Newell House

Some months ago we were invited to the Newell House in Carbondale to celebrate our friend Andrew's 25th birthday. Sorry my pictures are so dim, the restaurant was fairly dark. But this restaurant is worth sharing because it's about as fine dining as it gets in Carbondale. First off, they had an extensive drink menu. We just ended up sharing a bottle of red with another person at the table. Then the bread came out. It was DELICIOUS. It was a warm round loaf of focaccia. I ordered an entree which came with a choice of salad. I went with the one with the balsamic reduction.

Mmm modern art!

My entree was chicken and broccoli Alfredo. They went a bit heavy on the parsley, don't you think?

It was creamy and delicious! Brandon didn't have too big of an appetite so he just ordered soup, the lobster bisque. It was salty and creamy. It also looked like a sundae with the cherry tomato on top:

Lobster Bisque

We decided to share dessert. To my dismay there wasn't a dessert menu, but I listened closely and thought I ordered a brownie sundae. What I got was a turtle brownie ice cream. It was more like a Cold Stone Creation but delicious none-the-less.

Again, they went in-your-face with the plating. Other than that, it was a really nice experience and worth it for a nice night out.

Bucket List: Winston's Bagel

On Saturday, Brandon and I got up early in anticipation of a drive to St. Louis for the first vintage baseball game of the season. Unfortunately, as we left the house we got the message that the game was cancelled due to weather.

Coffee was necessary

Woo! A day open to possibility! We had breakfast with Knute and Nancy and then headed to Carbondale. I wanted to check out the Farmer's Market for the first time this season.  As we were walking around the wind was blowing and this amazing onion scent wafted towards us. I turned around to find a table full of sweet onions:

$2/bunch

Ever since Easter, I've been wanting a hanging plant for my patio. I found the perfect purple flowers:

$12.50

Our next stop was Brandon's choice, the Carbondale Public Library Book Sale. I was a bit skeptical but we were actually able to find some hidden gems. The best part was that the highest price charged for a book was $1. Even hard cover books (some with the Barnes & Noble stickers still on!). Brandon was in heaven.

During the afternoon we just lounged around the house and talked some more about wedding plans. We are meeting with our wedding planner tomorrow for dinner :)

Later in the evening we met up with Kie and Gavin. We went to Pinch Penny where Funky Monks were playing the beer garden. They are a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band, the music was good but I thought the lead singer sounded more like Barenaked Ladies. Anyway... at the end of the night, I managed to check another bucket list item off... Winston's Bagel!

OMG gross! Haha. I guess I wasn't drunk enough.

Chilly Saturday

Yesterday morning I woke up to the most snow I've seen so far this winter. This was the view at about 9 am:

2/11/12

It didn't last long, the snow melted away in the sun. I went to Cindy's 10 am Zumba class at Gold's. I love it. She really pushes you to get a good workout in (i.e. lots and lots of squats). It is a really popular class with around 20 people. When I got home, Brandon and I were starving so we headed to Denny's. I was enticed to buy an appetizer of Pancake Puppies. They came to our table a bit overdone but at least they were piping hot. They tasted just like funnel cake with a mild cinnamon sugar taste to them. Our service wasn't the greatest so it was nice to have something to munch on while we waited.

After we ate, we went to SI Bowl for Bowling for Kid's Sake. Our Kiwanis club had two teams in attendance. This was our team: 

This year Brandon got to wear the Kiwanis bowling shirt.

Me bowling

I was absolutely terrible at bowling. I didn't even make it to 80 points :( My 10lb ball was way too heavy... yeah, let's blame it on that. The cool thing was that each bowler got a prize. Brandon and I picked out the Family Video rental and the Bookworm gift certificate.

On the way home we hit up Bookworm in Carbondale. It is a used bookstore. It has a lot of current titles and books local to Southern Illinois.

Oh yeah, and a cat:

His name is Casper. He was so friendly I started petting him like crazy and all his long hair flew in my face. Hehe. Our evening ended with an early Valentine's celebration ... details coming soon!

