FCBD - Free Cubs Baseball Date (ahuh, ahuh)

J: Hi friends,

Our last couple posts have been about food…and we don't want it to seem like that's all we do.  (it is)  I thought I would change it up and catch you up to speed on some of the fun things we did lately.

Well we went to San Diego and…ate. (damnit)  I mean we had a vacation.  There may be a detailed post about this in the future depending on how productive lazy we are feeling.

It was my first time attending a Cubs game and going to Wrigley.

It was a pretty cool experience but the weather kind of sucked and well the Cubs were losing big time.  We ended up leaving after a few innings.  If the weather was nicer I probably would've stayed for the whole thing.  They make a mean veggie burger there and I got a sweet jacket to keep me warm.

Afterwards, we went to Aw Yeah Comics in Skokie for Free Comic Book Day which you can read more about here.

We headed to Nicole's parent's house where she did her laundry and we watched Thor and Iron Man 2 to get us prepped for the amazing movie that is The Avengers.

A review for that is sure to follow!

As Seen on Triple D: Zydeco's

Justin:  So we eat a lot.  Triple D (Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives) is one of our favorite shows.  We watch it all the time.  Over the course of watching it, we decided that if we could, we would visit at least one Triple D recommended restaurant whenever we can...mostly during vacation hot spots.  We've been to so many since, we thought we'd start a new segment on our blog entitled, As Seen on Triple D. Keep in mind we are not professional food critics...just fans of the show and lovers of eating food.  So we won't get all fancy and talk about the amount of paprika in something or whatever.  Just sharing another thing we love to do as couple.

NAME: Zydeco's


LOCATION: Mooresville, Indiana


WHAT WE HAD: White beans and rice, garlic soup, gumbo,  black cat, baronne street shrimp, bourbon pecan pie and a gator whiz shot to top it off.

WAS IT GOOD:  
Nicole:  Ohhhhhh yeah, it was. I haven't tried much in the New Orleans cuisine, but this shit was the bomb!

Justin:  I think this was the first out of Illinois restaurant we went to and the first time we thought that going to one of these on trips or on the way to other places would be a great road trip/vacation tradition.

N: This restaurant is in a very little town in Indiana.  When we got there and saw the sign, I knew it was going to be fun.  They even had flower seeds outside with little baggies for you to take home.  The seating in the main room is not very large and it had fun decor.  Lawn umbrellas and fun lights strung up everywhere. Along with your fork and knife they have a set of mardi gras beads at your place.  The waitress came up, told us we needed to put the beads on and took our drink order - Gator Whizz!  It was an odd name, but it was good!  I will definitely have more Gator Whizz in my life.

J:  The decor and food was amazing.  In our last post we talked about having a shot partya and I think Gator Whizz would definitely be on that list.  The seafood was great and it had a lot of flavor.  The white beans and rice felt like a dish I would eat every day.  Actual my dad makes something similar so it felt like home cooking.  

N:  Being that I haven't tried very many New Orleans style dishes, we each got a few different things to try, and everything was just awesome.  I dream about going there for more spicy shrimp dishes and gumbo.  We couldn't get enough of each others dishes and even though we were stuffed, we had to get the bourbon pecan pie to try.  It was delicious!

J:  I would recommend this place to anyone who loves seafood and N'awlins style cooking!

Good Irish Times!

Nicole: Hey There!  I'm about half Irish and Justin is none, but we live on the south side of Chicago so you GOTTA celebrate St. Patrick's day!  St. Patty's day is one of my favorite holidays, you wear green (my fave color), attend parades, drink, and everyone is in a jolly mood.  It doesn't get any better.

This year to celebrate we met up with our fave twosome and headed out to Irish Times Pub.  We had awesome (all you can eat) fish fry, tasty Guinness, and great company.  There were even bagpipers!  It was an all around good time and a great way to celebrate the Irish heritage.

Justin:  I love pubs.  I don't drink a lot but I love going to pubs.  It's something about the atmosphere that just makes me really enjoy being in a cozy, warm place with good food and great friends.  Jeff and Aireen are great friends.  Aireen and I used to go to the same grammar school and we rekindled our friendship a few short years ago.  It's been a blessing and honor ever since getting to know them.  Whenever we think of some place to go we always call these two.  We seriously wish we were neighbors.  Nicole ALSO forgot to mention the car bombs!  That's my drink/shot or whatever.  I think I downed four that night...which I needed after the hellish weeks I've been having.  We actually talked about shots quite a lot as we plan on having an epic shot party in San Diego in a few weeks!

