Birthday Road Trip: Part 2

How cool is this vending machine?

It's from the Circle Centre mall in Indianapolis, and we were amazed by it. For starters, it takes debit and credit cards, so no more scrambling for money if you're thirsty. Second, the front of the machine is actually an LCD or some type of screen, and you can "page" through the drink choices. After you put your money in, the little bottles display signs that say "Pick me!", and then you just touch the one you want. It was pretty cool.

My friend told me that Simon Malls is headquartered right across the street from the Circle Centre mall, so they test out a lot of new mall concepts there. Note to Simon Malls: that hand sanitizing stuff you're testing out right by this machine smells REALLY BAD.

When we're in Indy, we also go to this Borders downtown to look for a Peyton Manning calendar. I can't exactly get one where I live (although MK did find one at Office Max a few years ago)! We treated ourselves to some yummy hot chocolate. I'm actually not the biggest fan of Borders's hot chocolate (Panera has the best), but the way they top it off is pretty good - thick whipped cream, white chocolate curls, chocolate syrup, and a chocolate stick. MK loves it!

We had a lot of time to kill for this trip. We had to check out of the hotel at 12 PM, but the game wasn't until 8:30. In the past years that we've gone, we haven't had to kill as much time. The first year we went, we went with a couple other friends, and the game was a 4:00 game, so we pretty much just checked out of the hotel and went and hung out around the city before the game started.

Last year, we flew to and from Indy, so we had the hotel for all of Sunday and Sunday night. This year though, we basically chucked all of our stuff into the car on Sunday at noon, and tried to keep ourselves busy. This involved a trip to the mall to drool over Eddie Bauer hiking gear (MK was drooling, not me), getting lunch somewhere (although NOT at Chick-Fil-A, because they are closed on Sundays!), and then just walking around.

This is a picture from the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' monument, which is right downtown. I love this monument, and I think it looks wicked cool when they deck it out for the holidays. Those strands you see are strings of lights, which get turned on at night, and really light up the monument.

This is one of the bears on one of the light poles around the monument. I have been trying to get a good picture of the bears for a couple years now!

Right before the game, we went to The Capital Grille for my birthday. When we were in the mall, we decided to go there for dinner - neither one of us was very hungry, so we agree to split a steak to help keep the price down. The Capital Grille really treats you nicely on your birthday - I got a handwritten message at our table that was signed by a lot of the people working, wishing me a happy birthday. We also got a little one-bite sample of this delicious herb-crusted tenderloin with a roasted yellow pepper and balsamic glaze - it was amazing. It was served cold, and super delicious.

After dinner, we got complimentary dessert - I got homemade mint ice cream (just mint, no chips!), and MK got homemade passion fruit sorbet. It came out on a plate that they wrote "Happy Birthday" on in chocolate. The ice cream was very good - really creamy and tasty.

I still haven't even written about the best part of the trip (the game!), so I'll get to that soon. I also have some holiday baking recipes to share as well! MK is gone this weekend, so I'm planning on baking up a storm.

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Birthday Road Trip Recap: Part I

Over 2,000 miles, and we did it all in just about 36 hours! It was a long but super fun trip, so I'm splitting my recap into two parts. (Hopefully I'll get to the second part later this week.)

We got to Chicago on Friday, and met up with my cousin and Julia and her boyfriend for dinner at Texas de Brazil. Dinner was delicious (as expected), and MK managed to get himself stuffed just after his first course. We weren't too full to order dessert though, and MK had them surprise me with a birthday candle on the cake I ordered!


Here is a picture of all of us after dinner.
DISCLAIMER: MK wants you all to know that this picture was taken after dinner, and he was slouching and very full from getting the most out of his meal. He doesn't look like Cartman in real life.

After dinner, we took a picture of just the girls. It was so nice to have such great company for my birthday dinner!

We went out for some drinks after dinner, and then we headed back to my cousin's apartment to get some much needed sleep.

The next morning we met up with my friend's husband's cousin (got that?) for breakfast at Ann Sather's, a local Swedish diner. I love Swedish stuff - my grandfather was Swedish, so I'm a little biased. If you're ever in Chicago, you should definitely check this place out! It was pretty busy, but they had really delicious food, especially their cinnamon buns, pecan buns, and Swedish pancakes (which are more like crepes).

I was a little bummed that we didn't get to stay longer and hang out with my friend some more, but we had to get going in the early afternoon for the drive to Indianapolis.

We got to Indy around 4:30 PM, and checked into our hotel, and then met up with one of my friends from college who I hadn't seen in forever. She and I lived in the same house my freshman year of college, and we were good friends. It was great to get to see her again after so long and catch up!

After dinner, MK and I caught a showing of "The Men Who Stare at Goats" - we don't recommend it. It was a long couple of days, but definitely worth it! It was so nice to be able to spend time with old and new friends.

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, it's not Christmas. And no, it's not back-to-school time. And it's not even my birthday (okay, well, it is, but that's not what makes it the most wonderful time of the year).


That's right - it's none of those things! For me, the most wonderful time of the year is that magical day in the fall when the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts play each other. For the 3rd year in a row, MK and I are headed to Indianapolis for the game (we also saw the Pats host the Colts in New England way back in 2005).

The game usually falls near my birthday, so the tickets to the game and the ensuing trip to Indy are my birthday present from MK. Part of the fun will be driving to Indy. (Yes, I did say driving.) MK and I love to take road trips, having driven to Indy twice and all the way to Florida once.

This year, we're making a pit-stop in Chicago to eat at our favorite restaurant, Texas de Brazil. The trip this year is also special because we'll be seeing a lot of different people - my cousin, one of my favorite blog friends, an old friend from college, and a couple of other friends who happen to be in Chicago.

Below is the route we'll most likely take - over 2,000 miles!

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