Date Night Log 2018: Beer & Bread

Last month's Living History Farms Cabin Fever Series event was "Beer & Bread." I'd been to this one a couple times in the past with friends, and it's by far one of my favorites. I love how much the microbrew scene in Iowa has exploded, and we're always up for trying something new. While I prefer lighter and fruity beers, Shon is a huge fan of IPAs (although neither of us are drinking much of either these days as we continue the wedding countdown). 

LHF had a great selection of breweries this year, although fewer "breads" than I remember in the past. We had some great stuff from South Union Bakery though, and our favorite brewer of the day was Firetrucker. I was actually able to work with them to get drinks for our wedding based off of what we tried and heard about! My favorite of the day was their "Cat in a Tree" ginger beer. They were back at Cheese Festival this month (our April date) and I got to have it again. I've been looking for it in stores, but they said that they've been running a little low on that one lately. The Machine Shed was once again on site, and did NOT disappoint! Their beer cheese and pretzels were a giant hit for us - which they served at Cheese Festival also - and we can't wait to have it again!

5 Signs You're "A Little Bit Obsessed..."

I got home from work today with *just* enough time to squeeze in leg day before I had to pick the baby up from daycare. I logged into my Beachbody On Demand and... it was gone. All gone. All the Autumn was gone! For a short period (20 minutes-ish) BOD had a glitch and I couldn't find my workouts. It was in that moment, as I sat contemplating what to do without day 42 that I realized that I am on my way to being "a little bit obsessed" (which is conveniently the name of her shortened version workouts of 80 Day Obsession.

I came up with 5 signs you are "a little bit obsessed" with healthy living:

• You have multiple apps on your phone to track your food, workouts, sleep habits, water intake, and overall well-being. I use FitBit, My Fitness Pal, and 21 Day Fix. 
• You recommend exercise to your friends who are stressed out - TAKE TIME FOR YOU! Invest in yourself! You'll feel better after you're done. Yes, I'm that annoying person.
• You analyze your day to figure out when and where your workouts best fit in, even when you have a crazy busy schedule - even if that means asking your kids to join you so you can be healthy together while you spend time together. This qualifies as "a little bit obsessed" because if I were a lot obsessed I'd find a way to prioritize the workout. Like wake up early... yeah, no thanks... 
• Your meal planning calendar is full of chicken and green beans
• You spend your free time researching the affects of different types of macronutrients and the timing of eating them on your workout and your day as a whole

Watch It Wednesday: City Museum in St. Louis

It's been a *long* time since I did a "Watch It Wednesday" and shared a video, so I thought I'd post the one I put together for Monks to share with his class of our visit to the City Museum in St. Louis! Everyone said that this was *the* place to go in St. Louis, but I still wasn't sure what to expect! At $75(ish) for the family (the baby was free) it was probably the most expensive activity we did, but we spent over 3 hours there and could have done a whole lot more!

Top 5 Reasons to Workout With Your Spouse

Or boyfriend, or partner, or whatever person you have in your life that loves you and motivates you.

Since Rampage season is only something like 6 weeks away and our wedding is only 120 something days away Shon and I have been working really hard to be in shape, motivated, and our best version of ourselves. I'm not going to lie, I don't necessarily always love it, but I do have several things that are awesome about having a workout partner that lives in your house.

1. Even when I want to quit, he doesn't let me. Now this sounds like one of those cheesy motivational, in love things, but hear me out. When I'm on the elliptical and I get bored, I get annoyed. I usually ask Shon to play Play Station or something so I at least don't have to be in the basement alone, and he not only obliges (I know, huge sacrifice when you're asked to play video games), but he also watches the baby (we take turns). When I get annoyed, he lets me take it out on him and doesn't get mad! It's not uncommon to hear things like, "I hate this. I'm quitting." "No you're not, keep going." "Shut up, I hate you." "I love you, too." I have not once quit, even when I really want to, because I have someone who is willing to let me complain and still love me while I get it done. Sometimes complaining helps. It really, really does.

2. Cooking meals for people who are on the same "healthy living" kick is soooo much easier. When I've tried to eat healthy in the past sometimes it's been hard to cook one meal for myself and something else for everyone else. When it's both of you, it makes things simpler. And when you can find meals that even the kids like, you can help the whole family make healthy choices and know you're supported in that! This week I've been cooking meals from subscription grocery companies like Hello Fresh and Home Chef and I discovered that we both enjoyed Swiss chard and green beans and some other vegetables that I rarely make. I'm not sure I can get the kids to eat Swiss chard, but it's nice to know we have options and are committed to eating well together.

