gasthaus bavarian hunter.

the other night, luke and i drove down to the cities to meet with some friends for dinner. we decided to try something different, and chose a traditional german restaurant called the gasthaus bavarian hunter.

it was delicious.

i started out with a mug of paulaner beer.
(have i told you that this was what was most exciting about turning 21 for me?)
for my meal i had the wurst, and chose the bratwurst and metwurst (a spicier sausage). it came with the yummiest sauerkraut ever and a side of potatoes.
for "dessert," i had a liquid german chocolate. mmm.

it was such a fun night, and it was great to see friends that we don't get to see very often!

thank you moulin rouge...

 for never getting old. i could watch you over and over, and listen to your beautiful songs all day long.

xoxo.

i love you, daddy.

thank you for being the strongest person i know, and always being there. i appreciate everything that you do for me. :)

current obsession: ireland.

  i've always loved travelling, and at 21 years old i consider myself a frequent flyer. i did a lot of traveling with my family when i was little, and have been lucky enough to continue to do so on my own. the one place that i am dying to go is ireland. irish culture is so fascinating to me. i love the music, art, and traditions. even my favorite piece of jewelry is irish, my claddagh ring that luke gave to me. i love everything that it stands for: love, loyalty and friendship. anywho, after watching p.s. i love you the other night it completely renewed my love for ireland. i mean come on...that accent? LOVE it.

i need to go there.

have any of you been to ireland before?

xoxo.

twenty one.

yesterday was my 21st birthday, and it was better than i ever imagined it would be. we started the day by going to the science museum. so childish, but soooo much fun. i have the greatest group of friends in the world. after the museum we drove back to st. cloud and had half off appetizers at applebee's. soooo yummy. after dinner we went to the bars downtown. such a fun night.

here are a few pictures from the day:


the boys did the news...

then it was my turn :)


my first legal drink. strawberry margarita!

luke and i at the press downtown.

horseback riding

while megan and laura were out visiting we had the opportunity to go horseback riding in estes park. my horse's name was ralph. he had a bit of an attitude, and continually bit my sister's horse in the butt. i am quite positive that when i retire, i'm going to move to a horse ranch in the mountains.

so beautiful.

xoxo.

dear green day,

(image via vogue magazine)

there are no words to describe how excited i am to see you for my third time in august.

xoxo.

car shopping continued...

so after test driving a few vehicles yesterday with my dad, i've completely moved away from the honda element. i test drove a few of the "basic" vehicles including the scion xB, ford focus, kia soul, and mazda3. as much as i loved driving the mazda, i know it would get a few a few speeding tickets, and after driving the scion, the ford focus was just meh. so after thinking long and hard, i'm debating between these two...

kia soul (yes...the one with the hamster commercial)

&

scion xB

They are essentially the same vehicle with a few differences...so...once again, I NEED OPINIONS! :)

you guys rock!

xoxo.

a great read!

 i'm one of those people that like to read right before i go to bed to help me fall asleep. last night, i dove back into sunday's at tiffanys by james patterson and gabrielle charbonnet. i started awhile ago, but couldn't get into it because i was working so much, so i was about half way through when i picked it up last night. i got so into the book that i stayed up and read close to 200 pages to finish it. it was such an adorable book! it's about a little girl who has an imaginary friend, who she ends up meeting when she's an adult. i won't say anymore, but i definitely suggest reading it. :)

have any of you read it before? what other books do you suggest?

birthday boy!

happy birthday to my adorable cousin, john!

(i'm a few days late, but we're celebrating today.)

xoxo.

car shopping!

so for the past 3 years of college i've been surviving without a car. it hasn't been a huge issue thanks to wonderful roommates and st. cloud public transportation, but i feel that it is time for me to get one for many reasons. 1) i'm sick of weirdos on the busses trying to talk to me. 2) i have student teaching and other field experiences coming up in school that i actually need a car for. 3) i think it's about time i chauffeur my roommates around for a change. 4) i would like to be able to drive to see relatives in mn that i very rarely get to see. i know that there are more reasons why getting a car is necessary, but these issues alone are enough more me.

my number one choice of vehicle would be a honda element. i am very much an outdoors-y type person, and would love to have the space for friends and other obvious reasons. the gas mileage isn't great, but it's pretty good for an SUV, and because i am in school most of my driving will close-range.

so, the point of this post...have any of you ever owned a honda element? even a honda? did it hold up well? what are your thoughts on this vehicle? ANY advice helps. :)

charlie st. cloud

i saw this trailer today in the theater before the prince of persia. it looks so good. the trailer almost made me cry.

ma-jes-tic: adj. having or showing impressive beauty or dignity

we drove up trailridge road yesterday. it's road that goes up into the mountains through the rocky mtn. national park, and it is by far one of the most beautiful and majestic places i have ever seen in my life. i'm not a particularly religious person, but if there is a heaven i really hope it's like this. the roads are a bit treacherous however. and by treacherous, i mean that where the tar ends it's a sheer cliff that goes thousands of feet down. if you can get past the vertigo you will be so glad you made it.

xoxo.

sad day.

I grew up watching The Golden Girls. It was and still is by far one of my favorite television shows. I could watch the episodes over and over and over. I was devastated when I heard that Rue had passed away due to a stroke.

You were a bombshell and a half, Rue.

hair crush: emma stone in zombieland

After watching Zombieland, which I absolutely loved, I am completely loving Emma Stone's haircut in the film. It's not very different from my current haircut, but I LOVE her bangs particularly. Plus, she's just adorable in that ass-kicking kind of way. :)

Colorado: day one

success.

xoxo.