This weekend I found myself kind of all over the place. Typically because I live close to Minneapolis that is where I spend most of my time. I have a deep love of St. Paul, because that is where I was born , and I try to get there as often as possible. This week had me  basically driving all over the place and I got to see a few cool neighborhoods I never get to visit. (Psst.. stay tuned for  my favorite sunglasses below) Friday after work I drove over to a store in St. Paul called St. Patrick's Guild. See my niece was getting baptized on Sunday and I needed a gift. My week had been crazyface and I did not have time to stop during the week so I had to travel to St. Paul from a West Minneapolis Suburb, on a Friday afternoon, in traffic between the cities. You see, if you are not from here what you don't know is that traveling between the two cities in rush hour traffic is the worst experience known to man. Being nicknamed the Twin Cities makes it seem like it's a hop, skip and a jump away. Which it would be, if there were not any traffic. So once I finally got to St Paul I wound up taking back roads as much as I could back home. I drove around some of the local colleges including St. Thomas and St. Catherine's both of which are areas I have never been around. They were quaint, quiet, wooded neighborhoods that looked like they had some history. So not surprising when I happened upon this sign:


It is a dirty grungy sign, on an uncharacteristically dirty corner in these neighborhoods. It gives the mileage between this spot and downtown St Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, New York and a couple other cities I struggled to read. It was such a unique item to happen upon and it reminded me what I love about the cities and maybe what I wanted to write about today.  

Saturday I went with  my family to a Twins game. We specifically picked this game because they played the Chicago Cubs, we have family in Chicago so they are close to us as well. We also rarely get to play them because they are National League and we are America League so we had to go right? We brought my niece and it was her very first Twins game. She was basically the cutest Twins fan there. She actually did well, despite all the noise and insane heat she napped. That girl can sleep anywhere. Unfortunately we lost but I did get to see our newbie Byron Buxton play which was fun. He didn't do well but it was fun nonetheless and we got a bit of sun. 

Byron Buxton


Target Field is gorgeous

After the game Derek and I headed over the Golden Valley to have dinner at New Bohemia. I ate here for the first time on New Year's Day. They serve German style sausage and food as well as a great and rotating beer selection. You sit community style, which typically is not a problem because there is plenty of space. The decor is pretty industrial  but open so even if you are inside these garage doors open up letting in the summer air. Derek and I split a large order of fries and both had a sausage. We sat outside enjoyed our food and drink. It was just what the doctor ordered. Saturday night the intention was to hang out with my cousin and his wife at their bonfire, but we were both pretty beat after being in the humidity and heat all day. Plus, we're old so we needed some rest. We went home and rented a couple of movies. I got through the first one before getting a massive  migraine and passed out during the second movie. Not my most rockin' Saturday night.

Beer me

Sunday was the day of my niece's baptism. We headed into Minneapolis to the Basilica for this sacrament. I have not been there in a long time but thankfully it is close to me so getting there was quick for a procrastinator like me. Plus I was a little worried about the Rock the Garden traffic. Each summer the local public radio music station, The Current, puts on rock festival in the sculpture garden of the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. Tickets are impossible to get and therefore I always want them but cannot get them. One day....one day. So I had to be tortured with this on my way to the baptism, good thing I was going to a church so I could simmer down.



My niece's baptism was a full service so I got to enjoy spending some time at the Basilica. It is so gorgeous. The stain glass windows and architecture are beautiful. Even if you are not a Catholic the structure is worth seeing. Behind the alter there are some statues that you can only see if you stick around after the service to walk by and see. I do not typically take pictures of churches but I was compelled to because it is just too gorgeous. Enjoy!





So after a hot and sunny weekend I found that my sunglasses were literally with me every second. Also, because I am migraine prone sunglasses help to avoid them. I love to mix and match sunglasses based on my mood and season. I am definitely favoring aviators this summer but that could easily change in a few months. Because I change so regularly I do not like to spend a lot of money on them so enter Target. I picked 5 of my favorite trends and styles of sunglasses this summer, all from Target and all for under $25. Can't beat that right? 

Sunglasses



one / two / three / four / five 

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