Another winery visit took place on Mother's Day. This one out in the beautiful city of Waconia, MN. which is lush and green. The winery is Sovereign Estate Wine and it was a bit different from the other places I have been at this point in my explorations. First, the tasting room was adorable and pink. Most of them are simple, rustic, decorated with barrels. It was on very lovely grounds with a little garden to walk through and overlooking Lake Waconia. There was also bistro food served and I had a warm baguette with dipping oil that was a perfect compliment to the wine. Plus it was a touch chilly so it was nice for that reason as well. I enjoyed most of the wines but my favorite was the Blue Loon which smells and tastes of roses and violets to me. I liked this wine so much I will probably go back out there just to buy more of it. Have a look!
May Favorites
May was a busy month. And a bit rainy. Here are some pictures from a few things that I enjoyed.
I cooked with morel mushrooms for the first time and they were quite delicious.
I saw Above & Beyond at the crazy sold-out show.
New bedding and moon pillows from ETSY for my bedroom.
A fairy house on the way to the Linden Hill's Farmer's Market.
This adorable cat flask purse from Zulilly, which has great stuff.
Spending time on my newly put together deck.
Making large meals like french toast.
Visiting the Minneapolis Downtown Library for the first time.
Drinking champagne to celebrate finishing my second book.
Being excited that one of my favorite authors liked my photo! Woohoo!
Art In Bloom 2015 (Part 3)
Art In Bloom 2015 (Part 2)
In Summation: 30 Days of Giving
A couple of months ago I decided I was going to give away something everyday for 30 days. Well, I actually thought about doing this in December but then got into an argument with myself about the fact that I already give away many things from gifts to money in December as it’s the season for it for me and realized that I had to do this at another time for myself. Especially since I had some very specific things I wanted to give away to some people. It turns out it’s not as easy as you might think to give away something every day for 30 days in a row. In particular if you want it to have any kind of meaning beyond emptying your house. Which to a degree is a nice side benefit of giving away things and certainly has me thinking twice before I buy anything anymore since I realized I did have many things I did not find to be useful or beautiful but knew other people would. I did have a fair amount of things to give away that I did donate to ARC. Things that I did not have a deeper connection to other than perhaps someone gave it to me and I felt obligated to keep it or I had forgotten that I had it.
There were some unexpected challenges in doing this for me. Not all of them would be the same for all people some are definitely specific to me such as: As a full time writer/at home jewelry maker, I don’t see people everyday. So there were a few times that I walked around the house and made a stack of packages to give away. Some of the packages took a fair amount of time to put together. There was one that I made for my lifelong best friend that was compromised from many small trinkets and objects from my office. I wrote the origin of every single thing I sent to her into a letter so as to explain why it was seemingly random in the box but actually was not at all random. I put together a few gifts for people with things that meant a lot to me and had special memories. Most of the time the letter I wrote to go along with it didn’t rightly explain why it was important but I did try. One thing that was funny to be honest with myself about was that even though these things had a lot of meaning to me, most of the people I gave things to did not care in the least. Fair enough, what can you do?
Some days I didn’t have an idea of what to give away. I had sent boxes and bags of clothes to donation, gifts to friends and was at a loss. Then I had the idea to look through Facebook to see if there was someone who could use something. This yielded a a few things: The first one was coming across a post by Amanda Palmer in which she was asking people to send things to her sick friend. I really didn’t know what to write in the card simply because I have the hardest time talking about my book but I did send him my book. I actually sent my book to a few other people as well. I also learned about the terrible problem of dogs getting caught in hunter’s traps so I sent money to care for some of the dogs and will likely do so again. That one broke my heart. I made a care package for a friend who unexpectedly had to travel for work. I gave brand new dresses and tops to friends that I had kept with the intention of them “someday” fitting me. Which is just ridiculous because in most of those cases, I’d have to be a completely different person to wear them.
