Monday Musings

1. This weekend I took the weekend off of social media and loved it. It was so refreshing and made me utilize my phone for the purpose of a phone - phone calls & texts. No facebook or instagram checking for this girl.  A few weeks ago I actually removed the facebook app from my phone all together and made me realize how wonderful it was. I love social media; but it is also such a time suck and it's so easy to compare your life to others and feel like you don't measure up.

2. Lins & I attended the Imagine Dragon's concert a week ago in St. Paul. It was pretty amazing & fantastic.

Trader Joe flowers are always a yes

3. Fresh flowers from Trader Joe's haves been my jam lately. Apparently purple is also my spring color of choice.

A rare coffee + St. Paul on a gorgeous spring afternoon

4. In full transparency my love addiction for lattes, mochas and 'fancy coffee' has gotten a little out of control in the last year. Gone are the days were I would enjoy a latte here and there with a friend at Caribou. In the last year the addiction increased and it was becoming a 3-4 time a week occurrence. After much thought my roomie and I decided that drastic action was needed on our part and we decided to take a 6 week coffee shop fast. We did add a few 'rules' in to our fast but for the most part no grabbing coffee before work or just for the much need 'pick me up' only grabbing coffee if it facilitated community and friendship.  It's now been a month and I have started to like regular brewed coffee pot coffee (with flavored creamer of course) and have forced myself to be more creative with coffee and teas.

The rare mocha and lattes are more of a treat now instead of a necessity. I'm hoping once the fast is over I will be able to practice better self control where Starbucks, Caribou and Dunn Bros are concerned.

5. My beloved North Dakota State Bison were in the NCAA basketball tournament this past weekend. They lost right before the Sweet 16 but it was certainly exciting to see them on national television playing ball. With that said my bracket is not a complete bust quite yet and my final four are still in the game.

Weekending + Fall Idea House Inspiration

Today brought the 'official' beginning of fall, I can't believe summer is winding down but I am still loving the warm days & cool nights that we have been experiencing. The weekend was filled with fall inspiration, walks (with a waterfall), cups of tea in the evening (it's tea season!) and college football with my beloved Bison. 

Saturday my mom & I headed to the Bachman's Idea House. Bachman's decorates the Bachman family house in the fall, for christmas & spring. Ever since my co-worker told me about the Idea house I have wanted to visit. I loved the Idea house and plan on attending during the seasons as it was so fun and I loved being inspired by everything -- it was like walking into a pinterest house. 

Love me some succulents and this fireplace makes want a fireplace some day - even if it's a fake fireplace.

Gourds and pumpkins make my heart go a flutter. The gardens also had fun vegetables interspersed around the flowers and it looked beautiful. 

How did you spend your weekend?

Water Falls + Juicy Lucys

Last weekend I had several friends arrived from all over the United States + Japan for Shelby's wedding. For months we had been planning activities for their arrival.  One evening we went to dinner in St. Paul, the Renaissance Festival on a weekend and Monday morning we found ourselves heading to Minnehaha Falls. I always enjoy a chance to play tourist in this beloved state of mine and it doesn't matter that I have visited the falls numerous times I always treasure my trips. 

To end the perfect day at Minnehaha Falls we visited the 5-8 Club for Juicy Lucy burgers. Juicy Lucy's are the Minnesota 'burger' and are a cheese burger that is stuffed with cheese vs. having the cheese on the outside. They were delicious but I think I may still prefer a regular cheese burger. But now and then a juicy lucy is a great treat. 

A Red Barn Wedding

This past weekend I was able to stand up next to one of my best friends as she married her best friend. The wedding took place in Minnetrista, MN at Gale Woods Farm. The ceremony took place over looking Whaletail Lake a mere two hundred feet away from the barn were the reception was taking place.  The day ended up being a bit cooler than everyone anticipated but made for gorgeous pictures with cloud cover but as the ceremony began the sun came out right in time. 

The cakes were delicious the grooms cake was a spice cake with honey & cream cheese frosting topped with marzipan apples. The other cake was a vanilla buttercream with raspberries I have it on good authority that the spice cake was the best. 

The details were amazing and put together so well. Cute paper straws for hibiscus tea before the ceremony, fresh farmers market flower in mason jars, and escort cards were written on leaves pinned to apples. 

Since the day was on the chilly side there were flannel shirts available by the fire for guests who were chilly. A cute 'I do' and 'We Did' sign helped point guests in the right direction.

As good as the food was and as perfect as the details were the best part of the day was spending it with those I love and dancing the night away. 

See ya at the Fair!

Happy Sunday! 

I'm headed out to the great Minnesota Great Together today aka the Minnesota State Fair. 

This is by far one of my favorite Minnesota events and I typically go several times a year. 

More on my fair adventures later but if you want to pop in and see what I am doing (or eating!) head on over to my instagram.

Laughing Falls & Sebastian Joe's

Yesterday I meet a dear friend in St. Paul for her last wedding dress fitting. It was wonderful and amazing being with her as she tried on her dress for one of the last times before her wedding day in September. After the fitting we headed to Minnehaha falls to grab a snack and walk around the falls. 

At the top of the falls in Minnehaha park there is Sea Salt Eatery that serves among other things Sebastian Joe's ice cream. We each got a scoop of Spamoni Ice Cream. This spamoni ice cream was almost a 'Minnesota' version if you would, it was delectable and amazing. The spamoni was almond, lemon, orange ice cream with apricots & slivered almonds -- and delectable and tasted a little bit like what I imagine heaven tasting like. 

