Awesome List #50: Visit Macy's Spring Flower Show

Awesome List #59: Visit the Dala Horse in Mora, Minnesota

It was a beautiful day for a little road trip!

 I picked up this magnet at the history center gift shop in Mora. 

I got this pie at People's Cafe in Cambridge, Minnesota. It was so good! Chocolate Coconut Pecan Cream Pie!

Awesome List #74: Cold Front Ice Cream

Accomplished this one back in May! I went to the old-fashioned soda fountain and tried the "snowball flight" which is 4 little cones. The ice cream was super delicious! The place itself is pretty tiny. Good things come in small packages :)

Inspiration: Paintings by Marisa Redondo

I have been using this super amazing planner to keep track of and plan my Year of Awesome. I love love love the illustrations in it! As a totally unexpected bonus, it's actually really laid out well (unlike most planners). Here's where I gush about my planner (yes, I am a big old nerd). It has a two page spread of each month at the beginning, for a quick overview. Then it starts with the weeks, giving each one a two-page spread. The best part is there a place for notes each week and then extra random blank pages between the months. Also, special pages for Books to Read, Movies to See, Restaurants to Try, etc.  It's like the person who designed this planner is inside my brain. Yay? Maybe they can declutter a little while they're in there.

So, back to the illustrations. So inspiring! Lovely nature illustrations and cute (but not cutesy) little animals. The artist is Marisa Redondo. She has both a website, blog and Etsy shop and all can be accessed here:

http://www.riverlunaart.com
The planner is from here and they have lots of other cute calendars: http://www.orangecirclestudio.com/

Dandelion Painting

Look, a new painting! I have been creating some new work this winter. The bright colors of the paints and markers are helping me through the dreary winter. This one expecially reminds me of a warm summer day, with dust motes or maybe bits of flower fluff floating in the air.

Awesome List #35: Lake Harriet Kite Festival

The first thing accomplished on my Awesome List! Yes!

It was a great day for a kite festival! As you can see, it was a little cloudy and there was some wind gusting BUT the weather was pretty warm...well, for January (but not too warm to make it unsafe to go out on the ice).

There were tons of people enjoying the nice day. Some walking dogs, pulling kids on sleds, kids just messing around on the ice. A lot of kids just messing around on the ice- making forts, clearing patches to look down into the lake, sliding around and landing in piles.

This carp/koi kite was impressive. There was a real method to getting up in the air. One person needed to open the mouth and get it filled with air and one maneuvering the string to get it up in the air. I like this photo because it looks like the carp is hunting the other kite.

An Awesome List for an Awesome Year

So, here it is. My next birthday is the big 4-0. I'd like to finish up my thirties with a bang and start my forties having a year of awesomeness behind me. Although, sure, I'd love to visit Morocco, that is probably not in the cards this year. However, there are a ton of things right here in Minnesota that I've been meaning to get around to doing.

Here's my list so far. Feel free to make some suggestions. Note that I am definitely not an adrenaline junkie (e.g., I will not be bungie jumping off of anything any time soon). Anything food- or art-related will probably get a thumbs up. 

1. Get a tattoo
2. Visit South Dakota/Mount Rushmore
3. Go to the Renaissance Festival in costume
4. Visit the Russian Art Museum
5. Visit the Weisman Art Museum
6. Go to a rollerskating rink
7. Got an ice-skating rink
8. Go horseback riding
9. Hot Air Balloon festival 
10. Visit House on the Rock
11. Visit Franconia Sculpture Garden
12. Dine at a pizza farm
13. Learn and do some canning
14. Have a tent at the Red Hot Art Festival
15. Volunteer more at Articulture
16. Learn to knit
17. Renew passport
18. Go kayaking
19. Take part in pub/bar trivia
20. Sing karaoke
21. Get a psychic reading
22. Donate blood
23. Ride a Segway
24. Go on a picnic
25. Enter a state fair competition
26. Visit Lanesboro
27. Go dog-sledding
28. Ride on a motorcycle
29. Visit at least two new state parks
30. Hang up funny fake fliers
31. Go to an NFL game
32. Eat pho at Quang
33. Play lawn-bowling at Brit's Pub
34. Go to the Artsled Rally
35. Go to the Lake Harriet Kite Festival (Done! January 17th!)
36. Go snow-shoeing
37. Visit the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
38. Go Snow tubing
39. See an outdoor movie at Father Hennepin park by the Mississippi
40. See the Perseid Meteor Shower outside the city
41. Attend a concert at the Lake Harriet Bandshell
42. Twins game
43. Visit the American Swedish Institute
44. See the Art Shanty Projects Not possible because they didn't do the this year! Next year!
45. Eat at Psycho Suzi's
46. See at least one movie at the Riverview Theater
47. Ride the Lake Harriet streetcar
48. Eat in the Ferris wheel at Betty Danger's Country Club
49. See the inside of the chapel at Lakewood Cemetery
50. Visit Macy's spring flower show
51. Go to a Comedy Sportz performance
52. Drink at Sociable Ciderwerks
53. Play bingo at a bingo hall
54. Watch the Luminary Loppet
55. Attend the Japanese Lantern Festival at Como Park
56. See the Jolly Green Giant statue
57. Visit Lark Toys in Kellogg
58. See the Viking ship in Moorhead
59. See the Dala horse status in Mora
60. Big Stone mini golf in Minnetrista
61. See a moose
62. Visit Isle Royale
63. Exhibit work 
64. Afternoon tea at the Saint Paul Hotel
65. Read at least 3 biographies of presidents (One down, Two to go!)
66. Haunted tour of Forepaughs
67. Make a short film or video (maybe stop motion animation?)
68. See Midsummer Nights Dream at the Guthrie Theater
69. Join or start a bookclub
70. Attend the Saintly City Cat Show (part of the St Paul Winter Carnival)
71. Make at least one recipe from every cookbook I own
72. Visit one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder historical sights
73. Spend a whole day on the beach at Lake Nokomis. 
74. Enjoy an old-fashioned soda at Lynden's  Cold Front soda fountain in Saint Paul
75. Visit Lake Minnetonka
76. Play skee ball at Pat's Tap
77. Visit the Headwaters of the Mississippi (Itasca State Park)
78. Milk a cow or goat
79. Take a walking tour of Summit Avenue
80. Visit the Mill City Museum

