldest weather we've ever experienced at a State Fair (65 degrees), we had a ton of fun together. Here are some highlights:

Australian Battered Potatoes - A+

That ass would make a great purse

Excuse me, Miss, your teets are showing

Making New Friends

Cuddle Buddies

Scotch Eggs (Hard-boiled egg surrounded by sausage, deep fried) A+

Chocolate Covered Bacon from Famous Daves - B

Sweet Martha's Cookies & Ice Cold Milk - A (as always)

Sweet Martha's Cookies Slowest Employee of the Year - F!! (our line was lapped about 5 times, we think he may have been smoking something)

Playing with Heavy Machinery

Buffalo Kebabs - C (the meat was too tough)

We think we're funny because we stick our heads through oval cut-outs on wood board

On the State Fair version of the chair lift

Stewie NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Swirly Potato Dog - B+

Island Noodles (Bazaar) - B-

#1 Vikings Fan

Dairy Building Strawberry Malt - A (forgot to take picture)

And then, there was...

TGIFinally

It's finally Friday...time to celebrate by splurging on some fantastic food, of course. Tonight we tried Cristos in St. Paul. It is a Greek restaurant in the old Union Depot, which made for a beautiful & romantic atmosphere. They often hold weddings in this location with high ceilings, marble floors and large windows along each side of the room. We had read great reviews about the food at both this location and the Minneapolis location (on Eat Street) and thought it absolutely lived up to our expectations. We started out with an eggplant "hummus" appetizer (I won't even bother trying to remember how to spell the actual name), and then split a sampler plate of the most popular dinner entrees. My favorite was the lamb meat, while Jared liked the sausage. We had a LOT of leftovers! And of course, vino was enjoyed. After dinner we joined some friends at Grand 7 in Saint Paul for our friend Becca's birthday. That place is an awesome little dive bar! The bartender Gina pours 'em strong and the regulars are so comfortable with each other and the bar that they broke out into a full out male dance party. It was hilarious. Yay for the weekend!

Mischief Maker...

The above was taken last summer when we were living in Columbus (on a pool day, as you can see by my outfit).

See what happens when you don't have any friends and need to find ways to entertain yourself??

WHAT A WEEK this has been. We've been SUPER busy at work - so much so that I forget to even go to the bathroom, let alone take time to eat or do anything else. And not to mention I've been so scatter-brained that yesterday morning when I was trying to "multi-task" by putting some BBQ ribs in the crock pot before work, that I forgot to turn the oven broiler off before leaving the condo and almost burnt the place down. Oops!

I've come home every night tired, malnourished and needing vino. Friday can't come soon enough...

Love is in the air...

...Can you feel it? This past weekend was wonderful and wedding-filled. On Saturday Jared & I participated in the (mandatory) "Engaged Couples Retreat" at the Basilica. What we were initially dreading turned out to be a pretty good day with cool people, good food and interesting conversation. The topic of the day was "Temperament". Temperament by definition is "the combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits of a person; natural predisposition." Temperament runs deeper than personality, as it is just the natural tendencies that a person is born with. The marriage counselor opened the day by telling us that we were going to learn about our own temperament and that of our future spouse. She then followed by telling us, "You can't change your temperament, nor can you change anyone else's. So we have to learn how to accept our partner's temperament in full or we should not marry that person." Yikes! That scared me right off the bat! ...what if Jared finds out that I'm a complete lunatic!? :) kidding, kidding... maybe So anyway, the counselor and her husband talked to us about life, love, their own temperaments, and how they've learned to live with each other and love each other unconditionally over the years. They even said the word "sex"... in a church...and they're old. That kind of gave me the heebies. eww When they finally passed us our own temperament analysis (they made us take a test weeks before the session) Jared & I tore open the envelopes like kids on Christmas. Tell me who I am, God! And we were pleasantly...ehh...not surprised. Turns out we knew exactly who we were, and who each other were. Based on the analysis, everyone's temperament can be identified by three areas in their lives: Social, Control & Affection. Here are our results, in a nutshell (all numbers are on a scale from 1-10):

1. Social Needs: Jared & I both have a fairly high "need" to be invited/included in social events (both 7s). We like people to like us. However, I have a higher need to initiate social events or situations (me=8, he=4), so I need to realize he may not always be up for hosting a Sunday BBQ. He also needs to realize that because I have a slightly higher need for socialization, I'm going to be socializing without him once in awhile. We can handle that.
2. Control: This area surprised us more than any of the other categories. Before seeing our results, Jared assumed it was going to tell me that I'm a control freak. I mean, I do control a lot of the areas in our lives and relationship. But, I actually have a low need for control (4) and a higher want to have someone else in control (6). When we saw that, it suddenly made complete sense. I am ALWAYS asking for his or someone else's opinion before making a final decision on anything (and I mean anything). Deep down, I would love for someone to just make my life easier and tell me what to do. Jared, on the other hand, is kind of an "odd duck" in the control area. He has a VERY LOW need for control (1) but also a VERY LOW want to have someone else control him (1). So basically, it's very hard for Jared to make any changes in life because he doesn't want to take control of his actions nor does he want someone to take control for him. In conclusion, I have to accept the fact that I probably will always have to be the one to take charge, and he has to accept that I'm going to take charge. We can handle it, but this might be where we face the most challenges.
3. Affection: No problems here - we both had identical scores. We both have a high need for affection (7) and a high desire to give affection (8). Fun :)

So, that might be a little TMI, but this will be fun to look back on in 10 years and we can see how our temperaments "shook out".

Immediately following the retreat we rushed over to the Conservatory at Carlson for the wedding of our friends, Jake & Salwa. Jared was in the band with Jake for awhile, and we've all kept in touch through it all. The wedding was fabulous, the bride looked beautiful, the food was out of this world, and we all had on our dancing shoes. My favorite kind of night.