One of the big uncomfortable truths was getting real with myself about projects I had stacking up forever in my closet. Things that I always thought I really wanted to do and held onto the materials because I really liked the idea of doing these projects. Well the reality of life is that you are not going to do every project you want to do. I have a very hard time with this since it may take me a while to do something but I’ve come to the realization that I am actually someone who finishes projects. What I’ve reconciled with myself is that I have to prioritize what projects matter the most to me. I don’t want to work constantly on things and miss out on having a life or relationships so I picked the ones I knew I would do and let the others go. I passed on materials and ideas to the people I thought would likely do these things or something even better in most cases. It wasn’t easy but at the same time facing the facts was rather freeing. I also have found that I have actually been taking the time to get the things I prioritized done. Step by step as opposed to ignoring everything because there were so many it was overwhelming me without realizing it.
Now here is the most unexpected feeling I experienced that quite surprised me. The biggest gift I wanted to give someone got rejected. Several times. And it made me super frustrated. I mean really super frustrated. Like what the hell is your problem I want to give this to you, frustrated. So it turns out that perhaps giving away things isn’t always about the other person. Sometimes it’s about you and how it makes you feel. I suppose that sounds really selfish but it’s the truth. I am the one who has to live with myself and I’d rather feel like I’m at least trying to be generous than not. Of course, part of what you can encounter is the suspicion that comes with doing something for someone when it’s not a socially accepted holiday. They think you expect something in return or even more strangely, think you are judging them for something if you give them something you know they’ve wanted but have never done for themselves. That one definitely floored me.
A few things I gave away I do miss. That is good though because that means I picked out things to give away that meant something to me. I suppose I’ll add that I gave away a few hundred items. Not just 30.
There is one thing I’ve considered giving away and I have very mixed feelings about it. I have been considering donating blood. I haven’t done it yet as the ethics of it seem so gray to me. What I mean by that is the blood donation industry is run on anything but donations and is very often not altruistic in nature. I find this shameful in many ways. I don’t know, like I said mixed feelings. I know people need it but, it’s so expensive that it adds enormous debt to the hospital bills of patients which seems really wrong to me. It is something I continue to weigh.
I’m not sure that I have more thoughts on this at the moment. I may in the future and what’s more I find it likely I will do this again. I mean truly, how many things does a person need? Sharing them seems like a really good idea to me. Especially since people share so many wonderful things with me.
* I did not photograph everything I gave away but here are some snaps to perhaps give you ideas. Have a great day!
Art in Bloom 2015 (Part 1)
I take so many pictures at the Annual Art in Bloom event that I break the posts up. So here is the first group! Happy day!
What To Eat Wednesday, Nico's Taco Bar
If you are looking for a great happy hour and even better food, look no further than Nico's Taco Bar. I walked up here recently from my house on a nice day and had a late lunch/early dinner and wow! I was impressed. My drinks were quite good. The best margaritas I've had in town. My food was amazing. The homemade salsas were delicious and the service was excellent. They accommodated my vegan diet with no issue or attitude other than a friendly one. Even the frijoles were melty, just the right amount of salty and a perfect mix into the salsa. The guacamole was fresh and went well with the not too greasy chips. I had a tostada with sautéed cactus which I'd never had before and it was very good. It had a nice grilled, pepper flavor. My lunch date had vegan enchiladas as the sauce is vegetarian and full of flavor. Sometimes, I find the sauces too tomato rich but this was very balanced. ( *the rice is not vegan ) I was here for a leisurely 3 hours and it was a decadent way to spend the afternoon. I can't wait to go again.
Next Chapter Winery
Two weeks ago on continuing the tours of Minnesota Wine, I went out to Next Chapter Winery in New Prague, MN. It was a gloomy day so it was nice to sit inside and talk to the bartender about the winery. They run on solar power. One of the owners was a pilot from South Africa. The winery it's self used to be a coffee roaster. They also own a bookshop and the other owner has written three books. My favorite of the wines, The Velvet Vines, was the cranberry bubbly. They made it bubbly by mistake and liked it so much they kept it. Well, I brought some home and it is already gone. The winery has barrels you can drink out of and I suppose if you're daring you can mix the wines together(not for me). The MN Blushing Bride white also came home with me and my friends liked that one quite bit.
