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I am having a birthday very soon and one way to celebrate is to have a coupon code running in my shop. It's 25% off your entire purchase. All you need to do is is enter code: BDAY25 in the coupon field upon checkout and it will be deducted. The offer is good until Oct. 23rd. Thank you Thank you! I love having a birthday, I'm so grateful for so many things!
I would very much appreciate it if you stopped into my shop and had a look around!
~~~~~~Have a Wonderful Day~~~~~~
I was lucky enough to be picked as Lady Geek of the Week over at Being Geek Chic.
I would love it if you stopped by! You should also browse around more of the blog for fashion ideas and Geeky recipes! I'm so glad I have a new fabulous blog to explore!
As my exploration of Minnesota Wineries continues, I find that I am surprised how each seems to be a different experience. My visit to Parley Lake Winery included seeing llamas, tractor rides, a band and someone making pizzas in the back of an old fire truck(which I didn't get a picture of...boo!) I might add the Frontenac wine=YUM. I also very much enjoyed all the white wines they made. I seem to like white wine in the summertime quite a bit.
This past weekend I went and spent the day at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It is in Chanhassen, MN. A little town about 45 minutes from where I live in the city that was recently on the list of best small towns in America. It is a very pretty area with green as far as the eyes can see and it is of course, home to the arboretum. Which is a HUGE and beautiful place. There were no fewer than 6 weddings being set up there on Saturday. Totally understandable as each area is like walking into a different sort of fairy tale. We took a lunch and a camera and ran around the grounds. They are setting up the new scuplture garden and there was also an art crawl. I do like to pretend I am in another world on occasion(that occasion is not really very rare) as that is just the sort of fruit cake I am. But it really is worth a visit. If nothing else you can exhuast your children out there. Bring water and you can mostly certainly get a tremendous work out by walking the grounds. But they also offer tours for those who prefer a more leisurely way.
BATGIRL!!!
One of my absolute favorite things about Minnesota is nature is everywhere. You can live in the city but within a mile not feel like you do. Hidden away just a few miles from my home and just off a highway is the Westwood Hills Nature Center. A little green gem in the midst of a busy neighborhood. It's an easy hike around the lake. It's quiet and full of birds and dragonflies. So when you've had "one of those days," you can head over there for a bit of peace.
Some random shots from my phone of happy things the last week or so!
It's something of a secret that Minnesota has lots of old homes and mansions of historical value. There were a lot of business pioneers who took up residency here and built impressive and artistically significant homes throughout the Midwest. One of my favorites is the American Swedish Institute in the Turnblad Mansion. It's even been visited by the King and Queen of Sweden.
Recently, they have been host to monthly parties and I got to attend one. It was pretty great and the night was lovely. They had food, drinks, music, Swedish glass blowing demonstrations as well as the Swedish game Kubb.
When it gets warm in the Twin Cities, people garden like mad. They are fantastic at it here. I think Minnesotans have a special appreciation for growing things since we live without them for so many months out of the year. One of the best examples of the green thumbs that abound is the Lyndale Rose Gardens. This place is magical. The whole area is beautiful most of the year but boy, when those roses bloom there's nothing like it here!
For 14 years now I've been attending CONvergence. A sci-fi/fantasy convention here in the Twin Cities. It's sort of amazing to look back over the years and reflect upon all the things I've done and seen there. I've hosted huge room parties (I'll have to post about that later), I've seen shows, met writers including Neil Gaiman, Emma Bull and Will Shetterly, gone to panels with fascinating people, danced till the wee hours of the morning. CON is bigger than it's ever been. I'd go as far to say it's outgrown the hotel it's currently in. Which is both wonderful as the acceptance of geekery has really grown and somewhat bittersweet as I am fond of the hotel it's in: DoubleTree, as it holds many happy memories for me. I want to see CON continue to grow. The Geek Scene, as it were, here in the Twin Cities deserves more note then it currently recieves. The cities are filled with writers, artisits, film makers, scientists, gamers, cosplayers, etc...of every imaginable and unimaginable world.
