Minnesota Monday, The Bell Museum

I've been looking at travel sites to find out things there are to do in the Twin Cities that I don't know about already. Turns out there is a fair amount of places to visit. One of the newer to me places I went recently was The Bell Museum of Natural History. It is a dusty, strange place filled with taxidermy from the era when people believed it was the only way to teach others about the wildlife of the world. I have to say I am glad that is not the case anymore. The museum is on the U of MN grounds which is pretty nice area. There are lots of bars and unique places to eat. I think that these smaller, odd places are what make a city unique and are always worth a visit.

Throwback Thursday, READY FOR SUMMER!!

I came across these photos from about 5 years ago or so from a day that I went to the Stone Arch Bridge Festival and then started to explore the area. You can climb down to the banks for the Mississippi River and see some of the mill ruins. Mostly I was wishing for green trees and sunshine as it as very gloomy here. Not what you really want for May Day. But we hold out hope.

Easter Snap Shots

I've been out of town most of the last week so my post today will be of my Easter Sunday out on Lake Minnetonka after a brunch at French Meadow. Have a lovely week!

The Secret Garden

You can spend so many hours wishing you were somewhere else. Adventure seems miles away and imagination awash in beige walls. Windows filled with daydream clouds drift in and out of the crystal blue sky leading the way to a magic filled world. If only you knew the right path to take or could find the right key or mystical vase to open the portals. The giants sleep and wait for your arrival and the Queen of the Fairies beckons you to her.....

Throwback Thursday, More Wanderlust, Split Rock Lighthouse

A few years ago, my significant other and I went on an anniversary trip to Duluth, Minnesota. Duluth is an astonishingly beautiful place and is visited by 3 million tourists every year. It sits on the gorgeous rocky shores of Lake Superior. I fell immediately love with Duluth on my first trip there about 14 years ago and I was so very pleased to return. One of the must see things up north is the Split Rock Lighthouse. It is a historic landmark on tree laden land on which you can picnic and explore. I hope to see more of Northern Minnesota this summer. The Midwest is a wondrous land of hidden trails, greenery, animals and stories. One of the famous stories is that of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Lake Superior is blue and filled with endless beauty but it can also be very dangerous. You learn a fast respect for water living in Minnesota. You also fall madly in love with it.

Blood Moon

I have no doubt the internet runneth over with posts about the eclipse from last night. It is pretty amazing. Here are some pics from my backyard and snaps from my SkyView App. which I think is an amazing application. You can read about the Blood Moon Eclipse here on the NASA website. Plus, if I read correctly MARS was as close as it gets too. Pretty fantastic! 

Minnesota Monday-Snapshots around the City.

This is a collection pics from my phone from places I've visited the last couple of weeks. I didn't take enough pictures at each place to warrant a full post but they still deserve a mention. Especially since you can just see cool things in the most random of places or end up having a cocktail in a place you never go. Or sitting for an hour in the kids section reading storybooks with your friend.

The city is starting to thaw out. Here is Cedar Lake. On the horizon you can see a bit of downtown Minneapolis.

The city is starting to thaw out. Here is Cedar Lake. On the horizon you can see a bit of downtown Minneapolis.

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These two pictures are from the outside of Dreamhaven Books. A place I love but have not visited in a good long time. It used to be walking distance from my apartment and open everyday. It's a bit further away now in a much cooler space and it keeps unusual hours. It is full of books, comics and collectibles and most notably an extensive selection of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean work.

Fellow comic addict Emily sits on the Batman bench outside the store.

Fellow comic addict Emily sits on the Batman bench outside the store.

A visit to the Barnes and Noble Calhoun with my friend Lindsey to do "research" on storybooks. Especially our favorite author Mo Willems.

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My favorite pizza at Punch Pizza, the Gigi. I love to have lunch here and wander around the shops a bit.

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I recently had my hair colored and cut at a new place and this was in the lobby of the Lyn-Lake Building where the salon is located. I like seeing things in unexpected places.

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More thawing on the lake. I am getting out and walking more now that it's not freezing. I love being on the look out for the return of birds and animals. I am dying to see some greenery.