Charlotte Sometimes
Wizard World 2015
I have very mixed feelings about something like Wizard World. I am a big supporter of all geek things because I know without the big movies and shows there wouldn't be more geeky things. But I am not a big supporter of paying to meet celebrities. I simply feel that you already gave a lot of time and money to make their careers for them and you shouldn't have to pay for a minute of time from them. I realize that they are busy people but so are we all. What's more is without their fans they wouldn't be where they are so spending some time being appreciative of that seems pretty important to me. And not making people pay for it. Be that as it may I did attend Wizard World one day this past weekend and saw lots of cool things especially in the costume department. The Weta Workshop booth was definitely the stand out on the sales floor. Oh to have a separate house like Mr. Del Toro for collections of cool things to inspire and dream. Alas I'll just have to stick with what I have....
Macy's Flower Show 2015
The traditional visit to Macy's Flower Show took place a little over a month ago. Since my blog was being redesigned I didn't get the pictures up. The theme was Art in Bloom which is actually the name of another event I went to see this weekend (pictures soon). I really like seeing this little show as it's a way to find some magic in the ordinary. The top of a department store does not seem like a place to find a garden yet, every year there is one for at least a couple of weeks. They almost always have some dark blue colored orchid I swoon over but alas I have the most miserable time keeping orchids alive in my house. I don't have enough light. As much as I love them I really don't want to kill anymore of them. I did plant lots of new plants this year and will write about that soon. I have two decks on my house and I am trying to get some use out of them this year. People really get into gardening here and I think it is because we have to spend so much time inside for a lot of the year. The abundance of gardening means that Minnesota looks quite beautiful when it's warm. Have a look at my flower show pictures!
What to Eat Wednesday, Khyber Pass Cafe
I have this habit of eating at the same places over and over. Which is fine sometimes but I forget about the other places I want to try around the cities. In the last couple of months I've created a meet once a month and go out to eat group of vegan and vegan-friendly friends to try places that I forget about, such as Khyber Pass Cafe. This is a cute place in St. Paul, MN. that specializes in Afghani food and it is quite good. The real stand-outs to me were the various chutneys and the Afghani dumplings which are filled with beans, spices and legumes. There was also a soup that was aromatic and warming that I liked a great deal. All of the food we had was good but those three things were excellent. The chutney I liked the most was a cherry one that would make an excellent pie filling. Another really good one was a ginger chutney that I did actually eat the most of.....it did get busy and we ended up waiting for our check for a long time but other than that the service was good, accommodating to questions and needs. There's also carpets hanging from the ceiling! Check it out!
SPACE An Out-of-Gravity Experience
I always try to get to the special exhibits at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I really enjoy them a great deal. The most recent one: Space An Out-of-Gravity Experience is one of my favorites. I have seen it twice and both times I really liked the interactive aspects of the exhibit. I went once during the week in the evening which is a great time to go and once on a Saturday which was of course, very busy. I would suggest not going on Fridays during the day unless you don't mind lots and lots of kids as that tends to be a big field trip day. I think this is a great exhibit and you should go see it. It includes scenes from the ISS which you should also follow on IG. There's also a faux Destiny Lab to try out and lots of ways to test you meddle with the experiments. I failed epically at managing the space station the first time I tried and watched a couple of young boys do really well at it. I guess I'll stick to the robot arm.
Cupcake
If you ever find yourself at the Mall of America and are in dire need of a vegan cupcake...look no further than the 3rd floor! I remember the dark days of the mall when the most vegan things you could get were greasy french fries and some very poorly cooked Asian food. Now there's vegan cupcakes, gelato and lots of other choices. Stop in at Cupcake to find at least a couple of vegan choices. When I was there I got to try the Coney Island cupcake : chocolate with vanilla frosting and tons of sprinkles and the Vanilla Chai Latte cupcake, which was fabulous.
