Updates:

1. HE READ THE BLOG. Ben totally knew what I was up to with the pumpkin cake meatballs and even went so far as to put a mangled ball up to his lips (…) before saying, “Did you really think I wasn’t going to read your post???”

Daaaaamn! I had the video camera rolling and everything!

He’s been so busy at work lately that I figured he wouldn’t have a spare moment to check it – but he did and completely turned the tables on me. Darn that faithful, supportive husband of mine.

2. Fellow wanderers: I forgot to share my favorite travel blog of all time when I posted My Wanderlist the other day: Youngs Around The World. My friend’s sister and brother-in-law took a year and a half to travel the world in ’07-’08, and chronicled their entire journey. Their writing style is incredible, and you really feel like you right there with them the whole time. Start reading from the beginning and prepared to get HOOKED.

/updates

Today Ben and I hit up the Iowa State Fair – whee!

The state fair is a HUGE deal around here – it’s even in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

I’ve gone ever single summer for as long as I can remember. Nothing really changes from year to year, but it’s tradition and you have to go to see your favorites.

An eat them too! Ben and I made an intense beeline for the nearest corn dog stand as soon as we stepped inside the fair grounds.

I eat one corn dog a year, and it’s always at the Iowa State Fair.

Hand dipped in sweet, crispy cornmeal batter, fried to a golden crisp,

and topped with globs and globs of ruby-red ketchup.

The cornmeal batter to hot dog ratio was like 4-1 on this bad boy!

SO worth feeling like crap afterwards!!!

Next we went off to find some animals to look at.

The Big Bull was up first.

“Bubba” was MASSIVE,

and “Tiny” was anything but.

Gahhh!

I grew up going to the state fair, so walking around barns looking at different animals seems totally normal to me.

I’m curious to know what those of you who grew up differently think.

Is this weird?!

Well, we sure like it.

One of my favorite attractions at the fair is the Agriculture Building.

They have all the best produce contest entries on display.

Best corn, onions, tomatoes, beets,

cucumbers, apples, eggplant, etc.

It’s total eye candy!

As Ben and I were perusing the produce, we noticed a HUGE line snaking around the inside of the entire building. What in the world…?

Oh, right…

it’s the 100th anniversary of the state fair Butter Cow, and everyone was dying to take a look. Yep – she’s all butter, baby!

I was feeling rather parched at this point, so we stopped to get some Honey Lemonade just up from the butter cow.

It looked SO refreshing,

and tasted juicy and sweet with just the right amount of honey flavor. Yum!

Ben had a must-have-fair-food list a mile long, so we headed back out to the food stands to keep chipping away at it next.

Turkey time!

Doesn’t he look like such a caveman with this thing?!

Me like turkey.

Me gnaw on leg.

Grunt.

Ok, call me a cavewoman, because I also dove in. WOW – this was my first turkey leg ever, and it was so delicious.

Smokey, juicy and bursting with flavor.

We were enjoying our leg o’ turkey when I looked over and noticed another gigantic line to our right.

Upon further inspection, we realized we were sitting right in front of the DEEP FRIED BUTTER stand.

I know. I’m scared too.

Deep fried butter is new to the fair this year, and apparently they take a frozen half stick of butter, batter it, fry it, then sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar. We watched this guy devour his, and melted butter was literally squirting out the end and all over his arms. AHHHahahahanooo!!!

Ben was this close to joining the line, but we both agreed that we just…couldn’t…and got warm chocolate chip cookies instead.

The fair’s mini chocolate chip cookies cannot be replicated at home.

Soft, warm, squishy and melty – they are everything that is right about chocolate chip cookies!

Not healthy…

but also not fried butter.

I’d say that’s a win!

Woo – what a day! Fun, familiar sights, and once-a-year fair-food indulgences. Usually I go a wee bit overboard and throw some mini donuts into the mix, but I was able to refrain this year. Feeling good.

Off to relax before the start of another week! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

~~~~~

What’s your favorite fair food to indulge in?