Urban Glamping

That's right, bitches.  (Sorry, I had to, I feel so badass!)

We went "glamping" (Glam-Camping)...in our basement!  And it is definitely part of the top 10 most fun times we've ever spent together.

I thought of the idea while telling a friend 2 things:  we have basically nothing in our basement, and we got camping stuff for Christmas.  GENIUS!  Camping in the basement!

I surprised Mike by setting everything up while he was out of the house.  Tent, table and chairs, sleeping bags, candles and flashlights, blanket and pillows, and games.  And I made a dumb sign proclaiming it all OLSON HOLLOW.  He was totally surprised and really excited to spend a whole night in our cave of a basement.

We immediately started playing Trouble, which is a really old game...but if you haven't played it lately, you should.  It is so fun and competitive!  *Side note:  I suck at playing games because I am a sore loser.  I think it comes from growing up with two big brothers and ALWAYS losing.  But I'm getting better!  Mike won best 2 out of 3 and we started to make dinner.

I literally lost by 1 space in the tie-breaker!

We made Hobo Dinners.  If you haven't experience this phenomenon, you need to.  My family made them all the time when we went camping growing up.  Turns out, they are just as delicious in the oven!  How to: place veggies, meat, and bisquick (if you like) in tin foil with butter and seasonings, cook at 400 for  30-40 minutes depending on your veggies and whether your meat is frozen or not.  We always do potatoes + chicken + tomatoes (we use the canned flavored ones) + green beans.  Dee-freaking-licious. You need to try this.  They're SO GOOD!  Don't forget to add some seasonings (pepper, sea salt, italian seasoning, Lawry's, etc...but not all of those, haha).

I also made Golden Graham S'mores bars for dessert/s'mores!

After dinner we opened our new Monopoly and went to work.  We played for a long time until we decided it was time to watch a movie.  (We finished our game of Monopoly today, Mike won again!)  We snuggled up in the tent with sleeping bags, and lots of pillow and blankets and watched The Way.  It was a great movie and I am currently really into media about long, solitary trips/hikes/adventures.  I would definitely recommend this movie!

Basically, we are really tech-y around here with lots of computers, laptops, TVs, Roku boxes, etc.  It was really great to unplug, confine ourselves to the basement, and HANG OUT.  We listened to music, played games, talked, and really enjoyed the quiet time.  We will be playing games more often, it is really fun to do together.  It sounds so weird...I know.  But it was something new for us!

We had a great time!  

Do something nice and unexpected for your significant other this month :)

Mankato Never Changes, I'll Be Forever Young

I spent another crazy night in Mankato last weekend.  If by best friend Carmen wasn't there, I would have banned myself from that place a long time ago.  We (Litchfield HS people) go down there for special events and get out of control.  Usually it ends alright, but let's just say...we have our stories!

Carmen invited us down for a Hairball concert, and of course, I couldn't say no!  It snowed like crazy, but weather permitted for me to get down there and Kirsten and Dani made it as well.  We pre-gamed, got rocker glammed and had a freaking blast at the concert.  I will never forget the people looking and laughing at us as we danced our asses off.  We really get into this stuff.  Especially Carmen, which is why I love her so much!

The night was young and we continued with many drinks and more shots than I should have been allowed.  I've never been a person to say "I'm never drinking again!" but damn....that hangover sucked!  And then I had to drive myself back to the twin cities.  And sleep for a few hours before I became remotely functional.  Kirsten had the same results.

It was such a fun time, but man, I can't party like I used to!!  Especially if Carmen and Kirsten are involved!  I have such a fun lifetime ahead of me with these ladies in my life.

CHEERS, ladies!  To never feeling old and staying forever young! 

Josh and Kindra come to AV!

The weekend following VDay, we had visitors at our house!  Friday night, we picked up Zach in Minneapolis and headed downtown to meet up with Josh & Kindra (who we haven't seen in forever)!  Josh was the best man in our wedding and we have hardly seen them since then.  They were down for a Wild Game and a fun weekend.

I sober cabbed and kept it low key for the night, but it was so great to be spending time with mature, non-dramatic, fun friends.  Kindra and I got on the fast track to being better friends and the guys talked about beer and home renovations....awhh we're all so grown up!  Haha!

Saturday early morning I had a physical at the doctor's office.  Joy.  Those are so awkward!  "Do you feel safe at home?"  Yes, yes I do.  I know they have to ask, but it just feels so silly sometimes.  At least they didn't make me do the weird crap like walking on your heels.

Anywho, Saturday turned upward after Josh and Kindra came over and we headed to Stillwater area!  For as long as we've lived here, we've never visited, and it is SO CUTE!  I definitely want to go back when it is warm out.  We went to a tour at Lift Bridge Brewery, which was really informative and fun. Not to mention, free beer!  We tried to visit another brewery, which was closed without notice for "licensing issues".  WOW, thanks for NOT HAVING A WORD about it on your website that we checked the night before!  Grr.

That was strike one for us, with more to come.  We went to The Nova in Hudson, WI next.  It was Kindra's first time to WISCONSIN! It is literally right across the river and it is SUCH a cute little place.  The decor is insanely cool and the servers are quirky.  Food was spendy, but we already had dinner plans, so they just had a few beers.  If you have a chance to visit, this is a super cute place for a date or a girls date.  One more success for the day...followed by another strike.  We had dinner plans at a 3-level bar recommended by a friend.  After taking forever to find a place to park, we found out it had an hour long wait!  Uh, yeah...no thank you.

Cute paper flowers at The Nova

By this point, we just wanted to be back on our home turf, so we headed back to AV.  Restaurants and bars all had a ridiculous wait for some reason, so we ended up waiting a bit and eating at Rascal's.  After another parking fiasco.  This place looks crappy on the outside, but is nice inside and the food (not the service) is pretty great!

Our day had lots of ups and downs, but we all went right along with it.  Since nothing was set in stone, we tried new things, improvised, and had a blast doing it.  That is the sign of a good friendship.  It was also so nice to spend time with a couple so that everyone was included and feeling great.  We ended the night watching comedy on our Roku, and I believe we were all in bed before midnight!

THANK YOU to Josh and Kindra for spending a fun weekend with us and making it memorable!  Can't wait to see you again soon!!