Country Club Plaza

October 25, 2010

After Zach's interview, we met Terry on the Plaza for lunch at Blanc. (How do they pronounce it??). They specialize in burgers and bottles--beer AND sodas. Our burger and onion rings were yummy, and we also tried birch beer. Ohmigoodness, it's like a Christmas root beer all red and Monty!! :)

(We found some at World Market at a great price, but, as we were stocking up on Crunchies and DP, those'll have to wait until next time *wink wink*)

Thanks for letting us crash in your basement and giving us cookies to snack on our long drive back to The Natural State, formerly The Land of Opportunity until they realized there are no opportunities here. (I kid, I kid...kinda.). You guys are the BEST!

where the corn lives... [Zach's Birthday Week Part 2]

July 26, 2010

[photo courtesy http://itchyinjapan.blogspot.com/2009/08/ponyo-ponyo-ponyo.html]

Ponyo was so strange, but I definitely cannot say it was boring. ; )
I quite liked it A LOT.
Boy, that fish girl loved ham!!
I hope our "dream fish-daughter" is a little bit calmer...
(Geez, Tina Fey was a bad mother. And is that how they let kids in Japan behave? Ride off in a boat ran by fire by themselves at the age of five?! *lol*)

AND I found Anne Enright's The Gathering and my missing Chopin at the local bookstore!!

July 27, 2010

[photo courtesy http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g36455-d828257-r20956064-Destihl_Restaurant_Brew_Wrks-Normal_Illinois.html]

We would like to forget about DeKalb...
*lol*

Our last night in Blo-No, Joe and Beth took us to a local micro-brewery and restaurant called Destihl.
I had a stout that tasted like tobacco (definition: VERY smoky) and some delicious beer-battered cod with l-o-n-g chips, vinegar, lemon-infused tartar sauce, and a grilled lemon (?).
(P.S. I also got to try a cerise stout--cherry-flavored.)
I liked their blend of flavors along with the presentation, and the setting sun only thwarted us a bit. (We were sitting on the patio.) Nice place, I say!

Then we went to Friar Tuck's, this amazing liquor store. We found Strongbow there(!) = score (!)

We ended the night by watching Sorcerer's Stone, which Zach still has not finished. The next time will be our fourth try...

July 28, 2010

On our way back to The Natural State Wednesday, we stopped in STL at the Galleria so Zach could take his iPhone and laptop to the Apple Store. While there, we got THREE scoops of Ben & Jerry's for THREE dollars (Triple Caramel Chunk, Mint Chocolate Chunk, AND Bonnaroo Buzz-light coffee and malt ice creams with whiskey caramel swirls and English toffee pieces). So this week I've had tobacco-flavored beer and booze-flavored ice cream...

AND we got to go to a World Market for more Crunchies and Haribo. This WM was in the same shopping center as a Target. Uh, hello, heaven!

Lord, I am tired of driving.

Thanks to Joe Hawkins and Beth Fuechsl for making our time with them more than Normal!!! ;)