Restaurant Week: Union Rooftop

It's Restaurant Week in Minneapolis again, and that means Hannah, K-Behr and I are up to our usual shenanigans! This time around, we decided there was no better way to beat the cold of a February winter than by dining on a roof. 

Yes, a roof, in the deepest, bitterest chill Minneapolis has had on offer lately. How, you might ask? It wasn't with parkas and mittens close at hand...rather, thanks to the ingenuity and gorgeous setting of Union Rooftop. 

Union is Minneapolis's first rooftop space to claim a retractable roof, making it a four-season dining and entertainment destination. We loved the atmosphere...had I closed my eyes to the skyline of my beloved hometown outside the glass windows, it could have felt like any charming Parisian street café! 

Being the Restaurant Week devotée that I am, I had naturally perused the menu before arriving. I have to say, our last restaurant week adventures to Kincaid's and Haute Dish had left my expectations high, so I was excited to see that Union's menu looked strong on all fronts. It definitely adds to the dining experience that Hannah, Kyle and I each try to order different appetizers and entrées so we can sample each other's! It makes for a great way to taste-test most of the Restaurant Week menu for sure. 

My first course was a shaved, sautéed Brussels sprout salad with caramelized pears, aged bleu cheese, candied walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette. Oh my word, perfection. The Brussels sprouts were still warm and added the perfect textural crunch to the cooler greens, while the richness of the bleu cheese played so nicely with the cooler, fresh pear flavor. I absolutely loved it...it's on my list to try to replicate at home, although Brussels sprouts intimidate the living daylights out of me. Hannah's maitake mushroom salad and Kyle's classic Caesar also looked amazing!

As for entrées...there was never a doubt in my mind. I'm an absolute fiend for butternut squash in pasta in any form, so I went with the butternut squash ravioli without a second thought. It completely blew my mind in every way. Imagine, if you will, the concept of browned-butter roasted cauliflower. Yes. YES. Just keep imagining that, and if you aren't imagining legitimately the most delicious vegetable ever, then imagine harder. I know it totally defeats the concept of a nice healthy stalk of cauliflower, but the browned butter added the most insane flavor and richness to the entire dish. Another total win. Hannah's salmon with polenta and K-Behr's mahi-mahi over a vegetable medley also wowed. 

By the time we reached dessert, I was a bit overwhelmed by how great everything had been thus far but bravely soldiered on in the name of sweet teeth everywhere. I went with the flourless chocolate torte, an exercise in decadence with a Hennessy blackberry reduction and homemade crème fraîche on the side. I loved it, despite the fact that it was so sinfully rich I couldn't finish it. Hannah and Kyle went with a classic vanilla bean cheesecake with an orange-mascarpone glaze that, as expected, was also lovely. 

All things said and done, I couldn't recommend Union highly enough! I can't wait to go back in the summer...their cocktail list looked lengthy and delightful and the roof, opened up, promises a gorgeous experience! 

A recipe for surviving a Minnesota winter.

Ingredients:

-"You've Got Mail" and/or "When Harry Met Sally." Meg Ryan falling in love is a good, good thing. 

-Essie nail polish and early-evening pedicures. Super feeling this hot true neon pink, "Summer Pink" by Pixi (a Target steal!). 

-Angie's caramel-cheddar popcorn. For dinner, when deemed necessary.

-Netflix replays of "Friends." MAKING MY LIFE. (Optional: on actual TV, sub "The Bachelor," "Downton Abbey," or "Scandal.")

-This candle. Olfactory crack. (Thanks Meems! Great Christmas present!)

-India Spice Chai K-cups, because they are delicious. 

-A pretty girly camisole...

-and a big chunky grandpa sweater, for combining into the best of both worlds warmth-and-attractiveness-wise.

Instructions: 

1. Head to the gym to pound through 4-5 miles on the treadmill or elliptical downstairs and warm oneself up/work up a fantastic sweat. For best results (and maximum laughs), combine with 2 episodes of "Friends" on the iPad. 

