Winter Wonderland

As we all know... Winter Wonderland is just around the corner! I am excited for the warm apple cider, Christmas trees, cinnamon & evergreen scented candles, Christmas dishes, twinkle lights around the city, snow, pine wreaths, the list goes on and on for me!

One of the main reasons why I love this time of year is because it reminds me of the memories I have with my family an friends! And many of those memories are wrapped in winter fun activities. There is so much to do in the city during this time, and its time for you to take advantage of what Minneapolis - St. Paul provides us with!
Here are some of our winter to-do's:
1) Reindeer Run - around Lake Harriet, check out the photos from past years! I am sooo looking forward to this!
2) Winter Ski Weekend - I am thinking Lutsen Mountain Ski Resort
3) Saint Paul Winter Carnival - I haven't gone in years and I am looking forward to going and seeing the ice castle!
4) Holidazzel Parade - Some may say its overrated... I say it's festive!!!
5) Curl up, read a book and enjoy a good latte or mocha! One of my favorite places do this is at Swede Hollow in Saint Paul.

What are your winter activity goals??

This picture was taken last winter in Keystone, CO at our favorite local bar, Kickapoo Tavern!

out and about.

Hope you all enjoyed the long holiday weekend...unfortunately some of us had to work, but hopefully it was still overall a relaxing weekend and a great end to your summer [hopefully you all wore your white pants/dresses/shorts of choice for the last time until memorial day 2011]. Anyone have any fun labor day traditions you would like to share with us all?
Jessica and I spent our weekend here in the Minne, and were finally able to check out the uptown cafeteria and support group. Our advice to anyone who has wanted to check it out:
* make sure you're hungry. The portions are generous, and quite rich (I got the tomato/bacon mac & cheese, and Jess got the pad thai)
* Have someone along with you that is good at making decisions (or who is willing to share). For indecisive people like myself, their menu makes it hard to pick just one entree to get... it ALL looked/tasted fantastic. Our next time back will be for brunch. All you can eat cereal, loaf of homemade banana bread, sausage pancake corndogs... need we say more?
* Make sure you're hungry, but bring your own water bottle or beverage of choice. The wait staff here is fairly new, and at times we questioned whether or not they knew they were in the restaurant/customer service business... so, be ready to hunt them down when you want a re-fill on your water or are ready to order or get your bill. The service here was less than impressive. Definitely don't come here if you want to grab a quick bite to eat... you may have to allow some extra time to do the servers job for them.
* Check out their happy hour specials (it's all day on Sunday!) and be sure to grab a drink on the rooftop "Sky bar." The view of the city is the best there is. Hands downs.

Jess' cousin Kendra and her friend from ISU were in town for the weekend!

Definitely comfort food

View from our table at the sky bar

Gettin' Wild

Hello all!
It's Allie here... Jess is out of town for the day in Arkansas for a work trip, and I have the day off so I was able to invite some of my family over a fun afternoon in my neighborhood. Today was the first time I've been back to the Wild Rumpus bookstore since I was a little girl (most likely, this is where I purchased my first Beverly Cleary or Nancy Drew book). For more history on this magical children's bookstore, check out the book that built the bookstore.

We made a quick stop at my apartment first to show Susan and the kids around, as well as my cousins Carlyn and Margaux who hadn't been here yet. Enjoy the pictures & video's from our playful afternoon in Linden Hills...

After getting some built-up energy out playing on Al's bed, we were off to Wild Rumpus!

After crouching down to the size of a toddler to enter through the tiny purple door and play with the animals (I don't think we looked at one book, sadly), we had a very enjoyable lunch outside at Cafe 28 next door. Luckily they were very child-accommodating :)

Last Stop: Sebastian Joe's... duh.

Lauren just loves her baby brother :)

She also loves making friends with strangers while "riding" on sculptures of turtles.

The Bachelorette Pad

Our new favorite show, ABC’s “Bachelor Pad,” is the inspiration behind the above title… Minus the blindfolds, bunkbed’s, and stereotyping (we have decided to stay classy & drama-free here in Apartment #2).

Anywho, you all asked for it. Pictures are here at last! We didn’t want to post any until it was presentable to our standards, but we are now very happy with how it all came together, and can’t wait to share with you the design inspirations behind many of the ideas we “DIY’d.” Once we get the hang of this whole “blogging” thing, we hope to be able to organize it well enough so that you all can easily find what you are looking for out of our site. So, you can for sure expect to see our version of a do-it-yourself section, as well as some of our favorite people, places, and things.

Below are photos of our apartment, and quick snapshots of the decorating we’ve done thus far.  Call us copycats if you choose, but we are proud of our execution of the arts & crafts we’ve done so far.

Before:

Craigslist posting that intrigued us and led us to our new home...

 After:

Living Room

View from Dining Room

Dining Room

With an old building comes the old charm. This built-in buffet is now completely full with Jess' 3+ sets of dishes (we even have Christmas dishes). However, I had to steal a drawer at the bottom to put all of my art supplies... this is about all the storage we get, with the exception of our small coat closet. Thanks to Hunt & Gather down the street, we found the perfect vases to complete the decorating.