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A beautiful light installation at The Living Room in the The W Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. I've had drinks here before and they are so very unique and well put together. It's not easy to find a perfectly crafted cocktail but they do good work here.

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A bit of a dark snap but you get the point of the impressive size of selection at the bar in the Monte Carlo in the Warehouse District of downtown. Definitely not somewhere I would normally go especially since I do not eat meat but I am glad we stopped in. The bartender was very nice and poured a great St. Germain cocktail and sidecar. 

Enjoy your week! I am going to keep an eye out and an ear open for seeing and doing things I don't normally do. It's always a very pleasant way to spend your days and evenings. Cannot wait to have some trees to sit under too!

Minnesota Monday, RAWR Edition!

So, the Science Museum of Minnesota is currently hosting the COOLEST dinosaur exhibit. It is called ULTIMATE DINOSAURS. Sorry about the capital letters but it is VERY EXCITING! There was only one dinosaur that I had ever seen before. They were all new to me which blew my mind. I used to be quite the dinosaur expert. NO more I tell you. The genus has changed completely with so many new and exciting discoveries. The world is such a wonder filled place. You really should see this exhibit if you can. Some of the discoveries are as recent as 1991.

Minnesota Monday, A Second Visit to MN Sea Life

I have posted about Mn Sea Life once before. I went on my second visit there and I decided it deserved another post because it's just so cool. I appreciate places like this because I would not get to see so many of these creatures nor learn about them and at this point in our world I wonder if these are the only places they'll get to live. They are so beautiful.

To Be Surrounded By Art

I had been wanting to check out the Third Thursday event at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and kept having plans on the nights they would happen. I managed to get to one last week and I just love going to the museum. I will probably post hundreds of pictures from museums in my life. Here are some snaps from around the museum as the celebration was for the Matisse exhibit that is in town.

Minnesota Monday, Northern Vineyards Winery

Our first winery trip of the year took place at Northern Vineyard Winery in Stillwater, MN. This one is different because you don't actually go to the winery. They have a store front on the main street of the town. It is a very cute place, the whole town that is-we tried the most wines we've ever tried in one place-11 different tastings. My favorite, Yellow Moccasin we also shared a bottle of with family while we were there. The hostess was very knowledgable and full of energy except she rushed everyone along. We ended up telling her we wanted to slow down because she was going really fast. Fine for most people but not for me. Stillwater is a wonderful little place, stop in for a glass of wine next time you are in town.

Girly Geek Chics

A few more customer photos of pieces I made ! Love getting pictures of them!

What to Eat Wednesday, French Meadow Bakery and Cafe

Truth be told I don't go here very often, I would say once every 3 months. BUT every time I do I am very happy with my visit. French Meadow Bakery and Cafe has been in Minneapolis for some time. It is one of the first places I ever had vegan food here. The food is so good. The quality is really unmistakeable. The breads are hardy, the coffee is top quality and the Vegan Rose Cake is one of my favorites around town(THE FROSTING!) It gets very busy on the weekends so I try to visit during the work week. I love the Classic Vegan Breakfast with hemp toast. I adore vegan breakfast so I'm pretty particular about how I like mine. They do an excellent job. It's an earthy breakfast with thick vegan sausage patties, hashbrowns, toast (with homemade style preserves) and tofu. It is a little more expensive than some of the places I visit but the food is really very good quality.

Minnesota Monday, Fairy Gardens!

Another little report on happenings at one of my favorite places the MN Landscape Arboretum. They currently have fairy gardens on display in the main building. The shop is chock full of adorable things to make your own garden too. Look at all the adorable!

Minnesota Monday, My First Time Snowshoeing

I have to admit that I really hope this is the last time I have snow pictures to post on my blog until December. But with Minnesota weather you just never know. I went snowshoeing for the first time a few days ago. Something I've been wanting to try for a while. It's quite the workout but I enjoyed it a great deal and I will be doing it again when there is more snow. Which there will be! At least it's above zero, we must appreciate these things here in the Frozen North. The MN Landscape Arboretum has both groomed trails and ungroomed trails for snowshoers. I did both. They also have trails for cross country skiers. If you need to get outdoors, this is a good place to do it. I love the Arboretum. I can't wait to go back in a couple of months when it will be filled with flowers.