3. You get fitness presents that motivate you. A couple weeks ago Shon bought me a new FitBit. I'd had one before, but hadn't stuck with it. He let me pick out the style I wanted and the color band, and now each week we participate in challenges with family and friends. I didn't think it would be that motivating for me, but when I see that Elkin has passed me yet again, I will sometimes jump back on the elliptical. I know that the nature of my job and the nature of Shon's job leave a huge discrepancy in our step counts, but I try to hang in there with the rest. And if you're lucky, you got a massage chair (you know, like the ones in the mall?) for Christmas and you can get a back rub after your workout!

4. Because on the off chance you get time to set the baby down and the kids are playing nicely and you can work out together, it's nice to spend time together doing something healthy. It's great bonding time, it's good for you, and it's nice to be able to feel like you've accomplished something together. Sometimes the older kids even join in and we have family workout time, which I love.

5. Finally, because you're striving for the same goal. We want to be better for ourselves, and for our family, but also better for each other. We want to present each other with the best possible versions of ourselves, not just for a wedding, but for life. And it's a journey we can take together, a journey that will help us grow stronger physically and in our relationship. Yes, there's your cheesy "in love" reason. You knew I had to get it in there somewhere.

Date Night Log 2018: Train Wreck Winery

When we went to Living History Farms: Farms Uncorked event, one of our favorites from the day was Caboose from Train Wreck Winery in Algona. Knowing that we loved the blue bottles to go with our wedding theme, and that we really wanted to check out the space (especially since my mom and I both often work in Algona), we decided we'd take a family trip up to the abandoned train station turned winery.

They're only open from 12pm-5pm on Fridays and Saturdays, but starting this week they'll host live music on Friday nights from 5:30-7:30. We started out on our day trip date with my mom and Evelyn in tow! When we arrived we saw Jean, who remembered us from LHF, and started our wine tasting adventure. For $5 we were able to taste all their wines, which Jean walked us through, and got to take home our keepsake "Train Wreck Winery" glasses! We tasted approximately a dozen different wines and between the three of us ended up taking home a dozen bottles! We definitely had our different tastes, but our favorites included Kate, their signature (award winning) sweet red wine, Caboose, which we already knew, and Hooterville (part of the sales from this one are donated toward breast cancer causes). Another one of their wines, Orphan Train, also donates part of the proceeds to charity.

The actual space itself, the train station, is fantastic. It's super relaxed and has space for groups or couples to enjoy a glass of wine on the weekend. While I didn't take a picture (because I assumed the people sitting there would think I was awkward and creepy), there are also couches and chairs to sit back in and enjoy your time together. The art is fantastic, too. While some pieces are made by children in the family, which I adore, there's also a mural that the Algona High School art teacher created of the train wreck that is such an important part of the history of the space. The vineyard is actually at the site of the wreck!

Neither Shon nor I have ever really considered ourselves "wine people," but now that we've taken some time to educate ourselves on some of the different types available, we've actually changed our mind. Last weekend Shon actually said, "I don't feel like beer, I feel like wine today. It seems like the better option." I love this. I love that we've found something we can learn about and explore together, and I love that we can enjoy a glass of wine with dinner once in a while and bond over something that we got to pick out together. I also like that I've started to learn enough about wine and even the types of grapes that I can pick out something I like in a restaurant! For example, I know that I'm a fan of Edelweiss grapes and generally the wines made from them. Do I sound like I know things yet? Two wine tastings and I think I'm an expert... (insert eye roll emoji here, I know).

 We also picked our wedding wine that day! I think we've chosen four that we'll order to share with our guests, though you'll have to wait until closer to the big day to find out what those are!

Date Night Log 2018: Playing Catch Up, The Drake and West Towne Pub

Okay, I'm failing at keeping up with our date night log right now, which is a good thing, right? That means we're spending lots of quality time together. However, it means I'm not sharing enough of the great Iowa places we're visiting, so I want to catch you up on a couple.

A few weeks ago we visited Burlington, and while the circumstances surrounding our visit could have been better, we did have a chance to visit a new restaurant with great friends while we were in town. This time we visited The Drake. The Drake is right on the river, you can see my favorite bridge from the front door, and is a little more upscale atmosphere. I had a sirloin and baked potato (still trying to stay true to that wedding diet), while Shon had the most ridiculous plate of macaroni and cheese (five types of cheese, brisket, and he also added chicken and bacon). The owners sat at the front table and greeted us when we came in. We had the baby, and the friends we met had their baby, but it was a family environment where they didn't necessarily feel out of place, which is always something I worry about when we're eating at a nicer place. In fact, Evelyn cried a little when we were getting her out of her car seat and one of the waitresses stopped to tell us how much she loved hearing the sound of babies in the restaurants. While I'm sure our fellow diners were glad she stopped crying, it was really nice of her to say and make us feel welcome!

