In 2010 I ... was surprised!

I hate surprises. If I know about a surprise, like when someone says "I have a surprise for you," I do everything in my power to figure it out in advance. Maybe (probably) it's a control thing. Surprises just makes me downright nervous.

So I was doubly surprised when Morgan and Jennie planned a surprise dinner party for me (surprise 1) and that I really, truly enjoyed the surprise (2!). J invited me to a seemingly casual dinner to include M & Eli, and I had been looking forward to the low-key evening for days. M harassed me about cooking ideas (I crave, he cooks) until I suggested Italian, specifically gnocchi. (I know, I know ... no easy task.)

Late as usual, I almost fell over entering J & E's house to see Alex, Beth and Eric shouting "Surprise!" I was seriously confused for a solid minute as to who the surprise was for. Ha. While I didn't have a camera on me, I hope a few shots from others (before a smattering of Violet's carrots ended up all over my shirt) surface soon. And I can't speak for all, but I grossly over-indulged in M's delicious antipasto, A's scrumptious salad, J & E's incredible manicotti (recipe, please!), M's handmade gnocchi, and B & E's awesome cookies. But, the pièces de résistance was undoubtedly my gift:

So, so delicious.

Thank you doesn't even begin to cover it, as so much more than thanks is due to a group who could ease my mind about the impending birthday. But in lieu of a better sentiment, thank you so very, very much.

In 2010 I ... met Lucia Mae

Yep. Another baby. Hard to fathom, but true! And Lucia Mae is a total cutie. (Embarrassingly, she already has more hair than I've been able to drum up in nearly 27 years.)

I showed up at Emily & Erik's house, paparazzi-style, last week to meet Miss L and shoot these:







Aren't those yawns adorable? If only I looked that cute when yawning after 5 or less hours of sleep ...

In 2010 I ... road tripped, cabin style.

There's something about a road trip with friends you've never road tripped with before. The excitement of getting out of town builds, you cram into the car and hurry up to go do nothing. What's not to like? So that's exactly what Jennie, Eli, Alex, Morgan and I did to join a huge gang that progressively gathered throughout the past weekend in Alexandria for Jake's 30th birthday celebration. We did in fact do a whole lot of nothing. Observe:

Thanks for taking pics, Senor Kamin

While we weren't doing that, the group was swimming, warming up in the homemade sauna, playing badminton and kubb, drinking keg beer, playing card/dice games, and lounging by the bonfire.

Me, Patty & Megan taking care of some serious gossip bench business

In typical cabin style, the weather was mildly crappy on Saturday and stunningly beautiful for the drive home on Sunday. But that didn't stop us from having a fantastic nothing-filled weekend I'm already prepared to repeat anytime.

In 2010 I ... saw Mates of State (& Free Energy)

I love Mates of State. There's something about a husband-wife duo that travel on a tour bus with their kids and nanny (who works the merch table) that just makes me ... well, jealous.

Hayley, Jess, Roxie, Tom and I met up with a posse of showing-going friends at Acadia for delicious beverages (blackberry porter, yum!) before the Mates show at the 400 Bar.

Mates in action

Opening was Free Energy, who I'd not yet seen live and really enjoyed. (Bands that smile make me smile. I can't help it.)

And this is a perfect summer tune, one I have a feeling I'll be listening to often with the windows down in the Mini.

While it was sweatier than I'd ever prefer, it's the price that must be paid for great shows at small bars. Not the first, and certainly not the last.

In 2010 I ... had the dreamiest outdoor dinner

Dreamy outdoor dinner photos speak for themselves:

The Tavola Fresca dinner table

Genoa salami with mango on endive

Hand-pressed pasta with pesto and olive oil

Rabbit with vegetables

Swiss chard with garlic and anchovy

Honey-lavender biscotti

This gorgeous meal was shared with dinner club and a few new friends in a backyard garden on a seriously hot June night.


It was also Carissa's final send-off before her New Zealand adventure, which may just lead to an international adventure for some of us, too.

In 2010 I ... met Cademin Jeffrey

The baby birthing spree continues! Congrats to Stacia and Ben, the newest parents in the bunch.

Anne & Cade at Fairview

Me & Cade

If only everyone could agree on the same hospital, maybe I could get a frequent parker pass or designated parking spot or something. (Especially since there are two more rounds of babies yet this summer!)

In 2010 I ... ate Lebanese food

At a place called Emily's Lebanese Deli, nonetheless. This divey little hole in Northeast has been featured on The Food Network, where I first learned about it and was not surprisingly drawn in because 1) it's called Emily's and 2) it's not every day you see a Minneapolis feature on national TV and 3) I'll watch almost anything on television.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives at Emily's

Food Club had slowed a bit with the business of summer activities in full effect, but since Carmelo's we've visited Sea Salt Eatery, Haute Dish and now Emily's. Unlike the others, this one is quite a sight. Considering the complete lack of any sort of ambiance, this place is rolling out seriously good food. Which is critical, because you wouldn't venture there for the service either. But really, the food is that good.

Most of the group started off with tabouli ...

... while I devoured mistah bread.

Of course we also couldn't resist a plate full of hummus, and after all this it was difficult to fathom still being hungry for main courses. Our table was eventually covered with kabobs, cabbage rolls, rice with almonds (sooo good!) and various preparations of lamb and chicken. Yum.

We all left completely stuffed, and if you've never had Lebanese (like me before this week) I'd highly recommend Emily's. But take a minute to consider the take-out option. I now know why it was the more popular option throughout our dinner stay ...

Next up: Tavola Fresca, this crazy-amazing sounding private backyard dinner series.