Let's throw some cash at the ceiling.

My college pal Allie stopped in Madison for 12 hours, so I did my best to show her some of the city's best options for local food & drink:

Dinner at The Coopers Tavern.
Drinks at One Barrel Brewing Company.
Dessert at Chocolaterian.
Brunch at Lazy Jane's.

A pretty awesome 12-hour visit, eh?

When we walked into One Barrel, we immediately noticed money all over the ceiling:

After chatting with the bartender, we learned that all ceiling money for the months of May and June will be donated to the Dane County Humane Society. It's an old bar trick: fold a stack of quarters and a thumb tack into a dollar bill, and voila! We had our dollar folded by a pro:

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Then, Allie did the honors:

Awesome throw! Nice way to help out the cause. Good times with one of my favorite gals.

Milwaukee day trip, and how I met a camel in Wisconsin

Last Saturday, Elysha and I took baby Clementine on a day trip to Milwaukee.

First, we stopped at Cafe Hollander for brunch with my college pal, Mary. It was delicious!

And no, Clementine was not the smallest one in our group: we also brought George, a traveling gnome from Ravelry.com, who was spending some time with Elysha and on his way to Iowa:

George hangs out in Clementine's pocket at the restaurant.

Next stop, the Milwaukee Zoo, where we met a variety of animals:

Toucans! 

Penguins!

Flamingos! 

Cows (of course)!

And my favorite: Lippy the camel. He was happy to pose for some photos.

The sea lion show was adorable:

When we were about to leave, we were privileged enough to witness a peacock mating ritual (unfortunately, this stud was turned down by his lady friend, but we applaud his efforts):

"Look at my feathers! I'm so handsome!"

"Even from behind, I'm still handsome!"

Oh, and I found a cow to pose with (surprise, surprise):

All in all, a nice day outside of Madison. Clementine loved the birds!

Unusual things I've seen in Madison: part 4, Ryan Gosling in chalk.

I stopped by my friend Andrea's house last Wednesday and wound up finding yet another unusual thing in Madison.

Sighting #6: Ryan Gosling in chalk on a Jenifer St. driveway.

Drawn by Andrea Miller, Hannah Stern, Nina Reynolds, and Veronica Sandoval
(photo by Veronica, of Paper Robot Design)

Andrea is a metal sculptor and a high school art teacher. In an effort to inspire her students while studying portraiture, she recruited her neighbors to help her bring Ryan Gosling to life in their driveway. The result is at once lovely and humorous (I think Andrea did a particularly good job on the eyes).

Never a dull moment!
For more of Andrea's work, click here.
For more of Veronica's work, click here.
For an amusing Ryan Gosling Tumblr, click here.

Another round of cuteness: Great Midwest Alpaca Festival, take 2.

Last year's trip to the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival was a day full of furry cuteness, so when I saw that the event was back in town this year, I knew I had to give it another go.

Accompanied by fellow knitters, Kat and Caitlin, we bonded with a variety of Midwestern alpacas and checked out a lovely assortment of yarn.

We had a feeling that we'd run into Mindy and Linda from Galpaca Farms, and sure enough, they brought a few adorable friends to the event, like this guy:

Meet Tsunami! He was happy to pose for a photo with me.

Snacking on some hay for the camera. Total diva.

The cuteness was everywhere! Kat and Caitlin also made some new friends:

Kat experienced some first class fluff.

Caitlin found her soulmate.

A few more alpaca shots (double click any of these images for a larger view):

And just in case alpacas weren't enough to draw us to the event, there were many yarn vendors for us to see, too:

Diving into some freshly sheared alpaca wool. SO soft!

Lovely blues.

Great colors!

Oh, and then there was this alpaca who really enjoyed dinner to the fullest:

All in all, it was a great day, and I think I'll make this an annual thing. We ended the day with a delicious dinner at Pasqual's, complete with refreshing sangria:

Cheers to alpacas!

To read about my visit to the 2012 Great Midwest Alpaca Festival, click here.
To read about my trip to Galpaca Farms, click here.

A wise lunch at The Green Owl Cafe.

