Restaurant Reviews: Good Earth

Have you heard that movie "Little Black Book"?  Well Bryan and I have one but not exactly of the same nature.

This is our restaurant review black book. The Twin Cities has tons of great food options, so each time we have something to celebrate, we try to check out a new place.

We rate on a scale of 1-5. You are allowed to use .5's. And the categories are: Service, Food, Atmosphere.

Our restaurant of choice for last week was Good Earth in Edina.

Service - 3.  We are hoping we got a server who is new to her profession because she was awkward!!  Every time she came by I just watched to see what strange comment she would vocalize.  However, we are quite generous with awkward people..we all have our moments.  What really impacted the score?  We got our meals about 15 seconds after the appetizer.  Bad timing.  - 1.5 points.

Food - 5. The food was excellent!  Our Maui flat bread (for the 15 seconds we got to enjoy it) was sweet, crispy, and completely mouth watering. Bryan enjoyed the Bison Burger which hit the spot of the burger-craving that he had been having. I enjoyed the Coconut Curried Chicken and never looked back. The ginger topping provided the perfect mix of flavors with the curried chicken and fresh veggies. The entrees were reasonably priced and good portions. Bryan did get fruit smoothie, which was decent, but we would pass on paying $4 for one again.

Atmosphere - 3.5.  There was nothing special about the building, tables, decor etc.  We don't recall much for music and the tables were fairly close together.  However, Good Earth is known for using local growers, organic foods, and approach food with a sense of "purity".  There approach to creating a "natural" food experience.  This usually leads me to think that food will be boring or bad, but it was awesome.

So, for those of you in the cities. We recommend!  Not an anniversary or super special occasion recommendation..but a nice, relaxed, and healthy nice out occasion would be perfect.

Kitchen Table Redo

Bryan and I inherited the kitchen table that was at my parent's house for years. There are probably dents and scratches that I left on this thing when I was just learning to walk!

The table is great. More durable and hardy than a table I've seen in years....but us Pearsons were ready for a change.

So, we whipped out the sander & primer/paint and went to town.

1 hour of sanding + 6 hours of painting + 2 hours of cleaning = one new kitchen table

Mia finally got to explore the other side of the gate, but of course she attempted to jump back over to our side of the gate for the entire 9 hours. So I guess the grass isn't always greener on the other side :)

Finished product!

Inspired

Spring is always inspiring. When the snow FINALLY disappears and some hot days creep in more regularly, people flood out of the woodwork and the cities come to life. Its awesome!

What have I (we) been inspired to do lately?

- Write a million Thank Yous
- Research and try couponing
- Refinish our kitchen table
- Try our hands at gardening
- Hand-make cards for all occasions
- Reorganize...let me rephrase that..organize recipes
- Begin to look at houses
- Get into a group at church
- Make a bench, reupholster a chair, create a new end table
- Read a book, maybe even finish a book
- Visit our families at different lakes
- Pick up a second job for some extra cash
- Explore options for starting our own business

... and the list could go on.  All this to say, that though I have not been blogging, we have caught spring fever and are making the most of it!

I've has so many ideas flooding in and out of my mind, I've created an inspiration board.

Dog Training

Mia has been featured in more than one blog post, so you probably roll your eyes at the thought of another post featuring a dog.  Trust me, 6 months ago I would too but now I'm invested and I can't help myself.  I love Mia to death on some days but she is spoiled like crazy and completely out of control most of the time.

So last week when Crowd Cut offered an in-home dog training session, I coughed up the $35 bucks without thinking twice. Looking back, I think it was the best $35 that I have spent in a long time.

We had gotten so desperate with Mia's training that she had been wearing diapers for the past few weeks.

I referred to the dog trainer as the "Whisperer" for a week before the appointment and I was prepared to be trained myself instead of the dog. However, it was actually Mia that was focused on and the lady was incredible informative. 

Towards the end of the session I still wasn't sure how to handle the over-night dog potty issue so I asked her. The response rocked my world - crate her!  What a genius idea!  After she left, Bryan and I were on the road in minutes to hit up our closest Fleet and Farm.

Believe it or not Mia loves it too!  We did a little "doggy" shopping spree and also picked up a harness, treats and a yard stake.  The recommendation was to train with her for 5-10 minutes, 5-10 times throughout the day.  Well, for 2 people who had 14 hour workdays a piece yesterday..that did not happen but we are still making some progress.

Now look at our little thang, so on-track and focused.

Now for the real question, do they offer in-home child-training session for $35?  I have been scanning the Crowd Cut deals and have come up empty handed so far :)

Certified Personal Trainer

Its official!  After hours of studying..especially in the last two weeks...the test is over and I have passed.  I rolled into the testing center around 1:00 this afternoon full of nerves but they were all relieved by 2:45 when I received my test results.

I'm ACSM CPT - so now what?  Good question. I will be sure to let you know when I find out.

Garage sale find & my amazing bargaining skills

Last weekend I was on a Saturday morning run when I breezed through a garage sale and came across this beauty.

 I halted in my steps and went to check her out. The price tag?  $10!!!  There was a bit of dirt around the bottom so I bent over and tried to scratch it off with my nail. As I looked back up I was surrounded by 3 gawking women, "That will come right off honey!"  "Isn't this piece just beautiful?"  "And $10, what a great deal!"

My response was nothing but positive, I was impressed with the price - but, before I could ask to buy it the ladies had talked themselves down in price!  "You know what?  We can give it to you for $8, does that sound okay?"  I again offered to pay the $10 but they insisted. I learned a valuable lesson, bargaining is all in the way you look at the treasure, no words necessary!

Some day I imagine it will be perfect in a nursery, for now it is going to brighten up our dining room area.  Five minutes of wiping it down & two minutes of nailing a piece back on that my precious father broke off - now she is as good as new!

So...what do you think about a gallery wall around the mirror?  I'm thinkin' its a perfect place to display some candids from the wedding!

DIY Mossy "P"

I saw a super neat project in another blog and wanted to give it a try. Check out my inspiration here.

The project required a trip to Hobby Lobby and a giant piece of Styrofoam from my dad's shed.

First, I printed off a large "P" from Miscrosoft Word. The curvy portion wasn't big enough, so I went with a "D" and traced it into a "P".  P is for Pearson, in case you were wondering.

 

My original thought was to use scissors to cut but I quickly resorted to this bad boy. 

 

I clamped the Styrofoam between my legs and sawed away.  Don't worry, I pointed the saw AWAY from myself.  Thank goodness for having brothers who were boy scouts. Unfortunately I got a little carried away with the saw and sawed OFF the loop of the "P".

 

Nothing some hot glue couldn't fix!  At Hobby Lobby I found some bright green moss. 2 packages for $8, if I were better at planning ahead I would have printed a coupon offline. 

 

After tearing the pieces off and fitting them over the "P"...

 

You end up with this!  My camera doesn't do it justice, I promise. It is cute, homey and was made for the grand total of $8!