Ode to Yesterdog

A couple weekends ago I met my boyfriend and his friend at my parent's house in Grand Rapids, Mich. After a few hours of doing what the boys love to do -- shopping with a strong Canadian dollar -- I forced them to drive me to my favorite food joint in GR -- Yesterdog.

I try to make it here every time I get home, usually with my best friend Kelsey. They have the most delicious chili dogs I have ever tasted -- I seriously have yet to find anything that even remotely compares. I've attempted to find a good hot dog joint in Indy, but have only failed so far. Because I forgot my camera that weekend, I found a great site that has a few wonderful pictures of my beloved Yesterdog.

Detroit and Novi

Last weekend I drove to Novi, Mich., to meet Brett for a long weekend. It was great to see him after 10 weeks apart!

We stayed at the Baronette Hotel -- a boutique hotel right next to Novi's shopping mecca, the Twelve Oaks Mall. The hotel is very elegant and modern; I loved staying there and can't wait to go back.

thebaronette.com

It even has a wine/bread/cheese market in the restaurant, which was perfect since we got snowed in on Sunday night. We just grabbed a bottle of malbec and headed back to our room to watch movies while the crazy Michigan weather piled about seven inches of snow on our cars.

Saturday was a great day to be outside though. We had bright blue skies and while it was still cold, it was just warm enough to go to the Detroit Zoo. Here are some photos of our visit.

Fun in Philly

Last Spring I attended the ACES conference in Philadelphia with a few co-workers. Being a Midwest girl, I had some preconceived notions about Philly -- I mean, I imagined it would be dirty and full of mean people. I fully admit to my ignorance and was seriously impressed with the City of Brotherly Love. I had a great time exploring the Reading Terminal Market for the best eats and hitting up Old City and meeting locals at Sassafras Bar.

My friend Jaime and I walked to Philly Cupcake from the conference for a little break.

One of the days we took a walk around the city and ran into the set of Dark Fields, a movie starring Bradley Cooper as a writer who becomes addicted to prescription pills. It's set to come out this year. We even got to see Bradley get whisked off the set and into his waiting black SUV. He's pretty delish BTW.

More of Philly ...

New Mexico

This summer I was sent to Taos, New Mexico for work. This state is stunningly beautiful. I felt very lucky driving on the winding highways through the shadowy mountains taking in the scenery. I often stopped to take pictures of the immense rocky gorges or the hot pink flowers laced with prickly pear cactus. Here are some photos from my trip:

Mont Tremblant

Last weekend I spent the days snowboarding in Mont Tremblant which is about an hour and a half north of Montreal. My boyfriend, a few of his friends and I were lucky to rent a very nice chalet close to the hills. The skiing there definitely beats anything we have in the Midwest, and I hope I can go back next year!

Here are some photos from the trip:

The first day was -22 degrees on the summit!



View of the Village from the Mountain.




The boys in the chalet.



Warming up by the fire in the Village.