And to top off the weekend, on Sunday a bunch of my girls came over for a "Vegas Town hall Meeting" AKA planning session for Halloween weekend & my bachelorette in Vegas! It made us even more excited for the big weekend, and the girls gave me a sneak-preview of the dress they are making for me to wear on the night of my bachelorette. It is short, white, SUPER CUTE, and even better...compliments of the lovely Jenny Carle Designs.

Have I mentioned that I have the best friends in the world?

Foodie Friday

If you haven't noticed, Jared & I have a little tradition. Every Friday we treat ourselves to a new restaurant in the Twin Cities. It is usually my favorite night of the week, because it is the one evening we can splurge on ourselves "guilt-free" and dedicate our entire love, time and attention on each other. Tonight we tried out Barrio in Saint Paul. It is famous for being a tequila bar (there is one in both Minneapolis & St. Paul), and we have been wanting to see what the hype is all about for awhile now. We were immediately impressed by the atmosphere. It is decorated beautifully, with beautiful lighting, beautiful music, beautiful people, etc. They even had TVs on in the bar, where we got to watch Favre dressed in purple! We each ordered one of their signature margaritas, which was honestly the only $9 margarita we've ever ordered that WE BOTH felt gave us our "booze worth" for the money. We then continued to order an array of their "small plates", probably too many, but my oh my was it fun!! Things we loved: Chorizo enchilada, guacamole, tequila shrimp, chicken tostadas, steak tacos Things we thought were "ok": crab empanadas (too bready) So as you can see, we loved more than we didn't love. A+!! Question of the day: Are you happy? I am. I really, really am :) I am so blessed to have so many great people in my life. I love you all: my fiance, sisters, family, friends, in-laws (almost), co-workers; thank you for being the best.

Recipe Thursday

I thought I would share a few good recipes that I've recently come across: Ashley's Awesome Teriyaki So I made up this recipe last night. I decided to make broccoli, brown rice, and fish with an asian glaze. I didn't have a recipe for an "asian glaze", so I used my knowledge for making sauces along with the "asiany" ingredients I had in my cupboard and came up with what both Jared & I consider to be the best teriyaki sauce we've ever had. Heat approx. 2TBS olive oil over medium heat. Add approx. 1 tsp chopped garlic and 1TBS ground ginger and saute until fragrant (about 30 secs). Add 2TBS soy sauce, 2tsp fish sauce, and 2TBS brown sugar. Simmer over low heat, stirring often, for approx. 5 minutes. Enjoy! Summer Sangria This next recipe I got compliments of my awesome co-worker Niki. We share a passion for good food and good wine! ½ cup Brandy ¼ cup lemon juice 1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate 1/3 cup orange juice 1 bottle red wine ½ cup triple sec 1 lemon (sliced in rounds) 1 lime (sliced in rounds) 1 orange (sliced in rounds) 1 Fuji Apple (sliced thin) 1 Peach (sliced thin) ¼ cup sugar (optional) Mix all the ingredients above and let sit overnight Top with soda water (or ginger ale if you want it sweeter) If you want to make it white sangria just use white wine. I would also switch the ½ cup brandy and ½ cup triple sec for 1/3 cup brandy 1/3 cup peach schnapps 1/3 cup triple sec.

Long Weekend at the Cabin

Why is it that there isn't a happier place on Earth than a North Woods cabin? Is it because us Minnesotans were raised to cherish the smell of pine, the sound of loons, and the look of the early morning sun reflecting off one of our 10,000+ lakes? Or is it just because beer tastes that much better at a slightly dumpier version of home where a bonfire is the main evening attraction? Who knows and who really cares. Cabins are just the best. This past weekend Jared & I joined his family at their cabin near Sturgeon Lake, MN. It was a great time, as usual, but I am very upset with myself that I did not get ANY pictures while we were there. Especially because I tried waterskiing for the first time ever and got up on my 4th try! Not too shabby, ay? But anyway, to make a long story short, the weekend was spent playing cards, making bonfires, floating in our deluxe floaties, watersports on the boat, eating tons of food, and drinking our favorite outdoor summer drink: "Strip & Go Nakeds" (recipe below). Oh yes, and we also got to spend some quality bonding time with our OH SO CUTE niece (God Daughter) Avery, and nephew Jaxon (cue in the "awwww"s): The weather was on & off, and when rain came on Sunday morning we decided to make the 1/2 hour drive to Duluth for a little antique shopping and to catch a movie: District 9. This movie got great reviews but it didn't do much for me. None the less, what should have been a rainy gloomy day turned out to be a great one. Worst part of the weekend: On Sunday morning as I was carefully walking down a wet flight of outdoor stairs, my flip-flop slipped out from under me and I slid down about 8 stairs right on my butt. Jared, who was standing on the ground below, watched me in horror as he witnessed what he later explains as, "Ashley with a possessed look on her face sliding down half the stairs, pausing for a second, and then proceeding to slide down the rest while looking me straight in the eye, as if she didn't like my reaction enough from her first fall." I have no clue what he's talking about, as that sounds like a scene from The Excorcist to me, but no matter what the explanation is I still have a huge black bruise right on my tush. :-/ We came home on Monday, and that night was a great extension to a great weekend as my bridesmaids and I picked out and ordered dresses! We did end up going with the dress posted below, in a color called "firecracker", which is I'd say a mix between peach and salmon. Hard to explain, but pretty. Check! Recipe for Strip & Go Nakeds Ingredients: 6 cans of beer 12 oz Frozen Lemonade Concentrate (1 carton) 12 oz Vodka Directions: Mix all ingredients together in large pitcher. Serve over ice & enjoy.