Mardi Gras

So this weekend was the big Mardi Gras celebration! I was sort of originally dreading it this year because they were calling for it to be so cold. However, I dressed in all sorts of layers and I didn't even get cold! I guess 3 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, 180s, hat, gloves, mittens, warm coat, toe warmers, and hand warmers will help! We started out the morning at our place and I made some grub for everyone that was delicious and some bloody marys and screwdrivers. We grabbed the shuttle across the street which is always a fun time-- they provide beer and blast party music! Got some hurricanes, watched the parade, and then watched Joe Dirt. No good stories really and it was so cold, we really didn't even see any flashers this year. I'm sure the guys were disappointed in a boobie-less mardi gras. We eventually came back here and ordered pizza, which never tasted so good before because we were starving! All in all, fun day....however, I now have a killer sore throat so I think standing outside in that stupid weather is the culprit! Here are some pics:

Weekend Update

It's been a while and I have no excuse cause all I've been busy doing is being LAZY! Friday night we did go to Casa Gallardo for happy hour and it was sooooooooo delicious. Then everyone went home, but Dustin, Missy, and I ventured to the Old Rock House to see an old favorite band of ours Pomeroy. It....was.....awesome! First, this bar is really my kind of place so I'm so excited to go back. There was a basement that felt like you were down in an old cellar and very cool feeling. Then you have the main floor that has the stage area. Then you have an upstairs which was really nice-- had leather chairs to sit in and candles on all the tables and another bar up here. The balcony area up here then overlooked onto the stage, which is where we went for the second part of the show. My friend Derek that used to work at Mississippi Nights is now working at this place too, so was nice to catch up with him! Pomeroy was really energetic and just a great show...even though they didn't bring their usual break dancers. Here's a few pics and a really awful one of me.



Then Saturday was valentine's day and I guess we are officially an old, boring couple. This is the first year there was no flowers, cards, gifts, or any planned activity. We played video games all day and then decided we were probably the only people wanting to go eat dinner without a reservation...so we went to BARcelona and sat in the bar area and it worked out perfectly! Then came home and watched a movie. Real snoozefest, but we enjoyed it.

Tonight I get to see the Bachelor (Jason ) narrow it down to 2. I am so obsessed over this show...and Jason. I'm hoping he gets rid of Molly, but am thinking he could get rid of Melissa based on some of the clips I saw. Just as long as he doesn't get rid of Jillian I'll be happy. Also have Heroes and 24 tonight...and Gossip Girl if that is new. Sheesh- too much tv!

Wine & Food Festival

So all day Saturday we went to the Chase for a Food and Wine Experience. We went last year and had a great time, so came back again....and had fun again! There were over 500 wines to try and then lots of good foods. Some of the good foods we tried were this line of chips I've seen in the stores-- They have Beer flavored (which really just tastes plain, but good) and Bloody Mary which was very tasty. There was a good pizza/flatbread recipe we tried-- just get a thin pizza crust and spread pesto on it, then top with cheese and pine nuts. We also tried some homemade Schnucks soup that I guess you get in their deli area that were good, but not very healthy-- Buffalo Chicken and Loaded Baked Potato (which tasted like a melted potato skin)! It all inspired me to cook a delicous meal so I made my own recipe tonight that is a mix between gumbo and jambalaya and it was YUMMY!

Here is Dustin and one of his best buds Devin and then Crystal, Missy, me, and Mandi.

Me Loves some Ski

So I've been bugging dustin probably since way back to the early weeks we met that I want to go skiing! He always says how much we wants to go also and it would be fun....but in our 6 year history we had never gone...until last night! To cut dustin a break, he was concerned it would bother his knee, so we definitely couldn't go the first year or 2 when he had his surgery. Anyways, we had SO much fun and I think we'll go again cause his knee is okay today. I just want to say that I counted 5 times where dustin fell and zip, zero, zilch for me...except I landed on the ground once buy i was just standing still and terry plowed over the back of my skis, so that doesn't really count. Dustin and I are pretty much the same level, so we liked the same slopes, he just goes a tad faster than me most the time. We ride the lift up to attempt our first hill. I tell him that I'm going to go pretty slow until I get the feel of it and for him to try and somewhat stick by me, not just see me at the bottom. Well, literally 30 seconds later he is FLYING past me. So I'm dying laughing cause either he is really good or just took off out of control. So I ski a little more at my turtle pace and look up and see dustin laying on the ground about 1/3 from the bottom and his skis are off, etc. He completely wiped out and his pants fell halfway down as he slid down head first...imagine someone diving into home base. Hahahaha...it was great. Here are some pics...couldn't resist and had to post one of dustin walking back up the hill to get his ski from another wipeout. It's dark, but that's him. He's soooooooo sore today from that fall too!

