previously, on lost.....

Ok, this post isn't about LOST. It's about tv in general. For pretty much my whole life, I've lived in a residence that had cable/satellite. I love tv, simple as that. At this point in my life it's become a comfort to me, just having the tv on in the background. I lived with my parents for 19 or so years, where there was free cable. I lived in a dorm for a year, where there was free cable. I then moved in with my boyfriend at the time for about 5 or 6 months, in which time I did not have cable (although I spent most weekends at home, and went to visit my grandma who had cable quite often), so it wasn't too bad. I then moved to various different apartments in Ames, where thanks to college-town living, I enjoyed the luxury of free cable & internet which was undoubtedly added to the price of our rent...but it was nice to not have to deal with setting up different services and paying a million different bills.

And when I finally graduated and moved to Des Moines to work at my first full-time job.....the free cable era of my life ended. I am now faced with the tough decision: cable or internet? Or cable or less money to spend on food/clothing? Since my apartment building has a contract with one internet and cable company, I cannot look for cheaper solutions. I can have $40/mo internet, $40/mo cable, or $80/mo for both. So I chose internet, where I can find most of the shows that I watch easily, and stream them on my tv.

So what's the big deal? Well, a few of the shows I love are on the precipice of cancellation because the Nielsen ratings are too low. This is absurd! In this day and age, Nielsen is obviously outdated. So many people who used to watch tv are now opting to cut out the cable bill and watch all their favorite shows online. There is this huge demographic of people that ARE watching said shows (Parks & Rec, anyone?), but can't afford to watch them on tv as they air. And before you tell me that NBC is available for free if you have an antenna, I know, and I do, but it only tunes into ABC, FOX, and a few other weird local stations. I can't get NBC, which I religiously used to watch on Thursday and Saturday nights, and I can't get the CW, which I realize is targeted to a younger age group, but I don't care, I need to watch The Vampire Diaries!

In conclusion, I miss having cable, I miss watching commercials (yeah, really), I hate bills, and Nielsen needs to get with the 21st century! If they counted how many times I've watched (and rewatched) all the seasons of Parks & Rec, there's no way it would be doing so poorly in the ratings.

scenic views

Although my trip to Charleston wasn't really about seeing Charleston, I still managed to do a little sight seeing while I was there. We spent a day at the Magnolia Plantation, and another day at the beach. I took about a thousand pictures, but I managed to narrow it down to a few....

charleston chew

The last time I was in Charleston my stomach was acting up, and I didn't get the chance to experience some of the great food that the city has to offer. This time I let loose a little (as much as you can when you have IBS) and ate some delicious food. Charleston has so many great restaurants, from French to Korean to Mediterranean and everything in between, but what I was really interested in was the Southern low country cooking. We went to the famous Hominy Grill (as seen on No Reservations & Man vs Food) and I had the hard decision of choosing between shrimp and grits and the Big Nasty biscuit w/ fried chicken breast, cheddar cheese and sausage gravy, but ultimately I chose the Big Nasty, since I saw Anthony Bourdain eat it once. Before they brought out our food, they gave us a little basket of boiled peanuts. I've never heard of boiled peanuts, but this was the 2nd place that I had been in Charleston where they served free boiled peanuts. The first time I ate one, I accidentally squirted water/peanut juice all over one of Ryan's coworkers. Since they were boiled, the nuts were soft instead of crunchy, almost like a bean. They were alright, but I definitely prefer plain ol' crunchy peanuts. 

Along with eating out, we decided we'd try to cook something Charleston-esque. Crab cakes! I love me some crab cakes.  I found a recipe on Foodnetwork.com by one of my other favorite tv chefs, Robert Irvine I'm still praying for the return of Dinner: Impossible. I forgot to take a picture of the outcome, which makes me sad, because they were beautiful and tasty. Here is the recipe, if any of you want to try it at home!  

 

stay tuned...

For the past 5 days I've been in Charleston visiting the boyfriend, but I will be back in good ol' Des Moines at 10pm tonight. Here's a preview of what's to come in my next post[s]:

west end

It was a beautiful, sunny day here in Iowa today! I had originally planned on going to the Des Moines Renaissance Faire, but the $16 entrance fee kept me home. Instead, I took my bike out and headed down to West End Architectural Salvage. I've never been there before, so I was excited to explore the many floors of antique odds and ends that they have!

can't stop, won't stop

This week...let me tell you....

Yesterday I got a raise.

Today Adam Scott and Rashida Jones came into Raygun and bought some shirts. I talked to them and tried my best to keep it cool, but really I just wanted to scream and take a million pictures of/with them! This is how I felt when I first saw that they were in the store:

And this is how I was after they left: 

Also today, the Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes, in the infamous CyHawk showdown! So proud to be a Cyclone!

exiled

I finally got the chance to experience Exile Brewing Co. tonight, and since it's still fresh in my mind, I thought I'd share my experience!

source: www.exilebrewing.com

We got there around 7pm and it was pretty busy. Apparently one side was rented out, so there was a 20-30 minute wait if we wanted to sit inside. We sat at the bar for a little bit to get a beer and wait for a table, but it was taking awhile to get served, so we decided to try our luck on the patio. We had to ask 2 gentlemen if they minded sharing their picnic table with us, which they kindly agreed to. The servers out on the patio seemed a little out of sorts, but I don't blame them, because there was no structure to the way people were being "seated" (which really was just a free for all). We got our food and drinks in a timely manner, though. I ordered the Hannah, which is Exile's first brew. The server described it as "similar to Blue Moon", and I agree with him. It was tasty and it came in a nice 1/2 liter mug, although I would have enjoyed a lemon or orange slice in it (I probably could have gotten one if I asked, but he didn't even offer or suggest it).

From their website: Bright, bubbly and unfiltered, Hannah tells it like it is. Subtle yet lasting, her clove and bubble gum aroma pulls you in. Once she has you she dances softly on your palate then leaves you with a mouth watering citrus finish. $6.00 for a 1/2 liter.

I also ordered their "simple bag of chips" ($5.00) secret house seasoning, fried yukon potato and their "American fries" ($9.00) herbs, shaved parmesan, truffled “dunk-dunk”, which were both very good (I definitely recommend the fries, if you don't mind the price!), but were a little overpriced, in my opinion. I originally just ordered the chips, which came in a brown paper bag, as the name suggested, but there weren't that many in there, so I decided to also get the french fries. The menu on the table and the amounts that were on my receipt were off, though, because the fries were more expensive than I thought they were, and the chips were cheaper. My bill came out to $21.21, which kind of gave me a heart attack (I mean, all I got were potatoes!), but I am cheap and still live by the financial rules of a college student, so maybe that bill wouldn't surprise normal folk.

All in all, I had a good time and the food and beer were good. They just opened last month, so I can forgive them for any grievances I had, because they are obviously still trying to work the kinks out. I would suggest this restaurant/brewery to anyone, and am excited to go back to try one of their main dishes (and new brews, if they are done)!

Visit their Facebook and website, Exile Brewing Co.