Restaurants with Unique Themes

I'm not much of a foodie, but I do love trying new bars and restaurants. There's something about soaking up unfamiliar atmospheres and people that makes me feel like I've escaped everyday life. I suppose it's the equivalent of taking a mini-vacation, but without the required travel.

That's why I think this story from Hello Giggles is so cool. If you're a fan of pop culture or the unusual (hello, undersea dining!), it's not hard to see why these "themed" restaurants catch so much attention. How lucky are the people who live near these places?

You can view the complete list of restaurants here.

Giger Bar, Switzerland. Inspired by the movie, Alien.

The Way Station, New York. Fans of Dr. Who, eat your heart out!

Red Sea Star, Isreal. It's underwater!

Bachelorette Party Fun

I'm flying into Burbank tomorrow morning to kick-off a weekend of bachelorette party fun in honor of my best friend Briana. I'm looking forward to pool time, pedicures, and of course, the party itself, as this is a solo trip (kids are staying behind with daddy.) Thank God! This mama could really use a break.

Although most of Briana's party is already planned, I'm considering making something fun to add to the mix. Like a survival kit for everyone. Thank you Pinterest for having so many fun ideas!

Now if Saturday could only come a little quicker...

Snacks, water, bandaids, gum, Advil and breath mints.  

I love the title of this one. Very clever. 

I love the custom labels on this one.

A cute, cost-effective way to carry all the goodies. 

A Weekend in Bozeman

Our friends Andrew and Rachel got married in Bozeman, Montana over the weekend so we drove out there to help them celebrate. What a beautiful place! We saw all kinds of wildlife and the people were so down to earth. Everything seemed to move at a slower pace as well, which helped to make our trip feel relaxing, despite our brief stay. I would gladly visit again!

Inside the historic Hotel Baxter where the reception took place

A mom and pop store along Main Street in Bozeman had this outside
of their entrance.

Going Beyond the Minivan

Emily Finch from Portland prefers to skip the minivan monkey business when it comes to taking all six of her kids to school. Instead, she rides the amazing bike contraption pictured below, cycling up to 20 miles every day as she treks around town. Somehow I feel lazy even looking at this picture. Very inspiring!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Good morning, readers! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We entertained the in-laws and took a trip to the family cabin near Lake Wenatchee. The weather was perfect, the conversations flowed freely and the food was plentiful. Just the kind of weekend I needed to recharge my batteries!

Just another beautiful Saturday afternoon on the deck at the cabin.

An array of pink wildflowers in our neighbor's yard.

Cheese! Family photo time.

Stately Sandwiches

Artist Kelly Pratt has come up with a brilliant way to display her love of sandwiches and photography in a project she's calling "Stately Sandwiches." It's a photographic collection of the most popular sandwiches from each of the 50 states and includes delicious pairings like The Flutternutter (peanut butter and marshmallow spread), The Reuben (pastrami and sauerkraut) and The Hot Brown (turkey, cheese sauce and bacon).

What's the most famous sandwich in your state? They all look so delicious! 

South by Southwest, Austin Bound!

It's almost Friday, readers!  For most of you, this means you're one step closer to enjoying the weekend. For me, it means I'm one step closer to taking one of the most demanding work trips of my life. In just a few hours, I'll be heading down to Austin, Texas, for their Interactive festival called South by Southwest.

Over the last few months, I've worked on planning several big events for my company while we're there, including a panel discussion with some very well-known Internet consultants, and one giant party that I've co-planned with folks from Bing, the search engine. In addition to booking a chart-topping, super secret band for one of our events, we're also having the following to entertain our guests:

The Bumbys!  They evaluate you for a few seconds and
then they write an appraisal (a haiku) about you.

MRI light painting! We're having this in a photo booth
instead of your standard photo booth stuff. Cool, huh?

Exciting stuff!!

Anyhoo... this will be my last post for the next five to six days so I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. I'll be back at it and posting by Wednesday next week. See you then!

Crazy Cars - Cool or Tacky?

As you know, my husband and I are in the process of buying our first house. We're still in the finding phase, which means lately, we've spent most of our Sunday afternoons going to open houses.  Last Sunday, we drove past this truck parked in one of the neighborhoods we were scouting:

*LEGO men not included

What's underneath all of those gigantic LEGOs? I have no idea, but this is just one of many cars like this that I've seen on the roads this year.  It got me thinking, why not share some snapshots with the rest of the world.

