Happy hour chat

Wow, hello! Seems like we’re overdue for a new happy hour chat! Let’s fix that.

Thanks for joining me for another round of faux drink-clinking, where I fill you in on life’s adventures because it’s been a little too long since I last checked in. As usual, I’ve got a lot of ground to cover.

Here’s what life has looked like lately in my corner of the world.

I broke my tooth!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might’ve caught my latest dilemma: my front tooth broke in half! Lol, whoever is writing my story has a wicked sense of humor.

Back when I was 15, I originally broke my tooth at basketball practice. My friend threw me my water bottle and it slipped right through my hands and into my mouth. Boom. It broke right in half, and I first went to an emergency dentist for a temporary solution, then about a week after I had to go get a more permanent filling composite.

Well, that one lasted until I took a bite out of a chewy slice of pizza a couple weeks ago on a Sunday night. I didn’t realize it for a couple moments, and definitely swallowed the composite. Lol, it was just horrible. It was maybe worse to leave a message at the dentist and wait with baited breath until I got a call back the next morning.

Thankfully, I got it fixed with a crown the next day. It was a rollercoaster of events and emotions (hello there, old dental trauma friend), and I could probably go my entire life without doing anything like that again. Lol, yikes.

Wiffle ball league

I’m playing in a wiffle ball league! I love it. Our team plays at Broken Bat Brewery, where they have a very large and impressive indoor field. Our sponsor is LeftySwag Bats, who has a live feed of each of our games on Instagram, if you’re curious.

Also, on 1/16 I had my best game yet and hit a grand slam! Followed by a 3-run home run! I’m still riding that high, lol. Not sure there’s any feeling like it for me.

Lol, wiffle ball league

With any highs come lows, lol. Man, the next week after my big at bats, I had a horrible moment baserunning that involved tagging up, switching directions, and hyperextending my knee. Though I walked off the initial pain and didn’t have any issues the rest of the night, I woke up limited mobility in that leg. Damn it, lol.

Third shift bar crawl

A few Saturdays ago, Chad and I embarked on a fun (and a little insane) morning adventure: we participated in a third shift-themed bar crawl, starting at 6 a.m. to celebrate our friend James’ birthday. We had a blast hopping around Milwaukee’s early morning haunts, though we definitely won’t be doing it again, lol.

2A Wine Merchants date

Prior to breaking my tooth (I still can’t believe it, lol), Chad and I had the cutest date day involving brunch at The National Cafe, then a stop at 2A Wine Merchants. 2A is a wonderful and cozy wine bar and store in the Third Ward, near the river.

We split a flight of red wine pours, and it was so fun sipping and enjoying each other’s company on a chilly Sunday afternoon. We’ll be back for sure!

Leatherworking class in Chicago

My big present for Chad this year was two tickets to an introduction to leather-working class in Chicago! We took a day-trip at the end of December, and had an incredible time at the Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. We each made a belt! I wore mine out of class! It was so much fun, and very satisfying to make something with my hands.

While we were in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood, we also grabbed coffee at the Lincoln Cafe and stopped at two breweries—Begyle Brewing and Dovetail Brewery.

Besties came to visit

Back in November, our besties came to Milwaukee for a visit! Man, we had so so so much fun hosting Alexis, Jessica, and Kai. You know the kind of friends who can make over a week-long stay feel quick and easy, even with a toddler? Lol, I doubt it. But we’ve got them. Not only are we so, so lucky, but we’re better for it.

Miss ya, besties.

Brother came to visit

My brother Spencer came to visit! He had a weekend to spare from his foreign service training post in DC, so he came for a quick stay…the same day we dropped off Alexis, Jess, and Kai. Lol, the timing was crazy. We loved showing him around MKE, and trying out a few more spots along the way.

Tyler, if you’re reading this…your turn.

Holiday bar crawl

As a way of creating a new tradition without throwing a party (we may or may not be a little partied out after our last big—pink—bash), I came up with a new idea. Our Holiday Bar Crawl was a fun and festive celebration with friends. We hopped around the Brady Street area dressed in our Christmas best and had a blast.

I do want to mention that I was groped near the end of the night, and that really, really sucked. However, I refuse to let some creep derail the memories of an otherwise fantastic evening.

Holiday celebrations

Here’s the quick gist of our holiday celebrations spent in Milwaukee:

• Christmas Eve: Chad and I ate out at Saffron, followed by drinks at The Outsider rooftop bar. So fun!
• Christmas Day: we had brunch with Haley at our house, then went to see The Iron Claw in theaters. Loved it, but man was it sad!
• Also: Haley killllllled it with our Christmas gifts. She gave us matching Wally-themed sweaters that were absolutely perfect. Omg.
• Other festivities: Chad and I went to see the Milwaukee Zoo Lights, went to the Christmas in the Ward tree lighting ceremony with Haley and Kelli, drank fun drinks at the Sipping Santa pop-up at Pufferfish Tiki Bar (lol, what a sentence!), and we had delicious drinks at At Random in Bay View. Oh, and we got matching pajamas to enjoy during that weird in-between week.
• New Years Eve: In the morning, I took a bootcamp class at The Barre Code and holy cow, not sure how I could walk after that! It was insanely difficult, lol. Later that night Chad and I spent NYE in Mukwonago at our friends Sarah and Jared’s house. We hung out, played games, and had a ton of fun with about six dogs.
• New Years day: Chad and I played pickleball with Haley!

