Review: Merlot & A Masterpiece in Bloomington, IL

There is a place in downtown Bloomington called Merlot & A Masterpiece where you can learn how to paint. I convinced my husband to go with me, but I think it's more of a girl's place. The first thing you do is go to their website (merlotandamasterpiece.com). Go to the 'Class Schedule' tab to see all of your choices. They're open Monday through Saturday and usually offer 2-3 classes per day. Pick the painting that you would like to learn to paint on a date that works for you. From there, you can buy your tickets and reserve your seat. The price for one ticket is $38. They provide the canvas, paints, paintbrush, smock, and teacher. You bring your own wine and snacks. They do have wine glasses, a wine opener, and even a bucket of ice if you want to chill your wine.

When you first get there, you pick out your smock, put it on, and pick out a place to sit. When I went, there were 24 stations set up. The instructor shows you step by step how to paint the specific painting for the class you signed up for. She made it easy for us. I walked around the room at the end and I didn't see a single bad painting in the room. And there were plenty of people that weren't artistic (like my husband). If you're having trouble though, the instructor will come around to help you. We were there for about 2 hours. It was great fun and I'll definitely go back.

$2 Custom iPhone Case

A couple days ago, I stopped by Dollar Tree and bought a cheap, plain white iPhone case and a set of permanent markers. Total Cost? That's right, $2.

I just started drawing lines, dotted lines, zig zags, etc. on the phone case. It's very random. You could do ANYTHING here. You could draw something, do random lines like I did, glitter the whole thing. Basically, you name it, you can do it. I'd even thought about making one that has a giant K (for Kerry) and then zig zags radiating off of it. To finish the phone case off, apply 2 layers of clear nail polish. That's it! Now you're done! Have fun creating your custom iPhone case!

Pictures of Kids in the Bath in the Bathroom

When I first saw this on Pinterest, I thought it was very cute. Then, during the Christmas season, I took some pictures of my son making Santa beards while taking a bubble bath and thought they would go perfectly in my bathroom. So many times, it's hard to find good things to put in the bathroom! There are a couple word art things you could do, but that didn't really fit our style. Sometimes it's weird to put pictures with people in them in the bathroom. I mean, it's almost like someone is staring at you while you're doing your business! I feel like having a child in the pictures makes it MUCH less creapy! I had a couple scenic pictures in our bathroom in the old apartment. They looked nice. Then, when we moved into our house, I put up a small framed painting. That also looked nice. What kind of art do you have in your bathroom (if any)?

Book Review: Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

By the author of The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger does it again. This book has love, heartbreak, backstabbing, work conflict, travel, partying, and some twists that you might not see coming. (and even if you do see them coming, they're still interesting) I laughed. I cried. It was relatable, yet fantasy. A young woman in her mid- to late-thirties, Bette Robinson, is working at a horribly boring banking job when she up and decides to quit. She is introduced to the head of a hot PR firm by her uncle, and is thrown into this world (completely opposite of where she was before) where her job includes going out every night to see and be seen inside the VIP rooms. Suddenly, Bette's professional life and private life are one in the same and she appears in a vicious new gossip column. You'll have to read the book to discover more. I recommend it.

Book Review: Man Up! by Ross Matthews

I'm sure many of you have at least heard of Ross Matthews. He is a correspondent on Jay Leno. He was the opening act for Chelsea Handler at one time. He also appears on Chelsea Lately sometimes. In my opinion, he's simply hilarious! I definitely wish we were best friends. He's always so humble about everything. He doesn't think he's amazing because he gets to meet famous people. I just love him. The stories in this book are all so funny. They're about his life and I love them. The stories tell about him growing up and becoming who he is today. He talks about being made fun of for his voice and dealing with being gay. If you haven't read this book already, please do! I was laughing so hard at times (my husband thought I was crazy).

Just so you all know, there is a quiz in the back and I did get them all correct. I expect the same out of all of you if you choose to read it!

DIY bottle opener

I wanted to make my husband something to put in our 'drinks corner' in our basement. We have a mini fridge and shelves to keep glasses and booze on. I thought he needed a bottle opener. And I don't mean just any little dinky bottle opener. I mean a nice wall-mounted one. Well, all the ones I found online to buy were just so cheasy. They all had these random sayings on them that my husband just wouldn't be in to. So I decided to make him one.

