The Highs and Lows of Arkansas

On Valentine's Day we were graced with perfect weather - 70's, abundant sunshine and very little wind. A perfect day for a little day drinking.

We started out at Dugan's Irish Pub - a favorite in downtown Little Rock. Great hearty food - we selected gorganzola cheese dip, fish and chips for EH, and a BLT with a fried egg for me. A friend met us and picked Bangers and Mash. Plus! They had one of our favorite local brews on tap - the Lost Forty Honey Bock. 

After lunch, we met another friend at another new brewery - Blue Canoe Brewing Company. 

A narrow bar with friendly staff and a huge open window at the front. They are dog friendly - we hung out with Brazil again! And the environment lends itself for chatting with strangers.

My favorite was the Pilsner but every beer we tried was good.

The rest of our Valentine's Day was spent in comfy clothes watching movies and catching up on our DVR. A perfect Holiday if you ask me!

Sunday we met friends for brunch. Isn't brunch wonderful? Look at this bloody mary from US Pizza.

Man, do I love a great bloody mary.

After a quick grocery store trip, we settled in again for the new Walking Dead episode and a night of freezing rain/sleet/little bit of snow. Which of course means the state shuts down which is fine! Because Snow Day.

EH was able to sleep in and I was granted the entire day off so more movie marathons were in order and I caught up on the Bachelor. No shame whatsoever.

Moose really enjoys this weather. Especially when he is sporting a full body sweater because his humans haven't scheduled a hair cut. Woops.

The snow really does suit him.

We might have a small delay before work tomorrow but more than likely it will be business as usual. I love these weekends and random days off though - they sort of recharge you for the day-to-day grind.

For all of my Northeast Friends and anyone who is crazy over this weather, hang in there! Spring will hopefully be here before we all know it.

Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co.

Over the last couple of years, Little Rock has really grown as far as dining choices. Not that there is anything wrong with a chain (looking at you Chili's Triple Dipper!), but there's something more exciting about eating local and unique.

One that EH and I have both been excited for was the Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co. 

So on a chilly Friday night we ventured out.

Set in an old bank building, it's a vintage but modern feel that  is pretty popular in the area lately. The old bank vault is still visible and the space is bright, open and airy.

The menu is simple as well - three entree options and the choice between chicken, pork, and vegetarian. Which is refreshing after going to a restaurant and having to choose from a 9 page menu.

We went with one order of dumplings (pork), and one bowl of noodles (chicken).

And the verdict is...it's all pretty good! Nice flavors, nothing overly complex, just the right amount of spice. No bar service which makes it more of a lunch venue in my mind, but we would definitely go back.

Have you been? Any fun new restaurants in your area?

Weekend Happenings

I totally get the whole Sunday Funday phenomenon. The last day of the weekend is the worst.

I do love weekends though, and this one was just fine.

Friday night we met a friend of ours for a quick bite to eat before headed to see American Sniper. Our pre-movie ritual always involves sitting at the bar at American Pie pizza right near the theater - not sure when we started but a trip to the movies never feels the same without that pizza.

After the movie we met up with more friends at Big Orange for their Reverse Happy Hour. We were home earlier than the rest of the crowd but it made for a very lazy Saturday.

Literally - we ventured out for lunch and dinner but never made it out of our sweat pants. It was awesome.

Sunday, however, we had regained our energy and got a lot done. We started out with margaritas and a spiced pear collin at one of our favorite spots - The Fold.

I'm still not sure if I'm a gin-fan but this drink was really delicious. EH got the blood orange margarita which I know from experience is really tasty as well.

There was also cheese dip with bison. A bit runny but flavor was good.

I went with the Migas with extra sour cream.

EH went for the beef tenderloin tamales - which he reports were really good.

The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, finally taking down Christmas lights, laundry and the Screen Actor Guild Awards. Which, fashion wise was underwhelming and not too terribly exciting since we haven't seen half of what was nominated. Woops!