2. Shower off the gym stank, layer into camisole and sweater with coziest pajama pants in your possession.

3. Light candle, cue up "When Harry Met Sally," "Scandal," "Downton," or "The Bachelor," and start Keurig with K-cup. While coffee brews, select nail color and prep for epic pedicure. 

4. Procure brewed coffee/popcorn, settle into chair close to the fire, open up the nail polish, press play, and prepare for two blissful hours of pretending winter doesn't totally suck after Valentine's Day. 

A birthday party at Adult Disneyland!

Folks, it's official: Claire and I throw a damn good party. 

This is the third year in a row that we've taken advantage of our birthdays being just nine days apart to throw a joint celebration, and it's become one of the highlights of my February, every year! This year, we reserved the SkyClub in my building and decided that 26 is officially old enough to party with your parents...so we invited some very special adults to join the fun! 

Friends, best decision we could possibly have made. I owe an enormous thank you to my amazing mom, who went above and beyond to make the night as much of a success as it was. She bought a giant cake from Farmington Bakery, my all-time favorite: 

...picked up dozens of individually-wrapped candies and major balloons to add to the giant space...

and brought the party in every way imaginable. 

I had so much fun planning for the night and getting things together! I spent about an hour the day before the party making the Jell-o shots that were scattered on the table above...Kaitlin and I made them for last year's Claire-Lizzie birthday bash and they were a hit, so this year I decided to repeat. The recipe I picked, however, made 140 shots.

Yikes. Even more yikes-worthy: there were none left at the end of the party, and I'm pretty sure I took at least 20. Good thing they weren't strong...because I wasn't the only one! My mom and Mike's mom had way too much fun with them, too, and a friendship was born in a big way. 

We got incredibly lucky that the space was as decorated-up as it was, because it turns out the SkyClub had been double-booked! The other group that had reserved it was NOT pleased with our awesome event-planning, since it made it nearly impossible for them to kick us out. In a fit of twenty-something rage, one of the guys actually made the comment, "It's not like they can move their party, it's like Adult Disneyland up there!" I'll take THAT as a compliment, thank-you-very-much. 

While I had the best intentions of taking dozens of pictures, we ended up having too much fun mingling, playing pool, and introducing everyone to our totally awesome parents (and godparents!) to do so. I actually have more pictures of the "grown-ups" than I do of my friends! Click through the gallery, below, for some of the highlights of the night. Already looking forward to one-upping this one in 2016 for the big 2-7! 

Oscars 2015!

I love watching awards shows...mostly for the red carpet (dirty little secret). My mom, Emily and I have way too much fun dissecting who looks great, who missed the mark, and who bugs us in a group text. This year's Oscars didn't disappoint in that department!

Usually we keep the pre-show turned to E!, but it seemed that the downpour in LA caused major red carpet delays and kept E! from their usual shenanigans. It may officially cement my status as shamefully shallow, but I really missed the Mani Cam and 360 Glam Cam, not to mention Ryan Seacrest's interviews. I did, however, love the coverage and discussion of the #AskHerMore campaign, pushing the red carpet to focus less on what the beautiful female nominees are wearing, and more on their achievements, thoughts, and experiences. This article summed it up particularly incisively. 

That said, because I am obsessed with the fashion, here were my red carpet winners: 

1. Lupita Nyongo. 

Oh my god, that stunning pearl dress. Could you even imagine being draped in 6,000 pearls? She kept the rest of her look simple with luminous makeup and just blew me away. 

2. Rosamund Pike. 

Talk about patrician elegance. That dress is smoldering, which works perfectly with her cool classic-English beauty. 

3. Marion Cotillard. 

I thought that her dress was beautiful from the front, but the super-unique back is so wonderfully whimsical and her that it took it to an entirely different level. 

And my least favorites: 

1. Scarlett Johansson. 

What the heck is with her weird poison ivy necklace? Ditch that and the look would have gone to a "meh" rather than a "yuck" for me. 