Supplies:
round decorative piece of wood (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)

paint (I chose black for the background and blue for the accent)
paint brush
bottle opener (I got mine for just a couple dollars at Hobby Lobby here)

Steps:
1. Paint the round decorative piece of wood. I chose black because I thought it would be a good neutral background color. Then let it dry.
2. Paint your accent letter on. I actually just freehanded an L on there, but you could easily use a stencil or something. I chose turquoise because honestly, it's my favorite color. Let that dry.
3. Here's the important step. FIND A STUD. Seriously, when you decide where you want your bottle to go, find a stud to put it in. Then, attach the decorative piece of wood to the wall with a 2” screw. The reason I think this is so important is because of how much force you use to open a bottle. If it's not in a stud, your bottle opener will rip out of the wall the second you try to open your first bottle.
4. Now screw the actual bottle opener into the wood. I used 2” screws again and put them right in line with the stud so I have 3 screws into a stud. I know my bottle opener's not going anywhere.

Review: CAT Visitors Center in Peoria, IL

Recently, I took a quick day trip to Peoria and visited the Caterpillar Visitors Center with my son and my parents. My dad has worked for CAT in Decatur for many years now.

It's very fairly priced. For CAT employees, it's FREE! Way to go, CAT. I always appreciate a company that can appreciate their employees. Children 12 and under are also FREE! I'm impressed. It's usually just kids under 3 or something like that. Regular admission is $7. That's still not bad. Seniors (55 and over) are $6. For the 4 of us, it cost $13. I'd say that's a heck of a deal.

We spent a little over 2 hours here. The parking garage that lies below the visitors center only costs $0.50 for every half hour with a maximum of $5 per day. That's not too bad either. There is also an entrance to the Riverfront Museum from this parking garage. I've never been to the museum, but if we'd planned on spending more time there, it sounds like that would have been a good day (going to both). Our total for the day at the garage was $2.50.

After you pay for your ticket, you are welcomed into the bed of the MASSIVE 797F Mining Truck. You watch a quick video and exit out the other door.

From here, you can see the entire open area with all the trucks in it. It's pretty cool to see all of them from up above.

When you go down the stairs, the first thing you see are the HUGE tires of the 797F Mining Truck you were just in. They're something like 14 feet tall and weight around 14,000 pound (I think). Here's a great photo-op.

If you turn to the right, you are taken on this long winding hallway that covers everything from the history of Caterpillar to the envision of the future. There are a couple of interactive things on the way. My son enjoyed designing his own CAT truck. There's even another place to sit down and watch another quick movie about the company. Some people might find this section a little boring, but it's not too bad. I found it to be mildly entertaining. There are employees that walk around and can answer questions for you. I'm pretty sure at least some of them (if not all of them) were retired CAT employees. How cool is that?

Once you reach the end of this winding tunnel, you've finally arrived at the coolest part of the center (especially if you ask the kids). This is where the big trucks are. Before you really enter the big room, there is actually another little room under the huge 797F Mining Truck where you can watch 6 different shows (you get to choose which one to watch). Then you move on to the rest of the trucks. You can get up in the cab and pretend like you're driving. It's very neat. The size of these machines are something to marvel at. Especially since most of these are very small in comparison to the massively huge trucks that CAT produces. There is yet another room where you can watch a movie on the wall closest to the stairs. They even have the Nascar vehicle and bodysuit the driver wears. There's also a place in the back corner where you can pretend to drive a CAT truck. The simulator is very neat. Your goal is to cover the pipe with dirt. And let me tell you, it's harder than it looks. Good Luck!

After you go back up the stairs (or elevator) to leave, there is a store where you can buy clothing, hats, keychains, shoes, EVERY CAT TOY IN THE WORLD, etc. Okay, I might be exaggerating on the toy part. But seriously, I told my son that he could pick out a toy and he was looking for like 20 minutes. He wanted EVERYTHING. It was cute though. He finally chose a mining train. Good choice in my opinion.

Overall, we had a good trip. We visited on a Monday in January so it wasn't too busy. I'm sure if you went during the summer on a Saturday, it would be quite busy. You might want to think about that when planning your trip. We all really enjoyed ourselves and we would definitely consider going back. If you're already in Peoria, IL for some reason, it's a good way to waste a couple hours.

Workout Clothes on Polyvore

So I bought some new workout clothes a couple weeks ago. This is what I bought. I LOVE them. And they're a pretty decent price. Which is very important to me when we're talking workout clothes. After all, if I actually wear them and work out, then I'll be needing to buy some smaller ones later. Everything came from Old Navy and you can see it here. This came from my Polyvore account. If you've never heard of that before, it's a sight where you can put outfits together from other websites. It's very neat. Check it out!