We topped the night off with a viewing of 21 Jump Street.  HILARIOUS.  Nicole fell asleep but it's all good she'd seen it already and she knew how much I wanted to. 

N: The next day we headed down to central Illinois for my friend Kristie's big 3-0 celebration.  We took our time getting there and stopped for lunch and a letterbox on the way.  It was a cemetery box and one of the easiest letterboxes we have ever found. It was a great start to our letterboxing season.

All my Girls Weekend girls were in attendance, it was so great to see them so soon after our official girls weekend, I felt spoiled!  Kristie's husband Jeffrey grilled out for all of us and he even made an awesome cake for her.  Sadly, we couldn't take any pictures because we left the camera at our lunch stop...

J:  ... Yeah I was pretty upset about that since we got our first letterbox of 2012 and we wanted it documented.  My camera fell out of my vest when I took it off.  Luckily I called the place (yeah it was a Pizza Hut so what!?) and they kept it for us til we could pick it up the next day.

N: We had a late night of game playing and chatting and then it was to bed for everyone and up the next morning for breakfast before we all went our separate ways.  I already can't wait for the next girls weekend that we already have in the works!

It's like squeezing a sponge...

Justin:  So if you are a frequent visitor to our site (I'm not talking to you Nicole), I'm sure you've noticed the header change at the top.  The idea of her holding my hand and feeling like she was squeezing a wet sponge is a true story! When we first started hanging out, we kept our distances as we were "just friends" watching a movie.  Over time when I started winning her over (heh, yeah right), I was slowly moving closer to her side of the couch.  I was nervous either way, if she took my hand or if she didn't.  Thankfully she did.  However, when I am nervous, I sweat.  So when we started holding hands, she told me months later that it felt like grabbing a damp sponge.  Eventually it felt like she was holding an actual hand. LOL.

Nicole:  I think back fondly on those beginning days of our "hanging out".  They were fun, exciting, embarrassing, and just plain awesome.  When Justin and I first started hanging out, I was one tough chick, I couldn't decide if I wanted to let my guard down and let myself like him or if I just wanted to stay friends, but one thing I knew is that we always had a good time together.

As I was slowly testing the waters and deciding if we could be more than just friends we would do small things that would take friendship just a little bit farther. Sitting close together on the couch, sharing a blanket, and finally, holding hands.  I'm sure I was as nervous as Justin, but it was also very exciting.

When Justin showed me his design for our new blog header, I could not stop laughing.  Not only was it a funny and true picture, but it brought back the memories for those times and how I felt.  Reliving the sweaty hand and how I pushed on through it, because I knew I still wanted to hold his hand.  Thankfully, now Justin's hand doesn't get sweaty when I hold it, but if it did, it wouldn't even matter.  I'm never letting go.

Can I blog this?: Predator edition

(While Watching Predator, the actor Carl Weathers is on screen)

Nicole: Hey is he on Designing Women?

Justin: Who? Carl Weathers?

Nicole: Yeah...you ever see that show?

Justin: Watch the movie!

(10 minutes later)

Nicole: Maybe it was Ernie Banks (? wth) on Designing Women.

Justin: ...

(80 minutes later)

Nicole: Ohhh is that what those guys are dressed up as at (comic) conventions?

1st date, still so great!

Justin:  It's no secret that I am a huge movie fan and since being with me, Nicole has seen more movies in the past 3 years than she has EVER in her life.  I love her for embracing my love of cinema and wanting to share in the romance, action, and drama of it all.

Movies continue to play a big part in our relationship but they were most important in the beginning.  I've talked previously about how we started to have feelings for each other when we began watching films at my parents' house.  Heck, the first thing I ever gave her was a copy of The Dark Knight. (Yeah I'm cool like that.)

We eventually moved on from watching movies at the house to watching movies in the theater.  Just as friends of course.  It wasn't until I mentioned this thing that AMC Theaters was doing where they showed all the Best Picture nominees on one day, that we would have our first official date. It was called the Best Picture Showcase.  I think it was 2 years running so not a lot of people have heard about it.  I've always wanted to go and seeing as Nic had become more than just my "movie buddy", I thought I'd ask her to see this with me.

