Trust Me.

Dear 27,
Here near LA, sushi places are everywhere. In strip malls along Ventura Boulevard there are supposedly (in Iowa I would probably not trust a strip mall sushi joint, no offense to you Des Moines) the best sushi places you can find. So with the help of Gwyneth Paltrow (I realize how this sounds) and a nudge from Gary Caplan, I veered off my usual path to the Galleria and hit up Sushi Nozawa for an early dinner and what was to be the strangest, most delicious sushi dining experience I've had to date.

I walked in to a completely empty restaurant, no music, but a stern looking sushi chef behind the counter. I went straight for the sushi bar and was told I have "no choice" if I sit there. Once I realized the Chef and his assistant, Antonio, weren't going to laugh at any of my jokes, I stuck to enjoying the non-stop stream of no-frills sushi. Chef Nozawa has another spot called Sugarfish that told me this "Trust Me-style of Sushi" is his "interpretation of the centuries-old Japanese tradition called omakase, where the master chef determines the menu."

 

While he wasn't a chatty man, Chef Nozawa shared that this restaurant had be open for 23 years and that since coming to America in 1977, he has stuck to his traditional Japanese way of sushi making. He reminded me, "Sushi. One bite. No sauce." Here's what the chef determined would be my abundant menu:

-Tuna (I think it was baby tuna, which is weird, but was utterly delicious)
-Toro (did you know that's the belly of a Tuna?)
-Yellowtail
-Albacore
-Crab hand roll
-Cod. (Yes Cod. I thought cod was used in fish sticks, but it was buttery and delightful.)
The Trust-me sushi method left me with a hefty check, but was well worth it. Even Nicole Richie thinks so.

xo-LP

George is here to talk about what?

Dear 27,
So you might have heard of Templeton Rye. You know that highly sought after, impossible to find rye whiskey made right here in Iowa? Well Centro (said Ch-en-t-ro according to the experts) hosted a special Templeton Rye dinner and while tickets were snatched up quickly, a few friends and I managed to be seated at table 3 to enjoy the festivities.

Upon arrival, we were given a Templeton poker chip (which I promptly lost in my bag) to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail of the "good stuff." Once Al Capone's whiskey of choice, Templeton Rye is surely hard to find after the release of their fourth batch. Even Muscatine has a waiting list and our hosts noted it was difficult to find enough bottles to put together the dinner that evening. Once seated dinner service began. Each course was paired with a special Templeton cocktail created special for the evening. 

 Overall the meal, and the company I shared it with, was terrific. The drinks were quite tasty, particularly the cider-like "Rye-Orchard" (I was informed by my friends that the drink was poured over a lit match into the bitty glass it was served in. That's cool.) and the cherry-sage reduction made the third drink feel a little like an herbal Manhattan. The scallop dish was incredible. I'm telling you Templeton squash puree might be one of the greatest things I've ever tasted.

Once the meal had ended we freestyle walked our way to a night cap at the Cosmo Lounge where we finished the evening with geometry puns, editable content and plans for Scotch Club round two. Four courses. Five drinks. New friends. Old jokes.
Thanks for a super evening Centro and Templeton.
xo-LP

**Bonus. Heard this song while driving today in CA. Hooray for Rye Whiskey.**

No Bah-hummer-Bugs.

Dear 27,
Saturday the holiday season officially commenced with my first trip through the Jolly Holiday Lights. We oooh-ed and ahhh-ed over the dragons, snowmen and frogs made of lights, discussed Walt Disney World being the ultimate dream land, and the merits of having a haunted hayrack ride.

The weekend was primarily devoted to birthday celebrations (Kate-- your 21 was a rowdy night of awesome, Jo- Happy birthday! And B + Dan Maw- I celebrated your birthdays without you, don't worry.) I did make time to craft a whole bunch of options for the happy holiday cards.

Can't wait to stamp the final cards and get them in the mail. 

xo- LP

From Yesvember to December.