Hope you had a great weekend as well and here's to the countdown to the next one!

Crazy busy lately so here are some pictures of salad and Moose

The past few weeks, or months really, have been insane. Between end of summer trips, EH studying for a huge test next month, and oh, y'know - the little matter of starting a new job, it's just been crazy.

So yea, in case you missed it in that opening paragraph, I got a new job! I'm out of the life insurance business and now more into the marketing/promotional world of business. So far it's going great and it's fun to finally go into work every day and not only learn something new, but learn about something that actually interests me.

Which, surprise, life insurance did not. 

I'm also slowly starting to pick up some side projects that I'm pretty excited about. And with that, I've been trying to restructure how to keep myself organized. More on that coming soon! To tide you over and break up this wall of text, here are basically the only pictures I've managed to snag since I logged on here last.

Little Rock lovelies - have you tried any of the salads at Big Orange? Delicious. Though next time I won't mix in the red onion quite so much. 

This picture sums up how I've felt lately. 

I also couldn't resist and had to put a few fall items out. Someone get me a pumpkin spiced latte and I'll be set!

It's good to be back! Happy Fall Y'all!

Weekend Happenings

In my effort to stop the glorification of being busy, EH and I took full advantage of having a weekend with no big plans. 

To start the weekend off, last Thursday night we joined up with the Create Little Rock Group to do a tour of Diamond Bear Brewery.  Create Little Rock is a great young professionals group that hosts tons of fun events - this was our first but we are looking forward to participating in many more! And if you're local or non-local, just know that Diamond Bear Brewery has some of the greatest Arkansas brews you'll find.

Diamond Bear has not only their brewery, but they also offer a full service bar and restaurant. Plus a giant patio that is begging us to come hang out on a Sunday afternoon.

The tanks are all named after different music and television icons to make it easy for the workers to identify when a tank needs service or whatnot. This one was my favorite!

On Friday we headed to my IL's to have dinner for my MIL's birthday. This meant lots of face time with our nieces! I melt whenever EH holds this one. This one is an old soul, I'm telling you.

The rest of the weekend included sleeping in, watching our Razorbacks win another victory, and basically being lazy. Though I'm not seeking it out, this upcoming week is full of big changes - all for the good! Exciting stuff coming up and I can't wait to share!

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday y'all!

1 // On Tuesday I met my Supper Club ladies (with a new addition!) out to dinner versus our usual at home get together. We met at YaYa's Euro Bistro in the Promenade which was great since I had never tried it before.

It was too hot for us but once the weather cools down I so want to hang out on this patio.

Photo Courtesy of Little Rock Soiree

2 // EH and I have had a busy couple of weeks (always) and after this long Holiday weekend we are looking at MORE busy weekends. Having so many fun things to do is great but sometimes I have to remind myself not to make myself busy for the sake of being busy. It's a hard lesson to learn sometimes.

3 // My coworker BF's last day to work at my company is today. I'm excited for her new opportunity but sad I'm losing my lunch friend. Maybe this will be my inspiration to start eating at home more which I know my wallet would love.

4 // The first Razorback game of the season is this weekend! Since the forecast is calling for rain anyways, I think we might pop into a Bdubs (aka Buffalo Wild Wings) and cheer on for the Hogs! Which reminds me..I need a shopping trip for some new red items.

5 // It's been a very stressful couple of weeks - or maybe months now but this past week has surprised me with some definite victories. Neither of which I can elaborate on now, but trust me - if my luck hangs on then next week is going to be great!

Hope you have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend y'all! 

Recent Happenings and Things to Look Forward to

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Ours felt like a whirlwind with an overnight (and rain out!) visit to the lake, rushing back here for a wedding shower and then the usual weekend happenings that make it all pass by too soon. Luckily this week was a short one and the next weekend is already a light at the end of the tunnel.