I'm fuzzy on the details but I'm pretty sure we both decided right away that an event like this would mark our first official date.

We packed a lunch grammar school style and had a day at the movies.  It was incredibly fun and we decided to make this one of our traditions, to celebrate our first date every year with a day at the movies.

This year, we get to celebrate not on one day but two days!  We are very excited.

As I sit back watching Slumdog Millionaire (one of our favorite movies and Best Picture winner in 2009), Nic is already sleeping getting the rest she needs for tomorrow.  We will be watching the first four of the nine films and the remaining five next Saturday.

I am not ashamed to say that movies (amongst other things) have defined important moments of our relationship.  The first time she gave me something for Valentine's Day (The Princess Bride).  The first time we said, "I love you" (I Love You, Man).  The first time we made out. (Superbad...for reals). Heck we even spent this past New Years in a theater (New Years Eve).   Movies have been a huge part of our relationship and they continue to be.  We watch a lot of films and we laugh, love, and cry through them...together. 

Any thoughts Nic?

Nicole: ZZZZzzzzzzz

Justin:  Well, she will share her thoughts on next week's post when we talk about the second weekend of our third first date.  Woah...wrap your head around that.

A Very Harold and Kumar blog post!

Justin:  Over the winter months a lot of fun stuff went on that we couldn't keep up with it on here.  This review is a few weeks (months?) late but since we are slowly coming off the holiday season I thought I would tack it here on the end.  Plus when was the last time we reviewed a movie on here?

A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas sees the return of our favorite White Castle craving, Guantonimo Bay escaping, stoner buddies.  However, years have passed since the incidents of number two and Harold and Kumar have grown apart. 

Harold has a great life and Kumar seems to be wasting away.  The movie uses the "magic" of Christmas to bring these two best friends together and retoke their once great friendship.

The film itself is wildly over the top and hilarious.  Giving these two characters their own Christmas movie kept the "stoner comedy" genre fresh and gave these characters something more to do.  The claymation sequence is just great! 

NPH is back and they really gave him free range to do whatever he wants.  My only problem with the movie is that they should have gave him some more screen time. 

This third adventure is the best of the sequels and very well may be the best of the series.  Harold & Kumar have established themselves as one of the great stoner comedy duos that audiences seem to love like Cheech & Chong or Jay & Silent Bob before them. 

Also I really dislike 3D films and I've only really ever applauded one: Dreamwork's How To Train Your Dragon.  This movie definitely makes the "like" list.  It makes fun of 3D yet uses really cool slow motion effects and screen cracks to make scenes outlandish and fun.  The car chase and beer pong tourney are scenes that really shine in the 3D effect.  

Nicole: Now, I'm sure i've said this before, but before we started dating, I never really watched movies.  Sure I'd heard of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, but 1. I don't eat white castle 2. I knew it was about smoking up and didnt care for that, and 3. It just didnt look that good to me.

Having now been exposed to many films and respecting different movies and genres even if I dont necessarily agree with them, I thought I would give this movie a try.  And I just have to say, I don't know what I was waiting for!

So after seeing the first one and renting the second one I was totally in for seeing this last one.  It has awesomely dumb but funny jokes and made fun of the 3D aspect.  You get some heartfelt friendship feelings in there but not so much you wanna say blleeeghh! from too much sap.  And of course, it had NPH!  Who doesn't love him?!  Overall,I couldn't stop laughing out loud  and it was a great "Christmas" movie. 

Nicole: Now, I'm sure i've sid this before, but before we started dating, I never really watched movies.  Sure I'd heard of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, but 1. I don't eat white castle 2. i knew it was about smoking up and didnt care for that, and 3.  it just didnt look that good to me.

Having now been exposed to many films and respecting different movies and genres even if i dont necessarily agree with them, I thought I would give this movie a try.  And I just have to say, i don't know what I was waiting for!

So after seeing the first one and renting the second one I was totally in for seeing this last one.  It has the awesomely dumb but funny jokes and made fun of the 3D aspect.  It was overall a great Christmas movie and I couldn't stop laughing out loud.

 

Justin:  Sorry for the lack of updates people (person who follows our blog) but it's the start of the year and we plan to get our blog on more frequently.