Barre classes

I want to give myself some credit where it’s due: I’ve been regularly showing up for barre classes, and I’m proud!

It always takes a bit of effort for me to make it to class, especially scheduling/coordinating/planning with Chad, since we share a car and the winter makes it tough for alternative (walking) transportation. But we’ve managed to make it work and not only am I making it to the studio, I’m also doing the damn thing.

It’s also been a fun adjustment as The Barre Code slowly transitions to Barre3 (the company was acquired this past fall), and the classes are changing (note: lifting heavier, incorporating more mindfulness elements, and a little more time under tension). I feel really accomplished after every session, and it’s an added bonus that I’m sticking to one of my side quests.

Pub Pass

This year, Chad and I bought Pub Passes!

How it works: we pay 24 dollars for a little passport beer books and each page includes one of 26 participating Milwaukee breweries and bars. If we go to one of them, we can get a free beer in exchange for a stamp in our book. A pretty snazzy deal!

We just got our first stamps with our friends Amanda and Jaci, at Central Waters and Pilot Project. It was a great way to spend a Friday night. 🙂

Water Education Colorado

I had a very temporary work contract with the Water Education Colorado organization, and I loved it! I handled their social media for a couple months. It was cool to be part of the mechanism that spreads water messaging across CO, even as just a temporary gig. I’ll miss it.

Getting social

It’s been a couple of busy months having fun with friends! A few highlights:

• Bowling with Haley. I love bowling! Chad, Haley, and I recently went and knocked some pins around at Landmark Lanes on Milwaukee’s East Side.
• Working coffee dates with Kelli. Every couple of weeks we meet up at a cute local coffee shop and work side-by-side. (Or as I like to joke, I “pretend to work.”) Lol, I’ve loved it.
• Girl’s night at The Ruby Tap. I really enjoyed meeting up with Brittany, Laura, Amber, Haley, and Maggie at The Ruby Tap in Wauwatosa! It’s a pay-as-you-pour wine bar, and it’s delightfully bougie.
• Pickleball. As you know, I love playing pickleball. I especially love playing with friends. We’ve had so much fun with Amanda, Jaci, and Sam, and other times with Haley!
• Happy hour at Boone and Crockett. Though I always associate this river-side bar with an open patio, Chad and I had so much fun meeting Amanda and Jaci at Boone and Crockett’s indoor space for cocktails!
• Finks with Meg. There’s nothing like a cheap (delicious) cocktail and good company. Catching up with Meg was a blast at Finks!
• Dinner party. This is a bit of a throwback, but Chad and I had such a wonderful Friendsgiving dinner at Kelli’s house! She made the most incredible dinner (both her wine-braised short ribs over mashed potatoes and the winter citrus pomegranate salad were to die for) and we left feeling full and grateful.
• Back to 1840. Chad and I returned to 1840 Brewery in Bay View for the first time in (almost!!) two years, this time with Amanda and Jaci. We were surprised (and mildly concerned) to see a lot of Simpson-themed elements throughout. Was it a one-time thing, or was this brewery inspired by a cartoon? Unclear, because the details were so well-executed.
• Chad’s company holiday party. We recently went to the Ivy House for a super fun company-wide party, and it was a great opportunity to spend some time with Chad’s coworkers, especially on the dance floor. It was so much fun!

Crescent City series

If you read my 53 books of 2023 list, you might’ve noticed quite a few of them were written by Sarah J. Maas. Well, she’s back! The latest Crescent City novel just dropped, and it has been an exciting development in our household (I got Chad hooked, too).

Cheers to House of Flame and Shadow (and the opportunity for me to re-read the first two, of course)!

Blog goals

With the new year has come some refreshed energy (remember, I prefer not to overload with goals and instead prefer side quests to keep things *easy* *breezy*). I’ve been trying to really hone in some areas of my blog. Here are a few of my actual, attainable goals at the moment:

• Develop a useful “favorites” section as a resource for anyone who wants to know my recommendations across various products and places (so far I’ve written about my hair care faves, my favorite tv shows of all time, my favorite Milwaukee coffee shops, and my fave Milwaukee brewery recommendations)
• Go through and update old blog posts with SEO – focusing on updating graphics, adding keywords, adding alt. descriptions to images, etc.
• Use my Instagram more regularly to direct followers to the site (aka, more feed posts)
• Try out Tik Toks! And Reels! Just experiment with creativity and have fun with it

Food (and drink) adventures

If I’m being honest, I’ve dropped the ball a little with keeping track. But this is my best guess without whipping out the credit card statement!

(Might I add: going out to eat is indeed my favorite activity in the world? :))

What we’ve been watching

Cheers!

Let’s catch up again soon, okay? The next round’s on me.