Fiesta Fiesta

Alas the summer has hit and we have had several recent BBQ's!!!!! We decided to tee off our June with a South-of-the-Border grill out consisting of some grilled steak and chicken fajitas, along with some of our award-winning guac and some knock-your-socks-off Margheritas!! We pulled game 5 of the cup finals to our apartment window and had a spectacular evening with Bobby, Petz, Jenny, Meat, Leslie, Hall, and the Gurtner family! Great friends, terrific food (as always)!!

Last night, the Grimasuckaravencrofts had some friends over to enjoy the finer things in life...burgers, brats, and brewskies, and feeding human food to dogs. The usual suspects were once again in action and it was a relaxing early Saturday evening.

Bridal Tea

While Lou flew back to the Midwest for bachelor party madness at the infamous Borgestad cabin in Wisconsin last weekend, Linsey came down from Boston to attend a bridal tea being hosted by my girlfriend Sheila and lounge around our pool. We had amazing weather all weekend for sunbathing, feasted at a local neighborhood restaurant and the tea couldn't have been more quintessential with cucumbur sandwiches, tea, scones, smoked salmon tartines and cookies. I am so lucky to have such great girlfriends in DC (and a sister nearby) and can't wait for them to visit Minnesota for the wedding.

Guns and Graduation

Normally guns and a graduation party do not mix. However, in northern Minnesota we like to throw caution (and sometimes common sense) to the wind. On a recent trip home for Jenna's graduation, my dad seized on our friend's Chris and Melissa's curiousity by giving us a lesson about what life would be like as a sharp-shooting, NRA-membership-holding, gun-slinger like himself. A thorough safety lesson was followed by an all out competition as we raced to shoot clay pigeons (Future boyfriends of my little sisters please note our families excellent marksmanship.)

The competition continued as we played a round of one hole golf in the yard.

Grimmy-Some-More

Erin and I were in Philadelphia last night and today for Grimas and Giana's wedding take two, a Grimmy family get together to make up for those that didn't make it to Vegas. We arrived at 2ish and the four of us played at a pitch and putt course north of Philly about 20 minutes. It was Erin's first time playing actual holes of golf, and while she has a ways to go, she did very well and even got a par on one hole!! She is a natural!

After golf, we went to the reception, where we had a hearty Italian meal and danced the night away! Grimas (and now Giana) have terrific family and friends...we had a blast!!

This morning on our way home, we made a spur of the moment decision to stop in downtown Philly and walk around for a bit. We parked in the old town and walked to the Italian Market, where the annual festival happened to be taking place. We grabbed a bite to eat and took in the neighborhood, it really seems like a tight-knit community that values their heritage. The food they offer doesn't fail to impress either!! All in all, it was a successful weekend full of friends and adventures!!

Betch Conquers DC IV

We had the pleasure of hosting Mr. Betch out here this past weekend, and he didn't disappoint. We hit the ground running, heading to the historic Clarendon Ballroom in addition to tasting a little of DC's diverse culinary scene - Tabaq Bistro (Mediterranean Tapas) and Mihn's Vietnamese Restaurant. We hit a variety of spots in and around U Street and Adams Morgan on Saturday Night, and even caught some blues with Petzel at Madams Organ.

Following our tour de North DC, Jason and I enjoyed some more standard fare.

We also attempted to spend a whole day in the mountains doing some vineyarding, got a little late start after finalizing our wedding invites, and then blew a tire on 66. Betch and I sprung into action and took care of business. Notice we fired up the mini weber and had a dog while changing the tire;-)

After spending an hour in Centreville, VA getting new tires (long overdue, mom's birthday present went directly to Goodyear), we made it out to Rappahannock, tasted a little vino, played a game of lax, and took our time exploring the countryside on our way home. We capped off the night by grilling some strips and playing hi-low with Jason and Justin!

Parkersburg, West Virginia

Take me home, country roads.....and roads, and roads. This past weekend Lou and I and our friends Steve and Nancy took a road trip to Parkersburg, West Virginia, for the much anticipated wedding of Marissa and James. And drive we did, 7 hours there and 6 hours back. But it was worth it!!! The wedding was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't be more lucky to have such great friends! We stayed in the historic Blennerhassett Hotel and even got in a game of tennis Saturday morning before the festivities began. Here are a sample of the weekends best:

Haines Point

First, let us apologize for being totally slackers on updates. The truth is that we have been in wedding mania, running from bachelor party to bachelorette party to wedding, which has been tons of fun, but our downtime has been spent working and getting ready for our own soire on Bastille Day!

We spent a recent Saturday morning at Haines Point in Washington, D.C. hitting balls with Mike and Gianna, who kindly spent a few hours with us before heading off to their own wedding in Vegas. They were great sports and have actually agreed to take lessons with Lou and me this summer.

Beantown Bachelorette

What could be better than spending a weekend in Boston with my three favorite people:

We did a lot of walking, saw a lot of noteworthy sites,

used local transportation,

(Special thanks to our chauffeur - the cannolis weren't nearly enough to show our appreciation!)

and when all else failed, we relied on Minnesota nice (and a dose of good looks and charm) to get to the top of this tower.

We wined, dined and had a great time! I miss my sisters already!

Cherry Blossoms

For two weeks each year, the District transends from a surprisingly mellow town (aside from political scandal) to utter chaos as tourists and locals decend on the National Mall to see the cherry blossom trees bloom. Quick history lesson - the cherry blossom trees that line the tidal basin between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials were a gift from Japan in 1912. Despite the crowds, the sea of pink and white blooms is nothing short of amazing. Here is a photo from a walk off the beaten path we took with Lou's dad who was visiting for the weekend:

In addition to being a great house guest, David was a terrific sport (and who knew - a photo stylist) as Lou and I trekked all around the city with our wedding photographer to take our engagement photos. If anyone is in the market for a wedding photographer in MN/ND, Shawna, of Shawna Noel, is incredibly fun and talented. The photos below are all her work:

Road Trip to Charlottesville

Lou and I took advantage of a sunny Saturday (and the 65 degree temp) to road trip down to Charlottesville for the day. It is one of my favorite places I have ever been. UVA, the school Lou attended for grad school, is in the heart of the town. The main campus was designed by Thomas Jefferson, whose house, Monticello, is on a hill overlooking the grounds and is amazing. Charlottesville is located 2 hours south of DC at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and has tons of boutiques, great restaurants and vineyards in the area. So began our first stop on our drive - Horton Vineyards.


We have been to Horton before, but this was a rare exception where they actually gave us a tour of the cellar and allowed us to do a vertical port tasting. Basically, a vertical tasting is where you taste every year that a certain wine or port was produced - in this case 1995-2002 - to compare the differences. On our tour, we actually got to taste several wine varieties that are still aging straight from the barrel. Our tour guide, who had imbibed much of the fruits of his labor, actually allowed us to turn the spouts on the big vats of wine and sample.

For some time, I have been asking (begging) Lou to teach me how to play golf. We found a nice course overlooking the mountains and hit a bucket of balls. My first shot I picked up a 7 iron and drove the ball dead straight 120 yards. After that my performance was fairly lack luster, but it is still a work in progress.