The Secret Garden - Macy's Flower Show 2014

Sunshiney Caturday

Octopus Cake (No Recipe)

Just some pics of a cake I did last weekend. It was fun to work with fondant a little. I was working right up to the last minute (again...really as always) so my sister make the fish shapes. 

Just Lazy. Not Gone Forever.

Hi, friends! It has been a long, long time. I've been baking and going on outings but have been terrible about documenting it all. I'm planning to take some time to get back on track, blogwise, early in the new year. For now, I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season!

Mulberry and Currant Italian Cream Soda

Beautiful red currants! They are quite tart but are wonderful as a garnish.

I got a bunch of berries a couple weekends ago  - some from the farmer's market and mulberries from my parents' neighbors' tree. Mulberries are sweeter than raspberries so they pair well with the tart red currants. Originally, I was going to make a pie but we just went through a horrible heat wave. This drink with its homemade syrup is a perfect way to use those berries or other fruits when it is just too hot to bake.

Italian Cream Soda

Mulberry Currant Syrup

Sparking Water (Lemon-flavored La Croix in this case) 

Heavy Cream Or Half and Half

To make the syrup: 

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

About 2 cups of berries

Boil sugar and water together until sugar is dissolved. Add berries and boil for another ten minutes or so. Turn down the heat and let them simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Take off heat and strain to remove the berries. You can either continue to boil to reduce to a thicker, more concentrated syrup OR you can cool and use as is (you might want to use a little more syrup in your drink)

To make the drink:
Pour syrup in tall glass  - fill about a third of the way up. Next pour your sparkling water. Last pour your cream or half and half. After admiring, stir to combine well.

Surprise in the Garden

Look what I found popping up in my gnome garden the other day - toadstools! Aren't they cute? Like most mushrooms, they didn't last long but it made me smile to see them there. Especially surprising since the gnome garden is located in a screened-in porch. I guess the spores were in the soil?

Also, I wanted to post this beautiful pic of the flower bouquet that my sister got as part of her flower and herb CSA from Humble Pie Farm.  Even though I think of it as a weed, I still love Queen Anne's Lace.

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Dessert at W.A. Frost

“Kit Kat Bar” with maldon sea salt caramel, hazelnut praline, house made Chai ice cream.

Over the weekend, I went to brunch at W.A. Frost in Saint Paul. My friend and I sat out on their beautiful patio. It really is one of the best patio dining experiences in the Twin Cities (Side note: Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis is another beautiful patio, although smaller). We decided to be extra indulgent and get dessert!

It was definitely worth it. So many restaurants - even really fancy places - have boring desserts. W.A. Frost obviously puts some thought and effort into the dessert course (they also have an extensive offering of cheeses for a cheese course, if that's your thing). Both of these had a balance  - the crunch praline or nougatine, the smooth and creamy ice cream, a good balance of salt and sweet, and lovely flavor combinations.

 Green Tea and Lemon Roulade Raspberry Blossom Honey, Almond Nougatine, Ginger Ice Cream

Here are the links to the restaurant's website and photos of the patio. You can read all about the history of the building and restaurant on their website, too.

http://www.wafrost.com/photogallery.asp

http://www.wafrost.com/

This is Northfield

I visited Northfield a couple weeks ago for my college reunion. I had a great time! While I was there, I noticed these posters (above) up all over the campus. They're part of Northfield's new marketing campaign. The posters are not avialable for purchase yet but I'm told it is in the works.