Behold, some of the tackiest (or coolest?) cars out there:

Oh, Hello there Kitty!

Matching your purse with your car is a thing, I guess?

This car is popular among Venice/Santa Monica, CA residents.
It was also recently featured in a national commercial. 

Random doesn't even begin to describe this one.

Taking their love of crocheting a little too far?

Nostalgia Shoppers Special Trains

The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority is getting into the holiday spirit this year with the temporary addition of vintage subway trains. They're calling them the "Nostalgia Shoppers Special" trains and they are running through Christmas Eve. Everything on the inside and out is authentic - from the ceiling fans to the wicker seat covers (who knew that back in the day, the seats were actually wicker?! Ouch!)

This time of year is always so beautiful in New York, but this really steps up the "wow factor" for me. So festive and fun!

The exterior looks just as it did back in the twenties and thirties.

These ladies look like they've stepped off a movie set!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Oktoberfest in Leavenworth was fantastic and the weather was perfect. We had a great time walking around the town, drinking tasty German beers, window shopping and laughing with a few of our favorite people. (see snapshots below)

While I'm sad the weekend is over, I'm excited for all the rain we're expecting in the coming days.  This means we'll be staying inside and anytime I'm forced to spend extra time inside, I usually end up baking or cooking something new.  This week, I've decided to try some new slow cooker recipes. Behold, the efforts of my first new recipe:

Homemade slow cooker beef stew!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 lb. of beef cubes
• 11/2 cups of beef broth
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped fresh cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups of stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 1/2 cups canned corn, drained
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped fresh green beans
• 1 1/2 cups of sliced fresh carrots
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Throw everything in a slow cooker. Set it on high for 4 hours and enjoy!

Mike, me, Wendy, Brian, Brandon and Andrea. 

Cheers!

Handy Headphone Storage

Today my husband and I celebrate three years of marriage together.  Also, in about 7 weeks, I turn 30.  With these milestones in mind, we thought it would be fun to do something memorable to celebrate so we're taking a little vacation next month.

Since we'll be flying, I was thinking about all the ways to make our time in the airplane more comfortable.  Then I stumbled on C.W. Frosting and found this awesome DIY project for keeping headphones wrapped-up and safely stored. It's cheap and efficient - I must make this!

Check it out!

All you need is velcro, scissors and ribbon

Attach the velcro pieces to the ribbon and wrap.

Mountain Retreat

Our Labor Day weekend festivities included a visit to my family's cabin just outside of Leavenworth, Washington.  It was so nice to get away from city noises for few days and unwind.  We ate and drank our way through wine country, golfed 18 holes and spent quality time around the backyard fire pit with my family and a few of their friends.  What a great end to summer!

The view from the back deck of the cabin.   

The restaurants and shops in Leavenworth are all Bavarian-themed.  The brats and beers here are quite tasty.
We'll definitely be back for Oktoberfest! 

The guys heading into Icicle Ridge Winery.  They had the best gewurztraminer I've ever tasted. 

The whole crew!

The "Borrow a Grandmother" Restaurant Model

Has anyone ever been to Enoteca Maria Italian Restaurant on Staten Island?  It's been around for a while, but I just found out about it and had to share.  The restaurant has found a way to flourish without the use of all-star chefs by ingeniously replacing them with grandmothers!

Joe Scaravella, the restaurant's owner, puts it nicely when he says, "If you have the choice between a three-star Michelin chef and Grandma's, where are you going?"  Personally, I'd pick my grandmother's house - she's by far the best chef I know.  More to the point, everyone thinks their grandmother's are the best chefs they know.  That's exactly why Scaravella has been so successful with his venture. CNN contributor Sarah Lent also surmises that with fewer families dining together these days, Enoteca offers the kind of homestyle cooking and bonding experience that people long for.

Since every grandmother's cooking is different, every dish at Enoteca has it's own flair as well.  In fact, the menu changes daily so you never know what you're going to get.  Doesn't that sound like fun?

Monday Morning Fun

Luke Shepard, a student at The American University of Paris, paid homage to The City of Light with this breathtaking time-lapse video.  The project took him over 100 hours to complete and he's working on a follow-up.


Le Flâneur (music by The XX) from Luke Shepard on Vimeo.