winter fun.

While I was in Wisconsin for Christmas I had the chance to go snow shoeing with my Uncle. He took me on a little tour of the woods and the traps he has set. The traps were empty but the weather was perfect for being outside. Later that day we ventured out again with my brother-in-law and nephew. It was a great way to spend time on Christmas day.

fruit cake.

Snow Day Project

I realize that what I am about to post is something that won't earn me any bonus points. Unless of course I'm in search of geek bonus points. Then I'll be set. But you see, we've had a bit of snow here in Minnesota. Actually, a ton of snow. So there was a day when I couldn't really leave the house because of all the snow. Enter in a day devoted to projects. I have a whole list of projects that I want to work on and this one is finally complete. Thanks to the snow day.

I used all of these pretty papers...


To create a very pretty recipe dividers...


To go inside a very pretty binder.


And now all of my recipes are in plastic page covers, neatly organized and ready for use.
Lovely.

more found beauty.

glow.

found beauty.

it's on the way.

SNOW!

snowman village.

Me: "This is our fifth Christmas living together!"
Kjersta: "That's insane."
Me: "And we have had a snowman village every year."
Kjersta: "I don't know why we wouldn't."

leaves and acorns.

Not so long ago my dear sweet roomie and I spent the day baking. And watching the movie Elf. Twice. We made some gingersnaps in the shape of acorns and leaves. Very appropriate for fall, but not so appropriate according to the snowy weather that day. Regardless, gingersnaps are fabulous little gems of fall baking.

snow. and copycat.

I want to wash my hands, my hair, my face with snow!

Yep. New mailbox. New address. It's been a few weeks since I moved into the new place and I still have boxes left to unpack, but so far, so good. I'm especially appreciative of the garage with the upcoming winter weather.

I love it when bloggers post with a bunch of different links from around the web. Some examples include: Friday Favorites from Erin Louise, Gift ideas at Design*Sponge, A Cup of Jo.

Here's a few things I've found online lately that I think are worth sharing...

Great bags from Bayan Hippo.

Mitten gift tags.

Fun bike necklace.

I like the stuff at this shop.

Why haven't I made this caramel sauce yet?

Shoe clips will rock your face off.

Very pretty tablecloths.

welcome winter.

I think just about all of my friends on facebook posted a picture of the snow yesterday. Here's one from me:

copycat #1. I am a Sum of All These Parts.

Here's my first attempt at borrowing a blog idea and making it my own. I wholeheartedly agree with Amanda over at Mocking Bird about how we should introduce ourselves.

So allow me to introduce myself.

I am a friend

a sister

a daughter

an organizer

a blogger

a listener

a photographer

a bicyclist

a maple syrup lover

a list maker

a collector

and so much more.

copycat.

Did you know that November is National Blog Posting Month? I was completely unaware until I read about it here. Thanks Jen.

So I was thinking about all the blogs that I read on my google reader... there are so many unique posts to scour for cool ideas. Blog writers are always asking for comments on their questions or design options. I think what might be even more flattering is to copy some of their blog posts. I don't mean copy verbatim or steal someone's ideas. I mean, take the concept of their blog post and re-create it based on myself. Of course I would provide a link to the original blog post and give full credit for the idea. Does that make sense? Maybe this could be the start of a series.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of the gorgeous green lights under the 35W Bridge. Enjoy. (it's blurry because I was driving while I took the photo. whoops.)

goodbye NE.

Tomorrow is moving day!

Yep, you heard that right. It is with a sad face that I am leaving Northeast Minneapolis. Out of all the places I have lived in the twin cities metro - this is where I have been the longest. My roomie and I have had a great share of Northeast adventures. Here is just a sample:

- Game night in 2008 before we had anything hung up on the walls.
- The day we opened that big can of olives.
- Awesomeville. Population: US.
- The night the girls all went out in old bridesmaid dresses.
- Christmas Sing Along at Keegan's.
- Christmas Throw Up.
- New Years Eve at the Bulldog.
- Bowling Night at Elsie's.
- Game night in 2009 when we finally had things hanging on the walls.
- Wine sampling at Surdyk's followed by dinner at Butcher Block.
- Walking downtown.
- Running home in the rain from Nye's.
- Tugg's Strawberry Lemonade.
- Hearing fireworks to signal a Twins Win.
- Hearing the pedal pub on it's way down the road.

Speaking of hearing things... here are the things we WON'T miss hearing:
- Neighbor belching.
- Neighbor shooting off fireworks when it's not the 4th of July.
- Neighbor yelling.
- Firetruck sirens.
- Police sirens.
- Neighbor belching. I had to put this on the list twice because it's just so annoying.

All belching aside, we really are taking so many great memories with us!

(Also, I do not have one picture of the outside of this place. I better take a couple this weekend).

catch the color.

graffiti.

The Fear You Won't Fall

I'm breathing in
Come find me
It hasn't felt like this before
It hasn't felt like home before you
And I know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel
This way
And I miss you more than I should
Than I thought I could
Can't get my mind off of you
I know you're scared that I'll soon be over it
That's part of it all
Part of the beauty of falling in love with you is the fear you won't fall
It hasn't felt like this before
It hasn't felt like home before you
And I know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel
This way
And I miss you more than I should
Than I thought I could
Can't get my mind off of you

-Lyrics from Joshua Radin

This song feels like a secret to me. I've only included some of the lyrics here but I really do love this song for so many reasons. First, it has the dreamy voice of Joshua Radin. Second, the love described can be for a person. Or for a place. Today, for me, it's about a place. Oh, Northeast Minneapolis... how I love you and oh how I am going to miss you... so very, very much.

random goodness.

