Category: Sundays in the City

Sundays in the city

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Happy Easter everyone! Spring has really sprung this weekend after several thunderstorms and some gorgeous sun today. Greenery poking out, flowers starting to bloom and lots of birds flitting about.

We’ve had a nice weekend, checked a few things off the wedding list, had a nice long walk, and spent some quality time with family. My nephew joyfully searched for his Easter eggs this morning – and we had a really great (as always) Easter brunch.

This morning’s brunch included:

Obligatory Easter ham, grilled by my dad
One of our favorite ways to make scrambled eggs – with asparagus and parmesan cheese – this isn’t the recipe we use, but pretty darn close!
Fruit
Pastries from one of the best bakeries in the area – Swedish Crown Bakery – which always has lovely gluten free pastries. We ended up eating ours this evening while watching reruns of The Great British Baking show.

Not a bad way to end the weekend.

A busy week ahead, but I’m ready to embrace spring – though I still need to swap out my closet so that all of my lovely spring/warm weather clothes see the light of day again! Ready for open- toed shoes, dresses without tights and lighter lipstick (busting out my Rose Lip Sheer!).

What’s your signal that spring is here? Mine is daffodils, crocuses and the lovely warm sun.

Sundays in the city

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Another week, another Sunday!

After being gone last weekend, and a busy week – it’s been a weekend of getting things in order. You know that feeling when you’ve been absent from your home and while you don’t notice it, things keep piling up? Clothes, dust, dishes, (and your fridge is empty because you haven’t been home enough to cook). Everything needs a reset.

That was much of the weekend. We’re doing a mini-Whole30 this week and I spent much of the morning at the store and prepping food for the week. My feet are tired!

As The Knot keeps reminding me – we only have XXX days until our wedding! This didn’t really stress me out until this past week when it suddenly seemed like we were behind. I know it will all get done and it will be fun and no one will notice if all the details we planned aren’t finished, but there are definitely some things that have to be done sooner rather than later.

We managed to tick off a few of those things this weekend – like getting Z’s suit, scheduling a cake tasting, eyeing up some invitations, looking at flower shops to make appointments and registering (which was really fun). I know that there is more to come, but so far – we’re just having a lot of fun.

If you’ve been married – what was your favorite registry gift? And was it something you’d registered for or something you just got?

Before I sign off for the night, a few things to check out in the Mpls/St. Paul area that are rapidly becoming favorites:

Heirloom in St. Paul – cozy, delicious food, fantastic wine list and great bartenders.
Minnesota Orchestra’s Symphony in 60 (we saw the Rite of Spring last week and I forgot how intense it is.) I have been so impressed with the way the orchestra has made a concerted effort to get people into the hall – especially now, we need to be patronizing the arts. It’s important and good for the soul.
Mucci in St. Paul – prosecco on tap, need I say more?
Baseball starts tomorrow!

Cheers to a great week – happy April!

 

Sundays in the city

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Home from a much needed weekend getaway with a few of my best friends. Returning back to your own bed and the familiarity of home after being away – even for a short time is always strangely lovely and sad at the same time.

The unpacking, the memories, the sudden panic when you realize that you’ve got a busy week ahead and it’s late on Sunday night. The laundry, the grocery shopping, all of it.

Oh well. Tomorrow is another day.

We had a great weekend in Davenport, IA – eating, drinking, laughing uncontrollably, getting pedicures and doing facial masks, watching lots of Chopped. Perfect girls weekend.

A few pictures with the promise to write more about a few of our favorite places this week!

Besties.
New toes!
A toast. (with kind of crappy champagne)
Cru – super cute wine bar!

Sunday in the city

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Z & I live right near a college and as spring break just rolled around, AND St. Patrick’s Day was on a Friday – we were fully prepared to hole up in our house to avoid the madness. It seems like most of the students had already gone home for the weekend – AMAZING. Quiet Friday night in with pad thai and a movie? Yes please.

Saturday was our date day this week. We had gotten a gift card to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum for Christmas from my folks, specifically, the Bruce Munro Winter Light installations. I never remember that we have such a great outdoor resource just under an hour away and even though we went specifically for this special exhibit, we’ll be back. The exhibit goes through April 9 – so if you haven’t been and are interested in light/sound/art and nature, you should definitely check it out.

Water Towers
Oreum

As part of our evening out, we planned to go to Excelsior for dinner afterwards and on the suggestion of a few friends, Yumi’s Sushi was where we ended up. Delicious!

Today we had the opportunity to see the National Lutheran Choir and hear some Bach in a beautiful church just downtown. The concert was lovely – and I got to see a few people I hadn’t seen in a long time from my days at SMU. Funny where life takes you sometimes.

I love that we have so many great places to visit – all in our own city! Our weekend felt more like a staycation than just an ordinary weekend and I’m ready to take on the week ahead.

If you were to do a staycation in your city – what would you do?

Sunday in the city

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Sunday night and I got my wish! It is snowing outside – and the kind of sparkly snow that you can see in the dark through the streetlights. It’s marvelous.

This was one of those weekends where you have nothing planned and then it becomes a wonderful kind of busy with friends, family and a date night. Wrapping up the weekend with a clean house, a snuggly cat* and a cup of hot tea while it snows? Lovely.

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I thought I’d share few of my favorite things over the weekend:

  • This Umbrian-Style Chicken alla Cacciatora from NY Times Cooking. We had it for a date night dinner and it was simple, tasty and elegant. Roast up some cauliflower and sauté some greens, a bottle of white wine and candles? Lovely.
  • Becoming Jane. Watched this with a girlfriend while we had pizza and bubbles. It was a darn near perfect girls night in.
  • The No 2 Plumping set from Beautycounter. Spa time!
  • This French Apple Cake from Dorie Greenspan via The Gourmet Gourmand. Full of apples, like a pastry – light and buttery with a hint of rum flavor.
  • Orange Blossom Special herbal tea from Tea Source. Deliciously orangey and ideal for a winter night.

What did you discover this weekend?

“It’s life that matters, nothing but life—the process of discovering, the everlasting and perpetual process, not the discovery itself, at all.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

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* We may also be watching The Adventures of Milo & Otis. Total nostalgia.

Sunday in the city

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Sundays are simultaneously my favorite day and my least favorite day of the weekend. To the extent that I can, I try to keep Sundays free so that I can plan meals, clean, do laundry and just be at home. But I can’t say no to breakfast or brunch with a friend, most times.

Having the time and the chance to sit and catch up with a good cup of coffee is nearly perfection – and a great way to start off the Sunday of what promises to be a full week.

There are plenty of great places for breakfast in Saint Paul. This morning I headed out with a friend to The Buttered Tin in Lowertown – and we got there just in time! But strong, hot coffee and a hearty dose of their delicious, daily preparation of smothered hash browns were the perfect start to a lazy day.

It’s been one month since I started my venture with Beautycounter and it’s really been a lot of fun. It allows me a nice balance to my regular job and an opportunity to stretch and use a skill set that I don’t normally get to use.

I’m hoping that as I continue to work towards my goals, I’ll also be able to work towards a personal goal: making a concerted effort to find time to catch up and see what my friends are up to. It’s easy to rush from one thing to the next without taking the time to do the things that fill us back up.

If the current climate in the world has provided me with any wisdom beyond the fact that your voice matters, it’s that we should all try and take time to reset and refresh. That’s the gift that we give ourselves, our significant others, our families, our colleagues and neighbors.

What fills you up? What recharges you?

For me? Cooking, reading, running, music and spending time with my family – both my blood family and my chosen family.

Time for a walk now – it’s a beautiful day today.