2. Chrissy Teigen. 

Everyone on E! was gushing about how gorgeous she is, but I hate the light hair color and I think she just looks way grossly overdone, especially next to so many effortless beauties. 

3. Reese Witherspoon. 

I can forgive her limp, weird hair (it was pouring...), but I can't get over wasting a Best Actress nomination year on that totally blah, conservative waste of a dress. 

As for the show itself: The opening number absolutely blew my mind. It's crazy what technology and talent can do, and I think Neil Patrick Harris showcased the Academy's tech and his talent perfectly. Throwing in a little Anna Kendrick didn't hurt one bit, either. The musical performances were all spot-on too! I loved Adam Levine's rendition from "Begin Again," The Lonely Island doing "Everything Is Awesome" was great, and of course Lady Gaga was noteworthy as usual...I didn't realize she had such a gorgeous voice and loved her "Sound of Music" tribute! 

The "In Memoriam" was so sad and wonderful this year. Seeing luminaries like Ed Hermann, Maya Angelou and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Richard Attenborough, Lauren Bacall, and of course Robin Williams was incredibly moving, and the way Meryl Streep grew visibly emotional discussing their legacies was so heartfelt and eloquent. Jennifer Hudson's gorgeous tribute too...I thought it was so well-done this year. 

And the movies? The only one I actually saw was "American Sniper," which is way off my norm. I loved J.K. Simmons's heartfelt Best Supporting Actor speech, exhorting America to call our moms, but was terribly annoyed by Patricia Arquette name-dropping random social issues every 2 seconds. I think part of the reason I was so annoyed is that her hair looked like mine does after the gym...Patricia, it's the Oscars, try harder!! I'm thrilled for Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore, both of whom I love, and I look forward to seeing Birdman before next year's Oscars...

All said, a wonderful Academy Awards! Next year, I'm going to try to see all the nominees...it's so much more fun when you know what's going on!

101 in 1001 #95: Buy a lottery ticket.

Okay, okay...first off, I know the odds of ever winning the lottery are NEVER in your favor. Not even when the Powerball skyrockets to $450 million. Still, this dreamer had to take her shot...which is why I found myself signing a contract last Tuesday to enter into my department's Powerball pool. 

That's right, folks. My risk-averse insurance company accounting and finance department went in on a lottery pool and signed a contract and everything. I must say, it made it all feel really official, and totally put stars in my eyes just because it seemed so well-planned. Our pool of ten used this contract, and deputized a leader to go pick up the tickets. 

As a total pragmatist when it comes to this sort of thing, I've never purchased lottery tickets. I learned a lot about the process and nuances of the lottery last week, though! We opted for the basic ticket, without a Power Play option (which is essentially a drawn multiplier of your winnings, if you do win). Our contract specified that we would equally divide any winnings; others I'd seen can specify that winnings below a certain threshold go back into a communal pool to be used to buy future tickets. Our plan would have been to take the lump sum payout, which after federal and state taxes would have amounted to about $15 million apiece. 

There you have'em! Our numbers didn't turn out to be lucky, but with a 1 in 175 million chance of winning, I can't say I was realistically hoping for a win. That said...we did all spend more than a little time dreaming and researching. Jim, one of the finance directors, found this fun factoid: If you drive more than 2 miles from your home or workplace to purchase a lottery ticket, the odds of you killing someone or being killed in a car accident en route are HIGHER than your odds of winning the lottery. Reassuring, huh? Enough to make me a lifelong pedestrian...ha! Until I read this list...which details how much more likely you are to die as a pedestrian, be a movie star, get struck by lightning, or sink a hole-in-one. Can't help but laugh. 

Just because, though...if I had beaten those odds and won my $15 million portion of the payout...I'd go to a half-time equivalent at work (no more 40-hour weeks here!), buy a timeshare in a private jet, and think about purchasing this house (the Dream Home Kelsie and I fell in love with last fall!): 

Pretty nice pipe dream, huh? To check out the rest of my (more realistic) 101 in 1001, head here!