Art and Tacos in Milwaukee

I made a sojourn to Milwaukee again recently to see the 30 Americans exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum before it closes on September 8. It was amazing to see the work of Iona Rozeal Brown, Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and many other African American artists in person. (The works are all from 1970 to the present and address themes of race, class, gender, sexuality, or history.)

The ubiquitous shot of the museum's wings

Lunch at BelAir Cantina consisted of tacos and beans and rice. If you order three tacos, beans and rice are included. I had the ninja pig (crispy, hoisin-glazed pork topped with cucumber and jicama slaw), the carnitas (crispy pork and pico de gallo), and the black bean and corn, despite my call for fish tacos. (Their fish/seafood offerings were a little disappointing: variations with lobster and shrimp, chipotle mahi mahi, grilled tilapia with mango, and breaded and fried tilapia. Tilapia is such a bland fish, I'm not a huge fan of breaded and fried fish or chipotle, and shrimp and mahi mahi are often overfished.)

At the beach

Earlier in the summer, Sona and I hiked at Governor Nelson, and there were some cool windsurfers taking advantage of the windy day.

Éirinn go Brách

Over the holidays, J. and I visited his sister and her family in the west of Ireland.

at the Detroit airport

Guinness at a local pub

Throwing rocks with grandma 

The last remaining yew

A short walk down the lane from their house is Aughnanure Castle. This 16th-century tower house, or a fortified residence, was owned by the wealthy, land-owning O'Fflahertie (O'Flaherty) family. More than 200 such tower houses exist just in County Galway. The name Aughnanure comes from the Gaelic Achadh na nlubhar, which means the field of the yews. One representative of the yew trees still remains on the grounds.

Partying like it's 2012

Just a few shots from my 35th birthday extravaganza in September, which included a picnic by the lake, dinner at Umami, shopping at reThreads west and dinner at Eno Vino, and dinner and La Brioche cake at A. + H.'s house. Oh, and the boy bought me my very own bocce ball set. I can't wait to try them out. Woot!

B.'s tutu transformed me into a birthday nymph

Delicious cake from La Brioche

Springing into Summer

It was still a bit chilly when we hit the Terrace for the first time this summer (thus, the sweater), but I was still ready and willing to bask in the outdoors.

One of the summer's first trips to the Terrace

Early in the spring, we stumbled on Gallery Night. We saw a glassblowing demonstration at Studio Paran, took in some cool art, grazed on appetizers, ran into John Nichols, and stopped into the Ohio Tavern for a drink. (I probably won't return. It was a bit sketchy for my taste.) 

The classy dispenser in the Ohio Tavern's potty

Glassblowing at Studio Paran

Glassblowing at Studio Paran

In May, we walked up to Monona Terrace and went to the Great Dane for brunch.

In Great Dane's beer garden

A few other shots from the spring:

A spontaneous Happy Hour at the Orpheum with colleagues

.

Mara and Owen visited from the Cities

Sweet Gracie underneath my drying 'brellie

When it was finally warm enough, we had a simple picnic by the lake with BLTs, wine, and salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette