Throwback Thursday, The Tower of London

As I am getting itchy for my next trip(soon!) I thought I would do a Throwback Thursday post from my visit to the Tower of London in March 2007. What a fascinating place. It was such an interesting day. Forgive the picture quality. I only had a point and shoot camera in 2007. :o)

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!

Forgotten Passions

I've spent the last few weeks cleaning out my office from top to bottom. Folders, nooks, crannies, over stacked piles. As I've been doing this I've been finding fun things I forgot about. One of these things is my sketch notebooks full of clothings designs. I haven't done this in a long time and having come across my drawings (from 1997-1998) I am thinking to start designing again. Just for fun. I don't have any plans to do anything with them but I certainly have a lot of ideas nonetheless. Here are some of my first sketches from so long ago.

What to Eat Wednesday, Modern Times Cafe

Sometimes I am late to the party. That is for sure. Such is the case with Modern Times Cafe. I don't know how long it's been around but I sure wish I had been going there for as long as it's been open. It's not a very big place and the first time I went there were only two seats open at the bar to eat. No big deal. I have been twice. Once for breakfast and once for lunch. Both times my food has been out-of-this-world. For those of us with diet restrictions this is a great place because everything is clearly marked. The staff is very friendly and most importantly-Great Iced Soy Mochas. My breakfast of Tofu Scramble with seitan and kale cooked in tamari and garlic was so delicious that it made me want to eat kale all the time. The garlic fries that you can get with your lunch sandwiches are the best fries I have had in a long time. They don't stay open for dinner which is a shame but get there if you can, you will not be disappointed.

Girly Geek Chics

The first time I knew of someone writing about something I made was very exciting. Here is a link to the lovely Hannah's blog musing about the earrings she bought from me. I've recently been collecting photos from friends who have purchased things from me and I love seeing my pieces on them. Have a peek at these beautiful ladies. (Some photos by me, others taken by customers)

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.

Your Weekly Meow

Things are slowly getting back to normal with the cats around here. Lots of giving of meds, diet monitoring and general grumpiness with the furry ones has been the standard the last month. It really does seem like Feburary is the worst month no matter what, doesn't it? With March here and the temperatures slowly rising maybe, just maybe the air of winter crabbiness will blow out to sea.

What to Eat Wednesday, One Pot Pasta

I don't make a lot of pasta. I tend to cook a lot of curry and Thai food because they are my favorites. I decided I wanted to find a few easy to make pasta dishes and came across this One Pot Pasta recipe on the A Beautiful Mess blog. I like to read this blog but truth be told most of the projects on here are not my taste nor is the decorating my style and most of the food is not vegan. That said I still like to read it. I do pull a few things from it plus I find it inspiring that these two women made their own careers out of being creative. You should take a look at it. 

Now back to the pasta. There was a storm for about the billionth time and I made the pasta for dinner that night when we were stuck inside and waiting for the snow.

It was really easy to make vegan by buying vegan pasta and leaving out the cheese. It's funny because you'll feel very skeptical that this is going to taste anything but mushy. It however, turned out great. And the leftovers I threw in a baking dish with crumbled bread crumbs on top and warmed it in the oven for lunch. Also, delicious. I'm going to try another one of their recipes soon and also make it vegan. Until then, Ciao!

Your Weekly Meow

This is a bit of a smaller post of cats. It's been a long week with cat care and it's not over yet. My poor little cat Charlotte had to have a mass removed from her side and we are currently waiting on the test results to see if it might need further treatment. How crazy attached we get to these little creatures. She is pretty much acting like her old self already. In fact, I'd say she's recovering better than I am. Send positive kitty vibes please! 

Throwback Thursday, Longing for Adventure

A couple of things are happening in my brain right now and I suspect it's mostly because I've had a long week and a half that included a cold, a hurt neck, unusable arm, an allergic reaction and a sick kitty. I have been getting very antsy and even feeling a little frustrated. Winter is getting to that point where it feels too long instead of grand and beautiful. Although, a bit of this was alleviated yesterday as I put on my snow boots, took my stuffed up head and hiked around the snowy lake. This year is off to a mixed bag sort of start. I'm having trouble accepting this because 2013 was a pretty great year for me all and all. Now, I should not be all doom and gloom because there have already been some super fun things, like our New Year's Event, our beautiful new bedroom(though long overdue) and of course, sledding for the first time-(yes, I loved it). I'm a bit off track with my blog posts this week but I've had other things to handle. One of my big projects the last few months has been organizing my photo library. A big task to be sure. I have 40,000 photos (and that's after deleting the bad ones) in my library. But, it's fun to go through, I've had some really great times to remember. 

One of the things I loved doing last year was in September I went to San Antonio, Texas to visit family. My boyfriend and I went on a day trip to Natural Bridge Caverns. It turned out to be quite amazing. Some 18 stories underground is a world that only fairy tales can describe. It was discovered just by chance as all the best things are and we took two different tours of the caves and we did not see anywhere near all of it. It's filled with crystals, rock formations, glass like water and "rooms" beyond anything you could imagine. When you see places like this you begin to understand where inspiration for Dwarves cities, white forests and fairy lands come from. My photos are dark(of course) and do this place no justice but you might catch a glimpse of the magic.

I suppose the only way to pull yourself out of the blues is to get busy making plans and doing things. Hopefully, today will be the last snowstorm of the season! Hopefully.

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.

Your Weekly Meow