Dear 27,
I've been quite the delinquent blogger as of late. I'd like to attribute this lack of posting to my active quest to knock off every item on the Yesvember list. I did get to see the Princemen rock All in the Family on Saturday night-- Go Kathy!
But truthfully, other than the dance party on Fleur to the tunes of 60s and 70s rock n roll, November ended with a weekend of Veronica Mars, severe sinus congestion medications, a whole bunch of sleeping and an overdose of orange pineapple juice. So the finale weekend of my mid-year challenge was less-than-productive, but I still managed to axe many items off my ambitious list of 27.

1-  Send 27 postcards.
2-  Create my font.

3-  Bake a cake from scratch to celebrate 27.5.

4-  Vote.

5-  Enjoy Mary Poppins.

6-  Celebrate Homemade Bread Day on November 17th (or sometime this month-- make bread).

7-  Rock out to live music.

8-  Read DRIVE.

9-  Take my picture with a mountain.

10- Finally see that movie alone.
11- Peek inside the Basilica of St. John.

12- Host a themed dinner party.

13- Try Indian Food.

14- Walk across the Center Street Bridge.

15- Visit Topped Doughnuts.

16- Participate in a human pyramid.

17- Go to a Bucs game.

18- Make a dazzling dish for Family Thanksgiving.

19- Find Templeton Rye. Order a manhattan.

20- Hike.

21- Read another book.

22- See Da Vinci @ SCI.

23- World Run Day.

24- Gray's Lake.

25- Eat at the Flying Mango.

26- Try a day of plan-free rest.

27- Annual LP handmade holiday cards.

December, even without a list, will be one busy month. More blogging. More items checked off the big list. More reading. And, more funny*.  One more thing-- saw Daniel Pink speak at Des Moines' hometown University tonight and he knocked my socks off. I even came home and celebrated the success of the evening.

While his book was good, it was his lecture, his candor and his uncommon use of the word "exquisite" that made motivation come to life.
Hope you had much to be thankful for this November. I know I did.
xo-LP

*For those of you who don't think anything has been that funny so far at least the bar has been set low. I hope to impress you with my wit. Stay tuned for funny. I have 5.6 months left to cause lol. (That's lots of laughs.)

Just me and the popcorn.

Dear 27,

Solo movie today. (yep. that's popcorn.) Although the movie wasn't super, but I movied alone. 

Then naps. Lots of naps. And Veronica Mars. She's really taken over my weekend with a cold. When I'm less sniffly I'll write more about the conquering of the list.

xo-LP

27 and a half.

Dear 27,
Six months into this blog, this list, this year of life and I'm celebrating.
(With a cake I baked myself. From flour and not a Pilsbury box. Also. I am no good at frosting. Cool the cake first. Baking takes patience.)

This year has been full of firsts. So much newness and adventure-documenting, that at times, I've even impressed myself. (That statement will be criticized by "blog lesson #1" shortly.)

In celebration of my 100th post and my half birthday and my 6 months of loyal blogging--
Here are a few things I've learned:

1. A blog is an exercise in vanity, true. But it can also be a way to connect with people, a way to have a little life history written, and a hell-of-a-way to get yourself to try doing cool and exciting things. (If for no other reason that to make for an interesting post.)
2. Lists motivate, infuriate, and excite. This particular one has added more stress and joys to my normal existence than I ever thought possible.
3. I'm full of strength. I have the ability to make use of nearly all of the 24 hours in a day. But most importantly, I overuse parenthesis. 
4. Nonsensical blog titles are the best. 
5. I can bake. If I pay attention. Actually, if I pay attention I tend to be better at most things.
6. Des Moines (and my life in general) are filled with extraordinary people who will road trip with you to a concert on a Tuesday, tell you the Manhattan you mixed was great even if it was terrible and remind you there's list items to complete while sending suggestions of how to do so. My friends are fantastic. 
7. I have 6 months left to read over 20 books. In the time I've spent blogging about my lack of reading, I surely could have finished at least 2 books.

My love letter continues. Thank you for reading along. 

Here's a little song of appreciation. 

Happy 27.5!

xo-LP

Bacon+Doughnut.

Dear 27,

Drove up to Ankeny to hit up Topped Doughnuts. I picked up more than my fair share of sugary delights-- one of which was coated with a maple glaze and crumbled bacon + a red velvet doughnut that tasted better than cake. I knew bacon was good on basically anything, but on a doughnut? I was terrific.