Brandon's Graduation

On Saturday, Brandon graduated from SIU with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. There were two ceremonies and Brandon's school was in the afternoon ceremony that began at 1:30.

The ceremony was held in the arena. It was packed!

They read everyone's names which was special but looong.

Brandon shaking hands with Chancellor Cheng

So proud!

Afterwards we ate at Golden Corral. Classy, I know :) But that's ok because I had my graduation dinner at Friendly's.

There are certain times when I really miss my family. Case in point: when the Irdmusas go to a buffet they eat slowly and make it a 5-7 course meal.  Not the Shultzes, they grab 2 or 3 plates of food all at once. I brought back my first plate of salad and a dinner roll and they were shocked. "Is that all you're eating?" NO OF COURSE NOT. Sigh...  I need to teach them how to make multiple trips to the buffet: salad, soup, entree x2, dessert - savoring each course.

Blend Tea & Crepe Lounge

I was working at the SIU office last Tuesday so Brandon took me out to lunch. I requested Blend Tea & Crepe Lounge. I had been wanting to try it ever since I read this article in the DE. I was excited that the owner moved here from Blacksburg, VA.

We walked in around 11:30 and they were eager to take our order so we looked over the menu quickly. We both stuck to savory crepes for lunch and ordered the Smoked Turkey crepe for me and Roast Chicken for him. Brandon said there was too much spinach in his. And to that I said you can never have too much spinach Popeye! Mine was cheesy and the crepe was light and airy. I ate the whole thing.

We also ordered peach black tea to share. It was super sweet but I liked the flavor, so I just let the ice melt a little longer. We decided that we were not in the mood for dessert so I guess we'll have to go back. The building is so cute - it's very college coffeehouse. It's got great potential - just needs a few more personal touches: chalkboard walls, bulletin boards, community bookshelf, live music - something. I could easily see it reaching Aroma's level with a few tweaks and the students of SIU embracing it.

Definitely, a place I'll take Jeila to when she visits. She loves bubble tea. One of their signature drinks is "Ice Coffee Milk Tea with Coffee Jellly" ... ok, maybe they could stand to change a few of the names of their drinks :) But, the price is low and you can stay as long as you want - free WiFi and they are open from 11 am to 11pm every day.

Lights Fantastic Parade

Last night was Carbondale's Lights Fantastic Parade. I went downtown with Jarrod, Joey and Dana to watch the parade from South Illinois Ave (across the street from Cristaudo's). Luckily, we had much better weather than tonight - ie not rainy. It was the parade's 21st year. I think this has got to be the original float:

Doesn't "lights fantastic" sound like something out of the 50s? There were several firetrucks covered in lights.

Makanda Township Fire Department

Hate to admit it, but, Rotary had a very good entry:

Probably also from 1990

There were some more unique entries:

Spaceship

Darth Vader

I mean what's a Christmas parade without Darth Vader? (Courtesty of the SIU Order of Jedis)

This train had great timing. As it came by, the actual train rolled into town and added a great soundtrack of tracks rumbling and horn honking. There were several marching bands playing Christmas music. I think the kids had fun decorating themselves and their instruments.

And finally, the man of the hour:

Santa!

Carbondale did a good job with the parade. They actually turned out the street lights along the parade route. I was bummed they didn't throw out any candy canes and I did get a bit frozen after sitting outside for two hours. It was no Williamsburg Grand Illumination or Annapolis Boat Parade but, I'm glad I went. 'Tis the season!

Today was mostly a day of studying. I got the first season of Dexter from the library. It's freaking me out. The crime solving reminds me a lot of Veronica Mars and the quirky music and plot twists remind me of Weeds. I'm hooked. Ok, time to make tacos for dinner!

Ditch the Workout...

Join the Party! Today I got called out in Zumba class for my "boom shake drop."


Let's just say I have a fierce "drop." I'll leave that to your imagination, lol. Hey, it's not my fault my first Zumba instructors were sexy Latinas. I know how to shake it :) I have to say that I'm loving my Saturday morning Zumba with Cindy. She gives a serious cardio workout with lots of squats, lunges and crunches. Plus she always does a full 60 minutes (if not more).