Luna Rossa Cave Tour & Wine Tasting
In my continuing efforts to drink all the wine in Minnesota, I went to a wine tasting that took place in caves in Stillwater, Minnesota. Stillwater is a great little town. It's like a town you see on t.v. with quaint shops, restaurants and beautiful views. There's things to do such as boat tours, antiquing and on this particular trip: a wine tasting in caves. The Luna Rossa Wine Bar is a very nice restaurant, wine bar and is attached to caves. Which used to be a brewery and then went through various stages of different use during Prohibition and beyond. I don't want to give too much away because the little tour is fun and you can drink wine along the way. Truth be told, I did not like the wine they served but to each their own. It was not made by them which makes it different from the other wine tastings I've attended but they did have an additional tasting after the tour in the wine shop with lots of different wines from around the world. It's worth a trip and if you like Italian food you can also have dinner (though I did not notice it to be vegan friendly). It's on the prettiest main street of Stillwater and there's other things to do as well if you plan.
Party History at CONvergence
It's that time of year again when several friends and I spend a whole lot of time plotting and building and preparing for our party at the CONvergence sci-fi/fantasy convention. As such I've been going through old photos from our very humble beginnings as a Dreaming themed party based on the Sandman graphic novels. These are pictures from 2003-2008 with themes ranging from Asia, Lost Library of Dreams, Midsummer Night's Tale, Nightmares to the love story of Dream falling in love with an Egyptian Princess. We built everything from faux bookshelves to pyramid walls. My friend brews homemade ciders, beer and wines. We make custom labels, cds, gifts and all sorts of giveaways so people have little things to remember us. It's a tremendous amount of work and money but we love it. It's really something when people come to oh and ah over what you can do with a hotel room(turns out it's a lot). Have a look!
Our first sign. Now we have fancy, custom designed and printed ones but everyone starts somewhere.
The Key to Hell is a symbol found in the story. We later designed and cut one out of wood that now hangs in my office.
Our faux library, to represent the Library of Lost Dreams.
We built an entire room within a room with sand painted walls and hieroglyphs for the Egyptian party in 2008.
The Key to Hell and Dragons hand cut and painted.
Nightmare themed party.
We cut "headstones" out of plywood and painted them with chalkboard paint so people could write on them. I still use these every year at Halloween.
We've since moved on from The Dreaming and now did one party with a second on the way based around the theme of my own book series. You can see a post about that here The Naturals. Have a great day!
Wonder Women
A collection from female artists at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery at the University of MN. There was a challenge for men to try walking in high heels. My guy did it, no problem.
Luminary Loppet
Freezing in the slippery dark to take some snaps of the Luminary Loppet. It's a pretty event. I am not very good at photographs in the dark. Ok it was also negative degrees outside and windy so I did try. It's not easy to balance a camera on ice but I'm gonna try again next year.
What to Eat Wednesday, Gorkha Palace
Gorkha Palace is so yummy. I hadn't been here in a few years. Which is a sad state of affairs. I have however, been eating the veggie momos with tomato chutney every chance I get at the Mill City Farmer's Market. I got to go to the restaurant a couple of Sundays ago and I was so pleased by the service and meal. This is a place that also tries to do right by it's community so I want to be supportive of that as well. They do not have a full bar but they do have beer and wine. They are very vegan friendly with items clearly marked on the menu. And no attitude about it.
Really all that matters are the veggie momos, the greens and curry.
Making Things
There are some sad and frustrating things happening in my life right now. When my mom died some years ago, it was suggested to me to find some sort of not serious creative outlet. I started making little handmade pieces of jewelry to distract myself. I never thought I'd still be making it and sending it all over the world. I am glad for my creative time. It's really getting me through tough times again. Sometimes it's hard to focus but when I can get right into it, the concentration required is a great help to me. These are some of my favorite things I've made and a few new things I've made recently. Some are listed in my ETSY shop, GirlyGeekChic if you are so inclined. Thank you for stopping by!
