"Everybody Loves to Boogie!"

Come on admit it, if you could bust out into a move right now, you totally would. So do it! I am while eating some not too exciting popcorn..

Well, this place makes me want to bust a move every time I think about it. Last weekend my dad was in town from Austin and so I thought it would be fun to take him out to some neat little joint that neither one of us had been too. He is your typical Texan and likes meat products, the bigger the better (still haven't figured out how I am his daughter...) Anyhoo, I went to the the wonderful site of Yelp and found that there was a little, and I mean LITTLE, place in Broad Ripple that had various veggie options!Woohoo!! Of course along with all of your typical burgers, Boogie Burger had two base veg options and then a crap ton of toppings to add to it. Everything from blue cheese and onion rings to peanut butter!Not too shabby for a store that is about 10 feet in width and 20 in length. The bases for the veg -friendly were either the:

Garden Burger		$5.25
	A HUGE Boca soy burger served w/ lettuce, tomato, mayo & red onion
	Add cheese	.60
	Or for something different, try your Garden Burger ‘Shroom, Blue Moon, or Inferno style	(extra $)
Chipotle Black Bean Burger		$5.25
	A flavorful blend of black beans, onions, green chilies, peppers & brown rice topped with all fixings

The awesomeness that is the Black Bean Burger

For being a Boogie Virgin I thought it would be best to go with the Black Bean since they make the patty there. I had that with all of the fixins, and an order of fries to go with it. They only have one size and it is ginormous! Even with two people chowin down on em we still couldn't finish the plate. The black bean was amazing! It was a huge patty with toppings that were not too over bearing, just the right amount of the goods. Also, not only was the food super fast and fresh, but even the people working there were really nice!A rarity these days. This places was so good and cheap that we went again three days later! Luckily this time Ch'en was with us and so it was no problem finishing everything...oh and did I mention that have Smoothies??







( two photos of the store are from Boogie Burger's Facebook page, yep they got that too)

"We Milk It. We Make It. We Serve It."

And so that is the motto for the Traders Point Creamery.

For the past several years, whenever I go to Whole Foods, I would see the giant glass bottles of this Traders Point yogurt and milk. I knew that it was a local company over in Zionsville, but other than taking a sip of a mango flavored yogurt of theirs years ago, I had never really paid much attention to it. That is until I started working with another foodie. There is a girl here that is into all the organic goodies that this planet has to offer...always going to various farmers markets and trying to be a local shopper. So when I heard her talking about this place and how amazing it was I thought that I should also check it out. Luckily, another girl kinda took the first step and took her teenage daughters with her to see if it was deemed "cool". And you know that when teenage girls are actually interested in something like that, then it must be.

The other week I had my nephews over and I knew that I would have a day ahead of me and better plan it properly. So I thought that it would be a pretty neat thing to take them to this place and kind of "steer" them in the right direction as to why one wouldn't eat these awesome little animals..(didn't work). They only wanted to make "Log Scene" films...King Kong..look it up. However, B and I did find the place to be quite a charming little place. The reason why it is voted #1 by the American Cheese Society (hehehe):

"The farm team nurtures the land through careful implementation of the rotation farming system that is a common practice in other parts of the world. The result is exceptionally fertile, well-nourished soil wherein grows a precisely selected blend of grasses, herbs and flowers. This keeps the herd outdoors, happy, healthy, and producing organic, grass-fed milk high in the proteins and naturally occurring healthy fats like Omega 3, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and nutrients necessary to make top quality, delicious and healthful products. The farm team here ensure year-round, outstanding nutrition for the herd, which makes us the only Creamery in the country to provide 100% grass-fed whole milk in a bottle - along with all the outstanding health benefits that are unique to grass-fed milk."

It had lots of various guides that you could go on and walking tours. You were able to see the cows being milked and then frolic up to the top of the hill and prance around. Truly, they seemed to be dances up on the hill! I have never seen cows so lively before, it was really strange and amazing! Also, all of the chickens and hens were just out and about seeing what all was going on. They didn't seem scared or intimidated by anything or anyone that was going on around them. also a neat thing.

When we were heading out we went the Loft which is the restaurant and also holds their Dairy Bar. I thought it would be kind of a cool experience to test out the all grass-fed dairy from the cows...considering you can see everything that goes on into making these drinks I felt it would be an okay thing to do (as oppose to buying some Deans milk with god knows that in that white "beverage")

I got the boys a blueberry and strawberry vanilla smoothie. All made with fresh fruit and newly processed yogurt. Brandon and I got the mango, banana, berry and strawberry one (I like variety). It was a very unique flavor, granted I am not use to drinking milky products, but you could totally tell that the cows were all grass fed. It was a definite earthy tasty (going back to my Starbucks terminology). I can not wait to go back and try some of their other products, like a vegetable medley platter and grilled cheese, maybe next time though I won't bring anyone under 18.


