Fuchsia Flash at Bluebeard

Happy Monday! I have a feeling this month will FLY by, thanks to several events planned for each weekend of the month. It will be June before I know it!

John and I had such a fun weekend! We had friends over Friday, tried a new restaurant, saw Iron Man 3, caught up on much-needed sleep, and ended the weekend with a great dinner with John's family. Instead of sharing every detail, I want to make sure you know about a fun new-to-us restaurant in Fountain Square (for you Indy people!).

John and I had about eight friends over Friday night for a few beverages and appetizers. It was a nice way to start our evening, while waiting for our table to be ready! From our apartment downtown, we headed to Bluebeard, a unique and fun restaurant in Fountain Square. According to this Indy Star piece, it's one of Indy's top 50 restaurants to try!

The restaurant had a great vibe and a very eclectic menu. John and I opted to share the mussels and scallops. At $16 each, the dishes are a bit pricey. I would highly recommend the mussels if you're looking for a good "bang for your buck." John and I easily could have split them, though I highly enjoyed my {2} scallops.

Mussels | Scallops (only 2!)

Our table was filled with laughs, stories, and debates about the best shows on TV currently. {No clear winner!}

Linds and I even discovered we had the same lipstick {Fuchsia Flash by Maybeline}, and we even got Swade in on the party. We had some major photo issues, and fortunately for me, John has learned to take several shots to ensure there's at least one I like. I married a smart one!

John and I had a wonderful evening with friends, and I'd highly recommend the restaurant to anyone looking for an eclectic menu, relaxed atmosphere and excellent service. Thanks to Moyer for coordinating this wonderful night! Cheers!

Spring Break in Sanibel!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, rejoicing that He is risen! John and I just got back from a fun and relaxing vacation on Sanibel Island. We spent five days with John's grandparents and had an absolute blast. I've shared some highlights of our trip below, and I wish we were back there already. Here's hoping for warm, spring-like weather in April!

Weekend Update

Happy Monday!

I hope you've all had a wonderful day and even better weekends. I was beyond busy Saturday, but actually managed to REST and relax Sunday. Even better? I had Monday off, and not only did I catch up on laundry, but I cleaned the apartment and made John one of his favorite meals - Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Lasagna! After I finish this post I plan to enjoy the evening with my hubby and pup and watch The Bachelor finale - judge away!

Friday night John and I met up with his siblings, Lauren and JB, and enjoyed some steamed mussels, delicious fries and lots of laughter at Brugge Brasserie in Broadripple. We had a blast, and it was so nice to spend time together while JB was home from IU and Lauren is still an Indy resident!

JB is happy to cheese for the camera but John wasn't feeling it :)

Brothers and sisters!

Devour Downtown Date Night!

Well what do you know, I'm actually writing a post today! No one is more surprised than I am, but John and I had such a fun date night Friday, that I just had to share. Especially because it involves a great deal for any of you living in or visiting Indy this week!

Devour Downtown occurs twice a year in Indianapolis, usually once in the winter and once in the summer. For two weeks, almost every downtown restaurant offers special menus and significantly discounted rates. It's such a great time to try out new restaurants, especially ones that might normally be too pricey. Plus, I'll take any excuse to dress up for a night out!

Top: Forever 21 (Christmas gift from my mom)
Pants: Zara (from my 2008 trip to Tokyo!)
Shoes: Target
Pearl Necklace: Reis-Nichols (my wedding gift from John)
Bracelet: Brighton (Christmas gift from John's aunt Linda)
Clutch: Hand-me-down from my mom

 

Sapphire and diamond earrings: Reis-Nichols (my Christmas gift from John!)

Enter: St. Elmo's. St. Elmo's is a pretty famous steakhouse in Indy. It serves some of the best cuts of meat, plus its famous shrimp cocktail. It was even featured on a recent episode of Parks and Recreation!

This fantastic food comes with a hefty price tag, so John and I had never been before. However, during Devour Downtown, it offers a menu for $35 a person. Included was an appetizer (salad or shrimp cocktail - which normally costs $16!), an entree (salmon, chicken or filet mignon) with smashed potatoes and green beans on the side, and a dessert (creme brulee, bread pudding or cheesecake).

