My weekend - Dairy Foods

As I mention last week, my weekend plans were to relax and get projects done around the house.  But we mixed all that in with a bit of fun.  

My weekend summarized:

Fun.  Relaxing.  Quality time with my honey. Ridiculously filling brunch with my parents. Happy hour with my siblings. Sushi dinner with some fave colleagues. Oh and a drive-in movie attempt (meaning, we packed a cooler with dinner and beer, went to the drive-in only to find out it was full). Who knew so many people went to the drive-in still?

These are photos from the happy hour with my sibs and Erik at Salut on Grand Ave in St. Paul; great happy hour, awesome patio. $3 small plates, $4 taps, wine and wells. Plus, their fries are some of the best I'ver ever had. And that means a lot coming from a gal who would marry fries if she could.

I also got a chance to wear a new, cute wrap dress that Fresh Produce sent me (being a blogger sometimes means free products, in exchange for a mentions/review on my blog. Hey...if the product is cute and/or actually something I would use, I gladly accept, wouldn't you?)

Amazing fries with bernaise.
Artichoke pizza.

Erik's bacon cheeseburger was a beautiful thing and it deserved two photos.




Fresh Produce is a clothing company that reached out to me and offered to send me a dress and I gladly accepted.  They actually sent me two dresses, both of which were super cute, unfortunately one was a bit small so I'm going to give it to my sis and if she likes it I'll post a picture of her in it at a later time. 

Fresh Produce is an online retailer and the line is also carried at a bunch of stores and retailers nationwide, including Macys.  The dress I'm wearing is the Cafe Wrap dress, in truffle.  I really like it, the material is super comfortable and the dress is fitted but not too much so I can still pig out on fries and still feel (sorta) skinny.  So that's a major plus. 

You can see the dress on the model and then a regular person, aka me (above).  So normal people (aka me) look pretty good in it too.  And don't even get me started on how many photos my husband had to begrudgingly take in order to get one, halfway decent shot of me.  In my front yard.  With neighbors watching.  Yeah...it was kind of weird and now I'm reminded why Eat Drink Pretty is a blog about food and parties and not fashion.

Anyway, check out Fresh Produce, they have a bunch of cute daytime dresses and party dresses.  And if you buy anything, I dare you to try to make your husband take 50 photos of you wearing it and send the best one to me. I can then show my husband and prove to him he is not alone in the crazy things husbands do for their wives. 

Have a great Tuesday!

Dinner club with the gals - Dairy Foods

Once a month my good friends Melanie, Kristin and I have a "dinner club". This is an official way to describe a night out drinking wine, eating great food, and best of all enjoying each other's company. Each month one of us chooses a restaurant that we've never been to before.

Yesterday Kristin chose Barbary Fig in St. Paul, a Mediterranean restaurant with a sweet patio on Grand Ave. We had a fantastic meal, full of flavor and warm sun. It was a gorgeous day to be outdoors, 70 with blue skies.

We shared an appetizer of spinach and feta wrapped in pastry with tomato chutney and sauteed vegetables. It was so good I wish I had the whole thing all to myself.

Mel and I ordered vegetarian lentils with white beans and chickpeas in a mint and dill sauce. It was drizzled in tahini and yogurt and served over organic cracked wheat. This had amazing flavor with a hint of heat. I would definitely have this again.

Kristin ordered the vegetarian cous cous with five spices, raisins and almonds. She enjoyed it but thought it lacked a bit of flavor. It was a lovely dish, full of color.

I love dinner club, throw a gorgeous day and a patio in the mix and you basically have a evening filled with perfection.

Colorado trip - part 2 - Dairy Foods

Thanks for stopping back for part 2 of my Colorado trip! 

On Monday we headed to Estes Park for a hike and the scenery.  Wow, it was simply beautiful.  We couldn't have asked for bluer skies or a more perfect day. 

