The Countdown is On!

Well, to begin, I am slightly disappointed in myself for going over three weeks without a post.  Mostly, work has been keeping me quite busy and increasing my stress levels.  Throw that in with my increasing excitement to get out of the city and back home, and you've got the perfect recipe for distraction.  Anyway, I've finally got my inspiration to sit down at the table and get writing, after all it's one of the things that soothes me the most.

Not that I need excuses, but it has also been an extremely rainy and wet June, so I have been limited to a lot of inside activities lately, too.  My favorite walking route, around Lake of the Isles, is still flooded forcing me to walk on the bike path and dodge the intense bikers who fail to obey the newly added "Share the path" signs!  The river is also raging.  Just last weekend, my parents were in town for the weekend and we spent Saturday morning at the Mill City Farmer's Market and along the Mississippi River at the Stone Arch bridge.  I always enjoy the farmer's market, between admiring the stacks of fresh produce, the savory scents and the people watching, I could sit there all morning and be perfectly content.  And, to no surprise, my favorite site was that of the blooming peonies. 

I absolutely love this photo I took.  It reminds me of all the little stands and shops throughout Europe with their chalkboard price lists and stunning, fresh-picked blooms.  From the farmer's market we walked on towards the Stone Arch Bridge to capture the wonder of the rushing river.  As we stood there in awe of the sheer power and force, we were refreshed by the mist hitting our warm faces. As incredible as the site was, I do hope the rain will soon subside. 

 

The rain was not, however, an excuse to hold me back from experiencing new foodie adventures and crossing off new restaurants from my checklist.  From sushi to savory waffles, I've been quite busy over the past few weeks (my bank account can unfortunately attest to it, too!).  Being an uptown girl, with a desire to consistently try new things, taste a variety of foods, and simply experience all there that the area offers can be a little bit taxing on the wallet.  On the bright side, it's actually led me to start a budget and be more responsible about my spending and more importantly about my savings.  Anyway, back to the good stuff, I don't even know where to start.  I'd love to post photos of all the delicious tastes, but I think that would be a bit excessive.  So, here's my favorite.  An out of the box creation for sure, this savory asparagus, parmesan and quinoa waffle from Birchwood Cafe was topped with rhubarb jalapeno marmalade, lemon pepita butter, pepitas, bacon lardoons, a sunny-side up egg, maple syrup, powdered sugar.

 

Not only was it picture-worthy (I joked with my two best girl friends that I had to order it simply for the photo), but it was also unexpectedly delicious.  Mitch and I also checked out Amore Victoria a couple of weeks back and shared an app and entrée.  It was a bit of a chaotic, unorganized experience with the wait staff, likely due to the bike race happening that evening, but none the less the food was still delicious, even if it came to us out of order.  The Tortellacci alla Panna was phenomenal, highly recommended, but my favorite was the free chocolate cake we received for dessert!  Another notable new restaurant to recommend is Kiku Bistro, formerly Mt. Fuji Sushi, on Hennepin Avenue.  They had a fantastic happy hour, I enjoyed a delicious sake sangria, along with excellent prices on rolls allowing me to try an assortment of their unique menu.  And of course, I've enjoyed a few rooftop drinks this summer, too.  My favorite was the mojito at Stella's, mostly because it was sipped over great conversation catching up with an old college roommate.  Those times are truly the best, it reminds me of how lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life!

 

As the title may have indicated, I am beyond excited to get home for the 4th of July holiday!  I've been a bit overwhelmed in the last few weeks, but I know the second I breathe in the fresh air of home, a huge weight will be lifted off my shoulders.  Only three more sleeps, as my mom puts it, until I am on the lake, with family & friends, appreciating the glorious place I call home.  I can't wait to sleep in absolute darkness and quiet, and to enjoy the picturesque beauty of the North where I am continually reminded to be grateful for all that I have.  My small town roots will always prevail, but I've learned that living in the big city can sometimes distract me from the important things in life, especially when I get wrapped up in all the things to do and see.  I'm mostly looking forward to getting back into balance and remembering what things are truly the most important in life. 

 

Hopefully I haven't ranted on too much about my need to get out of the city, but I promise my next post will be coming much sooner.  By this time next week, I will be ready to write so that I can relive all of the fantastic moments of my trip home.  I hope you all have a fantastic holiday weekend!

Kicking Off: Summertime in the City

And just like that we have moved from spring to summer, or did we actually even see spring at all?  Welcome to Minnesota.  The weather has warmed up, but unfortunately with that came a lot of rain and humidity.  I succumbed quickly to the stickiness and I've already had my AC window unit installed. I also chose to get six inches of my hair chopped off in efforts to have a low-maintenance summer hairstyle.  Needless to say, I am ready for summertime in the city. 