Shrimp cocktail, Filet (with blue cheese topping) and creme brulee for this happy girl!
Forgive the pictures...dim lighting in the restaurant and I didn't want to use my flash.

Our meal was absolutely delicious, and John and I had the best time. I left feeling very appreciative of John's little surprise idea, and it kicked of a great weekend filled with redecorating our apartment a bit, an impromptu dinner date with my good friend Ally (another Devour Downtown host - Scotty's Brewhouse), brunch with one of my favorite journalism professors in Bloomington, and a big IU basketball victory. 

post-dinner self portrait - never the best!

Enough about me...

How was your weekend? 
Do any of your cities or towns offer events like Devour Downtown?

WIAW: Anniversary

It's been awhile since I've done one of these! These eats are from yesterday, also known as John and my second wedding anniversary. While much of the day was rooted in routine, we managed to spend some extra time together, and had a wonderful day. Thankful for another year with my hubby and ready for even more memories together.

As always, head over to Jenn's blog to see more foodie fun or to link up yourself!

Breakfast: Anniversary Egg Sandwich

John made me his specialty - and my favorite! - open-faced egg sandwich. Trader Joe's sprouted 7-grain bread + reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese + an over easy egg = a perfect start to our special day - especially when I'm not the one doing the cooking! ;)

Snack: Gatorade G Series Energy Chews in Cool Blue

Thanks to Ashley's giveaway a few weeks ago, I scored a free box of these. I had a packet before I headed to the gym for some cardio, this arm workout and a few leg and ab exercises. I've had some before my last few workouts, and I've really liked them!

Lunch: Loaded Turkey Santa Fe

My goodness was this tasty. I made Loaded Turkey Santa Fe Baked Potato Skins (recipe coming tomorrow!) the other night, and fortunately we had leftover filling. John put some in a tortilla to make a wrap, and I ate my in a bowl with a fork. Delicious! I will definitely be making this for school lunches this year.

Celebratory Champagne Toast with our Wedding Flutes

Cheers to two married years! :)

Dinner at Harry & Izzy's downtown

John and I splurged and went to one of our favorite downtown steak houses for our anniversary dinner. Since we had a glass of champagne at home, we skipped wine at dinner, but we did enjoy the famous shrimp cocktail, filets with blue cheese and roasted asparagus. Everything was fantastic! I even saved half my 8oz filet to bring home. I love leftovers!

Happy anniversary to us!

Dessert: Fresh Strawberries (unpictured)

Whoops! Forgot to take a picture. John and I shared a bowl of fresh strawberries as we relaxed and enjoyed the rest of our evening. I couldn't ask for a better anniversary or hubby!

Anniversary Fashion:

Top: BCBG, via BCBG Outlet (vacation find!)

White stretch skinny jeans: Hudson, via Nordstrom Rack

Shoes: Calvin Klein, via Bloomingdale's Outlet (another vacation find!)

WIAW: Disney Edition

Hi, friends! So I am so beyond exhausted right now. We've been go, go, go ever since we got here. John has bruises on the bottom of his feet - crazy, right?! - and I have legs more sore than any workout has ever produced.

I didn't really focus on this month's theme of "Healthy Snacking", as I didn't do much snacking at all. Instead I focused on eating (fairly) healthy while on vacation. Head over to Peas and Crayons, hosted by Jenn, for more good eats. I plan to sneak in a few during long lines! ;)

We've been having the best time here, and I'm not complaining a bit (okay, besides the crazy humidity). So, my What I Ate Wednesday, is going to be short and simple.

Breakfast at The Grand Floridian Cafe: Lobster. Eggs. Benedict. 

Need I say more? Two poached eggs + hollandaise + tomatoes + lobster hash (lobster, onions, asparagus, potato shreds). Absolutely delicious. Although, what lobster dish isn't amazing?

Snack: John and I split an Edy's Strawberry Fruit Bar...

...while waiting in a 1 hour and 45-minute long line for the Jungle Cruise. I also wrote a blog post, while waiting in the longest line we've experienced this whole trip.

