Sass and Snaps for Sioux Falls: A fab place to be!

Giddyup! Horse & carriage rides kick off downtown!

Summer and downtown are, like, my two favorite things in this city, and when you put the two words together, life gets even more exciting, if you can imagine. 

This weekend, downtown will begin its horse & carriage rides every Friday through August! From 6-8:30 p.m., enjoy a ride along Phillips Avenue, basking in downtown’s beauty while watching the community enjoy drinks and friends on the patios. Rides will take off from the Plaza at 12th and Phillips and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Rides are $5 a person and are sponsored by Eide Bailly. Call 338-4009.

Also going on downtown this summer, street musicians will perform every Friday and Saturday through August! From 6-8 p.m., the community can enjoy live outdoor music along Phillips and Main avenues, Eighth Street as well as the Falls Park area. This Friday, musician Ann McLaughlin will play outside Parker’s Bistro on Main, and Sycamore Blue will play outside Utopia at the Falls Overlook Cafe at Falls Park. On Saturday, Steven Payne will perform at The Market on Phillips, Jeff Thomson will play near Monks, Holly VandenBerg at the Phillips Avenue Diner and Eric Chap will play near the Riverfront Amphitheater. Click here to view a schedule of musicians and performance locations throughout the summer. Xcel Energy is sponsoring the musicians.

Call 338-4009 for more information on summer goodness downtown. From SculptureWalk to a simple horse and carriage ride, take time this summer to embrace your vibrant and exciting downtown community!

Here is a pic of my hubby & I taking a horse & carriage ride this winter. I love bundling up, but I can’t wait to enjoy a ride in the warmer sun!

Happy Work Anniversary to Me!

Today, I’m celebrating my seven-year anniversary at the Argus Leader :)) Look at me go! And you know what, I still remember what I was wearing the day I walked in here, scared to death. It was actually a very non-cute outfit, so I appreciate that the newsroom accepted me anyway.

In honor of this exciting day, I’m rewarding myself with almond tea cake from Queen City Bakery. This girl knows how to celebrate.

Be sure to give yourself a pat on the back, too, for all the work you do 40 hours a week! And by that, I mean go eat almond tea cake. Or any cake! That works, too.

‘Bachelorette’ recap: Boys are cute.

Well, I’m happy to report that Emily isn’t annoying me half as much as I worried she would on “The Bachelorette.” If anything, I just continue to be jealous of her her adorable outfits. I mean, c’mon, could she BE any cuter?! And other than super-annoying Kalon and super-pretentious Ryan, a lot of the boys are cute and great! Sean? Cuuuute. Arie? Cuuuute. John aka “Wulf”? Cuuute. I totally have crushes. Yes, plural.

This season rocks.

I loved seeing her so smitten with Arie and Chris last night. For a conservative single mama, she sure isn’t afraid to make out! But, hello, who wouldn’t be? Remember, these boys are cuuuute.

Good riddance to single-dad Tony who couldn’t bear to be away from his son for one second longer. Even though I don’t have children, I can understand how hard it must be to be away- but did someone tie you up and throw you into this reality show and force this upon you, dude? Didn’t think so. Quit whining, and go away. You’re totally ruining the cute mojo in the room.

Considering her ex was a race-car driver, I didn’t want Emily to fall for new race-car driver Arie, because that’s so cliche, right? But she so is, and now, I don’t even care. They are adorbs! And Dolly Parton made my night! Underneath all that plastic surgery, she has the biggest heart on the planet, and I just love her so much. I’ve also made note: I’m visiting Dollywood asap.

I was disappointed in Emily that she spent the majority of her cocktail party making out with the dudes she had already given roses to. What the heck, Em? That’s not Southern and charming. But the few minutes she spent away from her new boyfriends and with poor Brazilian idiot Alessandro were absolutely classic. I mean, it was clear from the get-go the guy is not for her. So it was no shock she sent him packing after his relentless “compromise” comment. Sidebar: I read this morning that there indeed was a language barrier, and he was trying to say the word “comprissimo” in his native language, which means commitment, not compromise. In other words, he was trying to express that being a father to Ricki was a commitment! Sounds a bit better than compromise, but who cares, he’s a “gypsy,” after all. The end credits of him explaining his life, that he could never even get a pet?! Classic. PS, what is a “gypsy” doing living in Minnesota, anyway?

Thank goodness she sent dancing weirdo Stevie home last night. Maybe he’s a good guy, but someone who spends his time DANCING for her girlfriends and carries a boombox everywhere probs isn’t the right guy for charming single mom Emily who takes cookies to soccer practice. Good call, Em.

Have I mentioned these guys are cute? Can’t wait for next week :)) Oh, and I have finale predictions: Arie, Chris, Doug and Sean. Why, because their cute. Duh.