Jess getting excited for our housewarming party!

View of Kitchen from hallway

Thank you Hobby Lobby for your $5 wall decor.

Hallway just off the kitchen that leads you to our bedrooms and bathroom. The door straight ahead is our other entrance that will take you out our back door near our garage/back parking lot. It is crazy how much bigger this hallway makes our place feel! We LOVE it and how it separates our living spaces. We have an idea for wall decor in the works right now, but won't post pics till it is fully complete... so keep checking back in with us to see the end result!

Jessica's Room is the first room off of the hallway. Please note our 1st complete art project... initials for our doors! We'll post our "how-to" tips soon!

Thanks to Peter, Jess' Parisian prints are perfectly level ;)

Around the corner from Jess' room is our quaint little bathroom. At first the clawfoot tub scared us a little (how were we gonna shave our legs?!) But we have come to love it!

Allie's room! Mine is in the very back of our apartment. Jess has the air conditioner in her room, I get the "bigger" closet. Special thanks goes out [again] to "Hunt & Gather" for my fabulous new $50 headboard!

The re-finished white vanity from DahlHouse Boutique (aka a woman's garage in White Bear Lake... another craigslist find) is probably my favorite purchase I've made so far. The vintage fabric on the stool is original to the set... I got very lucky as it needed zero recovering, and matched my comforter perfectly :) To the left is the medicine cabinet I turned into my jewelry case... directions for this to follow as well!

The sconces in here are another bonus to living in an older building... shades for these were found in the sale section at Anthropologie just down the street (this could possibly be our 'danger zone #4'). The artwork I made above my dresser used to be my "headboard" when I was living in Colorado. Another "DIY" project to post, I suppose?

Small town in the city.

I can't believe it was just over a month ago that Jess and I signed our lease on W 44th street, and we have finally moved in to what we think to be our *perfect” apartment. Nestled in the heart of the Linden Hills neighborhood, our new home is located between the South shores of Lake Calhoun and the West side of Lake Harriet, in Southwest Minneapolis. Not only does it offer the convenience of being within walking distance (less than a block!) to Lake Harriet, but we also happen to be in the backyard of the neighborhoods best boutiques, dining, and best of all, the Twin Cities premium choice of ice cream... Sebastian Joe's  (literally, we’re in the backyard. We share our back parking lot…can you say dangerous?)
Known to be the best “small town in the city,” Linden Hills is the answer to the urban living we desire, but within a quaint community that we know will be our new playground. So idyllic, even Mr. Rogers would be a little jealous.

Lake Harriet/Lake Calhoun Streetcar

The Lake Harriet Bandshell is home to outdoor concerts, as well as Church services every Sunday morning [through labor day]. What a perfect backdrop for a picnic or a wedding, as well! Our routine walk/runs around the lake are always a little easier, too, when we see this as our finish line.

Downtown Linden Hills "Upton Avenue"

Linden Hill's Florist...we know where we're getting our Mother's Day gifts next year!

The "Danger Zones" 

Danger Zone #1: Bibelot gift store. Jess and I timed how long it took me to leave my apartment, walk over there and buy candles for our housewarming party, and walk back... 4 MINUTES! Not only do we share our back parking lot with them, but sometimes we even use their garbage cans and get in trouble for it. I think we learned our lesson the first time we tried that...

Danger Zone #2: Great Harvest Bakery. Free bread slices daily & the best chocolate chip cookies you could ever have. Enough said.

Patio outside Sebastian Joe's. What a perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee or scoop of ice cream.

Danger Zone #3: Sebastian Joe's. Pavarotti, Oreo, and Raspberry-Chocolate Chip are our top 3 favorite flavors. Hands down. Turns out they have great coffee & pastries in the morning as well. I suggest the Iced Vanilla Latte...

Other Neighborhood hangouts:

This store definitely brings back some childhood memories

This neighborhood hardware store has come in quite handy lately as we start to make our walls look pretty :)

People come from all over the Twin Cities to grab a sandwich {anyway you'd like it}, or their Thanksgiving turkey here. We are so lucky to have this community treasure so close.

"Thanks for calling Famous Dave's, this is Famous Allie". I have a deja vu back to my first job every time I come here. Cornbread muffins for dinner are definitely in the near future at apartment #2.

Dunn Bros Coffee. Nothing like perfectly roasted coffee beans and the best chocolate croissants in town.

Unfortunately this will be moving up the street this fall. It will still be close, but we may not be able to walk there when we need to quick grab a gallon of milk or loaf of bread anymore...

The Zumbro Cafe offers "fresh and healthy meals made from scratch from locally produced and organic ingredients." However if you are in the mood for a delicious lunch on a Monday afternoon, you're outta luck... this place is closed every Monday (and every day after 2:30), so plan your meal accordingly. I learned this last week when I tried to take a friend out to lunch in our new neighborhood. Thank goodness for Turtle Bread Bakery just down the street!

Allie would love to take some guitar lessons here... The Linden Hills house of Music has outdoor recitals showcasing the community's talent sporadically, as well. What a great way to get to know your neighbors!