Lunch at Frontierland Cafe: Salad + chicken + drizzle of ceasar dressing; strawberry yogurt.

As part of our meal plan, we have one "quick service" meal a day, which includes an entree, dessert and drink. This means a limited menu and cafeteria-style food. With all the walking (and running!) we were doing, I knew I needed something healthy yet filling. And I found an option to suit my needs! Who says you can't eat healthy while on vacation?

Dinner at Portobello, an Italian restaurant in Downtown Disney 

Our table (John's parents, sister and the two of us) split some awesome appetizers: calamari and mozzarella-stuffed rice balls with marinara, plus bread with roasted garlic and olive oil spread.

Honestly I was skeptical of the rice balls, but they were so creamy, thanks to the rice being risotto and the addition of fresh basil. I loved these! I had half a rice ball plus a few pieces of calamari, both dredged in marinara. I finished it off with half a roll + roasted garlic spread.

My entree certainly did not disappoint: mahi mahi with polenta served over tomato sauce.

The polenta was creamy, and the mahi mahi was cooked perfectly. The sauce was an excellent pair to bring out both flavors. Add some zucchini on top, and this is a recipe I must recreate!

Dessert (two-parts!): I had a few bites of John's creme brulee (my favorite dessert) at the restaurant (unpictured), plus a piece of chocolate left on my pillow at the hotel.

I may not be commenting on your comments or emails right now, but I promise you I am reading them. I so appreciate them! I'm doing my best to conserve battery life on my phone during the day, and comments fail on my blogger app. I will respond soon, I promise!

Now, I crash. Must be rested for my last day at Disney. Wish my legs luck!

Couples Night Out

Welcome to my second post of this weekend recap!

Saturday was a super busy day. I went to the gym, ran errands, grocery shopped, cleaned our apartment and managed a little reading, all before the highlight of the day: Couples Dinner! Some of the girls from our normal Girls Dinner crew got together Saturday night. Except this time we brought the boys! I hinted at our plans, and even though they changed a bit, we had an absolute blast. I'm pretty sure we were the restaurant entertainment as we were laughing so loud throughout our meal.

We ate at Adobo Grill, which is a fantastic Mexican restaurant downtown. John and I are big fans, and this is not our first time frequenting the place. It happens to be one of John's favorite restaurants and is downtown, so we could not have been happier.

Our table started off with two orders of tableside guacamole. Let me tell you, this is fantastic. I could have easily gotten one order just for me and been perfectly content at making it my dinner. Lucky for everyone else I didn't.

John and I opted to split two items for our entree. We got our usual tllayuda, plus the stuffed chicken, which our server recommended. I had two slices of the tllayuda and a piece of the chicken. Both were great, minus the cilantro that wound up on the chicken. I scraped it off, but I think I would have enjoyed it much more without that part.

Here's our lovely dinner crew! I have to note, that throughout our evening various members of our group would tell me what I needed to include in my blog post. I'd get "blog this!" and "take a picture of that!" at different points in the night. I loved it, especially because they were so enthusiastic. Thanks for caring, guys! :)

After dinner we decided to walk down the street to a new-to-us restaurant/bar, The Libertine. It had some super cool decor inside, and I was especially enamored with the white tree coming out of the wall. How cool is that?

They had a really unique cocktail menu, too! Ally was very excited to see Pimm's which I had never heard of! It was full of ginger and other flavors, and she seemed to really enjoy it.

I only have two complaints about our experience. The first would be the super snooty hostess, who was probably the rudest person I've encountered in the food service business. The second is that the very dim light in The Libertine did make me a wee bit sleepy. We only stayed for one drink, which is probably for the best. This girl would have taken a nap!

After we left, Swade and Adam headed to see Swade's visiting family members. Ally, Wes, John and I walked a bit farther to Tastings, a wine bar located inside The Conrad. Ally and Wes picked out a great wine to try, and we enjoyed dreaming about our upcoming vacation. We always have the best time with those two, and I have no doubt our vacation will be a blast.

How was your weekend? I hope you had as much fun as we did! :)

JB Graduates!

Hey there!

