Happy 2010!!! I honestly cannot believe it’s the start of a new month, year and DECADE. In the last ten years I:
1. Graduated from college (go Panthers!)
2. Lived in Japan for a summer
3. Got my first “real job”
4. Quit first “real job” three months after I started (still traumatized from the experience) and moved to Minneapolis
5. Realized my love for cooking
6. Moved back home to Iowa
7. Got married
8. Bought a house
9. Started a blog!
Hmmm…that’s only 9 things. I feel like there should be another one to represent 10 years…ah yes,
10. Ran a half marathon! (NEVER in my wildest dreams thought that would ever happen!)
I can’t believe in another 10 years I’ll be just a few short years away from 40. CRAZY!
At any rate, New Years Eve was so much fun! As I mentioned, Ben and I planned a low key evening with some friends. We had dinner reservations at 7:30, so we went over to our friends’ house around 6 for cocktails.
Of course, every good cocktail hour needs snacks! We had Chex Mix, Peanut M&Ms and Puff Popcorn. Salty puff popcorn with peanut M&Ms is the best combo you’ll ever have. This same friend also makes a snack of puff popcorn drizzled with white chocolate and mixed with peanut M&Ms. TDF!!
The boys sipped on some 1554,
While the ladies stuck to Pomegranate Martinis. 
Same recipe as last time!
We took the requisite photos…
Love Bare Minerals, but it makes you SHINE LIKE A HEADLIGHT! Any tips, Bare Minerals users?
And we were off to the Flying Mango! Ben and I had never been and we were so.excited.!! We love all types of cuisine, but Caribbean + BBQ hold a special place in our hearts. Love those flavors!
The New Year’s eve menu was long and delicious. Every dish sounded so good that my friend and I split two, so we could taste as much as possible!
The decor inside the restaurants was super quaint. Small, intimate tables, warm colors and dim lights all set the mood.
The place has a very New Orleans type feel – very cool. 
I paired what was to be a very spicy entree, with a cold and refreshing Shiner Bock beer. It’s dark, but tastes light. Love it!
Ahh – the GRUB! I ordered the Blackened Yellow Fin Tuna over Zucchini Noodles tossed with Creole Puree and Corn Bread.
omg. Spicy, fresh tuna steaks seared and served over spiralized zucchini that had been tossed in a savory Creole sauce. Unbelievable! And don’t even get me started on that corn bread. Best I’ve ever had – and topped with cinnamon honey butter…I want it again. Now!
My friend got the Lime & Garlic Shrimp over Black Pepper Fettuccine with Fresh Mango Salsa and Corn Bread. Seriously – no words. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the tropical mango was incredible with the hint of spice in the pasta!
Ben, fulfilling his man duties, got a Slab of Memphis-Style Loin Back Ribs with Red Beans & Rice, Fresh Vegetable Sauté and Garlic Bread. Again…absolutely incredible!! Vegetables cooked to snappy perfection, best garlic bread and ribs I’ve ever had and those red beans and rice just knocked it out of the park!!
Obviously, Ben did not eat an entire rack of ribs, so he took half the slab home, doused in the Flying Mango’s house BBQ sauce. Amazing.
If you are local – you MUST, must, must get to Flying Mango! The owner also walks around giving back rubs. I didn’t hate that! 
After dinner, we headed to a local bar to wait for the countdown with some drinks.
Then we all turned into pumpkins at 12:15 and headed home. We had a blast and a meal to remember for a long time. What a way to kick off 2010!
Ben and I hung out at my parent’s house on Friday to watch bowl games and eat our traditional New Year’s day meal – Pork and Sauerkraut. Yep, in the German heritage, pigs are a symbol of good luck and cabbage leaves are symbolic of money. Therefore – a New Year’s day meal of pork and sauerkraut is supposed to bring a year of good luck and fortune.
Yesterday Ben and I literally buried our noses in our books for the entire afternoon. I am cruising through The Lost Symbol and loving every word.
Last night, we went to dinner with his whole family and then watched The Hangover together. I could seriously watch that movie every day. I laugh at the same parts each and every time – never gets old. What can I say, I’m easy to please.
This morning I woke up early, went grocery shopping and had a Tropical Fruit Lara Bar and Orange for breakfast when I got back.
This bar is heavy on coconut and takes me to white sand beaches every time I eat it!
And the oranges looked so good on display at the store, I had to snatch a few up. Strangely, I can’t tell you the last time I had an orange!?
Then I went shopping!! Boot shopping! I’m going on a little trip in a couple of weeks, and I’ll need something to stomp around the slushy streets in the place I’m heading too. Apparently I need to learn how to tight roll my jeans better.
The remainder of this afternoon shall be spent finishing up my book and digging into some lunch…I’m thinking carrots & almond butter will need to be included. I had some yesterday and the combo is so yummy.
I’ll be back later tonight!
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What’s a hilightlight from the last decade of your life?
Mmmm pom martinis! Biggest highlight is probably getting married/buying a house – it’s a toss up!
I haven’t noticed that about Bare Minerals… so I don’t really have advice for you
Sounds like you had a great New Year!! I’m reading The Da Vinci Code right now. I think I’m the last person on the planet to pick it up!
Happy New Year IGE!
That food looks great! I wish we had a place like that near me.
I switched from Bare Minerals to MAC’s powder. They have a mineral based one and I love it. I mix my bare minerals with a matte powder as well. (I still like it! and the matte powder cuts back on the shine factor.)
