The impossible dream

On Friday, Gabe took part in a Cabaret fundraiser for the resident artists. They produced a condensed production of Don Quixote with some arias mixed in from other operas. It was held in the rehearsal space for all their shows and they turned it into a really cool reception. It was sold out. So much fun. He basically rocked "the impossible dream." He was even on a ladder. I almost bit my nails off.

Haha, check out that 'stache!



These are our good friends, the Wilsons. MaryLynn and Brad. They were nice enough to let us stay with them the first week we moved here and they have continued to be so gracious. They've turned into opera fans since meeting Gabe and try to make it to all his performances. So nice. 

Mall games

 Recently I saw an article on my phone news feed that the stars of the Hunger Games were coming to the Mall of America for a signing and Q & A session. I stewed it over for a few days. Mentioned it to Gabe a few times. I had to work that night, which meant that I would have to get up early, deal with crazy crowds,  and probably a lot of screaming girls. Then it occured to me that I had an opportunity to actually see them and take pics and I exclaimed to Gabe, "We have to go! When will we ever get a chance like this??" By the way, my husband is a saint. SAINT!!! He really wanted to go at first, then as we approached the mall and saw all the security guards and tons of screaming girls we both kind of squirmed. I said several times, I want to go, this is too much and he kept saying we're here, let's just stay.

(about 2 hours before they came out, I was on an escalator)

The signs were seriously the best, but this was my favorite....

I loaf Peeta.

We ended up in a pretty sweet spot on the floor. Crowd control was ridiculous. They had this whole area sectioned of for VIP's and the whole thing was basically empty. Eventually they would bring in a few people at a time. We were lucky and got escorted in. Otherwise, Gabe would have been behind a pole. I kept saying "you can leave honey and I'll meet you later if it's too much." He said "Forget that, I'm here to represent team katniss." He's pretty much the coolest.

Finally, it started. The preview came on and folks went NUTS!

Including me...

Haha. Everyone started coming out and truth be told it was so loud I didn't even hear everyone's names or who they played in the movie. So, I looked it up later.

Jacklyn Emerson- Foxface, Amandla Stenburg- Rue,  Isabelle Fuhrman-Clove, Alexander Ludwig- Cato

Then Josh and Jennifer got there. It was madness. I was like- uh ok, let's not lose our minds everyone. I felt so bad for any parents there that had no clue who these jokers were. The whole Q and A was very cutesy and Amandla (Rue) was totally adorable.



It was pretty rad. Made me super excited for the movie. I have to work the night of the opening. I'm not all that sad. I think I'll go to a matinee without any screaming girls. I've had my fill.



Very pinteresting- Yum edition

I recently pinned a recipe for soft pretzels that were supposed to be just like Auntie Anne's pretzels at the mall. Anyone who has ever been to a mall with me knows my love for auntie anne's. The BEST! So, I had to put this recipe to the test! The only "unusual" ingredients that I had to purchase were bread flour and yeast. I'm not a bread maker so I didn't have those items in my pantry. I was able to put my mixer to the test and I used my dough hook for the first time. I had a lot of fun making them.

Source: sprinklesofparsley.com via Christina on Pinterest

I made both the original and cinnamon sugar and we liked the original the best. It's not exaclty the same as those pretzels at the mall but they were really good and really similar to the real thing. I even went to the mall the next day and didn't get one. I had been pleased with my homemade ones the night before :)

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Another yuumy recipe I found on pinterest. It was a real winner in  our household!

Confetti Chicken and Veggie Pasta

Source: bakecakery.com via Christina on Pinterest

Ice Skating at The Depot

Gabe and I decided to go ice skating over the weekend. We actually had been looking forward to ice skating on a lake, but the ice has been so thin this winter that it was pretty much out of the question.

The depot is an old train depot turned amazing hotel. The ice rink is behind the hotel in the middle of downtown. Turns out I was happy to skate indoors. No wind.

Gabe and I mutually decided we could not remember the last time either of us skated. Which means, we have never done it together. Seems like a first! I was on the ice for two seconds and felt like leaving. Something about the instability is so scary but we got more comfortable and it was really fun!



Wanna see how graceful I am...