The other place we visited recently, after seeing 12 Strong, is West Towne Pub in Ames. This is one of my long-time favorites, as I mentioned in a previous post about some of my favorite places in Ames, and if you go in, make sure to say hi to Tim, who is often working at the bar or, on a busier night, running around managing things. They have *the best* burgers. While I was a little disappointed to learn that they were using a condensed menu for game night (even though I completely understand why), Shon and I both enjoyed the Skippy burger and fries, along with some beef rib egg rolls. Usually I order sweet corn bites that come with an awesome honey sauce, but it was great to try something new. They have a ton of TVs and it was super fun to enjoy some Olympics (since we don't have cable) while we enjoyed our meal. I think they Cyclones won that night, but I don't actually know - we arrived after the game! The other fun part about this night was that we dressed up for Valentine's Day and Evelyn got to wear her red lace onesie from Real Deals - Mason City!

Date Night Log 2018: Farms Uncorked

I'm behind on some date nights, but one of the ones I wanted to be sure to share with you was from our trip a few weeks ago to Living History Farms to their "Farms Uncorked" event. Each winter, LHF does a Cabin Fever series where each month they pair a food and adult beverage combo. This year I bought Shon and I tickets to the entire series as one of his Christmas presents - what could be a better gift than time with me?! Obviously one date has already passed, but they have tickets available for $20/person in advance to each of the following still:

Feb 24: Cocktails and Comfort Food
March 24: Beer and Bread (I've been to this one a couple times and it's great)
Apr 21: Festival of Cheese

As I mentioned, the first event in the series was Farms Uncorked, and I have to start by telling you - we are NOT wine people. This year their billed winery partners included Annelise Winery, Country Barn Winery, Della Viti, La Quercia, Machine Shed (with food for the win), Penoach Winery, Soldier Creek Winery, and Train Wreck Winery. We had beautiful weather and started our day with a selfie.

One of the things I knew going in was that I don't love red wine. I was, however, open to trying new things. I'm going to be really honest with you and not even try to pretend to "speak wine" to you, but rather share some of our favorites (I'm a moscato kind of girl), and tell you more about the experience so that maybe we'll see you at an event in the future!

When you walk into the main entrance they have the tickets set up (be sure to have your ID, I had to turn around and go back to the car and get mine), and then a big ring of vendors, for lack of a better word, around the outside. They each had samples of 4-8 different wines, and then they were able to offer 2-3 (ish?) of those wines for sale in the gift shop if you were interested in taking some home. La Quercia had an awesome meat and cheese spread set up, and The Machine Shed had some awesome Iowa-themed appetizers available - think pasta and brisket - we came back about three times! It was nice to have some food options with the alcohol intake, because while they are small samples, when you try several from each winery, it's nice to have something to eat in the middle. And you know... insert wine talk about cleansing your palate...

We worked our way around the room in a somewhat organized fashion and had a few highlights. Soldier Creek Winery (near Fort Dodge) we learned as live music on Friday nights even through the winter! We plan on this being a date night in the near future. They also had a wine called Geneva Red 7 that had this hint of bell pepper taste that would be amazing when grilling during the summer. This was by far my favorite red of the day because it just had this interesting flavor you didn't expect.

Country Barn Winery and Annelise Winery had some of the fruitier and sweeter wines we tried. Country Barn Winery had a dry, raspberry wine that was interesting called Black Beauty. Annelise Winery, near Indianola, had one of our favorites, Dipsy Doo. It's a sweet red and we actually just enjoyed that bottle this week while celebrating!

The Cellar (near Cambridge) had another of our favorites. Edelweiss (my favorite song from The Sound of Music) is a semi-sweet table wine that had a nice flavor but wasn't so super sweet. It was a nice way to finish out our day and it was our Valentine's Day wine this year!

One of the very first wines we tried, and the one we'll be going back to taste again this weekend as a potential wedding option, is Caboose by Train Wreck Winery. First, it comes in a gorgeous blue bottle which fits perfectly with our wedding colors. Second, the winery is in an old train depot in Algona and the grapes are grown on the site of an actual train wreck. Third, and much less important to Shon, it's Dallas Clark's winery, so as a Colts fan it seems only fitting that we find such a special wine at this location. Don't tell him that, though (Shon, not Dallas), because I don't want him to change his mind. Caboose is a sweet white wine with enough acid to keep it from being "too sweet." Many of their wines can be found at stores near you, and honestly, many of the wines we sampled can be found at places like your local Fareway or HyVee, both of whom I love for being committed to carrying quality Iowa products.

For people who aren't "wine people" we walked away with three bottles, a fourth that we plan on picking up for grilling this summer, and three future dates! We'll have live music at Soldier Creek, a wine tasting at Train Wreck, and I didn't mention yet that in March we're heading to Della Viti in Ames (there's also a Des Moines location) with friends, which is actually a wine bar and we'll do a tasting all over again to try and find some new things we like! Basically, from what I understand, you load up a card, much like a children's arcade experience, and then you sample different types of wine. I'm particularly looking forward to that new experience.

If you aren't sold yet, I still think you should check out the Living History Farms events because clearly that's where the cool people hang out! See you there!