I have lived in Madison for just under two years, and The Green Owl Cafe was one of the first places I fell in love with, for many reasons. It's Madison's only vegetarian restaurant, so as a veggie myself, I was immediately drawn to the place. Their menu is full of interesting concoctions and their desserts are out of this world (ahem, chocolate lava cake, anyone?).

Last Saturday, I met up with the Jones family (Scott, Elysha, Abby, and Clementine) and Cory for some vegetarian goodness. I was the first one there and feeling a bit sleepy, so I started off with a nice French press coffee.

A great way to perk up on a Saturday.

True to their name, the restaurant is decorated with trees and owls, and their kiddie cups are owl-shaped. Abby just turned four, and even though she just got a big girl bed, she still enjoys a good kiddie cup.

Abby just loves her owl cup! 

Alright, one more. It's cuteness holding cuteness.

And now, for the food! The Green Owl Cafe uses soy, tempeh, fruit, and other substitutes to create unique dishes in the style of classic meat-eater meals. They have many vegan options, and they can convert most of their vegetarian dishes into vegan dishes.

My personal favorite on their menu is the TLT with avocado (that's tempeh, lettuce, and tomato), but I decided to try something new: the BBQ jackfruit. The jackfruit is simmered in barbecue sauce to create a vegan alternative to a pulled pork sandwich.

I opted for the side salad and caesar dressing. Everything was lovely!

I forgot to take a picture of Cory's Bloody Mary, which would have been a nice shot as well. Oh, and baby Clementine totally should have been photographed (she was pretty busy snuggling).

And for any bikers who may be reading this: bring your helmet and Bicycle Benefits sticker in to The Green Owl Cafe on a Sunday for a free drink (oh, and I recommend the mimosas).

Good old vegetarian fun at one of my favorite places in town? A perfect start to a weekend.

A post for Jeremy (and the conclusion of my blog hiatus).

In loving memory of Jeremy
1972-2013

My blog has been on a two month hiatus, and it's mainly due to a major change in my life. As mentioned in my introductory post two years ago, a very important person in my life is, and always will be, my brother, Jeremy. He passed away on February 25th at the age of 41 due to heart complications, and as the two month anniversary of his death approaches, I am still trying to get everything back on track.

I feel so blessed to have had Jeremy as a part of my life. For a guy with a life expectancy of 3-5 years, he stuck around for a miraculous amount of time (and enjoyed every minute of it). This post is in his honor, and it signifies my return to blogging. Love you forever, big brother.

To read my eulogy for Jeremy, click here.

As the world turns: my visit to The Soap Opera.

A fact about myself that I have probably never shared on this blog: I. love. baths. I went to summer camp in New Hampshire for nine years, and as much as I adored the experience, it was always a tough transition to go from a daily bath to a daily shower (in a shower house full of screaming girls, nonetheless!). On the last day of camp, as sad as I was to leave, it was always comforting to know I was heading to my cousin Lisa's house for a nice hot bath.

I still opt for bath over shower, and along with this comes a love of bath salts and soaps. How it took me over a year and a half in Madison to wind up at The Soap Opera on State Street, I will never know.

My friend Kim was in town this weekend so I decided to take her shopping on State Street. Right near the Wisconsin State Capitol, State Street is full of eclectic local shops and restaurants (like Anthology and Himal Chuli), then peppered with a few chains like Gap, American Apparel, and Potbelly. The whole neighborhood is a bit of a potpourri. At first it struck me as oxymoronic for Bop to be next door to Quaker Steak & Lube, but what can I say? State Street just works, and The Soap Opera seems to fit right in, especially with products like this:

Cat and yarn glycerin soap. Too cute, right?

The Soap Opera sells a mix of local and non-local bath products and accessories. From soap and salts to eye masks and rubber duckies, they've got everything covered.

A stack of glycerin soaps in a variety of motifs (highlights include Star of David, Breast Cancer Awareness, Democrat Donkey, and Republican Elephant).

A wall of soaps and lotions. So many choices!

As much as I love soaps, my weak sense of smell makes it difficult to enjoy most of them. Susanne helped me find the perfect locally made soap that I could actually smell: 100% vegetable-based glycerin soap made from gently exfoliating almond meal. I'm very excited to try out my purchase!

Thanks for the free samples, Susanne!

For more information on The Soap Opera, check them out at 319 State Street or visit their site here.