You can see better images of the "This is Northfield" posters on their website. It also lays out all the different attractions in an easy-to-navigate way:

http://thisisnorthfield.com/

Lyman Lakes at Carleton College in Northfield

Historic Archer House on Division Street

Goodbye Blue Monday Coffee House - an institution in Northfield. 

The clock tower on Willis Hall (Carleton Campus)

First National Bank in Northfield. This is the one that the James Gang robbed.

The Chapel at Carleton College

State Fair Food Preview!

Here are some highlights (and some possible lowlights) of the new foods at the fair this year. I'll let you figure out what is what.

Comet Corn:
A futuristic caramel corn made with liquid nitrogen. This icy-cold popcorn is crispy, crunchy, sweet & salty and leaves a trail of comet dust when exhaled out of the nose and mouth, creating a tingly, bubbly feeling.

Mini Donut Batter Crunch Ice Cream:
 Features a sweet cream base folded with mini donut batter and a hint of nutmeg in a sugar spice crunch. Made by Minnesota’s own Izzy's Ice Cream.

Minnepumpkin Pie
An individual deep fried pumpkin pie with cinnamon and sugar-dusted flaky crust and served with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

Cocoa Cheese Bites
Wisconsin cheddar cheese nuggets breaded with cocoa puffs, fried and served with a chocolate dipping sauce

Fried Pickles 'n' Chocolate:
Preferred Pickles' popular deep fried pickles dusted with powdered sugar and served with a side of chocolate for dipping.

Here's the link for the pictures and other new foods:
http://www.mnstatefair.org/fun/new_food/ 

Brown Sugar Rhuberry Bars

It's time, folks. Rhubarb Time! I love baking with rhubarb and it's one of the very first things that pops up in the farmers markets here in Minnesota.

Strawberry season is still a ways off, I think. It's dang cold out still. We are stubbornly refusing to turn the heat back on but the house is chilly. The cats are earning their keep as lap-warmers.

I made these bars from the recipe at the link below. The only changes I made were to replace 1/2 cup of flour in the crust with almond flour, to up the cinnamon to 1/2 teaspoon and add about 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries.

http://buttercreamblondie.com/strawberry-rhubarb-crisp-bars/

The bottom shortbread layer is delicious and buttery. The strawberries, blueberries, and rhubarb balance very nicely , and the orange zest is a nice addition. The recipe is a little fiddly. You have to refrigerate the shortbread crust and refrigerate the crisp topping. Once the bars are baked they have to be completely cooled before cutting. I would say it's worth it, though. They were delicious!

Hangin' with My Gnomies: Gnome Gardens.

I know that gnome and fairy gardens are all the rage these days. Seriously, Pinterest is chock full of miniature cottages -  gnome houses made of stick and stones, acorns and pinecones.  I like to think of my gnome gardens as just that - gardens. My gnomey friends don't live there. They're just puttering around the garden. They don't have names yet. Any suggestions?

I wanted this round garden to have a magical, otherworldly feel so I filled it with "weird" plants. Plants include: Artemisia "silver mound", Cellosia, Corkscrew Rush, Delosperma (the one with the fat vines - in theory it blooms with purple flowers if we ever get any sunny days)

Plants in the window box garden: Artemesia (silver mound) and Dusty Miller on the gnome side. Bonanza Yellow Marigold, Variegated Vinca and more Dusty Miller on the cat's side. Isn't this cat figurine kinda creepy cute?

Another bonus of these gnome gardens is that I got to display my rock collection. I have a habit of collecting rocks on every camping trip. I never have anything to do with them,though, so they sit on shelves, in jars, and in boxes around the house. Boy, does my sister love my rock collection when it's moving time. Ha!

Container Gardening in Minnesota

I managed to make it over to the garden center over Memorial Day weekend. What a crazy scene! I didn't want to wait, though. It's been such a long wait for warmer weather and it's time to grow some flowers, dammit.

This container includes: Coleus, Scarlet Begonia, Asparagus Fern, Variegated Vinca. I don't know the name of the bright green trailing plant. I wanted a sweet potato vine but none were to be had at the garden center. I'm sure they are available at the farmer's market but I was too lazy to trek downtown. All of these plants are supposed to grow well in partial sun so I hope they work out. There is a big maple in the front yard so these containers get filtered sunlight.

I used the "thriller, filler, spiller" method to plan these out. More info to be found here:
http://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/thrillers-fillers-spillers.aspx

The gnome was purchased at Target last year. He used to live in rather bedraggled houseplant. However, someone forgot to water said plant for, oh, I don't know....six weeks or so. He likes his new digs much better than the shriveled, dessicated remains of a philodendren.

 

For the other container: more Coleus, more Scarlet Begonia, and an unidentified trailing plant with purple flowers.

Caturday

Much like Beyonce, Simon didn't want this picture displayed on the internet. It's not the most flattering. but isn't it funny how his tongue makes him look like has big fat lips? Simon, this is punishment for focusing on eating grass when I told you to act cute for your photoshoot.