Hit the Road...

My bags are packed (very full), my Out of Office is on and I am ready to hit the road! 

So where are we headed off to on this fine Wednesday?  

Well... lots of places! 

We are heading to Chicago, Indianapolis with our final destination being Louisville! 

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We are driving down to Louisville for my beautiful friend Kari's wedding!  

I am so excited to see her and Russ get married!  They truly are a great couple! 

Derek and I will be breaking the trip up by spending a bit of time in Chicago!

Touring my old stopping grounds in Indianapolis! 

Yes, we will be swinging by Butler

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oh and all my favorite hang out places and of course getting a Red Velvet cupcake from my fav. cupcake shop!  The Flying Cupcake!

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After all those fun stops we will be Louisville bound for some exploring (Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger Museum) and wedding festivities!

Stay tuned for a fun filled recap! 

Weekend Recap - 4th of July Edition

This past weekend was glorious! 

A lot of relaxing, a bit of celebrating, grilling out, sun and lots of togetherness with friends and family!

Here are a few highlights from the holiday weekend!  

Wednesday evening Derek and I walked the mile and a half to St Anthony Main! 

Where we enjoyed a bottle of wine, and an amazing dessert (a brownie sundae) at Wild Roast Cafe.  We must have gotten to the restaurant right at the perfect time - we didn't even have to wait for a table outside!  The weather was beautiful and the view amazing! 

Thursday (Happy 4th) Derek and I woke up fairly early and hit the gym! A few hours later we had a picnic packed and bikes in the car!  We were off to meet my friend Bri for a day of bike riding around the beautiful Minnesota lakes! 

We ended up riding about 15 miles around Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles!  

The weather was perfect and the lakes were buzzing with 4th of July activity!  

We met up with Derek's cousin Nate and friends around Lake Harriet - Nate and his friends were spending the day biking to each beach in Minneapolis and jumping in the lake at each stop! 

Once they had all splashed around in Lake Calhoun we ended up heading to Urban Eatery  for a few drinks before Derek and I headed home to get ready for Nate's cookout! 

I told you in this post that the 4th just isn't the 4th without a cook out! Pre fireworks we grilled out at Nate's enjoying where we sat on his back porch enjoying the beautiful evening!  

After dinner all of us wandered down the 2 blocks to Lake Calhoun to watch the fireworks over the lake! 

Friday I unfortunately had to work but after a quick 5 hours and a little packing Derek and I were off to his aunt and uncles lake house!  Derek and I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with his family, soaking up the sun, and water skiing!   It was a great way to end the weekend! 

Now its back to work - but only for a few days stay tuned Derek and I are off on a road trip adventure! 

Happy 4th of July

Wishing you all a wonderful and safe holiday!

Source: goodrecipesonline.com via Peggy Banks DIYCraftyProjects.com on Pinterest

Go enjoy a day of celebrating, grilling out, and fireworks!
Happy 4th of July everyone! 

Recipe Round Up - 4th of July Style

Hard to believe that in just a few days we will be celebrating the 4th of July!  4th of July in my mind stands for celebrating our nation, enjoying time with family and friends, fireworks and an amazing cook out!

Source: topdreamer.com via Michel on Pinterest

I have never been one to make huge 4th of July plans (I am a more low key sorta girl) but grilling out and being with family and friends is always a must on our nations Birthday! 4th of July just wouldn't be the same for me without grilling up a great meal and of course some fireworks!

Source: ourhumbleabodeblog.com via Claudia on Pinterest

So in honor of the upcoming holiday, here are my must make 4th inspired recipes!  Read on for the recipes- but I am warning you these recipes do look mouth watering!

Weekend Recap - Out and About in Minneapolis

This past weekend Derek and I were busy out and about on Minneapolis and Stillwater! 

I feel like our weekend truly started on Thursday when we met up with another couple for dinner and drinks at The Union!

We enjoyed a lovely evening on The Union's awesome roof top overlooking the beautiful Minneapolis skyline!

Friday I headed to Stillwater so we could enjoy the lovely weather on Derek's friends boat! We enjoyed a relaxing evening chatting, drinking wine and enjoying the scenery!  