It's always over the Fourth of July weekend. Of course, that meant a British Invasion theme sooner or later.
And since, Dr. Who has never been more popular it seems like it was good to happen this year.
Perhaps the last place you'd think to find sharks and sting rays is probably a mall. And if you did think they might be there you might think they were stuck in some awful, small place. Now, it's true they don't have the whole ocean to be in anymore but, many of these animals are rescues and they are brought to their new home at the Mall of America in Minnesota of all the places in the world! I was taken here for a friend's birthday and was pleasantly surprised by how well-kept and extensive this place is- it was really a cool experience. It sits at the very bottom of the Mall of America. The place, MN Sea Life, offers great deals for exploring too. If you find yourself at the mall which, honestly, when you live here doesn't happen often, you should stop in. Leave yourself about 90 minutes to get through and explore. It was nice to be reminded that even though the mall might seem sort of silly sometimes it still offers some unique places to visit.
I've decided to explore all the wineries in Minnesota. I've been to two now. So I'm just at the start as there are over 40 in the state. The one I just went to Woodland Hill Winery out in Delano, Minnesota was a really nice and relaxing experience. We spent a couple of hours out there just tasting and drinking wine as well as wandering around the grounds. It is very well put together and has been open for almost 10 years. They host private events too. They had two dogs running around whom I adored. Syrah spent sometime with me after we made friends.
I have found that I always like the strawberry wines. I'm sure that's not "sophisticated" but well, what are you going to do?
I thought I would share with you a few new pieces available in my shop. Please stop by!
They Might be Giants might very well be the ultimate in GEEKY music. I adore them. I went to their show here in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. I've seen them before it's always lots of fun and of course, singing along. Pushing Daisies is one of my favorite shows ever and who could forget this: Birdhouse in Your Soul. Here are some little snaps from the show!
Something I've wanted to go do during the summer the last few years was to go play the Artist Designed Mini-Golf at the Walker Sculpture Garden. I've always missed it. This year I finally was able to go and I had a lot of fun. Some of the holes are super hard and make you laugh as you try to make it under par. It's also apparently in it's 25th year. I had no idea! I love that summer seems to bring out so much creativity in Minnesota. It must be that we finally see the sun a bit!
This is the 3rd year of Northern Spark and I had not been able to make it to the first two years, much to my disappointment. But I went this year and oh my, I loved it. I didn't make it till sunrise but I'm going to try again next year. All the projects and people and food and positive energy! Snacking on the railroad tracks, listening to the river, launching glow in the dark water balloons....eeeeeeppppp! It was so much fun! I didn't get nearly enough pictures!
Something I am trying to make a tradition is going to Minnehaha Falls here in Minneapolis each spring. It is such a beautiful place and the walk/hike to the river is enchanting. Last year the bridge where the creek and river meet was under water. You can see those pictures here: Minnehaha Falls. The next thing I need to do is go for a visit in winter. I've seen some amazing pictures of the falls being frozen.
Take in the beauty of the waterfall. Walk the path, see a tiny fairy forest, make tiny friends and even see a gnome mushroom house on your way to the mighty Mississippi River. Go Visit!
A second round of photos from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, See Here. The Art in Bloom event is wonderful. The whole musuem is really. Check out their website and follow their instagram for daily inspiration.
A few weeks ago I went to my fourth Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It's such a beautiful place and well-put together. It gets bigger and bigger each year.
Art in Bloom is an event in which local florists come and create arrangements inspired by the pieces in the museum. There are always a lot that I adore so, I'll post photos twice from this event. ENJOY!
The last four years or so, I've gone to the Macy's flower show that happens in the Spring time. It usually means spring has begun. Well, even though it was beautiful and temperate in the show it was snowing outside! It was a nice, little escape.