Dancing with the stars

Sooooooo...tonight I went to see the Dancing with the Stars show with my sister. First, we have had super ridiculous freezing temperatures since yesterday, so it was not a good night to be out and about. Well, there is a shuttle that picks us up right across from Dustin's....so we get over there and find out there is no shuttle for this event. Great. So Missy thinks we can just walk, so we do and I seriously BARELY made it there. My legs just felt numb and frozen- so awful. But then the good news-- our seats were in row D and they didn't seat anyone in the first 2 rows and we had direct front view of the stage! Then lady with big hair sits down in front of me and can't see a thing- go figure. So we decide to just move to the first row...and that's where we got to sit then! The show had some hokey parts to it...like Lance doing an N Sync bit and declaring his love for Cloris, the old lady on DWTS. But overall it was entertaining and we had a good time. Then dustin came to the rescue and so sweetly picked us up so we didn't have to brave the cold again! My fave couple by far was Lacey and Lance. Lacey was on one of my favorite shows- So You Think You Can Dance...so it's really cool to see her switch over and be considered a pro now on this show. Now I gotta get addicted to America's Best Dance Crew!

Engagement Celebration!!!

Last night we had an Engagment Party and it was a great time...Dustin and I are paying for it today though- haha! We really appreciated everyone who was able to come and especially those who travelled from out of town...and unfortunately we missed some close friends and family who couldn't be there. We used an empty loft here in dustin's building and just tried to spruce it up some and I thought it turned out really cool looking. Missy worked hard on cd mixes of a lot of our fave songs...unfortunately it was so loud with the talking that we couldn't hear a lot of the music until later in the night when we turned it up much louder. But I still loved what I did hear and think I heard most of the good ones! My parents did sooooooooo much for the party on top of trying to move next week, but I think it all paid off cause the food was great and we had so much fun. It was just a blast!!!!!! Cleaning up today-- not so much of a blast though-- we really should have used more disposable cups and such! Now I know a tad how people feel about weddings-- I was bummed as people were leaving because I felt like I didn't get to talk to them enough and spend time with them. I needed to have done a better job at making the rounds. And I felt like I hardly spent time with Dustin at all and this was to celebrate our engagment! Once only the latenight partiers were left, we went down to dustin's to play rockband...I decided to just be the groupie though and observe cause was too tired by that point! It was so much fun though....let's do it again next weekend! I still need to get the bulk of the pics from mom's camera, so I'll probably do a later posting with those. Oh, and best part of the night is as my dad is giving a speech and says that dustin's parents must be proud of him and Mandi accidentally lets this snicker out loud....it was absolutely hilarious!!!! I'm still laughing about that one days later

Illini RULE!!!!!!

Does anything more really need to be said about this trip than the score shown in th epic to the left?!?!?! I'm a little behind on posts because last week was super busy, but last weekend Dustin, Missy, and I went to Nashville to watch the Vandy-Illiniois basketball game. It was a great game because the lead would change back and forth and was close most of the game....but the illini came out on top!!! We also were able to sit in the vandy student section, so that was fun being amidst the rivals and we were probably only 10 rows from the court...something you don't get to experience at assembly hall! The rest of the weekend was a little boring-- we went to the same bar every night and it was dead and had horrible odor (see pic below of me holding my nose with the 2 other lone patrons). Dustin's friend we were staying with had a friend who owned the place which is why we continuously had to go there. We did go to dinner to a place called Sambuca for dinner that was super awesome-- good food and atmosphere. They are a chain, so if you ever run across this place- go there!!!

Hangin Tough

Monday night Missy and I went to the New Kids on the Block concert and it was a blast!!!! We bought these tickets back in June and paid waaaaaaaaay too much for them...but it was worth every last penny. Dustin was making fun of us that we'd be the only 2 fans in the building....so please take notice of the thousands of other crazies that were there. I used to have the big crush on Donnie, but I think now it may be on Joey. They closed with Hangin Tough which was just so great....man, I think I need to go to another city and see them!!!!!

Halloween

Well this will be a short post, but I've had blog-guilt lately of neglecting it so I know I gotta get something out here! We went to some halloween parties last weekend and had a good time. Friday night we went to another party downtown here at a loft and was lots of fun and a beautiful night out. My cat costume is from that night-- ya, don't ask- it was easy to do...and lame!

Then you'll see I decided last minute on Saturday to make better costumes...so we went as olympic champs Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin. I made dustin take pictures of me in my gymnast pose and trying to do cartwheels-- the cartwheel pics did not look so great, so i'm just going to forget I ever tried those! Dustin's costume I thought was great-- he wore some tight leggings of mine and we cut out felt that said USA and decorated it with red/blue stars. We then got some alphabet stickers that had flags on them and spelled out PHELPS on his swimcap. I just modified an old dance costume leotard to look more american-like and then wore the ponytail with a lot of barrettes and put on glittery eyeshadow. I had fun making them, so I guess that is all that matters! One of our friends below was chris farley/matt foley motivational speaker and was hilarious-- he ended up winning the costume contest at the party saturday night.