In sort of a rare moment, we have absolutely no plans this weekend. And since I've been cooped up indoors because of several days worth of rain, plus a forecast of many more, I've at least had plenty of opportunity to day dream some plans up for summer weekends to come.

1. Visits to Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs - this one is a guarantee. There is nothing better than cruising on the boat or sinking the anchor and floating for awhile. Not to mention eating delicious food, drinking my weight in wine and being with family and friends.
2. Movies in the Park - Bring a picnic (including the booze!), a blanket or your lawn chairs and sprawl out and catch some great movies outdoor in the River Market. Choose between hits such as Frozen (already decided), Hunger Games (guess we'll have to go twice) and I suppose Man of Steel (For EH of course) plus several others. What a perfect date night!
3. Float trips! EH and I own a pretty swanky canoe that is going to succumb to dry rot if we don't put that baby into a river ASAP. Not to mention we...might have cushioned seat backs AND cup holders. So. Yea, we have no excuse. Bonus points if we can make this an overnight trip with friends. 

I know I had more but I was interrupted by a recently washed Moose who wanted to cuddle and an EH who decided now was a good time to brush out some Pomeranian tangles. So on that note, I'm off to find the lint roller. Have a great night!

The Main Cheese

Little Rock has really grown on me. Especially the past couple of years since we've been gifted with some great new restaurants.

A few weeks ago I saw someone post on Facebook about a really unique restaurant coming to our area - one specifically geared towards grilled cheeses! Which..come on, is a restaurant based on one of the greatest and most purest forms of deliciousness. It also made me fondly remember a certain Hammontree's up in Fayetteville that we used to frequent pretty often.

So last Saturday Engineer Husband and I headed out to The Main Cheese on Cantrell to imbibe on some melty cheesy goodness.

We showed up right in the middle of their lunch hours when the place was hopping. The sweet hostess gave us a wait time of 30-45 minutes but after glancing around the restaurant and noticing several already empty tables we figured it wouldn't take that long, even though the front area was pretty packed. There's no dedicated bar, though we did spot their beer and wine menu at the hostess stand, which was a small letdown as we were hoping for a little pick me up after the previous night's adventures (Seriously..birthday parties at the Cowboy always end up..epic?) but thankfully we were seated a lot quicker than the estimated time.

Settling into a table for two in the back, we ordered up a couple of beers and picked out an appetizer - the Caponata.

Terrible picture after we had devoured half of the bowl but this was a thick salsa like dip with diced tomatoes, eggplant, black olives, capers, garlic and basil served with fresh pita slices.

While we piled up the caponata onto our pita slices, our friendly waiter took our sandwich orders and sent them back to the kitchen via his ipad. Engineer Husband opted for The Big Dipper -

Carved roast beef with melted provolone, horse radish and garlic butter dipped into homemade au jus sauce - paired with their house fries. Of course we remembered to snap a picture halfway through, but glad we did because a few minutes later and this plate was empty!

I went for something a little less protein-y and chose the Farmer's Market paired with seasoned chips -- 

A whole mess of avocado, cheddar, grape tomatoes, spinach aioli and arugula sandwiched between parmesan multigrain bread. 

Both sandwiches were delicious and you could really taste the fresh ingredients in each. We made the mistake of comparing it to Hammontree's, which seems much more true grilled-cheese oriented, but the variety of sandwiches found on The Main Cheese menu will surely not leave anyone in your dining party disappointed.

Their hours are a little different but they are open daily from 11AM - 2PM where they close for the afternoon (perfect time for a little afternoon nap, in my opinion) and reopen at 4PM for dinner. No full or dedicated bar area but they do have very reasonably priced wine and a decent selection of beer - including several craft and seasonal options. 

Also check out the desserts! There was a donut option that looked particularly interesting, but since I'm an one bite dessert eater and EH was contentedly full, we skipped the sweet course this time.

Hope you enjoy!

PS - here is their website! I believe they have a facebook page as well!