Here were some workout questions I've been wondering about (in case you were too):

Why do my legs shake uncontrollably when I do lunges?
Because your muscles are working hard

Why is my weight different every time I get on the scale?
A fluctuation of 3-5 pounds over the course of a day is normal

Recap of the Carbondale Lights Fantastic Parade tomorrow!

Black Friday Recap

How was everyone's black Friday?

I went out with the Shultz family at midnight for the doorbusters at Macy's. Nancy wanted to buy Kayla and I some $19.99 Rampage boots for Christmas. These were VERY popular. Luckily Brandon and Seth were super shoppers and elbowed their way through crazy ladies to grab us boxes of shoes in our size. It was hilarious. Knute was standing in the aisle with 3 shoe boxes in his hands and a lady walks by and says "oh, that's why you're here."

After looking through all the ads, I decided that really the only thing that I could justify buying for myself was new pillows. So on my suggestion we all headed over to the home section. We found Martha Stewart memory foam pillows on special for $23.99 that were originally $80. Turns out everyone wanted one so we walked away with six pillows (which also turned out to be our Christmas present, thanks Nancy!).

We stopped by Kohl's,Walmart and Best Buy to look at their specials but I didn't see anything too exciting. By then it was 3am and we were ready for bed. Later during the day, I decided that I wanted sneakers so I ordered $27.99 Asics from Finish Line online. All in all a successful shopping day.

3 Ways to Support BGCC

The Boys & Girls Club of Carbondale is in need of your support. Here's how you can help:


1.     Barnes and Noble’s in-house book drive starts tomorrow. BGCC and the Women’s Center will be the top 2 recipients of select children’s books purchased and donated by store shoppers.  This book drive runs from tomorrow through Christmas!

2.     Diners at Chili’s on November 9 & 10 (who present the attached coupon) will see 10% of their bill go to the Boys & Girls Club.  Eat hearty---eat often! 

3.     Barnes & Noble will donate a percentage of your purchase amount made on December 3 (and 4 more days for online purchases) to BGCC.  (you must also present the attached coupon or enter the numerical code). 

Last Saturday

I missed out on this...

Praise the Lard!

After watching a BBQ Pit Masters episode on this competition I was really bummed I missed out this year! But I really was too lazy to go out in the rain. Things did clear up in the afternoon for the SIU tailgate and football game.

This was my first time at the new stadium. Very niiice! The game was a nail biter. SIU pulled it off with a win 20 to 18 over Missouri State.

Pinch Dragon

We ended the night at Pinch where Hairbanger's Ball was playing in the beer garden. Typical Carbondale behavior? I think yes.

Friday Night Lights

On Friday, Brandon and I went to the Murphysboro vs. Carbondale football game.This is the most popular game of the year even though the schools are not in the same division. The game alternates between the schools each year and this year the game was in Murphy. We got there a bit late around 6:45pm and had to park way out on the road leading into the school. Luckily, we met some friends there who saved us seats in the bleachers.

The Red Devils and the Terriers put on a good game. Carbondale dominated the first half. The most excitement was an injury to one of the Carbondale players. He was carted off the field on a stretcher.

The weather was perfect and the crowd was really into it. It was fun to look around and recognize so many people. I guess I've become a townie!

The final score was 14 to 24. Carbondale won ... womp womp.

Going to check out the DuQuoin State Fair tonight. Hope everyone back home made it through the hurricane safe and sound.

People of Southern Illinois

A man hits his head while trying to steal a TV from Hangar 9 in Carbondale and is caught on camera. Watch the video here:

http://www.carbondaletimes.com/node/802

Carbondale Times

Millions of Peaches

Yesterday, I checked out the Carbondale Farmer's Market. It was obviously peach season - they were everywhere. I got 6 juicy ones. The Amish ladies sold me some cinnamon raisin bread. It fills the whole house with the smell of a-mazing!

I'll be back! There were some guys selling pickles that I forgot on my way out.