What book are you reading?
The pomegranate martinis look so yummy!! Love the decade in review
!
I love Shiner, what a great Texas beer huh? I enjoy it every time I head down to see my mom.
It looks like you had a fabulous NYE! May 2010 bring a year full of wonderful things to you.
Looks like a fun low-key New Years – just how I like it as well. I love pomegranate martinis! It’s amazing to think of all of the changes over the past decade. I feel like it completely flew by. My biggest memories are graduating college, first job, getting married and running my first marathon. I wonder what’s in store for the next 10!!?
Cute boots! (Bare Traps, right? I just bought the same pair a few weeks ago!)
Definately the highlights of the past decade were the births of my children in ’01 & ’03…hard to top that!
Hahah, oh I love reading your blog! The more I read American blogs, the more I want to live there…
1)Cinnamon honey butter. Oh my. My two ALL TIME fave flavours! England NEVER do stuff like that!
2) Cornbread in a restaurant. I hardly ever see that in a shop, let alone in a restaurant…
I could ramble on and on…but I don’t want to big America up too much!!
I want to showcase English food in my blog; apparently our chocolate is much better!? Anyone is welcome to check out my blog – I just started it today! And it’s set in England
By the way – The Hangover is a fabulous film for one reason only: BRADLEY COOPER.
Have a great day!
Cute boots!
Biggest highlight was having a baby
Okay girl, I have been using bare minerals for a year now and it’s all about how you are applying it. If you do your foundation first, then use your foundation as a concealer, then use your mineral veil…next use the warmth and your blush…now top off again with mineral veil. It really keeps the shine down that way. the veil is simply for helping your makeup last all day. It is good for shine control as well. You can use as much as you want since it is sheer. Good luck
Quite impressive list of accomplishments you have there. 10 years have been good to you and I can only imagine the next 10 will be even better!
The Flying Mango definitely seems like my kind of place! Love the vibe and the food looks amazing!!
We watched The Hangover this weekend too. Best movie ever!
You accomplished so many great things! Happy 2010! I love the red scarf. I’m a huge fan of scarves. They are my favorite winter accessory.
Seminary was my highlight. I started my career there, met Hunni and met a lot of great friends. Definitely a highlight.
HAPPY NEW YEAR DEAR KRISTIN! gah, i remember how i spent ringing in 2000 as like a sophomore in high school. man, how time flies
.
i think graduating college is pretty high up there…as was spending a year teaching in thailand!
lots of love, peace and happiness to you! AND FUN!!!!
Long time reader, first time poster. Love the blog and have enjoyed many of your recipes and product recommendations (mmm Australian Licorice – found some locally at Dahls and Walgreens – new fave!). Just wanted to say that Bare Minerals has a new matte foundation, with a new sifter/lock mechanism in the container (like Tone’s spices) – less shiny and less mess!
Hi Kristin! I got something called Expert Matte (by Boots?) from Target that I use with my Bare Minerals & it takes the shine away. You can also wear jean capris sometimes with tall boots & then you don’t get that bunchy look–or grab a pair of skinny’s at Forever 21! I NEVER go in that store, but I think I paid $12 for mine from there & they’re great.
Happy New Year!
Looks like a fun New Years! And WOW, I totally want to eat at the Flying Mango!!! Geeze everything looks SO. GOOD.!
I love my Bare Minerals too and while I haven’t had a terrible shine problem I think it was diminished by switching to their Matte powder instead of the regular stuff.
Looks like fun. And if it makes you feel better, I’ll be 41 in ten years. I’ve never actually typed that out. Ahhh.
For the Bare Minerals shine, I lay off the Mineral Veil (usually don’t even use it). I haven’t had a problem with shine since and have been using it for two years.
MAC is my life! Their Studio Fix powder is a cross between foundation and powder. Wonderful!
Shiner Bock is my FAV beer. Not available where I live, but stock up everytime I head to Minneapolis!
Highlight of my decade…I had to wait until 9 and 3/4 years of the decade for my highlight of getting engaged to the man I love.
What a decade you had!
Great new years eve
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[...] jeans ever in my lifetime, I would have called you crazy. But, thanks to the addition of some cute snow boots, they’ve now become a necessary addition to my wardrobe. If these boots also become part of [...]
Try Bare Minerals Matte powder instead of the regular. Its FANTASTIC. I have had insanely oily skin my entire life and this stuff just keeps everything under control. Best of luck!
[...] celebrate the new year, Ben and I are off to the same restaurant we went to to ring in 2010 – Flying Mango. I’m stuck between ordering the Jumbo Shrimp or BBQ [...]
I just read this blog and I have to say, it’s time to graduate from Bare Minerals and move on to nothing but the best…Mary Kay. The mineral powder foundation is the absolute best…and if you find a great consultant, she will teach you how to use your makeup and it will be more of a pleasure than a chore applying it every morning, plus you will always look fantastic!
I am a Bare Minerals user and I LOVE it! I mean…..I AM OBSESSED!!!!!!! I have to disagree with the response earlier…..mineral veil is the ANSWER to reducing shine! You must make sure you get the Matte mineral veil…..not the one that has a subtle shine to it. The more you use the more oil it absorbs throughout the day. Also make sure you use matte color too. I use my color (medium), then mineral veil, and finish with warmth!