Wow, July was nuts…and because of that, my blog has been seriously neglected. So to kick off August, I decided to get my blog back up and running. For those of you who have been desperately checking my blog hoping for a new post, let me refresh you with a few key events that happened in my life over the past 2+ weeks.
Birthday Party/Grill Out. For my 24th birthday, I had a little get-together with friends and family at a nearby park. We grilled, played bags, ate delicious food, drank delicious drinks, and just had a good time. It was so nice to get all my close friends and fam together in one place! Unfortunately, we didn’t win the bags tournament, but it was still a great time!
Ryan, Jim, and I at the park!
My birthday! I feel so old and wise. For my actual birthday (which was on a lousy Wed!), I took the day off to relax. Max and I took a nice bikeride (in the 110 degree heat…) to get some pizza. Too bad for Max, he forgot his wallet and had to make twice the trip to go get it while I stayed and drank a cold beverage š Later that day, after cooling off in some A/C, I went out for drinks, dinner, and dessert with my parents and Max. It was so much fun. We started off at The Standard, a newer martini bar in the Court Ave area. It’s a great atmosphere, their happy hour is amazinggg, and they actually have awesome food on top of the fun drink selection! We tried a few appetizers and tasted a few beverages — in particular the Honey Badger (Max) and Ranger IPA shots (my dad made those up…he just poured Ranger into shot glasses for everyone. The epitome of class). After The Standard, we headed to my favorite sushi place, Sakari, for a platter of deliciousness. Although it was an unexpectedly long wait on a Wed evening, it was well-worth it. My dad further declared (after a few too many sake bombs) that it was the best sushi he’s ever had. But! We didn’t stop there. Finishing the night at Fleming’s, we put away my absolute favorite dessert — the molten lava cake. Ugh, I don’t even want to talk about it, it’s just too dang good. If only I could eat like that every day…
SUSHI!
It takes a lot of air to blow out my single candle.
Omaha Trip.Ā For my birthday, Max took me on an overnight to Omaha to do the zoo! Even though it was forecast as one of the hottest weekends of the summer, we weren’t phased, and stayed at the zoo for a whopping 4.5 hours! We saw every possible animal EXCEPT the polar bear (too hot) and the prairie dogs (behind the kid exhibit so we missed them!). It was so much fun. The highlight of the zoo was right before we stopped off for lunch: I accidentally dropped my sunglasses into the jungle — long story — and a monkey snagged them, took them up into a tree, and put them on! It was hilarious, and made my loss of sunglasses totally worth it! After our last leg of the zoo, we stumbled back to our car and made our way out to the hotel, stopping off at Whole Foods first for some room beverages. After relaxing for a few hours and freshening up, we were ready to head back out into the heat, this time, to the Old Market for some dinner. We went to M’s Pub for a cocktail and appetizer before dinner. The appetizer was a delicious salmon pate with a variety of toppings and crackers to make your own little bites. I went with a pear martini — so strong — and Max settled for his classic, a White Russian. We then stumbled over to Vincenzo’s for an Italian feast, and finished at the hotel bar for a nightcap. It was a great weekend, but as always, much too short!
Monkey with my shades.
Jellies.
Salmon appetizer from M’s Pub
Needless to say, my life has been crazyyy busy the past few weeks. And now, it’s AUGUST! I’ve hardly had time to make any food at home, and when I do, it’s all stuff that I’ve already posted. Womp, womp. I will get back on it, though, promise. My new current obsession: The Olympics. I’ll need to find some free time to cook whilst I fast-forward through 11+ hours of content each evening (I DVR EVERYTHING to do with the Olympics). TTFN, sorry again for the lack of posts. Hopefully my update will suffice until the next post š
N
Let Them Eat Cake 
That pic of Max when you’re blowing out the candles is hilarious. He looks like he wishes he was the one doing the candle blowing. I love that zoo!! And I took the same pic of the jelly fish!