People of Southern Illinois

Carbondale, IL

Poor guy started hacking up a lung all over the screen.

My First Sunset Concert

Since this blog is about the Capital of Southern Illinois, I think it's about time I have a post about something actually in Carbondale! Last night, I attended my first Sunset Concert. These concerts have been happening for over 30 years. Yesterday's concert was held in Turley Park (it alternates between there and Shryock Auditorium every week in June and July). I went with Brandon and Jarrod and some more friends joined us when we got there, including Kie:

and lots of Bud Light Lime, hooray!

Yes, alcohol is allowed in the park as long as you don't bring any glass bottles. It was a really hot night but not too bad in the shade with a cold drink.

I think the camo lawn chair really set the tone for the event. There were lots of young people, hippes hula hooping, kids playing on the playground and a few older folks. The music was provided by The Black Lillies who performed in the gazebo. There is just one more concert left in the series, next week, and I just may be there!
 
We were starving by the time it was over so we headed to Tres Hombres. We ordered our dinner at 9:30. Their kitchen stayed open until 10. That is probably the latest I've eaten since I've moved here! I ordered a combo plate with a cheese enchilada and an avocado tostada - standard Mexican food but it was satisfying.

Going to St. Louis tomorrow for the weekend. Crossing my fingers that the rain stays away!

Date Night

Last night was my first visit to Carbondale's Italian Village, aka IV's. When you come in, don't wait to be seated (oops). You walk up to the counter to place your order and then your number will be called over a loudspeaker. There was a sign on the register asking that patrons pay with cash because credit cards charge fees..blah blah..but cards are accepted but pay cash... confusing!!! I used my card, muahaha. I ordered the veggie pizza which came with broccoli, tomato, mushroom, green pepper and onion.

The veggies were delish. The crust was thin and crisp around the edges but a bit soggy in the middle. This was evident in the middle piece since they cut the pizza into squares.

This place boasts that it's been around since 1960 and it shows! The salad bar is shaped like a boat and the booths are an ancient dark green. The real defining factor is the graffiti on the walls, and chairs and even the ceiling! For some reason, they let people wreck the place? Come on, are they trying to be a dive bar? Oh well - do as the locals do. Brandon did the honors:

I guess this means we have to go back and make sure it's still there.

A bonus is that IV's offers free soft serve ice cream for dessert. Brandon and I grabbed our cones and headed outside to enjoy the sunset.

Oh yeah, that's their tower...odd...filled with busty mannequins...like I said, odd.

After that we headed to Campus Lake at SIU for Moonlight Canoe. Free canoeing and paddle boating provided you can give them an SIU ID card. Check out our view:

Romantical.

Secret Admirer

I spent the majority of the day at the library working on my Genetics exam. When I got out, I found this note on my windshield:

Tribe Pride or stalker? Either way, I don't plan on calling him. When I got home I had the urge to make Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. They turned out delish!

The Ugliest Purse I've Ever Seen

Can be purchased at Walgreens in Carbondale

Larry's House of Cakes

Larry is the name of my boss at work... the name of a manager at my gym... and today he was the baker of my cookies:

 Today at work we had a drug rep bring us Larry's House of Cakes famous pink frosted sugar cookies.

 Talk about a sugar rush! (Yes, that's a red velvet bday cake in the background. We eat well here.)

Nom nom!

Kiwanis Pancake Day

Today was the Murphysboro Kiwanis Club's Annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser. Brandon and I volunteered during the first shift 6-8:30 am. It was an early morning! The event was held in the Middle School cafeteria. Check out everyone in the kitchen making pancakes and french toast:

When our shift was over, Nancy and Knute joined us for breakfast.

It was so good to finally eat! Business really picked up and all our tables were full of people. I hope the club made a lot of money. Afterward, we checked out the Carbondale Farmer's Market. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cold so we didn't stay long. Nancy was looking for a fern but they sold out. The farmer's market is open every Saturday from 8-noon. I want to go back when it's warmer.

Going to a wig party later tonight ...