Minnesota Monday, St. Croix Vineyard

I only just realized I had pictures from my visit to St. Croix Vineyard from October. I had gone out there on my birthday weekend for the wine festival they were having. We had a great time but it was super crowded and it started to rain so we did not get to explore the grounds as much as I wanted. I want to go back when it's warmer. It's located in the town of Stillwater, Minnesota -a place I LOVE to visit when it's warm. The river is so beautiful and antique shopping there is AMAZING. They have a pretty big operation that includes a huge shop of apple goods. Including vegan apple pastries and vegan apple crumble. My favorite of the wines we had there was the Vignole and we brought home a bottle of the raspberry dessert wine which we had Christmas night and it was super yummy.

What To Eat Wednesday, Jasmine 26

This is one of my favorite places. It is Jasmine 26. It is an elegant Vietnamese restaurant and bar. It is very vegan friendly and the food is wonderful. They also serve some of my favorite drinks in Minneapolis, such as the Pom Bomb (a pomegranate martini) and a Ginger Fizz (homemade ginger ale, gin). My absolute favorite appetizer dish is served here, Salt and Pepper tofu which even my hardcore carnivore friends agree is delicious. Have a look at some of the dishes. Some of which are served beautifully. It's nice to have a fancier place to go for holidays and such. A lot of vegan places are not very dressy. And I like to dress up.

Everything I've had here has been fantastic. I really cannot recommend it enough.

Minnesota Monday, Little India Grocery

I would like to share with you today another place that I don't go to often but when I do I am so happy I did. I told you about United Noodle Grocery which is a great place for Asian foods. Well, Little India is a wonderful place for Indian treats. They have TONS of vegan treats and many of them are clearly labeled. It's a good thing I don't make it here too often since so much of the food is so rich. But there is so much to pick from and they have an extensive offering of spices too. You should certainly stop in if you are looking for something different to try.

The Glamorous What to Eat Wednesday

My boyfriend has a strongly held belief that a bad vegan donut is better than no vegan donut. Since we lost the wonderful Donut Cooperative getting a vegan donut in the Twin Cities was no easy task, if achievable at all. Imagine the delight of vegans all over Minneapolis and the joy of people trying to eat less animal products during their New Year's resolution when the tremendously adorable Glam Doll Donuts announced they had added vegan donuts to the menu. They added them to the menu about a month ago in which time we've been in to have them 4 times but on the fourth time they were sold out(good for them, bad for me)!! Thus I learned no vegan donut was indeed a very sad state of affairs. I have liked them all, at least to certain degrees. I am still skeptical on the peanut butter sriracha donut. 

The dark chocolate topping is OUT OF THIS WORLD that they created for many of the other donuts. In addition to having regular menu features they also seem to be having special editions. Including a vegan dark chocolate with salted caramel filling. Wow! That was yummy! I also really liked the vegan raspberry curd filled donut(the one with the heart on it). 

To drink I have had the jasmine green tea and it was so fragrant! I loved it and the iced soy mocha, two thumbs up there. 

The decor is very cute. However, I don't feel like it lends it's self to a night time hangout atmosphere. Maybe this is by design but the night time trip we took there a few days ago: the music was so loud you couldn't hear each other, the lights are uncomfortably bright and the chairs are dreadful for sitting on for more than 15-20 minutes. At some point a group of people came in and asked for the music to be turned down. 

My experience with the staff has been completely positive and they are tremendously fashionable and attractive people(I'm just saying -having cuties work for you doesn't hurt). 

One complaint I've read is that people think the donuts are too expensive but you know- I don't agree. As long as you are getting a well-made speciality item, shut up and pay a little more for it. If it was easy to make these kinds of treats everyone would do it. It's these unique, small places like Glam Doll Donuts that make a city special. Minneapolis struggles with this and we lose so many great places like Rusty Quarters(a wonderful retro arcade) and Heavenly Soles(a fabulous shoe store whose closure struck at the heart of women everywhere).

Needless to say, I'll be going to Glam Doll Donuts again. Although, as soon as the snow is gone it's gonna have to be by foot or bike because I have resolutions too. Sort of.