Saturday I hit up the Minneapolis Farmers Market with Nikki, Katie, Bridge and the babies!  The Minneapolis Farmers Market is a nice 10 minute walk from my apartment which is convenient - no need to try and find parking!

I was extremely impressed with the farmers market on Saturday! The farmers market was absolutely huge with rows upon rows of gorgeous produce, delicious baked goods and beautiful flowers!  I picked up a ton of fresh produce including some wonderful strawberries, blueberries and the best tasting cherry tomatoes! Once we were done wandering around we headed back to myplace to meet up with Derek for lunch!

We all hit up Lunds and enjoyed lunch out on the Lund's patio!  Of course lunch wouldn't have been complete without a little Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream - the cookies and cream was the best I have had!

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Once we said goodbye to the ladies and the babies Derek and I decided to rent a few Nice Ride bikes (read about them here) and tool around Minneapolis!

We ended up going for a 9.5 mile bike ride around the city before it was time to get ready to attend the 15th Annual Jazz Fest in St. Paul with Derek's cousin Nate!

Jazz Fest is one of the largest jazz events in the Twin Cities and is a free event for anyone to attend!   The event took place in Mears Park which is tucked away in downton St. Paul!  The event was packed with people enjoying the music and beautiful weather!

It was great to be outside enjoying music, experiencing something different and enjoying the company of  good friends!

Our weekend wrapped up with church, a lazy afternoon by the pool, a short and sweet run, grilling and a movie!

Happy Tuesday All!

Crab Cakes with Roasted Asparagus

When I was searching for a veggie side to go with our crab cakes the other day I came across the 20th Anniversary:Best Recipes compilation from Cooking Light.  As I was clicking through the various recipes this roasted asparagus recipe jumped out at me.  After looking through the recipe and noticing I had all the ingredients on hand, I knew I had to make this recipe to go along side our crab cakes! 

Veggies to me are one of the easiest thing to add to your meal to instantly complete it!  Veggies are versatile  easy to prepare and just plain delicious!  Not only did the below crab cake win approval from my crab cake loving boyfriend but the asparagus did too!  

Enjoy these crab cakes tonight and don't forget your veggies! 

Cajun Style Crab Cakes:

6-8 Crab Cakes 

1Lb Lump Crab Meat

1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs 

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1.5 Tablespoons Light Mayo 

1 Teaspoon Black Pepper 

2 Teaspoons Cajun Seasoning 

1/4 Cup chopped onion 

2 Cloves chopped garlic 

1 Beaten egg

1- Combine egg, mayo and mustard stirring until combined.  

2- Add your crab meat to your egg mixture.  Stir until crab is completely covered in your egg mixture.

3- Add panko bread crumbs and seasoning to crab.   

4- Form crab mixture into 6-8 patties. 

5- Heat a non stick skillet lightly coated with 1 tbs olive oil. 

6- Add 3 crab cakes to the pan and cook on each side until lightly browned - about 1-2 minutes on each side.  Repeat with remaining crab cakes. 

Serve immediately with choice of sauce and sides! 

Enjoy! 

  

Workout Shake Up - Barre Bliss

For the past week I have been shaking up my fitness routine at Barre Bliss! 

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Barre Bliss is a local fitness studio in Minneapolis that offers barre classes, yoga, cycling and barre bliss boot camp!  

I am loving the excitement and variety that I am getting from doing a few classes a week at Barre Bliss!

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So far I have taken a cycling class, yoga (let's hope I get my flexibility back) and the Barre Bliss boot camp which has been one of my favorites!  I  finding that mixing up my workout routine has helped me break out of the little workout rut I feel like I have been sinking in! Plus I am getting back in the groove of early week day mornings (hello again 5:20 AM) and it feels great! 

Not only has it been fun to shake up my fitness routine but I have seriously enjoyed trying something new and spending quality time with some of my girlfriends! 

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So if you haven't already I suggest you get out there and try a barre class! I swear you will enjoy it! You might even get hooked! 

Read more about what a barre class is here, here and a few helpful tips here!

Happy Wednesday!