Here's a lovely fall photo and some fabulous links for you to enjoy:

I want this Bike Shelf.

Last week I made this pumpkin bread.

Someday I should host a party like this.

I really do love you blogs and coffee.

Jen knows blogging. And she rocks it.

Studio On Fire has some cool stuff.

Look at these fun photos!

That's all for now.

Do you see what I see?

mushrooms.

I spied these mushrooms at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

a tasty pattern.

There is a great little pattern that has begun with a small contingency of girls who all work in public health, including myself. Sometime this summer we decided it would be a tasty idea for us to go to cupcake happy hours. Slowly we are making our rounds to the latest and greatest cupcake places in the metro. Here's a re-cap of where we've been so far:

Cupcake in St. Paul
Cake Eater in Minneapolis
Patisserie 46 in Minneapolis - no cupcakes here, just fancy desserts!
Sweets Bakeshop in St. Paul
A Piece of Cake in St. Paul

So far the favorite is Sweets Bakeshop. They even earned bonus points this summer by offering a real cupcake happy hour - complete with free cupcakes. Just this past week we went to A Piece of Cake where I tried the peanut butter cupcake:

tinted view.

favorite.

spot on the hill.

untitled.

the great minnesota get together!

Lake of the Isles

I highly recommend renting a kayak to float around Lake the Isles. I normally don't write much on my blog posts - it's usually just photos. I think I should write more. I'm not going to think about what I write because I should just write for the sake of writing. Who cares what I write anyway? Just me.

So last week Jessica and I spent a lovely two hours out on Lake of the Isles. We rented a kayak for two and it was wonderful. We certainly saw our share of wildlife including turtles, great blue herons and a muskrat. Nature in the heart of the city. I'd like to go back for more kayaking once the leaves start to change color.

University Avenue.

This picture is from a few weeks ago. I was driving home from a meeting in St. Paul via University Avenue. The storms were really rolling in and providing some relief from the humidity.

camping food. yum.

art.

I got crafty last weekend and made some art to hang in my cubicle at work. Here's what I came up with:

This is the symbol for Public Health.

minneapolis.

University of Minnesota Transitway.

patisserie 46.

Sometimes happy hour = fancy dessert!

my sister's garden

it's days like these...

...that I wish I was a photographer and could spend all day scouting out perfect spots to take pictures. But alas, I had to take this picture while I was driving home tonight.
The stormy sky today is so captivating.

neverending summer.

It's hot. It's been hot all weekend. But it's summer and that's the way it's supposed to be. My summer days have been long and full and I'm loving every minute of it.

12 weeks from now I'll be competing in the Iron Girl Duathlon. I've been running and biking, but now it's time to step it up a notch. My goal is to get in four to five workouts per week. Today I ran 3 miles. I'm excited to have this goal to work towards.

contrasting colors.

Thank You Joel.

I'm sending a big thank you to nearby angels for watching out for me today. I was on a bike ride tonight and had just crossed over the Martin Olav Sabo bridge and I was stopped waiting to cross 28th Street. It's a four lane roadway, with two lanes of traffic in each direction. I got caught in the situation that I have heard about a thousand times.

The two lanes of traffic closest to me were clear. The third lane away from me had a vehicle that stopped to allow me to cross. On my bike, I proceeded into the crosswalk and just as I got in front of the stopped vehicle I heard someone shouting for me to stop. I hit the brakes just in time. Thanks to Joel for watching out for me and alerting me to the oncoming traffic. The vehicle coming in the fourth lane of traffic did not stop and I stopped just in time to avoid a huge crash.

Once I was safely out of the roadway I introduced myself to Joel and thanked him. He told me that he had just witnessed a bike crash 10 minutes prior, with this same scenario at a different intersection. I'm lucky that he was behind me on the trail today. I like to think that I am a predictable and safe bicyclist. I follow the traffic laws, I use hand signals, I make eye contact with motorists, etc. Even if you do all those things there is always the possibility of a crash. Thanks to Joel I continued on my ride unharmed.

brick.

perfect view.

I love the view from the top of the hill at Gold Medal Park.

technicolor.

Yes, this is what the sky really looked like tonight.
And yes, I took this picture while driving my car.
But I was at a red light.
And yes, I think we should all watch more technicolor movies.
Good night.

make this.

I first tried making this recipe last year and it turned out really well. So it's made a few more appearances and each time I just love the flavor. I'm sure any other fresh veggies would work in place of the peas/zucchini - maybe I'll make it with asparagus next. Try it!

Spring Risotto with Peas and Zucchini
by Martha Stewart

Prep/Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 cans (14.5 oz each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter
1 to 2 large zucchini (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Parmesan

Directions
1. Heat broth and 2 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan over low heat; keep warm. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add zucchini; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until zucchini is golden, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer zucchini to a plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onion; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Raise heat to medium. Add rice, cook, stirring, until translucent around edges, about 3 minutes. Add wine; cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes.

3. Cook, adding 1 cup hot broth at a time (stir until almost all liquid is absorbd before adding more), until rice is tender, 25 to 30 minutes total.

4. Add zucchini and peas; cook until peas are bright green, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining tablespoon butter and Parmesan. Serve, topped with more cheese.

blank slate.

A little off-kilter but still a blank slate.

hot yellow.

It's hot and steamy outside today.
Stay Cool.