I'd say the "plan free day of rest" list item was accomplished on 1.5 days this weekend. A rather slow and lovely weekend in LP land. Looking forward to a big week to end November.

xo-LP

What if it was an actual parade of wolves?*

Dear 27,
A Thursday night road trip to Iowa City for a band of Canadian rockers: Wolf Parade. "What a bodacious name!"  After a brief dinner at Quinton's where a table of dudes were talking about Alex Mack, we headed next door to the theater where a gentleman in a tuxedo with tails was manning the door. The Englert, while an odd place to hold a show where everyone is standing (the band referenced how quiet the place was between songs-- we Iowans are a respectful bunch-- and that the orchestra pit kept people about 8 feet from the stage front), it is a beautiful venue. I hadn't been inside the place since the 2005 New Horizons Band Spring Concert. That show was nearly as rowdy as this one.

An eclectic crowd only Iowa City could produce filled the theater for Ogre you asshole of Japan who had the denim-clad-hoodie-wearing-scarf-accessorized crowd hipster-bobbing their heads (that's what I've titled that dance, Will.) The man next to me, in his full length sparkly patchwork denim jacket with leopard printed pants noodle-danced with the very-pregnant woman next to him. *There was considerable talk of what a real wolf parade would be like. Sounds awesome and terrifying. Much like the man next to me.

Wolf Parade played a set (Want a copy of the set list? Ask Tim.) that had the crowd on their feet for the whole show. Sounding a bit like Modest Mouse + David Bowie, that keyboard player in the middle, who looks a little like Jack Black, sang like there was a whole choir in his mouth. It was really incredible. Thanks for the invite/peer pressure-- It was a rockin' good time.

 

Too bad we couldn't stay- Paula Cole is playing tonight.("oh I know your back hurts from workin' on the tractor." That's a real line from "Where have all the Cowboys Gone." I am not sure how your brain stores up lyrics of songs you haven't heard in years. I'll ask the neurologist about that.)

xo-LP

Halfway through YESvember.

Dear 27,

YESvember has been a busy month, but I've managed to make a dent in the list. 
Let me give you a couple updates.

2-  Create my font. 

This one was a fail- no scanner and no time meant no font entry with DesignSponge. You can see the finalists on the site. I'll post my entry (when I finish it) and we can decide if it was finalist worthy. We'll take a vote of my 26 readers. Watch for that in the coming weeks.

8-  Read DRIVE.

Not only am I reading the book-- but I get to hear Daniel Pink speak in December.

16- Participate in a human pyramid.

I'm looking for volunteers to assemble this. Perhaps it will happen ON the Center Street Bridge or during dinner at the Flying Mango?

19- Find Templeton Rye. Order a manhattan.

Amy and Tim both informed me that this could be tougher than I thought. Looks like the next batch isn't out until December, but I haven't given up hope. 

22- See Da Vinci @ SCI.

Thinking I'll get there this weekend. Who's with me?

27- Annual LP handmade holiday cards.

Send me your mailing address if you want to be on the recipient list.

Much left to do in the next 14 days. 

xo-LP

Poof we had a good time.

Dear 27,
A mountain of a weekend in Denver with two of my oldest friends (not old like old, but old like long time friends). The city showed us a great time and we had the kindest hostess.

While I didn't do an outdoorsy walk in the brisk weather, we did hike through the Coors Brewery. It counts. And here's the long awaited pic of me and a mountain.

We ate some serious dinners (including a night of Sexy Pizza and binging on sequin covered clothing), laughed about high school stories and made new friends. I might be exaggerating on the "made new friends" part, but I did draw a get-well-soon card for someone at Argyll whilst sipping a Booker's Manhattan and talking about snail-mail with the manager. That's friendly, not weird at all. If you go to Argyll, and I think you should Denver readers and visitors, get the stuffed dates. They are delicious.

Rebec and Lindsay, the long weekend was something fierce. See you soon friends.

xo-LP

ps- YESvember list update tomorrow!