I had such a craaaazy busy weekend. Phew! I'm going to catch you up on it, but instead of a crazy long post, I figured that I would do a couple instead. Sound good? If not then I suppose you can just ignore these posts. :)

Friday night John and I met up with his family - parents, sister, grandparents, aunts - to watch JB graduate from high school! Park does such a neat, different thing for graduation. The girls wear floor-length white dresses, while carrying a dozen red roses. The guys wear full tuxes, complete with cummerbunds and bow ties. So formal! The ceremony was lovely and very well rehearsed. The speakers were funny and insightful, and it was a nice little ceremony.

Of course, we took some family pictures outside. :)

From left: Aunt Lori, Lauren, John, Me, Leslie, Big John, JB, Mimi, Papa, Aunt Linda

Immediate Rapp family! John, John, Me, JB, Lauren, Leslie

Following the ceremony,we headed to a lovely little "reception" of sorts. Leslie was a chair of the event, and honestly it was absolutely wonderful. Her hard work surely paid off! We had a super tasty meal consisting of a salad, bread, stuffed chicken, petit filet, potatoes and green beans.

And of course, dessert! I just ate the top off of it - not sure what it was, but it was super delicious. The cake was a bit spongy, but the topping was creamy and yummy.

After dinner we took some pictures and did a little dancing. The band wasn't my favorite (I always prefer DJs, go figure!) but they played some good songs and we had a blast dancing with family. Check out some of my favorite shots from the night!

Lately I've been getting some emails requests about my outfits, so I've included some links to the same or similar clothes, where applicable. Hope it helps! :)

Dress: Eliza J via ideeli (similar to this dress)
Shoes: Chinese Laundry nude pumps via Macy's, as seen here
Sequined purse: Kate Spade (no longer available)
Jewelry: Mikimoto pearls (my wedding gift from John!)

NYC: Part II

Continuing my NYC recap, it's time to chat about Saturday! After a late night everyone slept in a bit. We asked the wonderful hotel for brunch recommendations, and they sent us down the street to Bubby's, a local place that was super crowded. While we we waited, some of the girls ordered beverages from the bar. When Jessie ordered a spicy bloody mary, we learned they used jalapeno vodka to make it. Bleh! The bartender convinced these two to try it, and they were not happy after...So glad I only took the pictures.

Once we were seated, most of us order the Bubby's Special, which came with eggs, meat, toast and about a tablespoon of fruit. I had high expectations, but honestly my scrambled eggs tasted like they were sitting on a lamp for awhile. Not cool.

The mother's day menu...Jessi making fun of me for pics for the blog...and food!

After brunch we hung out at the hotel for a bit before deciding to take the subway to the Staten Island ferry. Did you know it's free?? We took it to Staten Island and back, snapping some pictures along the way.

Subway!

The bride-to-be! | When push comes to shove...

Some of the ladies headed to a restaurant for a few drinks after the ferry, but I went back to the hotel to get ready for our awesome, fancy dinner at The Hurricane Club (thanks, Annie!).

Saturday outfit!Navy BCBG strapless dress via Nordstrom (about 2 years ago)
Kate Spade Purse
Color block earrings via Arden B

Before heading to dinner we played the standard bachelorette "panty game." If you're not familiar, each guest buys the bride a pair of panties. The bride has three guesses to determine who gave them to her, and it usually involved lots of laughing (as did this one!). Deborah fared pretty well, and some of the panties were more amusing than anything.

Impromptu photo shoot waiting for a cab

Dinner was absolutely phenomenal! The Hurricane Club is a fantastic restaurant, and the food was to-die-for! Check out this menu and some of the amazing food we enjoyed...

After dinner, we stopped at Rif Rafs, a tiki bar next door. It was so crowded that the waiters were literally pushing you out of their way, so we soon left. Our group of 16 split up, and I went with three of the girls to a dance club close to our hotel. Rachael's boyfriend had a table next to the DJ booth, so we were able to dance and relax and really enjoy our time.

And this, my friends, is a little segment I like to call, "Close your mouth, Lauren." Seriously?? What is up with me in all these pictures?! Apparently I thought that was a good idea...who knows. I was having fun though, so that's all that matters, right? :)