We went on a leisurely hike and stopped for many photo opps.  Amy, Melanie, Nick (Lobo), me and Kristin.  PCG baby!  Sorry...that's a highschool thing.
Nick impressed us with his rock-jumping.  Seriously though...this is a cool photo isn't it?
See what I mean about that blue sky?


Nick and his awesome girlfriend Jillian.  We love her.  Don't screw this one up Lobo!  Just kidding, you are both super lucky to have each other.  A perfect pair.
We drove back to Fort Collins and Amy had to leave for the airport.  The rest of us gals had a little happy hour back at Nick and Jillian's loft.  Nothing like a nice glass of Pinot Noir after an active day.

For dinner on Monday we went to Coopersmith's Pub.  Kristin and I shared a great black bean burger.  We are now inspired to recreate it for summer BBQs.  I think it had wild rice in it which gave it a really great texture.  Oh and I may have had one too many vodka soda's this evening...


Melanie left early Tuesday morning and Kristin and I had the entire day to hang out in Fort Collins.  We had breakfast at Little Bird Bake Shop, an adorable cafe that had amazing thyme and potato quiche.  Kristin had baked oatmeal and hot chocolate (yes, that's a homemade marshmallow!).
Pretty Kristin.
Enjoying some green tea and wishing I never had to leave...
After breakfast we went shopping and Kristin spent a bunch of money at this awesome little boutique called White Balcony.  They carry clothes, accessories and home decor.  It was one of our fave shops in Fort Collins (along with Sole Mates, of course!). 
Just when you think we couldn't possibly eat yet another meal we lunched at a Mexican place called Beach House Grill.  They had $2 tacos on Tuesdays and I had an awesome fried grouper taco.  The guacomole was really tasty, as well. 
Kristin and I toasted to a wonderful vacation with a Corona and then headed to the airport (where our flight was delayed!)...we finally made it home around 11pm on Tuesday evening. 

Wow, what a freaking awesome vacation.  Jillian and Nick, I can't thank you enough for your hospitality and total awesomeness. 

Mel, Kristin and Amy...you ladies will always be my besties and I loved every moment we spent together on this trip!  Can't wait to do it all over again next year!

Colorado trip - part 1 - Dairy Foods

My recent trip to Colorado was incredible. It was the kind of get-away you look forward to all year long and then far exceeds all expectations. It was amazing food, quality time with best friends, too much wine, gorgeous scenery and much more.

Warning...if you are hungry I strongly urge you to grab a snack prior to consuming this post.  Ok...don't say I didn't warn you!

Amy and I flew into Denver on Friday evening and had dinner and drinks at El Diablo.  Great atmosphere, great drinks, good-look waiters and spicy/tasty food.

On Saturday morning Amy and I picked up Melanie and Kristin at the airport.  We drove to Fort Collins where our friend Nick lives.  We stayed with Nick and his girlfriend Jillian the rest of the trip in their loft right downtown Fort Collins.  For lunch we went to Ingredient, a great place with fresh food and a lot of vegetarian options (Melanie, Jillian, Kristin and Amy are all vegetarians).  Shown above is Kristin's veggie burger.  She loved it.

We spent Saturday strolling around Fort Collins and enjoying the fresh Colorado air and warm weather.  We stopped in a bunch of cute shops including Jillian's shoe and accessorie boutique, Sole Mates. 