Workout by kerry-lukow featuring NIKE

Old Navy clothing
oldnavy.gap.com

Old navy activewear
oldnavy.gap.com

Old navy activewear
oldnavy.gap.com

Old Navy clothing
oldnavy.gap.com

NIKE athletic shoes
nike.com

M is for Magazine

I saw this idea here and decided to make my own. At first I had thought about doing it with an L for my last name, but after looking at it again, I decided that 'M is for Magazine' would work best in my guest room. However, you might keep that in mind if you don't want to make an M.

Supplies:
2 wooden 'M's
2 small pieces of wood
staple gun
glue
paint

Steps:
1. Put a little glue on the end of one of your pieces of wood and stick the other piece to it. Then use your staple gun to attach them.

2. Put some glue on the L formation you've just made with the thin boards. Place one of the 'M's on top. Use your staple gun to attach the 'M'.

3. Now repeat step 2 to attach an 'M' to the other side.
4. Let the glue dry for a couple hours.
5. Paint.

6. Let everything dry and then put it in place and fill it with magazines!

Let me know if you have made this craft! I want to know if it turned out for you.

Station 220 in Bloomington, IL

My husband and I went on a date night the weekend before Valentine's Day. We went to a movie, then Station 220 for dinner, and Eleven for drinks after dinner. It was great! And you know what the best part was? Our dinner! It was seriously AMAZING!

We made reservations. Then, when we got there, we saw that they were having a celebrity guest chef.

How exciting, right? Well, for those of us in Bloomington, it's exciting. Everyone that we saw was very professional and proper. The waiters served the women first. Everyone was dressed nicely. They were very courteous and polite. It's definitely a warm welcome in Bloomington where nice restaurants and professional employees are hard to find.

Straight from Station 220's website: “Station Two Twenty, cultivated by Epiphany Farms Enterprise, is bringing Midwestern cuisine to the global stage. Our mission is to blend socially conscious farming techniques with comfortable fine dining in order to produce something that customers not only enjoy, but also understand. We strive to create food systems that provide exceptional quality and a sustainable, regenerative future. As Central Illinois' only farm-to-fork restaurant, we are committed to creating food that glorifies the cultural heritage tying us to our community. Station Two Twenty is a place for families and foodies alike. Here, you'll find familiar ingredients, grown right in McLean County, prepared with respect and presented with excitement and flair.”

Since they get the majority of their ingredients locally, their menu changes seasonally. Since we ate in February, we had the winter menu. For starters, we had the “Anju” Roll. It has Yellowtail Amberjack, Atlantic Salmon, Korean Gim, and Fresh Vegetables. I am not a sushi fan and I thought it was absolutely delicious!

For dinner, my husband got the Seared Scallops with Classic Risotto, Spiced Foam, and “Sugar Bear” Pumpkin. I had some of his and it was good. I don't LOVE scallops so they were only okay to me. However, the risotto was pure perfection. In case you're curious about the spiced foam and pumpkin or are thinking about not getting this dish just because of these two things, don't worry about them. They are small little things on the side. They're both good, but if you don't like them, it's a not a big part of the dish.

For dinner, I got the Braised Lamb Shank with Lemon Spaetzle, Herb Salad, Mint Oil, and Semolina Crouton. It was so amazing. The lamb just fell of the bone and melted in my mouth. And it was a lot of food. These were no small portions. I was a little hesitant about the lemon spaetzle. I'd never had spaetzle before so I was excited to try it, but it was the lemon part I was unsure of. Honestly though, it was pretty good. The lemon flavor wasn't overwhelming. It was like a small taste at the end. I really enjoyed it. I didn't finish it though (I was leaving room for dessert) so our waiter boxed it up for me.

My husband had a cup of coffee after dinner while we waited for our dessert and it came with sugar cubes. Like homemade sugar cubes! (I'm not sure why that impresses me, but it does.)

Then for dessert, we had a large chocolate souffle. It came with a couple homemade marshmallows, some kind of soft peanut butter squares, raspberry sauce, vanilla sauce, chocolate sauce, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a bed of crushed peanuts. It was way too much food for us (we probably only ate half), but it was absolutely delicious! It does take a while to cook so we actually ordered this when we ordered our dinner. And I would say it's more for 4 people, if not more.

Our total was just under $100 before tip for the two of us. So for Bloomington, it is a little on the pricey side, but for how nice the restaurant, service, and food are, it's a good deal. I suppose it depends on your priorities when picking a restaurant. When I review Station 220 on TripAdvisor, I will be giving it 5 Stars. I loved it!