Being a working girl, my summer plans are far less extravagant than in years past, but I'm looking forward to the spontaneity which will inevitably ensue.  Whether it be unplanned trips to the beach, catching an unexpected show at the Harriet bandshell, or running into friends on Stella's rooftop, I'm anxious to see what's in store.  Plus, there are so many different festivals, shows and activities right at my fingertips, I doubt I will ever find myself bored.  In fact, I've  already checked out two local festivals.  A couple of weekends ago, we braved the rain showers to sample a few brews at the City Pages Beer Festival.  The rain  didn't hold us back from bopping from tent to tent tasting an interesting array of craft beers.  

I am always fond of a decent porter or stout, but I enjoyed some of the refreshing flavor combinations and lighter varieties for summer, too. One of my favorites was a grapefruit variety, perfectly light, all it was missing was an afternoon out on the lake!  We finished off our beer tasting experience with some delicious pulled pork and carnitas tacos from the Rusty Taco food truck. 

This past weekend, I was out for lunch with a close friend and we happened to stumble upon another summer festival, the Edina Art Fair.  We planned for lunch at Turtle Bread in the Linden Hills neighborhood, where I had a delicious Turkey and Brie panini, which really hit the spot on a somewhat chilly Saturday afternoon. After checking out the bakery and eyeing up the red velvet cupcakes, we decided we'd scope out the neighborhood first, before returning for dessert. 

We first stepped into Brown & Greene Floral and I was instantly drawn back into my dreams of owning my own floral shop.  I got a chance to speak with the owner of the adorable, high end shop and she assured me that I was wise in waiting to tackle this dream.  She reminded me of the competitive nature of the industry and advised that I continue to take opportunities to grow my experience level.  She also offered up some dessert samples, salted caramel brownie bites from France 44, which unfortunately altered our plans of returning to Turtle Bread for cupcakes, but were oh so rich, chocolately and delectable! 

I realized we weren't too far from 50th and France, a fun boutique-y area in Edina, so I suggested that we walk that direction to mosey through some of the shops.  Much to my surprise, the streets were lined with tents and people...turns out it was the Edina Art Fair.  We were in no hurry at all, so we spent the rest of our afternoon ogling at decor and fine jewelry that we could only dream of one day owning. 

Some of my favorite works at the festival were the various unique pottery pieces, especially the creative floral containers and vases.  With my background in floral design, it's neat to see different containers that may not typically be used in conventional arrangements.  I also fell in love with all of the photography exhibits with their frames and canvases of various European destination cities and landmarks.  I wanted to take it all home with me to adorn my apartment walls and act as a constant reminder of my days in Italy.  Then there was the sea glass jewelry, I am always a sucker for sea glass.  That's one of my favorite parts of visiting the North Shore, combing the beaches for agates and sea glass to add to my collection.  Trying on the unique jewelry also brought me instantly back to the "Wine and Walleye Festival" in Ashtabula, OH a couple of summers ago.  It always amazes me how the little things like a simple necklace, can really strike up the memory and bring you back to another time in an instant, complete with the vivid details.  I guess I'm thankful for that ability because that recollection put a little smile on my face.

Sunday was spent in preparation for one of my first big events with my job, working a golf tournament. Mitch suggested we get 18 holes in, so we headed to MaltTees Mini Golf & Malt Shop.  Ok, ok...I was being slightly sarcastic saying "Sunday was spent in preparation," it was more or less ironic that we chose to mini golf on the day before the tournament.  MaltTees was ok, not the highest quality course, but it was fun for a Sunday afternoon.  And now I've just added another activity to my list of things to do when I'm home - mini golfing at Pier 77 on Lake Vermilion.

I've still got a few weeks before I head North, and I'm getting more and more anxious for some time away from the city.  My dad has been fueling my excitement by sending me some snaps of the great outdoors, sites that will likely never be seen in my uptown neighborhood.  Although I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of nature surrounding the lakes, especially Lake of the Isles, but that still doesn't compare to the heartwarming site of a spotted fawn snuggled up in the weeds.  My parents have also had another visitor lately, a thief in the night, a black bear has been spending a lot of time foraging for bird seed at the feeder just off our deck.  I suggested that dad take out his trail cam and put it to good use, and sure enough he captured some neat photos of the creature pawing at the feeder at 2:00am.  When I glanced at the photos, I was honestly more scared of the fact that the temperature read 39 degrees over the fact that a bear is becoming a frequent visitor to our backyard!

The summer has has already been enjoyable and I'm looking forward to all of the exciting things to come.  In just three shorts weeks, I will be northbound for a long 4th of Juy weekend filled with my favorite traditions while also making new memories, too!