Also a Sebastian Joe's trip (or eating their ice cream -- if you want to be technical) was on my summer bucket list!

An evening spent with a dear friend walking around Minnehaha Falls while eating amazing ice cream makes that a pretty perfect Monday in this girls book. 

Minneapolis Bachelorette Party + Celebrity Sightings

What a weekend. Most of my weekend was pretty laid back & not blog worthy - dinner & shopping dates with friends, church and a lovely Sunday afternoon nap. So not blog worthy but still the makings of a great weekend.

Saturday I did attend my sweet friend Shelby's bachelorette party. We started the party at the Renaissance Depot Minneapolis hotel and played in the pool as we waited for the rest of the girls to join us. 

We enjoyed girl talk + wine spritzers. I know wine spritzers are so simple but delicious and add a few fresh berries & a cute paper straw & it's fancy right?

We hung around the hotel for a little while & then headed to The Union rooftop for a late dinner & drinks. We all wore cowboy hats around downtown.

Apparently The Union is the place to be. While there we saw two celebrities: Dave Dahl (local weather forecaster - fancy yes?) and Tommy Lee. The bride to be actually got a picture with Tommy. In the elevator before I knew who Tommy was we made awkward elevator small talk about about how we were at a bachelorette party and all had to wear cowboy hats, etc and Tommy laughed and joked that he was our stripper for the evening. 

The bachelorette party was so much fun, I loved getting to see friends and make new friends. I can't wait to see everyone again at the wedding and dance the night away. This also maybe the closest claim to fame for meeting a celebrity that I ever get.

Dinner in St. Paul + Pink Roses

Last week I meet a friend for dinner and a walk in the como area of St. Paul. It ended up being a gorgeous and relaxing evening at the Finnish Bistro with wine, good food and sunny skies. We spent the entire evening sitting on the patio {which so happens to be on summer bucket list}. 

Beautiful sunny patio

Ivy covered lamp and pizza + wine

We even found a cute painted piano that we played on. 

---

This sweet vase of wild pink roses has been sitting on my kitchen table all week. I love that these came right from the yard.

Summer Bucket List

Summer is still trying to make it's way to Minnesota but that does not stop me from dreaming of summer, sunshine and warm toasty days in need of air conditioning. 

What is on your summer bucket list?

Scenes from a Weekend

As usually is the case, I need another weekend to recover from my weekend. 

With that being said I had a wonderful weekend. Saturday I attended an all day outdoor Christian music festival called Joyful Noise. There were great headliners of Big Daddy Weave, Jeremy Camp, Tenth Avenue North and Third Day - it was amazing. 

The weather was pretty overcast but I still managed to get sunburned in the process - but it was worth it. Some day I will learn + remember to bring sunscreen. 

Sunday was a busy day again with church + teaching and a wedding meeting at Dunn Bros {for a wedding I am coordinating at church}.

The garden is finally blooming and I am loving the pops of color especially with dreary rainy days that we have had so often. I am looking forward to my vegetable garden growing and producing harvest. 

What are you looking forward to these days?

A Lovely Week

The past week was a blur.  I spent Tuesday-Friday in a training class. Surprisingly class was so wonderful and I learned so many new techniques for my daily job and am so happy I attended. I was also extremely impressed with the banquet staff and all of the tasty treats they served for breakfast and snacks. 

The creative foods were a must after sitting from 8:30-5pm listening to lectures and group work. I am also certain I doubled my intake of caffeine sitting in that class all week long - and I had been doing so well skipping pop + coffee. 

Friday evening I celebrated my dear friend Nae on her graduation. The day was rainy but cleared up by evening. The graduation party was held at a fun outdoor park which was so colorful and fun plus great for her many nieces & nephews to keep busy at. 

A spur of the moment Cup and Cone date with Ms. Amanda Sue was a perfect ending to a busy but lovely week. 

Lovely Minnesota. I heart thee.

What a wonderful week & weekend - ready to embrace Monday and a few week with a clean slate. 

A Change of Pace

Oh my long time and no blog.

After two more snow storms that left it looking more like December than April spring has finally come to Minnesota. Now that I am able to experience the 60s & 70 temps again I am actually thankful for the last few snowfalls we had this year.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend. I wore flip-flops, capris, tank tops and sunglasses, sat on patios and soaked in the goodness. I loved airing out the house and having the windows & screen doors open all weekend.

Life is beautiful friends, no doubt about it.

So overjoyed that springtime is here. 

How did you spend your weekend? 

Candlelight Snowshoeing, Split Rock + Goosebury

As I am heading out this weekend for another fun weekend getaway and it's finally turning into spring in Minnesota I thought I should share my past adventures in February (finally).

L and I headed way up north in February for a fun weekend getaway in the snow. We visited Two Harbors along the way, then spent some time in Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock. 

{Gooseberry Falls}

Saturday Afternoon L and I visited Gooseberry falls - the falls were not much to see as the fresh snow fall for Fridays storm covered the frozen falls. We did wander down by the lake shore and marveled at the crashing waves.

Lovely snow covered trees

{Snowshoeing by Candlelight}

Saturday evening L and I went snowshoeing at Split Rock - it was a lot of fun. It was also a lot of work - we hiked 3 miles

{Split Rock Lighthouse}

Sunday morning we headed back to Split Rock State Park to take in the grounds.

We hiked over to a beautiful island - an island that usually is inaccessible in the summer months. The island was beautiful and full of little rock pools, crashing waves and a stunning view of Split Rock lighthouse.

I loved the ice crusted rocks and round ice 'pebbles' littering the shore everywhere.