Weekend Recap!

Hey hope everyone had a good weekend! It was a good weekend for us to spend in the city due to the fact that it rained and was humid and cloudy all weekend, so not even a good lake weekend!

We had the boys niece with us for the weekend, and we started out Friday late afternoon at the Uptown Art Fair. Neither of us had ever been before, so we all had a good time exploring and checking things out. We saw some fabulous art from some incredibly talented artists. There was definitely something for everyone and it was nice to see so much diversity.

We even got to sit and listen to a really good band for a while and then headed over to Bar Abilene for some dinner. Then we headed back to my place and caught Premonition with Sandra Bullock. Have you seen it? Check it out on Netflix if you get the chance.

We got up early and headed out for what we thought was going to be a really good and interesting sale. It was a 5 model home builders furniture liquidation sale. So we figured, hmmm, could be a great place to pick up some really good furniture at a great price. No such luck. And it was rainy and humid. We got there early and had the number 5 ticket, they were only letting in 10 groups of people at a time. There really was not that much to choose from, the furniture was not that great and I think it was a waste of our time and a waste of a good morning to sleep in, but oh well. After a swing into Super Target for some provisions, we took his niece to IKEA to check out what they might have for her dorm room. She was surprised by how much they had at such great prices. I remember going to the one in NJ and purchasing some items for my first place out East. They always had some great staples. We picked up a couple of surge strips and extension cords as well as some Swedish fish of course!

After we had finished up there, we decided we were ready for lunch. During her weekend with us, the boy and I decided it would be a good idea to expose his niece to some things and experiences that she may not have had before. So we took her for sushi and hibachi at a place in Minneapolis called Wasabi. It is rather new, opened about 10 months ago. It is also not far from the bridge collapse so we got to talk to our waitress about that some as well. The food was great, the boy and I really enjoyed it, not sure if the niece loved it, but she said she would be willing to try it again. One thing she really liked though was the edamame. I think that both she and the boy were surprised when I later told them that essentially what they were eating were soy beans.

We had chosen that particular restaurant due to its proximity to the next stop, which was The Mill City Museum. I had been there a while back, but had been mentioning to the boy how much I thought that he would enjoy it. It is a great museum that explains a lot about the history of Minneapolis and the mills. Both General Mills, Gold Medal Flour and Pillsbury found their homes here in Minneapolis and at one time Minneapolis was the largest flour and grain supplier in the world. We now rank 4th. It also had a great vantage point to the bridge collapse site and we were able to get a closer look at the wreckage.

After our tour of the museum, we headed over to the new Guthrie for a walk through there. There is a great feature to the new theater which is called the Endless Bridge.

We were fortunate enough to run into the wife of one of the architects who informed us that it took more steel to build that portion of the theater than it took to build the Eiffel Tower. . . .can you even imagine?

We were pretty zonked, so after a drive around the lakes, we headed back to my place for a little veg time before heading over to the countries oldest mall, Southdale (did you know that the indoor shopping mall was created here in MN? See it must be in my blood) for dinner at CPK and a movie. It was PACKED. We had bought tickets to go and see I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry, but before the previews had even started there were not TWO seats together, so after talking to management, we decided to just go and see No Reservations, where we had the last three seats together which were in the front row. See what a rainy summer day in Minneapolis will do to people? It was a great movie though, and Catherine Zeta Jones is SO pretty.

We were fortunate enough to all sleep in Sunday morning, which felt really good. I finished up reading a book, got a little work done and then we headed to Ike's for brunch. Now if you have been reading me for a while, you know what big fans the boy and I are of brunch. But during the summer we don't get out to try places too much due to the fact that we are up at the lake most weekends. I had been telling him about Ike's brunch for some time now, and he loved it.

It moved into a tie for first place in fact. A lot of food, but we had a really good time. So after dropping his niece back at her car, getting his bag packed up for the week ( we are going to try to get back on more of a regular schedule for the next few weeks where we are at my house during the week and his or the lake on the weekends, especially now with the traffic being re-routed from the bridge collapse and it looks like I will not have to travel until the end of August) we headed over to my sisters to see them and the kids for a little bit. My favorite brother in law in the whole wide world, okay, and my only one, had picked up a ton of product for me at work. I was out of pretty much everything. Oh, did I mention he works for Aveda. I can not even begin to tell you how much that comes in handy. I was trying to explain to the boy just how much money it saves me having him work there. But when I think about it, I am not even sure if I would use all of the Aveda product that I do if he didn't work there and get things for me like he does. It really is absolutely wonderful and I think my hair thanks him too. But the funny part is, the boy loves the stuff just as much. The great part is that Aveda has a new mens line. The boy loves the stuff, especially the soap. I love the Sap Moss and he was able to get me the large size, 33 oz of the shampoo and conditioner.

On our way back into the city we stopped and picked up a new printer for my house. I had been wanting a wireless one that also prints on photo paper. This is the one that I picked up. We have not had a chance to set it up yet, but I will let you know how it goes. It was all about cleaning, installing the new air conditioner for my office and kitchen last night (my place now is fully air conditioned with window units, I do not even want to see my electric bill next month) and organized for this week. Busy week, but I am sure a good one!