(all photos from tpcreamery website, except the last)

"I'm Fat, Let's Party!"

At last sweet victory is mine! Another year down for SuSu. Yep, that's right I turned the big 2. 6.
I haven't invested yet in the Botox, but maybe some nice appointments for some Restylane will be in the future...

To honor the best day ever, I went to go get a sweet hair cut from the awesomeness that is in the Rip, grabbed a steamed bagel from the Broad Ripple Bagel and Deli, and went to go pick up some special little vegany treats for Ch'en at Three Dog Bakery.

After a day full of errands, we got ready for a fancy feast over at Naked Tchopstix. I am in love with this place, since it offers a great deal of vegan options-and a good selection of tasty drinks. We were able to get a private room in the back for the thirteen of us that showed.
I had never had any of their specialty drinks before, so I decided to opt for an Asian Pear Mojito. (Bacardi, Pear Juice & Puree, Mint) Normally I don't order drinks, or ever, but I was curious to see what the pear would taste like. It was absolutely heavenly. I good summers afternoon drink. I also tried Anna's drink, which was the Red Geisha-love the name. It was a Skittles infused vodka drink with edible petals floating on top. Another tasty beverage, but a little strange to be drinking "Skittle juice".

For the appetizers I had the vegetable tempura which had very lightly battered asparagus, sweet potato, carrots, squash, and broccoli and cauliflower. All with a nice sweet soy dipping sauce.

As the entree, it was the Spicy Tofu, as usual. Stir fried vegetables and Tofu with hot Chinese chili pepper, perfect balance of hot and sweet. This time it was extremely spicy, but I never feel like I am eating unless I'm sweating.

Spicy Tofu

Generals Tofu

So with our bellies full and a few good laughs thrown it, it was time to depart and pass out from a hard day of partying. Plus, I received some sweet Hello Kitty coloring books and crayons, so I needed to knock out a few pages before bed...

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs...

Yeah for Easter! That means that I will have received a get out of work free card, and I love those cards! So Sunday was spent doing the normal thing, drinking lots of coffee mixed with some sugar and little bit of Men in Black thrown in there. Being the typical holiday, Brandon and I headed north with our furry son in tow. Bringing along stretchy pants for over indulgence. On the way up, however, Brandon was in some serious need of caffeine so we hit up the McDonalds...(hissss..) so that we could try those new Mocha Frappes, and damn it! They are actually quite tasty. I know there is probably a crap ton of yuckiness that goes into it, so I am just glad that they are not on their Dollar Menu as well.
Getting up to Meh's we were quickly sent out to pick up Grammy Hammy and bring her back in to embark on our food fest. Its always so nice to see the multiple generations together. When we arrived back at the house, I was quite surprised to see the most awesome cake I have ever seen before!
My mom had met this girl who use to be a baker up in Chicago and she is down here testing her skills for the locals, and well, her skills are out of this world. She was commissioned to make a "susu" cake. A Tim Burton in the springtime birthday cake..have fun with that one!
She totally pulled it off with the black and white and off balance layers of oh my god awesome Italian buttercream frosting. I have never tasted any dessert quite like it. I will "follow" her on facebook that's for sure.
To help balance out the sugar, my mom made an all vegan lunch for us. Red Bean veganaise salad that I could eat by the pounds, celebration roast (always a winner) vegetable biryani, mango and pineapple dish and some couscous mixture.
After all the food was eaten we all went for a big adventure in the woods, looking for crawfish. The boys are obsessed with all things strange. We know where it comes from...
To top off an awesome Easter/BDay day, I became the proud owner of another Matt and Nat bag!!! Love love love that line!
I hope you all had a fantastic Easter!!

Chicago = Happiness

So I know that this was a few weeks ago, but I really felt like I needed to talk about the awesomeness that is the Chicago Auto Show. Last month, Chicago held its annual car show at McCormick Place, and for those of you who like cars, this is the place to go. It's been going on since 1901, and is the largest auto show in North America and has been held more times than any other auto exposition on the continent. So we know that THEY know what they are doing. I always have fun going and imagining that I have a crap ton of money to spend on a vehicle-sitting in the Mercedes, snappin' photos in the MINI's and doing karaoke in the VW's, okay, so I didn't do the car karaoke, but it was an option.

