Welcome to another Monday morning folks! I can't believe we are already part way through July. It seems like this summer is flying by. Every weekend is packed with things to do, which is good and bad. Friday night was pretty busy. After work I went to a goodbye happy hour for one of my co-workers. We went to the local watering hole for a few drinks and eats. We really wanted to sit outside but by the time I left I was sweating my face off. This weekend was pretty steamy and as much as I want to enjoy the hot weather it was a bit to hot for comfort. I stopped home quickly  after leaving happy hour to change into shorts before meeting my family for dinner. My sister's birthday was at the end of June but due to everyone being so busy we did not have time to celebrate. We met at a cute restaurant named Rudy's Redeye in White Bear Lake. They have a pretty fantastic rooftop and it was a great night for it, well after I changed into shorts anyway. Her daughter joined us for dinner too. Given that she is only 6 months old she did pretty well. She was very smiley and happy most of the evening. She gets cuter every day and we probably took more pictures of her than we did of my sister on her birthday dinner. I called it a night early because I was pretty tired and ready for some sleep.

Saturday was my busiest day this weekend. I started the day by joining my cousin for her bachelorette party. She had one of those all day affairs so I joined for the first part as I had other plans that night. The first part of the day was a limo ride and some wine tours. We had a really nice limo with plenty of space. We headed out to two wineries in Stillwater: Northern Vineyards Winery and Saint Croix Valley Winery. We started at Northern Vineyards. They set up a nice table in the backroom and we tasted about 5-6 wines. If I am being honest, I did not love their wine. There was one red I liked, the others either were not full bodied enough or just did not taste right. Other's liked it though so it is probably just a personal preference. What is nice about this place it is on the main street in downtown Stillwater. So you can taste wines and then go get some food on the river. Our next stop was  Saint Croix Valley. I liked this place a bit better for a few reasons 1)The wine was better 2)The tasting room was more unique and 3) It is near the Aamodt's Apple farm. Biggest downside of this place is that there was no A/C in the bar so it was pretty sweaty. Thankfully the dress I wore (details below) breathed well. I took a bunch of pictures of this place because it was really interesting, made out of barns and really used the surrounding environment to their advantage. They also do weddings there, which would be totally cool except the space looks a little small. But I took a couple of pictures so you could see. 

Northern Vineyards Winery



Bathrooms at St Croix Valley

From left to right: My cousin, the bride, my sister and myself




After the wine tour I hung for a bit while they ate and played a couple of fun games. I left before the pure romance party because I had other plans that night. Originally, I was going to go to Bastille Day in St. Paul. One of my favorite local bands was going to be performing and it sounded like they had a good set up, but at the last minute plans changed and I could not go. I texted one of my friends and she invited out to dinner with some of her friends to Red Stag in Minneapolis. They bill themselves as a kind of old fashioned supper club. They had a medium sized menu but just enough for variety. A few pastas, steaks, fish and burgers. Even though the pasta sounded good I settled on the burger. I have to say, it was pretty fantastic and a real human portion of food. A lot of time at nicer places the portions are too tiny but  I was definitely satisfied and actually boxed up half the burger to bring home. Oh! the other cool thing was there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. It is clear that it gets used because there were spotlights facing it, but to my disappointment it did not get turned on that evening. 



Saturday was another early night and it was glorious. I went home and fell asleep watching Parks and Rec. I am not even embarrassed because it was so fantastic. Sunday was a really relaxed day. I woke up late, ran a few errands and cuddled with my pups and husband on the couch. I did buy a radio for my office and was disappointed again. Why can't anyone make a decent radio that I can plug my phone into as well. How long have radios been around? I have bought 3 lately and all of them won't get a local radio station on them. What the what radios!!? If anyone has a good suggestion on a small radio that I can also plug my iphone into I would love the help.

Now onto the clothes :) I saw this dress on Proper and Prim's instagram and just knew I needed it. I figured it would be perfect for the wine tasting but also casual enough for lots of other occasions. Also i am sucker for a navy stripe, what can I say? I paired it with some delicate jewelry and wedges I already had in my closet. It was really the best outfit for the day because the material really breathed and wearing wedges versus heels helped walking around wineries all afternoon. What do you think? leave me a comment below I would love to hear from you.








Dress| Proper & Prim/ Little Mistress
Shoes| Chinese Laundry (old) similar / similar
Necklace| Target
Rings| Charming Charlie's