Hope you all had a good weekend! I was very excited to see the new addition to Chloe's family this morning and cannot wait to get more updates. I meant the addition that will be coming about 8 months or so from now, not the calling cards, but I am excited about those too!

Week in Review!

It has been quite a week and the tragedy that has struck so close to home has been consuming our news and been on the forefront of everyones minds. How grateful I am that the death tolls were not a great deal higher, we are SO blessed and lucky considering the time of day and the amount of traffic that travels over that bridge. The stories that have been coming out have been touching. Ways that fellow Minnesotans have come to the aid of others is very wonderful. I guess that is where the whole Minnesota nice comes in.

We have had an extremely busy week, the boy and I. Monday night the boy and I spent the night at my house for the first time in quite some time. It was pretty hot. . .we went to Chipotle and grabbed a couple of burritos, some chips and guac. Have you ever been to a Chipotle?

I love Mexican, and love their burritos, but I have NO idea how any one person can eat a whole one in one sitting. They are HUGE! Even the thought of one SITTING in my stomach makes me feel ILL! We got to work doing some projects at my house and getting it ready for the weekend for the boys niece.

On Tuesday we met up with J & S from wine club for a wine tasting at Tasteful Table in Stillwater, MN. We had really good time and Pam from Tasteful Table does such a wonderful job with the presentation (and taste) of her food.

It was a beautiful evening and the boy and I have been wanting to spend more time in Stillwater, it is SUCH a quaint little town right on the river. We made plans to have dinner with J & S from wine club in Stillwater again in a couple of weeks.

Wednesday it was really hot, and we had the bridge collapse, a tough day. The boy and I went to Broders Pasta Bar and had a really nice dinner. They have a great summer special where between 5 and 6 you get olives, bread, salad for two, two entrees and a a half carafe of wine for $25. The food is delicious and it is a great little place right in my neighborhood.

We worked on projects at my place some more, it is almost getting photo worthy. Do any of you have any experience with doing furniture upholstery. I have two pieces I need to have re-upholstered, but it is SO expensive, so I am wondering if I could do it myself. My cousin told me that his wife got a DVD from the library and did it herself, I am thinking about giving that a try. . . .

Last night we headed out to yet another place we had yet to try, the Edina Grill. It is in the 50th and France area, very close to my house and a great little neighborhood.

We were headed to see the premiere of Becoming Jane which opens today with Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy. I had been looking forward to this movie and it did not disappoint. A great story of love and loss and a great look into a very historical and treasured authors life. Please check it out if you have a chance.

We actually were lucky enough to be treated to a free dessert. Nummy, warm cookies with dipping sauces. Can you even imagine? Chocolate, dark chocolate chip, which chocolate and macadamia nut and snickerdoodle cookies with chocolate and raspberry mousse dipping sauces. I could get used to those. We rarely order dessert so this was such a treat! The food was also very good, we shared an appetizer of pirogies with potato and cheddar cheese and shared the chicken salad and fish and chips. The boy of course wants to go back for the meatloaf sandwich.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. The boys niece is spending the weekend with us. We are planning on heading to an art fair, brunch, Ikea and a polo match. I am sure there will be some good eats and other surprises in store as well!

Tragedy too close to home.

Last night after having a very enjoyable dinner out at a local neighborhood Italian restaurant with the boy, we were heading back to my place to get some things done in preparation for the weekend when we decided to stop into a neighborhood church rummage sale. It was about 6:00 pm. As we were leaving we heard of the bridge collapse. I live about 5 miles from the bridge and it is a main thoroughfare if I want to get up to see my parents or stop by to see my dad at work, my dad's office building is about two miles from the bridge. We called my sister to let her know what was going on and that we were okay and had to pull over for emergency vehicles to pass. It was an eerie feeling and I had goosebumps and shivers most of the night as we watched the tragedy unfold on tv.

Thank goodness all of my family and friends are safe and accounted for today, but this is likely to be a story that we will be hearing a lot about over the next couple of months here. The stories about near misses and could have beens are already coming out. As it was, the boy and I were thinking about heading to the Twins game with his parents last night, we have yet to catch a game yet this year, but we had too much to do at my house. The bridge runs right along next to the dome and his parents or the two of us could have been on the bridge at that time heading to the game. My friend J from CT lives in a building right on the Mississippi with a view of the bridge, he watched the whole thing unfold, he must take the bridge coming or going at least four times a day, I am glad that both he and his fiance are safe today and headed for Montana for a wedding.

There is a temporary information and relief center set up at a local Holiday Inn, Katie Couric is there and will be reporting from there later today. On the radio this morning, one of the local DJ's was there, reporting as he was from the scene last night, but he said the scene in the hotel this morning was worse than the scene last night, almost too much to take. I think for me too, it all brings back so many memories of 9/11 and being in the city, on a different scale of course, but tragedy is tragedy. This also brings to mind another bridge collapse that happened before I moved there, but I traveled the bridge daily, that story is here.

Thank you for all of the well wishes and thoughts and prayers, they are all greatly appreciated and while I can feel relief that my friends and family are safe, my heart goes out to those still going through this nightmare.