For dinner we went to Tasty Harmony, an all-vegetarian, organic restaurant.  It was amazing.  I didn't get any photos since it was late and there was no natural light.  I had Jackfruit tacos.  I had never even heard of Jackfruit before. All I can say is wow.  It was so unique, tasty, awesome.  Jackfruit has a meat-like texture,and sort of tastes like artichokes but also easily takes on other flavors (in the case of tacos, cumin and other spices).
On Sunday morning we headed to Boulder for a girly day filled with brunch, shopping and the spa.  Brunch at Brasserie Ten Ten was by far my favorite meal of the trip.  No big surprise, brunch included bellinis and french fries. 
Besties Kristin and Amy.
Mmmmm, warm beignets.  These were fluffy, not too sweet...divine.
Fries.  Little pieces of love.  Dipped in a truffle aoili.  Need I say more?
Melanie ordered eggs florentine.  Isn't it just beautiful?  She said it was delish.
Kristin's Pomme et Brie crepe.  It had apples, walnuts, brie, balsamic vinegar and wild arugular. She was in crepe heaven.
Delicious waffles with pure maple syrup and fresh fruit.
Strolling around Pearl Street in Boulder, just before heading to St. Julien for spa treatments. 
After the spa we stopped at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House.  This place was colorful, beautiful...like stepping into another world. 


I had a sparkling hibiscus cocktail (cava and hibiscus tea) and Kristin had a mojito.  Others tried the house-made chai.  Yum.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow which includes a scenic hike in Estes Park and more restaurant recommendations and of course...lots more food!

I heart New York - Dairy Foods

I went to New York last weekend for my friend Amy's bachelorette party.  My girlfriends are quite fabulous which means we do fabulous things for bachelorette parties such as travel to Sonoma and New York. 

The weekend was amazing.  It was my first time ever (I know...crazy, huh?!) visiting New York and I absolutely loved it.  The food, drinks, things to see, energy, etc.  It truly was a perfect trip.  The cute gals strolling down the street in the photo above are a few of my closest friends, Amy (the bachelorette) is on the left.

Kristin and I arrived in New York the earliest, in time for a lovely lunch.  Lucky us, it was restaurant week so we found this cute Italian place called Cafe Fiorello and dined al fresco with a 3-course meal that included pear and arugula salad with fried goat cheese, Orecchiette Pugliese pasta, broccoli rabe, aged Pecorino Romano, herbed bread crumbs and for dessert we had raspberry sorbet.  Incredible. 
During a walk we happened upon this crazy little Japanese bakery.  The desserts were unlike anything I have ever seen before.

Amy is a chocoholic so we had to visit this cute little chocolatier. 

We stayed at The Empire Hotel on the Upper West Side and on Saturday morning headed out for some much needed coffee.  We came across a farmers' market with gorgeous tomatoes, plums and currants. 

We had coffee and pastries at Magnolia Bakery, a little piece of vintage-inspired heaven.  I adored this place.  I had a delicous raisin bran muffin and iced coffee.  Magnolia Cafe is mostly known for their cupcakes, which looked adorable and yummy.

We had an amazing lunch at Candle 79, an all-vegetarian restaurant (Melanie, Kristin and Amy are all vegetarians).  I had gazpacho with a piece of garlic crostini.

  

Kristin and I had an amazing slice of pizza on Sunday evening (our flight didn't leave until 8:30pm).  This pizza had goat cheese and pesto on it.  Oh my god was it good.

Yum. 

I didn't get great food pics because quite honestly I was too embarrassed to whip out my huge SLR camera.  A couple other bars/restaurants we went to included:

• Punch Restaurant and Bar, a great wine bar that had really reasonably-priced and delicious food.  I had an awesome turkey burger with spicy aoli, avocado and fries
• Flute, a champagne lounge that was completely fabulous
• Tabla, probably my least favorite of the weekend, the food was pretty good, Indian/Asian fusion, but the service was slow and it was pretty spendy
• Tonic, a club in Times Square with a Bollywood vibe (have I mentioned that Amy is marrying an Indian guy and having a multi-cultural Hindu/Christian wedding? Let's just say she enjoyed hanging out at a club where 95% of the crowd was Indian men).  We had a blast dancing to bhangra music and watching the belly dancer shake her hips on top of the bar
• Whym for brunch on Sunday morning (delicious breakfast quesadillas and freshly squeezed juices, cute atmosphere)

What a fabulous trip, I can't wait to go back!!!