My latest obsession has been getting a baby Benz. I really want a C230 Kompressor Coupe, but since they were only made for a few years, it is hard to find them with low miles and in decent condition. Anyhoo, we went up with Justin and B's brother and just made a full day of it. The concept cars and debut cars at the best, and Mercedes knew how to make people impressed. They had on display the 2011 SLS AMG, which had old features from the 50's, including the Gullwing side doors.
(photo from: gotbroken.com)

The top displays were of course, Mercedes, Scion (they are always the coolest, and know how to attract the younger crown), Jeep, with their off road track that people can "test" drive the vehicles on, MINI Cooper with the Mayfair, and Volkswagen.
Can I just have one of every color please? Thank you.
Well, since we were in Chicago we also had to stop by the Diner. Heaven on a plate, like always. Seriously, I would be happy just eating the dumpster food they have. That's right, I said I would eat their trash. It's THAT good.
Michael had never been to the Windy City, so we did an uber quick tour of Billy's stomping ground. Navy Pier, Art Institute, Magnificent Mile, Old Playboy Mansion, Wrigley Field, Halsted..., and a little Gold Coast.

Red Food Coloring Shortage Time

Ya! it is almost Valentines day, the one day in the year when you can show that special someone just how much you really love them by getting them nice artery clogging chocolates, heart shaped pizzas from Papa Murphy's (if you eat it standing up, there aren't any calories), and of course, the wonderful heart shaped doughnuts from Krispy Kremes ("do these pants come in a larger size?"). Oh how I love it all, I love the themy-ness of these foods, taking forms of little hearts.

So who is going to do it the best? The bakers, that's who. The Cupcake Aficionados that make each tasty treat a treasure and keepsake all in its own.

While looking at the ample supple of food porn, I always go to the Bleeding Heart's page since they have some of the most bad ass decorators on the floor, and Valentines day they are not holding back. So whenever you get a chance, head over to bleedingheartbakery.com or see em on flickr.

Or how cute is this idea..over at Sprinkles the first 25 people to whisper "Cupid" at each Sprinkles will get a free dark chocolate cupcake! and then the day before that the first 50 people to whisper “secret admirer” received a free red velvet!Don't think they forgot about the more strict diet people either..they are now offering vegan and gluten-free red velvet cupcakes! Which let's face it, if they are good enough for these girls, I will certainly be spending my cash here.(photos from http://www.facebook.com/sprinkles)

MoMA

"Greetings, my friends! You are interested in the unknown. The mysterious. The unexplainable. That is why you are here. And now, for the first time, we are bringing you the full story of what happened. We are giving you all the evidence based only on the secret testimony of the miserable souls who survived this terrifying ordeal. The incidents, faces. My friends, we cannot keep this a secret any longer. Can your heart stand the shocking facts of the true story of Edward D. Wood Jr.?"
(picture from:http://www.brightlightsfilm.com)

Okay, so if you have ever seen the 1994, movie of the year (at least in my mind), Ed Wood, you would know that Tim Burton is a film making genius. If you have not, then I am sure that you have watched, or at least eyed those little figures from his prior year's film, The Nightmare Before Christmas (and please let's forget the overly growing products that are readily available at Hot Topic, it's a touchy subject).

I have pretty much been in love with Burton and his visions since I was about 8 years old. I remember watching Frankenweenie with the fam. So glad that I have the coolest mom ever, and those were the type of "movie night" movies that we'd watch. Later, I went to see Nightmare and just was over the moon with everything that movie had to offer, mind you I was nine when it came out. I could not get enough! Beetlejuice, Pee-Wee, Edward, that is all I wanted to watch, well and maybe some Are You Afraid of the Dark, and Clarrisa..

Luckily on our way to LA last spring, we got to stop and see the dinosaurs from Pee-Wee, Ch'en could not wait to make them his!
Okay, so anyway, right now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, they are holding a Tim Burton Collection exhibition, and it looks freakin' amazing! These people have reconstructed lawn creatures from Edward Scissorhands, made entry ways in the shape of customary Burton drawings, and created giant blow up balloons that are about 2 stories tall in the shape of Balloon Boy.

(Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times)

They took every detail into account. for example, they were really wanting to use the original moose topiary from Edward and have that on display, but after the movie was done shooting, Tim had had it in his hard, and with the bright sunny days of SoCal, that poor little animal did not hold up so well. They put it in storage, but it has seen better days. The crew at the museum found all the original materials used, and made a new one that looks identical. Why am I not in NYC now?? And of course, when I am going it will be all gone. Oh well...Ce la vie.



Here are a few photos from Abduzeedo of the exhibition:




So if you are in New York, pop on over to MoMA and be amazed by this Burbank native and all is awesomeness. Oh, and make sure that you are wearing striped socks. You'll feel more grounded and calm.